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Description
The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the WarThe groundbreaking 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
The groundbreaking 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: to 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 became 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 startling 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 make time to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted 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 shocking account that will supercharge a long overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.
Review Citations:
- Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2021 (EAN 9781982159009, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
- Publishers Weekly 06/28/2021 (EAN 9781982159009, Hardcover)
- Library Journal 08/01/2021 pg. 85 (EAN 9781982159009, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
- Booklist 08/01/2021 pg. 6 (EAN 9781982159009, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
- Shelf Awareness 08/31/2021 (EAN 9781982159009, Hardcover)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. He has covered the global war on terrorism for the Post since 2001 as a foreign correspondent, Pentagon reporter, and national security specialist. In 2019, his coverage of the war in Afghanistan won the George Polk Award for Military Reporting, the Scripps Howard Award for Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Freedom of Information Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for international reporting. He has reported from more than sixty countries and is a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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4.4 ★★★★★
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★★★★★ 5
Great buy, finally a big soft toy, and so cute
Color: Green
This octopus toy is so adorable, I’m truly so impressed with the size finally a big toy for a big dog. She loves it! It squeaks, soft, made great. Worth it! Love it! Fun, durable n chewability just for play materials soft n durable. It’s a sea foam green color and creme beautiful neutral color
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Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Large, excellent toy with many squeakers!
Color: Blue, Color: Blue
This toy is excellent! I’m super happy with this purchase. My dog loves squeakers and there are so many in this toy, plus stuffing for her to rip out, and crinkle paper to take the sensory experience up another notch! It’s also more durable than many other plush-type dog toys, and is larger than expected which is a plus in my book.
For size reference, both dogs are around 40lbs.
I will be buying another as soon as this one is demolished!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Huge and fun. Good for two dogs to play with together.
Color: Yellow
This dog toy is great! And it's HUGE. Each tentacle crinkles, and the dogs love to play tug-of-war with it. It seems to be holding up well, too. It seemed a bit pricy for a dog toy, but it turns out it was worth it.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2026
★★★★★ 5
My dogs new favorite toy!
Color: Blue
His new favorite toy! My dog absolutely loves it!!! It’s much bigger than I thought it would be so my dog has to be careful when he’s running with it because he will trip on the legs of the octopus. The best part is there is a little squeaker in the bottom of each leg! Bonus!!! If your dog chews up stuffed animals, this will be no different. It is a stuffed animal. My baby just likes to carry it around and squeak it a 1000 times a day. Don’t mind my crazy voice in the video. That’s the voice I use when he’s excited about a toy. He greets me every day with his octopus.🥰
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Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2026
★★★★★ 4
Fun while they lasted
Color: Green
I ordered two. One for each pup. Both my puppies loved this toy. The first one lasted less than a day with my pup who loves to do the death shake on everything. The second lasted two days with the other as she chews in the same spot. They loved the crinkle noise. However, I'm taking one star away due to not lasting long. Everything else was fine and they enjoyed them while they lasted. Note that most toys do not last long with my pups.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2026
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