Dimensions
129 x 198 x 42mm
The Inside Story of Covert Operations from Ho Chi Minh to Osama Bin Laden.
The use and abuse of secret armies from Vietnam to Afghanistan: the first comprehensive history of covert operations in the modern world.
Osama bin Laden and his organization were funded by the West to resist the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. From CIA operations in Eastern Europe after 1945 to the Afghan war and its legacy, 'Fighting Dirty' investigates the use and abuse of secret armies.
As Peter Harclerode reveals, the Afghan war was not the first time western governments have resorted to secret armies - and not the first time one has turned against its creator. French undercover units in the Algerian war led to the 1961 mutiny and tried to assassinate their own President.
Others achieved great success: covert operations in Malaya and Oman defeated communist guerrilla movements. Britain's secret war in Borneo held the line against Indonesian aggression.
From the CIA in Tibet and Laos, to the SAS in Oman and Afghanistan, this is the secret story of undercover warfare. How 50 years of covert operations have left us with a Frankenstein's Monster: highly motivated international terrorists trained and equipped with the latest Western weaponry.
