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Peter Tomsen

The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers Paperback – Illustrated, December 10, 2013

by Peter Tomsen (Author)

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As Ambassador and Special Envoy on Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992, Peter Tomsen has had close relationships with Afghan leaders and has dealt with senior Taliban, warlords, and religious leaders involved in the region's conflicts over the last two decades. Now Tomsen draws on a rich trove of never-before-published material to shed new light on the American involvement in the long and continuing Afghan war.

This book offers a deeply informed perspective on how Afghanistan's history as a "shatter zone" for foreign invaders and its tribal society have shaped the modern Afghan narrative. It brings to life the appallingly misinformed secret operations by foreign intelligence agencies, including the Soviet NKVD and KGB, the Pakistani ISI, and the CIA.

American policy makers, Tomsen argues, still do not understand Afghanistan; nor do they appreciate how the CIA's covert operations and the Pentagon's military strategy have strengthened extremism in the country. At this critical time, he shows how the U.S. and the coalition it leads can assist the region back to peace and stability.

Print length

912 pages
Language

English
Publisher

PublicAffairs
Publication date

December 10, 2013
Dimensions

6 x 1.88 x 9.13 inches
ISBN-10

1610392620
ISBN-13

978-1610392624
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Lee H. Hamilton, former congressman and co-chair of the 9/11 Commission
“The Wars of Afghanistan is a richly detailed account that places current U.S. interests in Afghanistan in the historical, political, and cultural context of this troubled land. Peter Tomsen's compelling analysis of Afghan leaders and tribal politics makes this book invaluable to the policy maker. His wise and carefully considered policy blueprint—basically, America will still help and America is withdrawing—serves American interests and uplifts Afghanistan.”

Chuck Hagel, United States Secretary of Defense
“The authenticity of Tomsen's Afghanistan experiences, knowledge, and analysis is the foundation of a superbly well-written and documented presentation of an astoundingly complicated part of the world. He brings remarkable clarity to a very complex story. Tomsen's book is the most current, informed, and complete Afghanistan publication in the market today … and maybe ever. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has created a masterpiece. It's that good."

San Francisco Chronicle, A Best Book of 2011
“Peter Tomsen, a former U.S. envoy to "the Afghan resistance" from 1989 to 1992, reminds us in his sweeping history that the CIA has had a miserable record of understanding the politics of the region. "The Wars of Afghanistan" is rich with details about his interactions with key players during this critical period. Following the Soviet withdrawal, the United States continued to oppose compromise with the last Afghan communist ruler, Mohammad Najibullah, and to arm the mujahedeen, including figures now fighting the Americans. Drawing on these lessons, Tomsen persuasively calls on Washington to wrest policymaking back from the Pentagon and spy agencies, and advocates U.N. mediation of an Afghan peace process.”

Publishers Weekly, May 16, 2011
“Ambassador and special envoy to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992, Tomsen combines scholarship, analysis, and personal experience in an encyclopedic if disturbing history of post-WWII Afghanistan. Readers will appreciate his expert…insights.”

Steve Coll, author of The Bin Ladens and Ghost Wars
"Peter Tomsen has a depth of understanding and knowledge about the history of Afghanistan that makes him a unique asset in our effort to grapple with the multiple conflicts and intricate politics in what has turned out to be America's longest war.”

Winston Lord, former Assistant Secretary of State
“Accolades like 'magisterial,' 'definitive,' and 'vital' should be reserved for rare books like Peter Tomsen's 'The Wars of Afghanistan.' Few Americans are as knowledgeable about that tormented land's past; none have been more savvy or prescient about its unrolling future. Tomsen's compelling narrative draws upon meticulous scholarship and virgin archives, personal frontline engagement and close ties with major players. This multilayered volume melds sweeping history, cultural painting, political analysis, governmental battles, dramatic action, and provocative prescriptions. 'The Wars of Afghanistan' is bound to have urgent impact and enduring resonance.”

About the Author

Peter Tomsen was President George H.W. Bush's Special Envoy on Afghanistan with the rank of Ambassador from 1989 to 1992. Tomsen entered the Foreign Service in 1967 and served in Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the Soviet Union. He was United States Deputy Chief of Mission in China from 1986 to 1989, deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs from 1992 to 1995, and the American Ambassador to Armenia from 1995 to 1998. He lives in Virginia with his wife.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; Illustrated edition (December 10, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 912 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1610392620
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1610392624
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.46 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.88 x 9.13 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #287 in Central Asia History
- #654 in Afghan War Military History
- #1,246 in International Diplomacy (Books)

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Jeffrey Swystun

Afghanistan is Not a Country - it is one of the longest-running wars in human history

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2011

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I am grateful for this book. As its author, Peter Tomsen, points out there is pervasive ignorance about Afghanistan's history, culture and tribal society. It is a complex mosaic that has never truly experienced a central government due to tribal, ethnic and religious differences.

