• NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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The Ultimate AfPak Reading List

A guide to the most critical readings on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

BY PETER BERGEN | SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

What follows is the Ultimate AfPak Reading List -- an amalgamation of syllabi from classes I've taught at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. I've included a variety of reading, from books I've found particularly insightful on the topic to significant reporting on everything from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to al Qaeda's media strategy.

Links are included whenever possible, but be forewarned that some of the journal articles are subscription only. And in some cases I've included my general comments about the work and specific page numbers.

Categories are organized thusly:

  • Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion, 1979-1989 & the Rise of the Taliban, 1994-2001
  • Afghanistan: Under the Taliban 1994-2001 & the Rise of the Religious Warriors and Their Al Qaeda Allies
  • Afghanistan: The Resurgence of the Taliban and al Qaeda from the Battle of Tora Bora in the Winter of 2001 to Today
  • Pakistan: General Interest
  • Pakistan: The Jihadists Post-9/11
  • Al Qaeda: General Interest
  • Al Qaeda: From Its Formation in 1988 to 9/11
  • Al Qaeda: The Organization and the Ideological Movement Since the 9/11 Attacks
  • Al Qaeda: Media Strategy from 1988 to the Present
  • The Underlying Causes of the 9/11 Attacks
  • Islamist Terrorism and Its Intellectual Influences

If you think there's something that should be on here and isn't, email us at Bergen@newamerica.net or Tiedemann@newamerica.net. This is very much a work in progress.

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Peter Bergen is a print and television journalist; a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C. where he co-directs the Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative; a research fellow at New York University's Center on Law and Security and CNN's national security analyst. He is editor of the AfPak Channel.

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