Book War Comes to Garmser : Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier by Carter Malkasian FB2, DJV, DOC
9780199390014 English 0199390010 If you want to understand Afghanistan, writes Carter Malkasian, you need to understand what has happened on the ground, in the villages and countryside that were on the frontline. These small places are the heart of the war. Modeled on the classic Vietnam War book, War Comes to Long An, Malkasian's War Comes to Garmser promises to be a landmark account of the war in Afghanistan. The author, who spent nearly two years in Garmser, a community in war-torn Helmand province, tells the story of this one small place through the jihad, the rise and fall of Taliban regimes, and American and British surge. Based on his conversations with hundreds of Afghans, including government officials, tribal leaders, religious leaders, and over forty Taliban, and drawing on extensive primary source material, Malkasian takes readers into the world of the Afghans. Through their feuds, grievances, beliefs, and way of life, Malkasian shows how the people of Garmser have struggled for three decades through brutal wars and short-lived regimes. Beginning with the victorious but destabilizing jihad against the Soviets and the ensuing civil war, he explains how the Taliban movement formed; how, after being routed in 2001, they returned stronger than ever in 2006; and how Afghans, British, and Americans fought with them thereafter. Above all, he describes the lives of Afghans who endured and tried to build some kind of order out of war. While Americans and British came and went, Afghans carried on, year after year. Afghanistan started out as the good war, the war we fought for the right reasons. Now for many it seems a futile military endeavor, costly and unwinnable. War Comes to Garmser offers a fresh, original perspective on this war, one that will redefine how we look at Afghanistan and at modern war in general., War in Afghanistan will never be understood without getting to grips with the small places- the provinces, districts, and villages-where most of the fighting occurred. It is in those places that we can truly find answers to the question that lay at the heart of the war: Why people support the Taliban? Did intervention bring peace? Was a better outcome ever possible? Garmser is a small place that has seen much violence, and its 150,000 people inhabit a fertile yet narrow strip along the Helmand River. Carter Malkasian served in Garmser district as a political officer for the US State Department, and in War Comes to Garmser, he tells the history of thirty years of war, from 1979 to 2012. He explains the origins of the Taliban, which was defeated in 2003 but returned, stronger than ever, in 2006, and tells how Afghans, British, and Americans fought against them afterward. Above all, he describes the lives of Afghans who endured and tried to build some kind of order out of war. While Americans and British came and went, they carried on, year after year, inhabitants of a small place. Book jacket.
9780199390014 English 0199390010 If you want to understand Afghanistan, writes Carter Malkasian, you need to understand what has happened on the ground, in the villages and countryside that were on the frontline. These small places are the heart of the war. Modeled on the classic Vietnam War book, War Comes to Long An, Malkasian's War Comes to Garmser promises to be a landmark account of the war in Afghanistan. The author, who spent nearly two years in Garmser, a community in war-torn Helmand province, tells the story of this one small place through the jihad, the rise and fall of Taliban regimes, and American and British surge. Based on his conversations with hundreds of Afghans, including government officials, tribal leaders, religious leaders, and over forty Taliban, and drawing on extensive primary source material, Malkasian takes readers into the world of the Afghans. Through their feuds, grievances, beliefs, and way of life, Malkasian shows how the people of Garmser have struggled for three decades through brutal wars and short-lived regimes. Beginning with the victorious but destabilizing jihad against the Soviets and the ensuing civil war, he explains how the Taliban movement formed; how, after being routed in 2001, they returned stronger than ever in 2006; and how Afghans, British, and Americans fought with them thereafter. Above all, he describes the lives of Afghans who endured and tried to build some kind of order out of war. While Americans and British came and went, Afghans carried on, year after year. Afghanistan started out as the good war, the war we fought for the right reasons. Now for many it seems a futile military endeavor, costly and unwinnable. War Comes to Garmser offers a fresh, original perspective on this war, one that will redefine how we look at Afghanistan and at modern war in general., War in Afghanistan will never be understood without getting to grips with the small places- the provinces, districts, and villages-where most of the fighting occurred. It is in those places that we can truly find answers to the question that lay at the heart of the war: Why people support the Taliban? Did intervention bring peace? Was a better outcome ever possible? Garmser is a small place that has seen much violence, and its 150,000 people inhabit a fertile yet narrow strip along the Helmand River. Carter Malkasian served in Garmser district as a political officer for the US State Department, and in War Comes to Garmser, he tells the history of thirty years of war, from 1979 to 2012. He explains the origins of the Taliban, which was defeated in 2003 but returned, stronger than ever, in 2006, and tells how Afghans, British, and Americans fought against them afterward. Above all, he describes the lives of Afghans who endured and tried to build some kind of order out of war. While Americans and British came and went, they carried on, year after year, inhabitants of a small place. Book jacket.