Book Review: The Duel: Pakistan on the flight path of American power

The following Review was first published in CIS, The Messenger, Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, London School of Theology (UK), Summer 2010. To read more about CIS, please click: CIS, London School of Theology

The Duel: Pakistan on the flight path of American power
Tariq Ali
London: Simon & Schuster,  2008
ISBN 987-1-84739-374-6,  pp 315 

The Duel is an overview of Pakistan's history and socio-economic landscape with special emphasis on her relation to, and dependence on, the USA. Ali gradually leads the reader through the complexities of Pakistan's recent history (a country which has been spiraling into chaos), signposting these with thoughts which most writers of Pakistani origin do not acknowledge in writing (e.g. '...and one often hears a surprising collection of people who now feel the state should never have  been founded' and that, 'Jinnah founded a state but nation building has never taken place'). He does not shy  away from pointing out that 'Corruption envelops Pakistan as a sheet of water' and passionately  articulates the atrocities of her military rulers and the unbridled greed of her political elite. His candid and ruthlessly honest analysis of Pakistan's situation is a breath of fresh air for those of us who have always been given a rosy view of the history of Pakistan by the writers of Pakistani origin. 

His own role in the events of East Pakistan's break from her Western twin explains his deep insights into the history and historicity of Pakistan and gives the book a flavor of an activist insider's view, as opposed to that of a research scholar's reliance on  secondhand accounts. The gross injustices suffered by the Bengalis at the hands of the West Pakistanis, put into perspective, are enough to shame any personality or institution of Pakistan, including her army.

Z.A. Bhutto, then the Minister of Commerce, had advised General Ayub Khan, the military ruler of Pakistan,  to engage in the unwinnable war of 1971 to weaken the army's morale and hence her power to interfere in the governance of the country. Benazir Bhutto harbored similar thoughts. This ties in with Ali's  theory that the USA and the Pakistan army are majority shareholders in what he calls Pakistan plc. The stronger the support one enjoys from the USA and the weaker one can keep the army, the better the chances of him ruling the country. It is the thinking along these lines that leads Ali to label Benazir Bhutto 'Daughter of the West', groomed by America to enter into a political  wedlock of power sharing with General  Musharraf. The assassination of Benazir meant the failure of this plan.

However, Ali's main thesis is that the present situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the sum total of (mis)handling of Pakistan by Washington. He points out that Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had tried to rent out his Karachi residence to the American Embassy and failed, but since then the successive rulers of Pakistan have succeeded in renting out the entire country  to the USA. The Drone attacks, killing hundreds of civilians in Pakistan's northern  territories, are launched from bases given to the American army within Pakistan. Generals Ayub Khan, Yahiya Khan, Zia Ul Haqq and Pervez Musharraf, all military dictators, maintained their grip  on power because they served the American imperialist interests. The founders of Al Qaeda were nurtured by the USA in the Middle East before being sent to Afghanistan to fight the 'godless communists'.

After the defeat and retreat of the Russians, Afghanistan was left flooded with directionless hardcore Islamic militants who found their own direction. In response, the think-tanks in America somersaulted themselves into new positions to fall into line with America's own imperial needs. However, due to the ground realities this was an act that could not easily be followed by her allies who, like Pakistan, were geographically, and in many other ways, very close to Afghanistan. Hence the present mess. 

Ali concludes that Pakistan (and its nuclear weapons) being overtaken by the Islamic fundamentalist Jihadists is not an imminent threat, but he argues that if American and British interference in the country continues, it might become a self fulfilling prediction. He proposes that the problems of Pakistan  and Afghanistan  should be solved by finding a regional solution. However, what that solution  could possibly be is not detailed. 

Akhtar Injeeli