Publisher Description
Ahmed Rashid is the voice of reason amid the chaos of Central Asia today. His unique knowledge of this complex, war-torn region gives him a panoramic vision and grasp of nuance that no Western writer can emulate. In Descent Into Chaos, Rashid reviews the regional conditions since 9/11 and the catastrophic aftermath of America’s failed war on terror. The underlying theme is clear, devastating and deeply critical of current U.S. foreign policy. Iraq is essentially a sideshow. Pakistan and Afghanistan are where the war really began. Pakistan remains the crucial resource and key player, and Afghanistan is where the fight against Islamic insurgency is eventually going to be played out. Rashid also brings into clear focus the regional issues of Central Asia that few in our country seem to understand and yet are having a crucial impact on our own security and conduct. Seven years after 9/11, despite the thousands of lives and billions of dollars that have been spent in the region, it is in chaos. Pakistan, unstable and armed with nuclear weapons, has become terrorism central. The Taliban is resurging and reconquering land, and al Qaeda is stronger than ever. And at the heart of these calamities is the United States’ refusal to accept its responsibility for statecraft and nation building and its utter failure to understand the region. Rashid’s blistering critique of American policy is also a warning and an impassioned call to correct our failed strategies. There is no more urgent global task.
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“Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani, former revolutionary now journalist and author. The book is dry as toast but readable with repetition of facts to back up his analysis on several subject areas. His analysis of the drug war in Afghanistan parallels much of what we saw in Latin America in the 1990s but still haven’t learned enough to change our response. His hard look at the neocon policy of the imperial America and Iraq and the second Bush administration’s inability to accept nation building of “failed states” should make one shudder at the thought of foreign policy under a Republican controlled government. The book took me forever to read and involved additional computer time to review key players. It is amazing how little current information is available on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Central Asian states.”
—
Bruce (4 out of 5 stars)
