The Case For Withdrawal From Afghanistan is a collection of 22 essays contributed by authors with varied insights and perspectives on the war currently being conducted in Afghanistan. Each author adds another dimension to the misguided notion of the forced occupation of a country with the intention to "rebuild" in the invader countries image.

The first 7 essays give us some historical background on Afghanistan and its continuing strategic geographical significance, as well as how Pushtun and other fiercely independent tribes in that part of the world have been repeatedly been subject to demonisation and as an imminent threat to civilization. Here you will find accounts of the past's numerous attempts to conquer and control what is today known as Afghanistan, and why Afghanistan has become referred to by Historians as 'the Graveyard of Empires'. This section also examines the central role the US and the European powers, particularly through their respective secret intelligence agencies to manipulate governments throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Part II: Incompetence, Corruption, And The war On Women

The essays presented within this chapter really capture the morally misguided and ultimately corrupt nature of the US policy of "nation building" in Afghanistan.

Learn how the US and the Karzai led government of Afghanistan have made decreased the status of women (under the law!) and generally turned a blind eye to the issue of women's rights in Afghanistan since the invasion while at the same time using the issue as a justification for the continued occupation. Then there is the corrupt warlords that have been given political power in the post invasion government to form Afghanistan's new ruling elite. These guys build palaces and run organised crime while the rest of the population live in absolute squalor.

Part III: Facts On the Ground

This section of essays examines the battlefield that is Afghanistan and what is being expanded into Pakistan. Also examined is how although the CIA have a vast presence and powers within this battlefield, they prove to be inept and vulnerable to low tech enemies. There is also the use of drone aircraft armed with hellfire missiles to target enemies that on most cases results in civilian casualties.

Another essay raises the alarming existence of around 700 NATO and US military bases and 'Black Sites', where suspected terrorists are "rendered". Many of these bases are of a permanent nature and are taking precedence building infrastructure for the people of Afghanistan.

Many of the 'facts on the ground' are disturbing, but show us the vast gulf between the illusory ideology behind the occupation and the reality on the ground. It is useful here to weigh the moral justifications, or pretexts of nation building in Afghanistan against the methods carried out to achieve them, as well as the likely real outcomes of these methods.

Part IV: The Case For Withdrawal

The selection of essays from this section focus on the central arguments for withdrawal from Afghanistan. My favourite was the essay titled "No Nation Can Liberate Another", by Malalai Joya, and her deconstruction of the idea of a nation state being "liberated" by a foreign power. There is far too much scope for a foreign occupier to cause mischief and subvert justice. Joya exposes the folly of believing that free can be spread throughout the world through imperialistic military intervention.

Discussed in the other essays are the disastrous policies of the Obama administration and their negative impacts on the the success of the Afghan plan, the limits of US power and its ability to maintain and expand it empire as well as advice on how to successfully pull out of Afghanistan under the current circumstances.

The Elephant In the Room: No Real Mention of 9/11

It is interesting that none of the authors found in this book question the official version of the events of 9/11. not once has 9/11 been used within the pages of this book to help the case for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. This may have been calculated in Nick Turse's selection to avoid the stigma of "conspiracy theorism", (note the "ism")as establishment figures and their apologists would put it. I suppose he would argue that for his chosen themes, connecting 9/11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan too thoroughly as a direct motive might tarnish the dimensions and origins of the conflict that are otherwise argued in this book. Besides, one might argue, there are plenty of other strong examples of why we should pull out of Afghanistan than the circumstances surrounding 9/11 being the major pretext for invading in the first place. In any case, taking 9/11 largely out of the picture, and in some instances, presuming that the official story of 9/11 is true, does not subtract from the impact the various author's contribution to case for withdrawal from Afghanistan.