Providing an invaluable introductory resource for students investigating the war in Afghanistan, this book highlights the evolution of the conflict through the documents that helped to shape it.

• Reflects the subject expertise of its editor, a former member of the US Army's Combat Studies Institute's Afghanistan Study Team

• Collects documents from many of the major participants that cover the political, social, economic, and military evolution of the conflict

• Discusses political, social, and military factors to explain why conflict has persisted in Afghanistan for nearly four decades

• Highlights both the continuity and change in policies in Afghanistan over the past 40 years

• Includes translations of some Taliban documents to give an even broader perspective of the war