Reddit mentions: The best central asia history books

There are far too many to describe one as "the best", but here are some of my favourites.

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes is a well deserved winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A combination of history, science and biography and so very well written.

A few of my favourite biographies include the magisterial, and also Pulitzer Prize winning, Peter the Great by Robert Massie. He also wrote the wonderful Dreadnaught on the naval arms race between Britain and Germany just prior to WWI (a lot more interesting than it sounds!). Christopher Hibbert was one of the UK's much loved historians and biographers and amongst his many works his biography Queen Victoria - A Personal History is one of his best. Finally, perhaps my favourite biography of all is Everitt's Cicero - The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician. This man was at the centre of the Fall of the Roman Republic; and indeed fell along with it.

Speaking of which, Rubicon - The Last Years of the Roman Republic is a recent and deserved best-seller on this fascinating period. Holland writes well and gives a great overview of the events, men (and women!) and unavoidable wars that accompanied the fall of the Republic, or the rise of the Empire (depending upon your perspective). :) Holland's Persian Fire on the Greco-Persian Wars (think Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes! Think of the Movie 300, if you must) is equally gripping.

Perhaps my favourite history book, or series, of all is Shelby Foote's magisterial trilogy on the American Civil War The Civil War - A Narrative. Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read.

If, like me, you're interested in teh history of Africa, start at the very beginning with The Wisdom of the Bones by Alan Walker and Pat Shipman (both famous paleoanthropologists). Whilst not the very latest in recent studies (nothing on Homo floresiensis for example), it is still perhaps the best introduction to human evolution available. Certainly the best I've come across. Then check out Africa - Biography of a Continent. Finish with the two masterpieces The Scramble for Africa on how European colonialism planted the seeds of the "dark continents" woes ever since, and The Washing of the Spears, a gripping history of the Anglo-Zulu wars of the 1870's. If you ever saw the movie Rorke's Drift or Zulu!, you will love this book.

Hopkirk's The Great Game - The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia teaches us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I should imagine that's enough to keep you going for the moment. I have plenty more suggestions if you want. :)

I rarely find anybody out in the world who is as passionate about history and games as I am, much less on this forum. I didn't even know what reddit was until my girlfriend talked me into checking it out; I came up with the old forums and used to learn a lot from people with similar interests in the early 00's but ever since having children I've mainly been away from any form of social media or messaging boards. But because I learned that reddit has subforums for such particular interests, I've stuck around, but have certainly noticed the level of general intelligence to be about what kept me from partaking in online discussions for so long initially. But that's ok, because occasionally I'll find somebody from somewhere out in the world like you and those brief but deeply meaningful encounters of sharing passions with a stranger make it worth it, and truly there is much to learn here if one is willing to tolerate the gross amounts of tedium and juvenille humor.

What you said about Alexander is precisely how I feel about him; I've read more than one account of his life (from the shorter 'moral essays' of Plutarch, the accounts of the wars in general of Diodorus Siculus, to the lengthier rivals of Arrian like Quintus Curtius Rufus) and even where you can tell there has been exaggeration, the key points of his life for which we can be absolutely certain of are literally on the level of a legend or myth, not so disimillar to those epic figures of the Icelandic Sagas! Like you, my interest in history is broad; I'm not a specialist, in fact I dropped out of high school and spent most of my twenties in crippling heroin addiction before I got my shit together and sought help, but I've had a voracious appetite for books since I was a child and have never stopped obsessively learning.

Asides from those general Mediterranean ancient historical cultures, I am also deeply interested in the Scandinavian both pre-history and Viking era (currently reading the Heimsrkingla, in fact!), the numerous Turks and origins of the 'barbarian' tribes like the Scythians and the Alans and general Eurasian steppe cultures (especially when we get ancient or medieval accounts from the likes of missionaries of merchants of the shamanic religious beliefs), the Huns and the Khanate Empires, the Spanish conquistadors and the original conquests of Mexico and Peru (am a huge fan of histories of Francisco Pizarro), the nomadic Lapps and the Kievan Rus, the Islamic Caliphate and the entirety of the Cruades from both angles, &c I could go on of course, but each of these cultures are those of whom I've recently read accounts of and thoroughly enjoy learning about. Quite possibly if I had to narrow down the single most pertinent book that covers a huge amount of most of my historical interests in as comprehensive and detailed a manner possible, it would be the Yule-Cordier edition of Marco Polo's Travels. Its available in a 2 volume edition of some nearly 1,700 pages for very cheap paperback prices online, I'm currently re-reading it right now (along with Runciman's 3 volume History of the Crusades) for the third (!) time, and I learn more every time I pick it up. Seriously, if you are interested in any of those cultures, this book draws its sources in the notes (which alone constitute probably 1,300 of those pages) from works taken from all around the world, from the ancients like Pliny and Herodotus, to obscure Arabic and Persian, Indian and Malay Archipelago, Chinese ancient and modern, native and missionary, &c. I just cannot recommend it highly enough, unless of course you're already familiar with it, lol.

https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Marco-Polo-Complete-Yule-Cordier/dp/0486275868/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0/144-8087320-6111126?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0486275868&pd_rd_r=77d672fa-0ec1-467b-b0fe-1b89b1094821&pd_rd_w=3i7wo&pd_rd_wg=Ir1Ng&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=J7KKJVZ3617N198564E8&psc=1&refRID=J7KKJVZ3617N198564E8

Also, thank you for expressing that you feel simliary about the original Fallout games. I have a passion for them which I very rarely find shared by other people, at least not in person, and its frustrating that still 20 years later so many people go on completely oblivious to what they are missing, content to play the Bethesda games, or even New Vegas without having any notion to whom Cass is referring, or Marcus, or Tabitha and the Nightkin, the Followers of the Apocalypse, the Bozar gun and or 'That Gun', the references to the families of New Reno, and so on. If you don't mind sharing, might I ask you where you're from? You express yourself perfectly well for not being a native English speaker. I'm from Philadelphia in the US.

Here's a list of the key books in the field that I'm familiar with (by name and general contents, I've only actually read a few of them). I'm mainly focusing on what is relevant to the study of Twelver Shi'ism; there aren't many English language books on Zaidism, as far as I'm aware, and for Isma'ilism you can start with the works of Farhad Daftary.

I'll start with important works providing an overview of the area, and then give a rough breakdown by "era" (I may be a bit off regarding the era, and many of these books straddle two or more eras, so be warned). This list does not emphasize geographic studies of Shi'ism in various areas and countries, and rather traces the "core narrative" of the development of Shi'i intellectual history, which is typically thought of as happening in what is now modern day Iran, Iraq, and (especially in the post-Mongol/pre-Safavid era) Lebanon, and to a lesser extent in Bahrain. Once you've read the initial works, you should have a good idea about what's going on in each era, and you can pick and choose what to read based on your interests.

If you have no background in general Islamic history, you should first pick up a book on that subject. Tamim Ansary's Destiny Disrupted is an accessible non-academic book on general Islamic history (with an entertaining audiobook read by the author). If you want something heavier and more academic, Marshall G.S. Hodgson's The Venture of Islam is the classic three-volume reference in the field of Islamic studies, although it's a bit dated, especially in the third volume (covering the so-called "Gunpowder Empires"). Note that the standard introductory text on Shi'ism has long been Moojan Momen's book An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism, but this book is now a bit dated. Heinz Halm also has some surveys, but I'm less familiar with these; likewise for the surveys of Farhad Daftary (who is better known for his work on Isma'ilism than general Shi'ism).

Surveys, Background, and Introduction

• Najam Haider's Shi'i Islam: An Introduction. This is a unique take on introducing Shi'ism that starts with what makes Shi'ism theologically distinct; the book also devotes roughly equal attention to the Zaidi, Isma'ili, and Twelver branches of the faith.
  
• Hossein Modaressi's An Introduction to Shi'i Law: A Bibliographical Study. Chapter 4 provides a very concise, yet fairly thorough overview of the history of the development of Shi'i legal theory; Chapters 1-3 can be read as "optional" background, while the rest is a bibliographical overview that is unlikely to be of interest to a non-specialist.
  
• Andrew J. Newman's Twelver Shiism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam, 632 to 1722. A solid history of Twelver Shi'ism from its beginnings to the end of the Safavid period.
  
• Roy Mottahedeh's The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. While ostensibility an intellectual history of Iran spanning centuries, this is a great introductory look at various aspects of Shi'ism, particularly as it concerns learning in the seminaries.
  
  The Succession and the so-called "Rashidun" Era
  
  
• Wilfred Madelung's The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Calpihate
  
• S.M.H. Jafri's The Origins and Early Development of Shi'i Islam
  
  The Imams and Early Shi'is in the Ummayid and `Abbasid Eras
  
  
• Arzina Lalani's Early Shi'i Thought: The Contribution of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir
  
• Najam Haider's The Origins of the Shi'a: Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kufa
  
• Maria Massi Dakake's The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam
  
• Hossein Modarressi's Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi'ite Islam: Abu Ja'far Ibn Qiba Al-Razi and His Contribution to Imamite Shi'ite Thought. Considered the standard book on the "rationalist/moderate/shortcoming" view of Imamate.
  
• Mohammad Ali Amir Moezzi's The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam. Considered the standard book on the esoteric / "High Imamology" view of Imamate.
  
• Jasim M. Hussain's The Occultation of the Twelfth Imam (A Historical Background)
  
• Andrew J. Newman's The Formative Period of Twelver Shi'ism: Hadith as Discourse Between Qum and Baghdad
  
• Meir M. Bar-Asher's Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imami Shiism
  
  The Buyid, Seljuq, and Mongol Eras
  
  
• Martin J. McDermott's The Theology of al-Shaikh al-Mufid (d. 413/1022)
  
• Devin J. Stewart's Islamic Legal Orthodoxy. Some people have reservations about this book, so you might want to look at some reviews. It covers the Shi'i school of Shaykh Tusi engaging in juristic legal borrowing from the Shafi'i Sunni school, if I'm not mistaken.
  
• Etan Kohlberg's A Medieval Muslim Scholar at Work: Ibn Tawus and His Library. This is perhaps a little different from most other books on this list in scope, style, and focus.
  
  The Safavid Era and the Scholars of Jabal Amil
  
  
• Rula Abisaab's Converting Persia: Religion and Power in the Safavid Empire
  
• Robert Gleave's Scripturalist Islam: The History and Doctrines of the Akhbari Shi'i School
  
  The Iranian Interregnum Era
  
  
• Zachary M. Heern's The Emergence of Modern Shi'ism: Islamic Reform in Iraq and Iran
  
• Robert Gleave's Inevitable Doubt: Two Theories of Shi'i Jurisprudence. This is definitely worth a look if you're interested in details concerning Shi'i legal theory proper.
  
  The Qajar Era
  
  
• Hamid Algar's Religion and State in Iran 1785-1906: The Role of the Ulama in the Qajar Period. This book is about fifty years old now, but I think it's still the standard reference for this topic.
  
• Meir Litvak's Shi'i Scholars of Nineteenth-Century Iraq: The 'Ulama' of Najaf and Karbala'
  
  The Contemporary Era / Miscellaneous
  
  
• Liyakat Nathani Takim's Shi'ism in America. I said I'd stay away from the more geographically focused books, but I think this one in particular might appeal to a lot of people; mainly those living in the West in general, and North America in particular.
  
  
• Linda S. Walbridge's The Thread of Mu'awiya: The Making of a Marja' Taqlid. A book with a strange title about the foremost Shi'i scholars in the contemporary age; while published posthumously in the 2010s, the book is based on research conducted in the 1990s. I think it contains a lot of valuable information and an interesting perspective, but I also find some of it to be informed by lazy misconceptions or generalizations, although I'm quite sure the author would have substantially reworked this project had she lived longer.
  
• Ata Anzali's Mysticism in Iran: The Safavid Roots of a Modern Concept. This should provide information on irfan.
  
• Kamran Scot Aghaie's The Martyrs of Karbala: Shi'i Symbols and Rituals in Modern Iran. This covers the evolution of the Karbala narrative in Modern Iran (in the Qajar, Pahlavi, and post-Revolutionary eras, respectively).
  
• Matthew Pierce's Twelve Infallible Men: The Imams and the Making of Shi'ism. This book examines how the genre of the biographies of the Imams was formed (this may be a better fit in one of the above categories, but I'm less familiar with this book, so I'm not sure which era(s) is/are the focus).

Whilst you're right the Taliban and Mujahidden are separate entities, one coming after the other, to say that 'The US had nothing to do with this organization or their takeover of power in 1996.' is disingenuous at best.

The Taliban very much came from the ashes and socially-politically tilled land the US prepared. They actively fostered a climate of radicalisation and militancy, they even translated the Qu'ran into Russian satellite languages, with their own militant interpretations, and canvassed the Soviet satellites with it. They actively armed, taught, funded, harboured and trained militant behaviour. It's a bit of a stretch that the US had no hand in the rise of the Taliban. They very much prepared the way. That's the sort of ball that doesn't just stop rolling when the Soviets pull out of the country.

• Mohammed Omar, the spiritual founder of the Taliban, was himself Pashtun Mujahidden that fought the Soviet occupation! He actively recruited not only in Madraddahs, but in the Afghan refugee camps from the proxy war the west enabled, and then the other Pashtun Mujahidden factions began to join him.
  
  
• A prominent supporter of Omar and the Taliban, Jalaluddin Haqqani, had his own supporters, the Haqqani Network, which very much WAS set up with the help of the CIA. He's said to be the one who first introduced suicide bombers to Afghanistan. He was an ardent Mujahidden fighter and leader, who now fights for Omar and alongside the Taliban.
  
  The Taliban and the Mujahidden, whilst different, go hand in hand with one another. In many cases the Taliban forces they're fighting very much are connected to the Mujahidden and the Cold War operations:
  
  
• Take for example Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, also former Mujahidden but who set up the Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) faction. Still fighting against NATO forces, very much maligned by Mohammed Omar's political party, but still part of the Taliban led insurgency. Again a Mujahidden fighter that sets up his own faction with other former Mujahideen fighters, builds a powerbase, maligned by the Taliban when they first came to power but now fight as part of the insurgency.
  
  
• An other prominent Taliban insurgent leader: Sirajuddin Haqqani. Son of the afore mentioned Jalaluddin Haqqani - father - son - Mujahidden - Taliban. The continuity line is there for all to see.
  
  
• The CIA itself had strong links with Pakistan's ISI throughout the 80s and 90s, even at one stage approving its directors, and for the latter half of the 90s the ISI is well known to have supported and worked with the Taliban when Omar first took control. Certainly Omar's role and connection with the Mujahidden helped him come to power. The radicalisation was already there from the Soviet operations, Omar just pointed them in the direction of his own aspirations for Afghanistan using the lessons they'd learned. Pakistan directly favoured backing the winning Pashtun faction as their candidate to take over Afghanistan. When it became clear that faction was going to be Taliban they threw their support behind them.
  
  
• Fazal-ur-Rehman is a pro-Taliban Pakistani that held office in Pakistan under Benazir Bhutto. He is known to have used his connections with the ISI, which the CIA helped become what it is, to in turn help and provide assistance to the Taliban in the 90s. Indirectly again the US-MI6 intervention in the 80s can be followed back to the rise of the Taliban, not just by Pakistan and the ISI discretely offering support as matter of judged foreign policy, but ISI was already infiltrated at the highest levels by a known Taliban sympathiser effectively turning the capability of the infrastructure put in place over to the emerging Taliban through the compromised security at the hands of a radical fundamentalist.
  
  The Taliban is not Mujahidden, that much is true.
  
  "The US had nothing to do with this organization or their takeover of power in 1996" - is most definitely not true. The Taliban are the bastard child of the Frankenstein monster the CIA, MI6, ISI and Saudi Arabia cobbled together in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
  
  For much more reading with numerous CIA and MI6 testimony, from mid-level all the way up to a director of the CIA, and industry acknowledged (Pulitzer): http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wars-Afghanistan-Invasion-September/dp/1594200076

Found under safety of the Silk Road:



Mentions of Bandits and robbers:

Bandits and robbers were a constant threat on the Silk Road. Xuanzang mentions several encounters with bandits.

>Near Dunhuang, the Silk Road split in two to skirt the rim of the Taklamakan Desert. The roads met again 1400 miles west at Kashgar. But between these two oases lay the Silk Road's most dangerous terrain. Among the threats were starvation, thirst, bandits, and ferocious sandstorms that were known to bury entire caravans.


The Mogao Caves near Dunhuang are laden with Buddhist art spanning a period of 1000 years. Most of the images are religious, but there are also images of everyday life. There are scenes that show travelers on the Silk Road, and some portray bandits.

The Logistics:

The Silk Road goes through some of the most challenging terrain in terms of vast deserts and high and rugged mountain ranges. The terrain, the weather and many other risks did indeed result in higher transit costs. Bandits and robbers certainly added to the risk. But several systems were in place to reduce the risk.

Few people ever traveled the full length of the Silk Road. The goods were transported by a series of routes and agents. This mode meant that local agents, familiar with terrain, politics, and bandits of their own region, who were better suited for the task, would ensure safe transit.

