The #1 New York Times bestselling author provides a shocking analysis of the crisis in Pakistan and the renewed radicalism threatening Afghanistan and the West.
Ahmed Rashid is “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter” (Christopher Hitchens). His unique knowledge of this vast and complex region allows him a panoramic vision and nuance that no Western writer can emulate.
His book Taliban first introduced American readers to the brutal regime that hijacked Afghanistan and harbored the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Now, Rashid examines the region and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe to see how the promised nation building in these countries has pro-gressed. His conclusions are devastating: An unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan, a renewed al’ Qaeda profiting from a booming opium trade, and a Taliban resurgence and reconquest. While Iraq continues to attract most of American media and military might, Rashid argues that Pakistan and Afghanistan are where the conflict will finally be played out and that these failing states pose a graver threat to global security than the Middle East.
Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the crisis in Pakistan are only the beginning. Rashid assesses what her death means for the region and the future. Rashid has unparalleled access to the figures in this global drama, and provides up-to-the-minute analysis better than anyone else. Descent Into Chaos will do for Central Asia what Thomas Rick’s Fiasco did for Iraq — offer a blistering critique of the Bush administration and an impassioned call to correct our failed strategy in the region.
Descent Into Chaos
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 One. 9/11 And War
1. A Man With a Mission
The Unending Conflict in Afghanistan
2. "The U.S. Will Act Like a Wounded Bear"
Pakistan's Long Search for Its Soul
3. The Chief Executive's Schizophrenia
Pakistan, the United Nations, and the United States Before 9/11
4. Attack!
Retaliation and Invasion
5. The Search For a Settlement
Afghanistan and Pakistan at Odds
Part Two. The Politics Of The Post-9/11 World
6. A Nuclear State of Mind
India, Pakistan, and the War of Permanent Instability
7. The One-Billion Dollar Warlords
The War Within Afghanistan
8. Musharraf's Lost Moment
Political Expediency and Authoritarian Rule
Part Three. The Failure Of Nation Building
9. Afghanistan I
Economic Reconstruction
10. Afghanistan II
Rebuilding Security
11. Double-Dealing With Islamic Extremism
Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan
12. Taliban Resurgent
The Taliban Return Home
Part Four. Descent Into Chaos
13. Al Qaeda's Bolt-Hole
Pakistan's Tribal Areas
14. America Shows The Way
The Disappeared and the Rendered
15. Drugs And Thugs
Opium Fuels the Insurgency
16. Who Lost Uzbekistan?
Tyranny in Central Asia
17. The Taliban Offensive
Battling for Control of Afghanistan, 2006-2007
18. Conclusion
The Death of an Icon and a Fragile Future
Acknowledgments
Notes
Suggested Reading
Index
“For almost three decades, Ahmed Rashid has been the foremost journalist reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Descent into Chaos is a crucial book with a timely message for policy-makers, the military, global strategists, and mostly the ill-informed public alike. Descent follows his acclaimed bestsellers Taliban and Jihad, which are the definitive works to explore the rise of radical extremism, and the massive failures of western interventionist policies in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
For a western audience, as a foremost voice from the east, Descent is Rashid's definitive work, and not only provides of thoughtful, detailed dissection of seminal events in Central Asian recent history, but an insightful snapshot into future scenarios of where the roadmaps to terror and peace may be headed.”
— Greg Mortenson, author of # 1 NYT bestseller Three Cups of Tea
