Frontline Pakistan

In his book, Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam, author Zahid Hussain wrestles with the contradictions and complexities of arguably one of the most critical alliances in America’s declared “global war on terror.” Hussain’s fundamental contention is that Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, put himself in an untenable position since allying himself with the United States after September 11, 2001. By vowing to fight extremism inside his own country, Musharref effectively pit Pakistan at war with itself. Meanwhile the Pakistani army and intelligence services, which President Musharraf headed, retains deep ties to jihadists. Hussain suggests that the battles with terrorists that have taken place so far are relative stage shows compared to the real battle that is looming.

Zahid Hussain is the Pakistan correspondent for The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek and bases his account on a set of exclusive interviews with key players and grassroots radicals. This discussion also featured New America Fellows Peter Bergen and Anatol Lieven.

Participants

• Zahid Hussain
  Pakistan Correspondent
  The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek
• Peter Bergen
  Schwartz Senior Fellow , New America Foundation
  Terrorism Analyst, CNN
• Anatol Lieven
  Senior Research Fellow New America Foundation