Understanding Afghanistan Today Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of Understanding Afghanistan Today book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
Understanding Afghanistan Today is an accurate and contemporary presentation that explores the Middle Eastern nation of Afghanistan with a focus on the country as it is today: current issues, culture, and lifestyle. The book is written in an easy-to-read enjoyable narrative form for elementary readers 8-11,. The Afghanistan title includes a native recipe and craft for students to create. Elementary students are encouraged to consider evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Series titles have been developed to address many of the Common Core specific goals, higher level thinking skills, and progressive learning strategies for middle grade and junior high level students.
This book delves into the history of Afghanistan, its people, and its relationship with neighbors, to unravel the intricate politics and ethnolinguistic diversity of the country. It discusses the history of innumerable invasions which left imprints over the country and its people and created a complex fabric of different ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural groups. The volume looks at the various empires which warred over the land including the Persian, Greek, Mongol, and Sassanid dynasties, as well as the later interferences by the British and the Russians and the emergence of the Taliban. It examines the correlations between war, power politics, religion, local governance, and the opium trade and economy in Afghanistan. The author through personal stories and anecdotes of his visits and journeys in Afghanistan provides a very rich and extensive view of Afghan politics, culture and history. The relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan and Afghanistan’s unique position in the politics of the region is also a thread which runs through the entire book. This book will a great resource (and of interest) to researchers and students of politics, history, Central and South Asian Studies, war and international relations, political economy, and peace and reconciliation studies. It will also interest journalists, diplomats and international development organizations.
Author : Joseph J. Collins Publisher : Simon and Schuster Page : 79 pages File Size : 51,7 Mb Release : 2013-02-22 Category : History ISBN : 9781626361850
Understanding the War in Afghanistan by Joseph J. Collins Pdf
The war in Afghanistan is now the United States’ longest running war. For over a decade, the conflict raging in Central Asia has been the stage for some of the shrewdest foreign policy, fiercest wartime strategy, and most delicate diplomacy the world has ever seen. In a country smaller than Texas—and home to 30 million people—an elusive enemy, shifting tribal dynamics, and bordering countries threaten the stability not only of the region, but of the world. There can be no doubt that the war in Afghanistan, as complex as it is fascinating, will be the defining conflict for generations to come. Understanding the War in Afghanistan is an invaluable primer, a book that aims to clarify and explain the country as well as the war. With chapters on the Afghan people, their culture, the history leading up to the war, the Taliban, 9/11, and the various phases of the fighting itself, Understanding the War in Afghanistan is required reading for anyone wanting to understand one of the most important chapters in U.S. history. Included in the book are detailed physiographic, administrative, and linguistic maps of the country to supplement the author’s nuanced analysis of the region and the war.
Understanding War in Afghanistan by Joseph J. Collins Pdf
This text aims to provide military leaders, civil servants, diplomats, and students with the intellectual basis that they need to begin to prepare for further study of or an assignment in Afghanistan.
Understanding the war in Afghanistan is a critical component of understanding today's geopolitical climate. Yet facts and figures alone aren't able to capture the experiences of the men, women, and children who lived through the war. Through firsthand accounts, historical context, and critical thinking questions, this volume presents a human perspective on a war that continues to influence foreign policy today.
Beyond the 'wild Tribes' by Ceri Oeppen,Angela Schlenkhoff Pdf
Afghanistan and its people, whether in Afghanistan or in its global diaspora, have generated substantial interest and the desire to understand more about the country is widely felt. This title contains chapters on a wide range of issues, which contribute to our understandings of modern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has long been one of the world s most war-torn countries. Beginning in ancient times, one invader after another tried to conquer it, but only a few succeeded. And even those who did seize the country did so with tremendous difficulty. In part, this is because the Afghans are tough, independent-minded folk who do not like being told what to do by foreign intruders. Indeed, they are proud of their traditional customs, including their main religion Islam and their native literature and music. Yet, while they often fight to maintain their time-honored way of life, many of them are willing to try some new ideas. After US forces helped them expel the brutal Taliban in 2002, for example, the Afghans installed a democratic government. It still struggles to control all of the country s far flung tribes. But a majority of Afghans hope that it will eventually bring their ancient land unity, peace, and prosperity.
