Descent into Chaos: The U. S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia » (Revised)

Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore who writes for The Washington Post, Daily Telegraph (London), the International Herald Tribune, The New York Review of Books, BBC Online, and The Nation. His previous books include Jihad, Taliban, and The Resurgence of Central Asia. He appears regularly on NPR, CNN, and the BBC World Service.

After September 11th , Ahmed Rashid's crucial book Taliban introduced American readers to that now notorious regime. In this new work, he returns to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia to review the catastrophic aftermath of America's failed war on terror. Called "Pakistan's best and bravest reporter" by Christopher Hitchens, Rashid has shown himself to be a voice of reason amid the chaos of present-day Central Asia. Descent Into Chaos is his blistering critique of American policy-a dire warning and an impassioned call to correct these disasterous strategies before these failing states threaten global stability and bring devastation to our world.

Publishers Weekly

"Iraq may turn out to be a mere side show compared with what is at stake with Pakistan and Afghanistan," says Rashid in his critical, timely and expansive book (the introduction alone takes up almost an entire disc). Arthur Morey walks a thin line: his overall success conveying the information in this weighty tome without sounding like a monotone college professor is a credit to his talent. Morey's voice is calm, authoritative and confident. His diction is perfect and his mannered delivery never loses steam. Nevertheless, even with an important book such as this, it is difficult to convey this quantity of factual information in a way that doesn't eventually begin to drone on. Morey fights the good fight and comes out ahead, barely. A Viking hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 14). (July)

Maps

Countries and Cities of Central Asia

Ethnic Distribution Within Pakistan and Afghanistan

Afghan Provinces and Federally Administered Tribal Areas

NATO Deployment and Provincial Reconstruction Team Locations in Afghanistan, 2007

Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan, 2007

Military Offensives Launched by the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 2007-2008

Glossary

Acronyms

Introduction: Imperial Overreach and Nation Building

Part 1 9/11 and War

1 A Man With a Mission: The Unending Conflict in Afghanistan 3

2 "The U.S. Will Act Like a Wounded Bear": Pakistan's Long Search for Its Soul 24

3 The Chief Executive's Schizophrenia: Pakistan, the United Nations, and the United States Before 9/11 44

4 Attack!: Retaliation and Invasion 61

5 The Search for a Settlement: Afghanistan and Pakistan at Odds 84

Part 2 The Politics of the Post-9/11 World

6 A Nuclear State of Mind: India, Pakistan, and the War of Permanent Instability 109

7 The One-Billion-Dollar Warlords: The War Within Afghanistan 125

8 Musharraf's Lost Moment: Political Expediency and Authoritarian Rule 145

Part 3 The Failure of Nation Building

9 Afghanistan I: Economic Reconstruction 171

10 Afghanistan II: Rebuilding Security 196

11 Double-Dealing with Islamic Extremism: Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan 219

12 Taliban Resurgent: The Taliban Return Home 240

Part 4 Descent Into Chaos

13 Al Qaeda's Bolt-Hole: Pakistan's Tribal Areas 265

14 America Shows the Way: The Disappeared and the Rendered 293

15 Drugs and Thugs: Opium Fuels the Insurgency 317

16 Who Lost Uzbekistan?: Tyranny in Central Asia 338

17 TheTaliban Offensive: Battling for Control of Afghanistan, 2006-2007 349

18 Conclusion: The Death of an Icon and a Fragile Future 374

Acknowledgments 405

Notes 407

Suggested Reading 457

Index 463