[H-PAD] H-PAD Notes 8/20/21: Some sources on background of current events in Afghanistan

[Jim O'Brien]

*Sources on US Role in Afghanistan*

During this past week, there has been an outpouring of articles – many of
them critical of the President’s decision to withdraw the final increment
of U.S, troops from Afghanistan and concerned about the ostensible loss of
“American credibility.”

We have quickly assembled the following list of articles, either written by
historians or by historically oriented writers, which approach the topic
from an anti-militarist perspective.

Carolyn "Rusti" Eisenberg and Jim O'Brien



Gordon Adams,* Afghanistan only the latest US war to be driven by deceit
and delusion
<https://theconversation.com/afghanistan-only-the-latest-us-war-to-be-driven-by-deceit-and-delusion-166256>,
The Conversation, *posted August 17


<https://theconversation.com/afghanistan-only-the-latest-us-war-to-be-driven-by-deceit-and-delusion-166256>

Andrew Bacevich,* Through its Misuse of Military Power the United States
has Made a Terrible Mess in Afghanistan
<https://quincyinst.org/2021/08/16/through-its-misuse-of-military-power-the-united-states-has-made-a-terrible-mess-in-afghanistan>,
**Responsible Statecraft,* posted August 16


Patrick Cockburn, *The US and UK got things so wrong in Afghanistan because
they do no <https://news.yahoo.com/us-uk-got-things-wrong-160633048.html>**t
<https://news.yahoo.com/us-uk-got-things-wrong-160633048.html>**understand
the Afghan way of war
<https://news.yahoo.com/us-uk-got-things-wrong-160633048.html>**, *Yahoo
News, posted August 17


<https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/16/the-generals-lied-and-the-fantasy-died/>

Juan Cole, *Biden Doctrine and Afghanistan:Lean Counter-Terrorism and the
End of Bloated Nation-Building
<https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/doctrine-afghanistan-terrorism.html>,
*Informed
Comment blog, posted August 17


Juan Cole, *Déjà vu All Over Again: The Last Time Mazar-i-Sharif Fell to
the TalibanThere Were Massacres
<https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/sharif-taliban-massacres.html>,* Informed
Comment blog, posted August 15


<https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/sharif-taliban-massacres.html>
<https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/doctrine-afghanistan-terrorism.html>

<https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/08/16/afghanistan-history-taliban-collapse-504977>

Anatol Lieven, *The Generals Lied and the Fantasies Died
<https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/16/the-generals-lied-and-the-fantasy-died>*,
*Responsible Statecraft, *posted August 16


<https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/16/the-generals-lied-and-the-fantasy-died/>

Anatol Lieven, *Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms
<https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/08/16/afghanistan-history-taliban-collapse-504977>,
**Politico*, posted August 16


Samuel Moyn,* Biden Pulled Troops Out of Afghanistan. He didn’t End the
Forever War
<https://quincyinst.org/2021/08/17/biden-pulled-troops-out-of-afghanistan-he-didnt-end-the-forever-war>*
*,*  *Responsible Statecraft, *posted August 17


Paul Pillar, *Taliban and Al Qaeda: If there is no war, there won’t be an a
<https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/19/taliban-and-al-qaeda-if-theres-no-war-there-wont-be-an-alliance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=taliban-and-al-qaeda-if-theres-no-war-there-wont-be-an-alliance>**lliance
<https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/19/taliban-and-al-qaeda-if-theres-no-war-there-wont-be-an-alliance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=taliban-and-al-qaeda-if-theres-no-war-there-wont-be-an-alliance>*,
*Responsible Statecraft, *posted August 19


Vijay Prashad, *The Return of the Taliban 20 Years Later
<https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/19/the-return-of-the-taliban-20-years-later>*,
CounterPunch.org, posted August 19


David Rothkopf, *America's Catastrophic Afghanistan Exit Has Many Fathers
<https://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-catastrophic-afghanistan-exit-has-many-fathers>*,
*The Daily Beast,* posted August 13


Nick Turse, *The Fall of Kabul
<https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/71008-the-fall-of-kabul>*,
Reader Supported News, posted August 16


Katrina vanden Heuvel, *Rather than Focus on How the US Got out of
Afghanistan, Focus on How It Got In
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/17/rather-than-focus-how-us-got-out-afghanistan-focus-how-it-got>*,
*Washington Post, *posted August 17


Robert Wright, *How the Afghanistan War Really Started: And how seeing its
origins in Cold War geopolitics can help us avoid future disasters*
<https://nonzero.substack.com/p/how-the-afghanistan-war-really-started>,
*Nonzero
Newsletter, *posted August 16


*Very Helpful Primary Sources, See especially:*


Special Inspector General Report,
*What We Need to Learn: Lessons from Twenty Years of Afghanistan
Reconstruction
<https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-21-46-LL.pdf>*


National Security Archive,* Afghanistan 20/20: the 20-Year War in 20
Documents
<https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/afghanistan/2021-08-19/afghanistan-2020-20-year-war-20-documents>*,
posted  August 19
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