Understanding the U.S. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by Beth Bailey,Richard H. Immerman Pdf
Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016 Investigates the causes, conduct, and consequences of the recent American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Understanding the United States’ wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is essential to understanding the United States in the first decade of the new millennium and beyond. These wars were pivotal to American foreign policy and international relations. They were expensive: in lives, in treasure, and in reputation. They raised critical ethical and legal questions; they provoked debates over policy, strategy, and war-planning; they helped to shape American domestic politics. And they highlighted a profound division among the American people: While more than two million Americans served in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in multiple deployments, the vast majority of Americans and their families remained untouched by and frequently barely aware of the wars conducted in their name, far from American shores, in regions about which they know little. Understanding the U.S. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan gives us the first book-length expert historical analysis of these wars. It shows us how they began, what they teach us about the limits of the American military and diplomacy, and who fought them. It examines the lessons and legacies of wars whose outcomes may not be clear for decades. In 1945 few Americans could imagine that the country would be locked in a Cold War with the Soviet Union for decades; fewer could imagine how history would paint the era. Understanding the U.S. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan begins to come to grips with the period when America became enmeshed in a succession of “low intensity” conflicts in the Middle East.
Taliban Narratives by Thomas H. Johnson,Matthew DuPee,Wali Shaaker Pdf
Why has the Taliban been so much more effective in presenting messages that resonate with the Afghan population than the United States, the Afghan government and their allies? This book, based on years of field research and the assessment of hundreds of original source materials, examines the information operations and related narratives of Afghan insurgents, especially the Afghan Taliban, and investigates how the Taliban has won the information war. Taliban messaging, wrapped in the narrative of jihad, is both to the point and in tune with its target audiences. On the other hand, the United States and its Kabul allies committed a basic messaging blunder, failing to present narratives that spoke to or, often, were even understood by their target audiences. Thomas Johnson systematically explains why the United States lost this "battle of the story" in Afghanistan, and argues that this defeat may have cost the US the entire war, despite its conventional and technological superiority.
Analysing the Current Afghan Context by Neeraj Singh Manhas Pdf
Afghanistan is on the verge of another transition as it seeks stability and deals with a variety of internal and external issues. After the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist organisation, captured Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, on August 15, 2021. It was the culmination of a military offensive against the Afghan government that began in May 2021. The arrest occurred just hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The majority of Afghanistan's provincial capitals had fallen one after the other as part of a US troop withdrawal scheduled to end on August 31, 2021. Internal political turmoil, constant Taliban attacks across the country, and deadly suicide bombings by the Islamic State-Khorasan keep it busy while external nations play the New Great Game for geo-strategic ambitions both in its front yard and in its backyard. This book highlights all the ongoing issues of Afghanistan's surge and provides the readers with insights into the country's past, present and future. Afghanistan has been a nation of "graves of many nations" who saw it from their own prisms, devoid of realities of the land and the perspective of the people of the nation. Each nation left it more chaotic than when it entered. Afghanistan is today a global tragedy characterized by barbarism, human rights violations and religious fanaticism devoid of humanity. Understanding Taliban 2.0 its genesis and prognosis is thus foundational to understanding the geopolitics of the region. The book has well encapsulated this sphere and is a must read for both academia and professionals. Its detailed research presents a rich resource for understanding the challenges and dynamics of the region. - Lt Gen A B Shivane, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd) Former Director General Mechanised Forces Distinguished Fellow, CLAWS This well-researched and detailed book provides a sharp bird's eye-view of Afghan history. The book flows very well and touches on current events and suggests paths forward. The book is recommended for scholars, academics, researchers, and those who have an interest in studying the geopolitical future of the South Asia. - Professor Swaran Singh, CIPOD, JNU An interesting book on the current geo-strategic hot spot, Afghanistan. Multiple writers have dealt with whole range of issues covering cultural, economic, political, social, and religious history of Afghanistan in a concise and interesting way. Recommended reading. - Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh, PVSM, AVSM & Bar (Veteran) Former Western Army Commander & State Information Commissioner This book is an absorbing read which give the reader an insight into the complexities of the region. It has totally changed the way I think about this beautiful and complex country. If you want to at least "scratch the surface" of learning about Afghanistan, this is a good place to start. This was an excellent book that both gave a very readable overview of Afghanistan's history and an incisive analysis of the current situation facing the country and its future. - Maj Gen Rohit Gupta, SM (Retd)
