The Afghanistan papers: a secret history of the war

A Muddled Mission

"Who Are the Bad Guys?"

The Nation Building Project

Afghanistan Becomes an Afterthought

Raising an Army from the Ashes

Islam for Dummies

Playing Both Sides

Lies and Spin

An Incoherent Strategy

The Warlords

A War on Opium

Doubling Down

"A Dark Pit of Endless Money"

From Friend to Foe

Consumed by Corruption

At War with the Truth

The Enemy Within

The Grand Illusion

Trump's Turn

The Narco-State

Talking with the Taliban.

A false taste of victory, 2001-2002. A muddled mission --

"Who are the bad guys?" --

The nation-building project --

The great distraction, 2003-2005. Afghanistan becomes an afterthought --

Raising an army from the ashes --

Islam for dummies --

Playing both sides --

The Taliban comes back, 2006-2008. Lies and spin --

An incoherent strategy --

The warlords --

A war on opium --

Obama's overreach, 2009-2010. Doubling down --

"A dark pit of endless money" --

From friend to foe --

Consumed by corruption --

Things fall apart, 2011-2016. At war with the truth --

The enemy within --

The grand illusion --

Stalemate, 2017-2021. Trump's turn --

The narco-state --

Talking with the Taliban.