>The shipment of goods from South Asia to Central Asia (or vice versa) was a long process that involved a number of transporters, which resulted in high transit costs. Whether the transporters were local villagers in the role of kiraiyakash or professional long distance porters such as the caravan men in Rasool Galwan’s autobiography (Galwan 1923), the transporters of goods through Ladakh had to be well informed concerning regional conditions, and familiar with the terrain. Landslides, sudden snowstorms, and bandits were just a few of the hazards faced by those transporting goods through Ladakh.
Source: Trade and Contemporary Society along the Silk Road


Travelers joined caravans to benefit from safety in numbers and experience of the caravaneers gathered from their previous trips.

>Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defense against bandits as well as helping to improve economies of scale in trade. -- Wikipedia


Another important choice was in the the routes used by the merchants, which were selected according to the political stability of the regional power. Centralized states, confederations and regional powers promoted trade and diplomacy. They invested in communications and economic infrastructure such as secure roads, water depots, inns, reliable coinage, standard weights and measures. They imposed taxes on travelers and traders. The merchants found it wiser and safer to pay the controlling authorities for safe passage than to risk encounters with bandits.

>Defense against banditry took place at private and institutional level. Caravans of goods needed their own guards against plundering by the bandits (i.e., for security risk), and this was an added cost for the merchants making the trip. The institutional level had three forms: The Chinese garrisons and watchtowers beyond the Great Wall, Mongolian postal stations, and caravanserais in the Middle East and Anatolia. These institutions provided safety, supplies, and lodgings for merchants. Besides, the Chinese soldiers informed about incidents using smoke and flag signals in real time.
Source: Managing Supply Chains on the Silk Road


Different groups rose and fell through the ages, gaining political and military power, and hence controlling the trade along the Silk Road. Trade along the Silk Road was at its zenith during the Tang dynasty due to the stability of the government.

The travelers along the Silk Road changed over time. Chinese, Yuezhi, Bactrians, Indians, and Sogdians were the first to create the historical Silk Road in Central Asia in the first century BC. In time Muslim powers came to control large parts of the road.

>Islamic patrons built hostels, known as caravanserai, that accommodated both people and beasts of burden. In addition, the Seljuk Turks who controlled the western part of the Silk Road offered the traders a special guarantee of safety. The government assured their financial security by paying compensation out of the state treasury for any loss caused by robbery. The Turkish authorities, whether the unified Seljuk sultanate or independent amirs, also built fortified caravanserais that provided food, fodder, and lodging for the travelers at intervals of one day’s journey apart all along the trade routes.
Source: The Silk Road in World History


Taking into account the the time taken for 1 day's travel, caravanserais were strategically located on the trade routes at distances of 25 to 40km from each other. The topography, of course, affected the distance of the caravanserais. The caravanserais not only sheltered caravans, but also served as military stations.

And lastly, there was also Insurance.

>The Seljuk Sultanate of Anatolia created a state insurance policy in order to manage the security risks of land and sea traders whose goods are damaged or stolen due to bandit, pirate, and neighboring state attacks (Turan, 2009). For insurance purposes, contracts were signed between caravaneers and merchants that guaranteed the quantity of the goods and also reduction in the transportation fee if any delays occurred. Similar transportation contracts are used by third part logistics firms in today’s supply chains.* The caravaneers kept lists of goods carried with specifications such as variety, weight, and volume (Matthee, 1999). This practice is the origin of today’s bill of lading in global supply chains.
Source: Managing Supply Chains on the Silk Road

Hahaha, my pleasure! I've been reading up on language and culture in Afghanistan for a few years now, so I love it when people ask questions like yours. Afghanistan is one of the most interesting countries in the world when it comes to languages--Persian is an incredibly diverse language in this country, so much so that individual valleys (and even towns within them!) have their own dialects.

Hazaragi is especially interesting as it has a substantial inventory of Mongolic loanwords. This makes some sense when you see what the Hazara (3rd largest ethnic group in Afghanistan) look like. Linguists and historians speculate that the etymology of Hazara comes from the Persian word for 1,000 (hezar) as these folks are thought to be descendants of garrisons Ghengis Khan left in Bamyan after he wrecked shit there--his forces were divided into groups of 1,000 soldiers. Many Afghans are still salty about the devastation brought by the Mongols, a fact not helped by the fact that the majority of Hazara are Twelver Shia'a in a country more rooted in Sunni tradition--life ain't easy for the Hazara nowadays.

Besides Persian (an Indo-European language in the Indo-Iranian >> Western Iranian >> Southwestern Iranian family), Afghanistan has a shit ton of other languages. You mentioned Pashto, which is an Eastern Iranian language (so not mutually intelligible with Persian--no data to back this up, but I'd hazard the difference is like English and Norwegian or something like that). There's also the Pamiri languages (pretty sparse, also Eastern Iranian but of the northern subset), Balochi (Northwestern), and a whole independent group of Indo-Iranian languages called Nuristani, which is spoken in the very last area of Afghanistan to have been converted to Islam (late 18th century, I think!). Outside the Indo-Euro family, there are large groups of Turkic speakers, particularly Uzbek and Turkmen in the northern parts of the country, though there are some Kirghiz speakers way up in the Wakhan (the little panhandle stickin out to China).

Not on the list is Arabic--contrary to what a lot of people here in the West think, Arabic is spoken by hardly anybody in Afghanistan! It is a Semetic language of the Afro-Asiatic family and the last of its native speakers in this area of the world were Persianized quite some time ago (though Persian and Pashto both have a large number of Arabic loanwords on account of the Arab conquests and the spread of Islam). This is interesting as, especially in more conservative areas, there is still a massive reverence towards those who earn the title "Guardian" or Hafez (not the poet, though people love him too) by memorizing the Quran in its entirety, even if they don't understand 95% of what's being said in it! If you're into recent history in this area of the world, there's plenty of food for thought in how fundamentalism and extremism took such strong roots in a country that doesn't have the language or educational infrastructure in place to "home grow" such interpretations of religion.

Woah holy shit /rant. Didn't mean to type this much! Probably way more than you wanted to read! In the offchance it isn't, I recommend reading The Places In Between by Rory Stewart to wet your appetite. Homeboy walked across Afghanistan (Herat --> Kabul) in December 2001 and documented his adventure pretty well. No bias, no sugarcoating, no demonizing--he really does a good job showing the humanity of the place. If you're like me and want to dive more deeply into this fascinating country, Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History is a bone dry but informationally rich textbook on the country. Land Beyond the River provides a great collection of well-researched anecdotes dealing with recent history in the areas directly north of Afghanistan and provides great light on how the Russian conquests of the Khanates and city-states to the north impacted Afghanistan, culminating in the Soviet invasion in the late 70s.

Alright, now I'm done.

This list isn't exhaustive but should give you enough ideas for a starting point.

**Azeri***

Freebies

• Peace Corps' Azerbaijani Language Lessons (short primer with audio)
  
• Essentials of Azerbaijani - an Introductory Course (another short primer but based on Öztopçu's "Elementary Azerbaijani" (q.v.))
  
• Azeri Familiarization Course (supplemental material for a crash course in Azeri for military personnel but almost all of the chapters are in "civilian settings" such as shopping, asking for directions, filling up at a gas station, or seeing a doctor. It has audio and an answer key to the exercises)
  
• Azerdict (online dictionary of English <> Azeri)
  
• CultureTalk Azerbaijan (short videos about Azeri culture with transcripts and translations to English. Most of the videos are in Azeri but a few are in Russian)
  
  Commercial
  
  
• Elementary Azerbaijani (probably the best course for beginners who know English. The second edition includes an answer key for all exercises and comes with downloadable audio which you can get for free on the book's website )
  
• Azerbaijani for Beginners (new textbook for beginners that's a useful supplement to "Elementary Azerbaijani" as it doesn't cover as much of the language, has fewer exercises, and a fair number of typos and grammar mistakes in the English explanations. Audio is available for streaming or downloading on the author's website )
  
• Real Azeri: Learn Conversational Azeri Through Dialogues (a small guide with short but sometimes funny conversations in Azeri. This could be useful if you want something more interesting to read/study than canned dialogues in textbook. The dialogues are available for free streaming on Soundcloud )
  
  Kazakh
  
  Freebies
  
  
• Video tutorials for beginners
  
• Audio phrasebook and online English<>Kazakh<>Russian dictionary
  
• Kazakh Familiarization Course (supplemental material for a crash course in Kazakh for military personnel but almost all of the chapters are in "civilian settings" such as shopping, asking for directions, filling up at a gas station, or seeing a doctor. It has audio and an answer key to the exercises)
  
• CultureTalk Kazakhstan (short videos about Kazakh culture with transcripts and translations to English. Some of the videos are in Kazakh while others are in Russian)
  
  Commerical
  
  
• Colloquial Kazakh (typical entry in the "Colloquial..." series, but hey there's a volume for Kazakh! Audio is available for free downloading at the publisher's website )
  
