The American war in Afghanistan : a history / Carter Malkasian.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thinking about America's war in Afghanistan -- The country and peoples of Afghanistan -- The Taliban emirate -- The United States enters Afghanistan -- The Karzai regime -- Disorder in Kandahar -- The 2006 Taliban offensive -- Taliban rule, 2007- 2010 -- War in the East -- Taliban advances -- The Obama administration and the decision to surge -- The surge in Helmand -- The surge in Kandahar -- End of the surge -- Ghazni and the Andar awakening -- Intervention and identity -- The 2014 elections -- The Taliban offensives of 2015 and 2016 -- The Trump administration -- Peace talks -- Looking back.

"The American War in Afghanistan is a full history of the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2020. It covers political, cultural, strategic, and tactical aspects of the war and details the actions and decision-making of the United States, Afghan government, and Taliban. The work follows a narrative format to go through the 2001 US invasion, the state-building of 2002-2005, the Taliban offensive of 2006, the US surge of 2009-2011, the subsequent drawdown, and the peace talks of 2019-2020. The book examines the overarching questions of the war: Why did the United States fail? What opportunities existed to reach a better outcome? Why did the United States not withdraw from the war?"--