A Democracy Is Born: An Insider's Account of the Battle Against Terrorism in Afghanistan (Praeger Security International)

in October 2004, More Than Eight 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 A 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, In The Aftermath Of Which The New American Democracy Maintained A Representative Form Of Government Similar To Its British Roots. The Change Is Also More Positive Than The French Revolution, Which Degenerated Into Tyranny And Anarchy. The Afghan Revolution Of Democratic Governance, Albeit Aided And Guided By International Military And Political Powers, Is Thus One Of The Most Historic Events Of Our Time. written By A Former 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 The Measures Protecting The Election. The Election's Security Process Marked A Defeat For The Al-qaeda And Taliban Terrorist Insurgents Attempting To Frustrate Afghanistan's Transformation Into A Democratic Nation. Morgan's Narrative Of Afghan Development Is Interspersed With Firsthand, Personal Accounts From The Author's Eleven-month Deployment As An Officer Serving In The U.s. Military In Afghanistan. His Stint There, Embedded Within The United Nations In A Civilian-clothes Role, Enables Him To Write From The Perspective Of A Un Security Officer, Offering Insights Beyond Those That Might Be Gained On The Battlefield. 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.... 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. booklist In October 2004, more than eight 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 a 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, in the aftermath of which the new American democracy maintained a representative form of government similar to its British roots. The change is also more positive than the French Revolution, which degenerated into tyranny and anarchy. The Afghan Revolution of democratic governance, albeit aided and guided by international military and political powers, is thus one of the most historic events of our time. Written by a former 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 the measures protecting the election. The election's security process marked a defeat for the al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist insurgents attempting to frustrate Afghanistan's transformation into a democratic nation. Morgan's narrative of Afghan development is interspersed with firsthand, personal accounts from the author's eleven-month deployment as an officer serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan. His stint there, embedded within the United Nations in a civilian-clothes role, enables him to write from the perspective of a UN security officer, offering insights beyond those that might be gained on the battlefield. 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 was a significant setback to the former Taliban regime and their al Qaeda allies. This book gives an account of Afghanistan's first presidential election. FRONT MATTER......Page 2 CONTENTS......Page 8 PREFACE......Page 10 CHAPTER 1......Page 12 CHAPTER 2......Page 30 CHAPTER 3......Page 70 CHAPTER 4......Page 97 CHAPTER 5......Page 128 CHAPTER 6......Page 154 INDEX......Page 182 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 185