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The Resource Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001, Steve Coll

Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001, Steve Coll

Creator
Summary
An account of the CIA's involvement in the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and gave rise to bin Laden's al Qaeda. For nearly the past quarter century, while most Americans were unaware, Afghanistan has been the playing field for intense covert operations by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies-invisible wars which sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks and which provide its context. From the Soviet invasion in 1979 through the summer of 2001, the CIA, KGB, Pakistan's ISI, and Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Department all operated directly and secretly in Afghanistan. They primed Afghan factions with cash and weapons, secretly trained guerrilla forces, funded propaganda, and manipulated politics. In the midst of these struggles bin Laden conceived and then built his global organization. The author tells the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan, from its covert program against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989, to the rise of the Taliban and the emergence of bin Laden, to the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998. Based on extensive firsthand accounts, this story goes well beyond anything previously published on U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. It chronicles the roles of midlevel CIA officers, their Afghan allies, and top spy masters such as Bill Casey, Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al Faisal, and George Tenet
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xvii, 695 pages
Contents
  • Prologue : accounts receivable, September 1996
  • Part 1. Blood brothers : November 1979 to February 1989. 1. We're going to die here
  • 2. Lenin taught us
  • 3. Go raise hell
  • 4. I loved Osama
  • 5. Don't make it our war
  • 6. Who is this Massoud? --7. The terrorists will own the world
  • 8. Inshallah, you will know my plans
  • 9. We won
  • Part 2. The one-eyed man was king : March 1989 to December 1997. 10. Serious risks
  • 11. A rogue elephant
  • 12. We are in danger
  • 13. A friend of your enemy
  • 14. Maintain a prudent distance
  • 15. A new generation
  • 16. Slowly, slowly sucked into it
  • 17. Dangling the carrot
  • 18. We couldn't indict him
  • 19. We're keeping these Stingers
  • 20. Does America need the CIA?
  • Part 3. The distant enemy : January 1989 to September 10, 2001. 21. You are to capture him alive
  • 22. The kingdom's interest
  • 23. We are at war
  • 24. Let's just blow the thing up
  • 25. The Manson family
  • 26. The unit disappeared
  • 27. You crazy white guys
  • 28. Is there any policy?
  • 29. Daring me to kill them
  • 30. What face will Omar show to God?
  • 31. Many Americans are going to die
  • 32. What an unlucky country
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index
Isbn
9781594200076
Link
Instance
Label
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001
Title
Ghost wars
Title remainder
the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001
Statement of responsibility
Steve Coll
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
An account of the CIA's involvement in the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and gave rise to bin Laden's al Qaeda. For nearly the past quarter century, while most Americans were unaware, Afghanistan has been the playing field for intense covert operations by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies-invisible wars which sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks and which provide its context. From the Soviet invasion in 1979 through the summer of 2001, the CIA, KGB, Pakistan's ISI, and Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Department all operated directly and secretly in Afghanistan. They primed Afghan factions with cash and weapons, secretly trained guerrilla forces, funded propaganda, and manipulated politics. In the midst of these struggles bin Laden conceived and then built his global organization. The author tells the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan, from its covert program against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989, to the rise of the Taliban and the emergence of bin Laden, to the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998. Based on extensive firsthand accounts, this story goes well beyond anything previously published on U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. It chronicles the roles of midlevel CIA officers, their Afghan allies, and top spy masters such as Bill Casey, Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al Faisal, and George Tenet
Summary
To what extent did America's best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail? Comprehensively and for the first time, this Pulitzer Prize-winning work by journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Based on scrupulous research and firsthand accounts by key government, intelligence, and military personnel both foreign and American, Ghost Wars details the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of bin Laden, and the efforts by US forces to find and assassinate bin Laden in Afghanistan
Tone
Writing style
Award
  • Lionel Gelber Prize (Canada), 2004.
  • Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, 2005.
  • New York Times Notable Book, 2004
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
154804
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Coll, Steve
Dewey number
958.104/5
Illustrations
maps
Index
index present
LC call number
DS371.2
LC item number
.C63 2004
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Afghanistan
  • Afghanistan
  • United States
  • Bin Laden, Osama
  • CIA
  • Burgeroorlogen
  • Terrorisme
  • Bin Laden, Osama
  • États-Unis
  • Afghanistan
  • Afghanistan
Target audience
adult
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/titleRemainder
the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001
Label
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001, Steve Coll
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages [653]-664) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue : accounts receivable, September 1996 -- Part 1. Blood brothers : November 1979 to February 1989. 1. We're going to die here -- 2. Lenin taught us -- 3. Go raise hell -- 4. I loved Osama -- 5. Don't make it our war -- 6. Who is this Massoud? --7. The terrorists will own the world -- 8. Inshallah, you will know my plans -- 9. We won -- Part 2. The one-eyed man was king : March 1989 to December 1997. 10. Serious risks -- 11. A rogue elephant -- 12. We are in danger -- 13. A friend of your enemy -- 14. Maintain a prudent distance -- 15. A new generation -- 16. Slowly, slowly sucked into it -- 17. Dangling the carrot -- 18. We couldn't indict him -- 19. We're keeping these Stingers -- 20. Does America need the CIA? -- Part 3. The distant enemy : January 1989 to September 10, 2001. 21. You are to capture him alive -- 22. The kingdom's interest -- 23. We are at war -- 24. Let's just blow the thing up -- 25. The Manson family -- 26. The unit disappeared -- 27. You crazy white guys -- 28. Is there any policy? -- 29. Daring me to kill them -- 30. What face will Omar show to God? -- 31. Many Americans are going to die -- 32. What an unlucky country -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index
Control code
6133999
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xvii, 695 pages
Isbn
9781594200076
Isbn Type
(alk. paper)
Lccn
2003058593
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
n
Other physical details
maps
System control number
  • (OCoLC)ocm52814066
  • (OCoLC)52814066
Label
Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001, Steve Coll
Link
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages [653]-664) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue : accounts receivable, September 1996 -- Part 1. Blood brothers : November 1979 to February 1989. 1. We're going to die here -- 2. Lenin taught us -- 3. Go raise hell -- 4. I loved Osama -- 5. Don't make it our war -- 6. Who is this Massoud? --7. The terrorists will own the world -- 8. Inshallah, you will know my plans -- 9. We won -- Part 2. The one-eyed man was king : March 1989 to December 1997. 10. Serious risks -- 11. A rogue elephant -- 12. We are in danger -- 13. A friend of your enemy -- 14. Maintain a prudent distance -- 15. A new generation -- 16. Slowly, slowly sucked into it -- 17. Dangling the carrot -- 18. We couldn't indict him -- 19. We're keeping these Stingers -- 20. Does America need the CIA? -- Part 3. The distant enemy : January 1989 to September 10, 2001. 21. You are to capture him alive -- 22. The kingdom's interest -- 23. We are at war -- 24. Let's just blow the thing up -- 25. The Manson family -- 26. The unit disappeared -- 27. You crazy white guys -- 28. Is there any policy? -- 29. Daring me to kill them -- 30. What face will Omar show to God? -- 31. Many Americans are going to die -- 32. What an unlucky country -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index
Control code
6133999
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xvii, 695 pages
Isbn
9781594200076
Isbn Type
(alk. paper)
Lccn
2003058593
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
n
Other physical details
maps
System control number
  • (OCoLC)ocm52814066
  • (OCoLC)52814066

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Genre

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