In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan
In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan
by Seth G. Jones
http://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Empi.../dp/0393068986
I just finished the history of the recent 2001-2009 events in Afghanistan. I fonund nothin new here. Seth Jones captures this history in a cogent text totally consistent with what most everyone already knows.
His most useful concept is an explanation of the enemy as a hybrid and complex organism composed of many disperate parts from Taliban and al Qaeda to corrupt qovernment officials and drug traffickers, common crimials to tribal leaders to foreign national interests. Mr. Jones' characterization of the enemy as composed of many parts is helpful in understanding the problems we face in this region; however, he provides no solutions or even potentials for future success.
In this regard, Mr. Jones only provides an overview of recent events without greater context or long term history. I found it helpful as a single source reference, but encourage those interested in Afghanistan to complement it with other works like the "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East" by Robert Fisk. Althought, Mr. Fisk is mostly appoligetic for all Western nations' action in the Middle East, he does provide a different perspective.
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