In October 2004, more than 8 million citizens of Afghanistan turned out to vote in the first democratic election in the turbulent 5,000-year history of the country. This incredible voter turnout was a significant setback to the former Taliban regime and their al Qaeda allies. It was a stunning success and serious step forward for the Afghan people and for the campaign against international terrorism.Written by a U.S. Army intelligence officer, this book is a candid account of Afghanistan's first presidential election and its subsequent transition to democratic self-governance. In particular, the author speaks to the security apparatus and measures protecting the election. The election security process was a defeat for the Taliban insurgents attempting to frustrate Afghanistan's transformation into a democratic nation. The narrative of Afghan development is interspersed with first-hand, personal accounts of the author's eleven-month deployment as an officer serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Embedded with the United Nations in a civilian-clothes role, he also writes from the perspective of a UN security officer and brings some added experience to which most soldiers are not exposed on the battlefield.

In October 2004, more than 8 million citizens of Afghanistan turned out to vote in the first democratic election in the turbulent 5,000-year history of the country. This incredible voter turnout was a significant setback to the former Taliban regime and their al Qaeda allies. It was a stunning success and serious step forward for the Afghan people and for the campaign against international terrorism.Written by a U.S. Army intelligence officer, this book is a candid account of Afghanistan's first presidential election and its subsequent transition to democratic self-governance. In particular, the author speaks to the security apparatus and measures protecting the election. The election security process was a defeat for the Taliban insurgents attempting to frustrate Afghanistan's transformation into a democratic nation. The narrative of Afghan development is interspersed with first-hand, personal accounts of the author's eleven-month deployment as an officer serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

Embedded with the United Nations in a civilian-clothes role, he also writes from the perspective of a UN security officer and brings some added experience to which most soldiers are not exposed on the battlefield.

Matthew J. Morgan is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and has completed graduate work at Harvard Business School and the University of Hawai'i. He served for six years in U.S. Army intelligence, including a tour of Afghanistan in which he was awarded the Bronze Star, and he currently works as an Associate at McKinsey & Company.