A Military History of Afghanistan: From the Great Game to - download pdf or read online

The historical past of Afghanistan is basically army historical past. From the Persians and Greeks of antiquity to the British, Soviet, and American powers nowa days, outsiders have led army conquests into the mountains and plains of Afghanistan, leaving their indelible marks in this old land on the juncture of Europe, Asia, and the center East. during this e-book Ali Ahmad Jalali, a former inside minister of Afghanistan, faucets a deep realizing of his country's far away and up to date earlier to discover Afghanistan's army historical past over the past 200 years. With an introductory bankruptcy highlighting the main army advancements from early instances to the root of the fashionable Afghan nation, Jalali's account focuses totally on the period of British conquest and Anglo-Afghan wars; the Soviet invasion; the civil warfare and the increase of the Taliban; and the following U.S. invasion. having a look past power stereotypes and generalizations--e.g., the "graveyard of empires" designation rising from the Anglo-Afghan wars of the nineteenth century and the Soviet adventure of the 1980s--Jalali deals a nuanced and entire portrayal of ways of struggle pursued via either kingdom and non-state actors in Afghanistan opposed to various family and international enemies, below altering social, political, and technological stipulations. He finds how the constitution of states, tribes, and social groups in Afghanistan, in addition to the scope in their managed house, has formed their modes of battling all through background. particularly, his account exhibits how dynastic wars and overseas conquests range in precept, approach, and process from wars initiated by way of non-state actors together with tribal and neighborhood militias opposed to international invasions or repressive govt. Written through a certified soldier, flesh presser, and famous student with a willing analytical seize of his country's army and political historical past, this magisterial paintings deals targeted perception into the army background of Afghanistan--and hence, into Afghanistan itself.