A whole generation has grown up in Afghanistan knowing little but the ravages of war. The dramatic overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001 was simply one event in a series of interrelated struggles which have blighted ordinary people's lives over the last three decades, and which continue to interfere with reconciliation and reconstruction.This new edition of The Afghanistan Wars provides a meticulously-documented history of these successive waves of conflict. It explores in detail:. the roots of Afghanistan's slide into disorder in the late 1970s. how the Soviet Union came to the rescue of unworthy clients and was then sucked into a quagmire. the frightening consequences of state breakdown and self-interested meddling by Afghanistan's neighbours in the period after communist rule collapsed. the rise and fall of the Taliban regime. Thoroughly revised in the light of the latest research, the second edition also features a new final chapter which examines post-Taliban Afghanistan, bringing the story up to the present day and mounting a strong case for continuing support for this troubled country.

A new edition of an authoritative account of Afghanistan's wars, thoroughly revised in the light of the latest research and featuring a new final chapter which brings the story up to date

Acknowledgements.- Note on References.- Map.- Introduction.- The Road to War.- Soviet Strategy, Tactics and Dilemmas.- The Development of Afghan Resistance.- The Karmal Period 1979-1986.- The Najibullah-Gorbachev Period 1986-1989.- The Road to Soviet Withdrawal.- Consequences of the Soviet-Afghan War.- The Interregnum of Najibullah 1989-1992.- The Rise and Fall of the Rabbani Government 1992-1996.- The Rise and Rule of the Taliban 1994-2001.- The Fall of the Taliban.- Post-Taliban Afghanistan.- References.- Index.