Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid

Maps
Countries and Cities of Central Asia     XVI
Ethnic Distribution Within Pakistan and Afghanistan     XVIII
Afghan Provinces and Federally Administered Tribal Areas     XIX
NATO Deployment and Provincial Reconstruction Team Locations in Afghanistan, 2007     XX
Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan, 2007     XXI
Military Offensives Launched by the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 2007-2008     XXII
Glossary     XXIII
Acronyms     XXXV
Introduction: Imperial Overreach and Nation Building     XXXVII
9/11 and War
A Man With a Mission: The Unending Conflict in Afghanistan     3
"The U.S. Will Act Like a Wounded Bear": Pakistan's Long Search for Its Soul     24
The Chief Executive's Schizophrenia: Pakistan, the United Nations, and the United States Before 9/11     44
Attack!: Retaliation and Invasion     61
The Search for a Settlement: Afghanistan and Pakistan at Odds     84
The Politics of the Post-9/11 World
A Nuclear State of Mind: India, Pakistan, and the War of Permanent Instability     109
The One-Billion-Dollar Warlords: The War Within Afghanistan     125
Musharraf's Lost Moment: Political Expediency and Authoritarian Rule     145
The Failure of Nation Building
Afghanistan I: EconomicReconstruction     171
Afghanistan II: Rebuilding Security     196
Double-Dealing with Islamic Extremism: Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan     219
Taliban Resurgent: The Taliban Return Home     240
Descent Into Chaos
Al Qaeda's Bolt-Hole: Pakistan's Tribal Areas     265
America Shows the Way: The Disappeared and the Rendered     293
Drugs and Thugs: Opium Fuels the Insurgency     317
Who Lost Uzbekistan?: Tyranny in Central Asia     338
The Taliban Offensive: Battling for Control of Afghanistan, 2006-2007     349
Conclusion: The Death of an Icon and a Fragile Future     374
Acknowledgments     405
Notes     407
Suggested Reading     457
Index     463