REVIEW: Tariq Ali's - The Duel

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ISBN-13: 978-1416561019
Other Editions: Paperback, Kindle

Deception, elitism, internal political squabbling, coupled with a corporate military structure, and American intervention altogether succinctly describe Pakistan’s political history. On the other end, of course, you have poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and disease, all which poignantly describe the present social and economic realities of the country. And this is the duel, writes Ali, between the embittered masses of Pakistan and their plump political leaders who have too often ruled for personal gain and power with a strong approval from Washington.

One day Alling was called over to Jinnah’s home where the latter offered to sell his residence, the “Flagstaff House,” to the U.S. government for establishing an embassy. Jinnah was looking to rid himself of the property because it made for an uncomfortable living in the unbearable summer heat of Karachi. Washington did not purchase “Flagstaff,” but a few weeks later did gift Jinnah four ceiling fans. This would become a metaphor for U.S.-Pakistan relations in the decades to come, as each successive government would look to rent or sell Pakistan to Washington’s interests, in turn settling for economic aid, much of which would never be seen by the Pakistani people. Ali calls this “Flagstaffing of epidemic proportions.”

In a series titled “The Washington Quartet” Ali retells the all too familiar history of America’s alliance with successive Pakistani military dictatorships which were entered into on the basis of political expediency, and thus ended as soon American strategic interests were achieved. Whether it be aligning with General Ayub Khan in 1958 to fly U-2 spy lanes over the Soviet Union from the Bedabar air base, needing General Yahya Khan in 1971 to help Nixon’s “opening to China,” green-lighting General Zia ul-Haq to hang Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and making a “horrible example out of [him]” as  Henry Kissinger had threatened, or partnering with him to facilitate it’s jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Washington has continuously undermined Pakistan’s democratic institutions by aiding and granting legitimacy to successive military coups. Of course, each time its interests have been satisfied, the U.S. has “flush[ed] Pakistan down the toilet like a used condom.”

During each of these partnerships massive amounts of aid has flown into Pakistan, only to feed Pakistan Army’s corporate structure. Washington would empower the military each time; the military would use U.S. aid to enlarge Pakistan’s already bloated defense spending, acquiring weaponry which it could use against “arch-nemesis” India. The aid has never trickled down to the poor; there has been a miniscule spending on developing schools, hospitals and universities, and virtually no land reforms. This is where the duel develops: Pakistan continuously remains in the flight path of American power and successive rounds of politicians are ready to do Washington’s bidding in Islamabad, motivated by a personal desire for power and wealth. However, inequity is on the rise and the masses remain disenfranchised. In each case, local interests were hijacked by American interests to the detriment of the country. This unique perspective, presented as a duel, is what sets Ali apart from contemporary historians of Pakistan: he sees the people as a proletariat, not sheep, implicitly alluding to an uprising against the bourgeoisie, which over the last six decades has continuously indulged in the “Flagstaffing” of Pakistan. 

This book is timely for a new generation of readers as the U.S. and Pakistan engage in a fourth round of their on-again off-again relationship. It renders perspective to the deep seated mistrust of America found within Pakistanis. In the backdrop of what they see as the history of American betrayal, it is little wonder that Pakistanis remain opposed to,  or at the very least weary of, their post-9/11 alliance with the U.S. The history of the last two decades in itself presents more problems to the masses. Thirteen years after helping them achieve victory against the Soviet Union, the U.S. returned to fight its one-time allies, the mujahedeen-turned-Taliban of Afghanistan, in the global war on terror. Were these not the same fighters for whom the U.S once printed training manuals at the University of Omaha-Nebraska? Did the CIA not provide these jihadists with weapons and cash? Did Reagan not compare these mujahedin to the American Founding Fathers? If Washington could turn on the allies who helped it defeat its archenemy, how long will it be before its wrath turns upon Pakistan?

In a recent interview Tariq Ali said, “I wrote the book because…U.S. citizens know very little about Pakistan [and as] I was writing the situation was getting more and more tense so I thought Americans better know something about a country if they are preparing to invade it.” Ali’s accounts remain refreshing as he exposes the faults, cracks and corruption within Pakistan, while also discussing America’s neo-imperial policies in the region, unlike his American counterparts, such as Dennis Kux, Stephen P. Cohen or Stanley Wolpert, who often remain coy about the latter part of the problem. Americans wanting to understand the core problems of U.S.-Pakistan relations must read this work.     

Shehzad H. Qazi is a Research Associate at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and Founder of the Council on Strategic and International Affairs.

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