Product Description

This is the story of the defeat of Soviet Russia's forces in Afghanistan by a guerrilla force known as the Mujahideen, heavily backed by Pakistan and the USA. The Mujahideen paved the way for the Taliban regime, to exist having all but defeated the Russian Army in the late 80's.

The author, Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf, was head of the Afghan Bureau of Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence and as such was effectively the Mujahideen's commander-in-chief. He controlled the flow of thousands of tons of arms across Pakistan and into its occupied neighbor, arms that were bought with CIA and Saudi Arabian funds from the USA. One of the Mujahideen's close allies was none other than Osama Bin Laden.

This compelling book was put together with great skill the by military historian, Mark Adkin in conjunction with Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf and is essential reading for anyone interested in the truth behind the Afghanistan War which led to the conditions that exist there today.

A hardback edition of this book was published by Casemate in 2001 under the title Afghanistan: The Bear Trap.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #834292 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

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Customer Reviews

Important but neglected
The author was in a leading position during the Afghan-Soviet war. It details why the Soviet Union lost the war and how the Mujahideen's victory was squandered thereafter. Since the book is written from the inside of the Pakistani security services it provides a different view than we are accustomed to. It also shows why the Afghan war, the US and its allies is currently engaged in, is not winnable in the traditional military sense and why our planners in the Pentagon should take the lessons which the Soviets learned the hard way to heart. Brigadier Yousaf, provides details of battle plans, does not mince words and also points to the inadequacies of the CIA's approach to the war. The fact that 85,000 Soviet troops on the ground could not control the country leads one to wonder why a smaller force should be able to do it now. Since Afghans are some of the most fiercely independent people in the world a rethinking of our strategy in that country is urgently required and this book can be of great help in this respect.