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Code Over Country

The Tragedy and Corruption of SEAL Team Six

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Code Over Country

By: Matthew Cole
Narrated by: Braden Wright
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About this listen

 A “searing” (Jeremy Scahill) exposé of SEAL Team 6, the US military’s best-known brand, that reveals how the Navy SEALs were formed, then sacrificed, in service of American empire.

The Navy SEALs are, in the eyes of many Americans, the ultimate heroes. When they killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011, it was celebrated as a massive victory. Former SEALs rake in cash as leadership consultants for corporations, and young military-bound men dream of serving in their ranks.

But the SEALs have lost their bearings. Investigative journalist Matthew Cole tells the story of the most lauded unit, SEAL Team 6, revealing a troubling pattern of war crimes and the deep moral rot beneath authorized narratives. From their origins in World War II, the SEALs have trained to be specialized killers with short missions. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan became the endless War on Terror, their violence spiraled out of control.

Code Over Country details the high-level decisions that unleashed the SEALs’ carnage and the coverups that prevented their crimes from coming to light. It is a necessary and rigorous investigation of the unchecked power of the military—and the harms enacted by and upon soldiers in America’s name.

Armed Forces Corruption & Misconduct Military Politics & Government Special & Elite Forces War & Crisis Solider Military History Nonfiction

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Critic reviews

“Matthew Cole has produced a searing and unvarnished history of a state-sponsored organized crime syndicate that operates globally with impunity bestowed upon it by the United States government. Since 9/11, Navy SEAL Team 6 has been elevated to legendary status in the media, and its members showered with medals and accolades from presidents, especially in the aftermath of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Through an even-handed accounting of the failures and successes of SEAL Team 6, from its Cold War origins to the present, Cole has masterfully documented the bloody, dark underbelly of these ‘quiet warriors.’ He exposes the sociopaths and murderers who operate on the tip of the spear of the covert US war machine, along with the military and political leaders who have shielded them from accountability. Code Over Country is a meticulously crafted corrective aimed at dismantling the dishonest mythology that dominates the public understanding of the most elite fighting force in US history.”
—Jeremy Scahill, New York Times–bestselling author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield
“Matthew Cole is telling us what we, in America, need to know about some of those men celebrated in movies and media as heroes in SEAL Team 6. The real issue, as Cole makes clear, is the leadership and command structure that shields and protects criminal behavior. This is not a book about heroism, although there is much, but tolerated wrongdoing.”—Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib
“Matthew Cole’s Code Over Country is a remarkable achievement. Cole has flanked the hagiography that has for so long protected the image of SEAL Team 6, and has cut deep behind the lines to tell the brutal truth. After reading this book, I realized that there is the Hollywood version of SEAL Team 6, and then there is the truth, laid bare by Matthew Cole.”—James Risen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the forthcoming The Last Honest Man: How Frank Church Fought the CIA, the Mafia, J. Edgar Hoover, and the National Security State
“Journalist Cole debuts with a searing investigation… Backed by meticulous research and lucid insights into SEAL culture, this is an impassioned and persuasive call for reforming one of the world’s most elite fighting forces.”—Publishers Weekly
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I really enjoyed this title. It hilights the need for more control of these operators before a new era in of war begins.

Great piece on the dark side of the Tier One unit.

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I enjoyed this book and it was well written. My issue with it is that it constantly quotes un-named operators who claim to have been there. These whistle blowers are always nameless and their quotes are always damning. Surely, unless these people are coming forward and giving their name little weight can be put to their account.

Well written but one sided

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I decided to give this a listen after hearing a interview with Matthew on former Navy SEALs Andy Stumpfs pod cast Cleared Hot.
Andy has interviewed a number of SEALs including Eddie Gallagher and Jocko among other notables in the operator community.
Matthew came across as a really nice guy, serious about his work and honest. Then I listened to the book.
Now, I was in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman and Fleet Marine Force for 6 years and yes, there are things that happened that never made it off the base. Things that the Navy made disappear.
As with any organisation that your survival may depend on the guy next to you, there are codes of conduct and yes one of those is “no snitching”.
The problem I have with Matthews book is that there is a lot of he said she said and against a few well known people. To me it came across as he heard a story from a guy.
He did hit the nail with the Roberts Ridge event however, everyone in the community knows what happened and what is BS.
Matthew’s narrative on Eddie Gallagher is all wrong. He was accused, at first, of taking the photo. Then the sharks smelled blood in the water. Despite what you see on TV, NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) isn’t full of the best and brightest. Most of them are there ticking boxes to get promoted or move on to greener pastures. That is what happened to Eddie. They saw him as big game and went hunting.
I would have to say that if someone like Jocko or Chris Kyle were complicit in war crimes, those stories would have been sold to the media along time ago.
That’s why I only gave it two stars since, without evidence, it is just a book on a conspiracy theory.

Stories that are neither confirmed or denied.

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Great book and very well researched. I've read a couple of books from the Walter Mitty type characters portrayed in this book and I for one am glad i now know the truth about these men.
I have served in the British Army and worked with Seals attached to the CIA in Basrah Southern Iraq. On one particular patrol we had to stop one of them from killing an unarmed civilian in his car making his way home.
I've seen how America carries out its wars and occupations first hand and can honestly say nothing in this book suprises me, all from a country that claims to be the righteous symbol of all that is right in the western world.
Thank you to the author for setting the record straight for those who still look upon the men who's discrepancies are memtioned in this book with rose tinted glasses instead of the mindless and government sanctioned killers they are.

Excellent book

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Sad but fascinating at the same time. Lessons to be learnt. I hope the team members read this.

Casualties of the forever wars.

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