Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the Cia, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invas Ion to September 10, 2001 - Softcover

Coll, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143034669 ISBN 13: 9780143034667

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2005

Synopsis

Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize

From the award-winning and bestselling author of Directorate S, the explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan

To what extent did America's best intelligence analysts grasp the rising thread of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail? Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Based on scrupulous research and firsthand accounts by key government, intelligence, and military personnel both foreign and American, Ghost Wars details the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan (including its covert operations against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989), the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of bin Laden, and the failed efforts by U.S. forces to find and assassinate bin Laden in Afghanistan.

About this title

Review:

Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again, off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban. He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani and US agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions. At the same time, the book, though opinionated, balances accounts of CIA failures with the success stories, such as the capture of Mir Amal Kasi.

Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records of White House meetings and to formerly classified material, and his command of Saudi, Pakistani and Afghani politics is impressive. He also provides a seeming insider's perspective on personalities such as George Tenet, William Casey and anti-terrorism czar Richard Clarke ("who seemed to wield enormous power precisely because hardly anyone knew who he was or what exactly he did for a living"). Coll manages to weave his research into a narrative that sometimes has the feel of a Tom Clancy novel yet never crosses into excess.

While comprehensive, Coll's book may be hard going for those looking for a direct account of the events leading to the 9/11 attacks. The CIA's 1998 engagement with bin Laden as a target for capture begins a full two-thirds of the way into Ghost Wars, only after a lengthy march through developments during the Carter, Reagan and early Clinton Presidencies. But this is not a criticism of Coll's efforts; just a warning that some stamina is required to keep up. Ghost Wars is a complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource for those seeking a nuanced understanding of how a small band of extremists rose to inflict incalculable damage on American soil. --Patrick O'Kelley, Amazon.com

Review:

"Certainly the finest historical narrative so far on the origins of al Qaeda in the post-Soviet rubble of Afghanistan . . . Ghost Wars provides fresh details and helps explain the motivations behind many crucial decisions."--The New York Times Book Review

"The CIA itself would be hard put to beat his grasp of global events ... Deeply satisfying."--The New York Review of Books

"A well written, authoritative, high-altitude drama with few heroes, many villains, bags of cash, and a tragic ending--one that may not have been inevitable."--The Washington Post

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0143034669
• ISBN 13: 9780143034667
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 736