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Foxtrot in Kandahar: A Memoir of a CIA Officer in Afghanistan at the Inception of America’s Longest War
Kandahar. An ancient desert crossroads, and as of fall of 2001, ground zero for the Taliban and al-Qa'ida in southern Afghanistan. In the north, the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance, the Afghan organization opposed to the Taliban regime, has made progress on the battlefield and Kabul has fallen. But in the south, the country is still under the Taliban's sway, and al-Qa'ida continues to operate there. With no "Southern Alliance" for the U.S. to support, a new strategy is called for. Veteran CIA officer Duane Evans is dispatched to Pakistan to "get something going in the South."
This is the true story of Evans's unexpected journey from the pristine halls of Langley to the badlands of southern Afghanistan. Within hours after he watched the horrors of 9/11 unfold during a chance visit to FBI Headquarters, Evans begins a personal and relentless quest to become part of the U.S. response against al-Qa'ida. This memoir tracks his efforts to join one of CIA's elite teams bound for Afghanistan, a journey that eventually takes him to the front lines in Pakistan, first as part of the advanced element of CIA's Echo team supporting Hamid Karzai, and finally as leader of the under-resourced and often overlooked Foxtrot team.
Relying on rusty military skills from Evans's days as a Green Beret and brandishing a traded-for rifle, he moves toward Kandahar, one of only a handful of Americans pushing forward across the desert in the company of Pashtun warriors into some of the most dangerous, yet mesmerizingly beautiful, landscape on earth.
The ultimate triumph of the CIA and Special Forces teams, when absolutely everything was on the line, is tempered by the US tragedy that catalyzed what is now America's longest war. Evans's very personal adventure that unfolds within the pages of Foxtrot in Kandahar: A Memoir of a CIA Officer in Afghanistan at the Inception of America's Longest War, which concludes with an analysis of opportunities lost in the years since his time in Afghanistan, should be required reading for everyone interested in modern warfare.
This is the true story of Evans's unexpected journey from the pristine halls of Langley to the badlands of southern Afghanistan. Within hours after he watched the horrors of 9/11 unfold during a chance visit to FBI Headquarters, Evans begins a personal and relentless quest to become part of the U.S. response against al-Qa'ida. This memoir tracks his efforts to join one of CIA's elite teams bound for Afghanistan, a journey that eventually takes him to the front lines in Pakistan, first as part of the advanced element of CIA's Echo team supporting Hamid Karzai, and finally as leader of the under-resourced and often overlooked Foxtrot team.
Relying on rusty military skills from Evans's days as a Green Beret and brandishing a traded-for rifle, he moves toward Kandahar, one of only a handful of Americans pushing forward across the desert in the company of Pashtun warriors into some of the most dangerous, yet mesmerizingly beautiful, landscape on earth.
The ultimate triumph of the CIA and Special Forces teams, when absolutely everything was on the line, is tempered by the US tragedy that catalyzed what is now America's longest war. Evans's very personal adventure that unfolds within the pages of Foxtrot in Kandahar: A Memoir of a CIA Officer in Afghanistan at the Inception of America's Longest War, which concludes with an analysis of opportunities lost in the years since his time in Afghanistan, should be required reading for everyone interested in modern warfare.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2017
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414 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 26, 2018
An interesting, candid and well-written memoir.
The narrative is concise but insightful, and Evans ably describes the difficulties of the team’s assignment, the problems and absurdities caused by bureaucratic screwups and human failings, the leeway Headquarters assigned the team, and how he interacted with SOCOM, the CIA station in Islamabad, the Special Forces ODA assigned to his team, and Gul Agha Sherzai and his men.
Evans’ style is engaging and unpretentious. His rendition of his experiences doesn’t always seem that passionate or serious, and the narrative is a bit quick, but he does do a great job immersing the reader in his situation.
A well-rounded, informative work.
The narrative is concise but insightful, and Evans ably describes the difficulties of the team’s assignment, the problems and absurdities caused by bureaucratic screwups and human failings, the leeway Headquarters assigned the team, and how he interacted with SOCOM, the CIA station in Islamabad, the Special Forces ODA assigned to his team, and Gul Agha Sherzai and his men.
Evans’ style is engaging and unpretentious. His rendition of his experiences doesn’t always seem that passionate or serious, and the narrative is a bit quick, but he does do a great job immersing the reader in his situation.
