| Description |
1 online resource (xx, 346 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations (chiefly color), maps |
| Contents |
A Muddled Mission -- "Who Are the Bad Guys?" -- The Nation-Building Project -- Afghanistan Becomes an Afterthought -- Raising an Army from the Ashes -- Islam for Dummies -- Playing Both Sides -- Lies and Spin -- An Incoherent Strategy -- The Warlords -- A War on Opium -- Doubling Down -- "A Dark Pit of Endless Money" -- From Friend to Foe -- Consumed by Corruption -- At War with the Truth -- The Enemy Within -- The Grand Illusion -- Trump's Turn -- The Narco-State -- Talking with the Taliban |
| Summary |
Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: to defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public's understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers Documents unearthed by The Washington Post The Afghanistan Papers is a shocking account that will supercharge a long overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-326) and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Afghan War, 2001-2021.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9781982159023 |
|
1982159022 |
|
