An intimate war : an oral history of the Helmand conflict, 1978/2012 /

Martin, Mike, 1951-

An intimate war : an oral history of the Helmand conflict, 1978/2012 / Oral history of the Helmand conflict, 1978/2012 Mike Martin. - Oxford : Oxford University Press, (c)2014. - 1 online resource (xxx, 389 pages) : illustrations, maps

Includes bibliographies and index.

Pre-1978 Helmandi history -- From the Saur revolution to the Soviet withdrawal, 1978-89 -- From the Soviet withdrawal to the US intervention, 1989-2001 --From the US intervention to the return of the Angrez, 2001-6 -- From the return of the Angrez to US re-engagement, 2006-9 -- From US re-engagement: 'counterinsurgency, 2009-12.

An Intimate War tells the story of the last thirty-four years of conflict in Helmand Province, Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of the Helmandis. In the West, this period is often defined through different lenses - the Soviet intervention, the civil war, the Taliban, and the post-2001 nation-building era. Yet, as experienced by local inhabitants, the Helmand conflict is a perennial one, involving the same individuals, families and groups, and driven by the same arguments over land, water and power. This book - based on both military and research experience in Helmand and 150 interviews in Pashto - offers a very different view of Helmand from those in the media. It demonstrates how outsiders have most often misunderstood the ongoing struggle in Helmand and how, in doing so, they have exacerbated the conflict, perpetuated it and made it more violent - precisely the opposite of what was intended when their interventions were launched. Mike Martin's oral history of Helmand underscores the absolute imperative of understanding the highly local, personal, and nonideological nature of internal conflict in much of the 'third' world.



9780190237912


Taliban--History.
International Security Assistance Force (Afghanistan)


Internal security--Afghanistan--Helmand.
Afghan War, 2001-2021--Campaigns--Afghanistan--Helmand.
Afghan War, 2001-2021--Participation, British.
Public opinion--Afghanistan--Helmand.


Electronic Books.

DS371 / .I585 2014