How the War Against Islamic Extremism is Being Lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia

Descent into Chaos

Ahmed Rashid is Pakistan's premiere journalist, an expert on Central Asia, on jihad and Muslim extremists movements, on the Taliban and Al Qaeda, on insurgency, and on the catastrophe of US policy in this region, on which he has reported for 25 years. Author of three books, his work Taliban was a huge international bestseller, widely recognised as the definitive account. He has personally met and interviewed many of the key players in Central Asia and has travelled extensively for this book. He writes regularly for The Daily Telegraph, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, BBC Online and many other European and American dailies and websites. 
 
A scholar of the Davos World Economic Forum and a consultant for Human Rights Watch, he is currently on the Board of Advisers to the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 2002 he established the 'Open Media Fund for Afghanistan' (OMFA), which gives cash grants to newly starting independent print media in Afghanistan. So far it has distributed over $300,000 to over two dozen newspaper and magazine start ups all over Afghanistan publishing in Dari, Pushto and Uzbek.

Since 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, the West has been fighting a &lsquo;War on Terror&rsquo;, through force and through the building of new societies in the region. In this clear and devastating account, with unparalleled access and intimate knowledge of the political players, Descent into Chaos chronicles our failure. 
 
Having reported from central Asia for a quarter of a century, Ahmed Rashid shows clearly why the war in Iraq is just a sideshow to the main event. Rather, it is Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the five Central Asian states that make up the crisis zone, for it is here that terrorism and Islamic extremism are growing stronger. 
 
Documenting with precision how intimately linked Pakistan is with the Taliban and other extremist movements, while remaining the US&rsquo;s main ally in the region, Rashid brings into focus the role of many regional issues in supporting extremism, from nuclear programmes to local rivalries, ineffectual peace-keeping to tyrannical rulers. For Rashid, at the heart of the failure in Iraq is the US&rsquo;s refusal to accept the need to build nations. 
 
Ambitious and urgent, analyzing events, policies and personalities across the largest landmass in the world, Descent into Chaos chronicles with chilling accuracy why Islamic extremism is now stronger than ever.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the threat to global security

In Descent Into Chaos: Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Threat to Global Security Ahmed Rashid explores the most volatile and dangerous region in the world. 
 
 The war on terror is being lost - but not just in Iraq. As this devastating book shows, the real crisis zone now lies in central Asia. Veteran reporter Ahmed Rashid has unparalleled access to the region and knows its leading players, from presidents to warlords. Here he documents how closely Pakistan's US-backed regime is linked with extremists; how broken promises in Afghanistan have led to a resurgent Taliban fed by drugs money; and how the largest landmass in the world is now a breeding ground for terrorism. 
 
 In this story of squandered opportunities, misguided alliances and double-dealing, Rashid pinpoints with chilling accuracy where the true threat to our global security comes from. 
 
 'Compulsively readable' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Justin Marozzi, Evening Standard 
 
 Profound and lively ... it reads like a thriller ... graphic, detailed and worrying' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Michael Fathers, New Statesman 
 
 'Gripping ... a major contribution to understanding the region and the events of recent years ... thought-provoking and important' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Jason Burke, Observer 
 
 'His knowledge of events and people there is second to none and the information he has gathered, often at great personal risk, makes alarming reading' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Kim Sengupta, Independent 
 
 'A superbly researched account of post-9/11 Asia ... outstanding' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sameer Rahim, Daily Telegraph 
 
 Ahmed Rashid is Pakistan's premiere journalist, an expert on Central Asia, on jihad and Muslim extremists movements, on the Taliban and Al Qaeda, on insurgency, and on the catastrophe of US policy in this region, on which he has reported for 25 years. Author of three books, his work Taliban was a huge international bestseller, widely recognized as the definitive account.

Ahmed Rashid is Pakistan's premiere journalist, an expert on Central Asia, on jihad and Muslim extremists movements, on the Taliban and Al Qaeda, on insurgency, and on the catastrophe of US policy in this region, on which he has reported for 25 years. Author of three books, his work Taliban was a huge international bestseller, widely recognised as the definitive account. He has personally met and interviewed many of the key players in Central Asia and has travelled extensively for this book. He writes regularly for The Daily Telegraph, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, BBC Online and many other European and American dailies and websites.

The war on terror is being lost - but not just in Iraq. As this devastating book shows, the real crisis zone now lies in central Asia. Veteran reporter Ahmed Rashid has unparalleled access to the region and knows its leading players, from presidents to warlords. Here he documents how closely Pakistan's US-backed regime is linked with extremists; how broken promises in Afghanistan have led to a resurgent Taliban fed by drugs money; and how the largest landmass in the world is now a breeding ground for terrorism. 
 
In this story of squandered opportunities, misguided alliances and double-dealing, Rashid pinpoints with chilling accuracy where the true threat to our global security comes from.

Ahmed Rashid

Pakistan on the Brink

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