Bøger om Afghanistan

From the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter of The Theory of Everything comes a revisionist look at the period immediately following Winston Churchill's ascendancy to Prime Minister--soon to be a major motion picture starring Gary Oldman. May 1940. Britain is at war, Winston Churchill has unexpectedly been promoted to Prime Minister, the horrors of Blitzkreig witness one western European Democracy fall after another in rapid succession. Facing this horror, with pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, Churchill wonders what words could capture the public mood when the invasion of Britain seems mere hours away.It is this fascinating period that Anthony McCarten captures in this deeply researched and wonderfully written new book, The Darkest Hour. A day-by-day (and often hour-by-hour) narrative of this crucial moment in history provides a revisionist look at Churchill--a man plagued by doubt through those turbulent weeks--but who emerged having made himself into the iconic, lionized figure we remember.

The archetype of 'my enemy's enemy is my friend', India's political and economic presence in Afghanistan is often viewed as a Machiavellian ploy aimed against Pakistan. The first of its kind, this book interrogates that simplistic yet powerful geopolitical narrative and asks what truly drives India's Afghanistan policy.

In 2010, Sergeant Craig Grossi was doing intelligence work for Marine RECON in a remote part of Afghanistan. While on patrol, he spotted a young dog who didn't seem vicious or run in a pack like most strays they'd encountered. After eating a piece of beef jerky Craig offered, the dog began to follow him and a life-changing friendship was forged.Fred not only stole Craig's heart; he won over the RECON fighters, who helped Craig smuggle the dog into heavily fort-ified Camp Leatherneck. With the help of a crew of DHL workers, a vet, and a military dog handler, Fred eventually made it to Craig's family in Virginia. When Craig returned to the U.S., it was Fred's turn to save the marine from the battlefield demons he carried. Today, Craig and Fred are touching lives nationwide.

A Black Hawk Down of the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest day for the U.S. in 12 years of that conflict--and a military investigation that covered up evidence of an inside job by the Taliban. Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United States Attorney, has in his possession one of four copies of The Colt Report, which reveals a possible cover-up in relation to the August 6, 2011, killing of 30 men from the United States, including 17 members of Navy Seal Team Six--warrior brothers from the same Team that ninety days before killed Osama Bin Laden--potentially by undercover Taliban operatives.

"A raw and authentic war story about untamed Green Berets in action."-Dalton Fury, New York Times bestselling author of Kill Bin Laden Southern Afghanistan was slipping away. That was clear to then-Captain Rusty Bradley as he began his third tour of duty there in 2006. The Taliban and their allies were infiltrating everywhere, poised to reclaim Kandahar Province, their strategically vital onetime capital. To stop them, the NATO coalition launched Operation Medusa, the largest offensive in its history. Dispatched as a diversionary force in support of the main coalition attack, Bradley's Special Forces A-team watched as the NATO force was quickly engulfed in a vicious counterattack. Key to relieving it was possession of Sperwan Ghar, a modest patch of high ground. Bradley's small detachment assaulted the hill and, in the midst of a savage and unforgettable firefight, soon learned they were facing nearly a thousand seasoned fighters. Now Bradley recounts the whole remarkable story as it actually happened and brings to life the men who impossibly won the day-Americans and Afghans alike-each unique, all indelible in their everyday exercise of extraordinary heroism.Praise for Lions of Kandahar "A powerful and gripping account of a battle that helped shape the war in Afghanistan . . . With crisp writing and page-turning action, Lions of Kandahar is one of the best books written about the conflict."-Mitch Weiss, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and co-author of Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War "One of the most important documents to emerge from the war in Afghanistan."-The Seattle Times "Powerful . . . a riveting account of a strategic battle that doesn't glorify war or focus on heroic deeds . . . Make room on your military bookshelf for Lions of Kandahar."-San Antonio Express-News "Bradley takes the reader into battle."-Time

He is the most decorated general in American history?the only five-star general to receive the Medal of Honor. Yet Douglas MacArthur's greatest victory was not in war, but in peace.As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in postwar Japan, General Douglas MacArthur was charged with transforming the defeated militarist empire into a beacon of peace and democracy, a task he called "the greatest gamble ever attempted." A career military man, MacArthur had no experience in politics, diplomacy, or economics. Vain, reclusive, and self-centered, he had many enemies in Washington who considered him a flaming peacock. Few thought he could succeed, not even President Harry Truman's closest advisors. But MacArthur did succeed?brilliantly?defying timetables and expectations. He announced eleven objectives and achieved them all, establishing a bond between two countries that survives to this day.Supreme Commander combines political history and military biography, to tell for the first time how MacArthur achieved a nation-building feat never before attempted, nor replicated since. Seymour Morris Jr. reveals this flawed man at his best?as one who treated a defeated enemy with respect; made informed, thoughtful decisions; yet could also be brash and stubborn when necessary, leading the occupation with intelligence, class, and compassion.Reviewing MacArthur's key tactical choices and accomplishments, Morris presents a detailed, intimate portrait of a great American?a patriot and a man of strong conviction?who proved to be an outstanding and effective leader under extraordinary circumstances.

A rare in-depth study of a police force in a developing country which is also undergoing a bitter internal conflict, further to the post-2001 external intervention in Afghanistan. Policing Afghanistan discusses the evolution of the country's police through its various stages but focuses in particular on the last decade.

Beyond Swat readdresses Fredrik Barth's seminal work Political Leadership among Swat Pathans, and the reactions it sparked, in relationship to contemporary developments in Swat and the wider Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier region. It explores the relevance of these debates to understanding the key dynamics affecting the region and its people.

A compelling memoir from a true hero—an ordinary man who joined the army and became one of the few living persons to ever be awarded the celebrated Medal of Honor.Medal of Honor winner Staff Sergeant “Sal” Giunta’s empowering memoir describes a boy working at a Subway shop who was attracted to an Army recruiting center by a free T-shirt, but left inspired by the thought of making a difference to the world. After enlisting, he was posted to Afghanistan, where he learned from the seasoned soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade about a totally new kind of war. In 2007, while he was on patrol in the Korengal Valley—the “Valley of Death”—his lessons on duty and honor in the face of danger were tested. His squad was ambushed by Taliban insurgents and pinned down under blistering fire. When their leader fell, Giunta shielded him with his own body. Amid the chaos, he continued to fight and protect his wounded comrades until Apache air cover finally brought a halt to the action. Living with Honor is a remarkable account by a man who insists he was “just a soldier,” but who has made the difference he dreamed of. His candid, insightful tale is a moving testament to the power of the human spirit.

In a remote, enemy-held valley in Afghanistan, a Special Forces team planned to scale a steep mountain to surprise and capture a terrorist leader. But before they found the target, the target found them… The team was caught in a deadly ambush that not only threatened their lives, but the entire mission. The elite soldiers fought huddled for hours on a small rock ledge as rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire rained down on them. With total disregard for their own safety, they tended to their wounded and kept fighting to stay alive. When the battle finally ended, ten soldiers had earned Silver Stars-the Army's third highest award for combat valor. It was the most Silver Stars awarded to any unit in one battle since Vietnam. Based on dozens of interviews with those who were there, No Way Out is a compelling narrative of an epic battle that not only tested the soldiers' mettle but serves as a cautionary tale. Be careful what you ask a soldier to do because they will die trying to accomplish their mission.

In 1945, twenty-four American servicemen and women boarded a plane to see ?Shangri-La,? a beautiful valley deep within Dutch New Guinea. But when the plane crashed, only three pulled through to battle for survival. Emotionally devastated and badly injured, the trio faced certain death. Caught between spear-carrying tribesmen and enemy Japanese, they trekked down the jungle-covered mountainside and straight into superstitious natives rumored to be cannibals.Drawn from interviews, Army documents, photos, diaries, and original film footage, Lost in Shangri-La recounts this true-life adventure for the first time. Mitchell Zuckoff reveals how the trio traversed the jungle; how brave Filipino-American paratroopers risked their lives to save the survivors; how a native leader protected the Americans; and how a cowboy colonel attempted an untried rescue mission to get them out. A riveting work of nonfiction that brings to life an odyssey at times terrifying, enlightening, and comic, Lost in Shangri-La is a thrill ride from beginning to end.

