Synopses & Reviews
As the bloodshed in Iraq intensified in 2005, Afghanistan quickly faded from the nations front pages to become the “other war,” supposedly going well and largely ignored. In fact, the insurgency in Afghanistan was about to break out with renewed force, the drug problem was worsening, and international coordination was losing focus. That July, Ronald Neumann arrived in Kabul from Baghdad as the U.S. ambassador, bringing the experience of a career diplomat whose professional lifetime had been spent in the greater Middle East, beginning thirty-eight years earlier in the same country in which it ended—Afghanistan.
Neumanns account of how the war in Afghanistan unfolded over the next two years is rich with heretofore unexamined details of operations, tensions, and policy decisions. He demonstrates why the United States was slow to recognize the challenge it faced and why it failed to make the requisite commitment of economic, military, and civilian resources. His account provides a new understanding of the problems of alliance warfare in conducting simultaneous nation building and counterinsurgency. Honest in recounting failures as well as successes, the book is must reading as much for students of international affairs who want to understand the reality of diplomatic policymaking and implementation in the field as for those who want to understand the nations complex “other war.”
Review
andquot;Waltz, a lieutenant colonel in the Army reserves, commanded a Special Forces company in Afghanistan and held high counterterrorism positions at the Pentagon and White House. Combining what he saw on the ground with what he gleaned in Washington, Waltz offers his thoughts on the U.S. military and governmentandrsquo;s management of the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. . . . Waltz succeeds in his goal of explaining how the war in Afghanistan has been executed, making a case that the continuing chaos that nation endures is andquot;directly connectedandquot; to the U.S. national interest.andquot;andmdash;Publishers Weekly
Review
andquot;Few people in Washington must execute the policies they help craft. Warrior Diplomat is a must-read, firsthand examination of the Afghan war through the experiences of a practitioner at both ends of the spear.andquot;andmdash;Robert M. Gates, former U.S. secretary of defense
Review
andquot;Michael Waltz distills the hard-earned wisdom of more than a decade of deep involvement in Americaandrsquo;s Afghan campaign. Unlike most other participants, however, Waltz served as a Special Forces officer on the ground and as a senior policy maker in Washington. One can only wish that more of our decision-makers possessed his breadth of vision and experience.andquot;andmdash;Nathaniel C. Fick, author of One Bullet Away
Review
andquot;Mike Waltzand#39;s important new book deftly charts and#39;what might have beenand#39; over the course of a long, largely indecisive war. NATOand#39;s largely unseen failures in Afghanistan are perhaps better charted here than in any other recent accountandmdash;and it is a story that needs to be told as we think about future coalition operations. Mike stitches together the long thirteen-year arc of this story as few others could, from front line to the conference tables of policy makers in Washington and Europe. This is a book that needs to be read to understand what really happened over the last decade-plus in Afghanistanandmdash;and why.andquot;andmdash;Lieutenant General (Ret.) Dave Barno, former commander, Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan
Review
andquot;Using his singular set of experiences as a U.S. Army Special Forces operator and Washington policy insider, Mike Waltz captures the policy ambivalences, implementation challenges, and individual heroics that have made the U.S. effort in Afghanistan such a conundrum for presidents, generals, and the American people. But Waltz never loses sight of the human side of the equation and never gives in to defeatism or fatalism. His wise advice for the future should be heeded by U.S. leaders, now and in the future.andquot;andmdash;David Sedney, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia
Review
andquot;Warrior Diplomat is an important book that provides an unparalleled, firsthand account of Americaand#39;s role in Afghanistan. Michael Waltz brings us into the inner sanctums of the White House and the Pentagon, where the war was being planned and debated, and then leads us onto the battlefields of Afghanistan.andquot;andmdash;Seth G. Jones, author of In the Graveyard of Empires: Americaand#39;s War in Afghanistan
Review
“Ambassador Neumann has written an extraordinarily important account of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan during his tenure in Kabul. The book is unmatched in its rich description, frank analysis, and lucid recommendations -- and should be required reading for any one interested in understanding the complexities of America's involvement in Afghanistan.”—Seth G. Jones, author, In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan
Review
