Life and Death at Abbey Gate
The Fall of Afghanistan and the Operation to Save Our Allies
Mikael Cook and Robert Conlin, Casemate, 2024, 192 pages
Book Review published on: May 20, 2025
In August 2021, U.S. and coalition forces departed Afghanistan from the sole airfield not under control of the Taliban, the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul. Over a period of seventeen days that began with the 14 August Taliban occupation of Kabul and concluded 31 August when the last U.S. soldier boarded an aircraft, U.S. and coalition forces and private organizations evacuated approximately 123,000 people through that single airport. For the vast majority of those trying to flee the Taliban via this means, their only chance to gain access to those flights was by passing through what was known as the Abbey Gate at the southeast edge of the airport.
With this backdrop for his book Life and Death at Abbey Gate: The Fall of Afghanistan and the Operation to Save Our Allies, former U.S. Army staff sergeant Mikael Cook shares his experiences from when he set out to help evacuate two Afghan families with whom he had worked while deployed on the outskirts of the city of Mazar-e Sharif in the northeastern part of the country. He was ultimately successful, and through his participation in an effort which has since been termed the "Digital Dunkirk," he succeeded without leaving his home in Michigan.
After describing his background and motivation to serve, Cook begins the main portion of his narrative with his deployment to Afghanistan. Arriving in November 2019, then--Sgt. Cook was a member of the Army's 983rd Engineer Battalion stationed at Camp Marmal when he met Abdul and Mohammed, described as "good-natured and patient" brothers-in-law known for their ability to get whatever materials the Army engineers needed for the missions much more quickly than through the Army supply system. Cook became friends with the two men and remained in touch after his return home to Michigan.
When the United States began negotiating with the Taliban in early 2020 to set the terms for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the worst fears of the Afghans who had worked with U.S. and coalition forces—and who still resided in Afghanistan—began to be realized. While Cook was still in Afghanistan, another Afghan acquaintance expressed these fears when he stated simply, "If you leave, we will all be killed for working with you."
At this point, the book rapidly picks up its pace. Recognizing the danger to his Afghan friends, Cook joined many others in using social media and related applications to share information in real-time across state, national, and international boundaries to help Abdul and Mohammed escape through HKIA. Cook does an excellent job describing his participation in the Digital Dunkirk, a loose grouping of people from across multiple locations including government, veterans, charity organizations, and private citizens. This group leveraged information and communications to attempt to get Afghan partners access onto HKIA, to transportation out of HKIA, and ultimately entrance into the United States.
Cook walks the reader through interactions with groups and individuals through use of the applications Signal, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook along with various blogs and websites. As examples of the kind of information passed through these means, he offers a map provided by a CIA operative that details a safe route around Taliban patrols, WhatsApp screenshots from his conversation with Abdul, and a "challenge and password" graphic to allow a small number of families to enter HKIA through a covert access point. Cook ultimately was even able to get in touch with Marines guarding the Abbey Gate—critical to gaining his friends' access to HKIA—through voice calls, text, and pictures. The author's description of events creates a feeling of tension that translates well through the pages. Ultimately, Cook took part in two separate and successful rescue missions through his participation in Digital Dunkirk.
The author enriches his narrative by describing the experiences of several other people who were part of the evacuation and notes their contributions to the book. As an example, he weaves in description of the scene at Abbey Gate, including the aftermath of the 26 August terrorist attack that killed thirteen service members and 170 Afghan civilians, from five Marines who were there to provide security. These additional perspectives add valued depth to Cook's narrative while simultaneously allowing him to credit them for their actions and the critical roles they played in evacuating his friends.
Cook's book is a memoir, written in a direct, no-frills style that accurately captures the language of those who were deployed to Afghanistan. At only 139 pages, it's a quick but poignant read. Although not an academic publication, Life and Death at Abbey Gate does offer ample footnoting to support key information that forms the context surrounding his story. The book sometimes moves between opinion and fact, occasionally causing me to lose sight of the main idea; is it a commentary on the United States' departure from Afghanistan or is it the story of how the author was able to help his Afghan friends to safety? Notwithstanding, I recommend Life and Death at Abbey Gate to anyone who wants to learn more about Digital Dunkirk, the experiences of those who fled the Taliban in August 2021, and those who helped them.
Notes
- If readers are interested in learning more about the Digital Dunkirk, the Modern War Institute at West Point published an excellent article by Lt. Col. Laura Keenan in September 2021. It can be found at https://mwi.westpoint.edu/digital-dunkirk-what-the-afghan-evacuation-should-teach-us-about-the-future-of-volunteer-support-to-the-us-military/.
Book Review written by: Sean R. Kentch, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas