Afghan Hearts & Minds PDF Download

Author: Shafie Ayar
Publisher: Xulon Press
ISBN: 1612150225
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Shafie Ayar was a 17-year-old medical student at Kabul University when the Russians invaded Afghanistan.

Author: Aaron B. O'Connell
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022626579X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
American and Afghan veterans contribute to this anthology of critical perspectives—“a vital contribution toward understanding the Afghanistan War” (Library Journal). When America went to war with Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11, it did so with the lofty goals of dismantling al Qaeda, removing the Taliban from power, remaking the country into a democracy. But as the mission came unmoored from reality, the United States wasted billions of dollars, and thousands of lives were lost. Our Latest Longest War is a chronicle of how, why, and in what ways the war in Afghanistan failed. Edited by prize-winning historian and Marine lieutenant colonel Aaron B. O’Connell, the essays collected here represent nine different perspectives on the war—all from veterans of the conflict, both American and Afghan. Together, they paint a picture of a war in which problems of culture, including an unbridgeable rural-urban divide, derailed nearly every field of endeavor. The authors also draw troubling parallels to the Vietnam War, arguing that ideological currents in American life explain why the US government has repeatedly used military force in pursuit of democratic nation-building. In Afghanistan, as in Vietnam, this created a dramatic mismatch of means and ends that neither money, technology, nor weapons could overcome.

Author: Hannah Gurman
Publisher: New Press, The
ISBN: 1595588256
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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The first book of its kind, Hearts and Minds is a scathing response to the grand narrative of U.S. counterinsurgency, in which warfare is defined not by military might alone but by winning the "hearts and minds" of civilians. Dormant as a tactic since the days of the Vietnam War, in 2006 the U.S. Army drafted a new field manual heralding the resurrection of counterinsurgency as a primary military engagement strategy; counterinsurgency campaigns followed in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the fact that counterinsurgency had utterly failed to account for the actual lived experiences of the people whose hearts and minds America had sought to win. Drawing on leading thinkers in the field and using key examples from Malaya, the Philippines, Vietnam, El Salvador, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Hearts and Minds brings a long-overdue focus on the many civilians caught up in these conflicts. Both urgent and timely, this important book challenges the idea of a neat divide between insurgents and the populations from which they emerge—and should be required reading for anyone engaged in the most important contemporary debates over U.S. military policy.

Author: Alexander T. J. Lennon
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262621793
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
The limits of military power / Rob de Wijk / - The future of international coalitions : how useful? How manageable? / Paul Dibb / - Forging an indirect strategy in southeast Asia / Barry Desker / - The imbalance of terror / Thérese Delpech / - The new nature of nation-state failure / Robert I. Rotberg / - Democracy by force : a renewed commitment to nation building / Karin von Hippel / - Sierra Leone : the state that came back from the dead / Michael Chege / - Toward postconflict reconstruction / John J. Hamre and Gordon R. / - Building better foundations : security in postconflict reconstruction / Scott Feil / - Dealing with demons : justice and reconciliation / Michèle Flournoy / - Governing when chaos rules : enhancing governance and participation / Robert Orr / - Public diplomacy comes of age / Christopher Ross / - Deeds speak Louder than words / Lamis Andoni / - A broadcasting strategy to win media wars / Edward Kaufman / - Compassionate conservatism confronts global poverty / Lae ...

Author: Matthew Vernon
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 148342233X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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An Epic Adventure into the Heart of the War in Afghanistan Strap your safety belt on tight for this gripping aviation journey into the heart of the Global War on Terror in Afghanistan. Join Navy Lieutenant Matt Vernon, the first US embedded aviation advisor to fly with the Afghan National Army Air Corps' Combat Helicopter Squadron, as he embarks on a unique and daunting mission to train Afghan pilots and not get killed in the process. LT Vernon and his close friend Commander Joey "Doc" Swartz flew side by side with their Afghan counterparts while establishing the Air Corps' first combat medical evacuation detachments in the depths of the largely Taliban controlled sections of Afghanistan. These sailors in arms lived amongst the Afghans, and in doing so bring the untold, inside story of the hearts and minds of the Afghan Air Corps.

