Foxtrot in Kandahar: A Memoir of a CIA Officer in Afghanistan at the Inception of America's Longest War

Description

Kandahar. An ancient desert crossroads, and as of fall of 2001, ground zero for the Taliban and al-Qa'ida in southern Afghanistan. In the north, the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance, the Afghan organization opposed to the Taliban regime, has made progress on the battlefield and Kabul has fallen. But in the south, the country is still under the Taliban's sway, and al-Qa'ida continues to operate there. With no "Southern Alliance" for the U.S. to support, a new strategy is called for. Veteran CIA officer Duane Evans is dispatched to Pakistan to "get something going in the South." This is the true story of Evans's unexpected journey from the pristine halls of Langley to the badlands of southern Afghanistan. Within hours after he watched the horrors of 9/11 unfold during a chance visit to FBI Headquarters, Evans begins a personal and relentless quest to become part of the U.S. response against al-Qa'ida. This memoir tracks his efforts to join one of CIA's elite teams bound for Afghanistan, a journey that eventually takes him to the front lines in Pakistan, first as part of the advanced element of CIA's Echo team supporting Hamid Karzai, and finally as leader of the under-resourced and often overlooked Foxtrot team. Relying on rusty military skills from Evans's days as a Green Beret and brandishing a traded-for rifle, he moves toward Kandahar, one of only a handful of Americans pushing forward across the desert in the company of Pashtun warriors into some of the most dangerous, yet mesmerizingly beautiful, landscape on earth. The ultimate triumph of the CIA and Special Forces teams, when absolutely everything was on the line, is tempered by the US tragedy that catalyzed what is now America's longest war. Evans's very personal adventure that unfolds within the pages of Foxtrot in Kandahar: A Memoir of a CIA Officer in Afghanistan at the Inception of America's Longest War, which concludes with an analysis of opportunities lost in the years since his time in Afghanistan, should be required reading for everyone interested in modern warfare.

Duane Evans is a former CIA officer with field tours on four continents to include serving as Chief of Station, CIA's most senior field position. He is the recipient of the Intelligence Star for valor and the Career Intelligence Medal. Prior to joining the Agency he was a U.S. Army Special Forces and Military Intelligence officer. He is also the author of the novel North From Calcutta.

This is essential reading for anyone wanting to get to the bottom of what happened in Afghanistan as the US and their allies fought against the Taliban and al-Qa'ida. The amazing tale of CIA officer Duane Evans as he joins a small force travelling into hostile countryside near Kandahar is riveting, almost like a modern-day tale echoing Kipling's 'The Man Who Would Be King'. Absolutely brilliant. * Books Monthly * With his experience of Afghanistan in the early days of the fighting and his ongoing involvement until he retired, Evans is able to look at the wider picture and gives his own view of the success or failure of America's involvement. A thoroughly readable personal account with some acute observations of the issues involved. 4 stars. * Army Rumour Service *