A well-rounded, informative work.
October 7, 2019
Foxtrot in Kandahar is an astounding book, in that the author was so close to so many historical events, and somehow manages to draw the tritest and least introspective or insightful conclusions imaginable.
Evans was a CIA officer just off a tour as chief of mission in South America, when 9-11 happened. With a war on, Evans knew he had to get to Afghanistan. Since he had been in the Army a few decades back(officer and Ranger School, before going to the CIA), and spoke Farsi, in the right light he might look like an unconventional warfare expert, ready to parachute into a foreign country and overthrow its government like it's 1955.
Of course, what we really get is bureaucratic SNAFUs. All the mountaineering gear in the DC area has been brought up. The Pakistan CIA station, which has been doing most of the work in Afghanistan, disagrees with the Counter-Terrorism people in Langley. Evans' doesn't have the ability to communicate securely with headquarters, becuase he lacks the right crypto-gear. An Air Force Special Forces team might, but they don't have permission to go into Afghanistan, and et cetera.
This doesn't even get into the actual unconventional warfare part of the American invasion. The initial footprint in Afghanistan was very light, a handful of CIA officers and military Special Forces, with radios that let them call on the USAF. The fighters were almost all Afghani locals, who'd been doing something very much like this since 1979. It was all personal loyalties, local warlords with a few hundred fighters in battered Hiluxes.
Intelligence work is about information above all, and Evans is interested in Afghanistan not for its own sake, but because Al Qaeda may have left clues about its members and plots. And he does discover a plan to attack an American carrier in Singapore, and also blowup his entire team and their Afghani counterparts on Eid. But despite fighting beside these guys for months, Evans has almost no insight into them. They're willing to fight the Taliban and like American airpower, so they must be okay guys, right? I feel like there's something a little deeper there.
As the Afghanistan War turns 18, and the first soldiers born after 9-11 go through bootcamp, there's a time to reflect on this bleeding ulcer of a failed policy. Surely the attempts to go from Taliban control to centralized modern state under Hamid Karzai while also fighting in Iraq were disastrous, but have we learned anything from those disasters? Evans hasn't.
Evans was a CIA officer just off a tour as chief of mission in South America, when 9-11 happened. With a war on, Evans knew he had to get to Afghanistan. Since he had been in the Army a few decades back(officer and Ranger School, before going to the CIA), and spoke Farsi, in the right light he might look like an unconventional warfare expert, ready to parachute into a foreign country and overthrow its government like it's 1955.
Of course, what we really get is bureaucratic SNAFUs. All the mountaineering gear in the DC area has been brought up. The Pakistan CIA station, which has been doing most of the work in Afghanistan, disagrees with the Counter-Terrorism people in Langley. Evans' doesn't have the ability to communicate securely with headquarters, becuase he lacks the right crypto-gear. An Air Force Special Forces team might, but they don't have permission to go into Afghanistan, and et cetera.
This doesn't even get into the actual unconventional warfare part of the American invasion. The initial footprint in Afghanistan was very light, a handful of CIA officers and military Special Forces, with radios that let them call on the USAF. The fighters were almost all Afghani locals, who'd been doing something very much like this since 1979. It was all personal loyalties, local warlords with a few hundred fighters in battered Hiluxes.
Intelligence work is about information above all, and Evans is interested in Afghanistan not for its own sake, but because Al Qaeda may have left clues about its members and plots. And he does discover a plan to attack an American carrier in Singapore, and also blowup his entire team and their Afghani counterparts on Eid. But despite fighting beside these guys for months, Evans has almost no insight into them. They're willing to fight the Taliban and like American airpower, so they must be okay guys, right? I feel like there's something a little deeper there.
As the Afghanistan War turns 18, and the first soldiers born after 9-11 go through bootcamp, there's a time to reflect on this bleeding ulcer of a failed policy. Surely the attempts to go from Taliban control to centralized modern state under Hamid Karzai while also fighting in Iraq were disastrous, but have we learned anything from those disasters? Evans hasn't.
January 22, 2018
Evans's story is almost too surreal to be true though doubtless every part was. In a matter of fact way Evans is able to recount his thoughts and actions and those of his group mates during a three month expedition to take Kandahar. It also led me to listen to Dido's "Thank you" for the first time in over a decade. I highly recommend this read. it's quick, concise, engaging, and leads you to want the author to write more stores of his time in the CIA.