Author: Andy Meverden
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781970155105
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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his 79,000-word, 80-chapter (280 pages double-spaced) non-fiction photo-illustrated memoir starts with the author's experience in in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, followed by an "invitation" to deploy with an Army National Guard Green Beret battalion to Afghanistan. This unit association begins with the casualty notification of a forward-deployed unit member and subsequent pre-mob training and JRTC certification. Upon arrival at Kabul Military Training Center, FOB195 picks up two missions in OEF-2: 1) mop up of insurgents and 2) training of the first two brigades of the new Afghan National Army. In addition to unit ministry and the training of Afghan soldiers in human rights (HR) and the law of war (LOW), the battalion intelligence officer (S2) encourages the chaplain to "get out" and develop humanitarian missions to engender good will with the local population. Little did the S2 know that the ensuring conversational English classes at the nearby Pol-e-Charki school would become the bridge to conciliation following a tragic training accident that claimed the lives of four boys from that very school, threatening to derail their training mission. The lead up, tragedy and amazing resolution (through the application of an ancient Afghan ceremony) demonstrate the cultural sensitivity, professionalism and compassion of the Green Berets. The heart-healing story is seen through the eyes of a versatile citizen-soldier chaplain, whose observations and interventions include an amazing series of story lines that are played out in two surprising epilogues.

Author: Gregg Zoroya
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306824841
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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The never-before-told story of one of the most decorated units in the war in Afghanistan and its fifteen-month ordeal that culminated in the 2008 Battle of Wanat, the war's deadliest A single company of US paratroopers--calling themselves the "Chosen Few"--arrived in eastern Afghanistan in late 2007 hoping to win the hearts and minds of the remote mountain people and extend the Afghan government's reach into this wilderness. Instead, they spent the next fifteen months in a desperate struggle, living under almost continuous attack, forced into a slow and grinding withdrawal, and always outnumbered by Taliban fighters descending on them from all sides. Month after month, rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, and machine-gun fire poured down on the isolated and exposed paratroopers as America's focus and military resources shifted to Iraq. Just weeks before the paratroopers were to go home, they faced their last--and toughest--fight. Near the village of Wanat in Nuristan province, an estimated three hundred enemy fighters surrounded about fifty of the Chosen Few and others defending a partially finished combat base. Nine died and more than two dozen were wounded that day in July 2008, making it arguably the bloodiest battle of the war in Afghanistan. The Chosen Few would return home tempered by war. Two among them would receive the Medal of Honor. All of them would be forever changed.

Author: Farzana Marie
Publisher: Worldwide Library
ISBN: 9780985291716
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
In a powerful blend of story and strategic insight, Farzana Marie provides a unique and timely perspective on the conflict in Afghanistan. Realistic and optimistic, she draws on over ten years of personal connection with Afghanistan, including two years deployed as a U.S. Air Force officer, to urge clear thinking and action in the national interests of both the United States and Afghanistan. Arguing that it is not too late for humble, victorious partnership with Afghanistan, "Hearts for Sale!" advocates a vision-oriented, rather than numbers-oriented U.S. policy approach that honors the profound sacrifices made and heeds the desires of informed citizens.

Author: Anthony Shaffer
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 031260369X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Shaffer delivers an exciting, eyewitness account of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan using the military's most cutting-edge espionage tactics. Just before St. Martin's Press release of the book, The Department of Defense and the Defense Intelligence Agency, demanded the author and the publisher produce the book for review. They, and "other interested U.S. intelligence agencies" met with the author to review changes and redactions that they required be made, before the book could be published, in order to "not damage our national security, harm our troops, or harm U.S. military intelligence efforts or assets." Thus, there are sections with redactions in the final book.

Author: Joel Hafvenstein
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9781599215952
Category : Afghanistan
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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