A former senior mujahidin fighter teams up with an ex-counter terrorism analyst in this remarkable account from the frontlines of the jihad

"After we had exchanged the requisite formalities over tea in his camp on the southern edge of Kabul's outer defense perimeter, the Afghan field commander told me that two of his bravest mujahideen were martyred because he did not have a pickup truck to take them to a Peshawar hospital. They had succumbed to their battle wounds. He asked me to tell his party's bureaucrats across the border that he needed such a vehicle desperately. I double-checked with my interpreter that he was indeed making this request. I wasn't puzzled because the request appeared unreasonable but because he was asking me, a twenty-year-old employee of a humanitarian organization, to intercede on his behalf with his own organization's bureaucracy. I understood on this dry summer day in Khurd Kabul that not all militant and political organizations are alike."—from Organizations at War in Afghanistan and Beyond While popular accounts of warfare, particularly of nontraditional conflicts such as guerrilla wars and insurgencies, favor the roles of leaders or ideology, social-scientific analyses of these wars focus on aggregate categories such as ethnic groups, religious affiliations, socioeconomic classes, or civilizations. Challenging these constructions, Abdulkader H. Sinno closely examines the fortunes of the various factions in Afghanistan, including the mujahideen and the Taliban, that have been fighting each other and foreign armies since the 1979 Soviet invasion. Focusing on the organization of the combatants, Sinno offers a new understanding of the course and outcome of such conflicts. Employing a wide range of sources, including his own fieldwork in Afghanistan and statistical data on conflicts across the region, Sinno contends that in Afghanistan, the groups that have outperformed and outlasted their opponents have done so because of their successful organization. Each organization's ability to mobilize effectively, execute strategy, coordinate efforts, manage disunity, and process information depends on how well its structure matches its ability to keep its rivals at bay. Centralized organizations, Sinno finds, are generally more effective than noncentralized ones, but noncentralized ones are more resilient absent a safe haven. Sinno's organizational theory explains otherwise puzzling behavior found in group conflicts: the longevity of unpopular regimes, the demise of popular movements, and efforts of those who share a common cause to undermine their ideological or ethnic kin. The author argues that the organizational theory applies not only to Afghanistan-where he doubts the effectiveness of American state-building efforts—but also to other ethnic, revolutionary, independence, and secessionist conflicts in North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.

Focusing on key episodes in Afghanistan's long history of conflict with foreign forces from the early nineteenth century to the present, this book sheds new light on the Afghan "Way of War." Robert Johnson shows that, contrary to the stereotypes of primitive warriors enflamed with religious fanaticism, Afghan warfare has been marked by constant change as Afghani methods evolved to face new threats. From the dynastic struggles and popular resistance movements of the nineteenth century to the ideological confrontations of recent decades, Afghans have long resisted political coercion, military intervention, and foreign influence. To do so, they have developed sophisticated strategic approaches to deal with both internal unrest and foreign intrusion, while at the tactical level outthinking and outfighting their opponents at every step. The final part of the book, which deals with how the Taliban has contested Western intervention by borrowing from traditions in Afghan history and culture, will be of considerable topical interest in light of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

Covering wars and conflicts of Afghanistan from the modern founding of the country in the 1700s to the contemporary struggle with the Taliban, this single-volume reference analyzes the causes and results of Afghanistan's wars and examines leading political and military figures, weapons, and tactics. Afghanistan has been embroiled in war and conflict throughout the latter part of the 20th century as well as the current millennium, but due to its location at the crossroads of Central Asia, Afghanistan has also endured repeated conquests throughout its turbulent earlier times. Examining Afghanistan's long military history through this book will enable readers to grasp the wider sociopolitical history of the country; appreciate the impact of these wars on Southwest Asia and superpowers such as Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States; and understand why Afghanistan remains a controversial battleground today. The alphabetically organized entries examine the major wars and conflicts of Afghanistan from the modern founding of the country during the Durrani Dynasty in the 1700s through the contemporary struggle with the Taliban. The book spotlights the role of key individuals in starting, pursuing, or ending conflicts, as well as their broader contributions to-or negative impact on-Afghanistan and the international arena. The work also presents essays that examine key subtopics such as weapons, tactics, ethnic groups, religion, and foreign relations. This allows the reader-whether a student, scholar, or member of a nonacademic audience-to examine a topic in depth and see how the event, figure, or movement fits into the broader history of Afghanistan.

