In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan.

• Author: McPherson, Dacia
• Position: FURTHER READING - Book review

IN THE GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES: AMERICA'S WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

Seth G. Jones

(New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2009), 352 pages.

For many, the history of Afghanistan symbolizes the failure of foreign intervention. In Seth Jones' In The Graveyard of Empires, however, the RAND consultant frames foreign intervention in terms of possibility rather than inevitable defeat. Jones regards the recent insurgency as a direct result of the government's inability to improve life in rural areas where local Afghans, left in a political vacuum, were persuaded or coerced to support militants. The initial determination of the United States to steer clear of the entanglements of nation building added to this shortcoming.

Drawing an important lesson from the Soviet experience, Jones argues that garnering local support within Afghan clans and sub-clans is indispensable to the success of the current NATO mission. Decoupling the drug trade from politics, while maintaining a balance with powerful political figures who may be involved, is another major task. Jones also details the crucial importance of regional politics. While today Al Qaeda leaders based in Pakistan support the Taliban in opposition to the apostate Hamid Karzai regime, the government of Pakistan also previously...