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Lead book review

Hubris, blunders and lies characterised the war in Afghanistan from the start

There was certainly no shortage of excellent advice about war in Afghanistan offered to many American leaders by many people over many years, says Justin Marozzi

28 August 2021

9:00 AM

28 August 2021

9:00 AM

First Casualty: The Untold Story of the Battle that Began the War in Afghanistan Toby Harnden

Welbeck, pp.342, 18.99

The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Craig Whitlock

Simon & Schuster, pp.287, 20

And so the reckoning begins. As frantic Afghans wrestle with the agonising, life-and-death choice between staying in Kabul and risking execution by the Taliban or running the gauntlet of checkpoints around the airport in search of freedom overseas, it’s noises off in the West. Pundits and policy- makers pontificate, grizzled generals rue another foreign adventure ending in defeat and the media provide a live stream of grief and anguish.

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