I Is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror in Afghanistan by Kathy Gannon

From the Publisher

This "closely observed chronicle of Afghanistan's descent into chaos, and its attempts to rebound...full of vivid incident and astute analysis" (Wall Street Journal) totally overturns our conventional and simplistic understandings of what has happened in that country. Kathy Gannon, uniquely among Western journalists, witnessed Afghanistan's tragic opera: the final collapse of communism, the wars of the warlords finally driven from power by the Taliban, the subsequent arrival of Arabs and exiles, among them Osama Bin Laden, and the transformation of the country into the staging post for a global jihad. She also observed the terrible, unforeseen consequences of Western intervention and the mistakes we made, and are still making, in dealing with this complex country.

Author Biography: Kathy Gannon was AP correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan from 1986-2005. She is now based in Tehran where she lives with her husband. She was born in Timmins, Canada. In 2004 she was the Edward R. Murrow fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her work has been published in Foreign Affairs and the New Yorker.

The San Francisco Chronicle 9/11/05

"..Gannon offers a concise and bracing account of Afghanistan from a post-Sept. 11 perspective..her passion for her subject is obvious"

The Wall Street Journal 9/14/05

"Her closely observed chronicle of Afghanistan's descent..and its attempts to rebound, is full of vivid incident and astute analysis"

Publishers Weekly

Drawing upon Gannon's years of experience as an AP correspondent in Afghanistan, this contemporary history of the country is strongest when it focuses on the ins and outs of reporting. Particularly compelling is her account of being the only Western journalist allowed into Kabul after 9/11. Less gripping, but still sound, is her "big picture" overview of the Taliban regime, from its origins as a humble vigilante force assembled to stop post-Soviet corruption to its eventual overthrow in 2001. Gannon takes the United Nations to task for refusing to confront the Taliban on women's rights, thereby abetting its repressive edicts, and argues that Osama bin Laden orchestrated the destruction of Afghanistan's ancient Buddhist temples in order to turn the country into a safe zone for himself. But Gannon also has little respect for the current mujahedeen leaders, underlining their reputation as "mass murderers" while noting their possible links to bin Laden. Some readers might wish that Gannon had tied together the various strands of her analysis more neatly, but her firsthand knowledge of the region ultimately gives her interpretation of its recent history strong legitimacy. Agent, Lynn Nesbit. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

KLIATT

Kathy Gannon, a Canadian reporter for the Associated Press, has been living and working in Afghanistan since 1986. This experience has given her a deep understanding of Afghan culture and politics before, during and after 9/11. She traces the rise of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and the West's relationship with the country and its people, which has been one of alternating support of leaders and their abandonment. Due to her personal experience and knowledge of many of the key players, she gives great insight into their motives and how their beliefs have developed in part because of their disillusionment with the promises made to them and their desertion by the West when they were fighting many of the same forces within the region whom we are fighting today. Gannon was allowed to stay in Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 and she records the reaction to the event through interviews with many of her contacts and the average Afghani. She writes in a personal style even as she explains the history and politics of the region. The book is followed by an epilogue that is primarily about the impact of Abu Gharib and the continued lack of success by the West to either understand or deal effectively with Afghanistan and the conflicting powers within it.

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