The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and the Collapse of the International System

Military Review, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Lester W. Grau

Barnett R. Rubin, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2002, 420 pages, $35.00.

The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and the Collapse of the International System remains the best single source for understanding the collapse of social order, discipline, mores, and structure in that war-torn state. Barnett R. Rubin, perhaps the West's leading non-Afghan authority on Afghanistan, first published this landmark study in 1995. The book's prophetic last sentence states, "If the international community does not find a way to rebuild Afghanistan, a floodtide of weapons, cash, and contraband will escape that state's porous borders and make the world less secure for all." Unfortunately, that prediction came true. Following the events of 11 September 2001, the world's attention finally fixed on Afghanistan. The book is belatedly receiving the attention it deserves.

An excellent account of the history of Afghanistan, Rubin's book emphasizes the period of the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) and afterward. When the Soviet Union withdrew from the region and collapsed, the United States also disengaged from the region. Afghanistan had fought a war with a superpower, lost well over a million citizens, and was left without a legitimate state and national leadership. Its best and brightest citizenry was scattered across the globe. The economy was shattered, and a country that had once exported food could no longer feed itself. What Afghanistan had in abundance was warlords, disease, and poverty.

The United States and other former ardent supporters of the Mujahideen provided charity relief but political neglect. In this failed state, the Taliban movement found ready followers. The Taliban began as a movement to bring peace, disarm warlords, and unite the Pushtun peoples. It eventually ended anarchy but produced a rogue state locked in a brutal, ethnic civil war with the Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara peoples.

The Taliban proved to be a fundamentalist, oppressive regime, which sponsored smuggling and narcotics traffic and welcomed the financial support of regional states and organizations, including international terrorists organizations such as al-Qaeda. Soon Al-Qaeda set up training camps and headquarters in Afghanistan and fielded units alongside the Taliban force. The devastation of Afghanistan allowed outlaws and terrorists a safe haven from which to launch global suffering.

The repercussions of events in Afghanistan echo throughout Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia. Until stability comes to this entire region, the threat to international stability remains. Rubin's book provides an excellent indepth background to the country, which will remain a concern for the United States for many years to come. Military professionals will find Rubin's book indispensable in understanding the political and social realities of contemporary Afghanistan.

LTC Lester W. Grau, USA, Retired,

Leavenworth, Kansas