Hubris, Self-Interest, and America's Failed War in Afghanistan

the Self-Sustaining Overreach

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, International Relations, Government
Cover of the book Hubris, Self-Interest, and America's Failed War in Afghanistan by Thomas P. Cavanna, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas P. Cavanna ISBN: 9781498506205
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: July 22, 2015
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Thomas P. Cavanna
ISBN: 9781498506205
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: July 22, 2015
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

This book describes the conduct of the US-led post-9/11 war in Afghanistan. Adopting a long-term perspective, it argues that even though Washington initially had an opportunity to achieve its security goals and give Afghanistan a chance to enter a new era, it compromised any possibility of success from the very moment it let bin Laden escape to Pakistan in December 2001, and found itself locked in a strategic overreach.
Given the bureaucratic and rhetorical momentum triggered by the war on terror in America, the Bush Administration was bound to deploy more resources in Afghanistan sooner or later (despite its focus on Iraq). The need to satisfy unfulfilled counter-terrorism objectives made the US dependent on Afghanistan’s warlords, which compromised the country’s stability and tarnished its new political system. The extension of the US military presence made Washington lose its leverage on the Pakistan army leaders, who, aware of America’s logistical dependency on Islamabad, supported the Afghan insurgents – their historical proxies - more and more openly. The extension of the war also contributed to radicalize segments of the Afghan and Pakistani populations, destabilizing the area further.
In the meantime, the need to justify the extension of its military presence influenced the US-led coalition into proclaiming its determination to democratize and reconstruct Afghanistan. While highly opportunistic, the emergence of these policies proved both self-defeating and unsustainable due to an inescapable collision between the US-led coalition’s inherent self-interest, hubris, limited knowledge, limited attention span and limited resources, and, on the other hand, Afghanistan’s inherent complexity. As the critical contradictions at the very heart of the campaign increased with the extension of the latter’s duration, scale, and cost, America’s leaders, entrapped in path-dependence, lost their strategic flexibility. Despite debates on troops/resource allocation and more sophisticated doctrines, they repeated the same structural mistakes over and over again. The strategic overreach became self-sustaining, until its costs became intolerable, leading to a drawdown which has more to do with a pervasive sense of failure than with the accomplishment of any noble purpose or strategic breakthrough.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book describes the conduct of the US-led post-9/11 war in Afghanistan. Adopting a long-term perspective, it argues that even though Washington initially had an opportunity to achieve its security goals and give Afghanistan a chance to enter a new era, it compromised any possibility of success from the very moment it let bin Laden escape to Pakistan in December 2001, and found itself locked in a strategic overreach.
Given the bureaucratic and rhetorical momentum triggered by the war on terror in America, the Bush Administration was bound to deploy more resources in Afghanistan sooner or later (despite its focus on Iraq). The need to satisfy unfulfilled counter-terrorism objectives made the US dependent on Afghanistan’s warlords, which compromised the country’s stability and tarnished its new political system. The extension of the US military presence made Washington lose its leverage on the Pakistan army leaders, who, aware of America’s logistical dependency on Islamabad, supported the Afghan insurgents – their historical proxies - more and more openly. The extension of the war also contributed to radicalize segments of the Afghan and Pakistani populations, destabilizing the area further.
In the meantime, the need to justify the extension of its military presence influenced the US-led coalition into proclaiming its determination to democratize and reconstruct Afghanistan. While highly opportunistic, the emergence of these policies proved both self-defeating and unsustainable due to an inescapable collision between the US-led coalition’s inherent self-interest, hubris, limited knowledge, limited attention span and limited resources, and, on the other hand, Afghanistan’s inherent complexity. As the critical contradictions at the very heart of the campaign increased with the extension of the latter’s duration, scale, and cost, America’s leaders, entrapped in path-dependence, lost their strategic flexibility. Despite debates on troops/resource allocation and more sophisticated doctrines, they repeated the same structural mistakes over and over again. The strategic overreach became self-sustaining, until its costs became intolerable, leading to a drawdown which has more to do with a pervasive sense of failure than with the accomplishment of any noble purpose or strategic breakthrough.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Controversial Chiefs in Colonial Kenya by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book The Making of Hmong America by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Prisons in the Americas in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Understanding the Black Flame and Multigenerational Education Trauma by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Salsa and Its Transnational Moves by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Media and Politics in Contemporary Italy by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book South Asia Conundrum by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Food, Power, and Resistance in the Andes by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Engineering the Climate by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book The Pursuit of Happiness and the American Regime by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book The Poetics of Genre in the Contemporary Novel by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Deconstructing Dads by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book A Theory of Feelings by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Not Just Getting By by Thomas P. Cavanna
Cover of the book Picturing China in the American Press by Thomas P. Cavanna
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy