How We Won and Lost the War in Afghanistan: Two Years in the Pashtun Homeland by Douglas Grindle

Douglas Grindle provides a firsthand account of how the war in Afghanistan was won in a rural district south of Kandahar City and how the newly created peace slipped away when vital resources failed to materialize and the United States headed for the exit.

By placing the reader at the heart of the American counterinsurgency effort, Grindle reveals little-known incidents, including the failure of expensive aid programs to target local needs, the slow throttling of local government as official funds failed to reach the districts, and the United States’ inexplicable failure to empower the Afghan local officials even after they succeeded in bringing the people onto their side. Grindle presents the side of the hard-working Afghans who won the war and expresses what they really thought of the U.S. military and its decisions. Written by a former field officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development, this story of dashed hopes and missed opportunities details how America’s desire to leave the war behind ultimately overshadowed its desire to sustain victory.

The book is published by University of Nebraska Press.

"A well-told story and a must-read for those who want to understand the obstacles to success in Afghanistan." (Publishers Weekly)

“The best book yet to explain what the civilians in Afghanistan at the district level actually were doing and trying to do. Highly readable.” (Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann, author of The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan)

“Doug Grindle's insightful understanding of the Afghan people and their trials and tribulation make this account a must-read.” (Sam Striker, author of The Humanity of Warfare)

Year: 2017