Book - "Adapting to Win"

A new book about insurgencies has been published. It is named Adapting to Win: How Insurgents Fight and Defeat Foreign States in War. The author, Noriyuki Katagira, teaches in the Department of International Security Studies at the Air War College, United States Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base. The book examines almost 150 instances of violent insurgencies against state governments (including Afghanistan and Iraq) and provides insights into guerrilla operations across the world. His research shows that successful insurgent groups have evolved into mature armed forces and demonstrates what evolutionary paths are likely to be successful or unsuccessful. The book is available at the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Books on Afghanistan

A quick review of several books about Iraq and Afghanistan are provided in "Texas Book Festival: The literary harvest of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars", Dallas News Arts Blog, October 25, 2014.

Book - "Future of Blackwater and Guns for Hire"

Linda Robinson reviews a book entitled The Future of Blackwater and Other Guns for Hire by Anne Hagedorn. The book is in two parts. The first provides background information on the rise of the private security firms on the battlefield (spending a little too much time on the few instances of wayward behavior). The second part of the book delves into the operational need and financial benefits of using contractors. Read the book review here.

Book - "Kidnapped by the Taliban"

The book "Kidnapped by the Taliban" is the story of an American aid doctor who was held captive by the Taliban in 2012. Doctor Dilip Joseph is a medical director for Morning Star Development in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was kidnapped, along with two Afghan colleagues, while visiting one of their medical clinics. He was rescued by Navy SEALs; but unfortunately one of the SEALs died during the rescue. Read an interview of Dr. Joseph in "Colorado Doctor Recounts Kidnap, Rescue in Afghanistan", CBS Denver, October 14, 2014.

Book - "No Good Men Among the Living"

A new book about Afghanistan is now out entitled No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes by Anand Gopal. The author is a Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor reporter. His book would seem to highlight the failures of the Afghan War rather than the successes. You can read a book review by Rory Stewart entitled "Afghanistan: A Shocking Indictment", The New York Review of Books, November 6, 2014 issue.

Book - "War Dogs"

A new book is coming out entitled "War Dogs". It is wrote by Rebecca Frankel and include "tales of canine heroism, history, and love". Read more in "Review: The many roles of 'War Dogs' in Iraq, Afghanistan", Tampa Bay Times, October 8, 2014.

Another Drone Book

It seems that there is an abundance of recently published books on drones. It is hard to keep track of them. I never realized just how many drone experts there were in the world. Yet another one is entitled Predator, the Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution by Richard Whittle - the book was released in September 2014. Whittle has also wrote a book called "The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey". Read a book review of Whittle's drone book here.

Book - COIN in Eastern Afghanistan (2004-2008)

A new book is out on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. It covers the period of 2004-2008 in eastern Afghanistan. "The book looks at how, working with their Afghan counterparts, they engaged in a complex effort to rebuild security, development, and governance, all while fighting a low-intensity war." The book recounts the efforts of American military officers and civilians to help the local government officials and citizens. Robert Kemp was a U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officer who served in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2008. He was the Deputy Director of the Pakistan Desk in Washington and also completed several short-term assignments in Pakistan. You can purchase the book on Amazon.com here:

Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: A Civilian Perspective

Book Review -"Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution"

Richard Whittle, a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., has recently published a book - "Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution". The history of the drones is examined as well as the current use of armed drones in the war against terror. Read a book review in "New Book Details History of Predator Drone", Defense Tech, September 19, 2014.

Book Review - "One Million Steps"

Big West has a new book out entitled "One Million Steps". Bing West, a Vietnam veteran, writes about the Marine's fight in Helmand province. The author tracks the fighting of the 3/5 Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as it secures Sangin district. West is complimentary of the Marine effort in Helmand province but critical of senior military leadership in their implementation of "population centric COIN" country-wide. Read "Book Review: 'One Million Steps' by Bing West", The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2014.

Book Review - "Drone Warfare"

John Kaag and Sarah Kreps have wrote a book entitled Drone Warfare. The book was reviewed by Olivia Mena - a PhD candidate in the Sociology Department at the London School of Economics. She says the book " . . . is an interdisciplinary intervention jointly authored by a political scientist and a philosopher who grapple with how the use of armed drones not only changes the way we wage wars, but also, perhaps our very definitions of war and peace". The book is divided into three sections - the politics of drones, legality of drones, and the morality drones. Read the book review here on the website of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Book Review - "Soldier Girls"

A new book is coming out by Helen Thorpe entitled Soldier Girls. The book takes a close look at the experiences of three women who deployed to a war zone, the cost to the children left behind, and the long-term effects on the women's lives. You can read a book review at "Women's war stories: Sex, stress-relief and mothering from afar", The Washington Post, September 17, 2014.

