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Killing the Cranes

A Reporter's Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan
by Edward Girardet
Killing the Cranes: A Reporter's Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan. Chelsea Green. Sept. 2011. c.416p. illus. index. ISBN 9781603583428. $27.95. INT AFFAIRS
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Girardet (Afghanistan: The Soviet War) has spent more than three decades as a war correspondent covering conflicts around the world, frequently in Afghanistan, starting with the Soviet invasion in 1979. Having lived on the ground reporting alongside the mujahideen, he offers a sobering perspective. These guerrilla fighters, with U.S. financial aid, ousted the Soviet-backed regime in 1992. They in turn were ousted by the Taliban. During his frequent trips inside Afghanistan, in many cases entering illegally at great personal risk, Girardet was nearly killed (when mistaken for Salman Rushdie) and had a number of personal encounters with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden pre-9/11, unaware of the identity of the "tall Arab man" who was developing a hatred of the United States.
VERDICT With his vast experience inside Afghanistan during different conflicts, Girardet presents strong evidence that foreign powers from the British to the Soviets to the Americans have all made the same mistakes by attempting to impose their own political models and values on a nation that does not fit into any Western mold. While this conclusion is hardly new, Girardet's excellent work should be of particular interest to historians, foreign policy buffs, political scientists, and military personnel.
Reviewed by Robert Bruce Slater, Stroudsburg, PA , Sep 01, 2011
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