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Afghanistan Cave Complexes 1979-2004: "Mountain strongholds of the Mujahideen, Taliban & Al Qaeda" (Fortress) | 
| Author: Mir Bahmanyar
Creator: Ian Palmer
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $14.21
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New (38) Used (8) from $1.98
Rating:  11 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 64
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.1 x 0.2
ISBN: 184176776X
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.709581
EAN: 9781841767765
ASIN: 184176776X
Publication Date: October 22, 2004
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Product Description
Following the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Mujahideen defenders of Afghanistan developed and reinforced many natural cave systems to use as supply bases and defensive positions. The Taliban and Al Qaeda further strengthened these positions in the 1990s. Following the events of September 11, 2001, these cave systems have once more come to prominence and sites such as Tora Bora and Zhawar Kili have featured in news headlines around the world. This title provides an analysis of these caves and underground systems, and discusses the U.S.-led Coalition's tactical approach to dislodging the enemy from these fortified positions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Good for its format January 6, 2007
James D. Crabtree (Fayetteville, NC USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A very interesting book, very well illustrated with diagrams and photographs. Not a definitive work by any means but considering that it's only 64 pages (including bibliography and index) it provides good information on the type of warfare encountered by the Soviets and early on by the U.S. I consider it a necessary addition to my GWOT collection.
Ask yourself why you seek such a book FIRST! December 28, 2006
Ryan Fisher (Santa Maria, CA, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The preceding reviews on this book seem to straddle the line between the unnecessarily harsh and undeserved devotion.
This book, as I understand it, is more of a guide for historians and scale modelers than a critical military analysis or historical record.
I appreciate the work that author Mir Bahmanyar has both written and compiled. The renderings by Ian Palmer deserve credit for aiding in the basic visual understanding of complexes found in the region.
I would never expect any book with less than 70 pages to provide the material some reviewers seem to demand.
Additionally, this book should not be considered a substitute for military manuals, to do so would starve operational personnel in the theater of volumes of additional classified information.
Good book, great information in BRIEF, valuable pictures and supplemental research material.
Review every book you read, Authors deserve your opinions!
 A Hack Job September 26, 2006
David Gideon (Jacksonville, NC)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have to echo some other comments posted on this book, specifically those dealing with the author's prolific use of other writings. Yes, he gave the original writers credit, but how about some original ideas?
The war in Afghanistan is ripe for a full accounting of the Coalition and Afghan efforts, but this book falls short. What could, or should, have been an insightful look into the tactics and history of the Taliban instead read like an Army training manual.
The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is becuase the background section on Afghanistan is concise and to the point, unlike the rest of the book.
 Nope August 10, 2006
Munawar Ali (Toronto, Canada)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is a collection of articles and information from other mainstream books on the topic. It relies heavily on the writings (including one entire chapter) of Lester Grau and Ahmad Jalali. The rest of the information you can google for.
Far better to read what Lester Grau actually wrote. I really didn't find anything of value in this book except for American Cave clearing techniques.
Better Than Nothing June 2, 2005
Michael Horn (US Army Combat Support Training Center, Dublin, CA)
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
Only an under-reported war in a desolate region of the world gives this book value to the average reader and the general public. Other than books and articles published of Soviet/Russian Army experiences that are defensive of their tactics and defeat, this is one of the first popular publications on the subject widely available to the American public. Previous Russian authors downplay current American successes in technology and tactics - while at the same time explaining away Russian failures using similar methodologies. While the book has value for it's unique publication - it tries to be a definitive work on the subject and disappoints the serious reader.
As a computer combat simulations manager and modeler for the US Army, the only value of this publication for me - lies in its 3 dimensional maps of cave complexes. Being able to put these generic maps on the computer allows our combat planners to wargame different ways of defeating and destroying these complexes.
One cannot take political sides as does this book and still be a dispassionate provider of information! Political comments on our national leadership are out of place in a publication such as this. The Russians are still miffed at our successes in Afghanistan (such as they are)- and Russian sources used as background in this book show through very transparently.
Modern technology, weaponry and tactics are put up against cave dwelling enemies whose defensive stance goes back to the beginning of time. Even with a full arsenal of high tech weaponry - our soldiers - "boots on the ground" still must do similar search and destroy missions as did their tunnel rat counterparts in Vietnam and our WWII soldiers on Okinawa.
This is a region of the world that holds a fatal attraction to Western Civilization. Modern armies of Colonial Great Britian, the Soviet Union and the United States Coalition have either been defeated or been treated roughly by the local warriors. Tora Bora was the US 10th Mountain Division's baptism of fire - and they finished the battle with no decisive outcome in the contest - with bin Laden escaping in the confusion. American superiority in logistics saved the day for an American Force given poor intelligence, and surviving an initial ambush. American troops - working at extreme altitudes saved weight by ditching their rear trauma plates on their Interceptor Vests - and suffered a high rate of back wounds when caught in a Tora Bora crossfire.
As experienced for 11 years by the Soviet/Russian Army, followed by the American Coalition Army from 2002 forward - high altitude in combination with a mountainous, barren, rough landscape - channeled military operations and logistics through very predictable roads, tunnels and airports - all static targets for what Ralph Peters calls the 21st Century Warrior Class - highly armed and un-uniformed transnational fighters fighting western military forces assymetrically - their strengths to our most obvious logistic road and airport bound weaknesses.
Call them the Mujahideen, Taliban or Al Qaeda, or whoever comes after - the topography and altitude determine all basis of current military operations in Afghanistan. The cave complexes are geographic sanctuaries - very much like the Black Hills of the Dakota's in the 1890's to our outlaws and renegade Indians. Easy places to hide - hard for heavily armed - logistics burdened Western Armies to get to and defeat.
With friendly sanctuaries in Pakistan and it's Baluchistani provences; treacherous warlords; a narco producing and trafficing hub, smuggling and lawlessness - the United States Coalition has a full plate - no matter how or who calls the military game. Throughout history - the native Pushtans have always had a military advantage over occupying armies.
As entertainment and an introduction to our most obscure front on the war on terror - the book has some value. Reviews of weapons systems and DOD pictures show the book's target audience needs such introductory material. The superficial treatment and "fluff" of the filler part of the book aims more at the casual civilian reader than at any military audience - but fails to give a proper perspective. Afghanistan has tortured itself for a thousand years - and our presence has now been noted into their history.
The internet has better tunnel pictures available from many sources (including some returning veterans working at our site!). The US military has already published lessons learned on weapons, equipment and tactics from the "early on", Afghan experience. It is disappointing the author failed to include this data. Winning or losing this war will not be by body count as the book surmizes. He who collects the most warlords "wins".
We will never be the ones who write Afghan history. Hopefully - we'll be better thought of militarily than by those who wrote this book!
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