Product Description

"From Africa to Afghanistan" details Greg Mills' four months as special adviser to General David Richards, the British Commander of the Ninth International Security Assistance Force (ISAF IX) in Afghanistan, to help establish and run a civilian think-tank, the Prism Group, within the headquarters in Kabul.It highlights the difficulty of rebuilding a failed state through external assistance, a lesson which translates across borders and continents to Africa and elsewhere.Mills, the 'adventurer-academic' and 'soldier-analyst', has managed to write a book that is entertaining, informative and thought-provoking all at the same time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1606707 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 260 pages

Review
"'Greg Mills tells you all you need to know about Afghanistan, the modern military and rescuing failed states, but were afraid to ask.' Martin Edmonds, Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, UK 'Do the Afghans really want peace? Does the international community really know what it is doing in Afghanistan? Perhaps both questions are being asked too late, but if there is still a chance of success then read Mills to find out why both parties urgently need to read his book.' Christopher Coker, London School of Economics, author of 'The Future of War' 'Greg Mills has tapped into a remarkable array of sources, from command briefings to some of the most outspoken niches of Afghan society. He writes bluntly and eschews the silken phrase, but his analysis penetrates deeply. His 'Ten counter-insurgency commandments' demand that we all think afresh.' Admiral Richard Cobbold, Director, RUSI, UK"

About the Author
Greg Mills heads the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation. An associate research fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) for Defence and Security Studies, he previously (1996-2005) directed the South African Institute of International Affairs. He is the author of more than 30 books, including Security Intersection and the award-winning Wired Model, and has twice been nominated for the Alan Paton award.

Customer Reviews

Some of the best writing on counterinsurgency...
The title of Mills' book has an imperial ring to it, as Christopher Coker of the London School of Economics tells us, for there is something intrepid about the author, who traveled from his native South Africa to Afghanistan to serve as a senior civilian advisor to General David Richards, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commander from May 2006 to February 2007.

"I want to rub off my British habits and go off with Feisal for a bit. Amusing job and all new country." Mills here quotes T. E. Lawrence writing to a colleague in 1916. Mills is a South African academic although at times it seems he would like to have been a soldier. His memoir shows that he understands war better than most and saw it up close in his many journeys beyond International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul. Mills is a bold traveler, and like Lawrence, his interest flares. He projects a passionate commitment to the success of the mission. Taking a cue from Lawrence, Mills entitles one of his chapters "The Eighth Pillar of Wisdom" and offers an illuminating analysis of the problems facing the West, not only in Afghanistan but also in Iraq, which he attributes to policymakers' inadequate knowledge of those countries' histories. His is some of the best writing on counterinsurgency from someone who witnessed it in the course of frequent visits into the field.

It is an amusing read at times, as he offers us mini-vignettes of life in the cantonment -- originally built as a British officers' mess in the second Afghan invasion of the 1870s -- that ISAF calls headquarters. The ISAF staff, like Mills himself, worked incredibly hard, and as I witnessed myself on a visit in August 2007, the commitment of the senior officers is unqualified, even daunting. If NATO fails, it will not be for lack of hard work.

Mills departed Afghanistan with few illusions and, perhaps, fewer hopes but with an unqualified commitment to the mission. In Richards, he served a remarkable commander; in the author of this book, Richards appointed an outstanding advisor who has an understanding of the limits of the possible. This is more than can be said for the politicians to whom Richards had to report.

Thoughts on Africa to Afghanistan
I was excited to purchase this book since I had served in Afghanistan. I perhaps mistakenly believed the work would be more about General David Richards and his leadership of ISAF. Instead it is the story of Greg Mills who served as a cvilian advisor to the General. That said, I would describe the book as a series of vingettes and impressions of his time in country. He does not go into any depth on any one topic and I feel a reader who is not as familiar with the mission as I was would want more background. That is why I rated it with 2 stars. In the end, I enjoyed reading about people or places I had been and seeing another view of this important mission.

If you are really interested in Afghanistan and NATO then pick it up.

A Biograghy of General Richards would be an interesting read. Perhaps someone will write that.