Table of Contents

Anglo-Afghan Relations: The 19th-Century Background The First Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War The Reign of Abdur Rahman: Afghanistan as Buffer State The Dawn of Anglo-Afghan Cooperation The Rise and Fall of Amanullah: A Lesson in Modernization Toward Greater Cooperation: Nadir Shah and Hashim Khan Afghanistan in World War II and the Origins of the Lancaster Plan The Partition of India and Its Impact on Afghanistan Afghanistan, British Strategy, and the Decision for Partition The Transfer of Power on the Northwest Frontier The Strategic Ramifications of Partition American Policy toward South Asia The Truman Administration and American Policy in South Asia The Eisenhower Administration and the Alliance with Pakistan American Policy toward Afghanistan The Truman Administration and Afghanistan The Eisenhower Administration, Afghanistan, and the Alliances Consequences Mohammed Daoud, Soviet-Afghan Agreements, and the Road to War Summary and Conclusions

Promotional Information

Clarifies the origins of Afghanistan's current dilemma and offers guidance for future policy.

About the Author

JEFFERY J. ROBERTS is Professor of History at Tennessee Technological University.

Reviews

"[A] historical synopsis of Afghanistan's tortuous history from the beginning of the First Afghan War (1836-1842) through the eve of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. The strength of this book is obvious from the start. Dr. Roberts provides a clear, concise background on how Afghanistan fragmented due largely in part to its geographic co-location with British-controlled India and the expanding Russian empire....Dr. Roberts is to be commended for writing this excellent book....This is, undoubtedly, the single best book on U.S.-Afghan relations and should be in every diplomat's library that deals with Afghanistan."-Journal of Slavic Military Studies

?Historian Jeffery Roberts has written a detailed, fully researched political and diplomatic study.... With a scholarly thoroughness and attention to detail, Roberts documents the tentative, post-WWII steps taken by the United States to address a regional power vacuum created by the fading of the British Empire. He outlines the missed opportunities and limited visions of U.S. diplomacy and strategic thinking that contributed to the political context of Afghanistan's recent tragic past.?-Middle East Journal

?Unlike many other recent books on the past 26 years of conflict and warfare in Afghanistan, this historical account begins well before the 1978 revolution. Roberts does not consider the three Anglo-Afghan wars and subsequent isolation of Afghanistan to be mere historical background for understanding alleged Afghan xenophobia and a stereotypical (and frequently invidious) reputation for 'ferocity.' Instead, he presents the thesis that Afghanistan might have become a willing ally of the West if more attention had been devoted to its national interests and economic needs.... This excellent historical study is a valuable antidote to the spate of instant-analysis publications that have typically underanalyzed the U.S.'s role in allowing the Taliban to take over Afghanistan and remain in power for six years. Highly recommended. All levels and libraries.?-Choice

"Historian Jeffery Roberts has written a detailed, fully researched political and diplomatic study.... With a scholarly thoroughness and attention to detail, Roberts documents the tentative, post-WWII steps taken by the United States to address a regional power vacuum created by the fading of the British Empire. He outlines the missed opportunities and limited visions of U.S. diplomacy and strategic thinking that contributed to the political context of Afghanistan's recent tragic past."-Middle East Journal

"Unlike many other recent books on the past 26 years of conflict and warfare in Afghanistan, this historical account begins well before the 1978 revolution. Roberts does not consider the three Anglo-Afghan wars and subsequent isolation of Afghanistan to be mere historical background for understanding alleged Afghan xenophobia and a stereotypical (and frequently invidious) reputation for 'ferocity.' Instead, he presents the thesis that Afghanistan might have become a willing ally of the West if more attention had been devoted to its national interests and economic needs.... This excellent historical study is a valuable antidote to the spate of instant-analysis publications that have typically underanalyzed the U.S.'s role in allowing the Taliban to take over Afghanistan and remain in power for six years. Highly recommended. All levels and libraries."-Choice