Afghanistan: Reconstituting a Collapsed State

in Afghanistan, and their experience is replete with bitter resistance, harsh conditions, and failure. In contrast to its predecessors, the United States came not as a conqueror, but as a liberator. Equally unprecedented, the United States seeks to reinstitute Afghanistan as a fully sovereign and functioning state. In this monograph, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond A. Millen examines warlordism as the principal impediment to Afghanistan's revival and offers a shift in strategy that addresses the war of ideas, the counternarcotics initiative, and the incorporation of the Afghan National Army into the provincial reconstruction teams. As Lieutenant Colonel Millen observes, all the resources are in place; they simply need a shift in focus. Lieutenant Colonel Millen takes into account the historical, cultural, and economic factors that impede central authority and the reforms needed for modern states. His problem-solving approach is insightful, pragmatic, and innovative.