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Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll
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How did Afghanistan become an incubator for terrorists and a haven for Osama bin Laden? Steve Coll’s answer in Ghost Wars involves examining the country’s history over the past quarter century, from the CIA-backed resistance against Soviet invasion in the Carter and Reagan years to the rising force of the fundamentalist Taliban in the 1990s. Coll is managing editor of The Washington Post and winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism; Ghost Wars has likewise earned him the 2005 Pulitzer for non-fiction. The book describes how the CIA’s intermittent involvement in Afghanistan – largely channelled through Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – impeded the agency’s ability to track bin Laden and allowed the terror-supporting Taliban to take power. Fervent Cold Warriors supported mujahadeen guerrillas to drive communists out of Afghanistan, but after that seeming victory, U.S. policy makers lost interest in the remote, war-rattled nation. Once bin Laden and al Qaeda became ensconced there, American agents could only scramble to re-establish ties. Coll unreels the frustrating business of on-the-ground CIA intelligence gathering with the cinematic drive of a Tom Clancy novel but with none of the cheats and creative license of fiction. He also ably illustrates the stubborn realities of “asymmetric” warfare: Despite its military dominance as the world’s sole superpower, the U.S. is seriously constrained when facing a dispersed terrorist network, whose cells can blend with local populations and strike autonomously. The narrative of Ghost Wars plays out with the impending weight of a Greek tragedy: you know what’s coming, but all the preceding steps captivate as terror attacks accumulate and September 2001 approaches. Coll does a superb job of pulling apart the political and bureaucratic strands of U.S. counter-terrorism activities and of describing the many larger-than-life personalities involved. (A similar book from him detailing U.S. intelligence operations since the advent of Homeland Security would be a treat.) Coll tells the story without pushing a particular agenda, yet I think it’s impossible to read this book without forming judgments about what shape future U.S. counter-terrorism policy should take – what lines should be drawn, who our allies should be – but I expect we’ll each arrive at a different answer. Still, Ghost War” is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand America’s historical role in the rise of terrorist extremism. Review by Mark Bradshaw, July 28, 2005
Related reviews: Inside The Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0804-002.html Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill by Jessica Stern: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review1104-010.html
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