Scott Horton - Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan

Advance Praise for Fools Errand

In Fools Errand, Scott Horton masterfullyexplains the tragedy of Americas longest war and makes the case for immediatewithdrawal. I highly recommend this excellent book on Americas futile andself-defeating occupation of Afghanistan. Daniel Ellsberg, PentagonPapers whistleblower and author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and thePentagon Papers

The real story of the disastrous U.S. war in Afghanistanmust be written so that future generations may understand the folly ofWashingtons warmongers. Scott Hortons Afghan war history is an importantcontribution to this vital effort. Ron Paul, M.D., former U.S. congressmanand author of Swords into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future ofPeace and Prosperity

Scott Hortons Fools Errand is a deeplyinsightful and well-informed book on Americas longest war, explaining why itremains as unwinnable as it ever was. It appears at an important moment as theTrump administration is once again reinforcing failure. Patrick Cockburn,Middle East correspondent for the Independent, author of The Age ofJihad: Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East

An incisive, informative analysis of the Afghan fiascoand how we got there, scrubbed clean of propaganda and disinformation. Hortoncaptures the situation very well indeed. I much enjoyed reading it. Eric S.Margolis, author of War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan,Kashmir and Tibet and American Raj: Liberation or Domination? Resolvingthe Conflict Between the West and the Muslim World

Fools Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistanby Scott Horton is a spectacularly researched and sourced book, and it providesa refreshingly rational analysis of Americas Afghan quagmire. I wouldrecommend this book to anyone who wants to know the truth of this nationslongest war. Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, U.S. Army (ret.), senior fellow atDefense Priorities

Scott Horton has a far better record on Afghanistan thanthe Pentagon or the White House. He has been pointing out the follies of U.S.intervention there since it started half a generation ago. Fools Errandvividly exposes the pratfalls, atrocities, lies and incorrigibility of ournever-ending Afghan crusade. James Bovard, columnist at USA Today andauthor of Attention Deficit Democracy

Scott Hortons Fools Errand: Time to End the War inAfghanistan is a definitive, authoritative and exceptionally well-resourcedaccounting of Americas disastrous war in Afghanistan since 2001. Scotts bookdeserves not just to be read, but to be kept on your shelf, because as withDavid Halberstams The Best and Brightest or Neil Sheehans A BrightShining Lie, I expect Hortons book to not just explain and interpret acurrent American war, but to explain and interpret the all too predictablefuture American wars, and the unavoidable waste and suffering that willaccompany them. Capt. Matthew Hoh, USMC (ret.), former senior StateDepartment official, Zabul Province, Afghanistan, senior fellow at the Centerfor International Policy

Fools Errand is a hidden history of Americasforgotten war, laid bare in damning detail. Scott Horton masterfully retellsthe story of Americas failed intervention, exposes how Obamas troop surge didnot bring Afghanistan any closer to peace, and warns that the conflict could goon in perpetuity unless America ends the war. As Trump threatens to send moretroops to Afghanistan, Horton shows why the answer to a brutal civil war is notmore war, which makes Fools Errand a scintillating and sorely needed chronicleof the longest war in American history. Anand Gopal, journalist and authorof No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War ThroughAfghan Eyes

In Fools Errand, Scott Horton informs us of justhow non-masterful has been the U.S. approach to Afghanistan policy-wise,strategically, and even tactically. Two presidents and several Congresses havefailed, the Pentagon has failed, and the military has failed. Moreover, thereis nothing we can do about it except withdraw, cut our losses, and put as bravea face on it as possible. Horton tells us that President Trump, havingindicated as much himself in his campaign, should do just that, get out. Havingwatched this debacle from very close-by for four years and for twelve more inacademia, I totally agree with Mr. Horton, but he has done a much better jobthan I could of telling every single American citizen precisely why. Col. LawrenceWilkerson, U.S. Army (ret.) visiting professor of government and public policyat the College of William and Mary and former chief of staff to Secretary of StateColin Powell

A lot of people think of the war in Iraq as the bad war,but Afghanistan as the good and justifiable war. That convenient view does notsurvive Scott Hortons careful and incisive demolition. Thomas E. Woods Jr.,author of Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Centuryand Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse

Scott Horton is the first to pull together all thestrands of the story of Americas longest war in one book. He tells itstraight, with an unblinking eye for all the lies that have accompanied eachtwist and turn of the war. Read it if you dare to know the full truth aboutthis sordid exercise in American imperial power. Gareth Porter, historianand journalist, author of Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and theRoad to War in Vietnam and Manufactured Crisis: The Truth Behind theIran Nuclear Scare

Scott Hortons new book Fools Errand: Time to Endthe War in Afghanistan has a title that tells you where it is going, but tothink that is all it is about would be to sell short a comprehensive work thattakes the reader on a long journey starting in the 1980s. Indeed, if there werea university course on what went wrong with Afghanistan, starting with RonaldReagans Holy Warriors and continuing with George W. Bushs ouster of theTaliban leading to 15 years of feckless nation building, this book could wellserve as the textbook. Horton provides insights into key decision-making alongthe way as he meticulously documents the dreadful series of misadventures thathave brought us to the latest surge, which will fail just like all the others.The book is highly recommended both for readers who already know a lot about Afghanistanas well as for those who want to learn the basics about Americas longest war. Philip Giraldi, former CIA and DIA officer, executive director of the Councilfor the National Interest

Unlike some liberals who go wobbly when confronted withU.S. military intervention done in the name of human rights, the principledlibertarian Scott Horton consistently opposes American aggression abroad. Read hisFools Errand to find out why the U.S. never should have invadedAfghanistan and should get out now. Reese Erlich, foreign correspondent andauthor of Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the WorldCan Expect.

Americas longest war in Afghanistan has until nowbeen among Americas least documented. Horton brings together far more than 16years of conflict, drawing in sources from well before most Americans evenheard of Osama bin Laden to show how the Afghan quagmires roots are deep. Thetitle tells it all, however: this war cannot be won, and victory will be inthe form of escape. Meticulously researched and footnoted, Fools Errandis required reading. Peter Van Buren, retired foreign service officer andauthor of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the War for the Hearts and Mindsof the Iraqi People and Hoopers War: A Novel of WWII Japan

Why is the United States still fighting in Afghanistan?In this timely new book, Scott Horton explains why Americas longest war isstrategically misguided and why getting out would make the United States saferand advance Americas broader national interests. Even readers who do not shareHortons libertarian world-view are likely to find themselves nodding inagreement: the war in Afghanistan has indeed become a fools errand. StephenM. Walt, professor of international affairs, Harvard University, co-author of