In Afghanistan Two Hundred Years of British, Russian and American Occupation

by Loyn, David

• ISBN13: 9780230614031
• ISBN10: 0230614035
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-06-23
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Afghanistan has been a strategic prize for foreign empires for more than 200 years. The British, Russians, and Americans have all fought across its beautiful and inhospitable terrain, in conflicts variously ruthless, misguided and bloody. This violent history is the subject of David Loyn's magisterial book. It is a history littered with misunderstandings and broken promises, in which the British, the Russians, and later the Americans, constantly underestimated the ability of the Afghans.In Afghanistan brilliantly brings to life the personalities involved in Afghanistan's relationship with the world, chronicling the misunderstandings and missed opportunities that have so often led to war. With 30 years experience as a foreign correspondent, David Loynhas had a front-row seat during Afghanistan's recent history.In Afghanistan draws on David Loyn's unrivalled knowledge of the Taliban and the forces that prevail in Afghanistan, to provide the definitive analysis of the lessons these conflicts have for the present day.

Author Biography

David Loyn has been an award-winning foreign correspondent for 30 years for the BBC. He has reported from such places as Moscow, Kosovo, Delhi, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Kabul. His book Frontline: The True Story of the British Mavericks who Changed the Face of War Reporting was shortlisted for the 2006 Orwell Prize. He is currently the BBC's developing world correspondent. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Characters	p. ix
Glossary	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
First Encounters and the First Anglo-Afghan War, 1808-1842
Wild and Strange	p. 11
A War of Robbery	p. 27
Retreat	p. 49
Russian Moves and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1842-1880
The Great Game	p. 65
"Afghanistan as a Whole Could No Longer Exist"	p. 79
Making the Frontier: The Third Anglo-Afghan War and Afghan Reform, 1880-1933
The Oasis War and the Durand Line	p. 97
"Tribes Generally Are Rising"	p. 109
Bolt from the Blue	p. 123
Revolution and the Soviet Invasion, 1973-1994
"Muslim Reactionaries"	p. 135
Charlie Horse	p. 147
"Fighting to the Last Afghan"	p. 159
The Taliban and the U.S.-Led Invasion, 1994-2008
Virtue and Vice	p. 177
Sons of Dost	p. 195
The Chapter Man	p. 213
Notes and Sources	p. 233
Bibliography	p. 251
Index	p. 257
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