In his indispensable examination of the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 21st century Blood, Metal and Dust, author Brigadier (Rtd) Ben Barry gives readers informed, insightful and altogether essential analyses of those conflicts. Originally published in 2020, the events of 2021 in Afghanistan showed that the book was indeed prescient about the end of the conflict, and a second edition has just been released.
The dark days of late-2001 are seared on the memories of all who lived through them. The rapid reaction to the attacks of 11 September 2001, and the building of a wide coalition to fight the ‘war on terror’, as well as the escalation of the conflict into Iraq, reveal several remarkable lessons learned from the previous quarter-century of conflict.