“We’re poor people! Don’t destroy our country just to get one man.”
— Afghan refugee in an interview on National Public Radio, September 30, 2001

The Bush administration answered the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 with what it called the “global war on terror,” beginning with the assault and invasion of Afghanistan and then with the invasion and occupation of Iraq. As more and more Americans joined the opposition to the Iraq war, for many, Afghanistan remained “the good war.” But was Afghanistan ever a “good war”? And will President Obama’s plan and escalation of US troop presence in Afghanistan work?

In this easy-to-read volume of “frequently asked questions” (FAQs), analysts David Wildman and Phyllis Bennis examine a wide range of key issues regarding the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Is Afghanistan really going to become “Obama’s war”? What was the history of the U.S. in Afghanistan before September 11? What role does NATO play in the Afghanistan war? Do Afghans want the U.S. troops to stay in their country? Who are the Taliban? What is al-Qaeda? And, finally, what are the steps needed to end the war?

In this compact, concise, jargon-free primer, the deeply knowledgeable authors answer all the basic questions and explain the various aspects of the war in Afghanistan.

“Wildman and Bennis have written an invaluable guide to thought, policy, and action on Afghanistan. Their up-to-date assessments are reliable, persuasive, and should shock even the most apathetic of readers into a realization that if America walks further down the path of counterinsurgency war it will deepen the Afghan tragedy and put an end to whatever foreign policy promise remains for the Obama presidency.”
— Richard Falk