“From Vietnam combat soldier to Iraq and Afghanistan combat diplomat, Ron Neumann has seen, if not all, then most of it. In his first-person account of his time in Kabul, he recounts the possibilities and pitfalls of 'armed nation building.' President Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan needs to be informed by this tale. Clearly, a vision of a nation is not sufficient to prevail. As Ambassador Neumann indicates, execution and accountability are essential. His thirty-seven years of government service bears this out. Read this book, learn the lessons therein or fail in Afghanistan.”—Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state and former assistant secretary of defense
Review
“Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann’s The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan truly stands apart from the field for its frank insider advice on crafting the most effective policy on Afghanistan. A lucid and personal portrayal of one of America’s longest-running conflicts, The Other War stands the critical test of a change of administration in the United States and a retooling of Washington's foreign policy. In fact, Neumann’s book should be required reading for all interested in the current administration’s AfPak strategy. In this engaging firsthand history of recent events in Afghanistan, the veteran American diplomat reminds policymakers that grand strategies only work when the tactical details have been worked out on the ground.”—Amin Tarzi, director, Middle East Studies, Marine Corps University
Review
“A formidable diplomat, a thoughtful war strategist, and a hands-on operator, Neumann lends his old-world intellect and curiosity to this fascinating insider account of the American struggle to rebuild Afghanistan while coping with the U.S. bureaucratic machine. This is a deeply insightful and thoughtful book, at times amusing and always frank. The United States needs more Ron Neumanns if it is to succeed in Afghanistan. Neumann is the epitome of the soldier, statesman, and scholar on the front line of the war against extremism.”—Ahmed Rashid, author of Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
Review
"[T]he book is must-reading, as much for students of international affairs who want to understand the reality of diplomatic policymaking and implementation in the field as for those who want to understand our nation's complex engagement in Afghanistan."—Foreign Service Journal
Review
"A powerful acount of the author's role as the U.S. ambassador who came to Kabul from Baghdad as the U.S. ambassador with a lifetime in the greater Middle East."—Midwest Book Review
Review
andquot;Warrior Diplomatand#160;[is] a memoir of unique insight into the hope and tragedy of Americaandrsquo;s war in Afghanistan. . . . There is an almost surreal quality in the memoir of a man who briefed and wrote policy proposals for the powerful Vice-President one month, and in the next, shared meals with Afghan farmers or scrambled over walls in the dark of night to grab a Taliban commander, visiting relatives. . . . A must read book to understand how Americaandrsquo;s war in Afghanistan was fought so hard, for so long to so few measurable results.andquot;andmdash;Mark Safranski, Pragati
Synopsis
What went wrong and what went right in Afghanistan
Synopsis
Grappling with centuries-old feuds, defeating a shrewd insurgency, and navigating the sometimes paralyzing bureaucracy of the U.S. military are issues that prompt sleepless nights for both policy makers in Washington DC and soldiers at war, albeit for different reasons. Few, however, have dealt with these issues in the White House situation room and on the front line. Michael G. Waltz has done just that, working as a policy advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and also serving in the mountains of Afghanistan as a Green Beret, directly implementing strategy in the field that he helped devise in Washington.
In Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beretand#8217;s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan, Waltz shares his unique firsthand experiences, revealing the sights, sounds, emotions, and complexities involved in the war in Afghanistan. Waltz also highlights the policy issues that have plagued the war effort throughout the past decade, from the drug trade, to civilian casualties, to a lack of resources in comparison to Iraq, to the overall coalition strategy. At the same time, he points out that stabilizing Afghanistan and the region remains crucial to national security and that a long-term commitment along the lines of South Korea or Germany is imperative if America is to remain secure.
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About the Author
MICHAEL G. WALTZand#160;is a lieutenant colonel in the Special Forces (reserve component), president of Metis Solutions, and senior national security fellow at the New America Foundation. Formerly, he was commander of a Special Forces company, counterterrorism advisor to the vice president, and director for Afghanistan policy, Office of the Secretary of Defenseand#8211;Policy. PETER BERGEN is the author of four books about Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, including, most recently, Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad.
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