• Kazakh: Comprehensive Grammar (it's probably the best guide in English for modern Kazakh grammar even though the author puts the Kazakh examples in the Latinic transliteration convention used by Turcologists rather than the standard script of modified Cyrillic)
  
  Uzbek
  
  Freebies
  
  
• Uzbek Familiarization Course (supplemental material for a crash course in Uzbek for military personnel but almost all of the chapters are in "civilian settings" such as shopping, asking for directions, filling up at a gas station or seeing a doctor. It has audio and an answer key to the exercises)
  
• Uzbek Conversational Dialogues (dialogues of short conversations with transcripts - requires Flash)
  
• DLI Headstart 2 (online crash course in Uzbek for military personnel. The site isn't configured properly and it needs you to enable Flash and make a security exception to function. If you want to track/save your progress, you need to enable cookies and not clear history. As an alternative, you can download the course as a zip file and so do it without worrying about going online and enabling Flash)
  
• Uzbek Reading and Listening Modules for intermediate students (needs Flash to function)
  
• Uzbek Video and Audio Modules for intermediate students (needs Flash to function)
  
• Uzbek <> English dictionary by Dirks and Washington
  
• Uzbek <> English dictionary at Indiana University
  
• Thematic vocabulary lists
  
• CultureTalk Uzbekistan (short videos about Uzbek culture with transcripts and translations to English. Most of the videos are in Uzbek while others are in English or Russian)
  
  Commercial
  
  
• Uzbek: An Elementary Textbook and Uzbek: An Intermediate Textbook (neither of these books have an answer key and are really meant for the classroom)
  
• Modern Literary Uzbek Vol. I and Modern Literary Uzbek Vol. II (these are meant for a different audience compared to "Uzbek: an Elementary Textbook" and "Uzbek: an Intermediate Textbook" as they focus on literary Uzbek and present the language in the older Cyrillic script instead of the newer Latinic one. In any case, these books are also meant for a classroom and lack answer keys)
  
• An Academic Reference Grammar of Modern Literary Uzbek Vol. I and An Academic Reference Grammar of Modern Literary Uzbek Vol. II
  
• Comprehensive Uzbek-English Dictionary

I had a post regarding my recommended books on the rise of Islam. I'll post it here again for your benefit:

> Here's the best ones: Efraim Karsh's Islamic Imperialism: A History and Robert Hoyland's In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire

> Edit: I have read the two books aforementioned, but I'd also recommend this book, which I haven't read: Hugh Kennedy's The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. All these books fit your criteria. I also have Tom Holland's In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire, but I think this is the least recommendable because of the controversy swirling around it and the documentary it spawned. But it is interesting nevertheless.

I hope this will help!

EDIT: I'll add more recommendations, in regards to the Golden Age of Islam:

• G.R. Hawtings's The First Dynasty of Islam
  
• Amira K. Bennison's The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire
  
• Benson Bobrick's The Caliph's Splendor: Islam and the West in the Golden Age of Baghdad
  
• Halil Inalcik's The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600
  
• S. Frederick Starr's Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
  
• Michael H. Morgan's Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists
  
• Jim al-Khalili's The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us The Renaissance

Joseon era:

• A Review of Korean History, Vol.2: Joseon Era; Woo, Han Young (2010)
  
• Sources of Korean Tradition, Vol. 1: From Early Times Through the 16th Century (Introduction to Asian Civilizations); Lee, Peter H. (ed) (1996)
  
• Sources of Korean Tradition, Vol. 2: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries; Lee, Peter H. (ed) (1996)
  
  I prefer the 'Review' more, but it might come across as a little dry. I feel that it does a fair job of discussing a number of topics related to the creation and running of the Joseon Dynasty, breaking the dynasty up into smaller components and then focusing on some areas (arts, military, cultural practices) within those smaller time frames. 'Sources' for me came across as more academic than 'Review' but you might enjoy it more. 'Sources' includes translations of primary sources, which is helpful, while 'Review' includes images such as paintings and maps.
  
  General:
  
  
• Korea Unmasked: In Search of the Country, the Society and the People; Rhie Won-bok (2005)
  
  A comic book that goes into the 'making' of Korea and Korean culture. I have some reservations about this one but if you don't take it too seriously it can be a fun and easy way to get introduced to a number of topics related to Korea.
  
  'Modern' Korea:
  
  
• The Dawn of Modern Korea; Lankov, Andrei (2007)
  
• Korea Through Western Eyes, Book, Written in English; Neff, Robert (2009)
  
• The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History; Oberdorfer, Don (2013)
  
• Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History; Cummings, Bruce (2005)
  
• The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies; Breen, Michael (2014)
  
• Korea And Her Neighbours...; Bird, Isabella (2011; original 1897)
  
  Lankov's book is a collection of newspaper articles he wrote entertaining subjects like the story of Korea's first automobiles, the introduction of the first telephones, etc. Easy to digest and they offer a glimpse of what society was like at each point in time; not a 'serious' book on Korean history, though. Neff's book was a chore to get through and it felt like no editing had gone into the book before publishing. If I'm not mistaken this also started out as a series of articles for one of the local newspapers; the transition from article to book did not go quite as well.
  
  It's probably been 10 years since I read the books from Breen, Oberdorfer and Cummings, which makes it a little difficult to write a lot about them. Cummings I know gets criticized for being pro-North Korea in his writing, so that's something to keep in mind, while Oberdorfer I think was a correspondent living in Korea so may have a more 'eyewitness' approach to some of the events. Bird's book is a description of her travels in Korea during the Joseon period and I remember it being an interesting read. Not a balanced historical account by any means - and it obviously suffers from being written from an outside perspective at a time when ethnocentrism was more prevalent - but it may be an alternative to consider. You should be able to find a .pdf copy of that one online.
  
  
• Fifteen Years Among The Top-Knots: Or Life In Korea; Underwood, Lillias H. (2007, original 1904)
  
  Haven't read this one, but I've seen others mention it in the past. It's another first-person account from Korea at the cusp of the 20th century, this time from the perspective of a medical missionary. Again, not an objective history book, but if you prefer first-person narratives it may at least be worth a look. A .pdf copy has been published online, this one by the University of Oregon.
  
  Edit: One I forgot to mention, but which I've also heard is used in some English-language classes on Korean history/studies:
  
  
• Korea Old and New: A History; Eckert, Carter J. (1991) (I just noticed this is also mentioned by seaturtles7777)

> Chinese textbook claim Tibet is always part of China, this is not correct. India textbook claim China has nothing to do with Tibet until 1950 invasion, that is not correct either.
>

This is incredibly basic understanding of academia. This is literally entry-level thought. Even at Wikipedia they've always disallowed sources based on criteria just like this. This is not something you should be trumpeting as giving your opinion authority, this is something you should assume everybody already knows.

Because they do.

> do yourself a favor to borrow a book called great game. https://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Struggle-Central-Kodansha/dp/1568360223 At least learn some history of Tibet first.

I appreciate the offer, but I am already pretty well versed in this topic. Apart from anything else, your reccomendation lacks accuracy - the Great Game was between the British and Russian Empires, with Central Asia merely the staging ground. Moreso, that staging ground focused on the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan and the push to India, not the Himalayas. Tibet would be a passing reference in such a text.

Hey Cog_Sci_90, you might enjoy reading "Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes" by Tamim Ansary. Really good book, highly recommended.

From the description:

> We in the west share a common narrative of world history—that runs from the Nile Valley and Mesopotomia, through Greece and Rome and the French Revolution, to the rise of the secular state and the triumph of democracy. But our story largely omits a whole civilization that until quite recently saw itself at the center of world history, and whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years. In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and beyond. He clarifies why our civilizations grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe—a place it long perceived as primitive and disorganized—had somehow hijacked destiny. Entertaining and enlightening, Destiny Disrupted also offers a vital perspective on current conflicts.

Not the Middle East exactly, but if you want a GREAT perspective on the Middle East and Central Asia you MUST read, The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk.

This an excellent long view of history for those areas. You will not be disappointed.

>(someone pls recommend me some good books)

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Enlightenment-Central-Conquest-Tamerlane/dp/0691165858/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0/144-0242630-4897537?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1refRID=KKYE6CNQEBQAGXX727XD

Comparing Genghis Khan, Timur and Nader Shah is pretty fun.

https://books.google.com/books?id=nFx3OlrBMpQC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.fusosha.co.jp/Books/detail/9784594074760

https://www.amazon.com/Rulers-Guide-Greatest-Emperor-Timeless/dp/1501138774/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VXGE1BG6WGDA6CJ8K9T2

https://www.amazon.com/Shi-Min-Founding-theTang-Dynasty/dp/0875869785/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VXGE1BG6WGDA6CJ8K9T2

https://www.amazon.com/Poetics-Sovereignty-Harvard-Yenching-Institute-Monograph/dp/0674056086

https://books.google.com/books?id=VW2HJL689wgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=baburnama&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNjrCE_b_TAhXIOBQKHaDyCCEQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=baburnama&f=false

https://www.amazon.com/Xi-Jinping-Governance-English-Language/dp/160220408X

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guerrilla-Warfare-Mao-Tse-Tung/dp/956310014X

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Enlai:_The_Last_Perfect_Revolutionary

https://www.amazon.com/Ho-Chi-Minh-William-Duiker-ebook/dp/B0095V89ZI

https://www.amazon.com/Admiral-Togo-Nelson-Jonathan-Clements/dp/1906598622

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotations_from_Chairman_Mao_Tse-tung

http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Constitution/node_2825.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Keiretsu-Inside-Hidden-Japanese-Conglomerates/dp/007042859X

The history of Austronesian Madagascar is interesting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd also recommend Aleksandr Dugin's books and "The Intelligent Investor" by B. Graham.

• David Christian’s A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia is a good general overview
  
  
• René Grousset’s The Empire of the Steppes is a bit outdated, but perhaps more readable—more in the style of Gibbon
  
  
• John E. Hill’s Through the Jade Gate to Rome is a fantastic translation and analysis of late Han Dynasty reports on ancient Central Asia
  
  
• Jack Weatherford’s Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is a great history of the early Mongol Empire
  
  
• Hans-Joachim Klimkeit’s Gnosis on the Silk Road is a fascinating collection of Persian, Sogdian, and Uighur Manichaean sources
  
  
• The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Central Asia is disappointingly sparse, and a bit odd in its coverage and terminology, but it’s still the best I’ve been able to find in the style of Colin McEvedy’s Western Civ atlases

Not to mention that the idea of the Taliban running a perfect country is also laughable.

However, there are some more interesting complexities in this. From what I remember reading Ghost Wars (fucking brilliant book by the way), the Taliban were influenced by radical interpretations of Islam as was bin Laden's al-Qaeda, and both received money through Pakistan's ISI (their version of the CIA) and wealthy Saudi donors, as well as direct support from ISI in terms of logistics, supplies, and so on. Another layer of complexity, however, was that the Taliban evidently did not give a hoot about the US and bin Laden's conception of the US as the enemy to be toppled--they were just concerned about gaining power in Afghanistan and keeping to themselves, which makes sense considering that many of the Taliban were basically school-teachers and goat-herders turned Islamic radicals. Their Supreme Commander Mohammad Omar is said to have never have even been on an airplane or outside of his province of Kandahar, and thought the US a foreign irrelevance.

This latter fact (again, I think I recall these tidbits correctly) is probably a good explanation for why the Taliban and al-Qaeda are at odds. Imagine just minding your own business, trying to do your own take-over-the-country thing and not minding the superpowers of the world, and suddenly the actions of some dude the Taliban thought were chill and all suddenly invited the biggest superpower in the world to invade the country and completely destroy the power and 'legitimacy' of the Taliban.

Yeah, I'd be pissed at al-Qaeda too. Haha.

Also George Crile's "Charlie Wilson's War" and Robert Baer's "Sleeping with the Devil", one of three books that formed the basis for Syriana.

Osama Bin Laden's relationship with the US is the primary reason behind September 11 conspiracy theories. The official record shows that no money ever flowed directly out of US coffers to Osama bin Laden, which might be true.

It'd be pretty fuckin' weird, though.

UBL was best buddies with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who we funded heavily. He's a cousin by marriage to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who held an essentially cabinet-level post in the Reagan White House. He was a favorite son of the Bin Laden group, which is Saudi Arabia's Halliburton. And his primary activities in Afghanistan were recruitment videos and multimedia for Saudi Arabia in order to encourage young Arabs to join the jihad.

Considering who we were giving money to in Afghanistan, not giving money to Osama Bin Laden back in the '80s would have been a colossal oversight.

This is how conspiracy theories happen: hide a little, let public misperceptions fill in the blanks. It's a lot better for the CIA to have you believe in "loose change" than to have our heavy investments in Islamic fundamentalism join the public discourse.

There are definitely plenty of interesting sources to read about this time period, and really quite a lot has been written about this in Turkish that is accessible. Biases exist everywhere, but if you approach them as both a secondary and primary source at the same time, then you can adjust your perspective. The canonical account is Şevket Sürreya Aydemir's Ikinci Adam, but there are a few others that might be interesting for you, including Sabiha Sertel's contemporaneous account /2inci Dünya Savaşı Tarihi/ and /Roman Gibi/. A more recent account that has a lot of interesting stuff in it is Turhan Feyizoğlu's /Bir Paylaşma Planının Perde Arkası Turkiye 1945/.

These all address the war/early republican period explicitly, but there are more general histories of republican Turkey (in English and Turkish) that are quite objective in my opinion. One of the more recent, and very good, volumes is Carter Findley's Turkey, Islam, Nationalism and Modernity: A History.

Excellent! I know that you said to scour Central Asia-based Wikipedia articles, but do you know of any good starting points? I did find this and it looks enlightening, but I don't know a whole lot about which scholars are the most important in the field.

There are a couple from the great game period, where Russia and Britain were rivaling each other in the central asia. You'll likely find plenty original intelligence officers as authors in the references of Hopkirk's "The Great Game".

For a great example of Congress running foreign policy, see

Charlie Wilson's War(book), or

Charlie Wilson's War(movie)

Anyways, thanks for the links. If the Senate one passes (and it looks like it's been incorporated into the first House one already) it will be interesting to see what comes out of the increase in numbers of reporters in that area.

"The English Passengers" is the latest book I read that I can recommend. I've loaned it to half-a-dozen people this year and they all really liked it.

The "Flashman Papers" are also really absorbing. "Flashman and the Redskins" was the one I stumbled upon first and I enjoyed it so much I ended out reading the whole series.

While not a fiction novel, if you want a book you can't put down, try Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game.

What was his deal anyway? That his importance and power would be diminished as a subordinate instead of an equal?

>Why did the Azai oppose Oda?

https://sengoku-period.fandom.com/wiki/Anti_-_Nobunaga_Coalition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azai_clan

>The Asakura clan, in particular, was disdainful of the Oda clan's rising power. Historically, the Oda clan had been subordinate to the Asakura clan, and Asakura Yoshikage also temporarily protected Ashikaga Yoshiaki but was not willing enough to march toward Kyoto; thus, the Asakura clan despised Nobunaga the most for his success.

>EDIT: I copied the wrong quote.
When Nobunaga launched a campaign into the Asakura clan's domain, Azai Nagamasa, to whom Oichi was married, broke the alliance with Oda to honour the Azai-Asakura alliance which had lasted for generations. With the help of Ikko rebels, the anti-Nobunaga alliance sprang into full force, taking a heavy toll on the Oda clan.


Ah yes. That too.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki the last shōgun of the Ashikaga-Shogunate seems to have played a role too.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Cambridge-History-of-Japan-Vol-3-Medieval-Japan/dp/0521223547/ .

https://www.amazon.com/Sources-of-Japanese-Tradition-Vol1-Up-to-1600/dp/0231121393/

So ultimately not letting himself get caught up in the kanrei positon back into a triangular balance of power between kanrei, shōgunate and emperor (The imperial house of Japan including its branch families in the patrilinial line) resulted in the Azai being maneuvered into this situation.

Exploding Mangoes was the first book I read about Pakistan. Here's a list:

• Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation
  A little dry for my taste but I couldn't recommend this more. This book charts the social consequences of state policies and economic factors over the whole time period from '47 to now.
  
  
• Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia
  Very important book if you want to avoid the conspiracy theories floating about Taliban and our role in their rise.
  
  
• Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military
  Interested in Pakistan army's relationship with mullahs over the years? This is a must-read.
  
  
• Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding
  Title is self explanatory.
  
  
• Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples & Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey
  A very informative and interesting two part series on what joins the non-Arab muslims of the world, with a large portion about Pakistan. Written by Nobel Laureate for Literature Naipaul, behnoi of Maj. Gen. Ameer Faisal Alvi who was assassinated in 2008 in Islamabad.
  
  
• Pakistan: A Hard Country
  A good overview of what makes Pakistan run the way it does.
  
  
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist
  Haven't read it but have heard good things about it.
  
  
• The Army and Democracy; Military Politics in Pakistan
  Haven't read it yet.

The Great Game - Peter Hopkirk

Anything else by Hopkirk is also worth reading, but The Great Game focuses on the rivalry between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. It's a long book, but very readable. I read it before the current conflicts and went back and reread it. Amazing how little some things change.

Read the Qu'ran, then get familiar with the Hadith. The former is, well Muslims believe it is the actual received word of God. The latter is commentary on what the Prophet Muhammad said and did, passed down through witnesses. It's from the hadith that most of the craziness stems from, much like a lot of the craziness of Christianity stems from the writings of Paul.

