The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad - Hardcover

Schmidt, John R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374280436 ISBN 13: 9780374280437

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2011

Synopsis

How did a nation founded as a homeland for South Asian Muslims, most of whom follow a tolerant nonthreatening form of Islam, become a haven for Al Qaeda and a rogue’s gallery of domestic jihadist and sectarian groups?

In this groundbreaking history of Pakistan’s involvement with radical Islam, John R. Schmidt, the senior U.S political analyst in Pakistan in the years before 9/11, places the blame squarely on the rulers of the country, who thought they could use Islamic radicals to advance their foreign policy goals without having to pay a steep price. This strategy worked well at first--in Afghanistan during the anti-Soviet jihad, in Kashmir in support of a local uprising against Indian rule, and again in Afghanistan in backing the Taliban in the Afghan civil war. But the government’s plans would begin to unravel in the wake of 9/11, when the rulers’ support for the U.S. war on terror caused many of their jihadist allies to turn against them. Today the army generals and feudal politicians who run Pakistan are by turns fearful of the consequences of going after these groups and hopeful that they can still be used to advance the state’s interests.

The Unraveling is the clearest account yet of the complex, dangerous relationship between the leaders of Pakistan and jihadist groups—and how the rulers’ decisions have led their nation to the brink of disaster and put other nations at great risk. Can they save their country or will we one day find ourselves confronting the first nuclear-armed jihadist state?

About this title

Review:

"John Schmidt pulls no punches in this timely book. He makes a powerful case that Pakistan's 'feudal political class' is that deserving but conflicted country's worst enemy. He is just as frank in his critique of U.S. policy. His motive there too is entirely constructive: he administers a bracing and necessary dose of tough love to one of the most important and troubled inter-state relations on earth."-- Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution

"This is the go-to book for readers who want in-depth understanding of America's No. 1 foreign policy conundrum: Pakistan. A lively and forceful prose stylist, John Schmidt weaves clear analysis and skilled hands-on diplomatic experience among the country's elites into our best explanation of its downward spiral toward incoherence, fueled by Islamist radicalisms they have nurtured and refused to confront. Essential (and accessible) reading on a challenge Americans will face for years to come." --Thomas W. Simons, Jr., former U.S.

"Schmidt, a career foreign officer and political analyst, ominously chronicles how a country conceived with great hopes as a homeland for South Asian Muslims has become 'the most dangerous place on Earth.' In a clear and systematic analysis of Pakistan's history, he examines the country's beginnings in the partition of India in 1947, exploring the rise of the feudal civilian politicians and the Pakistani army that now dominate Pakistan's politics, and who, united in their enmity toward India, nurtured jihadist groups as 'low-cost weapons of war' to defend their contested territory in Kashmir--and fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Indeed, as Schmidt explains, the ruling classes' slavishness to the patronage system leaves them unable to address Pakistan's systemic problems, which include rampant illiteracy and the mushrooming of madrassas that serve as feeder institutions for many of Pakistan's radical Islamic groups. As radical Islamists continue to attack civilian targets, Pakistan's l

"Pakistan is where all the headaches of the twenty-first century come together. In "The Unraveling," John R. Schmidt draws upon his first-hand experience as a diplomat in that nation to explain why. This is a book filled with useful information, objectively presented, and offered at precisely the right time." --Madeleine K. Albright, U.S. Secretary of State, 1997-2001"Schmidt, a career foreign officer and political analyst, ominously chronicles how a country conceived with great hopes as a homeland for South Asian Muslims has become 'the most dangerous place on Earth.' In a clear and systematic analysis of Pakistan's history, he examines the country's beginnings in the partition of India in 1947, exploring the rise of the feudal civilian politicians and the Pakistani army that now dominate Pakistan's politics, and who, united in their enmity toward India, nurtured jihadist groups as 'low-cost weapons of war' to defend their contested territory in Kashmir--and fight the Soviets in Af

"The go-to book for readers who want an in-depth understanding of America's number one foreign policy conundrum: Pakistan...Essential."---Thomas W. Simons Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan"Schmidt ornaments his polemic with personal anecdotes and hard-won insights. The book's final chapter [will] have you riveted."---"The Washingtonian""A rare, lucid take on the turmoil in Pakistan...Schmidt offers a cogent analysis of the havoc caused by a nettlesome concoction of feudal lords, strong military, American pressure, and radical Islamist factions all vying for dominance."---"Kirkus Reviews""Indispensable...Explains how various Pakistani regimes long nurtured extremist groups only to find themselves under attack from this same explosive element."---"Publishers Weekly"

"The go-to book for readers who want an in-depth understanding of America's number one foreign policy conundrum: Pakistan Essential." --"Thomas W. Simons Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan"

"Schmidt ornaments his polemic with personal anecdotes and hard-won insights. The book's final chapter [will] have you riveted." --"The Washingtonian"

"A rare, lucid take on the turmoil in Pakistan Schmidt offers a cogent analysis of the havoc caused by a nettlesome concoction of feudal lords, strong military, American pressure, and radical Islamist factions all vying for dominance." --"Kirkus Reviews"

"Indispensable Explains how various Pakistani regimes long nurtured extremist groups only to find themselves under attack from this same explosive element." --"Publishers Weekly""

The go-to book for readers who want an in-depth understanding of America's number one foreign policy conundrum: Pakistan Essential. "Thomas W. Simons Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan"

Schmidt ornaments his polemic with personal anecdotes and hard-won insights. The book's final chapter [will] have you riveted. "The Washingtonian"

A rare, lucid take on the turmoil in Pakistan Schmidt offers a cogent analysis of the havoc caused by a nettlesome concoction of feudal lords, strong military, American pressure, and radical Islamist factions all vying for dominance. "Kirkus Reviews"

Indispensable Explains how various Pakistani regimes long nurtured extremist groups only to find themselves under attack from this same explosive element. "Publishers Weekly""

The go-to book for readers who want an in-depth understanding of America's number one foreign policy conundrum: Pakistan Essential. Thomas W. Simons Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan

Schmidt ornaments his polemic with personal anecdotes and hard-won insights. The book's final chapter [will] have you riveted. The Washingtonian

A rare, lucid take on the turmoil in Pakistan Schmidt offers a cogent analysis of the havoc caused by a nettlesome concoction of feudal lords, strong military, American pressure, and radical Islamist factions all vying for dominance. Kirkus Reviews

Indispensable Explains how various Pakistani regimes long nurtured extremist groups only to find themselves under attack from this same explosive element. Publishers Weekly

"

"The go-to book for readers who want an in-depth understanding of America's number one foreign policy conundrum: Pakistan...Essential." --Thomas W. Simons Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan

"Schmidt ornaments his polemic with personal anecdotes and hard-won insights. The book's final chapter [will] have you riveted." --The Washingtonian

"A rare, lucid take on the turmoil in Pakistan...Schmidt offers a cogent analysis of the havoc caused by a nettlesome concoction of feudal lords, strong military, American pressure, and radical Islamist factions all vying for dominance." --Kirkus Reviews

"Indispensable...Explains how various Pakistani regimes long nurtured extremist groups only to find themselves under attack from this same explosive element." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

John R. Schmidt teaches at the Elliott School for International Affairs at George Washington University. He served in the State Department during a thirty-year service career, including as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad in the years leading up to 9/11.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0374280436
• ISBN 13: 9780374280437
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 279