Book excerpt: The United States Army in Afghanistan is a powerful story of the first military efforts to strike back at the terrorist organization al Qaeda in the aftermath of its 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, believed he and his followers living and training under the protection of the Taliban regime in the far-off mountains of Afghanistan were beyond the reach of American arms. Richard W. Stewart in his penetrating essay on the early critical months of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM proves that bin Laden was wrong, chronicling how American, coalition, and allied Afghan units in a matter of months overthrew the Taliban regime and drove the al Qaeda into worldwide flight. His well-balanced story of American resolve, of danger and hardship, and of ultimate victory during the opening days of the Global War on Terrorism is worthy of study, providing critical perspective on how conventional and unconventional forces not only complemented each other's strengths but also compensated for each other's weaknesses.