THE WRONG WAR

In this landmark book about the Afghanistan war, Bing West draws on his expertise as a combat-hardened Marine, former assistant secretary of defense, and acclaimed war correspondent.

A new context for understanding the war in Afghanistan In a remote village in Afghanistan in 2009, Bing West sat among a group of elders on a parched hilltop, as they met with foreign troops charged with the new strategy of counterinsurgency against the Taliban. The elders expressed their need for a clinic and a mosque. "In return," the sergeant asked, "will you expel the Taliban from your village?" "How can we do that," an old mullah said with a smile, "when you cannot?" In a simple sentence, the old man had destroyed the rationale for the new military strategy. He knew that Afghanistan was the wrong war for counterinsurgency efforts. Foreign troops have been fighting the ten-year war in Afghanistan in order to prevent the country from becoming a launching pad for terrorists. But nation-building and counterinsurgency have proved to be the wrong strategy. Lacking the necessary foundations of democracy, Afghan tribes have taken the billions of dollars of foreign money, while giving no commitment in return. Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West provides a context for understanding the war in Afghanistan, and alternative strategies. If nation-building is too hard to accomplish, and if we can't risk the consequences of a Taliban victory, is there a third way?