in terms of national - and international - security, according to Ahmed Rashid.
At a time when massive amounts of foreign aid are desperately needed to shore up Pakistan and Afghanistan, the very source of that aid looks to be disappearing, said Rashid, the author of “Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.”
“The situation is still salvageable,” Rashid said Wednesday, “... but it is very bleak.”
Rashid - a Pakistani journalist whose authoritative 2001 book “Taliban” was released six months before the Sept. 11 attacks and quickly became a best-seller - will speak at the University of Montana on Thursday as part of the 2008-09 President's Lecture Series.
He'll give a public lecture based on his book in the University Center Ballroom at 8 p.m. He'll also give a seminar from 3:40-5 p.m. in the UC Theater titled “The Strength, Appeal and Prospects of al Qaeda Today.”
Rashid's new book was released in June, just as the extent of the financial crisis was becoming apparent. In his book, he argues that “compared with what is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq may well turn out to be a mere sideshow, a historical folly. ... The U.S. failure to secure this region may well lead to global terrorism, nuclear proliferation and a drug epidemic on a scale that we have not yet experienced and I can only hope we never will.”
Terrorism in the region - and, equally important, spawned by the region - has escalated so quickly in the last few years that “I think there is an awareness in the next four weeks there could be an attack on Americans - not here ... but a major attack on a base in Europe,” he said.
At least, he said, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama seem mindful of the gravity of the situation, as opposed to the Bush White House, “which just didn't listen,” even as its own military leaders in Afghanistan warned that unrest was on the rise.
“I think both candidates are aware that it is a top priority,” he said, noting that they fielded a question on the issue in Tuesday night's debate.
Rashid said that whichever candidate wins, he needs to commit to a “New Deal” - involving the humanitarian and other non-military aid generally referred to as nation-building - for Pakistan and Afghanistan, one that ideally would involve considerable support from Europe and the Middle East.
Given the present financial crisis, “the reluctance to commit a major aid package is understandable,” he said. “Traditionally, when there's a downturn, the first thing that gets cut is foreign aid.”
But he argued vehemently that there's no real choice.
Pakistan is the world's seventh-largest country (the United States is third), according to the CIA World Factbook, and is a nuclear power.
“If Pakistan goes seriously wrong, you have a major, major problem,” he said.
If you go
Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid will discuss his new book, “Descent Into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia,” in the University of Montana's University Center Ballroom at 8 p.m. Thursday. He'll give a seminar titled “The Strength, Appeal and Prospects of al Qaeda Today” from 3:40 to 5 p.m. Thursday in the UC Theater.
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mohammad allam wrote on Oct 9, 2008 1:52 AM: