Steve Coll offers a fascinating look at the intrigue and internecine rivalries among the intelligence agencies participating unwittingly in the ascendance of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan during the last two decades of the 20th century. In a shadow world where loyalties wear thin and all is not as it seems, American CIA, Pakistani ISI and Saudi GID agents covertly funnel money, arms, and intelligence to both nascent guerrilla movements and warring Afghan factions through the 1980s and 90s. Coll reveals the events leading to 9/11 not only on the battlefields of Afghanistan, but behind closed doors in the corridors of power in Washington, Islamabad, and Riyadh.
Arming the Afghan mujahideen as they wage a vicious and protracted insurgency against the Soviet occupiers in the 80s seems harmless enough. But the untrained Arabs fighting alongside their intrepid Afghan counterparts fall under the sway of a charismatic young Arab sheik with far greater ambitions than merely pushing the stubborn Soviet Bear back to his den. Though he would demonstrate limited ability as a field commander, Osama bin Laden aroused bloodlust in these guerrilla fighters that would result in the most lethal act of terrorism in modern history. Ghost Wars offers an explanation as to how U.S. arms such as Stinger missiles wind up in the hands of those very same guerrillas.
After documenting the defeat of the mighty Soviet Army at the hands of the CIA/ISI/GID-supported mujahideen, Coll turns his attention to the intelligence agencies' often misguided efforts to choose sides in an Afghan civil war that eventually destroys much of Kabul and drives many refugees to Pakistan. Incredibly, while American covert operatives support Ahmed Shah Massoud's efforts in the North, our Pakistani 'allies' are funding Pashtun warlords such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in the Southeastern part of the country!
An unintended consequence of these actions - as the intelligence agencies become preoccupied - is the emergence of extreme radical Islam in the form of al-Qaeda. Initially intent only on the overthrow of Middle Eastern governments not practicing a pure form of Islam, al-Qaeda's malevolent aims evolve into global jihad against America and her allies and one audacious plot to strike our country. Bin Laden patiently and painstakingly builds his terrorist organization first in Sudan, then in Eastern Afghanistan while the Afghan civil war rages on. On more than one occasion the spy agencies (and their government sponsors) discount al-Qaeda as a serious threat and eventually pass on opportunities to strike Bin Laden's camp. And at one point a U.S. Tomahawk Cruise Missile attack simply misses its mark!
It becomes obvious from reading Ghost Wars that American efforts to influence events in Afghanistan subsequent to the 1980s Soviet-Afghan War, largely through clandestine operations, were at times counterproductive. One can easily argue that those efforts indirectly resulted in more, rather than less, instability in Central and South Asia.
In this ambitious work, Coll captures in precise detail the events leading up to 9/11 from the early days of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan through the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and the USS Cole bombing. For that alone, Ghost Wars is worth reading. Through thorough and meticulous research (there are some 50+ pages of endnotes), the author sets an almost impossible standard in reporting. Most of the interviews Coll relies on in the book he apparently conducts himself. And in an effort to ensure accuracy, he repeatedly checks facts against recently declassified documents, updating the newer printing with the corrected information.
The reader struggles to keep up with the many characters that move in and out of the murky and byzantine spy world that is the milieu for this 576-page book. However, Coll carefully constructs the most important characters such as William Casey, George Tenet, and Prince Turki bin Faisal, Head of Saudi Intelligence, such that the reader gains an appreciation for not only what these spymasters thought, but how they thought. One is left to wonder how these talented and capable government officials missed so many clues in the run-up to 9/11.
The detailed character development (including that of Bin Laden) without a doubt is the most satisfying element of Ghost Wars. It is what truly makes the book worthwhile reading. Highly recommend for that alone!
For future generations of politicians intent on committing our nation's considerable intelligence resources to shadow wars in far-flung backwaters like Afghanistan, a careful reading of Ghost Wars ought to make them think twice.
A Detailed Account of the Events Leading to 9/11.
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A six star non-fiction thriller