October 8, 2018
Worth the read.
A little thin as far as the narrative goes but the author gave a good impression of how the events of 9/11 and his life to that point lead him to Afghanistan in the early days of the war. An interested perspective and insight into the political and intelligence aspects of the conflict and worth the read.
A little thin as far as the narrative goes but the author gave a good impression of how the events of 9/11 and his life to that point lead him to Afghanistan in the early days of the war. An interested perspective and insight into the political and intelligence aspects of the conflict and worth the read.
August 21, 2024
This was an interesting account by the leader of the CIA team that helped seize the city of Kandahar. It is informative solid book but a bit formulaic.
September 21, 2017
I thought I knew what to expect of this book, but the author surprised me with his honest and candid account of his service. So many books I've read of this nature tend to be filled with attempts to bring the reader to the cusp of suspense with bravado and exaggerated exploits of heroism. I was pleasantly surprised to find a realistic assessment of a difficult situation, mired in bureaucracy and human fallibility. It was also a relief to discover the humor that can often invade a combat zone. The personal relationships of the author and connections to recent historic events make this book more than just a memoir. The book presented a well-rounded perspective of the CIA in action.
October 13, 2023
Great book by a CIA guy who was one of the first Americans into Afghanistan in the south (Kandahar) in 2001. In addition to babysitting Hamid Karzai during his time in Pakistan, he led a CIA/ODA team with Kandahar’s governor’s forces to find AQ and displace Taliban. His account was consistent with the other points of view from similar people at the time (leaders of the ODAs and CIA guys from other teams), and it is interesting to see the process of current events becoming memoirs becoming history.
December 25, 2024
Duane Evans’ Foxtrot in Kandahar offers a firsthand account of the early days of America’s war in Afghanistan, detailing the author’s experiences as a CIA officer deployed to the heart of Taliban territory. While the book provides valuable insights into the challenges of covert operations in a volatile region, it falls short in its execution.
Evans recounts his mission to establish alliances with local warlords, navigate the rugged terrain of Kandahar, and conduct intelligence operations under extreme circumstances. These elements should make for a gripping narrative, but the book is hindered by a lack of polish. The writing is often uneven, with repetitive descriptions and missed opportunities to delve deeper into the broader context of America’s involvement in Afghanistan.
Although Evans touches on the strategic difficulties of working with unreliable local actors and operating in a fragmented society, these reflections are not sufficiently developed. The memoir leans heavily on personal anecdotes, leaving readers who seek a more analytical approach to U.S. strategy in Afghanistan wanting.
That said, Foxtrot in Kandahar does offer a raw and unfiltered look at the realities of intelligence work in a hostile environment. It captures the uncertainty, danger, and improvisation required in such missions, making it a worthwhile read for those specifically interested in the human side of CIA operations.
Ultimately, while the book sheds light on an important chapter in modern U.S. history, its inconsistent writing and narrow focus limit its impact.
August 27, 2024
Tells the story of one CIA agent's time spent in Kandahar during the early stages of the war in Afghanistan. As an experienced field agent and former Special Forces operative, Evans was uniquely placed and highly motivated to help overthrow the Taliban as part of the West's global war on terror just after the events of 9/11.
Not your typical war story. Most of the actual fighting was done by Afghan locals led by regional strongmen. Evans coordinated military assistance with one such group as leader of Foxtrot team, which consisted of a mix of American civilian and military agencies.
Evans focuses on the people on the ground with whom he worked and how they adapted to the realities of what was happening in Afghanistan and how it meshed with the US administration goals. This is a tightly written story that may not offer much in the way of excitement but it is a fascinating snapshot of a place and time that not many people know about.
Not your typical war story. Most of the actual fighting was done by Afghan locals led by regional strongmen. Evans coordinated military assistance with one such group as leader of Foxtrot team, which consisted of a mix of American civilian and military agencies.
Evans focuses on the people on the ground with whom he worked and how they adapted to the realities of what was happening in Afghanistan and how it meshed with the US administration goals. This is a tightly written story that may not offer much in the way of excitement but it is a fascinating snapshot of a place and time that not many people know about.
