The Circuit, An ex-SAS soldier's true account of one of the most powerful and secretive industries spawned by the War on Terror

the long version

"The Circuit is SAS veteran Bob Shepherd's true, action packed account of one of the most powerful and shadowy industries to emerge from the War on Terror. After nearly twenty years of SAS operations, including a never before published role in the infamous Bravo Two Zero patrol, Bob retired from the military to work as an advisor on the international commercial security circuit. Certain his most dangerous days were behind him, Bob settled into a sedate life looking after VIPs. Then 9/11 happened." "Bob found himself back in war zones on assignments far more perilous than anything he had encountered in the SAS: from ferrying journalists across firing lines in the West Bank and Gaza to travelling to the heart of Osama bin Laden's Afghan lair." "Bob frequently operated with no back-up, sometimes behind enemy lines. As part of a two-man team, Bob searched for ITN Correspondent Terry Lloyd's missing crew in Basra, Iraq, on the eve of the 2003 British invasion.^ In Afghanistan, he was forced to spend the night as the only westerner in Khost - with a $25,000 bounty on his head. From Basra to Baghdad, Kabul to Kandahar, Ramallah to Riyadh, Bob encountered a rogue's gallery of Afghan warlords, Taliban - even Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law." "As the War on Terror escalated, Bob contended with increasingly sophisticated insurgents. But the most disturbing development he witnessed was much closer to home; namely The Circuit's transformation from a niche business staffed by top veterans into an unregulated, billion-dollar industry that too often places profits above lives. Even more disquieting, Bob saw for himself how The Circuit's massive growth has enabled western governments to hide the true cost of military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.^ His explosive conclusion: The Circuit is undermining the War on Terror." "Written with the passion of an elite soldier who has something to say about events he's witnessed first hand, The Circuit is an important, pulse-racing and at times shocking testament to what is really happening, on the ground, in the major trouble spots of the world."--BOOK JACKET.