TY - BOOK AU - Gentilini,Fernando TI - Afghan lessons: culture, diplomacy, and counterinsurgency SN - 9780815724230 (hardcover : alk. paper) AV - 401 DS 352 G338a 2013 U1 - 958.104/7092 23 PY - 2013///] CY - Rome, Washington, D.C. PB - Scuola Superiore Della Pubblica Amministrazione (SSPA), Brookings Institution Press KW - Gentilini, Fernando KW - North Atlantic Treaty Organization KW - Afghanistan KW - Viajes KW - Description and travel KW - Afganistán KW - Descripción y viajes N1 - Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-167) and index; Foreword / Richard Cooper -- How I ended up in Afghanistan, February-July 2008 -- Signals, 1968, 1979, 2001, 2007 -- Dubai, Terminal 2, July 13, 2008 -- Kabul -- A small travel library, I -- The first steps -- "What? They've surrounded Kabul?" -- Winning -- The neo-Taliban -- A world of advice from a princess -- "The insubstantial state" -- Arg -- Civilian casualties, I -- What there was, what there should have been -- To coordinate, or to be coordinated -- A small travel library, II -- ISAF -- Khyber, 1842, 1878, 1919, 1928 -- Indian holiday -- Snow -- Clear, hold, and build -- Civilian casualties, II -- Obama and Af-Pak, March 29, 2009 -- Awkward neighbors -- A small travel library, III -- A dream -- Karzai -- Bird's-eye views -- Kandahar -- COIN, the counterinsurgency manual -- Civilian casualties, III -- Shia family law -- Women -- A small travel library, IV -- Death in August -- The presidential elections -- A way to reconciliation -- The future of Af-Pak -- Leaving Kabul, February 2010 N2 - The author served nearly two years as the civilian representative of NATO in Afghanistan, running a counterinsurgency campaign in the wartorn nation. This book is the story of his mission and a firsthand view of Afghanistan through a kaleidoscope. He explores Afghan history, literature, tradition, and culture to understand some of the most basic questions of Western involvement: What is the purpose? What does an international presence mean, and how can it help? ER -