Michael G. Waltz offers a unique, firsthand account of the American war effort in Afghanistan as he recounts experiences as both a policy official and a Special Forces officer in the Bush and Obama administrations.

Nogle veteraner kommer hjem fra en udsendelse uden fysiske mén, men med psykiske efterreaktioner. Signe var en af disse veteraner. Selv om hun ikke blev fysisk såret, led hun efterfølgende af stærke psykiske efterreaktioner. Hun bad flere gange om hjælp, men på trods af symptomer svarende til middel til svær PTSD, blev hun aldrig behandlet for denne lidelse.I 2015 deltog Signe i en TV2 dokumentar, her sagde hun: "Så oplevede jeg på et tidspunkt, at en af de her afghanske soldater, var nærgående. Jeg gik ind til min chef ... Men den reaktion vi fik var, at vi skulle op på hesten igen... Det var den her følelse af, ikke at kunne være tryg, der gjorde, at jeg fik de ar på sjælen som jeg gjorde". I 2016 tog Signe livet af sig selv, mens hun var indlagt på psykiatrisk afdeling. Dermed blev hun en af de mange danske veteraner, som har reageret med selvmord, aggression eller isolation efter ikke at have fået hjælp i psykiatrien.Selv om Danmark ikke sender soldater til Afghanistan mere, lider mange veteraner stadig af følgerne fra deres udsendelse. De har sat livet på spil for andres sikkerhed, men får ikke selv den hjælp, de behøver.Kan vi som samfund være det bekendt?

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2016 im Fachbereich Politik - Internationale Politik - Thema: Frieden und Konflikte, Sicherheit, Note: 2,3, FernUniversität Hagen, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: ¿Der Geist der Demokratie kann nicht von außen aufgepfropft werden. Er muss von innen heraus kommen.¿ Für Mahatma Ghandi war klar, dass eine Demokratisierung von außen nicht funktionieren kann. Doch genau das geschah nach der Intervention der US-Truppen und dem Sturz des Talibanregimes in Afghanistan. Heinz Galinski, ehemaliger Vorsitzender des Zentralrats der Juden, verschärft diese Aussage sogar noch: ¿Demokratie kann man keiner Gesellschaft aufzwingen, sie ist auch kein Geschenk, das man ein für alle Mal in Besitz nehmen kann. Sie muss täglich erkämpft und verteidigt werden."Den Besatzern gelang es jedoch bis heute nicht, eine Konsolidierung der neu geschaffenen demokratischen Strukturen zu erreichen; Afghanistan gilt somit per definitionem als Defekte Demokratie. Doch liegt der Ursprung des Versagens tatsächlich in der von Ghandi kritisierten Demokratisierung von außen oder spielen womöglich mehr Faktoren eine Rolle, als auf den ersten Blick erkennbar? Wer den Weg einer erfolgreichen Demokratisierung verstehen will, muss auch die Mechanismen berücksichtigen, die zur Aufrechterhaltung der Demokratie beitragen. Diese Arbeit soll diese Faktoren ermitteln, auf das Fallbeispiel Afghanistan projizieren und ein Fazit ziehen, wie die Chancen einer erfolgreichen Demokratisierung Afghanistans wirklich stehen.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2018 im Fachbereich Politik - Region: Naher Osten, Vorderer Orient, Note: 1,3, Universität Hildesheim (Stiftung) (Institut für Sozialwissenschaften), Veranstaltung: Außenpolitik im Vergleich, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Die Europäische Union hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten keine Kosten und auch keine Mühen gescheut, in den verschiedensten Staaten dieser Welt die Demokratie zu fördern und hierbei zu versuchen, die Lebensbedingungen der Menschen ständig auszubauen und zu verbessern.Es stellt sich daher die Frage, welche Interessen die Europäische Union dabei verfolgt und wie sie hierbei überhaupt aktiv ist. Immerhin bringt so eine intensive Förderung einen immensen finanziellen und zeitlichen Aufwand mit sich und trägt auch dazu bei, dass sich die Meinungen der politischen Lager im eigenen Land diesbezüglich spalten. In dieser Hausarbeit soll diese Frage am Beispiel Afghanistans beantwortet und beleuchtet werden.