Afghanistan History

In early 2022, veteran journalist Andrew North was kidnapped by the Taliban. By the time he found himself imprisoned in a jail cell, he had been reporting from Afghanistan for two decades, coming to know hundreds of Afghans along the way. This book brings together both his and their stories.

Afghanistan's strategically significant lands have long been fought over by foreign invaders. Today, as yet another generation risks life and limb in this inhospitable territory, an ever-rising death toll puts back under the spotlight the way the modern war in Afghanistan is being run, and demands answers. Drawing on interviews with Afghan politicians, businessmen and ordinary people, British, American and European diplomats and soldiers, Sandy Gall addresses the challenges that face those now fighting on the most dangerous frontier in the world.

When President Barack Obama ordered the surge of troops and aid to Afghanistan, Washington Post correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran followed. He found the effort sabotaged not only by Afghan and Pakistani malfeasance, but by infighting and incompetence within the American government: a war cabinet arrested by vicious bickering among top national security aides; diplomats and aid workers who failed to deliver on their grand promises; and generals who dispatched troops to the wrong places.

Amber Smith flew into enemy fire in some of the most dangerous combat zones in the world. One of only a few women to fly the Kiowa Warrior helicopter, Smith rose to pilot in command and air mission commander in the premier Kiowa unit in the army, repeatedly flying into harm's way during her 2005 and 2008 deployments with the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles. Smith takes you into the heat of battle, enabling listeners to feel, hear, and smell the experience of serving as a combat pilot in high-intensity warfare

In late June, 2005, media sources recounted the tragic story of 19 US special-operations personnel who died at the hands of insurgent/terrorist leader Ahmad Shah - and the lone survivor of Shah's ambush - deep in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan. The harrowing events of Operation Red Wings marked an important - yet widely misreported - chapter in the Global War on Terror, the full details of which the public burned to learn. Victory Point reveals the complete, as-yet untold story of Operation Red Wings and the follow-on mission, Operation Whalers.

Until the war in Iraq, the Special Forces were the military's counterinsurgency experts. Their specialty was going behind enemy lines and training insurgent forces. In Afghanistan, they toppled the Taliban by transforming Northern Alliance fighters into cohesive units. But in the almost nine years since, Special Forces units have forgone their previous mission, instead focusing on offensive raids.

Nur wenige Monate nachdem in Afghanistan eine über 25-jährige Kriegsgeschichte zu Ende ging, begleitet Roger Willemsen 2006 eine afghanische Freundin auf ihrem Weg in die Heimat: von Kabul nach Kunduz und durch die Steppe zum legendenumwobenen Oxus, dem Grenzfluss zu Tadschikistan – die abenteuerliche Reise durch ein erwachendes Land. Am Ende ist Roger Willemsens Buch weit mehr als der persönliche Bericht von einer faszinierenden Reise, sondern eine literarische Betrachtung der Grundlagen allen Reisens.

In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities - from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions. The history of dogs in the U.S. military is long and rich, from the spirit-lifting mascots of the Civil War to the dogs who lead patrols hunting for IEDs today.

Mit der Operation Enduring Freedom begann am 7. Oktober 2001 der "Krieg gegen den Terror" in Afghanistan, der bis heute zum längsten Krieg der USA und ihrer Verbündeten geworden ist, mit Tausenden Toten und Verletzen, auch unter den deutschen Soldaten. Dieser neokoloniale "Kreuzzug" hat Wunden hinterlassen, die womöglich niemals heilen werden. Emran Feroz beschreibt zum 20. Jahrestag diesen Krieg nun erstmals aus afghanischer Perspektive. Er hat mit vielen Menschen vor Ort gesprochen: von Hamid Karzai über Taliban-Offizielle bis zu betroffenen Bürgern, die vor allem unter diesem Krieg gelitten haben.

