Purchase
In The Graveyard Of Empires
Seth G. Jones
America's War in Afghanistan
W. W. Norton & Company
April 2010
On Sale: April 12, 2010
464 pages ISBN: 0393338517 EAN: 9780393338515 Paperback (reprint)
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
A definitive account of the American experience in
Afghanistan from the rise of the Taliban to the depths of
the insurgency.
After the swift defeat of the Taliban in 2001, American
optimism has steadily evaporated in the face of mounting
violence; a new “war of a thousand cuts” has now brought the
country to its knees. In the Graveyard of Empires is a
political history of Afghanistan in the “Age of Terror” from
2001 to 2009, exploring the fundamental tragedy of America’s
longest war since Vietnam. After a brief survey of the great empires in Afghanistan—the
campaigns of Alexander the Great, the British in the era of
Kipling, and the late Soviet Union—Seth G. Jones examines
the central question of our own war: how did an insurgency
develop? Following the September 11 attacks, the United
States successfully overthrew the Taliban regime. It
established security throughout the country—killing,
capturing, or scattering most of al Qa’ida’s senior
operatives—and Afghanistan finally began to emerge from more
than two decades of struggle and conflict. But Jones argues
that as early as 2001 planning for the Iraq War siphoned off
resources and talented personnel, undermining the gains that
had been made. After eight years, he says, the United States
has managed to push al Qa’ida’s headquarters about one
hundred miles across the border into Pakistan, the distance
from New York to Philadelphia. While observing the tense and often adversarial relationship
between NATO allies in the Coalition, Jones—who has
distinguished himself at RAND and was recently named by
Esquire as one of the “Best and Brightest” young policy
experts—introduces us to key figures on both sides of the
war. Harnessing important new research and integrating
thousands of declassified government documents, Jones then
analyzes the insurgency from a historical and structural
point of view, showing how a rising drug trade, poor
security forces, and pervasive corruption undermined the
Karzai government, while Americans abandoned a successful
strategy, failed to provide the necessary support, and
allowed a growing sanctuary for insurgents in Pakistan to
catalyze the Taliban resurgence. Examining what has worked thus far—and what has not—this
serious and important book underscores the challenges we
face in stabilizing the country and explains where we went
wrong and what we must do if the United States is to avoid
the disastrous fate that has befallen many of the great
world powers to enter the region. 12 maps and charts
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|