The Afghanistan papers: a secret history of the war
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The groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about the longest war in American history by Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock, a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. 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: to 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 became 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 startling 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 make time to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted 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 shocking account that will supercharge a long overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered. - Publisher.
"The groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about the longest war in American history by Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock, a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist"--
The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support: 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. The US military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. Whitlock shows that no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. The Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. With revelations from people who played a direct role in the war, and admit that the US government's strategies were a mess, Whiotlock provides a shocking account that will change the way the conflict is remembered. -- adapted from publisher info.
"The groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about the longest war in American history by Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock, a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist"--
The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support: 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. The US military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. Whitlock shows that no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. The Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. With revelations from people who played a direct role in the war, and admit that the US government's strategies were a mess, Whiotlock provides a shocking account that will change the way the conflict is remembered. -- adapted from publisher info.
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ISBN:
9781982159009
9781797131542
9781797131542
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | aff4f455-1cd0-3229-739d-9bcf974b27d2 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | afghanistan papers a secret history of the war |
Grouping Author | craig whitlock |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-24 02:05:54AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-24 22:47:40PM |
Solr Fields
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auth_author2
Bittner, Dan
author
Whitlock, Craig
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Whitlock, Craig
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Edward Smith Library
North Branford Libraries
North Branford Libraries
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North Branford/Atwater Adult Nonfiction
North Branford/Smith Adult Nonfiction
North Branford/Smith Adult Nonfiction
display_description
The groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about the longest war in American history by Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock, a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. 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: to 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 became 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 startling 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 make time to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted 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 shocking account that will supercharge a long overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered. - Publisher.
"The groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about the longest war in American history by Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock, a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist"--
The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support: 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. The US military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. Whitlock shows that no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. The Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. With revelations from people who played a direct role in the war, and admit that the US government's strategies were a mess, Whiotlock provides a shocking account that will change the way the conflict is remembered. -- adapted from publisher info.
format_category_nb
Audio Books
Books
Books
format_nb
Book
CD Audiobook
CD Audiobook
id
aff4f455-1cd0-3229-739d-9bcf974b27d2
isbn
9781797131542
9781982159009
9781982159009
itype_nb
ADULT BOOK
ADULT BOOK ON CD
LEAP 28 Day Book
ADULT BOOK ON CD
LEAP 28 Day Book
last_indexed
2024-04-25T04:47:40.170Z
lexile_score
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literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_nb
958.104 Whitlock
owning_library_nb
North Branford Libraries
owning_location_nb
Edward Smith Library
North Branford Libraries
North Branford Libraries
primary_isbn
9781982159009
publishDate
2021
publisher
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster Audio
Simon & Schuster Audio
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Afghan War, 2001-2021
title_display
The Afghanistan papers : a secret history of the war
title_full
The Afghanistan papers : a secret history of the war / Craig Whitlock
title_short
The Afghanistan papers
title_sub
a secret history of the war
topic_facet
Afghan War, 2001-2021
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