An Intimate War

An Intimate War PDF Author: Mike Martin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190237910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
An Intimate War tells the story of the last thirty-four years of conflict in Helmand Province, Afghani- stan as seen through the eyes of the Helmandis. In the West, this period is often defined through different lenses - the Soviet intervention, the civil war, the Taliban, and the post-2001 nation-building era. Yet, as experienced by local inhabitants, the Helmand conflict is a perennial one, involving the same individuals, families and groups, and driven by the same arguments over land, water and power. This book - based on both military and re- search experience in Helmand and 150 inter- views in Pashto - offers a very different view of Helmand from those in the media. It demonstrates how outsiders have most often misunderstood the ongoing struggle in Helmand and how, in doing so, they have exacerbated the conflict, perpetuated it and made it more violent - precisely the opposite of what was intended when their interventions were launched. Mike Martin's oral history of Helmand under- scores the absolute imperative of understanding the highly local, personal, and non-ideological nature of internal conflict in much of the 'third' world.

An Intimate War

An Intimate War PDF Author: Mike Martin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190237910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

Get Book Here

Book Description
An Intimate War tells the story of the last thirty-four years of conflict in Helmand Province, Afghani- stan as seen through the eyes of the Helmandis. In the West, this period is often defined through different lenses - the Soviet intervention, the civil war, the Taliban, and the post-2001 nation-building era. Yet, as experienced by local inhabitants, the Helmand conflict is a perennial one, involving the same individuals, families and groups, and driven by the same arguments over land, water and power. This book - based on both military and re- search experience in Helmand and 150 inter- views in Pashto - offers a very different view of Helmand from those in the media. It demonstrates how outsiders have most often misunderstood the ongoing struggle in Helmand and how, in doing so, they have exacerbated the conflict, perpetuated it and made it more violent - precisely the opposite of what was intended when their interventions were launched. Mike Martin's oral history of Helmand under- scores the absolute imperative of understanding the highly local, personal, and non-ideological nature of internal conflict in much of the 'third' world.

Operation Snakebite

Operation Snakebite PDF Author: Stephen Grey
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141038306
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
In December 2007, Stephen Grey, a Sunday Times reporter, was under fire in Afghanistan as British and US forces struggled to liberate the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala. Taking shelter behind an American armoured Humvee, Grey turned his head to witness scenes of carnage. A car and a truck were riddled with gunfire. Their occupants, including several children, had died. Taliban positions were pounded by bullets and bombs dropped on their compounds. A day later, as the operation continued, a mine exploded just yards from Grey, killing a British soldier. Who, he wondered in the days that followed, was responsible for the bloodshed? And what purpose did it serve? A compelling story of one military venture that lasted several days, Operation Snakebite draws on Grey's exclusive interviews with everyone from private soldiers to NATO commanders. The result is a thrilling and at times horrifying story of a war which has gone largely unnoticed back home.

Unwinnable

Unwinnable PDF Author: Theo Farrell
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473522404
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 515

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Book Description
Afghanistan was an unwinnable war. As British and American troops withdraw, discover this definitive account that explains why. It could have been a very different story. British forces could have successfully withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2002, having done the job they set out to do: to defeat al-Qaeda. Instead, in the years that followed, Britain paid a devastating price for their presence in Helmand province. So why did Britain enter, and remain, in an ill-fated war? Why did it fail so dramatically, and was this expedition doomed from the beginning? Drawing on unprecedented access to military reports, government documents and senior individuals, Professor Theo Farrell provides an extraordinary work of scholarship. He explains the origins of the war, details the campaigns over the subsequent years, and examines the West's failure to understand the dynamics of local conflict and learn the lessons of history that ultimately led to devastating costs and repercussions still relevant today. 'The best book so far on Britain's...war in Afghanistan' International Affairs 'Masterful, irrefutable... Farrell records all these military encounters with the irresistible pace of a novelist' Sunday Times

Pride and Fall

Pride and Fall PDF Author: Sergio Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472868285
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 610

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Book Description
A detailed new account of the British military campaign in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014, based on the experiences of those who served. On 11 September 2001 19 al-Qaeda-inspired jihadists hijacked four aircraft and mounted the deadliest terrorist attack in history. The outrage triggered a chain of events that saw British forces drawn into a lengthy military campaign against a fierce insurgency in Afghanistan. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, NATO invoked Article 5 of the Washington Treaty that obligated military assistance to the United States. The British government supported the initial US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and subsequently committed troops to Kabul and northern Afghanistan from 2002 onwards. However, in January 2006, following NATO's expansion southwards, Britain committed a battlegroup from the Parachute Regiment to Helmand Province in what became known as Operation Herrick, with Defence Secretary John Reid stating he 'would be perfectly happy to leave in three years and without firing one shot'. The reality was very different. From 2006 to 2014, a succession of British task forces rotated through Helmand and fought against an implacable enemy. When they finally withdrew in 2014, British forces had suffered losses of more than 450 killed and 2,000 wounded. The Taliban were not defeated and would grow stronger. Sergio Miller served in Defence Intelligence in Whitehall throughout the campaign, and Pride and Fall answers the many questions surrounding the conflict. Based on abundant open-source material generated by the war and first-hand testimonies, this is the story of the men and women who served.