Many have compared the U.S. and Coalition forces efforts in the country to previous disasters experienced by the British and the Soviets. Tomsen writes, "The 1838 British invasion of Afghanistan established a pattern repeated during future invasions of Afghanistan: hubristic justifications, initial success, gradually widening Afghan resistance, stalemate, and withdrawal."

Fast-forward 150 years and at their peak the Soviets controlled only 20% of the country and 15% of the population. The Politburo's discussions in the 1980's regarding withdrawal sounded eerily similar to what U.S. leaders would debate. Both faced high casualties, big expenditures, antiwar sentiment at home, and little progress on any front.

Afghani history is incredibly bloody and the complex society largely unstable with violence an accepted option. This is even more the case when outsiders enter their borders. Afghans also have a tradition of changing sides - they favor the probable winner so loyalties beyond families and clans are far from assured.

This history was incredibly helpful, however, it was when the author (and former Special Envoy on Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992) covered the last twenty years of Afghan history. It confirmed my own conclusion about Pakistani culpability in promoting radical Islam and orchestrating extremist proxy warfare.

As Tomsen says, "The epicenter of world terrorism is in Pakistan, not Afghanistan." He describes Pakistan as an army with a state rather than other way around. So why has the Pakistani military and their intelligence agency, the ISI, meddled so deeply in Afghan affairs? Tomsen explains that they aim for an Afghanistan ruled by pro-Pakistani Afghan religious extremists to help create "strategic depth" against India, stave off the "Pashtunistan" cause - the unification of Pashtuns on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani frontier, while maintaining control in Pakistan's domestic policy.

Incredibly, the U.S. still supplies Pakistan with staggering amounts of cash and Tomsen claims that America "outsources" its Afghan policy to Pakistan. This when the evidence continues to stack up against Pakistan in their complicity in the actions of the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other extremist groups. Tora Bora and Osama bin Laden's last hideout are clear indictments. The irony is Tomsen documents Taliban complaints of Pakistani duplicity.

This nine hundred and seventy two page book moves with speed. The complex and dense content is well laid out. Tomsen is highly credible and maintains objectivity though he is firm in his conclusions and convictions. He offers a prescription at the end of the book which speaks to an optimism that may surprise given the mess that is Afghanistan.

16 people found this helpful

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Consumer

Starts Strong but Stumbles on the Way to the Finish Line

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2017

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I found the first half of this book very well-written and interesting, but unfortunately the second half did not carry the momentum. The second-half became too personal, occasionally out of chronological order, and it often repeated itself. While the information in the second-half of the book is interesting, presentation struggled. My recommendation is that this is a good book if you are interested in British and Russian occupation of Afghanistan, as well as a general summary of the history beforehand. However, unless you desire to focus on 1989 to 1992 only, I would not recommend this book for understanding America's involvement there if you are looking for a coherent, easy-to-understand read.

3 people found this helpful

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Quizzical Faraday

Epochal history, should stir policy debates

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2015

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I consider this the best history I've read in the last five years. And I've read a lot. Tomsen had remarkable qualities, served in a pivotal role, and writes eloquently. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in western Nepal, where cultures blend into eastern Afghanistan. In the Foreign Service, he served in Asian diplomatic hotspots throughout the 1980s, and became fluent in Russian. Bush Sr. tapped him to be Ambassador in exile of Afghanistan during its Soviet war, for good reason. He understood the region, spoke the languages of the combatants, and was cool under fire.

Tomsen thus interacted with many players of the 1980s Afghan civil war, as no other American probably has. He was able to penetrate the ISI, the Haqqani network, the Northern Alliance. Given this vantage, Tomsen's qualities blossom. He perceives well, gets the details right, and understands how pieces fit together into a big picture. He's passionate without being prejudiced. His focus is on others.

Tomsen's conclusion interests me most. He believes Pakistan is America's enemy in the region. No Afghan victory is possible without dealing with it first. America should abandon the pretense of false alliances. Cut off Pakistan aid, unless it stops destabilizing its neighbor.

