The War in Aghanistan
Afghanistan has been the target of foreign wars and invasions for thousands of years. The most recent war, involving the U.S., the U.K. and various NATO countries, began in 2001. This lens traces the history of that war and looks at the prospects for the future.
"Our Attack on Two Innocent Countries, Iraq and Afghanistan" - Gore Vidal
See 0:36 in this video of this famous American historian
First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/21/2008)
This is a superb first-person account. I have absolute and total respect for this officer, his team, his courage, and what he accomplished within weeks of 9-11, setting the stage for a new form of warfare in which CIA opened the door, Special Forces turned on the lights, and conventional Air Force leveled the place.
The book provides some extremely useful insights from the field with respect to Washington's failure to understand local politics and ground truth despite frequent detailed field appraisals from the Chief of Station, and the book makes it clear that Pakistan lobbied Washington strategically and ably to "sell" its plan for taking over Afghanistan with its own allies, against both Russian and US (and for that matter, Chinese) best interests.
U.S and U.K. forces in Helmand, Afghanistan in 2007
The War in Afghanistan (2001-present) (article)
The U.S. and the UK led the aerial bombing campaign, with ground forces supplied primarily by the Afghan Northern Alliance. In 2002, American, British and Canadian infantry were committed, along with special forces from several allied nations. Later, NATO troops were added. The U.S. military calls the conflict Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
The initial attack removed the Taliban from power, but Taliban forces have since regained some strength. The war has been less successful in achieving the goal of restricting al-Qaeda's movement. Since 2006, Afghanistan has seen threats to its stability from increased Taliban-led insurgent activity, growing illegal drug production, and a fragile government with limited control outside of Kabul.
Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan, which is a joint U.S. and Afghan operation, with some involvement from other nations, is separate from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which is an operation of NATO nations including the U.S. The two operations run in parallel.
Source: Wapedia
War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet
War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet, Revised Edition
Amazon Price: $17.13 (as of 11/21/2008)
Learn the background to today's wars in Afghanistan... and beyond
Eric Margolis's "War at the top of the World" provides, as "The Economist" described it an "gripping and instructive" account of the issues and background to the contemporary conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, that majority muslim state in a majority Hindu country. But it does much more too. Published in 2000 before smoke from 9-11 effectively blocked, at least in the popular media in the US and much of the west, any kind of wider analysis of modern geopolitics in the Himalaya - South/West Asia region, it provides observers of the region ...and of America's involvement in Afghanistan... with much of the background and wider context needed to unravel the otherwise seemingly bizarre politics of the region. It's a roadmap to the realities of the region that is easy to follow and hard to put down.
Websites on the War in Afghanistan
- WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
- Daily news headlines and commentaries on the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq war, etc.
- Opium for the Masses: Who is the Enemy in Afghanistan?
- The facts speak for themselves, however. The Taleban wiped out heroin production entirely by 2001. Three years later, there were once again bumper opium crops, accounting for over half Afghanistan's GNP, and ninety percent of the world's heroin. And not only turning a blind eye, but actively engaging in drug smuggling, according to many observers, including Russian Ambassador Zamir Kabulov.
Is all this part of some conspiracy by the US? From the Russians' point of view, it certainly looks that way. US refusal to address the Russians' complaints seriously just might be because Afghanistan's opium requires secure routes to markets in Europe. A few conversations with US troops and/or mercenaries there strongly suggest they are not there for altruistic reasons. Cui bono? [Who benefits?] - The Afghan war worsens
- While the Iraq war muddles on, the Afghanistan conflict has sharpened. Last month, more American troops died there than in Iraq. Britain has agreed to send more troops. And the American military is widening the fight into border regions in neighboring Pakistan.
But the stepped-up warfare, six years after it began, is hardly going well. The Taliban, who were nearly vanquished in early fighting, have surged back and adopted tactics such as suicide attacks and roadside bombings to evade the military strength enjoyed by the 55,000-strong NATO force. - The March to Folly on the Afghan Border
- The killing of 11 Pakistani soldiers by US air strikes last week showed that the American-led war in Afghanistan is relentlessly spreading into Pakistan, one of America's oldest, most faithful allies.
Widening the Afghan War into Pakistan is military stupidity on a grand scale and political madness. It could very well end up a bigger disaster than Iraq. But Washington and its obedient allies seem hell-bent on charging into a wider regional war that no number of heavy bombers will win.
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