IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN: GETTING ACQUAINTED

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

The Military History Forum - Iraq and Afghanistan is a folder of dedicated threads which focus on the conflicts within these two countries.

This grouping (military history) focuses on the humanities discipline which studies the scope of history recorded during armed conflict (battles, wars, etc.)

This segment identifies various interest areas dedicated to some of the larger confrontations and world conflicts in the history of humanity. It examines what impact these clashes had upon societies, their cultures, their economies and ultimately their personal and world relationships.

Studying and reading about military history really helps fine tune one’s ability to evaluate decisions; were the decisions made ones that we would want to repeat or ones that we should avoid in the future. It allows the reader to learn from both ends of the spectrum.

It is always interesting to study and understand how the various leaders and countries made decisions at the time, how they supported their war effort and why, and how years later we can examine their goals for each conflict through their filters and individual viewpoints.

We have highlighted some of the larger battles and wars which took place within Iraq and Afghanistan. We hope to develop each thread as time goes by and to discuss each selection in some depth. Of course, setting all of this up takes time.

If I have missed a thread which you feel should be added, please let me know and I will add a thread for you.

For this grouping, there are threads on the following:

a) DESERT STORM (IRAQ)
b) IRAQI FREEDOM (03/19/2003)
c) WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
d) OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (09/11/2001)
e) THE BATTLES OF FALLUJAH


Within the framework of each thread, we can nominate books for group discussion.

We also hope that we might be able to elicit input regarding some of the books that you might want to place on each of the threads; I will set up specific shelves corresponding to each battle or war.

We look forward to your input. Please visit each thread and add any recommendations and input you might have.

Bentley

[Bryan]

Thanks, Bentley for your efforts. These wars do play an important role in history.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

You are welcome and I think unfortunately the effects are still being felt by our veterans and unfortunately many others I suspect. The problem is also after the folks leave - who fills the vacuum left behind and that is not always pretty as we have discovered very unfortunately in some instances.

[Teri]

Wikipedia has an exhaustive list of Iraqi wars dating back to 1920.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

[Jill]

An interesting excerpt regarding the government of Afghanistan....corruption reigns!

"Afghanistan is an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial. The nation is led by President Ashraf Ghani with Abdul Rashid Dostum and Sarwar Danish as vice presidents. Abdullah Abdullah serves as the chief executive officer (CEO). The National Assembly is the legislature, a bicameral body having two chambers, the House of the People and the House of Elders. The Supreme Court is led by Chief Justice Said Yusuf Halem, the former Deputy Minister of Justice for Legal Affairs.

A January 2010 report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime revealed that bribery consumed an amount equal to 23% of the GDP of the nation. A number of government ministries are believed to be rife with corruption, and while President Karzai vowed to tackle the problem in late 2009 by stating that "individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government", top government officials were stealing and misusing hundreds of millions of dollars through the Kabul Bank. According to Transparency International's 2014 corruption perceptions index results, Afghanistan was ranked as the fourth most corrupt country in the world."

(Source: Wikipedia)

[David]

I've just begun reading about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I've read a lot about other older American Wars.

So far, I've read many of the books behind the recent films. But, I'm beginning to expand from there.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Let us know what your favorite books have been

[David]

My favorite book? That's a tough one.

Biography:
by Chris Kyle

Unit Biography:
by Sean Michael Flynn (no photo)

I'd also have to recommend:
by Brandon Webb (no photo)

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Thank you David once again and you are doing great on the book format standard too.