About book Caos Asia: Il Fallimento Occidentale Nella Polveriera Del Mondo (2008)
This book not only presents new ways of thinking about the war on Afghanistan, but it breaks through them. The author's incorporation of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc.) as vital countries to consider in the war on terrorism and Afghanistan is the new way of thinking. It is clear that few American authors, journalists, or historians would even consider those countries. However, Rashid not only writes about them well, but offers the argument that the U.S. lost credibility (and therefore lost out) on those countries as it perpetuated the war in Afghanistan as well. Another new argument/perspective is how Pakistan and India's relations effect the stabilization of Afghanistan. His knowledge of the Kashmir terrorist organizations and their links to Al-Qaeda and/or the Taliban strengthens this fresh approach as well.That is not the only focus that Rashid writes well within. He also discusses Afghanistan and Pakistan within their own history and developments, as well as how they affected each other to become inter-twined. On top of that he succinctly includes America. He is critical of the George W. Bush administration's handling of Afghanistan, and has the detailed facts, observations, and relevant information to back his arguments up. This part of the book is not surprising in being critical of Bush and over which subjects to be critical over. What is surprising is the detailed accounts Rashid is able to present and navigate fluidly. Besides incorporating the Central Asian histories, Rashid also includes NATO and the UN's contribution to the war. From other works (both books and articles) that I have read this is usually ignored or given little attention. Rashid does pay attention and he again has relevant and detailed information to put the reader right into the unfolding events. Where Rashid might fall short is that this is a book written by a journalist and not a historian. That does not necessarily detract completely from this book. However, because it was published in 2008 (instead of sometime after May 2010) it dates the book and makes the narrative he writes and presents so well aged. This is where the historian in me wishes he had waited to write the book so he could discuss bin Laden and the Abbotabad raid as well as he does other events. He already establishes an uneasy and triple-crossing relationship between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the U.S. The Abbotabad raid would only be another gemstone for him to include. Hopefully he is able to publish another work of the same quality of writing and attention to this theme (uneasy foreign relations) with that hindsight. The same with the attacks on Mumbai (re: Kashmir terrorist groups).All in all I would recommend this book without hesitation to anyone wanting to know the first seven years of the war on Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda. Rashid brings fresh approaches, arguments, and perspectives to this conflict and region which he couples with a concrete understanding and presentation of facts that make his narrative extremely well written. Let me begin by saying that I liked Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid because it provided a useful and readable of the events surrounding Pakistan and Afghanistan leading up to and post 9-11 and the United States war there. However, the book is labeled as a discussion of the failure of nation-building in Central Asia. Most of the chapters revolve around Afghanistan and Pakistan with a brief word tied in occasionally about the other countries. The point that the fates of all of these places is interconnected because they deal with many of the same problems of radical extremism, ruling corruption, and bad economic and educational conditions, but I would've wanted to hear a little bit more about the other countries of the Central Asia regions he discusses. I was also concerned when he referred to Harmid Karzai as his good friend in the first few pages of the book that it was going to be a Karzai love piece...by taking care to criticize Karzai for failings at several points he alleviated those concerns. Overall a good book on the nuts and bolts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but you'll need another book to dig further into the larger Central Asia region.
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recommended by Stuart but hard to read on a sunny day
—keyeric
