First published 2014
Carlotta Gall covered the Afghan conflict from its earliest days after September 11th through the American withdrawal. Her reporting reveals how the United States fought the wrong adversary in the wrong nation for over a decade. Gall argues that Pakistan, not Afghanistan, served as the true enemy through its intelligence services and government duplicity. She documents how Pakistani forces protected Osama bin Laden and sustained the Taliban throughout the war. The book weaves together battlefield reports and personal stories of Afghan civilians who suffered through years of violence. Gall interviewed Taliban commanders, Pakistani intelligence operatives, American military leaders, and Afghan politicians to construct her account. She demonstrates how American leaders launched their campaign against an opponent they failed to comprehend or effectively confront. The work combines tactical military analysis with human portraits of those caught in the conflict's path, showing both the strategic failures and personal costs of America's longest war.
Genres: history, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, military-fiction
Setting: Afghanistan, Pakistan, United States
Period: 2001-2014
329 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Content warnings: violence, war