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The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda Hardcover – January 11, 2011

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Peter L. Bergen (Author)
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Peter L. Bergen (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars 57 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Free Press; First Edition edition (January 11, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9780743278935
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743278935
  • ASIN: 0743278933
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsGood Background -
By Loyd Eskildson HALL OF FAME on January 14, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Nearly a decade after 9/11 we're still fighting in Afghanistan, and have yet to withdraw from Iraq (hopefully this year). While we haven't had another major terrorist attack since, we have spent over $1 trillion, thousands have died, and evidence indicates that we've also inspired a surge in Islamist opposition. Currently, many reports indicate things are not going well in Afghanistan. Peter Bergen's (one of the very few Westerners to interview Osama Bin Laden) summary in "The Longest War" is interesting and credible, though suffers from a obvious errors and only superficial treatment of Afghanistan.

The first error occurs at the very beginning when Bergen asserts that 9/11 represented a miscalculation by Bin Laden, causing the collapse of the Taliban regime and the destruction of Al-Qaeda's safe have in Afghanistan. However, given the Taliban's subsequent resurgence, Al-Qaeda's successful relocation to Pakistan etc., and its continued ability to roil and financially bleed foes around the world with various bombings and even attempted bombings, Bin Laden is undoubtedly quite pleased with the trade-off.

Bergen continues with important background - how Bin Laden had concluded that the U.S. was weak, based on our pullout from Vietnam in the 1970s, Reagan's fleeing Beirut after the Marine barracks bombing, Clinton's withdrawal of forces in Somalia after the 'Black Hawk Down' incident a decade later, and our failure to respond to the U.S.S. Cole bombing just prior to Bush II becoming president. As for Al-Qaeda's contribution to the Soviet departure from Afghanistan, Bergen believes it is much overrated - the number of Afghans fighting totaled about 175,000, vs. no more than several hundred outside Arabs at any one time.Read more ›
5 Comments 98 of 120 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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5.0 out of 5 starsAfghanistan
By 05/11A on January 29, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
PAKITA,KHOST & GHAZNI PROVINCES/2003;IRAQ/2005

Very good book...the author provides insight into al qaida (hereinafter al Q" in order to understand the initial organizational structure, the intent, the history and the current status of Al Q.."the base".

The book moves through Iraq with the al Q with emphasis on the invasion of Iraq, the disbandment of the military and civilian infrastructure and the onset of the insurgency. The book provides a deep introspective review based on current information and direct quotes from those who were in the decision matrix who were involved in what was initially a "war of choice"...Iraq. But, moreover, the disbandment of the Iraqi military in total and the entire civilian infrastructure was in fact the causation of the nearly 4300 US KIA and some 30,000 severely wounded...aside from the nearly 1 trillion in costs to the US taxpayer. These critical components of the Iraq war decision by the Bush people empowered al Q which sought to divide the Sunni against the Shi....this division of religious ideology continues to plague Iraq..and will do so for many years to come.

The book provides unique insights into the invasion of Afghanistan...and the horrific decision to basically abandon Afghanistan with the war in Iraq. For readers who have read previous books...or who served in Afghanistan post Tora Bora or Operation Anaconda (March of 2002) know that all efforts at post war reconciliation or stability was overshadowed by the war in Iraq.

