Synopses & Reviews
Pakistan and America have been gripped together in a deadly embrace for decades. Successive U.S. presidents from both parties have pursued narrow short-term interests in Pakistan, and many of these policies were counterproductive in the longer term, contributing to political instability and radicalization of the population. This has set the stage for the development of the global jihad we face today. In Deadly Embrace, Bruce Riedel explains how this happened, why it happened, how America can avoid making similar mistakes in the future, and what steps are necessary to begin repairing the damage.
Bruce Riedel is one of America's foremost authorities on U.S. security, South Asia, and terrorism. He was in the White House during September 11; he chaired an interagency review of Afghanistan and Pakistan policy early in the Obama administration; he helped write the 2009 speech where Obama referred to the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderlands as the most dangerous region of the world. He follows up The Search for al Qaeda, his immensely influential 2009 book, with a sober, eye-opening, and sometimes jaw-dropping look at the history, importance, and current role of Pakistan, epicenter of the global jihad movement.
Riedel sketches the history of U.S.-Pakistan relations since the 1947 partition of the subcontinent. It is a muddled story, meandering through periods of friendship and enmity, symbiosis and distrust, and it's no wonder that people and nations are confused. Deadly Embrace reveals and interprets the torturous path of relations between two very different nations that remain, in many ways, stuck with each other.
America's own policies toward Pakistan and Afghanistan must often look just as inscrutable to our partners in South Asia. For complex reasons we have often helped the foes of democracy in this area, especially in Pakistan, and aided development of the very enemies whom we are now fighting, again especially in Pakistan. This book seeks to explain this paradox.
Praise for Bruce Riedel's The Search for al Qaeda:
Riedel manages to distill the essence of Al Qaeda in just 150 pages. Among other things, he notes that the Islamic fundamentalists do not hate America's values, only its policies.... A starting point for a much-needed debate. New York Times Book Review
A reader cannot help thinking that U.S. leaders were well-served by Riedel's analysis throughout his years in government (even in cases where it was not heeded). Parameters Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Understanding Pakistan
Chapter 2: Zia's Jihad
Chapter 3: Omar's Jihad
Chapter 4: Osama's Jihad
Chapter 5: Global Jihad
Chapter 6: Thinking the Unthinkable: Implications of a Jihadist State in Pakistan
Chapter 7: Helping Pakistan
Appendix: Key Persons and Timeline
Review
“By articulating the experiences that we can hardly bear to imagine, Bromark has contributed to demystifying the lunacy and exorcising the malevolent specters of the massacre.”—Sten Inge Jørgensen,
Verdens Gang, Norwegian daily newspaper
Review
“Stian Bromarks writing touches us deeply and offers unique insights into the individuals thoughts, doubts, faith, and feelings of loss as they teeter between life and death.”—Vidar Kvalshaug,
Aftenposten (
Evening Post, Norway)
Review
“Bromark has made a supreme effort to depict the Labor Youth camp on Utøya and the youngsters suffering, and the result shows. The book stands out as one of the better ones on the topic.”—Frank Rossavik,
Morgenbladet (
The Morning Paper, Norway)
Review
“As I was reading, I understood more of who we were that fateful day last year. The ‘We can here be understood as the Norwegian public. The random survivors who tell their stories here perform acts that are so mundane they could very well be each one of us. The many different response patterns of the individuals who were the victims of the massacre reflect the very reactions we could have had if we ourselves had been in the firing line.”—Knut Hoem, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation)
Synopsis
Pakistan and America have been gripped together in a deadly embrace for decades. For reasons good and bad, successive American Presidents from both parties have pursued narrow short-term interests in Pakistan that have contributed to its instability and radicalization. This has set the stage for the development of the global jihad. Explaining how and why this has happened is the subject of this book. It also tries to look ahead to what may come next in the jihad, and concludes with some policy recommendations on how to help Pakistan help itself.From the Introduction to Deadly Embrace
Synopsis
Pakistan and the United States have been locked in a deadly embrace for decades. Successive American presidents from both parties have pursued narrow short-term interests in the South Asian nation, and many of the resulting policies proved counterproductive in the long term, contributing to political instability and a radicalized public. This background has helped set the stage for the global jihad confronting much of the world today.
In Deadly Embrace, Bruce Riedel explores the forces behind these developments, explaining how and why the history of Pakistan-U.S. relations has unfolded as it has. He explains what the United States can do now to repair the damage and how it can avoid making similar mistakes in dealing with extremist forces in Pakistan and beyond.
Riedel is one of America's foremost authorities on U.S. security, South Asia, and terrorism, and he helped to craft President Obama's 2009 speech referring to the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderlands as the most dangerous region of the world. He follows up The Search for al Qaeda, his influential 2008 analysis of the terror network's ideology and leadership, with a sober, authoritative, and sometimes alarming look at the history, importance, and current role of Pakistan, epicenter of the global jihad movement, beginning with the history of U.S.-Pakistan relations since the partitioning of the subcontinent in 1947.
The relationship between Pakistan and America is a fascinating yet muddled story, meandering through periods of friendship and enmity, symbiosis and distrust: it's no wonder that people in both nations are confused. Deadly Embrace explains how the United States, on several occasions, actually helped the foes of democracy in Pakistan and aided in the development of the very enemies it is now fighting in the region. The book seeks to unravel this paradox, revealing and interpreting the tortuous path of relations between two very different nations, which remain, in many ways, stuck with each other.
Synopsis
On July 22, 2011, a bomb went off outside government buildings in Oslo, Norway, killing eight people and injuring more than two hundred. Less than two hours later, a gunman claimed sixty-nine lives in a shooting spree at a summer camp on the island of Utøya, while terrified and desperate youths tried to hide or swim to the mainland to escape.
Massacre in Norway is the first detailed, hour-by-hour account of the two sequential terrorist attacks by lone-wolf terrorist Anders Behring Breivik.
To inform his literary reportage, Stian Bromark compiled interviews with survivors, police officers, government employees, boatmen rescuers, and others who experienced the attacks—the deadliest in Norway since World War II. Massacre in Norway provides crucial, in-depth context for the story, including a riveting background portrait of Breivik, the right-wing extremist the police arrested, charged, and convicted of the crime, as well as a history of the Labor Party youth camp on Utøya and its significance in the countrys political landscape. An epilogue covers the trial in 2012 and interviews with the survivors.
Massacre in Norway delivers an insightful portrayal of the darkest day in modern Norwegian history.
About the Author
STIAN BROMARK works as a book reviewer and editor for the Norwegian newspaper
Dagsavisen. He has coauthored several books published in Norway. HON KHIAM LEONG has worked as a professional translator for twenty-five years. He lives and works in Oslo, Norway.