Author picture

Michael Griffin (1)

Author of Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan

For other authors named Michael Griffin, see the disambiguation page.

4 Works 111 Members 2 Reviews

About the Author

Michael Griffin is a writer and political analyst. His previous books include the bestselling Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan.

Works by Michael Griffin

Work Explorer

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

A Family in Kenya (Families the World Over) by Michael Griffin
"A Family in Kenya" is an informational book that follows the daily life of a family in Kenya. I have mixed feelings about this book. While it is very informative of other cultures, it is not really organized in any way and is hard to read through because of that. The paragraphs on each page are long and while this could be a good book for younger children, the length forces the intended age level up. The pictures are actual photographs of the family, which I think is great for children to follow through and imagine what the family is saying and thinking. I don't think there is an intended message from the book, but it does help the reader relate to and understand other cultures.… (more)
 
Flagged
phoebedwilson | Mar 28, 2017 |
Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in… by Michael Griffin
"... I think this book provides a fascinating insight into the real nuances of political, religious and ethnic strife in Afghanistan through the period of the Afghan Civil War and the rise of the Taliban. There are actually two editions of it. It was revised in 2003 but the original edition was written before the 9/11 attacks.



What is really interesting is how it describes how the ISI (Pakistani Intelligence Services) created and nurtured the Taliban to fill the vacuum created by the Afghan civil war,and how the organisation was fed by weapons and money from Saudi Arabia, foot soldiers from the Pakistani madrassas and revenue from the opium trade. It also highlights the blundering interventions, particularly from American and Argentine oil companies, and their dealings with the Taliban.



And it also looks at the extent to which the Americans really allowed the Pakistanis to get away with creating the Taliban, and this sense that when the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996 somehow this was a good thing – although clearly women’s rights were out the window the feeling was at least there was this opportunity where they could run pipelines through the country!



...One of the fascinating episodes is when Michael Griffin writes about the Kunduz airlift, just two months after the 9/11 attacks, when the US moved to spare its Pakistani allies from international embarrassment. On 21 November 2001, the US air force halted air strikes on the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, ostensibly so that Mullah Fazil, the Taliban commander in the city, could organise its surrender, but, according to Griffin and other writers, in fact to allow Pakistani military planes to fly in and rescue the more than one thousand Pakistani soldiers and agents who were fighting alongside al Qaeda in the besieged city. Anyone from al Qaeda with enough influence over the ISI, or anyone who was considered too dangerous to abandon to US interrogators, secured a seat to safety. So much for the War on Terror!..." (reviewed by Simon Conway in FiveBooks).



The full interview is available here: http://fivebooks.com/interviews/simon-conway-on-crime-and-terror… (more)
This review has been flagged by multiple users as abuse of the terms of service and is no longer displayed (show).
 
Flagged
FiveBooks | May 25, 2010 |
See More Reviews

Lists

ListStacks

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
4
Members
111
Popularity
#175,484
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
2
ISBNs
50
Languages
1

Charts & Graphs

See More Charts & Graphs