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A Democracy Is Born An Insider's Account of the Battle Against Terrorism in Afghanistan Matthew J. Morgan 0-275-99999-8 978-0-275-99999-5 184 pages, 1 map, 1 figure, 1 table Greenwood Publishing Group Praeger International Security Hardcover | ||
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In October 2004, more than 8 million citizens of Afghanistan turned out to vote in the first democratic election in the turbulent, 5,000-year history of the country. This incredible voter turnout in the face of horrific threats and actual bullets, rockets, and bombs was a shout of defiance and significant setback to the former Taliban regime and their al Qaeda allies. It was a stunning success and serious step forward for the Afghan people and for the United States in the campaign against international terrorism. The change is more dramatic than the American Revolution, when the new American democracy maintained a representative form of government similar to its British roots in developing its new Constitution. Written by a U.S. Army intelligence officer, this book provides readers with a candid account of Afghanistan's first presidential election and its subsequent transition to democratic self-governance. In particular, Morgan speaks to the security apparatus and measures protecting the election, which was a culminating defeat for the al Qaeda and terrorist insurgents attempting to frustrate Afghanistan's transformation into a democratic nation.
A Democracy Is Born is an engaging story from the frontlines of
today's major conflict against international terrorism.
Matt Morgan is a rare breed of author, equally at home in a university
classroom and on the streets of Afghanistan. A Democracy Is Born
deftly weaves his personal travels into the wider sweep of an historic era.
The beauty, danger, poignancy, and hope of Afghanistan come alive in these
pages.
Matt Morgan served his country in Afghanistan, and he continues his service
in writing A Democracy Is Born. He provides a vivid, first-hand
account of the difficulties and tremendous sacrifices made by Americans and
Afghans to bring stability and peace to that troubled land.
Not yet in the category of sage but well on his way is Matthew J. Morgan. The author?s 2007 book,
A Democracy is Born: An Insider?s Account of the Battle Against Terrorism in Afghanistan, provides readers with a fascinating narrative from the perspective of one who was there. Morgan?s insight into the democratic development of Afghanistan permits readers to juxtapose the events in that nation with the conflict in Iraq. He cautions readers not to let events in Iraq mask America?s strategic rationale for its original incursion into Afghanistan. The author highlights the 2004 Afghan elections as one of the more historic events in the 5,000-year history of the country. Morgan believes those elections were even more dramatic than the American Revolution, given the history of the region. Unfortunately, recent events in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, along with the renewed conflict in the southern regions of the country, call the author?s optimism into question. These renewed threats to Afghanistan?s democratic future only serve to make the book more valuable to those concerned about continued US involvement. The author provides readers with the basic knowledge and understanding of what is required to ensure Afghanistan?s continuing transformation to a true democracy. As with many successful authors, Morgan recently shifted his focus and genre. The result is an empirical gem,
The American Military after 9/11: Society, State, and Empire. In this work the author analyzes trends in American society that have evolved since and as a result of 9/11. He contrasts the civil-military relations that marked the Cold War era with requirements generated by the global war on terrorism and concludes there is an undeniable demand for a new strategy related to the application of military force. Morgan draws on the works of many of the masters; Huntington, Keegan, Toffler, etc. to paint an evolving world characterized by new American foreign policy and national security interests. He concludes that America?s participation in the global war on terrorism will have a significant and continuing impact on the US military?s relation to society, state, and empire. This work would be a valuable addition to the libraries of anyone with an interest in military history, sociology, psychology, or political science.
Morgan, a former Army intelligence officer, author on current military issues,
and graduate of the Harvard Business School, draws on his unusual career and
his year's tour of duty in Afghanistan to challenge conventional wisdom.
Drawn from the author's experiences in Afghanistan in 2004-05, this volume discusses security and
intelligence aspects of conducting an election in conditions of terrorism and guerrilla warfare. Morgan was
then a U.S. Army intelligence officer tasked with detecting threats against election personnel, a job whose
bureaucratic complications become clear in his narrative. Many of the anecdotes Morgan recounts have a
turf-war flavor to them, as he describes being detached to the UN management of Afghanistan's
presidential election of October 2004, won by Hamid Karzai. When not illustrating friction among the
international entities--the UN, NATO, the U.S.-led military coalition, humanitarian NGOs, which were
attempting to transform Afghanistan from its traditional tribalism into a democracy--Morgan imparts the
customs of automobile driving in the country, bargaining in the bazaar, and other observations of daily life.
These are Morgan's practical appeal, while his analysis of the intelligence function may be helpful, too, to
members of American military services deploying to Afghanistan. Specialized to be sure, but a work
professionally useful to its audience. | |||