In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan »

Seth G. Jones serves as an adviser and plans officer for the Commanding General, U.S. Special Operations Forces, in Afghanistan. He lives outside of Washington, DC, and contributes regularly to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Jones was named one of 2008’s ‘Best and Brightest’ young policy experts by Esquire.

A definitive account of the American experience in Afghanistan from the rise of the Taliban to the depths of the insurgency.

The Barnes & Noble Review

A few years ago, the Turkish defense minister bragged that the Turkish contingent in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had finished an entire tour in Afghanistan's Wardak province without firing a shot. To some, including his intended audience of Turks, this boast was cause for approval and appreciation. To others -- presumably the battle-weary American soldiers who complained bitterly that ISAF had come to stand for I Saw Americans Fight -- the boast demonstrated all that was wrong or bogus about the NATO effort in Afghanistan, and epitomized the woes that the Americans would eventually have to redouble their efforts to repair.

In the Graveyard of Empires, Seth Jones's history of post-invasion Afghanistan, is at its best when it describes the follies and occasional acts of heroism emanating from the patchwork of nations that now take collective responsibility for Afghanistan. The coalition he describes includes many dedicated soldiers and canny diplomats, but it errs frequently, and in the end its members amount to just a few fully committed nations: the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and the Netherlands. Most others commit soldiers only in nominal amounts, or halfheartedly -- under the condition, say, that they build roads and schools instead of killing Taliban, even if the Taliban are destroying the roads or murdering the teachers.

List of Maps and Graphs ix

Chronology xi

Introduction xix

1 Descent into Violence 3

2 The Mujahideen Era 23

3 Uncivil War 41

4 The Rise of the Taliban 52

5 Al Qa'ida's Strategic Alliance 69

6 Operation Enduring Freedom 86

7 Light Footprint 109

8 Early Successes 134

9 The Logic of Insurgency 151

10 Collapse of Law and Order 163

11 A Growing Cancer 183

12 The Perfect Storm 203

13 A Three-Front War 223

14 National Caveats 238

15 The Water Must Boil 256

16 Al Qa'ida: A Force Multiplier 279

17 In the Eye of the Storm 296

18 Back to the Future 313

Afterword 327

Acknowledgments 341

Notes 345

Index 417