What will the post-Taliban government of Afghanistan look like? How will the war in Afghanistan affect the already unstable politics of Central Asia? In War at the Top of the World, veteran foreign correspondent Eric Margolis presents a revelatory history of the complicated and volatile conflicts that have entangled Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States, the Soviet Union, and many others. By 1999, Pakistan had proven they have medium-range nuclear weapons, and now the threat that their government could be taken over by a radical Islamic fundamentalist faction is stronger than ever. In fact, Osama bin Laden has already claimed to have a nuclear weapon. How could this have happened? Margolis plays witness to the escalating conflicts of the past decade, tracing disputes over Afghanistan, as well as those ever neighboring Kashmir and Tibet, back to their Cold War roots, exploring clashes that continue to threaten to destabilize the region today. Combining vivid first-hand accounts of a war correspondent with a historical and strategic overview of the region, Margolis guides the reader through the geopolitical complexities of the area and its key players. He offers a clear, concise analysis of a complicated and little-understood part of the world that is home to a quarter of the world's population. Fascinating and now more timely than ever, War at the Top of the World is an extraordinary read for anyone interested in the current global balance of power.

Covering wars and conflicts of Afghanistan from the modern founding of the country in the 1700s to the contemporary struggle with the Taliban, this single-volume reference analyzes the causes and results of Afghanistan's wars and examines leading political and military figures, weapons, and tactics. Afghanistan has been embroiled in war and conflict throughout the latter part of the 20th century as well as the current millennium, but due to its location at the crossroads of Central Asia, Afghanistan has also endured repeated conquests throughout its turbulent earlier times. Examining Afghanistan's long military history through this book will enable readers to grasp the wider sociopolitical history of the country; appreciate the impact of these wars on Southwest Asia and superpowers such as Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States; and understand why Afghanistan remains a controversial battleground today. The alphabetically organized entries examine the major wars and conflicts of Afghanistan from the modern founding of the country during the Durrani Dynasty in the 1700s through the contemporary struggle with the Taliban. The book spotlights the role of key individuals in starting, pursuing, or ending conflicts, as well as their broader contributions to—or negative impact on—Afghanistan and the international arena. The work also presents essays that examine key subtopics such as weapons, tactics, ethnic groups, religion, and foreign relations. This allows the reader—whether a student, scholar, or member of a nonacademic audience—to examine a topic in depth and see how the event, figure, or movement fits into the broader history of Afghanistan.

A history of the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2020. The work follows a narrative format to go through the 2001 US invasion, the state-building of 2002-2005, the Taliban offensive of 2006, the US surge of 2009-2011, the subsequent drawdown, and the peace talks of 2019-2020

Provides a detailed look at how war affects human life and health far beyond the battlefield Since 2010, a team of activists, social scientists, and physicians have monitored the lives lost as a result of the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan through an initiative called the Costs of War Project. Unlike most studies of war casualties, this research looks beyond lives lost in violence to consider those who have died as a result of illness, injuries, and malnutrition that would not have occurred had the war not taken place. Incredibly, the Cost of War Project has found that, of the more than 1,000,000 lives lost in the recent US wars, a minimum of 800,000 died not from violence, but from indirect causes. War and Health offers a critical examination of these indirect casualties, examining health outcomes on the battlefield and elsewhere—in hospitals, homes, and refugee camps—both during combat and in the years following, as communities struggle to live normal lives despite decimated social services, lack of access to medical care, ongoing illness and disability, malnutrition, loss of infrastructure, and increased substance abuse. The volume considers the effect of the war on both civilians and on US service members, in war zones—where healthcare systems have been destroyed by long-term conflict—and in the United States, where healthcare is highly developed. Ultimately, it draws much-needed attention to the far-reaching health consequences of the recent US wars, and argues that we cannot go to war—and remain at war—without understanding the catastrophic effect war has on the entire ecosystem of human health.

"The Wake of War is an example of the power - and the powerful importance - of going behind the headlines, behind the barrage of argument, to glimpse what is happening in the lives of ordinary people."--BOOK JACKET.