I Is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror: 18 Years Inside Afghanistan

I came away from reading this book more dismayed with the Bush administration's response to 9/11 than ever. If Kathy Gannon has got it right, and she certainly has the credentials: AP correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan from 1986 to 2005; recipient of the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism award; and an Edward R. Murrow fellowship--if Gannon has got it right, the US basically fired enough rockets and dropped enough bombs in Afghanistan to chase the Taliban into the hills; and then instead of relying on US Special Forces to get the job done, the Bush administration let the warlords take over. Actually it was worse than that. Gannon reports on several incidents where the US military allowed the Northern Alliance warlords to direct US rockets and bombs at personal enemies or people allied with rival warlords. They told the Americans these people were Taliban, and got them mowed down. Well, war is hell, you say. What Gannon argues is that the US only made a half-hearted effort to get Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, leaving most of the work to the Northern Alliance of murderous warlords (Reagan's old Cold War "freedom fighters") whose main desire was to retake their territory from the Taliban and return to business as usual. Which they have. From Gannon's tone and from the evidence she presents, the warlords are in some ways worse than the Taliban. Be that as it may, and both are pretty horrible, the fact remains that we killed a lot of people in Afghanistan but really did not do anything substantial in ending the terrorist threat. The main reason for that, according to my reading of Gannon, is that the Bush administration found no way to get to the real source of Al Qaeda terrorism which just moved inside Pakistan. Bush talked to Pervez Musharraf, the head of Pakistan's military government and got his assurance that he would support the US in its war on terrorism. That was it. The problem for Bush was he had no plan to force the military government in Pakistan to hand over bin Laden and no plan to make Musharraf close down the madrassas religious schools that flourish to teach young men how to be terrorists and indoctrinate them into hating the West. Toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan was only one step in the war against terrorism, the easy part. The hard part remains: how to persuade Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and some other states from supporting terrorism. Bush had--and apparently still has--no idea how to do that. He couldn't invade Pakistan. Regime change there was too dangerous considering Pakistan's nukes and other considerations. He didn't dare go after the Saudi princes who are the source of the wealth of many of his top supporters. Instead he did a non-sequitur: he invaded Iraq. What is most enlightening about this book is how it reveals the dismal failure of the Bush administration to meet the challenge of terrorism. But the book is also a vivid and fascinating reportage on personalit

Kathy Gannon's new book is excellent. She does an incredible job of making hard to understand issues and the Afghan personalities behind them accessible to her reading audience. She sits with them, explains the connections to the audience to all the names that many Americans probably gloss over in a newspaper - if that newspaper even cares to delve into them at all. At the same time, she humanizes both Afghans - from her translaters to the people she meets who help her in various villages - to herself as well. Most tellingly, she recounts staying in touch with the family of an American woman who was kidnapped - letting them know that all is well - all while going about the business of covering the news while she herself is in just as much danger. Some say journalists exploit the sensational aspects of the news - but here is a perfect example of the human side and sensitivities needed to cover even the most dangerous war zones. I totally recommend this book for anyone interested in the ongoing war and rebuilding in Afghanistan.

I am deeply impressed by Kathy Gannon's dedication and bravery to tell the story of the Afghan people caught up in the terrors of war. I appreciate how Afghanistan resonates on a deep personal level for her, yet her point of view feels fair and objective. Her eighteen years covering Afghanistan as a journalist gives us so much information to comprehend the diverse factors leading up to the current situation. It helped me very much to get the background on Pakistan's relationship to the wars in Afghanistan. She broadened my understanding of the Taliban's rise to power without demonizing them. The incident at the end of the book where she secretly interviews a young suicide bomber is very sobering. The level of hatred directed towards the USA is frightening. This book definitelly needs to be read by a wide audience to help us find our way towards better understanding the Muslim world and perhaps towards a direction of peace.

The must-read book for anyone who truly wants to understand what is going on in Afghanistan right now. Kathy Gannon cuts through the murky information provided by the western press and gives us a crystal clear picture of a nation struggling to deal with the problems that have plagued it for centuries. Natalie Rea, Executive Director, The International Legal Foundation.

As a contemporaneous account of events in Afghanistan as they unfolded from the mid 80s onwards, it is outstanding. Also, for sheer personal bravery, Kathy G deserves a gold star particularly for her decision to stay behind in Kabul in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 till the Talibs ejected her. However, some of her suggestions and judgments towards the end of the book are arguably suspect. Suggesting that abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo were treated differently to what may have happened if Saddam's minions committed them is a bit absurd. Also suggesting that US actions in deploying limited ground forces in the Afghan theater during Enduring Freedom ignores prevailing sentiment that railed about how the US was going to end up in a quagmire like Vietnam particularly given what happened to the Britsh during the two Afghan wars of the nineteenth century. Gannon also unfortunately is far too pessimistic about Afghanistan and also washes (wishes?) away much of the good work that is still underway. For instance, the US has promised $900m just to train the police force and India has committed $500m for infrastucture development. The jury is still out on whether a coherent nation will emerge but it is far from clear that it is where it was prior to the US intervention of 2001.