Ghosts of Afghanistan: The Haunted Battleground

354 Pages·2012·2.16 MB·English

by  Jonathan Steele

‘No-one has studied this extraordinary country more closely than Jonathan
Steele, nor charted so meticulously how outside intervention has worsened
internal discord. His is a sobering essay on the empire of folly.’ Simon Jenkins
‘Steele skewers the myths and half-truths that are peddled by politicians,
generals, official spokesmen, and too many commentators.’ Rodric Braithwaite,
Observer ‘Essential reading at a time when the West is pondering the legacy of
its intervention and trying to find a way forward.’ Lyse Doucet In this original
look at the West’s obsession with Afghanistan the ghosts include, of course, the
inevitable innocents who fall in war but also the public myths, official lies and
inconvenient truths that lie behind so much of the bloodshed there.’ Seymour M.
Hersh ‘Jonathan Steele is a 30-year veteran of the twists and turns of foreign
involvement in Afghanistan. He offers a sparely written, fast-paced indictment
of the follies of Afghan’s foreign occupiers.’ Mark Malloch Brown ‘This
excellent book is a painfully honest account of successive unwinnable wars. It is
the textbook Mr Obama and others will need if Afghanistan is ever to be left to
find its own peace and prosperity.’ Jon Snow

FOR RUTH
CONTENTS

Title Page

Dedication

TEN MYTHS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN

CHRONOLOGY

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ANATOMY OF AFGHAN SOCIETY

A MAP OF AFGHANISTAN

INTRODUCTION

[1] WHERE ARE WE NOW?

[2] THE SOVIET INVASION

[3] THE GORBACHEV EFFECT

[4] RECONCILIATION FAILS

[5] MUJAHEDIN DISASTER

[6] TALIBAN TAKEOVER

[7] TALIBAN TOPPLED

[8] WHO KILLED ASAQ?
[9] BACK TO THE WARLORDS

[10] TALIBAN RESURGENT

[11] OBAMA AND KARZAI: THE ODD COUPLE

[12] TALKING TO THE TALIBAN: HOW THE WAR ENDS

[13] THE GIRL WITH THE MISSING NOSE

[14] A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD

CONCLUSION: THE WAY FORWARD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

About the Author

ALSO BY JONATHAN STEELE

Copyright
TEN MYTHS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN

MYTH NUMBER ONE:
The Taliban have little popular support. (CHAPTER ONE, PAGE 43) MYTH
NUMBER TWO:
The Soviet invasion was an unprovoked attack designed to capture new territory.
(CHAPTER TWO, PAGE 63) MYTH NUMBER THREE:
The Soviet invasion led to a civil war and Western aid for the Afghan resistance.
(CHAPTER TWO, PAGE 78) MYTH NUMBER FOUR:
The USSR suffered a massive military defeat in Afghanistan at the hands of the
mujahedin. (CHAPTER THREE, PAGE 108) MYTH NUMBER FIVE:
Afghans have always beaten foreign armies, from Alexander the Great to
modern times. (CHAPTER THREE, PAGE 109) MYTH NUMBER SIX:
The CIA’s supply of Stinger missiles to the mujahedin forced the Soviets out of
Afghanistan. (CHAPTER THREE, PAGE 112) MYTH NUMBER SEVEN:
After the Soviets withdrew, the West walked away. (CHAPTER FOUR, PAGE 136)
MYTH NUMBER EIGHT:
In 1992 the mujahedin overthrew Kabul’s regime and won a major victory over
Moscow. (CHAPTER FOUR, PAGE 143) MYTH NUMBER NINE:
The Taliban invited Osama bin Laden to use Afghanistan as a safe haven.
(CHAPTER SIX, PAGE 204) MYTH NUMBER TEN:
The Taliban are uniquely harsh oppressors of Afghan women. (CHAPTER
THIRTEEN, PAGE 364)
CHRONOLOGY

1747 Afghanistan founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani as modern state

1839–
First Anglo-Afghan War
42

1878–
Second Anglo-Afghan War
80

1919 Third Anglo-Afghan War leads to independence

1919–Reign of Amanullah Khan, who seeks to modernize the country but is
29 forced to abdicate by an armed conservative rebellion

1933–
Reign of Zahir Shah
73

1973–Rule of Mohammed Daoud Khan, who proclaims republic and one-party
78 state; mujahedin groups start armed struggle: beginning of civil war

APRIL: Daoud killed in coup by People’s Democratic Party of
1978
Afghanistan (PDPA)

DECEMBER: Invasion by Soviet troops, Hafizullah Amin assassinated,
1979
Babrak Karmal installed

Mikhail Gorbachev, new Soviet leader, decides on phased withdrawal of
1985
troops
1986 Karmal replaced by Mohammed Najibullah

1988 U.S.-Soviet Geneva accords on withdrawal of Soviet troops

1989 FEBRUARY 15, last Soviet troops leave: civil war intensifies

1992 APRIL: Najibullah government falls: mujahedin forces enter Kabul

1996 MAY: Osama bin Laden invited by mujahedin to return to Afghanistan

SEPTEMBER: Taliban enter Kabul, but civil war continues in north; bin

Laden moves to Kandahar in Taliban heartland

SEPTEMBER: Taliban refuse to hand over Osama bin Laden after 9/11
2001
attacks in the United States

OCTOBER: George W. Bush launches attack on Afghanistan

DECEMBER: Taliban toppled

2002 JUNE: Loya Jirga selects transitional government

2004 Hamid Karzai elected president

MARCH: Barack Obama announces first surge of 21,000 extra U.S.
2009
troops

NOVEMBER: Karzai elected to second five-year term

DECEMBER: Second surge of 30,000 troops announced

2011 MAY: Osama bin Laden killed by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan
JUNE: Obama announces withdrawal of 33,000 troops by September
2012; first contacts between U.S. and Taliban officials are confirmed