The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power [Hardcover]

Tariq Ali (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008

Now in paperback, from a writer with unrivalled access and knowledge, a riveting portrait of America’s closest ally in the war on terror as it spirals into political chaos.The sixth most populous country in the world, Pakistan is the only Islamic state to have nuclear weapons. Its border with Afghanistan extends over 1,000 miles and is the likely hideout of Osama bin Laden. Yet it is the linchpin in the United States’ war on terror, receiving over $10 billion of American aid since 2001 and purchasing more than $5 billion of U.S. weaponry in 2006 alone.

With unilateral incursions into Pakistan by U.S. troops pursuing Taliban fighters, and surveys indicating that more than seventy percent of Pakistanis fear America as a military threat, relations between the two countries remain tense. The scion of a famous Punjabi political family, with extraordinary contacts inside the country and internationally, Tariq Ali has long been acknowledged as a leading commentator on Pakistan. In The Duel, he combines deep understanding of the country’s history with extensive firsthand research and unsparing political judgment to weigh the prospects of those contending for power today.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A veteran journalist on Pakistan, Ali reviews the country’s six-decade political history critically, indicting the leadership class and its ties to the U.S. Viewing the country as in neocolonial thrall to U.S. strategic interests, Ali comments freely in a narrative that acquaints readers with the country’s main political events, from Pakistan’s creation in 1947 to its situation in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007. The military being the dominant feature of Pakistani politics, Ali applies his caustic pen to descriptions of its leaders, particularly those in command during Pakistan’s 1971 debacle of losing what is now Bangladesh. As for civilian leaders such as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his late daughter, Benazir, Ali regards them as corrupt and no more interested in, and certainly no more effective at, alleviating the appalling poverty and illiteracy in which most Pakistanis live. Imparting personal detail about his visits to Pakistan and interviews with political figures, Ali offers strongly argued opinions on the past, and his preferred future, of Pakistani politics. --Gilbert Taylor

Review

"A well-informed, compelling narrative...Ali uses his own encounters with historical figures - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto...they add an urgent, intimate layer to the narrative." -- The Guardian

"Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world...Yet most Americans don't realize how much of the Pakistani peril is our own fault. The Duel ... should be read for an understanding of, first, what role America has played in creating this dangerous mix and, second, why many Pakistanis see us as responsible for their problems." --The Washington Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416561013
• ISBN-13: 978-1416561019
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting exploration of Pakistan's history and politics, November 1, 2008

By 

Chris (Washington state, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power (Hardcover)

This is an interesting exploration of Pakistan's history and current problems. Tariq Ali, who first gained fame as a leftist student activist in Great Britain in the 1960's, grew up in Pakistan, the son of a leftist editor of one of Pakistan's major newspapers. With his strong connections to the elite in Pakistan he has been able to personally know some of the big shots of the country's oligarchy. He makes use of the insight such connections have given him into the dismal inner workings of Pakistani politics in this book.

He portrays Pakistan as a government controlled by a corrupt bureaucratic-military oligarchy in alliance with feudal landowners and heavily dependent on American backing. The majority of the population lives in horrendous poverty. Communicable diseases and malnutrition are rampant. The Pakistani military and intelligence services greatly assisted the Afghan mujahedeen drug running business in the 1980's. The effects on Pakistan were disastrous. According to Ali, Pakistan had only a few hundred heroin addicts in 1977 but had two million ten years later. But to adopt the view of the Western imperialists--that Pakistan is a cauldron of serious poverty, nuclear weapons and jihadists chomping at the bit--is quite wrong, Ali cautions. Islamic fanatics have terrorized Pakistan since the late 70's when General Zia, with Saudi support, began to provide them with state backing, but they represent a very small segment of Pakistani society. Pakistan has a strong secular tradition and Islamic fundamentalist parties have been never achieved much at the ballot box. Secular parties are even strong in Waziristan, supposedly the main center of jihadist agitation in Pakistan. However what could throw more Pakistanis into alliance with the jihadists, Ali warns, is substantial U.S military operations in Pakistan. US air attacks in Pakistan's western frontier have killed many civilians. If the U.S decides to engage in more substantial military action on Pakistani territory, Ali warns that this might very well throw many Pakistanis into alliance with the jihadists and split the Pakistani army. Segments of the Pakistani army might very well violently resist such aggression by a foreign power, ally with the jihadists and then Pakistan's nukes might find their way into the hands of terrorists.

