<P>First published in 1985, this is a book written at the height of the Soviet&nbsp;war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Based on five clandestine trips into Afghanistan with the resistance, the book examines why the Soviets&nbsp;invaded in 1979 and what they were seeking to defend. The author&nbsp;analyses their deliberate policy&nbsp;of migratory genocide through a combination of aerial bombardments, political repression and economic blockades.</P>
<P>The book is written by the&nbsp;journalist Ed Girardet,&nbsp;one of the world's&nbsp;leading authorities on the conflict, whose particular strength is his dispassionate reporting style and his firsthand proximity to the conflict. He interviewed many of the leaders of the&nbsp;Afghan&nbsp;resistance, both inside Afghanistan and&nbsp;in the refugee camps and he explains in depth the nature of the Afghan Islamic anti-communist struggle for independence.&nbsp;&nbsp; </P>
<P>This is a book in the finest tradition of war&nbsp;reporting on the front line and the reissue is essential reading for all those interested in the history of the conflict in Afghanistan.</P>