Report from Afghanistan

by Gérard Chaliand

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140065164
• ISBN13: 9780140065169
• Release Date: August 1982
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 132 Pages

Customer Reviews

Extensive & Concise

Chaliand, Gerard. Translated by Tamar Jacoby. Report From Afghanistan. Penguin Books: New York, 1982. 112. 6 maps. Chronology. Annotated Bibliography. Index. Translated by Tamar Jacoby, Gerard Chaliand's Report From Afghanistan provides an extensive, concise and in-depth look at Afghanistan during the exact time of the Soviet intervention. From its first initial monarchy of 1747 until the one-year anniversary of the Soviet occupation of 1979, the book also contains numerous maps and a detailed chronology, adding to the amount of precise data in the book. Chaliand immediately begins to list the extent if his travels and his vast experience in the world making him a viable source of important information. For example, Report From Afghanistan "reflects two reports [Chaliand] made to Afghanistan, to Paktia and Kunar provinces, and to Peshawar, first in June and then in October and November 1980" (7). Furthermore, Chaliand's information accents the theme of the novel which echoes the closing lines of the book, which claims that, "The intervention of Afghanistan was not a backyard maneuver of little concern to anyone but the Soviets and Afghans themselves. Unless it is eclipsed by an even more serious Western theater, it will almost certainly be a major international sore spot for years to come" (91). Each chapter provides a deeper look at various aspects of Afghanistan life and a mini-theme which eventually culminates together to create a larger theme in the final chapter of the book entitled. For example, "The Afghan Setting" claims that in the end the only solution would be to increase the country's arable land by improving irrigation providing an explanation on how to aid Afghanistan agriculturally. The following chapter, "From the Coup d'Etat to the Soviet Invasion" depicts the various leaders Afghanistan has had and their ultimate failures showing how many different government have ceased to accomplish anything. "The Afghan Resistance" chapter claims that Afghanistan stands at a point of crisis, waiting for badly needed economic growth and social progress and that religion for them is an ideology of resistance and represents group identity. The next chapter, "Soviet Strategy and Afghan Response" indicates the underlying motives of the Soviets and claims that their intervention has only been tolerated because "Western diplomats are uncertain about it significance" (75). Finally, the concluding chapter brings all these themes together and collectively emphasizes the desperate need for United States intervention. Perhaps this claim resonates in the reader's mind because the theme echoes a similar remark conveyed by Ahmed Shah Massoud before his gruesome murder in 2001. Even in 1980 Afghanistan requested US intervention and perhaps the September 11 tragedy has became the final product of what Chaliand attempted to show. Report From Afghanistan proves to be an essential book for understanding the country of Afghanistan. From example, the