Afghanistan is a long way from both Canada and Australia, but from 2001, fate conspired to bring the three countries together. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Australia and Canada joined the U.S. and other Western allies in attacking al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan.

Operation Enduring Freedom began on October 4, 2001, but this was only the beginning of a much longer engagement in Afghanistan for both Canada and Australia, with a legacy much more ambiguous than the initial campaign had promised.

Australia and Canada in Afghanistan: Perspectives on a Mission offers twelve essays from distinguished experts and decision-makers involved in the war. Wide-ranging in scope, their work offers fresh analyses of the Afghan War and on Australia’s and Canada’s contributions to it.

Jack Cunningham is the program coordinator of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto. He lives in Toronto.

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William Maley is Professor of Diplomacy at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, Australian National University. He is an expert in Afghan politics, refugee issues, and modern diplomacy. He is a member of the Order of Australia and a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. He lives in Canberra, Australia.

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