Providing a forum for the everyday people of Afghanistan to be heard, Eichstaedt reveals the truth behind the calculated rhetoric of war, politics, and diplomacy, and suggests a path forward toward a sustainable future for Afghanistan and southern Asia.

Includes index.

Prisoner of the Taliban --You have the watches, we have the time -- The fearless -- Talking with the Taliban -- Taliban justice -- The mullah is a terrorist -- Confessions of a suicide bomber -- The Jalalabad Video War -- The killing fields of Marja -- Burning in hell -- Bones in the desert -- Rejecting the Taliban -- The caves of Bamiyan -- Of copper and culture -- A war gone wrong -- Epilogue: Slouching toward calamity.