The Most Dangerous Place

by Gul, Imtiaz

• ISBN13: 9780670022250
• ISBN10: 067002225X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-10
• Publisher: Viking Pr

Summary

The story of the dark side of the Afghan war - and how Pakistan degenerated into a nuclear-armed powder keg Eight years ago we chased the Taliban from Kabul and forced Al Qaeda to find a new home. One by one the militants crossed the border into Pakistan and settled in its tribal areas, building alliances with locals and terrorizing or bribing their way to power. This place - Pakistan's lawless frontier - is now the epicenter of global terrorism. It is where young American and British jihadists go to be trained, where the kidnapped are stowed away, and where plots are hatched for deadly attacks all over the world. It has become, in President Obama's words, "the most dangerous place" - a hornet's nest of violent extremists, many of whom now target their own state in vicious suicide- bombing campaigns. Imtiaz Gul, who knows the ins and outs of these groups and their leaders, tackles the toughest questions about the current situation: What can be done to bring the Pakistani Taliban under control? Who funds these militants and what are their links to Al Qaeda? Are they still supported by the ISI, Pakistan's all-powerful intelligence agency? Based on dozens of exclusive interviews with high-ranking Pakistani intelligence, government and military officers and extensive first-hand reporting, The Most Dangerous Placeis a gripping and definitive exposé of a region that Americans need urgently to understand.

Author Biography

Imtiaz Gul has been reporting on Islamist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan for twenty-five years and has written extensively for Pakistan's Friday Times and News. He has reported on Pakistan for CNN and appears regularly on Al Jazeera, as well as on Indian and Pakistani TV channels. He hosts a weekly news show for Pakistan's leading independent TVstation, Geo, and is the author of The Unboly Nexus: Pak-Afghan Relations Under the Taliban. He is also the Executive Director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Maps	p. xxxii
Pakistan's Dangerous Game	p. 1
A Cauldron of Militancy	p. 11
The Kaloosha Operation	p. 21
The Taliban in North and South Waziristan	p. 36
A Question of Justice: An Administrative Profile of FATA	p. 43
The Al Qaeda Connection: Arabs, Uzbeks, and the Haqqani Network	p. 55
Crime and Corruption in Khyber and Bajaur	p. 71
Mohmand, Kurram, and Orakzai	p. 96
Swat Is Burning	p. 112
Al Qaeda Brings Suicide Bombing to Pakistan	p. 129
The ISI Factor	p. 147
Who Funds the Militants?	p. 187
Epilogue	p. 212
Acknowledgments	p. 223
A Profile of Pakistani Militants	p. 225
A Profile of Militant Organizations in Pakistan	p. 249
Notes	p. 261
Index	p. 267
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