Pakistan on the Brink
The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
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Pakistan on the Brink
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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By:
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Ahmed Rashid
About this listen
What are the possibilities—and hazards—facing America as it withdraws from Afghanistan and reviews its long engagement in Pakistan? Where is the Taliban now in both of these countries? What does the immediate future hold, and what are America’s choices going forward? These are some of the crucial questions that Ahmed Rashid—Pakistan’s preeminent journalist—takes on in this follow-up to his acclaimed Descent into Chaos.
The escalation of the war in Afghanistan has deepened a long-standing crisis in its neighbor to the east. Pakistan’s political and military leadership has exhibited neither the courage nor the will to carry out major reforms in the country’s foreign and economic policies. The Pakistani state still fosters many extremist jihadi fighters, even as the Pakistani Taliban directly threaten that very state. Social services are near collapse, law enforcement is abysmal, economic hardship is widespread, natural disasters occur with little government assistance, and the majority of the population has no security. During the first years of the Obama administration, the critical U.S.-Pakistan relationship has been in a state of virtual meltdown. American strategy has reflected contradictory policies, intense political infighting, and uncertainty about U.S. aims in the region.
All parties to the conflict in Afghanistan and to the deterioration in Pakistan have made terrible mistakes, acting with arrogance, hubris, rigidity, and stubbornness. While struggles for democracy are occurring in countries that have hitherto known nothing but dictatorship, South and Central Asia, the birthplace of Al Qaeda, remains beset by extremist groups and nuclear weapons. Yet Afghanistan and Pakistan have a greater impact on global stability than anywhere else, and the decisions made by America and the West in the coming years about Pakistan will affect the security and safety of the world.
For three decades, Ahmed Rashid has reported, written, and spoken about the wars and political events he has witnessed and has been lauded internationally for his levelheaded, informed insights. As an up-to-date briefing from one of the world’s leading experts, and as an exhortation toward peace and understanding, Pakistan on the Brink is Rashid’s most urgent book.
©2012 Ahmed Rashid (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 138
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Rashid examines Central Asia, and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe, to see how the promised nation building in the region has progressed. His conclusions are devastating.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 91
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5 out of 5 stars
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,358
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,173
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,161
Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: Defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off-course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,295
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,147
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,137
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,963
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,955
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 659
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
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Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order.
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Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today. Thomas Barfield introduces listeners to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars 5
The narrative of the Korean War in the West, and particularly in the United States, tells the tale of a conflict between two global superpowers and competing ideologies in a far-flung corner of the globe. The reality is that the wheels of motion that drove the country to war in 1950 began turning long before American boots set foot on Korean soil. The heart of the conflict was a civil war between a population arbitrarily divided by colonization and the global geopolitics at the end of the Second World War.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Audiobook not too captivating
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Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 619
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 547
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Story5 out of 5 stars 545
"In Fool's Errand, Scott Horton masterfully explains the tragedy of America's longest war and makes the case for immediate withdrawal. I highly recommend this excellent book on America's futile and self-defeating occupation of Afghanistan." - Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower and author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing History the Afghanistan War
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Enough Already
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- Narrated by: Scott Horton
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- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 338
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 309
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Story5 out of 5 stars 308
Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism is a masterly history of these chaotic, tragic and above all futile conflicts, ranging with his usual excoriating accuracy from Mali to Pakistan, from Iraq to Yemen by way of Syria and Libya. Millions are dead, disabled or languish desperately far from their homes as the direct result of our blunders, bewilderment and outright malicious stupidity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Complete take down of American foreign policy
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ISIS
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,004
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 880
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Story4 out of 5 stars 875
Initially dismissed by US President Barack Obama, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has shocked the world by conquering massive territories in both countries and promising to create a vast new Muslim caliphate that observes the strict dictates of Sharia law. In ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, American journalist Michael Weiss and Syrian analyst Hassan Hassan explain how these violent extremists evolved from a nearly defeated Iraqi insurgent group into a jihadi army of international volunteers who have conquered territory equal to the size of Great Britain.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Dunce Hat, Please...
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The Untold History of the United States
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 711
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 621
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 624
Aided by the latest archival findings and recently declassified documents and building on the research of the world’s best scholars, Stone and Kuznick construct an often shocking but meticulously documented "people’s history" of the American empire that challenges the notion of American exceptionalism. Stone and Kuznick will introduce listeners to a pantheon of heroes and villains as they show not only how far the United States has drifted from its democratic traditions but the powerful forces that have struggled to get us back on track.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting book but felt biased...
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America's Secret War
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- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 987
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 522
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 521
Dubbed by Barron's as "The Shadow CIA", Stratfor, George Friedman's global intelligence company, has provided analysis to Fortune 500 companies, news outlets, and even the U.S. government. Now Friedman delivers the geopolitical story that the mainstream media has been unable to uncover, the startling truth behind America's foreign policy and war effort in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding book, answers so many questions.
