The Wars of Afghanistan

Starred review from May 16, 2011
Ambassador and special envoy to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992, Tomsen combines scholarship, analysis, and personal experience in an encyclopedic if disturbing history of post-WWII Afghanistan. Tomsen addresses not only America's ignorance of Afghanistan's complex tribal networks but every previous foreign invader who made that error. America's unique blunder, according to Tomsen, has been outsourcing Afghan policy to Pakistan. At Pakistan's insistence, beginning with the 1979 Soviet invasion, the U.S. funneled aid to the mujahideen through Pakistan's military, which was dominated by radical Islamists. Afghanistan lapsed into lawless warlordism after the Soviet 1989 withdrawal. Then the brutal, Pakistan-supported Taliban took control in 1996. Pakistan, happy at receiving an avalanche of aid after 9/11, says Tomsen, stood by as American-supported rebels routed the Taliban, but resumed support of the Taliban when America turned its attention to Iraq. Tomsen explains how to fix things by "genuine Afghanization and de-Americanization." Most important, we must take back control of Afghan policy, stop praising Pakistan for its cooperation, stop pouring in unconditional military aid, and insist that Pakistan must help stabilize Afghanistan. Readers will appreciate his expert, if discouraging, insights and wonder how he would add to his analysis following Osama bin Laden's death. Maps.