Sound Bite
The Afghan National Army is shrinking by the day,� and this book explores the implications as the West prepares to leave the country to its own devices.
Having broken the system that was in place, the US and NATO are now leaving Afghanistan to face Taliban elements, criminal warlords, and private militias which disrupt any efforts to pull the nation together.Ã?Â
A top international journalist shares his analysis of this data along with the vital observations of professionals operating in the field, and the remarks of manyÃ? reporters and commentators. The author then assesses the likelihood of civil war.Ã?Â
Outside the US, click here to find the book at www.Amazon.UK.Co.
About the Author
Musa Khan Jalalzai is a journalist whose experience includes over 20 years extensive research in political analysis, Afghanistan, terrorism issues, and human trafficking. His articles have been published by The New Yorker, the New York Times, and Moscow Times (English-language daily). He has published several books studying sectarian and ethnic violence, policing, and terrorism in various parts of the world, as well as the increasing crime, corruption and instability in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the region. During the First Gulf War (1991-1993) he was a research scholar at the Pakistan Institute of National Affairs where he completed two books on Persian Gulf politics. Jalalzai was Executive Director of the Daily Outlook, Afghanistan (2005-2009), and is a permanent writer of articles for Pakistan's daily The Post. He has a regular column in the Daily Times (Lahore, Pakistan) and The New Nation (Bangladesh).
He notes, "This book could not have been completed without the strong encouragement and support of former Director General, Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), General Asad Durrani and my Afghan friends in both the Interior and Defense Ministries of Afghanistan. I would like to thank former Chief of ISI, General Hamid Gul, who rang me up from Islamabad, Pakistan, and provided information regarding the importance of time and space in modern military conflicts. My friends Saqalain Imam of BBC Urdu Service London and Wadood Mushtaq of ARY TV Channel updated my knowledge of the war on terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
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About the Book
As Western troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army (ANA), such as it is, has been tasked with securing the country. Yet the ANA arose under foreign tutelage and will remain dependent upon foreign support� for the...
As Western troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army (ANA), such as it is, has been tasked with securing the country. Yet the ANA arose under foreign tutelage and will remain dependent upon foreign support� for the foreseeable future. Thus it can only be seen by the majority of Afghans as a legacy of the occupation and not a 'national'� institution.
The focus is set primarily on the ANA's ability to carry out the task it has been assigned: 'ensuring security in Afghanistan.' Along the way, the author covers a wide spectrum of topics: the current state of the Afghan National army (ANA), Taliban infiltration, intelligence failures, the "intelligence war" among various nations and alliances (NATO, US, UK, ISAF), green on blue attacks, and the rise of war criminals heading private militias which present the biggest challenge to the reorganization of State institutions.Ã?Â
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BBC Urdu Service London. UK | More »
BBC Urdu Service London. UK
"Whose Army" is an eminently readable book, up to date and unflinchingly accurate accounts of what will be the nature of civil war after the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan in the end of 2014. This is an important book I read chapter by chapter and found it a very challenging topic. Musa Khan Jalalzai’s book could be described as the first attempt to understand the military of Afghanistan.
Saqalain Imam
TV Journalist, London | More »
TV Journalist, London
Whose Army? Afghanistan's future and the Blueprint for Civil War is a very important book on the Afghan army. I read this book chapter by chapter, and found it very useful. Musa Khan Jalalzai has done an excellent job in exposing the tyrannies of the warlords' criminal militias, and the failure of American forces in Afghanistan. Mr. Jalalzai has also highlighted intelligence failures in Afghanistan, and as an intelligence analyst, he has proposed the professionalization of intelligence cooperation in the country.
Prof. Wadood Mushtaq Dahriwal
What Transpires in Afghanistan, DAILY TIMES, Pakistan | More »
What Transpires in Afghanistan, DAILY TIMES, Pakistan
If the US abandons Afghanistan again, a brutal civil war with Pakistan, India, Iran, China and other players being drawn into another ‘great game’ will break out....As 2014 draws to a close, the concern uppermost in the mind of many an individual is that of the future of Afghanistan once the US pulls out (will they really or can they really or should they really?). What happens in Afghanistan will inevitably carry deep implications and ramifications for neighbours and indeed the wider world. The foreword to the book is written by Lieutenant General (retd) Asad Durrani, the former director general of Pakistan’s ubiquitous Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Both contributions make interesting reading. He makes an unusually caustic remark contrasting the mercenary nature of the Pakistani army, a fighting force created by the British Raj, with the Afghan armed forces when he says, “I do not know of many other countries where the soldiers proudly wearing emblems touting their unit, while in service of a foreign power, massacred its own people. I believe the Afghans, while pragmatic when dealing with power, are too proud to worship it.” He does not specify when the Pakistan army played such a role while in the service of a foreign power. Is he referring to the role the British Indian army (of which the Pakistan army is a direct descendant) during the colonial period or the more recent partaking of the Pakistani army in President Bush’s “war on terror”, or perhaps both? Another assertion he makes is that the Afghans told the Pakistanis that they could safely move their soldiers from the western front during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India. That is exactly what Pakistan did and the western front remained quiet during the duration of those wars. One can hope that General Durrani will provide reliable evidence of such an understanding between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the general impression is that Afghanistan has always leaned towards India. Jalalzai is a veteran Afghan journalist who also writes a column for Daily Times. There is no doubt that he is well informed about what goes on in Afghanistan. He has drawn upon a great deal of relevant material to demonstrate his thesis that the Afghan National Army (ANA) will not be able to operate as an effective force, maintain the peace and thus help consolidate Afghanistan as a nation state. He reiterates General Durrani’s argument that the ANA is perceived by the Afghans as a force that was created under the tutelage of a foreign power. In the context of Afghan history, such a fighting force is destined to fail in winning the support of the Afghans who have always despised foreign intervention in their country. Moreover, its ethnic composition is heavily slanted in favour of the nationalities of the northern areas. The biggest nationality of Pashtuns is under-represented. Moreover, sectarian divisions existing in Afghan society are reflected in the ANA as well. The Taliban have been able to exploit such weaknesses and, despite claims to the creation of a fighting force of 250,000, high rates of desertion have been noted. The actual fighting strength is not more than 100,000. US and NATO reports have warned that the collapse of the ANA will plunge Afghanistan into a brutal civil war once again. He cites several examples of Afghan soldiers turning their guns on US and NATO forces. Then of course there are scores of suicide bombers recruited from the poorest sections of society. Terrorism can therefore play havoc in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and even India and China are cases in point of countries to which terrorism can be exported. Jalalzai severely criticises the Afghan government that has failed to provide clean and transparent governance. Corruption is rampant. Notorious war criminals, drug mafia bosses and warlords are present in the corridors of power. Nepotism and tribalism are rampant in its affairs. There has hardly been an improvement with regards to the rights of women. Under these circumstances, neither the armed forces nor the civil government can operate as cohesive and coherent organs of the state. Unlike General Durrani who obliquely suggests that Afghanistan and Pakistan have been friendly and, during the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan, Afghanistan secretly sided with Pakistan, Jalalzai adheres to the more familiar understanding that, from the outset, relations between them have been bad originating from the disputed border created by the Durand Line (1893), which effectively divides the Pashtuns between Afghanistan and Pakistan, something the Afghans reject while Pakistan wants to have the Durand Line declared as the international border. In the more immediate period, he writes, “Relations between Pakistan and the ANA have never been friendly due to Pakistan’s interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan” (page 142). Such a policy will continue as Pakistani generals are poised to use the Taliban to contain Indian influence in Afghanistan and the Taliban and ISI have infiltrated the ANA. With regard to India, he asserts that it has played an important role in the development sector but it too was involved in clandestine activities and a special intelligence agency, RAMA, has been created as a unit within RAW for Afghanistan. Jalalzai writes that 50 nations are involved in intelligence gathering in Afghanistan. The main message in the book is that if the US abandons Afghanistan again, a brutal civil war with Pakistan, India, Iran, China and other players being drawn into another ‘great game’ will break out. Such an ill-fated future for Afghanistan is inevitable because the ANA is not capable of preventing internal dissensions and external manipulations subverting the peace. Jalalzai is convinced that the US will maintain its presence for a long time and that it will use its facilities to spy on Russia and China. The recent Afghan elections that brought into power a government of national unity headed by President Ashraf Ghani, which includes representatives nominated by his main rival Dr Abdullah Abdullah, are not included in the book but one can assume that Jalalzai does not invest much hope in it. On the whole, the book strikes a dismal note of despair and frustration. Afghan agony and suffering, according to him, will continue unfortunately. The reviewer is a visiting professor, LUMS, Pakistan, professor emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University, and honorary senior fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Latest publications: Winner of the Best Non-Fiction Book award at the Karachi Literature Festival: The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed, Oxford, 2012; and Pakistan: The Garrison State, Origins, Evolution, Consequences (1947-2011), Oxford, 2013.
Dr. Prof. Ishtiaq Ahmed
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Pages 200
Year: 2014
BISAC: HIS027190
Soft Cover
ISBN: 978-1-62894-054-1
Price: USD 22.95
Hard Cover
ISBN: 978-1-62894-055-8
Price: USD 32.95
eBook
ISBN: 978-1-62894-056-5
Price: USD 22.95
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