- By Steve on 01-02-05
By: George Friedman
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Exceptional
- Why the World Needs A Powerful America
- By: Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney
- Narrated by: Liz Cheney, Dick Cheney
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 205
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 208
A new book by former vice president and number-one New York Times best-selling author Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fair and Balanced with Truth
- By 2FAST4U on 09-08-15
By: Dick Cheney, and others
What listeners say about Pakistan on the Brink
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KrisKindle
- 03-28-12
Great Insight
What made the experience of listening to Pakistan on the Brink the most enjoyable?
The current assessment from somebody in the know.
What did you like best about this story?
The facts.
Have you listened to any of Arthur Morey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No.
Any additional comments?
Had to read this after having read Ahmed Rashid“s
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Harry Zimmer
- 04-23-12
A Very Long NPR-like Interview and History Lesson
Would you try another book from Ahmed Rashid and/or Arthur Morey?
Maybe. I bought this audio book based on Ahmed Rashid being interviewed on NPR. The book is strong from a US point of view but weak (in terms of real insight) from a Pakistan point of view.
Would you recommend Pakistan on the Brink to your friends? Why or why not?
It is worthwhile listening to this audio book if you want a very good history lesson.
Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?
None.
Could you see Pakistan on the Brink being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
No not really. Maybe a PBS Frontline episode.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Walden
- 02-05-22
Great foundational book to understand Pakistan
Rashid's Pakistan is excellent for those seeking general political and social context of Pakistan. A few details won't convey the overall impressions that reading the book will. If you want to understand both the historical and modern tensions and forces that created Pakistan and it's collective public opinions, read this book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- megan S
- 06-15-15
Good introduction to current events
I really liked the questions posed by the author and possible solutions to the future. Reading this book gives a novice on South Eastern politics a plunge into what happened in the last decade and how it will impact the current generation and the decade ahead. It's an easy, relatively quick audible book. Pakistan on the Brink really helps capture the so - what of America's decisions now and how they'll ultimately impair or improve the deep rooted problems that plague this historically rich cultural region.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- F. Rafiq
- 06-07-12
Rashid's realist turn.
Where does Pakistan on the Brink rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
A good listen and mostly confirms what has been reported from various American and Pakistani sources. Rashid's dramatic advocacy of dealing with the Taliban is new and is in lieu of his recognition that the NATO alliance cannot remain in the region in its present from, it is too expensive and deeply unpopular at home. Furthermore, Afghans and Pakistanis have to lead the way for development, reconciliation, and political formation of their democracies to emerge in an evolutionary process that takes generations. It cannot be imposed from distant powers however powerful they may be.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DP SINGHA
- 10-01-21
Insightful & Truthful Book
Highly researched and deep.insight into
AF-PAK Region . Author presents some
Hard hitting "realities" not many people
are aware of. Surprisingly it has equal number
facts on US GOVT and its functioning in
the US Longest War of 20 years.
it first informs the readers with deep knowledge
then -it makes them think.
its a. Book which cannot be missed by anyone who
wishes to learn or educate himself/herself -or- function in South Asia -or- Central Asia.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael Moore
- 06-05-12
Useful Introduction to the Puzzle of Pakistan
This book provides a very useful framework for making some sense of the strange behavior that Pakistan often seems to exhibit in its relations with the US and the Western world. It is also a very informative introduction to the tangled politics, ethnic conflicts, economic backwardness and religious extremism that characterize elements of Pakistani and Afghan society and account for much of the violence that we often see in news headlines. These factors make it clearly wishful thinking to assume that all will be well once the US and NATO forces depart Afghanistan in 2014. Given the presence in Pakistan of nuclear weapons and its apparent inability to control violent extremist and terrorist movements within its own borders, Pakistan will continue to be a serious concern of the US and all countries concerned with the threat posed by international terrorists.
The picture the author paints of Pakistan is not a flattering one: a dysfunctional government in which the civilian politicians defer to the military establishment (including the now-notorious ISI) on national security and foreign policy; a government budget that devotes 60% of its resources to military expenditures largely focused on India rather than economic development or the more serious threat posed by internal militias in the tribal areas; a society in which the political parties are built around influential families rather than broad-based democratic associations; a judiciary that is frightened of convicting terrorists brought into court because of outside threats; and a military that continues to allow the Afghan Taliban sanctuary in Pakistani tribal areas so long as they do not attack Pakistani forces and direct their fire only at US forces in Afghanistan. How could the US not be frustrated and angry with such an ???ally???? To be fair and not mentioned in the book, one should recall that Pakistan was instrumental in capturing some of the high-ranking Al Qaeda members who sought hiding places in Pakistan in 2002 and 2003. How Bin Laden was able to stay undetected so long in Pakistan is a later story and one that is of course at best a major embarrassment to the Pakistani military and security services.
The author is clearly expressing his own views through much of the book and it is difficult without more background to know how accurate he is on all points. Nevertheless, the book provides a sobering introduction to the realities and complexities of dealing with the problems posed by the conflicting parties and movements striving (oftentimes with brutal violence) for power and influence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sam Motes
- 05-21-14
Pakistan in depth
Intersting insight into the sectarian divides within the nation and the regional and international forces at play in making the Pakistan of today. It goes along way to explain the forces at play in Afghanistan as well. It was a very interesting read for anyone interested in world politics.
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