The city of Kandahar dates back to the middle of the first millennium BCE, originally as a Persian town on the edge of the great Registan Desert in southeastern Afghanistan, that was reestablished and repopulated by Alexander the Great in the BCE fourth century. The ancient site of Kandahar developed on a rocky ridge some three kilometers to the west of the present-day city of the same name, which was founded in the 18th century.

Die Taliban haben Uber ihren Kampfethos und ihre Kontrollbesessenheit hinaus keine konkreten Vorstellungen, wie sie ein Staatsgebilde, das zuvor schon trotz der Milliarden aus dem Ausland dysfunktional war, zum Funktionieren bringen sollen. Afghanistan ist eine Art Nordkorea mit Bart und HOflichkeitsanspruch, aber ohne Plan.

Since the early 1960s, there have only been twelve years in which American troops have not been in combat, either in a formally declared conflict or otherwise. The vast majority of these have ended in failure, or something close to it. Why has the US been so ineffective, given the fact that the American armed forces are universally recognized as the best in the world? This is the key question James Warren answers here in Outmaneuvered.

Zarifa Ghafari ist die weibliche Stimme Afghanistans. Mit 24 Jahren zur jüngsten Bürgermeisterin des Landes ernannt, versuchen Taliban, sie gewaltsam von der Ausübung ihres Amtes abzuhalten. Trotz der Anschläge setzt sie sich unermüdlich gegen Korruption, für Frieden und Frauenrechte ein. Als Vergeltung wird ihr Vater ermordet. Nach dem Einmarsch der Taliban 2021 muss Ghafari fliehen. Doch ihr Kampf geht weiter. Eindringlich schreibt sie über ihr Leben und ihr Engagement.

Dieses Hörbuch wird die Erinnerung an den Krieg in Afghanistan für immer verändern. Die bahnbrechenden Enthüllungen des Washington Post-Reporters und dreimaligen Pulitzer-Preisfinalisten Craig Whitlock zeigen eindrücklich, wie drei aufeinanderfolgende Präsidenten – Bush, Obama, Trump – und ihre militärischen Befehlshaber die weltweite Öffentlichkeit konsequent über Amerikas längsten Kriegseinsatz belogen.

Colonel Pat Proctor’s long overdue critique of the army’s preparation and outlook in the all-volunteer era focuses on a national security issue that continues to vex in the 21st century: Has the army lost its ability to win strategically by focusing on fighting conventional battles against peer enemies? Or can it adapt to deal with the greater complexity of counterinsurgent and information-age warfare?

What happens when a regular person accidentally finds themselves lost in the middle of a war? In 1991, BBC journalist Chris Woolf travelled to Afghanistan. The government in Kabul was fighting for survival, after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union. The parallels to today are extraordinary. Woolf was visiting a colleague to see if he’d like the life of a foreign correspondent. They hitched a ride with an aid convoy and bumbled straight into the war. They kept going, despite the horror and terror. There was no choice.

Nach 9/11 stürzten die USA die Taliban in Kabul. Es war der Auftakt im «Krieg gegen den Terror». Allein in Afghanistan gab Washington dafür in 20 Jahren mehr als 2000 Milliarden Dollar aus. Doch jetzt sind die Taliban erneut an der Macht. Wie konnte es soweit kommen? Michael Lüders zieht eine schonungslose Bilanz des Desasters am Hindukusch und erklärt, warum der Westen dort scheitern musste.

In the early days of the Afghanistan war, Jeff Stern was scouring the streets of Kabul for a big story. He was accompanied by a driver, Aimal, who had ambitions of his own: to get rich off the sudden infusion of foreign attention and cash. In this gripping adventure story, Stern writes of how he and Aimal navigated an environment full of guns and danger and opportunity, and how they forged a deep bond. Then Stern got a call that changed everything.

Surviving Son is a compelling true story that provides the listener with insight into the life of a combat infantryman who fought in Afghanistan at the same time as his younger brother, Steven, who was killed in action just miles away. Scott takes the listener on a journey through his childhood to his call to service after 9/11.

Barack Obama’s inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of “Change We Can Believe In” was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama’s historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery.