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IN PRINT: Ahmed Rashid - Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia

On Tuesday, October 14, New York University’s Center for Global Affairs hosted Ahmed Rashid, author of Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. In Print features leading journalists and authors and their recently published works. Rashid spoke with Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, about the effectiveness of the American response to 9/11, Pakistan’s unstable relationships with neighboring states; and what implications that might have to global security.

About the Book
Rashid examines Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe to see how nation building in the region has progressed. His observations are devastating: an unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan, a renewed al’ Qaeda, and a Taliban resurgence. While Iraq attracts more American media attention and military might, Rashid argues that Pakistan and Afghanistan pose a graver threat to global security than the Middle East.

Ahmed Rashid is an author and journalist based in Lahore, and has been hailed as “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter” (Christopher Hitchens). His unique knowledge of this vast and complex region allows him a panoramic vision and unparalleled nuance. His books include Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism (2000) and Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (2002). He was awarded the Nisar Osmani award for courage in journalism by the human rights society of Pakistan in 2001.

Gideon Rose is managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine.  Rose previously served as deputy director of national security studies and Olin Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.  In 1994-1995, Rose served as associate director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the National Security Council, and as National Security Fellow of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University. In 1996-97, he lectured on American foreign policy in the Department of Politics at Princeton University and in 1998–99 at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.  He has written essays on foreign and security policy in Foreign Affairs, International Security, The National Interest,and World Politics as well as op-ed columns for leading newspapers.  Rose received a Ph.D. from the Department of Government at Harvard University and a B.A. in classics from Yale University.