Afghanistan- The Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower

This is a Pakistani account of operations supporting the Mujahideen during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. First published in 1992 it predates the Taliban and 9/11 giving an `unvarnished' view of events. The main theme is how the US helped the Mujahideen to the threshold of victory, only to yank the rug out from under them at the last minute. That contrasts sharply with the American narrative in which we helped the Afghan freedom fighters overcome the Soviet goliath (and then the credits rolled). Those aren't the only narratives at play, but the book gives an important slice of what was going on in Afghanistan during the 80's and how it contributed to what followed.

THIS IS A FACTUAL, READABLE AND DETAILED, INSIDER'S ACCOUNT OF THE AFGHAN WAR AGAINST THE SOVIETS. THAT SAID, IT MOVES WELL ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN THE READER'S INTEREST. THE AUTHOR LITERALLY COULDN'T BE MORE QUALIFIED TO SPEAK. AS HEAD OF THE PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE SERVICE'S AFGHAN BUREA FOR FOUR CRUCIAL YEARS FROM 1983-1987, HE WAS THE STRATEGIC AND SOMETIMES TACTICAL BRAINS BEHIND THE MUJAHIDEEN EFFORT AGAINST THE SOVIETS, PROVIDING LEADERSHIP FOR MUJAHIDIN COMMANDERS IN THE FIELD AS WELL AS THE OVERALL CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS. HE IS ARTICULATE AND COGENT IN HIS PRESENTATION (THE BOOK IS QUITE WELL WRITTEN) AS WELL AS SURPRISINGLY VULNERABLE IN WHAT HE SHARES. WHAT RESULTS IS AN AUTHORITATIVE AND PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE SOVIET AFGHAN WAR, TOLD BY THE PAKISTANI GENERAL WHO SERVED AS ITS ARCHITECT. THE AUTHOR LAYS OUT HIS THINKING AND INVITES THE READER INTO THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS (AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY) AS HE SEEKS TO DISCERN HOW BEST TO EMPLOY HIS LIMITED AND DISPARATE FORCES AND RESOURCES TO OPPOSE (AND EVENTUALLY DEFEAT) THE VASTLY SUPERIOR FIREPOWER AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE SOVIET ARMY. HE LAYS OUT THE IMMENSE LOGISTICAL, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL PROBLEMS WHICH FACED HIM AT THE OUTSET. IN THIS BOOK THE READER BASICALLY GETS TO SIT DOWN WITH PAKISTANI BRIGADIER GENERAL MOHAMMAD YOUSEF AND LISTEN TO HIM TELL HIS STORY. IT'S QUITE AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY IF THOUGHT OF IN THOSE TERMS... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO THOSE WITH AN INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL EVENTS WHICH HE DESCRIBES, OR THOSE WITH A GENERAL INTEREST IN EITHER PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN OR THE MILITARY DECISION MAKING PROCESS. IVE READ SEVERAL BOOKS OF SIMILAR SUBJECT MATTER - THIS ONE IS REALLY A GEM.

Afghan/Soviet War books can be broken up into a finite set of subjects. Personal/First Person Journalist account, War tactics or High level political/war analysis. This book is squarely in the last category. A view of the war as described by the Pakistani ISI Brigadier General who ran it. Regardless of the fact that the book is one sided, I found the book invaluable as a reference on how the Pakistani's ran the war. From Supply chain, US politics, right to on-the-ground tactics; the General goes over everything. At some points admitting Government secrets (That had probably be unclassified by print time). An excellent book, well written, and interesting. The book even reviews at a tactical level, many battles you can read in "The Other Side of the Mountain". This book won't cover the entire war, but is a great high level view of the Pakistani operational framework.

Afghan/Soviet War books can be broken up into a finite set of subjects. Personal/First Person Journalist account, War tactics or High level political/war analysis. This book is squarely in the last category. A view of the war as described by the Pakistani ISI Brigadier General who ran it. Regardless of the fact that the book is very one-sided, biased and self-promotional; I found the book invaluable as a reference on how the Pakistani's ran the war. From Supply chain, US politics, right to on-the-ground tactics; the General goes over everything. At some points admitting Government secrets (That had probably been unclassified by print time). An excellent book, well written, and interesting. The book even reviews at a tactical level, many battles you can read in "The Other Side of the Mountain". I would suggest anyone who reads this, also read books written by the Soviets to get an even picture.

I think it is an excellent book.Many people in the world would not like this book to be read but the lessons are very real.One of reviews mentioned that U.S was there only for realpolitik and had no concern about Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the history shows U.S ditched Pakistan and Afghanistan shortly after Soviet defeat but then at what COST? By not getting involved in rebuilding Afghanistan it only handed Afghanistan to Osama in a silver platter in the end getting 911 attacks? .Similarly, by placing unlimited sanctions on its trusted ally Pakistan and allowing India to take unmatched edge in conventional strength only forced Pakistan to sell the only thing it had i.e. Nuclear Technology thus making the world far more dangerous place.Was that a wise U.S policy?? The book was written nearly 10 years back , and the present events clearly demonstrate a clear failure in the U.S grand strategy in the post Soviet era. As this book shows and as the 911 commission openly stated that U.S must be ready for making the hard choice of undertaking a long term relationship towards Pakistan in particular and the regian in general.