January 2, 2018
This is an outstanding peripatetic, enlivening narrative memoir of a CIA officer's reaction to 9-11, his imperative to engage once again with the CIA and try to make a difference in the world, and the thrilling missions he and his team undertook while in Kandahar. It's very compulsive and exciting and thought-provoking reading. Evans writes sparingly, not letting his prose become bloated or overblown with patriotic sanctimony. His story is parsimonious and elegant; it fully engaged me all the way through. In addition, he doesn't indicate how USA's wars in the Middle East have definitively been a net-positive. There is a disturbing ambiguity to these tales that leaves one wondering how America should move forward in the coming century. Excellent read, well worth anyone's time.
November 28, 2019
Great story, well written and a solid education on the post 9/11 objective
A great read, wished it was longer, a great comment in a review. Very informative on a subject many Americans are left in the dark. Having read multiple books on Afghanistan, this book paints a clear picture of the early days of the conflict. I’m proud of our military and incredibly thankful for their continuous sacrifices, this narrative only increases my admiration
A great read, wished it was longer, a great comment in a review. Very informative on a subject many Americans are left in the dark. Having read multiple books on Afghanistan, this book paints a clear picture of the early days of the conflict. I’m proud of our military and incredibly thankful for their continuous sacrifices, this narrative only increases my admiration
October 31, 2021
I read the book and I enjoyed it. It is composed of very short chapters, usually only 3-5 pages and is fast paced and no nonsense.
If you like to read about the history of The War in Afghanistan or the days after the 9-11 attacks you will enjoy this book.
It gives a different perspective than "The Only Thing Worth Dying For" by Eric Blehm of the military insertion into Afghanistan and overthrow of Kandahar from another ODA and CIA insertion team perspective.
I do recommend this book.
If you like to read about the history of The War in Afghanistan or the days after the 9-11 attacks you will enjoy this book.
It gives a different perspective than "The Only Thing Worth Dying For" by Eric Blehm of the military insertion into Afghanistan and overthrow of Kandahar from another ODA and CIA insertion team perspective.
I do recommend this book.
November 1, 2025
গোয়েন্দা বাহিনী সংশ্লিষ্ট বই অনুযায়ী, এ-বই পাঠকের মনে জমা কৌতুহলের দশ শতাংশও পূরণ করতে সমর্থ নয়! বলবো না, পড়তে ভালো লাগছিলো না, তা নয়। তবে ৯/১১ কে ঘিরে সিআইএ আসলে কীভাবে কী করেছে সে সমন্ধে সেভাবে জানা যায় নি, কেনো যায় নি তা ভূমিকা পড়লেই জানা যায়! তবে একটা বিষয় মন কেড়েছে, তা হলো ডুয়ান্সের স্মৃতিকাতরতা, মনের কোথাও না কোথাও সে আফগানিস্তানের প্রতি ভালোবাসা অনুভব করতো!!!
October 4, 2017
This book will put you right into the action that the CIA sprang into after 9/11.
The candor and honesty is readily apparent. The Author will have you feeling as if you are on the mission with Team Foxtrot by the end of the book.
The candor and honesty is readily apparent. The Author will have you feeling as if you are on the mission with Team Foxtrot by the end of the book.
February 13, 2018
The part of the story I remember the most is if he didn't talk to the informant he might not have been alive to write his story . So much planning has to go into a war its amazing how they do it. Sometimes just plan luck plays a part in it too.
February 13, 2020
View of Afghanistan by a CIA representative who was first there.
This book is an excellent view of the Afghanistan war by a CIA representative who was first there. It addresses why the US has succeeded, or failed, in Afghanistan from an early perspective.
This book is an excellent view of the Afghanistan war by a CIA representative who was first there. It addresses why the US has succeeded, or failed, in Afghanistan from an early perspective.
December 8, 2017
This book wasn't what I expected. I can tell you it will sit with you for a while. A great read and I would recommend it to everyone.
November 21, 2018
Very interesting story. Worth a read
December 12, 2023
Great book about CIA and US special forces in Afghanistan 2001
May 22, 2024
An informative account of a CIA officer's experience during the early days of the war on terror.
January 4, 2018
Awesome book
I really enjoyed this book. I found it interesting and it kept my attention. I highly recommend this book if you like factual Military history.
I really enjoyed this book. I found it interesting and it kept my attention. I highly recommend this book if you like factual Military history.
April 21, 2020
Foxtrot to Kandahar
Good quick read. Good information no hype. Maybe a little to much childhood info but good. Good insight on Karzi
Good quick read. Good information no hype. Maybe a little to much childhood info but good. Good insight on Karzi
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews