Full Description
A clear-eyed view of the conflict in Afghanistan and its century-deep roots.
The war in Afghanistan has consumed vast amounts of blood and treasure, causing the Western powers to seek an exit without achieving victory. Seemingly never-ending, the conflict has become synonymous with a number of issues — global jihad, rampant tribalism, and the narcotics trade — but even though they are cited as the causes of the conflict, they are in fact symptoms.
Rather than beginning after 9/11 or with the Soviet "invasion" in 1979, the current conflict in Afghanistan began with the social reforms imposed by Amanullah Amir in 1919. Western powers have failed to recognize that legitimate grievances are driving the local population to turn to insurgency in Afghanistan. The issues they are willing to fight for have deep roots, forming a hundred-year-long social conflict over questions of secularism, modernity, and centralized power.
The first step toward achieving a "solution" to the Afghanistan "problem" is to have a clear-eyed view of what is really driving it.
Contents
Chapter One - 1919
Chapter Two - Early Reforms
Chapter Three - Rebellion on All Sides
Chapter Four - The Water Carrier's Boy
Chapter Five - The Shadow of God
Chapter Six - The Boy King
Chapter Seven - Pashtunistan
Chapter Eight - The Strong Hand of the Prime Minister
Chapter Nine - The Last Amir
Chapter Ten - An Amir by Any Other Name
Chapter Eleven - Bloody April
Chapter Twelve - A Godless and Alien Regime
Chapter Thirteen - With Neither the Soviets nor God
Chapter Fourteen - The Students
Chapter Fifteen - The Commander of the Faithful
Chapter Sixteen - Guilt by Association
Chapter Seventeen - Infinite Justice
Chapter Eighteen - Opportunity Lost
Chapter Nineteen - The Neo-Taliban
Chapter Twenty - Left to Stand Alone
Chapter Twenty-One - Fraying at the Edges
Chapter Twenty-Two - Faint Hope for the Future
Conclusion
Glossary
Source Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
