Bleeding Afghanistan: How the U.S. Destroyed a Country

This is the on-the-ground report of how the US has affected Afghanistan’s struggle to define itself post-9/11. In the years following 9/11, US policy in Afghanistan has received little scrutiny, either from the media or the public. Despite official claims of democracy and women’s freedom, Afghanistan has yet to emerge from the ashes of decades-long war. Through in-depth research and detailed historical context, Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls report on the injustice of US policies in Afghanistan historically and in the post 9-11 era. Drawing from declassified government documents and on-the-ground interviews with Afghan activists, journalists, lawyers, refugees, and students, the book examines the connections between US training and arming of Mujahadeen commanders and the subversion of Afghan democracy, to the sad state of warlordism, women’s oppression, and poverty today. Bleeding Afghanistan boldly critiques the exploitation of Afghan women to justify war by both conservatives and liberals, analyses uncritical media coverage of US policies and examines the ways in which the US benefits from being in Afghanistan.