Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net

"The coldest I have ever been in my life was in the mountains of Afghanistan. I was in a helicopter with the windows and doors open. It was dark, the middle of winter, and I wasn’t wearing a jacket. But up there, something became clear to me: America is fighting its wars all wrong... "

Thus starts Joshua Foust's riveting and thoughtful account of the U.S. military's engagement in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010.

In early 2009, Foust, a long-time Afghan-affairs afficianado and respected blogger, got his first chance to go to the country he had been fascinated with for so long. He brought to the trip not just a wealth of knowledge about the country, but also an intelligence and sensitivity that informed all his writings during and after the trip.

Afghanistan Journal  is Foust's first book. It's a collection of his writings-- mainly those he blogged at Registan.net-- that starts from the observations he blogged during the visit he made to Afghanistan, January-March 2009.  It then looks in more detail at the situation within some of Afghanistan's key provinces, including Helmand, Nuristan, Kunar, and Kapisa. In the final part of the book, he looks at some of the broader policy issues involved-- and at the ways Americans discuss (and on many occasions, mis-discuss) them.

• See Full Table of Contents
• Read Praise for Afghanistan Journal