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Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan Paperback – August 16, 2017
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“The real story of the disastrous U.S. war in Afghanistan must be written so that future generations may understand the folly of Washington’s warmongers. Scott Horton’s Afghan war history is an important contribution to this vital effort.” — Ron Paul, M.D., former U.S. congressman and author of Swords into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity
“Scott Horton’s, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan, is a definitive, authoritative and exceptionally well-resourced accounting of America’s disastrous war in Afghanistan since 2001. Scott’s book deserves not just to be read, but to be kept on your shelf, because as with David Halberstam’s The Best and Brightest or Neil Sheehan’s A Bright Shining Lie, I expect Horton’s book to not just explain and interpret a current American war, but to explain and interpret the all too predictable future American wars, and the unavoidable waste and suffering that will accompany them.” — Capt. Matthew Hoh, USMC (ret.), former senior State Department official, Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy
“Fool’s Errand is a hidden history of America’s forgotten war, laid bare in damning detail. Scott Horton masterfully retells the story of America’s failed intervention, exposes how Obama’s troop surge did not bring Afghanistan any closer to peace, and warns that the conflict could go on in perpetuity — unless America ends the war. As Trump threatens to send more troops to Afghanistan, Horton shows why the answer to a brutal civil war is not more war, which makes Fool’s Errand a scintillating and sorely needed chronicle of the longest war in American history.” — Anand Gopal, journalist and author of No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes
“Scott Horton’s new book Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan has a title that tells you where it is going, but to think that is all it is about would be to sell short a comprehensive work that takes the reader on a long journey starting in the 1980s. Indeed, if there were a university course on what went wrong with Afghanistan, starting with Ronald Reagan’s Holy Warriors and continuing with George W. Bush’s ouster of the Taliban leading to 15 years of feckless nation building, this book could well serve as the textbook. Horton provides insights into key decision-making along the way as he meticulously documents the dreadful series of misadventures that have brought us to the latest surge, which will fail just like all the others. The book is highly recommended both for readers who already know a lot about Afghanistan as well as for those who want to learn the basics about America’s longest war.” — Philip Giraldi, former CIA and DIA officer, executive director of the Council for the National Interest
- Print length317 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateAugust 16, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 0.72 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101548650218
- ISBN-13978-1548650216
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Editorial Reviews
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"An incisive, informative analysis of the Afghan fiasco and how we got there, scrubbed clean of propaganda and disinformation. Horton captures the situation very well indeed. I much enjoyed reading it." -- Eric S. Margolis, author of War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet and American Raj: Liberation or Domination? Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim World
"Scott Horton's Fool'sErrand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan is a brilliant achievement and a great read. I recommended it to the faculty at the Army Command and General Staff College to be part of the course work. It's that important." -- Col. Douglas Macgregor, U.S. Army (ret.), author of Warrior's Rage: The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting
"A lot of people think of the war in Iraq as the bad war, but Afghanistan as the good and justifiable war. That convenient view does not survive Scott Horton's careful and incisive demolition." -- Thomas E. Woods Jr., author of Nullification: How to ResistFederal Tyranny in the 21st Century and Rollback:Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse
"Why is the United States still fighting in Afghanistan? In this timely new book, Scott Horton explains why America's longest war is strategically misguided and why getting out would make the United States safer and advance America's broader national interests. Even readers who do not share Horton's libertarian world-view are likely to find themselves nodding in agreement: the war in Afghanistan has indeed become a 'fool's errand.'" -- Stephen M. Walt, professor of international affairs, Harvard University, author of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st edition (August 16, 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 317 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1548650218
- ISBN-13 : 978-1548650216
- Item Weight : 15 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.72 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #122,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #30 in War & Peace (Books)
- #83 in Afghan War Military History
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Scott Horton is director of The Libertarian Institute, editorial director of the online written publication Antiwar, host of Antiwar Radio for Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and host of the Scott Horton Show podcast. He has conducted more than 6,000 interviews since 2003. He is the author of Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War With Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine (2024), Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism (2021), Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan (2017) and editor of The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 (2019) and Hotter than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (2022). He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Larisa Alexandrovna Horton.
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Customers find the research quality thorough, impressive, and consistent. They also describe the book as easy to read and comprehend. Readers mention it reads like fiction and a thriller.
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Customers find the book thoroughly documented, with well over 1,000 citations. They say the author is a master of all the important facts and tells the story well. Readers also appreciate the extensive citation of sources. They mention the writing style is direct but packed full of meticulous detail.
