Lessons From Womens Programs In Afghanistan And Iraq

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Why We Lost

Author : Daniel P. Bolger
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 0544370481
Total Pages : 565 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (443 download)

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Book Synopsis Why We Lost by : Daniel P. Bolger

Download or read book Why We Lost written by Daniel P. Bolger and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2014 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A high-ranking general's gripping insider account of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how it all went wrong. Over a thirty-five-year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top-level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions, unusual for a general. Now, as a witness to all levels of military command, Bolger offers a unique assessment of these wars, from 9/11 to the final withdrawal from the region. Writing with hard-won experience and unflinching honesty, Bolger makes the firm case that in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we lost -- but we didn't have to. Intelligence was garbled. Key decision makers were blinded by spreadsheets or theories. And, at the root of our failure, we never really understood our enemy. Why We Lost is a timely, forceful, and compulsively readable account of these wars from a fresh and authoritative perspective.

Women at War

Author : James Wise
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612514073
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis Women at War by : James Wise

Download or read book Women at War written by James Wise and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wise and Baron relate the compelling war experiences of thirty American female soldiers in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, highlighting their extraordinary display of dedication to their mission and to the soldiers and sailors with whom they served. While the book's focus is on today's women in combat, it also reaches back to Korea, Vietnam and World War II to offer stories of inspiring women who served at the "cusp of the spear" as they fought and died for their country.

Between War and Peace

Author : Victor Davis Hanson
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0307430693
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Between War and Peace by : Victor Davis Hanson

Download or read book Between War and Peace written by Victor Davis Hanson and published by Random House. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his acclaimed collection An Autumn of War, the scholar and military historian Victor Davis Hanson expressed powerful and provocative views of September 11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan. Now, in these challenging new essays, he examines the world’s ongoing war on terrorism, from America to Iraq, from Europe to Israel, and beyond. In direct language, Hanson portrays an America making progress against Islamic fundamentalism but hampered by the self-hatred of elite academics at home and the cynical self-interest of allies abroad. He sees a new and urgent struggle of evil against good, one that can fail only if “we convince ourselves that our enemies fight because of something we, rather than they, did.” Whether it’s a clear-cut defense of Israel as a secular democracy, a denunciation of how the U.N. undermines the U.S., a plea to drastically alter our alliance with Saudi Arabia, or a perception that postwar Iraq is reaching a dangerous tipping point, Hanson’s arguments have the shock of candor and the fire of conviction.

Ashley's War

Author : Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062333836
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (623 download)

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Book Synopsis Ashley's War by : Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Download or read book Ashley's War written by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-04-21 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times–bestselling account of an elite team of female soldiers is “compelling. . . . In battle as in life, these women refuse to quit” (Christian Science Monitor). In 2010, the Army created Cultural Support Teams, a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations soldiers battling in Afghanistan. Their presence had a calming effect on enemy households, but more importantly, the CSTs were able to search adult women for weapons and gather crucial intelligence. They could build relationships—woman to woman—in ways that male soldiers in an Islamic country never could. In Ashley’s War, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon uses on-the-ground reporting and a finely tuned understanding of the complexities of war to tell the story of CST-2, a unit of women hand-picked from the Army to serve in this highly specialized role. The pioneers of CST-2 proved for the first time that women might be physically and mentally tough enough to become Special Ops. The price of professional acceptance was personal loss and social isolation: the only people who really understand the women of CST-2 are each other. At the center of this story is a friendship and the shared perils of up-close combat. At the heart of the team is the tale of a beloved and effective soldier, Ashley White. “An unforgettable story of female soldiers breaking the brass ceiling. . . . This book will inspire you.” —Sheryl Sandberg, #1 International bestselling author of Lean In “A tremendous story. . . . Very moving.” —The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “Ashley’s War shares the remarkable stories of one of the first teams of women serving in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.” —Senator John McCain

Beyond the Call

Author : Eileen Rivers
Publisher : Da Capo Press
ISBN 13 : 0306903091
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (69 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond the Call by : Eileen Rivers

Download or read book Beyond the Call written by Eileen Rivers and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2018-11-06 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting account of three women who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with men and worked with local women to restore their lives and push back the Taliban They marched under the heat with 40-pound rucksacks on their backs. They fired weapons out of the windows of military vehicles, defending their units in deadly battles. And they did things that their male counterparts could never do--gather intelligence on the Taliban from the women of Afghanistan. As females they could circumvent Muslim traditions and cultivate relationships with Afghan women who were bound by tradition not to speak with American military men. And their work in local villages helped empower Afghan women, providing them with the education and financial tools necessary to rebuild their nation--and the courage to push back against the insurgency that wanted to destroy it. For the women warriors of the military's Female Engagement Teams (FET) it was dangerous, courageous, and sometimes heartbreaking work. Beyond the Call follows the groundbreaking journeys of three women as they first fight military brass and culture and then enemy fire and tradition. And like the men with whom they served, their battles were not over when they returned home.

Sharia and Women's Rights in Afghanistan

Author : Anastasiya Hozyainova
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781601272263
Total Pages : 9 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (722 download)

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Book Synopsis Sharia and Women's Rights in Afghanistan by : Anastasiya Hozyainova

Download or read book Sharia and Women's Rights in Afghanistan written by Anastasiya Hozyainova and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women's rights in Afghanistan have been supported and championed by Afghan and international advocates and organizations since 2002. Substantial progress has been made, but the women's rights movement faces an uncertain future in the wake of the 2014 international troop withdrawals. In addition to the potential for decreased financial and public support from international actors, women's rights advocates face the challenge of collaborating with a national government that has been mistrusted by the Afghan people while trying to promote norms and laws that often contradict deeply held community traditions. This report draws on numerous in-country interviews, discussions and debates to explore a way forward for women's rights in Afghanistan: promoting women's rights through an Islamic framework. Women's rights groups have increasingly been using Sharia-based arguments and working with religious leaders to give arguments for stronger women's rights protections more legitimacy. Greater understanding of how Islamic legal literacy, scholarship and dialogue might help protect women's rights in the coming difficult period is crucial.

Kabul in Winter

Author : Ann Jones
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312426590
Total Pages : 346 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (265 download)

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Book Synopsis Kabul in Winter by : Ann Jones

Download or read book Kabul in Winter written by Ann Jones and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-03-06 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Soon after the bombing of Kabul ceased, award-winning journalist and women's rights activist Ann Jones set out for the shattered city, determined to bring help where her country had brought destruction. Here is her trenchant report from inside a city struggling to rise from the ruins. Working among the multitude of impoverished war widows, retraining Kabul's long-silenced English teachers, and investigating the city's prison for women, Jones enters a large community of female outcasts: runaway child brides, pariah prostitutes, cast-off wives, victims of rape. In the streets and markets, she hears the Afghan view of the supposed benefits brought by the fall of the Taliban, and learns that regarding women as less than human is the norm, not the aberration of one conspicuously repressive regime. Jones confronts the ways in which Afghan education, culture, and politics have repeatedly been hijacked?by Communists, Islamic fundamentalists, and the Western free marketeers?always with disastrous results. And she reveals, through small events, the big disjunctions: between U.S promises and performance, between the new "democracy' and the still-entrenched warlords, between what's boasted of and what is. At once angry, profound, and starkly beautiful, Kabul in Winter brings alive the people and day-to-day life of a place whose future depends so much upon our own"--

My Forbidden Face

Author : Latifa
Publisher : Virago
ISBN 13 : 0748109129
Total Pages : 129 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (481 download)

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Book Synopsis My Forbidden Face by : Latifa

Download or read book My Forbidden Face written by Latifa and published by Virago. This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latifa was born into an educated middle-class Afghan family in Kabul in 1980. She dreamed of one day of becoming a journalist, she was interested in fashion, movies and friends. Her father was in the import/export business and her mother was a doctor. Then in September 1996, Taliban soldiers seized power in Kabul. From that moment, Latifa, just 16 years old became a prisoner in her own home. Her school was closed. Her mother was banned from working. The simplest and most basic freedoms - walking down the street, looking out a window - were no longer hers. She was now forced to wear a chadri. My Forbidden Face provides a poignant and highly personal account of life under the Taliban regime. With painful honesty and clarity Latifa describes the way she watched her world falling apart, in the name of a fanatical interpretation of a faith that she could not comprehend. Her voice captures a lost innocence, but also echoes her determination to live in freedom and hope. Earlier this year, Latifa and her parents escaped Afghanistan with the help of a French-based Afghan resistance group.

Women, War, Violence and Learning

Author : Shahrzad Mojab
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317988086
Total Pages : 164 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (179 download)

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Book Synopsis Women, War, Violence and Learning by : Shahrzad Mojab

Download or read book Women, War, Violence and Learning written by Shahrzad Mojab and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology provides fresh theorization of gendered dimensions of learning, war, and violence, with a view to offering new insights on the impact of violence on women’s learning and well being. The collection is an important contribution to emerging interdisciplinary approaches to the role and effectiveness of civil society, especially women’s NGOs, working in war and post-conflict zones, and to the relationship between neoliberal, global ‘feminist’ projects and the re-emergence of colonial and imperial feminisms. This collection is also an exploration of the plausibility of current peace education strategies augmenting the political and leadership role of women and their civic engagement. This collection is designed to create a space for conversation across disciplines on such issues as how to advance our conceptualization of gender-related education and conflict; how to provide empirically-based case studies and transnational analyses that improves our understanding of the impact of war and violence on women’s learning; and how to contribute to national and international policy analyses to improve education for women and girls, through related policy reforms or humanitarian aid programs in post-war reconstruction efforts. This book was published as a special issue in the International Journal of Lifelong Education.

Soldier Girls

Author : Helen Thorpe
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451668120
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis Soldier Girls by : Helen Thorpe

Download or read book Soldier Girls written by Helen Thorpe and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-08-05 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A raw, intimate look at the impact of combat and the healing power of friendship” (People): the lives of three women deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the effect of their military service on their personal lives and families—named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly. “In the tradition of Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Richard Rhodes, and other masters of literary journalism, Soldier Girls is utterly absorbing, gorgeously written, and unforgettable” (The Boston Globe). Helen Thorpe follows the lives of three women over twelve years on their paths to the military, overseas to combat, and back home…and then overseas again for two of them. These women, who are quite different in every way, become friends, and we watch their interaction and also what happens when they are separated. We see their families, their lovers, their spouses, their children. We see them work extremely hard, deal with the attentions of men on base and in war zones, and struggle to stay connected to their families back home. We see some of them drink too much, have affairs, and react to the deaths of fellow soldiers. And we see what happens to one of them when the truck she is driving hits an explosive in the road, blowing it up. She survives, but her life may never be the same again. Deeply reported, beautifully written, and powerfully moving, Soldier Girls is “a breakthrough work...What Thorpe accomplishes in Soldier Girls is something far greater than describing the experience of women in the military. The book is a solid chunk of American history...Thorpe triumphs” (The New York Times Book Review).

Women and Gender in Iraq

Author : Zahra Ali
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107191092
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Women and Gender in Iraq by : Zahra Ali

Download or read book Women and Gender in Iraq written by Zahra Ali and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-13 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highlighting Iraqi women's voices, this is an examination of women, gender and feminisms in Iraq in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion.

Bleeding Afghanistan

Author : Sonali Kolhatkar
Publisher : Seven Stories Press
ISBN 13 : 1609800931
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis Bleeding Afghanistan by : Sonali Kolhatkar

Download or read book Bleeding Afghanistan written by Sonali Kolhatkar and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through in-depth research and detailed historical context, Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls report on the injustice of U.S. policies in Afghanistan historically and in the post-9/11 era. Drawing from declassified government documents and on-the-ground interviews with Afghan activists, journalists, lawyers, refugees, and students, Bleeding Afghanistan examines the connections between the U.S. training and arming of Mujahideen commanders and the subversion of Afghan democracy today. Bleeding Afghanistan boldly critiques the exploitation of Afghan women to justify war by both conservatives and liberals, analyzes uncritical media coverage of U.S. policies, and examines the ways in which the U.S. benefits from being in Afghanistan.

The American War in Afghanistan

Author : Carter Malkasian
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197550797
Total Pages : 601 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (975 download)

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Book Synopsis The American War in Afghanistan by : Carter Malkasian

Download or read book The American War in Afghanistan written by Carter Malkasian and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Notable Book Winner of 2022 Lionel Gelber Prize The first authoritative history of American's longest war by one of the world's leading scholar-practitioners. The American war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, is now the longest armed conflict in the nation's history. It is currently winding down, and American troops are likely to leave soon but only after a stay of nearly two decades. In The American War in Afghanistan, Carter Malkasian provides the first comprehensive history of the entire conflict. Malkasian is both a leading academic authority on the subject and an experienced practitioner, having spent nearly two years working in the Afghan countryside and going on to serve as the senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, the US military commander in Afghanistan and later the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Drawing from a deep well of local knowledge, understanding of Pashto, and review of primary source documents, Malkasian moves through the war's multiple phases: the 2001 invasion and after; the light American footprint during the 2003 Iraq invasion; the resurgence of the Taliban in 2006, the Obama-era surge, and the various resets in strategy and force allocations that occurred from 2011 onward, culminating in the 2018-2020 peace talks. Malkasian lived through much of it, and draws from his own experiences to provide a unique vantage point on the war. Today, the Taliban is the most powerful faction, and sees victory as probable. The ultimate outcome after America leaves is inherently unpredictable given the multitude of actors there, but one thing is sure: the war did not go as America had hoped. Although the al-Qa'eda leader Osama bin Laden was killed and no major attack on the American homeland was carried out after 2001, the United States was unable to end the violence or hand off the war to the Afghan authorities, which could not survive without US military backing. The American War in Afghanistan explains why the war had such a disappointing outcome. Wise and all-encompassing, The American War in Afghanistan provides a truly vivid portrait of the conflict in all of its phases that will remain the authoritative account for years to come.

Nurses in War

Author : Elizabeth Scannell-Desch, PhD, RN, OCNS
Publisher : Springer Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 0826193846
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (261 download)

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Book Synopsis Nurses in War by : Elizabeth Scannell-Desch, PhD, RN, OCNS

Download or read book Nurses in War written by Elizabeth Scannell-Desch, PhD, RN, OCNS and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2012-04-23 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique volume presents the experience of 37 U.S. military nurses sent to the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of war to care for the injured and dying. The personal and professional challenges they faced, the difficulties they endured, the dangers they overcame, and the consequences they grappled with are vividly described from deployment to discharge. In mobile surgical field hospitals and fast-forward teams, detainee care centers, base and city hospitals, medevac aircraft, and aeromedical staging units, these nurses cared for their patients with compassion, acumen, and inventiveness. And when they returned home, they dealt with their experience as they could. The text is divided into thematic chapters on essential issues: how the nurses separated from their families and the uncertainties they faced in doing so; their response to horrific injuries that combatants, civilians and children suffered; working and living in Iraq and Afghanistan for extended periods; personal health issues; and what it meant to care for enemy insurgents and detainees. Also discussed is how the experience enhanced their clinical skills, why their adjustment to civilian life was so difficult, and how the war changed them as nurses, citizens, and people. Key Features: Describes verbatim the experiences of 37 nurses in two brutal, chaotic theaters of war Offers poignant encounters with patients Includes advice, clarity, and lessons learned about nursing in war Offers a women's health perspective on working and living in a war zone Demonstrates the dedication, expertise, and spirit of military nurses

The Fighters

Author : C. J. Chivers
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451676662
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis The Fighters by : C. J. Chivers

Download or read book The Fighters written by C. J. Chivers and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The harrowing account of US soldiers caught in America’s forever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that The New York Times calls “relentless...a classic of war reporting,” by Pulitzer Prize winner and former Marine C.J. Chivers. More than 2.7 million Americans have served in Afghanistan or Iraq since September 11, 2001, and C.J. Chivers reported on both wars from their beginnings. The Fighters vividly conveys the physical and emotional experience of war as lived by six combatants: a fighter pilot, a corpsman, a scout helicopter pilot, a grunt, an infantry officer, and a Special Forces sergeant. Chivers captures their courage, commitment, sense of purpose, and ultimately their suffering, frustration, and moral confusion as new enemies arise and invasions give way to counterinsurgency duties for which American forces were often not prepared. The Fighters is a “gripping, unforgettable” (The Boston Globe) portrait of modern warfare. Told with the empathy and understanding of an author who is himself an infantry veteran, The Fighters is “a masterful work of atmospheric reporting, and it’s a book that will have every reader asking—with varying degrees of urgency or anger or despair—the final question Chivers himself asks: ‘How many lives had these wars wrecked?’” (Christian Science Monitor).

The Afghanistan Papers

Author : Craig Whitlock
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982159014
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

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Book Synopsis The Afghanistan Papers by : Craig Whitlock

Download or read book The Afghanistan Papers written by Craig Whitlock and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock. Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground. Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.” The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

Flash Points

Author : Jade Wu
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 1438465459
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Flash Points by : Jade Wu

Download or read book Flash Points written by Jade Wu and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2017-04-12 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling, intimate account of how US foreign assistance in war zones and developing countries does not achieve its intended goals. From the hot savannah of Malawi to the cold, damp gray of Kosovo and into the volatile war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and other donors have invested enormous financial and human resources in major peacekeeping and development efforts. Why then is the world no closer to being a better and safer place? Both a salient critique of US foreign assistance and a thought-provoking memoir, Flash Points describes the issues with personnel, language, and gender dynamics, as well as the cross-cultural challenges that often undermine and betray the best intentions of policy makers comfortably situated in Washington. Revealed in illuminating flashbacks, Jade Wu recalls her experiences in each of these four countries highlighting how, all too often, Americans in the field and the US government were unable to learn the lessons that ought to have been learned when dealing with host countries and their people. The final results were efforts poorly conceived and executed and, ultimately, detrimental to American national interests. Flash Points should be required reading for professionals in foreign assistance programs and could be used in formal training programs for aid workers before heading abroad. It will also interest the general reader. Many will find it a fascinating story of one womans experiences abroad. By leaving many pages with illuminating quoted dialogue, all readers will be lured on through Jade Wus adventures, right up to the final flashback. Robert W. Maule, Retired US Senior Foreign Service Officer While there are a variety of books on the subject, few offer the unique perspective of the author who has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa and worked in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, countries where there have been major military, peacekeeping, and development efforts and investments. Wus perspective is that of an objective, critical observer who has worked in the trenches. Her observations are well-informed, astute, and compel the reader to think carefully about the ways in which this country often wastes enormous resourcesincluding human livesin efforts that are ill-conceived. Thomas R. Carter, Retired Senior Advisor, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations