The establishment of democracy and the fight against terrorism and Islamic extremism is the claim that Germany and other Western countries use to justify their engagement in Afghanistan. However, on the large bases, in the reconstruction centers, and among the military units, it becomes evident that the civilian element is merely subordinate to the military concept, focusing primarily on counterinsurgency. US officers in Kabul proudly point to the success of this novel method in Iraq, while the French army, with a knowing smile, claims to have invented counterinsurgency a hundred years ago in the North African colonies. The author has embarked on an adventurous quest for answers: traveling in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, visiting madrassas, remote forts, engaging in conversations with mullahs and military personnel, and discussing with liberal Islamic scholars.