Seth Jones - In the Graveyard of Empires - America's War in Afghanistan
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- Название:In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan
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In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация
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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
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
From Publishers Weekly
Since 2001, RAND Corporation political scientist Jones (
) has been observing the reinvigorated insurgency in Afghanistan and weighing the potency of its threat to the country's future and American interests in the region. Jones finds the roots of the re-emergence in the expected areas: the deterioration of security after the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2002, the U.S.'s focus on Iraq as its foreign policy priority and Pakistan's role as a haven for insurgents. He revisits Afghan history, specifically the invasions by the British in the mid- and late-19th century and the Russians in the late-20th to rue how little the U.S. has learned from these two previous wars. He sheds light on why Pakistan—a consistent supporter of the Taliban—continues to be a key player in the region's future. Jones makes important arguments for the inclusion of local leaders, particularly in rural regions, but his diligent panorama of the situation fails to consider whether the war in Afghanistan is already lost.
Review
“A useful and generally lively account of what can go wrong when outsiders venture onto the Afghan landscape.” (
* )
“This is a serious work that should be factored in as a new policy in Afghanistan evolves.” (
* )
“Offers a valuable window onto how officials have understood the military campaign.” (
* )
“[An] excellent book.” (
* )
“How we got to where we are in Afghanistan.” (
* )
“[Zeroes] in on what went awry after America’s successful routing of the Taliban in late 2001.” (
* )
“A blueprint for winning in a region that has historically brought mighty armies to their knees.” (
* )
“Seth Jones . . . has an anthropologist’s feel for a foreign society, a historian’s intuition for long-term trends, and a novelist’s eye for the telling details that illuminate a much larger story. If you read just one book about the Taliban, terrorism, and the United States, this is the place to start.” (
* )
“A timely and important work, without peer in terms of both its scholarship and the author’s intimate knowledge of the country, the insurgency threatening it, and the challenges in defeating it.” (
* )
“A deeply researched and well-analyzed account of the failures of American policies in Afghanistan,
will be mandatory reading for policymakers from Washington to Kabul.” (
* )
“Seth Jones has combined forceful narrative with careful analysis, illustrating the causes of this deteriorating situation, and recommending sensible, feasible steps to reverse the escalating violence.” (
* )
“Seth G. Jones’s book provides a vivid sense of just how paltry and misguided the American effort has been.…
will help to show what might still be done to build something enduring in Afghanistan and finally allow the U.S. to go home.” (
* )
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17. Trent Scott and John Agoglia, “Getting the Basics Right: A Discussion on Tactical Actions for Strategic Impact in Afghanistan,” Small Wars Journal, November 2008; author interview with John Agoglia, November 13, 2008.
18. Author interview with Michelle Parker, August 15, 2007.
19. Author interviews with NATO officials involved in the meetings, Kabul, Afghanistan, May 2008.
20. Author interview with senior NATO intelligence official, November 13, 2008.
21. J. Alexander Thier and Azita Ranjbar, Killing Friends, Making Enemies: The Impact and Avoidance of Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, July 2008); Human Rights Watch, “ Troops in Contact”: Airstrikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan (New York: Human Rights Watch, September 2008).
22. Trista Talton and Robert Burns, “Probe: Spec Ops Marines Used Excessive Force,” Marine Corps Times , April 13, 2007. Also see Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Investigation: Use of Indiscriminate and Excessive Force against Civilians by U.S. Forces Following a VBIED Attack in Nangarhar Province on 4 March 2007 (Kabul: Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, 2007).
23. Josh White, “69 Afghans’ Families Get a U.S. Apology,” Washington Post, May 9, 2007, p. A12.
24. Memorandum from Brigadier General Michael W. Callan to Acting Commander, United States Central Command, Subject: Executive Summary of AR 15-6 Investigation into new information relative to civilian casualties from engagement by U.S. and Afghan Forces on 21–22 AUG 2008 in Azizabad, Shindand District, Herat Province, Afghanistan, October 1, 2008.
25. Statement by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, on Civilian Casualties Caused by Military Operations in Shindand District of Herat Province, August 26, 2008.
26. Jon Boone, “Kabul Accuses Allies of Civilian Deaths,” Financial Times, August 22, 2008.
27. Office of the President, President Karzai Condemns Shindand Incident (Kabul: Office of the President, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, August 23, 2008).