Book - "The Pomegranate Peace"

A new book has been published called "The Pomegranate Peace" by Rashmee Roshan Lall. The novel is about the failure of the United States reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan - how we threw money away on big and small projects with a lack of expertise and oversight. This story centers around a woman sent by the State Department to run a project that will increase the export of pomegranates to develop the economy, eradicate poppy cultivation, improve the lives of Afghans, and pull support away from the Taliban. The author spent some time in Kabul and relates the life of an American working the war effort on the development front. A recent book review has more "Book Review: The Pomegranate Peace", Fire Dog Lake.com, January 24, 2014. The book is available at Amazon.com - The Pomegranate Peace.

Book Review: "Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror", by Barnett R. Rubin

Barnett R. Rubin, a noted observer (and participant), of the nation building effort in Afghanistan has wrote a book entitled "Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror", Oxford University Press, April 2013. It is a good read (according to the book review linked to below) for those interested in the socio-economic and political history of Afghanistan. It also will be of interest to those who look at the effect foreign powers have on a state. Some of the essays in the book cover human rights, security, narcotics trade, and post-conflict state building. Read a book review here located on the London School of Economics Review of Books website (review by Samay Borom). You can learn more about the book from Amazon.com (or purchase it) at this link: Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror

Gates Book Fuels Distrust between Afghan & U.S.

The newly released memoir by Robert Gates entitled Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War is fueling some distrust between Afghan officials and the United States. There are passages that reference attempts to diminish Karza's chances of reelection in 2009. High-level Afghan officials have used the book to bolster their argument that some new conditions should be met prior to the Afghans signing the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The book has been cited as an additional area of friction for the signing of the BSA by a former ambassador but that it shouldn't be cause for excessive delay or non-signing of the agreement. Read more in "Memoir complicates Afghan security deal", DEFCON Hill Defense Blog, January 12, 2014.

Tom Ricks: Review of "Duty"

Tom Ricks highlights some of the more savory and important parts of the book entitled "Duty" by Robert Gates (former Secretary of Defense). Read his review here.

ISAF Security Force Assistance Guide 2.0

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) published the ISAF Security Force Assistance Guide 2.0 (or SFA Guide) in early January 2014. This comprehensive guide book provides information on Security Force Assistance, functionally-based SFA framework, advisor selection and training, the operational environment, ISAF structure and organization, Afghan Security Institutions, ISAF SFA METL, Afghan National Security Forces (charts, organization structure, mission, etc.) and other valuable information for advisors, trainers, and mentors. Included in the guidebook is a bibliography, acronym list, organization charts, and process maps. Learn more about the SFA Guide 2.0 here.

Recommended Books for Afghan Deployments

A recent post on the "War On The Rocks" blog provides recommendations for books to read prior to an Afghan deployment. The blog post is entitled "Rebooting Country Studies" (published December 31, 2013) and discusses in general the types of books required by individuals studying a world region or country (possibly in preparation for a deployment). Within the context of the article are some books that are recommended if one is inclined to learn a little about how Afghanistan works. The books are by (you have to go to the middle of the article to read this) Taminm Ansary and include West of Kabul, East of New York and Games Without Rules: the Often Interrupted History of Afghanistan

Book - "Funding the Enemy" by Douglas Wissing

A new book on Afghanistan is now available entitled Funding the Enemy: How the U.S. Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban. The author, Douglas A. Wissing, contends that the Taliban has many sources of money to finance its operations. Some of the money comes from contributors overseas - especially the Gulf nations. Another significant source of money is from the opium trade of Afghanistan. Still another source of revenue is from extortion and corruption. Many Afghan corporations are extorted by the Taliban and pay protection money. Cell phone companies, trucking firms delivering supplies to NATO bases, building contractors, and others are paying out money to the Taliban so their personnel and projects do not get attacked or disrupted. Corruption plays a major role in Afghan society and government -  and the Taliban benefits from this as well. Corrupt Afghan government officials divert international aid money intended for government services, security forces, and development projects; and this money sometimes finds its way into Taliban coffers. You can buy the book by clicking on the link below:

Funding the Enemy: How U.S. Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban

Book - War, Will, and Warlords by Robert Cassidy

A new book about counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been published. It is entitled "War, Will, and Warlords: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001-2011". The author is Robert M. Cassidy.  Read a recent book review on it here.  It is available at Amazon.com here War, Will, and Warlords.