Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

783 Pages·2005·3.35 MB·English

by  Steve Coll

PRAISE FOR GHOST WARS
“Ghost Wars, Steve Coll’s objective—and terrific—account of the long and
tragic history leading up to September 11, is . . . certainly the finest historical
narrative so far on the origins of al Qaeda. . . . Coll’s riveting narrative makes the
reader want to rip the page and yell at the American counterterrorism officials he
describes—including Clarke—and tell them to watch out.”
—James Risen, The New York Times Book Review

“A long overdue look at the peaks and valleys of the CIA’s presence in
Afghanistan through the decades leading to September 10, 2001 . . . a
wellwritten, authoritative, high-altitude drama with few heroes, many villains,
bags of cash, and a tragic ending—one that may not have been inevitable.”
—James Bamford, The Washington Post

“Terrifying and substantive . . . Coll offers a surprisingly cohesive narrative of
the makings of September 11, 2001.”
—Suzy Hans, Salon

“Mr. Coll’s book is well documented . . . Indeed, of the more than one hundred
published books dealing with the September 11th attacks . . . none approach Mr.
Coll’s work for clarity and insight into the agency itself. . . . truly a page turner .
. . an important work.”
—Andrew Wolf, The New York Sun

“Gripping new history of the events leading up to September 11, 2001 . . . Coll
never simplifies a complex situation.”
—John Hartl, The Seattle Times
“Coll’s research is extensive; his access to senior officials of all the principal
countries involved in Afghanistan is nothing short of astounding. . . . With this
book, Coll establishes a reputation as large as that of his Post colleague, Bob
Woodward.”
—Wesley K. Wark, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
“Goes a long way toward explaining the systemic errors that caused the United
States, through five administrations, to fail its most important foreign policy
challenge since World War II. . . . A powerful book, impeccably reported,
containing hundreds of interviews with the principals in the U.S. intelligence and
national security establishments.”
—John Dinges, Newsday
“Steve Coll has distilled the essence of what led to the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks . . . highly readable . . . Beyond that, he did it while holding one
of the most demanding jobs in American journalism. That anyone could write a
book while holding such a job is quite an accomplishment, writing such a
compelling narrative about terrorism and the failures of American intelligence is
a triumph.”
—Ray Locker, The Associated Press
“No one else I know of has been able to bring such a broad perspective to bear
on the rise of bin Laden; the CIA itself would be hard put to beat his grasp of
global events. . . . Coll’s book is deeply satisfying because . . . it’s an inside
account written by an outsider, the most objective history I have read of the
many failures of the CIA and the U.S. government in the region.”
—Ahmed Rashid, The New York Review of Books
PENGUIN BOOKS
GHOST WARS
Winner of a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, Steve Coll has been
managing editor of The Washington Post since 1998 and covered Afghanistan as
the Post’s South Asia bureau chief between 1989 and 1992. Coll is the author of
four books, including On the Grand Trunk Road and The Taking of Getty Oil. He
lives with his wife and three children in Maryland.
PENGUIN BOOKS
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First published in the United States of America by The Penguin Press, a member
of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2004
Published in Penguin Books 2005
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Copyright © Steve Coll, 2004
All rights reserved
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE HARDCOVER
EDITION AS FOLLOWS: Coll, Steve.
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the
Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001 / Steve Coll.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-59420-007-6 (hc.)
ISBN 0 14 30.3466 9 (pbk.)
1. Afghanistan—History—Soviet occupation, 1979–1989. 2. Afghanistan—
History—1989–2001. 3. United States. Central Intelligence Agency. 4. Bin
Laden, Osama, 1957– . I. Title.
DS371.2.C63 2004
958.104'5—dc22 2003058593
Printed in the United States of America Designed by Amanda Dewey
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For Susan,
who understood
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Griff Witte, a 2000 graduate in history from Princeton University and a former
reporter for the Miami Herald, worked for more than a year as my assistant on
this book. He was a full partner in every respect. He contributed research,
reporting, writing, editing, and ideas. He traveled to Afghanistan, Dubai, and
across the United States to conduct interviews with dozens of sources. He wrote
outstanding first drafts of chapters six and seventeen. His intelligence,
persistence, resourcefulness, and high standards strengthened the book elsewhere
in countless ways. He was an ideal collaborator and essential to the entire
project.
Contents
List of Maps
Principal Characters
PROLOGUE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
September 1996
PART ONE BLOOD BROTHERS
November 1979 to February 1989
1. “We’re Going to Die Here”
2. “Lenin Taught Us”
3. “Go Raise Hell”
4. “I Loved Osama”
5. “Don’t Make It Our War”
6. “Who Is This Massoud?”
7. “The Terrorists Will Own the World”
8. “Inshallah, You Will Know My Plans”
9. “We Won”
PART TWO THE ONE-EYED MAN WAS KING
March 1989 to December 1997
10. “Serious Risks”
11. “A Rogue Elephant”
12. “We Are in Danger”
13. “A Friend of Your Enemy”
14. “Maintain a Prudent Distance”
15. “A New Generation”
16. “Slowly, Slowly Sucked into It”
17. “Dangling the Carrot”
18. “We Couldn’t Indict Him”
19. “We’re Keeping These Stingers”
20. “Does America Need the CIA?”
PART THREE THE DISTANT ENEMY
January 1998 to September 10, 2001
21. “You Are to Capture Him Alive”
22. “The Kingdom’s Interests”
23. “We Are at War”
24. “Let’s Just Blow the Thing Up”
25. “The Manson Family”
26. “That Unit Disappeared”
27. “You Crazy White Guys”