28. Author interview with senior U.S. State Department official, October 2, 2008.
29. Memorandum from Brigadier General Michael W. Callan to Acting Commander, United States Central Command, Subject: Executive Summary of AR 15–6 Investigation into new information relative to civilian casualties from engagement by U.S. and Afghan Forces on 21–22 AUG 2008 in Azizabad, Shindand District, Herat Province, Afghanistan, October 1, 2008.
30. Memorandum from the Rendon Group to J5 CENTCOM Strategic Effects, Polling Results—Afghanistan Omnibus May 2007, June 15, 2007.
31. Charney Associates, Afghanistan: Public Opinion Trends and Strategic Implications (New York: Charney Associates, 2008), slide 20.
32. Author interview with senior NATO intelligence official, November 13, 2008.
33. United Nations Department of Safety and Security, Security Incidents in Afghanistan, July 2008
34. NATO ISAF, Afghan National Security Forces Update (Kabul: NATO ISAF, July 24, 2008), slide 5. Between January 2007 and July 2008, there were 333 Coalition soldiers killed (20 percent), 1,015 Afghan police killed (59 percent), and 369 Afghan soldiers killed (21 percent).
35. Memorandum from Investigating Officer to Commander, Combined Joint Task Force—101, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Subject AR 15–6 Investigation Findings and Recommendations—Vehicle Patrol Base (VPB) Wanat Complex Attack and Casualties, 13 July 2008, 13 August 2008.
36. The NATO after-action report was leaked to Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper. See Graeme Smith, “Taliban Making the Grade in Guerrilla War,” The Globe and Mail, August 20, 2008.
37. Author interviews with U.S. intelligence officers, Bagram, Afghanistan, March 8, 2008.
38. U.S. Department of State, “Pakistan: Refocusing Security Assistance,” January 2008.
39. State Bank of Pakistan, Monetary Police Statement, July—December 2008 (Islamabad: State Bank of Pakistan, 2008).
40. Author interview with senior State Department official, September 30, 2008.
41. Dexter Filkins, “The Long Road to Chaos in Pakistan,” New York Times, September 27, 2008.
42. Dexter Filkins, “Right at the Edge,” New York Times Magazine, September 5, 2008.
43. Author interview with senior NATO official, September 29, 2008.
44. Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt, “Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, August 1, 2008, p. A1.
45. Author interview with senior White House official, September 25, 2008.
46. Iftikhar A. Khan, “Kayani Warns US to Keep its Troops Out,” Dawn (Pakistan), September 11, 2008.
47. Combined Joint Task Force-101, CJTF-101 Assessment (Bagram: CJTF-101, 2008), slide 7.
Chapter Eighteen
1. Zeh 
r-Ed-D n Muhammed B 
bur, Memoirs of Zeh r-Ed-D n Muhammed B bur: Emperor of Hindustan, vol. 2, translated by John Leyden and William Erskine (London: Oxford University Press, 1921), p. 19.
2. Author interview with Lieutenant Colonel Simon Heatherington, Commander, Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, Kandahar, January 16, 2007.
3. Douglas J. Feith, War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), pp. 101, 149.
4. Francesc Vendrell, EUSR Vendrell’s Valedictory Report (Kabul: European Union, 2008).
5. Olivier Roy. Islam and Resistance in Afghanistan, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 10.
6. U.S. Embassy Kabul to Department of State, Cable 4745, August 2, 1971, “Audience with King Zahir.” Released by the National Security Archive.
7. Thomas Schweich, “Is Afghanistan a Narco-State?” New York Times Magazine, July 27, 2008.
8. See, for example, United States Department of the Army, Counterinsurgency, FM 3–24 (Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2006), pp. 1–13.
9. On the role of tribes, see Shahmahmood Miakhel, “The Importance of Tribal Structures and Pakhtunwali in Afghanistan: Their Role in Security and Governance,” in Arpita Basu Roy, ed., Challenges and Dilemmas of State-Building in in Afghanistan: Report of a Study Trip to Kabul (Delhi: Shipra Publications, 2008), pp. 97–110; David Kilcullen, The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 39–114.
10. Asia Foundation, Afghanistan in 2008: A Survey of the Afghan People (Kabul and San Francisco: Asia Foundation, 2008).
11. Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin, Afghanistan—The Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower (Havertown, PA: Casemate, 2001), p. 64.
12. Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963), p. 186.
13. Norman Davies, God’s Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).
14. Author interview with Ambassador Ronald Neumann, September 7, 2007.
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