The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War

Written by Craig Whitlock and The Washington Post

Narrated by Dan Bittner

A Washington Post Best Book of 2021

The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock.

Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives.

Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory.

Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground.

Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.”

The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781797131528

Craig Whitlock

Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Afghanistan Papers. He has worked for the Post since 1998 as a foreign correspondent, Pentagon reporter, and national security specialist, and has reported from more than sixty countries. His coverage of the war in Afghanistan won the George Polk Award for Military Reporting, the Scripps Howard Award for Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Freedom of Information Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for international reporting. He is also a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Reviews for The Afghanistan Papers

[Michael Orabona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best informational audio book. About Afghanistan. How it was fought and insight of Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations.

[Craig · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A powerful and deeply depressing read about the lack of accountability and truth in the longest war that the US has been involved in to date. The sad part is will the US actually learn the lessons that need to be taken and be more humble and honest in the future.

[mary8724murray · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really well written and entertaining. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys deep look into the war.

[Mateo Mower · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was very interested and hopeful to read a clear history of the Afghanistan fiasco. So many American lives lost for what? The author reveals his political bias in his dismissive attitude and references to President Trump. I cannot trust the authors presentation

[Nash 007 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very average and disappointing. Lost count of how many times the army oral interview comes.

[Betty Bennett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like the Pentagon papers, this well researched book documents the way policy as stated does not even closely resemble what the public is told. We see the wasteful, high-handed practices and the predictable outcome the followed.

[Mike K · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How hubris, arrogance, ignorance, pride, deception, and plain stupidity squandered billions of dollars and thousands of lives on America's longest war that politicians - military and civil - refused to admit of error or learn from their mistakes.

[Ted Staggs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great insight and overview of the lengthy questionable war in Afghanistan!

[Raghavendra Bhamidimarri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Insightful book for folks who want to delve deeper into why the US lost the war in Afghanistan. The author pieces together various declassified documents and testimonies from multiple war generals who were deployed many times to Afghanistan and gives us a first hand narration.

The book wades through Bush, Obama, Trump presidencies and how each of them were struck in quagmire regarding having an exit strategy to a war whose main target was to avenge 9/11. Beautifully described in words of soldiers on the ground, this book is a must read for anyone interested in military history analysis and how successive governments deceived American public with false narratives while spending billions of tax dollars for nothing.

[p jr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting the answer on why the withdrawal was botched but it was never mentioned. Otherwise it is a good book.

[gfeldman8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As an Afghan, I can say that this book is very important to understanding why everything ended like it did! The author did a great job!