The Strangest of Places: Building Castles Made of Sand in Afghanistan

The Memoir Spot

A snapshot review of a book related to the Non-fiction Feature

Also in this Monthly Bulletin:
The Non-fiction Feature: The Afghanistan Papers by Craig Whitlock
The Product Spot: Clarissa Ward – NPR interview

The Pithy Take

Retired Colonel Gerald N. Carozza, Jr. of the U.S. Army pens a moving and sharp memoir of his time serving in Afghanistan. Written mostly in 2012, he examines how the Afghan government and military collapsed so quickly, despite the mind-boggling amounts of money and time.

Although he examines America’s toxic politics and apathetic population, it is his insights into the clashes between the U.S. forces and the Afghan forces–culturally, militarily, and politically–that are the most engaging and novel. It is a rare and honest glimpse into the longest war of our lifetimes, filled with small details that remind you that real humans went abroad to fight and that there are real humans in Afghanistan who hope for better.

A series of reports in the Washington Post from December 2019 that reference “secret” documents showing the leadership of the U.S. Military knew all along that the effort to build Afghan security forces was failing have received new attention. What is sad is that Congress knew also.