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Der längste Krieg: 20 Jahre War on Terror
Mit der Operation Enduring Freedom begann am 7. Oktober 2001 der „Krieg gegen den Terror“ in Afghanistan, der bis heute zum längsten Krieg der USA und ihrer Verbündeten geworden ist, mit Tausenden Toten und Verletzen, auch unter den deutschen Soldaten. Dieser neokoloniale „Kreuzzug“ hat Wunden hinterlassen, die womöglich niemals heilen werden. Emran Feroz beschreibt zum 20. Jahrestag diesen Krieg nun erstmals aus afghanischer Perspektive. Er hat mit vielen Menschen vor Ort gesprochen: von Hamid Karzai über Taliban-Offizielle bis zu betroffenen Bürgern, die vor allem unter diesem Krieg gelitten haben.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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253 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 5, 2021
Most timely book. I have already recommended this (German language) book by Austrian-Afghan journalist Emran Feroz to some (German speaking) people who are genuinely puzzled by what's going on in Afghanistan (actually, the public reaction to "8-15" made me realize that the general public *really* believed that this was a good and just war of sorts).
It's a book told from one Afghan perspective - obviously there are multiple such perspectives - in a very accessible and non-academic way while managing to incorporate some key critical anti-imperial and post-colonial debates without rendering the book boring for non-academic or pundit folks. No surprise, the book already entered the German book bestselling lists, and rightly so.
The book also provides some historical context to 'the longest war' - highlighting that the concept of a 'twenty-year' war already reflects a western perspective- the country has been at war for more than forty years (with Moscow's war in the 1980s as brutal than the western War on Terror - 2 million Afghan's lost their lives during the Russian occupation and Moscow's devastating' war on terror' in Afghanistan).
Then follows a chapter on - what is so far known - on the US and allies killings of thousands of civilians (some estimate that more than 300,000 people died as a result of the war), including by Germany (eg Kunduz) and Australian elite units. This chapter also includes a section on war crimes such as the systematic use of torture - think Guantanamo, Bagram but also Abu Ghraib. (I am also currently reading Spencer Ackermann's 'Reign of Terror' which covers in detail and nearly 500 pages the US war crimes and 'reign of terror' in Afghanistan and Iraq - more on that later.) Just to reiterate: drone warfare intensified under Obama, liberal empire etc.
The book makes the important case that, as in many such junctures, we are missing yet again the opportunity to use this obvious failure to fundamentally question the foreign policy status quo. If you follow the current German pre-election debates, you can see that parties can agree on pretty much everything - more or less green new deal policies and EU stuff but the only red line and sort of taboo remains 'commitment to NATO and 'transatlantic partnership' - after twenty years of utter disaster and destabilizing half the world, it remains impossible to have an honest discussion on revisiting the post Cold War foreign policy and security 'consensus'. This is also why western leaders quickly declared the 'mission in Afghanistan' a success - while we were watching the most horrible footage from Kabul realizing that hundred thousands died for nothing, Afghanistan is now back to 2001 but much, much worse, with a country totally plundered by corrupt western backed war lords (now with the new powers China, Russia, Iran, Qatar, Turkey ready to exploit this situation for their own benefit - as seen elsewhere in the MENA region).
For those who closely followed the past twenty years of war on terror beyond the western media spin, there's not much new in the book, this is not a very thoroughly researched account with previously unknown details (which can be found elsewhere) but an attempt to broadly re-tell the war on terror from an Afghan perspective on less than 200 pages.
For those who haven't, this is an important read and hopefully one that leads people further down the more critical / anti-war rabbit hole. Obviously, there are some one-sided anti-imperialist 'the enemy of my enemy' and conspiracy theory pit falls but these shouldn't be too difficult to navigate and shouldn't keep people from discovering what's spin and what are geopolitical and financial interests disguised in more noble objectives. Etc. بیسیار تاشکور
It's a book told from one Afghan perspective - obviously there are multiple such perspectives - in a very accessible and non-academic way while managing to incorporate some key critical anti-imperial and post-colonial debates without rendering the book boring for non-academic or pundit folks. No surprise, the book already entered the German book bestselling lists, and rightly so.
The book also provides some historical context to 'the longest war' - highlighting that the concept of a 'twenty-year' war already reflects a western perspective- the country has been at war for more than forty years (with Moscow's war in the 1980s as brutal than the western War on Terror - 2 million Afghan's lost their lives during the Russian occupation and Moscow's devastating' war on terror' in Afghanistan).
Then follows a chapter on - what is so far known - on the US and allies killings of thousands of civilians (some estimate that more than 300,000 people died as a result of the war), including by Germany (eg Kunduz) and Australian elite units. This chapter also includes a section on war crimes such as the systematic use of torture - think Guantanamo, Bagram but also Abu Ghraib. (I am also currently reading Spencer Ackermann's 'Reign of Terror' which covers in detail and nearly 500 pages the US war crimes and 'reign of terror' in Afghanistan and Iraq - more on that later.) Just to reiterate: drone warfare intensified under Obama, liberal empire etc.