A large part of the book, and maybe the most interesting part of it deals with the saga of the Bhutto family. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto created the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) as his personal political vehicle to ride the wave of the popular uprising against the dictatorship of General Ayub Khan in 1968-69. Bhutto had been a minister under Ayub and violently urged on the Pakistani military in its genocidal butcheries in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1971. (The factors leading to Pakistan's mass slaughter and the internal workings and flaws of the Bangladesh independence movement are discussed extensively in this book). Bhutto rode to power promising free health care, free housing, guaranteed food and other socialist rhetoric but he almost completely avoided implementing his promises while in power. He was executed by General Zia on trumped up charges in 1979, after a kangaroo court trial. Ali describes how he got to personally know Bhutto's daughter Benazir in the 1970's and 80's. He expresses some admiration for Benazir's courage in leading resistance against General Zia. But he is unsparing in his account of the gangster character of Benazir's second government (1993-1996). Benazir and her husband Asif Zardari accumulated at least 1.5 billion while she was prime minister and he minister for investment. Courts in England, Spain and Switzerland launched charges against the Bhuttos for receiving tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks from western corporations. Most of the corruption charges against the Bhutto's were dropped as a result of an amnesty for corrupt politicians declared by General Musharraf. Zardari, of course, is now president of Pakistan. Ali also implicates Bhutto and Zardari in the murder of Bhutto's brother. Murtaz Bhutto had been highly critical of the corruption and hollow politics of his sister's regime. In September 1996 the street to Murtaz's house was closed down and dozens of police officers descended upon him and machined gunned him and his bodyguards to death. Meanwhile, Benazir decided to put herself at the disposal of the Bush administration during the crises in Pakistan last year. This fidelity to American imperialism made her a sterling figure in the eyes of the American media and her assassination was mourned as the loss of a great secular democrat and stateswoman, etc. Her stratospheric corruption was forgotten as was her sponsorship of the Taliban in the mid-90's.

Ali also discusses the murder of Daniel Pearl. He argues that several pieces of circumstantial evidence suggest that the Pakistani government may have had some involvement in it. One such piece of evidence is the fact that many Salafi terror groups of the type that claimed credit for Pearl's murder have been the creation and tools of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)..........

Ali also discusses the most recent crises in Pakistan, touched off by the firing of Pakistan's chief justice after the latter's investigation of corruption in Musharraf's economic privatization and the "disappearance" of hundreds of dissidents.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, September 7, 2008

By 

duchess of salisbury (Salisbury ,CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power (Hardcover)

The timing of the book could not have been better! For readers of Tariqs non -fictional work,the book ,its contents and the layout would come as no surprise.The depth and breadth of the work is charcteristic of Ali
with some amazing footnotes.His style of histoy telling makes the book "unputdownable".
For anyone who wants to know what has been happening in Pakistan,Afghanistan, this is almost a bottomless source of information...........highly recommended.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Will the circle be unbroken?, March 11, 2009

By 

Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power (Hardcover)

I happened to catch an interview on TV with Tariq Ali on University of California's "Conversations with History" program. The interview caught my imagination and induced me to read this book. Right off let the reader be aware that Mr. Ali is an avowed leftist and makes no bones about it in his narration and commentary. However there is no question about the historical veracity and originality of his work.

Beginning with the partition Mr. Ali gives us a fascinating account of Pakistan's history and how the culture and peoples worked to bring about the Pakistan we know today. Herein is displayed the sorry saga of corruption, patronage gone wild, intrigue, murder and outright bungling by both the political and military factions of the country. Mr. Ali traces the march to "islamization" of the military under General Zia Ul-Haq. The seeds of greater turmoil were sown on fertile ground during General Haq's stewardship.

There were a few short years when the skies cleared and Mr. Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto came to power. But alas the pattern of corruption and failed promises was not broken. Then there was the time that his daughter, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto had a golden opportunity but squandered it on the altar of timidity and corruption.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is reading Mr. Tariq Ali's commentary on the "why" question.
Why does Pakistan a nation founded on the premise of Muslim solidarity have so much internal strife?
Why were the people of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, treated so abhorrently to the point that they rebelled to quit Pakistan?
Why does the mantra that "the Hindus were behind this" fail to hold water?
Why are there no meaningful land reforms and basic education plans for a country now going on 62 years?
Finally where do we go from here? What are the options?

I have three areas of disagreement with the book, one a cavil and the others of significant import. First the quibble: It would have been nice if there were some pictures of the major characters and incidents reported in the book. I know that with publishing costs these days things have to be scrimped but I do think that one does wish to put a face to a name. It is an evolutionary trait that is hard wired in humans.

Second, I do think Mr. Ali should have gone deeper into WHY India with a far greater number of religions and cultures fared so much better. Yes, Mr. Ali does state that the populations in India, though diverse, for the most part do look upon themselves as Indians save with a few exceptions (example, the Nagas in Assam). But I think this area needed greater coverage.

Third, Mr. Ali asserts that the risk of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal getting into the hands of extremists is overblown and often used as a red herring for greater US intervention. I find his arguments for this position quite unconvincing. Yes, the Pakistan military would not allow this but is the military free of extremist elements who could shift the balance? After all was not Mr. A. Q. Khan out and about plying his nuclear wares to states like Iran and North Korea with the tacit approval of SOME elements in the military?

All in all I believe this is an important book that is extremely well written and is sure to divulge a nugget or two even for the well read. Reading this book is a melancholic experience of viewing a tapestry of missed opportunities, great human folly, and a dream gone bad.

Very highly recommended, especially to the concerned citizenry of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the United States.