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Book Review of The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban

The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban
Minehava avatar reviewed on + 829 more book reviews


I believe the publishers misrepresented the book. The cover and reviews portray the work as an analysis of post-2001 Afghanistan, and an indictment of the errors of the US military and the Afghan government. The book focuses on the governor and police chief of Kandahar from 2002-2005. The book does describe Ms. Chayes' experience working for an NGO, but never covers the political-military situation, and charges of U.S. government mismanagement that the publisher advertises. It seems an incomplete ramble on the injustices of political reality in Kandahar, and provides no new insight into what has always been perceived as a corrupt and ineffective Afghan government, and a meddlesome Pakistani government that is often at odds with U.S. goals.