false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256164950m/3983351.jpg 3983351 2 Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world. It is the only Islamic state to have nuclear weapons. Its border with Afghanistan extends over one thousand miles and is the likely hideout of Osama bin Laden. It has been under military dictatorship for thirty-three of its fiftyyear existence. Yet it is the linchpin in the United States' war on terror, receiving over $10 billion of American aid since 2001 and purchasing more than $5 billion of U.S. weaponry in 2006 alone.<P>These days, relations between the two countries are never less than tense. Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf reported that U.S. deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage threatened to "bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age" if it did not commit fully to the alliance in the wake of 9/11. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama said he would have no hesitation in bombing Al Qaeda inside the country, "with or without" approval of the Pakistani government. Recent surveys show that more than 70 percent of Pakistanis fear the United States as a military threat to their country.<P>The Bush administration spent much of 2007 promoting a "dream ticket" of Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto to run Pakistan together. That strategy, with Bhutto assassinated and the general's party winning less than 15 percent of the contested seats in the 2008 election, is now in tatters.<P>With increasingly bold attacks by Taliban supporters in the border regions threatening to split the Pakistan army, with the only political alternatives -- Nawaz Sharif and Benazir's widower Asif Ali Zardari -- being as corrupt as the regime they seek to replace, and with a newly radicalized movement of lawyers testing its strength as championsof the rule of law, the chances of sustained stability in Pakistan look slim. <P>The scion of a famous Punjabi political family, with extraordinary contacts inside the country and internationally, Tariq Ali has long been acknowledged as a leading commentator on Pakistan. In these pages he combines deep understanding of the country's history with extensive firsthand research and unsparing political judgment to weigh the prospects of those contending for power today. The labyrinthine path between a secure world and global conflagration runs right through Pakistan. No one is better placed to trace its contours. 4029162 16 9 2008 The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power total:20|5:0|4:1|3:0|2:0|1:0| 20 82 55 10 1 0 false false Sun Apr 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 19:00:17 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 19:12:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Dec 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 09:11:41 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 21:07:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 20:26:30 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 20:37:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jul 13 18:44:43 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 18:51:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 10:29:13 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 10:31:02 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 17:20:09 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 07:34:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 true false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 08:56:43 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 08:57:59 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jan 16 14:56:12 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 07:16:29 -0800 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/books/...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 14 07:12:40 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 20:12:42 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 07:12:40 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 17 04:04:50 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 04:09:01 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Oct 11 12:20:56 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 12:20:56 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 15:54:55 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 15:54:55 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 14:52:28 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 14:52:28 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Aug 24 17:02:07 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 17:02:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Aug 21 06:59:13 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 06:59:13 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 08 12:23:37 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 12:23:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jun 27 15:54:40 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 15:54:43 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jun 24 23:52:54 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 23:52:54 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jun 08 11:53:15 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 11:53:28 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu May 28 08:08:08 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 12:46:25 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 08:08:08 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3983351