Review: Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid

The sixteenth chapter of this book is titled "Who lost Uzbekistan?". I wanted to look up Ahmed Rashid and say, "Oh.... you're a relentless man." Almost every incident and detail is narrated, analyzed and placed in the larger picture. I particularly enjoyed the book since it was my first brush with Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan).

Before 9/11 Afghanistan and Central Asia enjoyed very little international attention inspite of their chronic internal problems, human rights violations and lack of political freedoms. Post 9/11 though the region enjoyed enormous attention. With the US setting up bases in Pakistan and Central Asia preparing for an attack on the Taliban. Most liberal intellectuals in this region expected that this would bring a gradual political change. But with increased American funding, most of the despots moved from a position of strength to strength.

It is here that Rashid points the American failure of state building exercises. That instead of pushing the ruling elite in Pakistan and Central Asia for greater transparency and democracy, the US policy supported existing regimes to extend Pax Americana.

Musharraf and the ISI run with the rabbits and hunt with the hounds, in their search for Al Qaeda and Taliban. His domestic and foreign policies are heavily criticised and portrayed as self-serving at best. Musharraf undermines every institution of the state and portrays himself as the only man who can save Pakistan from a total collapse. The heaviest criticism though is reserved for the ISI. The orgaization first espouses the idea of jihad as a cheap way to destabilise India. But it is reluctant to destroy the funding and support for the extremist organizations, even as they become a threat to the state of Pakistan.

Afghanistan's Karzai is seen as a well intentioned but weak President. Ruling a country destroyed by decades of civil war, ethnic tensions, and warlordism is probably the toughest task for any person.

The best part of the book though is the analysis of why Pakistan is the way it is. Pakistan was created with the idea of homogenity of religion, without acknowledging the differences in ethnicity, language and region. This search for identity gave rise to a certain insecurity and paranoia about a threat from India, thus creating a national security state. Every country has an army, but in Pakistan the army has a country.