Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
    Unavailable
    Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
    Unavailable
    Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
    Audiobook8 hours

    Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

    Written by Ahmed Rashid

    Narrated by Arthur Morey

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    What are the possibilities-and hazards-facing America as it withdraws from Afghanistan and reviews its long engagement in Pakistan? Where is the Taliban now in both of these countries? What does the immediate future hold, and what are America's choices going forward? These are some of the crucial questions that Ahmed Rashid-Pakistan's preeminent journalist-takes on in this follow-up to his acclaimed Descent into Chaos.

    The escalation of the war in Afghanistan has deepened a long-standing crisis in its neighbor to the east. Pakistan's political and military leadership has exhibited neither the courage nor the will to carry out major reforms in the country's foreign and economic policies. The Pakistani state still fosters many extremist jihadi fighters, even as the Pakistani Taliban directly threaten that very state. Social services are near collapse, law enforcement is abysmal, economic hardship is widespread, natural disasters occur with little government assistance, and the majority of the population has no security. During the first years of the Obama administration, the critical U.S.-Pakistan relationship has been in a state of virtual meltdown. American strategy has reflected contradictory policies, intense political infighting, and uncertainty about U.S. aims in the region.

    All parties to the conflict in Afghanistan and to the deterioration in Pakistan have made terrible mistakes, acting with arrogance, hubris, rigidity, and stubbornness. While struggles for democracy are occurring in countries that have hitherto known nothing but dictatorship, South and Central Asia, the birthplace of Al Qaeda, remains beset by extremist groups and nuclear weapons. Yet Afghanistan and Pakistan have a greater impact on global stability than anywhere else, and the decisions made by America and the West in the coming years about Pakistan will affect the security and safety of the world.

    For three decades, Ahmed Rashid has reported, written, and spoken about the wars and political events he has witnessed and has been lauded internationally for his levelheaded, informed insights. As an up-to-date briefing from one of the world's leading experts, and as an exhortation toward peace and understanding, Pakistan on the Brink is Rashid's most urgent book.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMar 15, 2012
    ISBN9781455865086
    Unavailable
    Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

    Related to Pakistan on the Brink

    Related audiobooks

    Politics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      War Without End

      May 12, 2022

      War Without End
      10 min read

    • Article

      Wakeup Call

      Aug 18, 2022

      Following Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s trip to China’s Taiwan region, over 170 countries and global organizations have shown their support for the one-China principle. Aside from official government declarations, how do

      3 min read

    • Article

      Stop Using Pakistan As A Scapegoat, Envoy Says: A Q&A

      Feb 18, 2018

      Tension between the United States and Pakistan seemed headed toward the breaking point in recent weeks after President Donald Trump angrily accused the South Asian nation of not stamping out anti-American militants there or helping the U.S. in its wa

      5 min read

    • Article

      Flash Point

      Oct 1, 2021

      Flash Point
      2 min read

    • Article

      From The Editor

      Jan 19, 2021

      From The Editor
      3 min read

    • Article

      Flashpoint

      Oct 1, 2021

      Flashpoint
      2 min read

    • Article

      From China To Iran And Pakistan, Who Can The Taliban Count On As They Govern Afghanistan?

      Sep 4, 2021

      Having defied enemies and allies alike by forcibly seizing power, the Taliban must persuade them to keep the government it is forming afloat to avert the impending collapse of Afghanistan's economy as well as a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Parado

      5 min read

    • Article

      After Kabul, Hard Questions About American Global Leadership

      Aug 18, 2021

      The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan has undermined U.S. prestige. But America’s ability to learn from its mistakes may help restore its leadership.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Q&A: David Loyn

      Sep 3, 2021

      Q&A: David Loyn
      4 min read

    • Article

      ‘West Continues To Stoke Conflict On China’s Stoep’

      Jan 21, 2024

      The island is the smallest republic in the world by land mass and is about thrice the size of Robben Island. This past week, the Republic of Nauru signalled that it would follow UN Resolution 2758 which recognises the People’s Republic of China as th

      3 min read

    Reviews for Pakistan on the Brink

    4/5

    22 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      One of the most reliable reporters on Pakistan and Afghanistan out there. He has extraordinary access and although he has yet to fully describe why Karzai has ended up being such a miserable leader, his analysis of the failings of Obama and the Pakistani's - particularly the military - are balanced and unsparing. He can also be found often in the New York Review of Books. One of the best journalists out there.
    • 4/5
      After the death of OBL last year and the recent disasters and frayed nerves and massacres of the recent campaign, there is often talk of a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a re-evaluation of the incredibly shaky relationship the US has with Pakistan.

      This excellent supplement to "Pakistan: A Hard Country" and part of a trilogy (which I must read!) shows how muddled the whole situation has become, in clear and analytical sections. It has a solid journalistic tone, and moves relentlessly forward.

      The United States, which had made some progress on a military front, has become further entangled with trying to maintain an economic and social basis for the Afghan state. The contradictory and tangled policies have improved little from the Bush quagmire. Although some promising policy documents have circulated, the hawks of the military continue to dominate the political discussion, and the President either has agreed to, or is unable to resist them.

      Afghanistan had brief hopes of peace in 2002-3 (after the fall of the Taliban), and 2011 (after the death of OBL), but the Taliban has stubbornly clung on to rural areas, forming a shadow government, and is a feared opposition. Karzai has to balance between international opinion, and the strong forces of the US and Taliban opposition.

      Pakistan is tottering, perhaps becoming too close to being a failed state. The four main ethnic groups (Pashtun-Kashmir-Sind-Baluchi), the military, the ISI, and the political parties are all at odds. The economy is frayed and dependent on World Bank/IMF income, and the national defense strategy is more focused against India (which the US is focusing greater diplomatic efforts on), and the FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) is collapsing under poverty, illiteracy, and the hotbeds of extremism. The state is no total weakling, though - as their nuclear capacity has demonstrated.

      Simply put, it's a mess. The author lists some very helpful and promising political and diplomatic changes, some of which have been implemented piece-meal, in both Pakistan and the US. But one finds here that the author is trying simply to keep his hopes up, that he is a hair's breath away from throwing up his hands in despair. But one has to keep trying, and hope that someday, people will learn from the past.

      A frightening and necessary document.
    • 4/5
      In this useful book, the author says about Pakistan, "For too long the military and political parties have neglected their one single task, which is to make life better for their people".The author is a journalist based in Lahore (Pakistan) with a deep knowledge of the complex relationships between local power sources such as the ISI (Inter Services Agency - Pakistan military), Taliban (both Afghan and Pakistani), the Americans (political and military), the Afghan government and tribes and India. The picture that emerges, is of tremendously abused populations in Pakistan and Afghanistan that would be delighted to see an end to their corrupt and self serving governments together with the Islamic fundamentalist terror groups that inhabit the region.Rashid shows that in common with other residents of the middle east they look with longing at Turkey, as he says, "Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan age fifty-seven, is a new hero for the Arab and Muslim world, taking on Muslim dictatorships like Syria, defending the Palestinians, tilting against Israel, yet firmly wedded to the West and the United States through NATO and other alliances; it is even up for membership in the twenty seven nation European Union."After reading this book one can see that the only chance of getting from "here to there" would be a an unlikely Pakistan/Afghan "Arab Spring" , so for the forseeable future one would sadly expect Pakistanis to continue to emigrate from their disfunctional society.