Towery, Jamie, 217–218
Townsend, Jon, 213
Trahan, Gregory, 47, 77–79, 80, 81
training Afghan army, 33, 55–57, 60–63
Afghan security forces, 57–60, 65, 214, 219–220
cultural awareness, 69–72
police force, 59, 65–66
tribal codes of conduct, 66
Trump, Donald (administration), 237 Camp David meeting, 244
criticism of Obama, 244–245, 271
Flynn and, 189
Fort Myer speech (2017), 241–242
Khalilzad and, 28
misleading information and deceptions by, 50, 247, 248–251
in national security meetings, 243, 244
negotiations with Taliban, 28, 264, 271–274
on opium production/trade, 256
war strategy, 241, 243–244, 245–247
United Nations bombing of Baghdad headquarters, 48
Bonn, Germany conference, 13, 25–26, 264–265
civilian casualties count, 208–209
investigation of Azizabad attack, 178
nation building and, 31
opium poppy cultivation programs/survey, 134, 135–136, 254, 256, 257, 258
United Nations Security Council, xii
University of Virginia, xix. See also oral-history interviews, University of Virginia
Uruzgan province, 38, 74, 105
USAID, 34, 35, 51, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163–165, 166, 256
U.S. Air Force, 105–106, 172, 233, 234–235
U.S. Army. See also military operations; U.S. troops Operational Leadership Experience project, xviii
oral-history interviews with soldiers, xviii
U.S. Army Center of Military History, xviii
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 63, 159–160
USA Today, 50, 178
U.S. Central Command, 8, 10, 11, 23, 24, 46, 119, 149, 249
U.S. diplomats, lack of experience in Afghanistan, 73. See also oral-history interviews, Foreign Service officers/diplomatic
U.S. embassy (Kabul) classified warnings from, 95, 96, 98
closing of, 20
Combined Forces Command moved near, 48
corruption and, 187–188
cultural disconnect of ambassadors, 73
interviews with officials serving in. See oral-history interviews, Foreign Service officers/diplomatic
Kabul Bank scandal and, 190, 192, 194
Karzai, Ahmed Wali and, 176
opium cultivation/war on opium and, 131, 133, 135, 136, 139, 140, 262
reopening, 21, 29–30
Taliban suicide bombings/assaults on, 202
U.S. government. See also Bush, George W. (administration); Obama, Barack (administration); U.S. military; U.S. officials Afghan warlords and, 115, 116–117, 119, 122, 124, 126
Kabul Bank scandal and, 192–193, 194
training Afghan army, 57
U.S. Justice Department, 187, 261
U.S. Marines, 10, 24, 148, 165, 204, 214–215, 241, 243, 257–258
U.S. military. See also military operations; Pentagon; U.S. troops Afghan army designed as facsimile of, 57
on attack on Panetta, 202–203
cultural awareness and training, 69–72
distortions and deceptions about the war by, 93
identifying the enemy, 22–23, 100–102, 148, 151
Kunduz hospital and, 233
misleading statistics/metrics by, 204, 206–208
nation-building projects and, 163–165, 166
on Pakistan/Pakistanis, 85–86
poppy production and, 136
on war’s progress, 209–210
U.S. officials corruption and, 186
covering up attack on Panetta, 202–203
on decision-making in early stages of the war, 7
Dostum, Abdul Rashid and, 120–121
honesty about progress in Afghanistan by, 113–114, 146–147
lack of knowledge about Afghanistan, 20–21, 27, 66
on lying during wartime, 5
military’s assessments on war’s progress, 209–211
negotiations with Taliban, 235–236, 263–268, 269–270, 271–274
U.S. officials, deceptions and misleading information by, xi–xiii, xiv–xv, xvii, xx. See also Lessons Learned interviews; oral-history interviews in 2006, 94, 99–100
about Afghan security forces, 56–57, 94, 155, 210, 220–221
about “end” of the war, 227–228
about insider attacks, 216
about Iraq War, 47–48
about opium production/trade, 130
after bin Laden’s death, 201–202
by Bush, George (administration), 96–97, 108, 111–112
in February 2007, 108
by General McNeill, 111, 113
Khalilzad’s Washington Post op-ed, 50–51
Obama, Barack (administration), 154–156
statistics/metrics under Obama administration, 203–208
on Taliban threat and strength, 94–96, 97–98, 207, 209
on territory control statistics, 247–248
under Trump administration, 50, 247, 248–251
upbeat reports (2015), 231–232
USS Cole, 19
U.S. Special Forces. See Special Forces
U.S. Special Operations Command, 25
U.S. Special Operations Forces. See Special Operations forces
U.S. spending, xvi. See also nation-building bribing Afghan leaders and, 185
under Bush, 30, 95, 137, 158
corruption and, 184
on Kandahar dam and electrical projects, 162
under Obama, 30, 158–163
on security assistance to Afghanistan, 56, 58–59, 220
for troops and resources in Afghanistan (2006), 95
on war on opium, 137, 254, 259
U.S. troops. See also casualties; military operations; U.S. military alcohol consumption, 106–107
Biden on withdrawal of, 274–275
cultural disconnect between Afghans and, 73–74
decrease in, 200, 215
deployed under Bush, 146
deployed under Obama, 152–153, 157
deployed under Trump, 244–245
in early part of the war, 4
efforts to limit, 9
email report from Kandahar, 17–18
at Firebase Shkin (April 2003), 77–79
general lamenting deaths of, xv–xvi
having nothing to do, 13
insider attacks and, 213–317
for Iraq War, 45, 94
living conditions, 11–13
NATO-led coalition and, 106–107, 108
negotiations involving removal of, 272, 273
in “non-combat” roles, 229–230, 234
number in Afghanistan, xvi, 12, 25, 111, 200, 228, 236
Obama’s withdrawal timetable, 201
pledge to withdraw, 96, 153, 201, 228, 242, 272, 273, 274
rules of engagement, 229–230, 235, 236
sent to Afghanistan in 2008, 113
serving multiple tours in Afghanistan, 81, 148, 154
in strategy objective, October, 2001, 8–9
surge of, under Bush, 94, 104
surge of, under Obama, 152–153, 157, 206–207, 209, 230, 244
on Taliban threat, 99–100
views of Islam by, 72–73
women, 76
Uzbeks/Uzbekistan, 11–12, 20, 83, 115, 118, 171, 172
Vietnam War, xii, xiv, xvi, 6–7, 95, 139, 209–210
Virginia Military Institute, Bush’s visit to, 3, 14
Vogle, Greg “Spider,” 172
Vorderbruggen, Adrianna, 234–235
Votel, Joseph, 249–250
voting, psy-op project on, 67–68. See also election(s), in Afghanistan
Wallace, Devin, 217
Wallace, Steven, 13
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 100, 121
Walters, John, 130
&nb
sp; War in Afghanistan. See also military operations exit strategy, 4, 7
fighting Iraq War while in the, 45–47
Iraq War taking priority over, 15, 47, 108, 109, 110, 112–113
misleading the public about. See U.S. officials, deceptions and misleading information by
mission and objectives. See objectives and goals of War in Afghanistan
warlords. See Afghan warlords
Warren, Elizabeth, 249
war strategy, 9–10. See also counterinsurgency strategy; military operations under Bush, 105–106, 108–109
corruption and, 183–184, 186
lack of, xv, 105, 109–110
McChrystal’s report on, 150–152
misleading statistics/metrics and, 206–207
National Security Council strategy paper, 8–9
under NATO-led coalition, 105–108, 109
under Obama, 17, 147–149, 152–153, 158, 230
reviews of, 112–113, 149, 150
Robert Gates on, 104–105
timeline under Obama, 153
troop surge, under Bush, 94, 104
troop surge, under Obama, 152–153, 157, 206–207, 209, 230, 244
Trump administration and, 241, 243–244, 245–246
wartime, Rumsfeld on telling lies during, xi–xii
Washington Post, xiii breaking news about Taliban insider attack, 251
on Dostum payouts, 121
Farnood interview, 192
filing lawsuits against SIGAR, xiv
Holbrooke’s opinion column in, 140–141
Khalilzad op-ed, 50–51
series of articles about Afghanistan, xvii–xviii
Washington Post–ABC News poll, 228
weapons Afghan army, 61, 62
B-52 bombers, 253–254
funneled to Afghan rebels fighting Soviet Union, 81, 116
from Pakistan, 80
of Taliban versus Afghan army, 98
weapons of mass destruction, 47
Wells, Alice, 272
Wesa, Tooryalai, 135, 168
Wesa, Zalmay, 250
West Point (U.S. Military Academy), 48, 49, 57, 70, 110, 152, 153, 157, 163, 241
Williams, Brian, 5
Williamson, Dan, 62–63
Winstead, Mike, 131, 132
Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City (2002), 12
women and women’s rights, 7, 75, 76, 185, 203, 267
Wood, John, 138
Woodring, William, 72, 75
Wood, William, 140
World War II, xi, xii, 25, 30
Yasini, Mirwais, 69
Yemen, 19
Zabul province, 213, 215, 216, 217
Zelikow, Philip, 46
Zia, Mohammed Ehsan, 258–259
Zizumbo, Daniel, 91
Photo Credits
INSERT 1
1. No Credit
2. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
3. Chris Hondros/Getty Images
4. Lois Raimondo/The Washington Post
5. David Guttenfelder/AP
6. Christopher Morris/VII/Redux
7. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
8. Emilio Morenatti/AP
9. Emilio Morenatti/AP
10. No Credit
INSERT 2
1. David Guttenfelder/AP
2. Emilio Morenatti/AP
3. Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum Photos
4. John Moore/Getty Images
5. Paolo Pellegrin/ Magnum Photos
6. Tim A. Hetherington/Magnum Photos
7. Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
8. Christopher Morris/VII/Redux
9. David Guttenfelder/AP
10. Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
11. Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images
12. Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
INSERT 3
1. No Credit
2. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
3. Rahmat Gul/AP
4. Pete Souza/The White House/AP
5. John Moore/Getty Images
6. Charles Ommanney/Getty Images
7. Paula Bronstein /Getty Images
8. Javier Manzano for The Washington Post
9. Matt McClain/The Washington Post
10. Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post
11. Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2021 by WP Company LLC
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition August 2021
SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Jacket design by David Litman
Jacket photographs: Papers courtesy of the author;
Seal by Alan Cotton/Alamy Stock Photo;
Paper texture by Nenov/Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Whitlock, Craig, author. Title: The Afghanistan papers : a secret history of the war / Craig Whitlock. Description: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021016683 | ISBN 9781982159009 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982159023 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Afghan War, 2001– Classification: LCC DS371.412 .W4825 2021 | DDC 958.104/7—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021016683
ISBN 978-1-9821-5900-9
ISBN 978-1-9821-5902-3 (ebook)
The Afghanistan Papers Page 38
