Jake Tapper

The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor Jake Tapper

At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was viciously attacked by Taliban insurgents. The 53 U. S. troops, having been stationed at the bottom of three steep mountains, were severely outmanned by nearly 400 Taliban fighters. Though the Americans ultimately prevailed, their casualties made it one of the war's deadliest battles for U. S. forces. And after more than three years in that dangerous and vulnerable valley a mere 14 miles from the Pakistan border, the U. S. abandoned and bombed the camp. A Pentagon investigation later concluded that there was no reason for Outpost Keating to have been there in the first place.