Afghanistan Journal

Book excerpt: The coldest I have ever been in my life was in the mountains of Afghanistan. I was in a helicopter with the windows and doors open. It was dark, the middle of winter, and I wasn't wearing a jacket. But up there, something became clear to me: America is fighting its wars all wrong.... Thus starts Joshua Foust's riveting and thoughtful account of the U.S. military's engagement in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010. In early 2009, Foust, a long-time analyst of Central Asian affairs and a respected blogger, got his first chance to go to the country he had been fascinated with for so long. He brought to the trip-- and to this book-- not just a wealth of knowledge about the country, but also an intelligence and sensitivity that informed all his writings during and after the trip.