No good men among the living : America, the Taliban, and the war through Afghan eyes / Anand Gopal.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gopal, Anand, 1980-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Afghan War, 2001-2021.

Afghan War, 2001-2021--Personal narratives, Afghani.

Taliban.

Counterinsurgency--Afghanistan.

Counterinsurgency.

Peace-building--Afghanistan.

Peace-building.

Internal security--Afghanistan.

Internal security.

United States--Military policy.

United States.

Military policy.

Afghanistan.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Physical Description:

304 pages : map ; 25 cm

Edition:

First Edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, 2014.

Summary:

"As U.S. troops prepare to withdraw, the shocking tale of how the American military had triumph in sight in Afghanistan--and then brought the Taliban back from the dead. In the popular imagination, Afghanistan is often regarded as the site of intractable conflict, the American war against the Taliban a perpetually hopeless quagmire. But as Anand Gopal demonstrates in this stunning chronicle, top Taliban leaders were in fact ready to surrender within months of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, renouncing all political activity and submitting to the new government. Effectively, the Taliban ceased to exist--yet the American forces were not ready to accept such a turnaround. Driven by false intelligence from corrupt warlords and by a misguided conviction that Taliban members could never change sides, the U.S. instead continued to press the conflict, resurrecting the insurgency that persists to this day. Gopal's dramatic narrative, full of vivid personal detail, follows three Afghans through years of U.S. missteps: a Taliban commander, a U.S.-backed warlord, and a housewife trapped in the middle of the fighting. With its intimate accounts of life in small Afghan villages, and harrowing tales of crimes committed by Taliban leaders and American-supported provincial officials alike, No Good Men Among the Living lays bare the workings of America's longest war and the truth behind its prolonged agony. A thoroughly original expose; of the conflict that is still being fought, it shows just how the American intervention went so desperately wrong"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The last days of vice and virtue

The battle for Tirin Kot

The war from Year Zero

The sewing center of Khas Uruzgan

No one is safe from this

To make the bad things good again

Black holes

Election day

The far end of the bazaar

Back to work

The Tangi

No-man's-land

Stepping out

The leader.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780805091793

0805091793

OCLC:

871037154

Online:

Cover image