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Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan. By Antonio Giustozzi. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0231-70009-2. Maps. Tables. Graphs. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xv, 259. $24.95.
Historians prefer to let the dust settle on events to allow clarity and perspective before they analyze them. Antonio Giustozzi is not waiting for any dust to settle or for the passing of a "decent interval". His topic is relevant and evolving. He is trying to capture the minute and record it even as it changes.
The Taliban of today is not the broken conventional force of Spring 2002. Events in Afghanistan have followed a historic pattern. First, there was the defeat of the conventional (Taliban) force. The fight then passed to...