From a personal standpoint, I witnessed the significant decrease programs designed to stabilize Afghanistan due directly to the war in Iraq. In short, we lost the momentum..and as such have and will pay a continuing price both in personnel losses, an ever evolving military strategy..Read more ›
1 Comment 15 of 17 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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4.0 out of 5 starsA Complete History of the US v of Al-Qaeda
By Daniel Hurley VINE VOICE on January 29, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The magazine 'The Economist', in its review, noted that Bergen offers nothing new in his new book on the US and it's war against Al-Qaeda, 'The Longest War'. I have to agree on that point; however, what Bergen offers is a complete history of the association between Al-Qaeda and America that as you read it is almost painfully familiar. Bergen provides a history of Al-Qaeda's beginnings, bin Laden of course, the bombing of the Cole, 9-11, bombing or our embassy in Africa, the war in Afghanistan, the Bush team's desire to go into Iraq, Guantanamo, water boarding, the on going war in Afghanistan, individual terrorists & sects and their various attempts/plans, and of course the endless search for Al-Qaeda/bin Laden. He also covers the actions of, although not in great deal, George H. W Bush, Clinton, W and Obama. This book provides quite a lot of detail in only 350 pages of narrative. The downside is only the last chapter or two address the most recent searches for Bin Laden and tries to pin point where he is and his present state of affairs. I do wish that Bergen had included some of his insights that he shared recently during his interview with Bill Maher where he spoke with genuine optimism that the U.S. can succeed in Afghanistan. In his book, he does note that bin Laden had the support of 63% of the Pakistan in 2004 but it's down to 18% today, certainly a good sign. If you want a very good overall history of the war against Al-Qaeda, this is a good book to read.
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5.0 out of 5 starsStaggering incompetence, staggering costs
By Charles A. Krohn on January 22, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This isn't something for faint-hearted or zealous partisan readers. But readers who care about national security and follow war events closely will applaud the quality research behind this remarkably objective publication. Anyway, that's my take.

The Vulcans organized our response to 9/11, generally with public support here and abroad. But the picture quickly darkened as it became apparent we were in over our head with no credible grand strategy. Maybe the Vulcans should have spent more time at the forge than sniffing each other's musk. This might have caused us to recalibrate some our efforts sooner, instead of waiting until after the 2008 election.

Almost anyone who has served in the White House, Pentagon or war theater understands the importance of positive metrics to reinforce the wisdom of those in charge. Analysts who are less optimistic simply disappear, and their charts shredded. In fact, honest doubters should be brought into the fold immediately, instead of being dismissed for disloyalty. Although unstated, this is certainly a supportable inference from The Longest War.

From 2003 to 2006 there was nothing but good news from the Green Zone, until even party loyalists could not paper over distressing reports of the ethnic turmoil in Iraq that was destroying the nation's social fabric from within. What saved the day, temporarily at least, was the Surge that helped put the exiled Sunnis back in the game from which they were ousted by Ambassador Bremer in 2003. We don't know yet how the Kurds, Sunnis and Shia will resolve their differences, but we're reasonably confident that Al Qaeda doesn't have the power it once did to create mayhem. Like him or not, the Surge would not have happened without the support of President Bush.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsSOME USEFUL INFORMATION

This book is a good summary of the war on terror from the founding of al Qaeda in 1988 to just before the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, when this book was published. Read more

Published 2 months ago by The Curmudgeon
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great item, great price and quick delivery

Published 3 months ago by Brian Kay
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

great info for someone interested in International Relations.

Published 8 months ago by Arlene
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

It was great, used it to write a college term paper!

Published 11 months ago by James Walker
5.0 out of 5 starsexcellent journalist & historian

Read many books about how we got from 9/11 to 2015; I find Bergen the best researched author with good facts and analysis.

Published 12 months ago by Dale Washington
5.0 out of 5 starsFilled in detail I knew little about, even though I was in country

I was in Iraq for some of the events written about in this work. That said, I knew little about details written during the time I was on the trail of one of the people in this... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Jeremy Tarbush
2.0 out of 5 starsBoring

I gave it to the library maybe someone else may enjoy it but the writing was terrible. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

Published 22 months ago by Jackie Thibault
4.0 out of 5 starsA Must Read for a Thorough Understanding of the History of Al'Qaeda.

Peter Bergen's complete research and involvement on the subject is incredible. His view comes from journalism and not political. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Karl Peter Cordova
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat place to start...

...for people who are just getting interested in reading about the war in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda. Bergen writes with a style that is easy to read and there is a lot of basic... Read more

Published 23 months ago by Johnny Danger
2.0 out of 5 starsA Chance to Blame

Not much here that hasn't already been covered about the run up to 9/11. The usual characters and jihad organizations... Read more

Published on January 20, 2014 by Kilo

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