Prelude to Afghanistan
Prelude to Afghanistan

Author: John G. Bigelow

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2013-03-06

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1481709380

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This story began long ago in the back seat of a Harvard WWII trainer, and ended years later in the cockpit of an Airbus A320. In between, the author flew World War II cargo airplanes in the Arctic, crop-dusted and crashed in Idaho, flew whore-house charters to Nevada in a DC-3, DC-6s and DC-7s across the Pacific and Atlantic. He had a closet full of uniforms when, in 1966, he was hired by Pan Am The Worlds Most Experienced Airline. Twenty-three years later, the once-proud airline was on its knees. Fortune blessed him again, and he took up residence in southern France, employed as an instructor and test pilot with Airbus Industrie. This is a fictional account of some of that journey the central player, Clay Hutchinson. We see Clay: Confronting inauspicious beginnings and frequent, humbling failures. We see him crawling out of a dark hole, and setting off on a long trip, learning along the way how to become a better human being. This is a recollection of an unfinished journey during which, Clay discovers Afghanistan. And there, he grows up a little. Not entirely. Never entirely.

Games without Rules
Games without Rules

Author: Tamim Ansary

Publisher: Public Affairs

Published: 2014-03-04

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1610393198

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By the author of Destiny Disrupted: an enlightening, accessible history of modern Afghanistan from the Afghan point of view, showing how Great Power conflicts have interrupted its ongoing, internal struggle to take form as a nation

Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Author: Anthony Arnold

Publisher: Hoover Press

Published: 1985-06-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9780817982133

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On December 27, 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan to save an endangered communist regime. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, founded in 1965 but almost immediately riven into two hostile wings, had been induced by Moscow into unifying in 1977 in order to seize power the following year. Within weeks, however, the majority Khalqi faction had driven out the rival Parchamis, only to discover that its rigid Marxism-Leninism was no match for Islam. As the Khalqi position deteriorated, Moscow thought to regain control by forceful replacement of the PDPA leaders with Parchamis. Instead, their invasion only consolidated popular determination to eject an alien ideology. In Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism, Anthony Arnold brings these dramatic developments to life, examining Parcham and Khalq in the context of the cultural, ethnic, and class factors that distinguish their leaders and separate constituencies. He analyzes the PDPA's development through 1982 and closes with speculation on the degree of Soviet commitment to communism in Afghanistan. Written in a lively, penetrating style, yet with a wealth of detail and analysis, Arnold's book reflects the intimate feel for the country that he acquired while serving there. His multilingual source material includes hitherto classified documents, and the appendixes (biographic sketches of PDPA leaders, translations of key party documents, charts of party and state personnel changes) will provide valuable sources for other researchers.

Democracy under God
Democracy under God

Author: Dawood Ahmed

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-02-28

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1009325078

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The place of Islam in constitutions invites fierce debate from scholars and politicians alike. Many of these debates assume an inherent conflict between constitutional Islam and 'secular' values of liberal democracy and human rights. Using case studies from several Muslim-majority states, this book surveys the history and role of Islam in constitutions. Tracing the origins of constitutional Islam, Dawood Ahmed and Muhammad Zubair Abbasi argue that colonial history and political bargaining were pivotal factors in determining whether a country adopted Islam, and not secularism, in its constitution. Contrary to the common contention that the constitutional incorporation of Islam is generally antithetical to human rights, Ahmed and Abbasi show not only that Islam has been popularly demanded and introduced into constitutions during periods of 'democratization' and 'modernization' but also that constitutional Islamization has frequently been accompanied by an expansion in constitutional human rights.

Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror
Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror

Author: Barnett R. Rubin

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013-03-15

Total Pages: 540

ISBN-13: 0199970416

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One of our foremost authorities on modern Afghanistan, Barnett R. Rubin has dedicated much of his career to the study of this remote mountain country. He served as a special advisor to the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke during his final mission to the region and still serves the Obama administration under Holbrooke's successor, Ambassador Marc Grossman. Now Rubin distills his unmatched knowledge of Afghanistan in this invaluable book. He shows how the Taliban arose in resistance to warlords some of whom who were raping and plundering with impunity in the vacuum of authority left by the collapse of the Afghan state after the Soviet withdrawal. The Taliban built on a centuries-old tradition of local leadership by students and teachers at independent, rural madrasas--networks that had been marginalized by the state-building royal regime that was itself destroyed by the Soviets and radicalized by the resistance to the invasion. He examines the arrival of Arab Islamists, the missed opportunities after the American-led intervention, the role of Pakistan, and the challenges of reconstruction. Rubin provides first-hand accounts of the bargaining at both the Bonn Talks of 2001 and the Afghan Constitutional Loya Jirga of 2003-2004, in both of which he participated as a UN advisor. Throughout, he discusses the significance of ethnic rivalries, the drug trade, human rights, state-building, US strategic choices, and international organizations, analyzing the missteps in these areas taken by the international community since 2001. The book covers events till the start of the Obama administration, and the final chapters provide an inside look at some of the thinking that is shaping today's policy debates inside the administration. Authoritative, nuanced, and sweeping in scope, Afghanistan in the Post-Cold War Era provides deep insight into the greatest foreign policy challenge facing America today.

Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Author: Angelo Rasanayagam

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2003-02-21

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0857710060

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Since September 11th, 2001, Afghanistan has dominated the news, as it did for a long time during the Soviet occupation two decades ago, and long before, when, in the 19th and early 20th century, its mountain ranges formed the backdrop to the Great Game. In the Western imagination it is one of the most romantic, as well as harsh, beautiful and dangerous places on earth. Squeezed as it is between four empires – Russia, China, India and Persia – its tortured history provides and extraordinary glimpse into the patterns of world movements. Today Afghanistan sits at the pivotal point of a region where a new Great Game is taking shape for the War on Terror and control of the oil-rich steppes of Central Asia. Angelo Rasanayagam's magisterial work – the fruit of personal experience as well as years of scholarship – is the first major history of modern Afghanistan. It traces the country's development from the accession of Abdul Rahman Khan, the 'Iron Amir' in the 1889, right up to the demise of the Taliban under US bombing over the winter of 2001, and the search for a new state structure in 2002. Of vital importance for understanding the country's current crisis, it will be essential reading for historians, policy makers, journalists, students, and all those interested in the state of the world today. “well-written, succinct, accessible, analytical, objective and balanced – this is one of the best introductions to the history of modern Afghanistan available to the general public.” Baqer Moin, Head of the Persian Service, BBC. “Excellent – a veritable textbook, and a reference source for anyone interested in Afghanistan” Dr. Thomas Withington, Jane's Intelligence Review and King's College, London. “Rasanayagam's work connects a difficult past with a difficult present in order to extract necessary lessons for the future. He presents a complex history, which will be understood by the general reader, drawing attention to a large range of issues in the contemporary world.” Zahir Tanin, Producer for the Eurasian Region, BBC

Building a New Afghanistan
Building a New Afghanistan

Author: Robert I. Rotberg

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2007-08-29

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0815775652

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A Brookings Institution Press and World Peace Foundation publication In the wake of the Taliban nightmare, Afghanistan must tackle serious problems before it can emerge as a confident, independent nation. Security in this battered state continues to deteriorate; suicide bombings, convoy ambushes, and insurgent attacks are all too common. Effective state building will depend upon eliminating the national security crisis and enhancing the rule of law. This book offers a blueprint for moving the embattled nation toward greater democracy and prosperity. Robert Rotberg and his colleagues argue that the future success of state building in Afghanistan depends on lessening its dependence on opium and enhancing its economic status. Many of Afghanistan's security problems are related to poppy growing, opium and heroin production, and drug trafficking. Building a New Afghanistan suggests controversial new alternatives to immediate eradication, which is foolish and counter-productive. These options include monetary incentives for growing wheat, a viable local crop. Greater wheat production would feed hungry Afghans while reducing narco-trafficking and the terror that comes with it. Integrating this land-locked country into the Central Asia or greater Eurasia economy would open up trading partnerships with its northern and western neighbors as well as with Pakistan, India, and possibly China. Developing a sense of common purpose among citizens would benefit the economy and could help to unite the nation. Perhaps most important, bolstering better governance in Afghanistan is necessary in order to eliminate chaos and corruption and enact nationwide reforms. Fresh and insightful, Building a New Afghanistan shows what the country's leadership and the international community should do to resolve dangerous issues and bolster a still fragile state. Contributors include Cindy Fazey (University of Liverpool), Ali Jalali (former minister of the interior, Afghanistan, and National Defense University), Hekmat Karzai (Centre for Conflict and Peace

A Bibliography Of Afghanistan
A Bibliography Of Afghanistan

Author: K. S. McLachlan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-09-11

Total Pages: 619

ISBN-13: 0429728670

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This up-to-date, comprehensive, thematically indexed bibliography devoted to Afghanistan now and yesterday will help readers to efficiently find their way in the massive secondary literature available. Following the pattern established by one of its major data sources, viz. the acclaimed Index Islamicus, both journal articles and book publications are included and expertly indexed. An indispensable entry for all those taking professional or personal interest in a nation so much the focus of attention today.

Afghanistan, Iraq and Post-conflict Governance
Afghanistan, Iraq and Post-conflict Governance

Author: A. Imtiaz Hussain

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9004180338

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A comparative study is made of how conflict-terminating negotiations led to maiden democratic elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, pointing various thresholds out through specific chapters, invoking negotiations theories/stages to deepen interpretations, and prospecting the Bush Doctrine's future mileage in democratizing the Middle East.