Military Medicine in Iraq and Afghanistan

Military Medicine in Iraq and Afghanistan PDF Author: Ian Greaves
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351372157
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 1284

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Book Description
Many, if not most, of the recent improvements in trauma care in civilian practice have developed from military experience. The British Defence Medical Services have been recognised as providers of exemplary health care. Although there will is an emphasis on trauma, this book also captures lessons from internal medicine and infectious disease, ethics (for example dealing with detainees – a particularly controversial subject), human factors, mental health issues and rehabilitation.Military Medicine provides the evidence and context for these innovations, and its unique and important account will be of interest to both military and civilian practitioners alike.

Afghanistan's Violent Decades

Afghanistan's Violent Decades PDF Author: Stanley B. Sprague
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476691851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
This book examines the key political and military events in Afghanistan from 1978 to August 2021. It covers the Afghan-Soviet war and how that war was followed by an Afghan Civil War that made the country receptive to the rise of the Afghan Taliban. It explains how the Taliban secured control of Afghanistan's government, and permitted Osama bin Laden to reside in the country while he secretly planned an attack on the American mainland. It also covers why Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, flew hijacked airliners into New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It describes how American and NATO forces responded by invading Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda and to overthrow the Taliban government. The 20-year Afghan-NATO war which followed would lead to American troops suffering 2,488 dead and 20,722 wounded. This book is one of the first to cover this long war written after the war ended in August 2021, giving it a new perspective. It offers an even-handed coverage of the war based on Taliban, American, and British sources.

Enduring Freedom

Enduring Freedom PDF Author: Ambush Alley Games
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849085331
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
This latest expansion for Force on Force provides players with everything they need to recreate battles in the deserts of modern Afghanistan. Beginning with a detailed background section, the book presents extensive orders of battle for all of the combatants, including the Coalition, Northern Alliance, Taliban and Al-Qaeda. It also presents numerous new scenarios, new mission objectives and guidelines for constructing your own scenarios. This book is an indispensable guide for depicting the complex and intense pressures of combat in Afghanistan on the tabletop.

The Unknown Enemy

The Unknown Enemy PDF Author: Christian Tripodi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108424600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Exposes the fallacy that an increased degree of socio-cultural understanding leads to a greater chance of success in counterinsurgency operations.

S.W.I.F.T.

S.W.I.F.T. PDF Author: Ryan R. Liberty
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
S.W.I.F.T. A War's Dawn By: Ryan R. Liberty It is a time of armistice in the distant galaxy of Zaundos as Grand General Raymond Justice welcomes new recruits to the Republic of SWIFT's Amphibious Army Corps. Shortly after Raymond takes star recruit Kate Aloe under his wing, an attack from a mysterious new enemy prompts SWIFT to take up arms and return fire. Raymond faces an unexpected challenge as a familiar face appears among the enemy ranks.

The UK's foreign policy approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan

The UK's foreign policy approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215556592
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
In this report the Foreign Affairs Committee calls on the British Government to use its influence to persuade the US to engage more fully, and swiftly, with the process of political reconciliation in Afghanistan if the US wishes to disengage its forces there. Although the current international emphasis favours intense military pressure, aimed at defeating the insurgency, it is clear that military pressure alone is not enough to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. The evidence presented to the Committee has suggested that the current full-scale and highly-intensive ISAF counter-insurgency campaign is not succeeding. The Committee question the fundamental assumption that success in Afghanistan can be 'bought' through a strategy of 'clear, hold and build'. The distinction between al-Qaeda and the Taliban is crucial to generating appropriate policy responses in Afghanistan. The Committee says that despite the significant resources that have been invested in Afghanistan, and the enduring, wholehearted and admirable commitment and sacrifices of British personnel, the UK has not yet achieved its stated goals. There is also evidence that the core foreign policy justification for the UK's continued presence in Afghanistan, namely that it is necessary in the interests of UK national security, may have been achieved some time ago, given the apparently limited strength of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The security rationale behind the UK Government's decision to announce the 2015 deadline for the unconditional withdrawal of UK combat forces remains unclear and there are a number of potential risks inherent in such an approach.