After the Taliban : Nation-Building in Afghanistan
Author | : | Amb. James F. Dobbins |
Year of Publication | : | 2009 |
Publisher | : | Vij Books India Pvt Ltd |
ISBN - 13 | : | 9788190428538 |
Edition | : | First |
Language | : | English |
Binding | : | Hardcover |
Subject | : | Geopolitics |
About the Book :
In October 2001, the Bush administration sent Amb. James F.
Dobbins, who had overseen nation-building efforts in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia,
and Kosovo, to war-torn Afghanistan to help the Afghans assemble a successor
government to the Taliban. From warlords to exiled royalty, from turbaned
tribal chieftains to elegant émigré intellectuals, Ambassador Dobbins
introduces a range of colorful Afghan figures competing for dominance in the
new Afghanistan. His firsthand account of the post–9/11 American diplomacy also
reveals how collaboration within Bush’s war cabinet began to break down almost
as soon as major combat in Afghanistan ceased. His insider’s memoir recounts
how the administration reluctantly adjusted to its new role as nation-builder,
refused to allow American soldiers to conduct peacekeeping operations, opposed
dispatching international troops, and shortchanged Afghan reconstruction as its
attention shifted to Iraq.
In After the Taliban, Dobbins probes the relationship between the Afghan and
Iraqi ventures. He demonstrates how each damaged the other, with deceptively
easy success in Afghanistan breeding overconfidence and then the latter
draining essential resources away from the initial effort. Written by America’s
most experienced diplomatic troubleshooter, this important new book is for
readers looking for insights into how government really works, how diplomacy is
actually conducted, and most important why the United States has failed to
stabilize either Afghanistan or Iraq
About Author :
Amb. James F. Dobbins has held various State Department and White House posts, including assistant secretary of state for Europe, special assistant to the president for the Western Hemisphere, special adviser to the president and secretary of state for the Balkans, and ambassador to the European Community. He was the Clinton administration special envoy for Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo and the Bush administrations first special envoy for Afghanistan. Lead author of The RAND History of Nation-Building and The Beginners Guide to Nation-Building, Ambassador Dobbins lives in Washington, D.C., where he currently directs RANDs International Security and Defense Policy Center.