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Title: Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban by Larry P. Goodson ISBN: 0-295-98050-8 Publisher: University of Washington Press Pub. Date: October, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Analysis
Comment: I just read Goodson's book and am very pleased. He gives a thorough analysis of the background to the current situation in Afghanistan and explains the existing dangers confronting the country and the region. Finished just before 9/11 the book does not lose any of its relevance.
The most cogent ideas I came away with where the horrifc devastation caused by the Soviet Union in its attempt to take over the country in the 1980s. The problem it has created for Pakistan being a host to the Afghan refugees and backing the Afghans in their war efforts against first the Russians and then the Northern Alliance. Lastly the number of bordering countries and their involvement in Paksitan.
This is an excellent analysis and makes one feel very sorry for the plight of this poor country caught in the middle of the cross hairs of major powers
Rating: 4
Summary: Read this book
Comment: Wow, what a scholarly survey of the Afghan civil war to include the Soviet occupation, the pursuit of power by the competing mujahadeen factions, and the rise of the Taliban. Goodson's tome provides the layman and the scholar a comprehensive account of the recent fighting in Afghanistan that offers a look into the unique nature of Afghanistan with regard to the deep ethno-linguistic cleavages.
The only negative I could see was that it was published about 10 months too early. The big question mark of the Taliban's future has been addressed to a large degree. I can't wait for an updated edition. I would recommend this book strongly to anyone that is curious about how things came to be in Afghanistan. A great companion book would be "Taliban" by Ahmed Rashid or "Fundametalism Reborn?" edited by Maley.
Rating: 5
Summary: A worthwhile read
Comment: Larry Goodson's Afghanistan's Endless War is a gem that shines with solid research and clear prose. This survey of Afghanistan's past will assist anyone who wishes to grasp how this central Asian country became the center of US foreign policy recently. Goodson briefly examines Afghanistan's early history when the country hosted part of the famous silk trade route that connected the occident with the orient. Another section details England and the Soviet Union's reasons for establishing hegemony in Central Asia. Goodson provides solid reasons why each nation's conquest failed in Afghanistan. Lastly, the author presents an overview of Afghanistan just prior to September Eleventh and offers, albeit somewhat dated, future scenarios.
Goodson's purpose is to show how various events within Afghanistan's borders along with foreign intervention have shaped this nation. He contends that "Afghanistan has a singular importance to the region it touches" and does influence its neighbors as well as other foreign nations. The text is filled with facts that support this thesis. In the chapter analyzing the Post-Cold War era, Goodson describes how Pakistan, United States, Russia, Iran, China and others are devoting resources in the quest to determine Afghanistan's future. However, steering Afghanistan's social and economic environment is extremely difficult due to long standing traditions and local laws of indigenous tribes such as the Pushtins, Hazaras, Farsiwans, and among others that are often incompatible with different tribes. According to Goodson, Afghanis are seldom steamrolled or permanently purchased into allying with foreign nations.
Most readers will want information about the inception of the Taliban movement. Goodson argues that the Taliban started when Pushtin Islamic religious students attempted to bring stability to post-communist Afghanistan. Originally funded by the Pakistan government, the Talibans piled up military successes and ended some of the lawlessness and chaos that pervaded Afghanistan. Foes of the Taliban lost military size and strength because of perpetual fighting and later formed a loose coalition of tribes called the Northern Alliance. Although the Taliban never truly gained official recognition as the legitimate government of the Afghanistan, private donations increased to further Taliban control. Additional aid came from "Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries," regional mafia, "heroin smugglers, Osama bin laden," and Unocal (Union Oil). The giant US oil company, Unocal, hoped to build a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan. Unocal gambled on the Taliban establishing stability to the region by defeating the Northern Alliance and oppressing the local population.
Goodson defends his thesis well throughout the text by showing how Afghanistan, a medieval country in the twenty-first century, is inextricably linked to the central Asian region and the rest of the globe. Equally convincing is Goodson's argument that Afghanistan suffers from weak state syndrome in a post-Cold War era. No longer are the two superpowers paying consistent attention to Afghanistan and smaller national powers intermittently commit resources that often perpetuate the imbroglio. Because Afghanistan must rely on outside and sporadic help, the nation fails to develop a strong central government that can "penetrate" local "society, regulate social relationships, extract resources, and ...use resources in determined ways."
One shortcoming of this book maybe, ironically, its attraction: the book is brief. Goodson glosses over some important topics. One example is when the CIA began training Afghanistan soldiers prior to the Soviet invasion. This event needed further explanation. Nevertheless, Goodson's Afghanistan's Endless War is a fitting place to begin comprehending the complexities of Afghanistan. This book is highly recommended
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Title: Afghanistan : A Short History of Its People and Politics by Martin Ewans ISBN: 0060505087 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 17 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, Second Edition by Barnett R. Rubin ISBN: 0300095198 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid ISBN: 0300089023 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban by Stephen Tanner ISBN: 0306811642 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 02 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: War, Institutions, and Social Change in the Middle East by Steven Heydemann, Joint Committee on the Near and Middle East ISBN: 0520224221 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 15 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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