Just finished reading Robert Kaplan's excellent book on the American Empire and its global military operations. In Imperial Grunts: the American Military on the Ground, Kaplan reports on his experiences embedded in various American military units throughout the world: with Marines in Iraq, with an Army Foreign Area Officer in Mongolia, with Special Forces in Afghanistan, the Phillipines and Columbia.

Kaplan approaches his subject -- the American Empire -- through the lens of its front-line troops. Interestingly, with the exception of Afghanistan and Iraq, it is the non-violent roles of the military that are dominant. Students of international development will benefit from reading the book because it examines the civil affairs function of the military through military eyes.

Every reference to the Canadian military -- there are only a few -- is very positive and usually paraphrased or quoted from a soldier.

It's well worth the time.