From the Afghan perspective, this makes sense. Many U.S. experts agree. It's hard to rationalize sending billions to Pakistan, when it harbored Osama Bin Laden. Let China became Pakistan's benefactor, so it's their big headache.

The problem that doesn't often get fairly addressed is Pakistan's nuclear risk. No other nation has so many so poorly managed weapons, so vulnerable to sabotage or theft. Pakistan's large and growing nuclear arsenal has one target, a few minutes flight away. The possibility of Pakistani nuclear weapons being used is probably as likely as a Category 4 Hurricane hitting New Orleans, or 7.8 earthquake in California.

Given population densities and nuclear warhead power, a nuclear exchange of any kind in Pakistan or India will be the worst human disaster since WWII. The environmental toll could be global. These possibilities overshadow the Afghan war, or Bin Laden. Satellites and technology aren't enough. The U.S. needs a foothold in Pakistan, needs military contacts, needs civilians to provide intelligence.

Little about what is known of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal can be public, this doesn't easily factor into debate over it's role in Afghanistan. But if Pakistan's mostly mobile nuclear systems roll into firing position, or extremists attack and sieze one, we can hope that the U.S. knows more than it can say.

Some might say that U.S. support for Pakistan's military encourages its nuclear brinkmanship. Only an evolution in Pakistani political society, with a civilian government taking control of military policy. will enable it to move away from nuclear weapons. This may be delayed by U.S. military support.

Unfortunately this is a long-term view. Pakistan's society is riven with parochial, even feudal relationships. The systematic oppression of women and minorities is cultural, hardly the result of military efforts. In a society where many people are little more than serfs or peons, where vast regions escape government control, evolution to a normal country is difficult.

One person found this helpful

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Pixie

Politicians should read this

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2012

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Mr Tomsen's book demonstrates the author's intimate knowledge of Afghanistan, but as befits a man who knows his subject he seems to have been ignored by the policymakers in the US government - who would be a prophet in his own land? As a keen student of the Great Game I read the 'Wars of Afghanistan' immediately after reading Christopher Wyatt's excellent `Afghanistan and the Defence of Empire' and came to the conclusion that if history does not repeat itself, it gets close. Perhaps the repetition occurs when decisions are made in faraway places by people who believe in the mantra "if it's not invented here it can't be any good." One might hope that Western policymakers on Afghanistan might at least read the last two chapters of this book if they haven't got the time to read all 700 pages.
One crucial reiterated point is how complex the tribal situation is in Afghanistan. In Europe for example tribalism seems to have devolved down to sport and which team you support. In the Pashtun tribal areas it is not that one is a Durrani or a Ghilzai but a Durrani Zirak or a Ghilzai Hotak and also beneath those sub Tribes there are further subdivisions. Each of the levels is important according to the situation being faced. Understanding this complexity is hard for countries like the USA which lacks such structures. One also wonders about American presidents' knowledge of foreign affairs when four of the last six presidents were state governors prior to their elevation to the presidency. These four certainly managed major economies, large territories, and large populations but does this give them good training for managing foreign affairs.
'My enemy's enemy is my friend,' may be the meeting of strange bedfellows like in the Second World War when the Soviet Union and America/Britain were allies against Germany. After the war the Soviet Union reverted to being the enemy of America and Britain something that the latter two countries recognised. Both countries started to plan for that eventuality before the final defeat of Germany not after it. The question is, 'when my enemy disappears does my enemy's enemy remain my friend?' After the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan clearly some of the mujahedeen groups became an enemy of the USA and then later of Saudi Arabia despite the fact that the latter proselytizes a strict form of Islam. Should this change of situation have been foreseen by the politicians of both countries? Perhaps this was hard to do when both countries rely on Pakistan e.g. logistically and for intelligence, and ignore the fact that Pakistan's agenda is not their's. Pakistan's role and the problems that role has caused is amply documented here.
The book could have been edited to reduce its size but it is an easy read which counts for a lot.

7 people found this helpful

landroverS3LWB

Comprehensive analysis of a complex issue

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

Massive volume really well researched and well written. Its size emphasises the complexity of the country and the tribal tensions. However, I respectfully submit I have read half-page synopses covering the same ground that are more informative.

Mo

Just wow

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

Honest and critical view of Afghanistan

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

An excellent book with a very good introduction of Afghan history ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

An excellent book with a very good introduction of Afghan history leading to the recent tragic developments. The narrative includes concise portraits of important characters in the various Afghan wars. A must read for those interested in the politics of Afghanistan and Jihadi politics in general.

One person found this helpful

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