Directorate S : the C.I.A. and America's secret wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan / Steve Coll.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 729-736) and index.

Part one. Blind into battle, September 2001-December 2001 -- "Something has happened to Khalid" -- Judgment day -- Friends like these -- Risk management -- Catastrophic success -- Part two. Losing the peace, 2002-2006 -- Small change -- Taliban for Karzai -- The enigma -- "His rules were different than our rules" -- Mr. Big -- Ambassador vs. Ambassador -- Digging a hole in the ocean -- Radicals -- Part three. The best intentions, 2006-2009 -- Suicide detectives -- Plan Afghanistan -- Murder and the deep state -- Hard data -- Tough love -- Terror and the deep state -- The new big dogs -- Losing Karzai -- A war to give people a chance -- Part four. The end of illusion, 2010-2014 -- The one-man C.I.A. -- The conflict resolution cell -- Kayani 2.0 -- Lives and limbs -- Kayani 3.0 -- Hostages -- Dragon's breath -- Martyrs Day -- Fight and talk -- The Afghan hand -- Homicide Division -- Self-inflicted wounds -- Coups d'et́at -- Epilogue: Victim impact statements.

Traces America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the years since 9/11, and how the U.S. efforts in the Afghan War faltered because of a failure to understand the intentions of Pakistan's intelligence agency.