Review
"The detailed account by Cordovez and harrison, both veteran participants in behind the scenes discussions of the war...details the factionalism in Moscow--and in Washington, between the 'bleeders' and the 'dealers' in the Reagan administration."--The New Republic
"Contrary to conventional wisdom propagated by the Western media...Cordovez and Harrison tell us that the Red Army was on the ground in Afghanistan when the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw. After endless blunders on both the Soviet and American sides, and after six years of excruciatingly ticklish
diplomacy (authoritatively described here), negotiators found a way to secure a settlement. Cordovez's personal role in the dealings lends the book an inside perspective."--The Washington Post Book World
"This is probably the most comprehensive volume written about the events which might be considered a landmark in contemporary history."--International Relations
"The Harrison-Cordovez book represents a major contribution to our understanding of a crucial moment in the Cold War--the Soviet intervention and defeat in Afghanistan."--President Jimmy Carter
"This is a fascinating and important book, and for once a book that lives up to its title. With Diego Cordovez's key personal role, and Selig Harrison's background experience and research, this is "the inside story" of the intricate, multifaceted diplomatic drama behind the Soviet withdrawal from
Afghanistan, and it presents a well-grounded account of the Soviet decisions to intervene and later to pull out as well."--Raymond L. Garthoff, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution and author of The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations and the End of the Cold War
From the Back Cover
Cordovez and Harrison provide the definitive account of the Soviet blunders that led up to the invasion and the bitter struggles over the withdrawal that raged in the Soviet and Afghan Communist parties and the Reagan Administration. The authors are particularly well-suited to their task: Cordovez was the United Nations mediator who negotiated the Soviet pullout, and Harrison is a leading South Asia expert with four decades of experience in covering Afghanistan. Their story of the U.N. negotiations is interwoven with a gripping chronicle of the war years, complete with palace shootouts in Kabul, turf warfare between rival Soviet intelligence agencies, and the C.I.A. role in building up Islamic fundamentalist guerrilla leaders at the expense of Afghan moderates. Cordovez opens up his diaries to take us behind the scenes in his negotiations, and Harrison draws on interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, former Secretary of State George Shultz, and other key actors. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was one of the pivotal events of recent history. Out of Afghanistan destroys many of the myths surrounding the Afghan war and will have a profound impact on the emerging debate over how and why the Cold War ended.
About the Author
Undersecretary-General for Special Political Affairs of the United Nations from 1981 to 1988, Diego Cordovez was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the Geneva Accords. Selig S. Harrison, a former Washington Post foreign correspondent and the author of five books about
Asia, is a Senior Associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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