Afghanistan's Violent Decades: A History, 1978 Through 2021

This book examines the key political and military events in Afghanistan from 1978 to August 2021. It covers the Afghan-Soviet war and how that war was followed by an Afghan Civil War that made the country receptive to the rise of the Afghan Taliban. It explains how the Taliban secured control of Afghanistan's government, and permitted Osama bin Laden to reside in the country while he secretly planned an attack on the American mainland.

It also covers why Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terroris...