AFGHAN WARS 1839 1992 - Hardcover

O'Ballance, Edgar

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Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0080407226 ISBN 13: 9780080407227

Publisher: Brassey's (UK) Ltd, 1993

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Covering the three Anglo-Afghan wars and the recent Soviet occupation and subsequent civil war, this book assesses the place of Afghanistan as a pawn - first in the "great game" between Britain and Imperial Russia for expansion into Asia in the 19th century, and later in the Cold War between the superpowers. Colonel O'Ballance, author of "The Gulf War" and "The Cyanide War", examines the tactics employed by the Soviets and their Afghan allies and the Mujahedin resistance, including the part played by US-supplied technology such as the Stinger missile. The Soviet withdrawal and the bitter internal disputes in which the Mujahedin failed to topple the Najibullah government, whilst themselves engaged in internecine strife in the vast refugee camps in Pakistan, are covered in detail. The author also describes Afghanistan's tumultuous history and its transition from a quasi-medieval region into a nation-state riven by civil war.

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