One of Vulcans--the eight people who helped shape President George W. Bush's aggressive post-9/11 foreign policy--provides the inside story of how the administration struggled to manage two wars.

A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 ​The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock. Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground. Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.” The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

This report, produced by the International Development Committee (HCP 65-I. session 2007-08), along with oral and written evidence (HCP 65-II, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215513649) examines the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The Committee reached a number of conclusions, including: that reconstruction of the country and its economy will be a lengthy process and that Afghanistan will not meet the UN's Millennium Development Goals by 2015; that any reconstruction process needs to be Afghan-led; that the consequences for global security are significant if the international community abandons Afghanistan. The Committee also set out 50 recommendations, that include: the Committee supports the UK Government's continuing commitment to help bring peace and security to this region, and that Afghanistan needs to remain a major focus for the Department for International Development; that the presence of 7,000 British troops in this region needs the support of the British public, but that DFID needs a media and communications strategy that places greater emphaisis on the achievements in political reform, economic growth and basic services; that the international commitments by the Afghanistan Government to the rights of women are honoured; the Committee recommends the early provision of a dedicated aeroplane for the use of DFID and other Embassy staff in Afghanistan; the Committee expressed disappointment that sufficient international momentum could not be gained for the appointment of a high level joint UN, NATO, EU coordinator, or super-envoy in Afghanistan, and that ways must be found to fully resource the UN Special Representative in the region; that to stabilise security conditions, full cooperation between the NATO forces, the Afghan Government and armed forces is crucial; that further international pressure be placed on Pakistan to control more effectively the Federally Administered Tribal Areas also that controlling drug trafficking between Afghanistan and Pakistan is key to any counter-narcotics policy; that there has been insufficient attention to and funding for the agricultural and livestock sectors which could provide a range of alternatives to Opium poppy production, and that DFID should establish a programme to offer technical advice and training in agricultural extension services and develop a multifaceted rural livelihoods approach. For a report on UK Operations in Afghanistan, see (HCP 408, session 2006-07, ISBN 9780215035073). For an earlier oral and written evidence on reconstructing Afghanistan, see (HCP 772-i, session 2005-06, ISBN 9780215028112).

Rebuilding Afghanistan in Times of Crisis provides academics and researchers interested in planning, urbanism and conflict studies with a multidisciplinary, international assessment of the reconstruction and foreign aid efforts in Afghanistan. The book draws together expert contributions from countries across three continents - Asia, Europe and North America - which have provided external aid to Afghanistan. Using international, regional and local approaches, it highlights the importance of rebuilding sustainable communities in the midst of ongoing uncertainties. It explores the efficacy of external aid; challenges faced; the response of multilateral international agencies; the role of women in the reconstruction process; and community-based natural disaster risk management strategies. Finally, it looks at the lessons learned in the conflict reconstruction process to better prepare the country for future potential human, economic, infrastructural and institutional vulnerabilities.

The interaction of failed states, terrorism and the need for 'nation building' is at the top of the international agenda, with particular focus on Afghanistan and Iraq. This path breaking collection brings together top analysts to examine the goals and challenges facing efforts to reconstruct states that have collapsed into anarchy or have been defeated in war. Drawing on lessons from 50 years of past experience with post-conflict reconstruction and development around the world, the authors provide historical context, identify difficulties that can impede progress and recognize the realistic limitations of ambitions to create new states. They assess ongoing development plans in a country devastated by more than a century of conflict. Throughout, particular attention is paid to the interaction of the goals of external and domestic actors, highlighting the importance of understanding the internal social, economic and political environment of the society receiving assistance.

This book, which reflects the IMF staff's work in Afghanistan from early 2002 through the first quarter of 2004, provides an overview of the institutional and economic achievements in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban period, that is, from late 2001 to early 2004. During this period, the staff focused on helping (often under difficult circumstances) the Afghan authorities quickly establish abasic framework for economic management and policies, including rebuilding key institutions. Reconstructing Afghanistan describes the strong economic recovery that took place during 2002 and 2003; traces the formulation and implementation of the government’s budgetary policy; discusses the progress made in rebuilding fiscal institutions; and outlines the challenges and issues that the authorities faced in the area of monetary and exchange rate policy.

This book will be of interest to readers concerned with the future of Afghanistan and also those with a broader interest in post-conflict rehabilitation in fragile states, providing an important reference for operational agencies and researchers.