After the Taliban : nation-building in Afghanistan / James F. Dobbins.

1. First Contact -- 2. One More Mission -- 3. Getting Set -- 4. Laying the Groundwork -- 5. On the Road -- 6. A Small Town in Germany -- 7. At the Petersberg -- 8. The Inauguration -- 9. Nation-Building -- 10. Afterward -- 11. The Return of the Taliban.

Includes index.

"This insider's account of post-8/11 American diplomacy reveals how the administration failed to capitalize on this early success by refusing to allow American soldiers to conduct peacekeeping operations, opposing the dispatch of international troops beyond the capital, and shortchanging Afghan reconstruction as its attention shifted to Iraq. He shows how collaboration within Bush's war cabinet began to break down almost as soon as major combat in Afghanistan ceased and the administration began its reluctant adjustment to a new and unwelcome role as nation-builder." "After the Taliban probes the relationship between the Afghan and Iraqi ventures. Dobbins demonstrates how each damaged the other, with deceptively easy success in Afghanistan breeding overconfidence and then the Iraq intervention draining essential resources away from the initial effort. Written by America's most experienced diplomatic troubleshooter, this important book reveals how government really works, how diplomacy is actually conducted, and most important why the United States has failed to stabilize either Afghanistan or Iraq."--BOOK JACKET.