Table of Contents

List of Acronyms

List of Tables and Figures

Preface

Introduction: The Fall of Kabul

Chapter 1: Preexisting Conditions

Chapter 2: Ticking Clocks

Chapter 3: Dilemmas

Chapter 4: Paradoxes

Chapter 5: Avoiding Unwinnable Wars

Chapter 6: Wars Worth Fighting

Notes

About the Author

Adam Wunische is a senior analyst and researcher working on military, intelligence, and security issues. Previously, he was a military analyst and analytic methodologist with the CIA covering security issues in Afghanistan and South Asia. He is also a lecturer at George Washington University, teaching classes on military affairs, terrorism and political violence, and analytic research methods. Adam has held a number of positions throughout the policy and analysis fields, including research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Adam was a sergeant serving in US Army intelligence from 2005 to 2010, completing two deployments to Afghanistan in support of the 3rd Special Forces Group.

Reviews

"Unwinnable Wars combines a scathing indictment of the follies leading to the U.S. failure in Afghanistan with a detailed and dispassionate assessment of the challenges inherent in any attempt at armed statebuilding. It contains an abundance of policy-relevant lessons."
Andrew Bacevich, chairman and co-founder, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

"A critical read for policymakers and national security professionals, succinctly laying out why armed statebuilding is so difficult, frustrating, and unlikely to succeed. Wunische’s conclusions are critical to preventing the costly future recurrence of these ambitious but doomed adventures."
Jonathan Schroden, former strategic advisor to US Forces - AFG

"Adam Wunische's Unwinnable Wars reinforces much of what we know from history and social science: armed statebuilding interventions are unlikely to succeed due to a long list of well-known factors. In an important contribution to existing scholarship, and a much-needed guide to policymakers, Wunische offers us a comprehensive framework to understand the narrow conditions under which military interventions could work. He supports this argument with compelling and wide-ranging historical case studies. A welcome and crucial addition to research on military intervention."
Jasen J. Castillo, Texas A&M University

"In this intriguing and original book, Adam Wunische convincingly argues that the debates about strategy in Afghanistan (and other armed statebuilding cases) are irrelevant, because these conflicts are unwinnable. Its sophistication, accessibility, and powerful analysis should make this a widely read and discussed book."
Jeffrey Meiser, University of Portland