Book wise, I recommend Karen Armstrongs' "Islam: A Short History" and Tamim Ansary's "Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes". Both great, and Armstong's book has the bonus of being kinda short.

And yes, at the end of the day, extremists from any religion ruin it for everyone else.

Here's an extremely abbreviated version of what happened: the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, we decided to punch them in the nuts, so we began arming and training large numbers of Afghan freedom fighters.

They began punching the Russians in the nuts. The Russians eventually were like, fuck this dude, we're out, and withdrew.

Natch, we were all "OMFG YES WE'RE THE BEST. Now on to other things" and totally moved on from the conflict.

By arming these freedom fighters we had created basically a system of well armed warlords. The power vacuum left by the Russians created intense fighting and strife. The Taliban expanded in this vacuum, offering relative peace.

Oh, and somewhere a congressman was fucking around so they made a movie about it.

For a real in depth, actual learning experience about this I strongly recommend Ghost Wars by Steven Coll: http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wars-Afghanistan-Invasion-September/dp/1594200076

Happy to help! If you want to find more to read, be sure to check out the book's bibliography. Academic books usually have a long list of references, and it's a good jumping off point if you want to go deeper into the subject.

You might also want to check out The Caucasus: An Introduction. I haven't read it myself, but it's recommend by the author of The Ghost of Freedom (in this article). The table of contents has two chapters on modern Georgian history and nationalism, and it has good reviews.

I was gonna say Lost City of Z. There's The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia, which is supposed to be really good. Here's the first page, it definitely got my interest.

The Caucasus: An Introduction by Thomas De Waal is a great place to start if your interested in the region. Culturally and politically it is one of the most fascinating areas on the planet.

We also printed Qu'rans in a multitude of languages to help inspire the mujahideen of the region. Steve Coll's book Ghost Wars is a great look at American covert action in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Amazon link

I'm just finishing The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk. It's about the struggle between Britain and Russia to control Central Asia during the 19th century.

Not only about the British in Afghanistan, but an excellent read with plenty of tales of derring-do if you're interested in the subject.

The "Great Game" period between the Russian and British Empires vying for supremacy in 19th century Central Asia. Really fascinating historical period complete with stories of amateur explorers, pathological fear of Russian encroachment on India, military incursions, domestic, colonial, and foreign politics, eccentric belief in "Empire", chance encounters on the road, psychopath kings and khans, etc. Surprising connections to events today and hammers home the dangers of engaging in Afghan affairs!

Here's the wikipedia for some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game

My favorite book on the subject: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Struggle-Central-Kodansha/dp/1568360223

> Those governments and insurgents were supplied and trained by US as a part of the Great Game as the USSR supplied and trained their own groups and governments to advance their interests.

Yeah... I'm interested in the British Empire, especially in India, and read Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game, which is mostly about the UK-Russia's proxy war in Afghanistan. It's kind of amazing how little has changed in the area after a century.

> only the afghan mujahideen were supported by the U.S. the 'afghan arabs' never got a dime from the U.S.

You need to read Steve Coll's Ghost Wars and perhaps get some perspective on what a meaningless assertion that is.

For one, The U.S. did quite a bit of operating through proxies in the region, who were very indiscriminate regarding who they sold to. Aid took the form not only of direct cash disbursements, but discounts on arms. Trying to claim bookkeeping technicalities is like saying you didn't spend your grocery money on the lottery ticket because you actually spent your laundry money.

Second, the leadership in the U.S. most certainly did prefer any sort of Islam over Soviet communism. William Casey, director of the CIA at the time, sold U.S. involvement in Afghanistan on the premise that Christians owed support to fellow "religions of the Book" over atheists.

If you like that book, I highly recommend Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game. A page-turner history of that spy-vs-spy era.

A few that came to mind:
The Great Influenza
Autism's False Prophets
1776
The Greatest Show On Earth
Ghost Wars
The Demon-Haunted World

Am re-reading Steve Coll's, Ghost Wars The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,....started 3 days ago, 400 pages down. ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING, like I am spellbound when I read it, forgetting the present entirely. Read it when it came out which was around 2005, was diggin through my library and picked this up. Forgot how awesome it is.

Ordered Private Empire, ExxonMobil & American Power by the same author, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. By Lawrence Wright are both pending delivery, so you can guess which I am moving onto next. After an Indian history binge last month, this month am into all things Mujahideen and AQ.

Peter Hopkirk wrote a superb book about this, called The Great Game. I highly recommend it.

It will make you very, very angry at US policy in Afghanistan and central Asia.

>were those from Central Asia or the Baltics conscripted or did they volunteer for service?

Both. Any conscript could volunteer to Afghanistan by submitting a letter expressing desire to serve in Afghanistan - not all were accepted. I'd estimate that <1% of 40A were volunteers and they were from all over USSR.

Conscripts from Baltics were often utilized as snipers or mechanics. Middle-Asian conscripts military quality (communication skills+technical education+elan) was low, with some very notable exceptions (SpetsNaz 'Muslim battalion' etc.). But Middle-Asians (~ -stan) outnumbered all other ethnic groups combined, with Slavic conscripts being close second and from Caucasus as third.

> did they serve in infantry roles or did Russian troops/officers tend to give them the dirty work?

They all served in every branch and service type, but Middle-Asians were often given menial jobs due to there low level of training and desire to stay away from fighting. Uzbeks were great cooks and often preferred kitchen to any other assignment. Tajiks and Turkmenis were more warlike.

>I believe I read that troops served 2 year tours; how was that like exactly?

Half-year basic training at Tashkent (usually, but not always), then 1.5 year deployment to Afghanistan. R&R (1-2 weeks) once or twice (rare) per deployment were usual, but not everyone got it.

>did they have any encounters with the locals or was that forbidden?

You cannot effectively 'forbid' any contacts with locals during war, esp. guerilla war. Formally, any interaction with locals must be sanctioned by officers and vetted by NDPA (i.e. Afghan regime) representatives.

>Outside of US intervention, could the Soviet troops have won the war?

Possible. Until ~1983, it was going that way. Then Charlie Wilson and Gulf states started to pump in money and weapons.
So the next big question would be whether Gulf state support would be enough for opposition to win or not. And without both US and Gulf state intervention - highly likely for DRA to succeed (even with hostile Pakistan and even without USSR troops).

Note that troops alone never win this kind of war. Once USSR found acceptable political solution (aka 'national reconciliation policy') - and it happened not to soon, in 1985, it was likely to succeed once hard-liners were removed from opposition - and they weren't - instead, kept receiving financial and materiel support.

EDIT:

Sources

1. А. А. Ляховский - Трагедия и доблесть Афгана Written by Major General Liakhovsky who served in Afghanistan as GenShtab's Chief Military Advisor and Liaison to Afghan's government. You can find some excerpts about initial phase of USSR intervention Afghanistan in English [here]https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/WP51_Web_Final.pdf). While excerpts cover only 'muslim battalion' actions in 1979, they'd give you an idea about author's verbosity.
   
   
2. Громов - Ограниченный Контингент. Memoirs of LtGen Boris Gromov (who was last 40^th Army Commander in Afghanistan). Specifically, Chapter Rout or Victory?
   
   
3. George Crile - Charlie Wilson's war A book, not a movie.
   
   
4. List of servicemen, awarded for their performance in Afghanistan, but who didn't get their awards Using it as a short-list, representing all servicemen. Complete list regular awards is too large.
   
   I am dumping raw data here - ask me for detailed explanations. These are just fast-plucked samples, there were many more asians and baltics awarded.
   
   Conscripts from Central Asia:
   
   right off the bat -
   
   1 ряд. Аббасов Акмал Акбарович механик-водитель в/ч п/51884. 1964г. Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N299 15.6.1990г.
   
   2 ряд. Абдракманов Элчибек Шаршанбаевич водитель в/ч п/п 13354. 1968г. Кир.ССР Тонский р-он,с.Ворошилова. Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N10198-XI 7.3.1989г.
   
   4 ряд. Абдувалиев Адхан Мухамедганиевич ст. мех. водитель п/п 82869 1967г. Андижанская обл,г. Пахтаабад, ул. пахтакор,205. Орден Красной Звезды N299 15.06.1990г.
   
   5 мл. с-т Абдужалилов Озодбек Абдурашидович зам. ком-ра взвода, ком-р отд. минометного взвода в/ч п/п 65753.84397. 1969г. Андижанская обл.Кургантепинский р-он,к-з Навои,21. Медаль "За отвагу" N10265-XI 4.4.1989г.
   
   6 ряд. Абдулаев Ахрход Абибуллаевич пулеметчик мтс роты мтс б-на. в/ч п/п 54676 1969г. Чимкентская обл. г.Туркестан Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N9512-XI 7.9.1988г.
   
   7 ряд. Абдулаев Рашид Садыков мех.-вод. в/ч пп 44585 1967г. Уз.ССР Фергенская обл. Ферганский р-н Садвин с/з ул.Механизаторов д.12 Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N8886-ХI 05.05.1988г.
   
   and till the end - dense list of Central Asian birthplaces and names:
   
   2050 ряд. Худайбердиев Аннам Джараевич разв. 66 ОМСБ 40ОА 1965 746030 Марийская обл. Байрам-Амитский р-н п.Захнет Медаль "За отвагу" 19.12.91. NУП-3061
   
   2051 ряд. Худайберенов Довлетмамед стрелок в/ч пп 34631 1963 Медаль "За боевые заслуги" 19.12.91. NУП-3061
   
   2052 ряд. Худайкулов Ахар Асатович пулеметчик мотостр. роты в/ч пп 54676 1967 Бухарская обл. Алтайский р-н к-з Ленина Медаль "За отвагу" 07.09.88. N9512-ХI
   
   2053 ряд. Худайкулов Гафур Саттарович наводчик в/ч пп 71176 1963 Медаль "За отвагу" 25.07.89. N268-I
   
   2054 ряд. Худайназаров Абдураззак Абдурахманович мех.-вод. в/ч пп 85615 1967 Уз.ССР Новаинская обл. г.Заравшан 4 мкр. 1 общ. кв.134 Медаль "За боевые заслуги" 07.09.88. N9512-ХI
   
   2056 ряд. Хуснутдинов Мирзаанвар Хайруллаевич водитель в/ч пп 93981 1961 г. Ташкент медаль "За отвагу" УП-2909 28.11.1991 г.
   
   
   Conscripts from Baltics:
   
   87 ряд. Кеиселис Гунар Зигисмундович разведчик-пулеметчик дес.-штурм. взв. развед. десант. роты в/ч пп 53336 в/ч пп 84397 1969г. Латвийская ССР, Алукенский р-он, Яуналуксенский с/с, х. Лучия Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N10491-XI 24.5.1989г.
   
   96 с-т Ашмонтас Зигмас Йонович водитель в/ч пп 21231 1966г. Лит. ССР, д. Гримзду Шилальского р-на Медаль "За отвагу" N10265-XI 4.4.1989г.
   
   97 мл. с-т Ашмонтас Роландас Йонович ком. отд. авт. взвода в/ч пп 38021 1968г. Лит.ССР, Шиляльский р-н, д.Гражюрис Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N569-I 4.10.1989г.
   
   251 ряд. Викси Индрек Эннович оператор ПТУР птв мсб в/ч пп 24785/84397 1968г. Эстонская ССР, Тартусский р-н, ул. Лия, д.4, кв.34 Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N10491-XI 24.05.1989г.
   
   626 ряд. Йонушас Эдмундас Винцович снайпер мср
   в/ч пп 86997 1967г Литовская ССР, Плунгенский р-н, д. Сталгос Медаль "За отвагу" N8886-XI 5.5 1988 г.
   
   627 ряд. Каблис Жидрунас Антанавич сапер в/ч пп 58082 1969г. Литовская ССР, Родвишинский он, д. Вайнюны Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N10265-XI 4.4.89
   
   849 ряд. Кудейка Янис Хенрикович ст. наводчик МСР МСБ в/ч пп 51883 1968г. Латвииская ССР, Даугавпилский р-он, п. Вице, ул. Комсомольская, д.11 Медаль "За отвагу" N 268-I 25.7.1989г.
   
   920 мл. с-т Лаупа Эдуард Лембитович наводчик-оператор разведоват. роты в/ч пп 24785, в/ч пп 84397 1968г. Эстонская ССР, ул. Герцена, д.28 кв.20 Медаль "За боевые заслуги" N10089-XI 1.2.1989г.
   
   2059 ряд. Цилишаускас Саулюс Альгевич водит. взв. обесп. мсб в/ч пп 51932-в/ч пп 51854 1968 Литовская ССР, Юрбарский р-он, ул. Новая д. 27 Орден Красной Звезды УКN 10089-XI 1.02.89

This is a common misconception. They banned poppy cultivation for 12 month periods to increase the global price for opium paste. Even before the US invasion they had a "minister of drugs" who would openly talk about how growing poppy is halal because only westerners like it but growing weed for hash was haram because the Afghans like dat ganja.

http://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Terror-Drugs-Reshaping-Afghan/dp/0312429630

It's fairly well researched. If you want a general, well written, overview of Muslim history I'd recommend Ansary's Destiny Disrupted. His extensive bibliography should point you in the right direction on specific topics.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1586486063

Lots of people saw it backfiring, but Rep Charlie Wilson had lots of clout in the CIA and Reagan White House and overrode those concerns ("I'm elected and you're not"). Source: My dad (deceased) who provided Reagan's daily defense intelligence briefings and corroborated in accounts in http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Wilsons-War-Extraordinary-Congress/dp/0802143415

Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven

Orientalism by Edward Said

The second one is not South Asia specific but rather how we are viewed in occidental intellectual traditions.

I was reading the Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 and it talked about how the American government was promoting a jihad against communism in Central Asia and paid to have Qurans translated into Uzbek and giving arms to radicals in the hope of triggering an anti-Soviet jihadi movement in the region. It's mentioned in this article as well:

>It did not have to be this way. Western intelligence during the Cold War always saw the region as poised for revolt, a potential dagger aimed at the heart of the "evil empire." During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA had copies of the Koran translated into Uzbek and smuggled across the border in the hopes of starting an anti-Soviet jihad among the USSR's Muslims.

Can you summarize Tibet history briefly? If you have no idea, do yourself a favor to borrow a book called great game.
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Struggle-Central-Kodansha/dp/1568360223

At least educate yourself first.

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Struggle-Central-Kodansha/dp/1568360223 A book I'm reading that is really awesome and that I was looking up reviews for.

The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk.

This is a classic for sure, but it's a bit expensive bought new: http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Steppes-History-Central-Asia/dp/0813513049/ref=pd_sim_sbs_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51knWPD2HSL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=04WY3HDVNEBNV6HBWVVK

In addition to a chapter on Timur and the Timurids, there's a huge amount of other information on the related peoples.

> Hillary Clinton has already admitted to the US helping create Al Qaeda.

Why is this important? Al-Qaeda's origin has been openly traced back to the U.S. training Afghans to fight the Soviets in the late 70's/80's, and certainly isn't some "secret" that was revealed by Clinton.

Look into Operation Cyclone or Charlie Wilson's War for more info.

I'm signed up for a university Uzbek class in the fall. If you're still interested then, PM me (late September, October and November). I might be aware of some neat resources at that time.

Also, here's a textbook I found on Amazon; it's not cheap, but also not as expensive as some books can get:
http://www.amazon.com/Uzbek-An-Elementary-Textbook-Edition/dp/1589017064/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405840475&sr=8-1&keywords=uzbek

So if you are unwilling to accept Marco Polo's eyewitness testimony, what would be a "verifiable source" to you?

I assume none of these qualify.

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/20/7_of_the_most_amazing_women_youve_never_heard_of_partner/

http://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/khutulun/

http://deadliestfiction.wikia.com/wiki/Khutulun

http://medievalpoc.tumblr.com/post/70535980643/khutulun-the-wrestler-princess

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2014/10/badass-ladies-of-chinese-history-khutulun/

http://www.mythofhistory.com/Khutulun.htm

http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/roundtable/the-wrestler-princess.php

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-History-Mongol-Queens/dp/0307407160

All these people must just be making this up, right?

Charlie Wilson's War. The book is good. Haven't seen the movie.

If you're up for reading translations of source material, seminal readings on the topics, and commentary by the authors, I highly recommend Sources of East Asian Tradition by Wm. Theodore de Bary (comes in 2 volumes). It's condensed version of anthologies that focus specifically on [Chinese] (http://www.amazon.com/Sources-Chinese-Tradition-Vol-1/dp/0231109393), Japanese, and Korean traditions, history, and philosophy.

if you are looking for detailed answer, I'd highly recommend reading Pakistan: A hard country

Sources of Korean Tradition is a good place to start, but it is a hefty 2 volume work.

http://www.amazon.com/Sources-Korean-Tradition-Vol-Civilizations/dp/0231105673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376104890&sr=8-1&keywords=sources+of+korean+tradition

Early Korean Literature by David McCann is a slimmer volume, and more accessible.

http://www.amazon.com/Early-Korean-Literature-David-McCann/dp/023111947X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376105046&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=david+mccann+traditional+korean

These do not have anything on urban myths/paranormal. I'll PM if I find anything.

