Here's the opening of the review of the book from the Washington Post Book World, written by James Bamford, author of "The Puzzle Palace," a history of the National Security Agency.
Sowing the Whirlwind
QUOTE
Sowing the Whirlwind
How the CIA's Central Asian missions helped pave the way for Osama bin Laden.
Reviewed by James Bamford
Sunday, February 29, 2004; Page BW03
GHOST WARS
The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
By Steve Coll. Penguin. 695 pp. $29.95
\"This is Morning Edition from NPR News. I'm Bob Edwards. The fate of Afghan opposition leader Ahmed Shah Massoud remains uncertain two days after he was attacked in his home in Northern Afghanistan. Massoud's followers insist that the assassination attempt failed and that he is still alive. But there's widespread speculation that he died from his wounds. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports. . . .\" On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans paid little attention to the radio story of the possible assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud. Afghanistan was a distant place with a convoluted history: tribal factions, warlords, the Khyber Pass, curved daggers and faded memories of downed Russian helicopters. Network news organizations throughout the summer and into the fall were leading their evening broadcasts with an assorted mix of sex and blood stories -- Gary Condit and killer sharks. They had no time for horseback-riding Tajiks or warring factions in the Hindu Kush.
....
How the CIA's Central Asian missions helped pave the way for Osama bin Laden.
Reviewed by James Bamford
Sunday, February 29, 2004; Page BW03
GHOST WARS
The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
By Steve Coll. Penguin. 695 pp. $29.95
\"This is Morning Edition from NPR News. I'm Bob Edwards. The fate of Afghan opposition leader Ahmed Shah Massoud remains uncertain two days after he was attacked in his home in Northern Afghanistan. Massoud's followers insist that the assassination attempt failed and that he is still alive. But there's widespread speculation that he died from his wounds. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports. . . .\" On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans paid little attention to the radio story of the possible assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud. Afghanistan was a distant place with a convoluted history: tribal factions, warlords, the Khyber Pass, curved daggers and faded memories of downed Russian helicopters. Network news organizations throughout the summer and into the fall were leading their evening broadcasts with an assorted mix of sex and blood stories -- Gary Condit and killer sharks. They had no time for horseback-riding Tajiks or warring factions in the Hindu Kush.
....