The book makes the important case that, as in many such junctures, we are missing yet again the opportunity to use this obvious failure to fundamentally question the foreign policy status quo. If you follow the current German pre-election debates, you can see that parties can agree on pretty much everything - more or less green new deal policies and EU stuff but the only red line and sort of taboo remains 'commitment to NATO and 'transatlantic partnership' - after twenty years of utter disaster and destabilizing half the world, it remains impossible to have an honest discussion on revisiting the post Cold War foreign policy and security 'consensus'. This is also why western leaders quickly declared the 'mission in Afghanistan' a success - while we were watching the most horrible footage from Kabul realizing that hundred thousands died for nothing, Afghanistan is now back to 2001 but much, much worse, with a country totally plundered by corrupt western backed war lords (now with the new powers China, Russia, Iran, Qatar, Turkey ready to exploit this situation for their own benefit - as seen elsewhere in the MENA region).
For those who closely followed the past twenty years of war on terror beyond the western media spin, there's not much new in the book, this is not a very thoroughly researched account with previously unknown details (which can be found elsewhere) but an attempt to broadly re-tell the war on terror from an Afghan perspective on less than 200 pages.
For those who haven't, this is an important read and hopefully one that leads people further down the more critical / anti-war rabbit hole. Obviously, there are some one-sided anti-imperialist 'the enemy of my enemy' and conspiracy theory pit falls but these shouldn't be too difficult to navigate and shouldn't keep people from discovering what's spin and what are geopolitical and financial interests disguised in more noble objectives. Etc. بیسیار تاشکور
September 16, 2022
Man hält bei jedem Skandal, den Emran Feroz erläutert, den Atem an. Ausführlich recherchiert mit zahlreichen Insider-Gesprächen. Vieles ist anhand von Belegen im Internet nachverfolgbar. Wichtige Einblicke kombiniert mit investigativen Recherchen und messerscharfer Analyse. Sollte auch international erscheinen. Klare Empfehlung.
October 3, 2021
If you were - like me - shaken by the news that Taliban forces had advanced to the gates of the Afghan capital Kabul on the 15th of Aug 2021. If you had - like me - to admit to yourself that the Afghan conflict was something you’ve been kind of aware, but actually knew not much about. Then this book might be for you.
Emran Feroz, an Austrian-Afghan journalist describes the 20 year long so-called “War on Terror” beyond a prevalent Euro- or US-centrism. Beyond the familiar connection to the 9/11 attacks, the recurring announcements of troop withdrawals by various American presidents to the latest peace negotiations happening in Qatar.
Feroz describes the war from an Afghan perspective. The invasion of US Troops is set into a larger historical context, being just another disruption of Afghan sovereignty – following British, Soviet or inner-Afghan attempts to subjugate the Afghan people. A nation torn by tribalism, corruption and betrayal but with sheer resilience to fight foreign intrusion.
The author gives local Afghans, from politics but also from the civilian population a voice. The book discloses the utter ignorance of western politics, claiming to free Afghanistan but resulting in failed efforts of nation building without a proper strategy. If you want to better understand Afghanistan and the point of view of Afghan people, this book seems to be a good starting point.
Emran Feroz, an Austrian-Afghan journalist describes the 20 year long so-called “War on Terror” beyond a prevalent Euro- or US-centrism. Beyond the familiar connection to the 9/11 attacks, the recurring announcements of troop withdrawals by various American presidents to the latest peace negotiations happening in Qatar.
Feroz describes the war from an Afghan perspective. The invasion of US Troops is set into a larger historical context, being just another disruption of Afghan sovereignty – following British, Soviet or inner-Afghan attempts to subjugate the Afghan people. A nation torn by tribalism, corruption and betrayal but with sheer resilience to fight foreign intrusion.
The author gives local Afghans, from politics but also from the civilian population a voice. The book discloses the utter ignorance of western politics, claiming to free Afghanistan but resulting in failed efforts of nation building without a proper strategy. If you want to better understand Afghanistan and the point of view of Afghan people, this book seems to be a good starting point.
July 12, 2022
Im Zuge des Abzugs von westlichen Truppen aus Afghanistan im Sommer 2021 wurde ich auf den Journalisten aufmerksam. Ich fand seine Analysen immer sehr fundiert. Durch seine eigenen afghanischen Wurzeln und seinen zahlreichen Reisen dahin, ist er sehr mit dem Land vertraut. Auch das Buch enttäuschte nicht, sehr informativ und was ich besonders mag: weg von der eurozentrischen Sichtweise!
December 22, 2021
Super Buch, auf jeden Fall lesenswert für jeden der an Afghanistan oder allgemein internationale Politik interessiert ist.
November 13, 2025
Certainly interesting, and helped me to understand what has happened in Afghanistan over the past 40+ years. But it’s also confusing (understandably so, perhaps, but it’s the author’s job to help with that) and Feroz’s biases shine through in many places.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews