![]() South Asia, especially India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, is the original homeland of a great game between superpowers, the cradle of prolonged terrorist violence, safe sanctuary and a storehouse of global terrorism. By the turn of 2016, when global debate, action, and reflection about violence and counter-terrorism had shifted comprehensively to the Arab world – the old ghost of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan – terrorism is becoming ever stronger. ![]() No place in Pakistan is out of a terrorist’s reach and in Afghanistan, an assassin can kill his target anywhere anytime. They are loyal to whoever provides them with security.On independence days, India’s citizens lose their freedom, as streets and marketplaces convert into highly restricted areas because of the threat of terrorism. Law enforcement actions would not work against the Taliban because the Afghanis are not loyal to the national government. Insurgents against an occupying army is more complex. Most insurgent forces in history have been defeated by law enforcement action as he states but the insurgents have grievances against their own government. He also spent some time comparing different policies for defeating insurgent forces. I find his solution intriguing but incomplete. Security is vital to establishing a nation. His solution is to put more pressure on Pakistan, create local defense forces using Afghani citizens and provide heavy assistance from the Afghan army and/or coalition forces when necessary. He is right about the US's distraction in Iraq which impacted Afghanistan. ![]() He is right about the lack of forces to take, hold and build infrastructure throughout Afghanistan. With Seth Jones' understanding of Afghanistan, I thought his analysis was excellent but his solution was weak. ![]() Have you listened to any of William Hughes’s other performances before? How does this one compare? In The Graveyard of Empires provides some thought provoking analysis on why the war the Afghanistan is so difficult and provides some solutions. Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why? Nice overview and macro look at Afghanistan Using important new research and integrating thousands of declassified government documents, Jones 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.Įxamining 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 to avoid the disastrous fate that has befallen many of the great world powers to enter the region. While observing the tense, often adversarial relationship between NATO allies in the Coalition, Jones introduces us to key figures on both sides of the war. After eight years, the United States had pushed al-Qaeda’s headquarters about one hundred miles across the border into Pakistan. 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. It established security throughout the country, and Afghanistan finally began to emerge from more than two decades of conflict. Jones examines the central question of our own war: how did an insurgency develop? Following September 11, the United States successfully overthrew the Taliban regime. 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 brought the country to its knees.Īfter a brief survey of the great empires in Afghanistan, Seth G. This definitive account of the American experience in Afghanistan 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.
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