The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power.

• Author: Rahman, Mujtaba
• Position: FURTHER READING - Brief article - Book review

THE DUEL: PAKISTAN ON THE FLIGHT PATH OF AMERICAN POWER

Tariq Ali

(New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008), 304 pages.

Tariq Ali's book, The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power, comes at a timely moment given the current debate on Pakistan and its many potential futures. In it, Ali provides a historical overview of Pakistan's recurrent oscillation between incompetent civilian administrations and military dictatorships which, in combination with the business elite, have come to represent the country's entrenched interests. This trio has consistently hijacked the levers of power across the country's various decision-making institutions for private gain.

While not a new contention, Ali provides evidence against some popular myths that policymakers, particularly in the United States, would do well to consider. In particular, he notes the West's misconception that the population is predominantly composed of raving extremists, and that it is these extremists who will...