The American War in Afghanistan by Carter Malkasian Pdf
A New York Times Notable Book Winner of 2022 Lionel Gelber Prize The first authoritative history of American's longest war by one of the world's leading scholar-practitioners. The American war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, is now the longest armed conflict in the nation's history. It is currently winding down, and American troops are likely to leave soon but only after a stay of nearly two decades. In The American War in Afghanistan, Carter Malkasian provides the first comprehensive history of the entire conflict. Malkasian is both a leading academic authority on the subject and an experienced practitioner, having spent nearly two years working in the Afghan countryside and going on to serve as the senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, the US military commander in Afghanistan and later the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Drawing from a deep well of local knowledge, understanding of Pashto, and review of primary source documents, Malkasian moves through the war's multiple phases: the 2001 invasion and after; the light American footprint during the 2003 Iraq invasion; the resurgence of the Taliban in 2006, the Obama-era surge, and the various resets in strategy and force allocations that occurred from 2011 onward, culminating in the 2018-2020 peace talks. Malkasian lived through much of it, and draws from his own experiences to provide a unique vantage point on the war. Today, the Taliban is the most powerful faction, and sees victory as probable. The ultimate outcome after America leaves is inherently unpredictable given the multitude of actors there, but one thing is sure: the war did not go as America had hoped. Although the al-Qa'eda leader Osama bin Laden was killed and no major attack on the American homeland was carried out after 2001, the United States was unable to end the violence or hand off the war to the Afghan authorities, which could not survive without US military backing. The American War in Afghanistan explains why the war had such a disappointing outcome. Wise and all-encompassing, The American War in Afghanistan provides a truly vivid portrait of the conflict in all of its phases that will remain the authoritative account for years to come.
What Went Wrong in Afghanistan? by Metin Gurcan Pdf
Since 20 December 2001 - the date which marked the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to assist the Afghan Government - hundreds of thousands of coalition soldiers from around 50 different states have physically been and served in Afghanistan. Roughly 20 rotation periods have been experienced; billions of US dollars have been spent; and almost 3,500 coalition soldiers and 7,400 Afghani security personnel have fallen for Afghanistan. In this badly-managed success story, the true determiner of both tactical outcomes on the ground and strategic results was always the tribal and rural parts of Muslim-populated Afghanistan. Although there has emerged a vast literature on counterinsurgency theories and tactics, we still lack reliable information about the motivations and aspirations of the residents of Tribalised Rural Muslim Environments (TRMEs) that make up most of Afghanistan. The aim of this book is to describe some on-the-ground problems of counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts in TRMEs - specifically in rural Afghanistan - and then to propose how these efforts might be improved. Along the way, it will be necessary to challenge many current assumptions about the conduct of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Most generally, the book will show how counterinsurgency succeeds or fails at the local level (at the level of tactical decisions by small-unit leaders) and that these decisions cannot be successful without understanding the culture and perspective of those who live in TRMEs. Although engaging issues of culture, the author is not an anthropologist or an academic of any kind. He is a Muslim who spent his childhood in a TRME - a remote village in Turkey - and he offers his observations on the basis of 15 years' worth of field experience as a Turkish Special Forces officer serving in rural Iraq, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. Cultures in these areas are not the same, but there are sufficient similarities to suggest some overall characteristics of TRMEs and some general problems of COIN efforts in these environments. In summary, this book not only challenges some of the fundamentals of traditional counterinsurgency wisdom and emphasizes the importance of the tactical level - a rarely-studied field from the COIN perspective - but also blends the firsthand field experiences of the author with deep analyses. In this sense, it is not solely an autobiography, but something much more.
Traces the political history of Afghanistan from the sixteenth century to the present, looking at what has united the people as well as the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them.
