Directorate S : the C.I.A. and America's secret wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001-2016
Coll, Steve2018
Books, Manuscripts
From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the acclaimed 'Ghost Wars', this is the full story of America's grim involvement in the affairs of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2016. Steve Coll's remarkable work tells a powerful, bitter story of just how badly foreign policy decisions can go wrong and of many lives lost. 'Spellbinding ... a magisterial account of the great tragedy of our age ... it is a classic' Evening Standard'In the finest traditions of American investigative journalism' The Times'Spectacular ... makes Bourne movies pale in comparison' Financial TimesFrom the Pulitzer Prize winning of the acclaimed Ghost Wars, this is the full story of America's grim involvement in the affairs of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2016. In the wake of the terrible shock of 9/11, the C.I.A. scrambled to work out how to destroy Bin Laden and his associates. The C.I.A. had long familiarity with Afghanistan and had worked closely with the Taliban to defeat the Soviet Union there. A tangle of assumptions, old contacts, favours and animosities were now reactivated. Superficially the invasion was quick and efficient, but Bin Laden's successful escape, together with that of much of the Taliban leadership, and a catastrophic failure to define the limits of NATO's mission in a tough, impoverished country the size of Texas, created a quagmire which lasted many years.At the heart of the problem lay 'Directorate S', a highly secretive arm of the Pakistan state which had its own views on the Taliban and Afghanistan's place in a wider competition for influence between Pakistan, India and China, and which assumed that the U.S.A. and its allies would soon be leaving. Steve Coll's remarkable new book tells a powerful, bitter story of just how badly foreign policy decisions can go wrong and of many lives lost.
Main title:
Author:
Coll, Steve, author
Imprint:
UK : Allen Lane, 2018.
Collation:
xxiii, 757 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781846146602 (hbk)9780718194482 (ePub ebook)
Dewey class:
958.1047958.104
LC class:
DS371.412
Local class:
958.104958.1047
Language:
English
Subject:
Afghan War, 2001-United States. Central Intelligence AgencyAsian historyHistoryMilitary history: post-WW2 conflictsDiplomacyEspionage & secret servicesPolitical corruptionWar & defence operationsAfghanistanPakistanUnited States of America, USA21st century, c 2000 to c 2100General & world historyMilitary historyBattles & campaignsInternational relationsMiddle Eastern historyHistory of the AmericasMiddle EastEarly 21st century c 2000 to c 2050United States -- Military policy -- History -- 21st centuryAfghan War, 2001- -- Military intelligence -- United StatesUnited States -- Foreign relations -- Middle EastMiddle East -- Foreign relations -- United StatesHistory
BRN:
2166192