A review by st_urmer
What We Won: America's Secret War in Afghanistan, 1979-89 by Bruce Riedel

4.0

This is a fascinating and eye-opening account of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan and America’s response to it. It purportedly, and convincingly, claims to correct many myths about the events. Perhaps most relevant to today is the fact that, contrary to popular wisdom, the US and CIA did not create the conditions for the rise of Al Qaeda. The author argues that the Mujahedin had already set about fighting the communist Afghans and the Soviets; the Pakistani government was already focused on running things and the Saudis were already financing the efforts before the CIA got involved. Islamist and jihadist ideology were already driving the key players and Arab volunteers were already flooding in to fight. The author also establishes Carter’s pivotal role in the US response well before Reagan and Charlie Wilson got involved.