US and Allied Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan, 2009–21
US and Allied Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan, 2009–21
Description
An illustrated study of the development and operations of coalition and Afghan Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan from 2009 until the withdrawal in 2021.
At the end of 2008, the clearly inadequate strength of the coalition's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan prompted the US and NATO to deploy troops in numbers that could not be sustained long-term. This shortfall was overcome in 2009, when a newly created Special Forces command (ANASOC) in the Afghan National Army began to partner with the ISAF to undertake counter-insurgency operations against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIL-K. However, while the burden of operations never diminished, many NATO countries reduced their contribution from 2012 onwards, leading to an over-ambitious expansion of ANASOC and weaker ties between it and US/NATO command.
In this engaging study, former United States Marine Corps officer John Parkinson draws on first-hand experience to examine how this series of events spiralled toward the eventual fall of Kabul and the troubled, hasty withdrawal of coalition forces in 2021. Eight newly commissioned colour plates demonstrate the wide range of equipment and uniforms used by the Special Operations Forces and are complemented by a range of previously unpublished photographs.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
- WCAG level AA
- WCAG v2.2 compliant
- Accessibility request contact
Support for non-visual reading
- No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
- Has alternative text descriptions for images
Visual adjustments
Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified (font, spacing, colors)
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
- Content is enhanced with ARIA roles to optimize organization and facilitate navigation
- Purposes of all links are made clear
Rich content
Language tagging provided
Table of Contents
Product details
| Published | Jan 29 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 64 |
| ISBN | 9781472864949 |
| Imprint | Osprey Publishing |
| Illustrations | 8 colour artwork plates; black & white and colour photographs and illustrations. |
| Series | Elite |
| Short code | ELI 264 |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.
Resources
Book Vote
Tell us what titles you would like to see published by Osprey, then vote for your favourites in our monthly book vote!
Related Titles