"...One of the best parts of the book is the sheer number of footnotes...." Read more
"...But Horton strips away the propaganda and offers a convincing argument that U.S. forces could have accomplished that goal, and been in and out of..." Read more
"...It is a perfect length, thoroughly sourced, and engrossing enough to hold the attention of the average american...." Read more
"...The book is well researched. It is well (densely, meticulously) foot-noted and documented...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and comprehend. They say it reads like fiction, is accessible, and approachable. Readers also appreciate the clear, direct, and complete footnotes.
"...Nearly a third of the book is footnotes with easy-to-follow sourcing so that those that are so inclined can research the subject matter..." Read more
"...The author is clear and cogent in making the case that it is time to end the wars in Afghanistan...." Read more
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"This book reads so much like fiction, so much like a Tom Clancy novel, that it would be hard to remember its just filled with facts if a large..." Read more
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"...It is a perfect length, thoroughly sourced, and engrossing enough to hold the attention of the average american...." Read more
"...information in this book with so many details given that it can be overwhelming at times. Definitely worth a second reading...." Read more
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Scott Horton has done a great service in writing Fool's Errand; shedding light on what led to the US government becoming involved in Afghanistan, escalation to direct military action and the horrors that it has wrought. As a long time listener of his AntiWar Radio interview series, one can see why he is the perfect person to write such a piece: the decades of studies and interviews with experts on the subjects culminating in this book. Though he has written many articles, I believe this is the first full-fledged published book he's done and it is surprisingly excellent beyond all expectations.
One of the best parts of the book is the sheer number of footnotes. There is no recounting of an event, quoting of an individual or statistic without detailed citation. Nearly a third of the book is footnotes with easy-to-follow sourcing so that those that are so inclined can research the subject matter themselves.
This is the right moment to read this book and discuss it, as well as the conflict itself, with your family, your friends, your church, your coworkers and whomever else you can. This is the right moment for Americans to read and to question why our military is being asked to fight and die in this place where they are so unwelcome.
Two words of advice.
Read. It.
Seriously, this book is a must-read, especially if you still believe the "War on Terror" is somehow protecting and furthering American interests.
Many people who are skeptical of Iraq still buy into the war in Afghanistan. After all, it was the "good war," launched to punish the people who flew planes into American buildings on 9/11. But Horton strips away the propaganda and offers a convincing argument that U.S. forces could have accomplished that goal, and been in and out of Afghanistan within months. Instead, the war turned into an impossible nation-building mission and a military occupation that ultimately gave rise to the insurgency America continues to battle more than 15 years later.
He also mercilessly smashes many of the myths surrounding the war, such as, "They hate us because of our freedom." "We have to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here," and "If we pull out now, Afghanistan will become a safe-haven for terrorists."
I have been skeptical of the war in Afghanistan for a while, but really more on a gut level, sensing intuitively that U.S. foreign policy is often at odds with itself. Horton proves it in spades. Even I was shocked at how often decisions made by U.S. policymakers undermine stated objectives and goals.
I've met Scott, and appeared a number of times on his radio show. If you've ever listened to him, you know he's an intense and passionate individual. You might get the impression that his book would be an extended emotional plea. It's not. It's seriously one of the most meticulously documented, carefully laid out works I've ever read. Some of the pages are literally half filled with footnotes. Scott's work will stand up to the most intense academic scrutiny.
There was a time in my life when I embraced every U.S. foreign policy intervention. It's only recently that I've come to realize that the same people who've made a disaster out of domestic policy also run the foreign policy. In this day and age, it's hard to get information about U.S. wars that isn't steeped in government propaganda.That's why so many people support the wars without reservation.
Horton pulls the curtain away and reveals an ugly truth most Americans haven't faced.
We need more Hortons.
Scott also makes clear that even from a geostrategic standpoint, staying in Afghanistan makes no sense. World history post 2000 has made abundantly clear that wars are no longer won by superior military capability and ability to hold territory. In fact, as perverse as the incentives of nation states are, it is doubtful whether competent leaders even see territorial acquisition as the ultimate goal, as opposed to economic influence. Recent cyber attacks have made clear that the future will belong to the state that dominates cyberspace (technology), after all what good are computer guided missiles, tanks, airplanes, and even rifles, if they can be rendered useless by hacking. "The Great Game" is no longer afoot in the 21st Century. It should be clear for states, whether benevolent or benign, security seeker or revisionist, or the global superpower itself, the definition of power is rapidly evolving, and only states that realize and cease this opportunity will survive and dominate.


