How the Good War Went Bad

Afghans danced in the streets when the Taliban regime was overthrown in 2001 and welcomed Western soldiers and aid workers when they arrived in Kabul. Peace seemed possible after twenty years of terrible conflict. But warlords were allowed to return to power and the international community, distracted by Iraq, lost interest, so when the Taliban launched a resurgence just four years later, angry young Afghans flocked to join them - just as British forces were arriving in Helmand on a badly planned mission that was supposed to bring stability but instead ignited a war.

How the Good War Went Bad tells the story of how the high hopes of 2001 went sour, miring the West in a long and bloody guerrilla war that never needed to be fought, and points to how we can get out of Afghanistan without leaving a disaster in our wake.

Book Author

Nick Meo first visited Afghanistan in the last days of the Taliban in 2001, reporting on the plight of a desperate people in a wrecked land ruled by religious extremists. Six weeks later on September 11th the Taliban’s jihadist Arab guests launched an attack on America, starting a war which shows no sign of ending. Nick covered the 2001 war, then spent three years from 2002 – 2005 reporting on Afghanistan for The Independent and the Economist as the country was transformed; new freedoms were enjoyed, reconstruction started and the hope grew that at last Afghanistan was emerging...
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