Swords of Lightning: Book highlights Green Berets fight against the Taliban
'Swords of Lightning' co-authors Bob Pennington, Jim DeFelice, and Mark Nutsch discuss their new book to highlight the heroism of Green Berets
The heroic efforts of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers who battled the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan after 9/11 are being revealed in a new book.
"Swords of Lightning" co-authors Bob Pennington, Jim DeFelice and Mark Nutsch joined "America's Newsroom" Monday with a first-person account of how a small band of Green Berets used horses and laser-guided bombs 20 years ago to overthrow the terror cells.
Pennington, a Special Forces veteran, said the book took five years to write after deciding it was finally time to tell the story.
"It was time to show everyone out there what the team had done, what Special Forces is all about, what Green Berets are all about. It was an incredible mission. It was actually the pinnacle of our career, at least the pinnacle of my career," he said.
TALIBAN ‘WILL LIKELY LOOSEN’ AL QAEDA RESTRICTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, US PREDICTS
Nov. 15, 2001: A U.S. Air Force special operations soldier walks by an Afghan boy as others loyal to the northern alliance look on, in Khwaja Bahuaddin, Afghanistan. (AP2001)
DeFelice, a New York Times bestselling author, said the book took years in order to captivate the most "authentic voice" portrayed in the story.
"Nobody had really gone down boots on the ground… you know, their eyes and ears."
Nutsch, who led one of the first Special Forces teams into northern Afghanistan after 9/11 and spearheaded the horseback warfare, explained why the book is titled "Swords of Lightning."
"The Special Forces patch, that arrowhead with the sword and three lightning bolts. But we also learned of historic legend in Uzbek lore, where they referred to us as avenging angels with swords of lightning."
Afghan citizens who worked with the U.S. during the war are still waiting in third-party countries for their promised American visas eight months after leaving Afghanistan.
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"We are actively processing visa applications for Afghans seeking to come to the United States, including by assisting Afghans who qualify for SIVs because they were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government or by the International Security Assistance Force or its successor," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program for Afghan citizens provides a path for former employees or contractors who worked with the State Department or other American entities. Many of these applicants remain in pending status as the State Department continues to review their eligibility, but the wait time has started to wear away at them and their families.
Fox News' Peter Aitken contributed to this report
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