In Steve Coll's Ghost Wars he discusses how between 2000 and 2500 stinger missiles were given to the mujahideen during the Soviet invasion and that after the Soviet withdrawal the US set about attempting to recover these munitions. He alleged that:
>the total cash spent by the CIA on Stinger repurchaes during the mid-1990's rivaled the total cash donations by other sections of the U.S. government for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan during those years. The Stinger repurchases may have improved aviation security, but they also delivered boxes of money to the warlords who were destroying Afghanistan's cities and towns.

...
>The going rate per missile ranged between $80,000 and $150,000. Pakistan's intelligence service handled most of the purchases on a subcontract basis for the CIA, earning an authorized commission for each missile collected.

http://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Terror-Drugs-Reshaping-Afghan/dp/0312429630

This is the book the interview came out of. Very enlightening when you weigh it against the media idea that "the taliban banned opium production for Allah".

I mean it depends on how much you want to read about it. As for opium production, there are a series of books, any one of which would prove eye opening.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan

http://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Terror-Drugs-Reshaping-Afghan/dp/0312429630

There's quite a bit of information backlogged on CSpan, which is where my information comes from on the subject.

That depends on what you mean by "Russia". The entire area was very famously raided and conquered by the Golden Horde^^^1 much earlier than Charles XII of Sweden.

Further Reading
A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia Vol. 1: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire by David Christian

>Al Qaeda was founded by a Saudi royal

Umm...what? Bin Laden was not a member of the Saudi royal family.

Also, the Bin Laden family is huge. There are members of Osama bin Laden's family that are fashion models in Europe (See: Wafah Dufour bin Laden).

Saud Family

As per the source: http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wars-Afghanistan-Invasion-September/dp/1594200076

Link to the book.

Here is the mobile version of your link

Pakistan, A hard country

​

https://www.amazon.com/Pakistan-Hard-Country-Anatol-Lieven/dp/1610391454

I would recommend Rene Groussets The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, its quite dated but overall still the go to source for a complete history of the Steppes various Khanates etc. There are several chapters about the Gokturks alone.

https://www.amazon.de/Empire-Steppes-History-Central-Asia/dp/0813513049

Seems like Ghost Wars called into question some of the stories about Wilson's higher level contributions to the war.

You should read Ghost Wars by Steven Coll. It's a historical account of that ends on Sept 10, 2001, so doesn't directly fit your request. That said, it is the most comprehensive overview of the events that led up to 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror. Pulitzer Prize winner: http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wars-Afghanistan-Invasion-September/dp/1594200076

Here are my recommendations for readings on Korean history. The list is somewhat heavy on Chosŏn (1392-1910) history mainly because it is my main research interest. If you are interested on more readings on Chosŏn history, feel free to shoot me a message.

Textbook Histories

• Eckert, Carter J. et al. Korea Old and New: A History. Seoul: Ilchokak, 1990.
  
• Seth, Michael J. A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.
  
  Academic Monographs
  
  
• Duncan, John B. The Origins of the Chosŏn Dynasty. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000
  
  • Solid study on the nature of the 1392 dynastic transition. Duncan looks at the prevalence of Koryŏ (918-1392) elites in the new Chosŏn government as evidence of systemic continuity. The main argument covers the late Silla (668-918,) Koryŏ, and Chŏson eras.
    
• Deuchler, Martina. The Confucian Transformation of Korea: A Study of Society and Ideology. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 1992.
  
  • Description available in the reading list.
    
• Yi Tae-jin. The Dynamics of Confucianism and Modernization in Korean History. Ithaca: Cornell University East Asia Program, 2007.
  
  • Translation of a number of scholarly articles written by professor Yi Taejin (Seoul National University) on the issue of Neo-Confucianism and development in Chosŏn history. The final chapters provide an interesting rebuke of Japanese colonialist and Korean nationalist historiography.
    
• Palais, James B. Confucian Statecraft and Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the Late Chosŏn Dynasty. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
  
  • Monumental study of Yu Hyŏngwŏn's (Pan'gye) Pan'gye surok. In it, Palais discusses intellectual developments in the late Chosŏn period that challenged orthodox Zheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.
    
• Eckert, Carter. Offspring of Empire: The Koch'ang Kims and the Colonial Origins of Korean Capitalism, 1876-1945.Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
  
  • Study on the Koch'ang Kim family, owners of the Kyŏnbang Spinning and Weaving Company. The monograph raises the issues of the Japanese "modernization" of peninsular economy during colonial times, Korean collaborators with the Japanese administration, as well as Korea's place in the larger Japanese imperial structure.
    
• Cumings, Bruce. The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. I.Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.
  
  • Seminal study on the causes of the Korean War (1950-1953.) Cumings proposes that the Korean War cannot be simply understood as a provocation by the North. Instead, Cumings argues that division by the Allied Powers in 1945 led to armed conflict.
    
    Primary Sources
    
    
• Lee, Peter H. and Wm. Theodore de Bary, ed. Sources of Korean Tradition, Vol. I: From Early Times Through the Seventeenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. and Ch'oe, Yŏng-ho and Wm. Theodore de Bary, ed. Sources of Korean Tradition, Vol II: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
  
  • Anthologies of translated primary sources. The sourcebooks include literature ranging from official dynastic histories, philosophical treatises, and memorials to the throne to private correspondence, political manifestos, and speeches.
    
• Choi Byonghyon, trans. The Annals of King Taejo. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014.
  
  • Complete translation into English of the Veritable Records of King T'aejo (r. 1392-1398.) The Veritable Records (K. *Chosŏn wangjo sillok*) are the posthumously-compiled official records kept for every Chosŏn monarch. They register court activities, diplomatic writings, as well as other administrative affairs.
    
• JaHyun Kim Haboush, trans. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
  
  • Translation of Lady Hyegyŏng's (1735-1816) four memoirs. Lady Hyegyŏng was the consort of Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762,) the son and heir of King Yŏngjo (r. 1724-1776.) Crown Prince Sado was locked on a rice chest until his death on the orders of his father.

>What you're expecting is Pakistan to stand when we want them to and sit when we tell them to. Thats not how International relations work.

It's your fucking mess. Seriously.

The Pakistani ISI built the fucking Taliban to take proxy control of Afghanistan. The vast majority of the Taliban having been indoctrinated in Pakistani Madrasas for Afghan Refugees, the program was directed by a political ally of Bhutto. Mushareff sent 20,000 regular Frontier Corps and Army troops to help them complete the takeover after the Northern Alliance kicked the Talibans ass. Without the Pakistani military intervening, the Taliban would not have become as powerful as they did, and instead of planning to drop buildings in New York, Osama would have been more concerned with trying to stay alive and thus his support of KSM would have been limited..

In fact of the 45,000 or so "Afghani Taliban" attacking the Northern Alliance, only 14,000 were Afghani. The vast majority were Pakistani, regular military as pointed out, along with some Arabs and others supplied by Osama. The breeding ground for the 9/11 attacks were built directly with Pakistani Military support.

Iraq, totally our mess. Afghanistan, Your fucking mess.


http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB227/17.pdf
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1340244/Afghanistan-resistance-leader-feared-dead-in-blast.html
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wars-Afghanistan-Invasion-September/dp/1594200076
http://www.amazon.com/Massoud-Intimate-Portrait-Legendary-Afghan/dp/0982161506
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/inside-the-taliban-3274/Overview

>Yeah, so? Iran was undergoing a violent revolution to free itself from Americon tyranny. What's your point?

Since when were we talking about Iran. Were talking about Pakistan here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_U.S._embassy_burning_in_Islamabad

>[citation needed]. To think that the CIA had no operatives in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the cold war is just beyond retarded! Really retarded. You-have-gotta-be-an- Americon retarded

That's not what I said. I said that the only way Pakistan would allow the CIA to fund the rebels fighting the soviets was if they were allowed to choose whom the money and weapons went too. If you'd like a source I'd suggest you go read this book. CIA agents were not allowed into Afghanistan or even near the border during the Soviet invasion due to fear that they would be caught by the Soviets.

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wars-Afghanistan-Invasion-September/dp/1594200076

Or any book on the subject for that mater, it's pretty obvious you don't really know the history.

You realize that by calling me an "Americon retard" you're being a racist by your own definition? Oh the irony.

>Hint: Bigotry against ethnic and national groups is also considered racism according to the UN, dipshit.

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/y7web/tunisian_olympians_targeted_by_islamist_radicals/c5u62mj

>Patently false considering we know the CIA was intimately and directly involved on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the radicalization programme.

Yes and they also had Korans funneled into areas of the Soviet Union to do exactly that. That does not mean that they physically had people on the ground handing out books... Seems odd that someone like your self would be for religious oppression.

>Also what makes you think there weren't CIA double agents inside the ISI?
[citation needed]


>Thanks for conceding on that point.

I'm most certainly not conceding to your point. If you can't even use respectful language your not even worth responding too.