Aspiration and ambivalence : strategies and realities of counterinsurgency and state building in Afghanistan / Vanda Felbab-Brown.

Includes bibliographical references.

Contents: Foreword—Bruce Riedel—1. Bullets over Kabul’s broadway—2. Washington’s strategies in Afghanistan since 2001—3. Insurgency in the context of poor governance—4. The myths of (Non) governance in Afghanistan—5. Power, impunity, and legitimacy in Eastern and Southern Afghanistan : learning to love Mafia rule—6. International efforts to fight corruption and improve governance—7. Logistics and politics in Northern Afghanistan—8. The Afghan local police and other militias—9. Counternarcotics and economic development policies—10. Pakistan and the region—11. Military transition and negotiations with the Taliban—12. What, if anything, can still be done?—Acknowledgments—Note—Index—Maps.

English