The author of the 2010 book "Taliban" was described by Christopher Hitchens as “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter.”

Author and Journalist Ahmed Rashid To Discuss Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US at NYU Wagner – Sept. 13

On Thursday, September 13 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., NYU Wagner will host author and journalist Ahmed Rashid, once called “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter” by Christopher Hitchens.

Rashid’s unique knowledge of this vast and complex region allows him a panoramic vision and nuance that no Western writer can emulate. He was formerly a member of an armed guerrilla group for about a decade that fought to overthrow the dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Yayha Khan, then left and became a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines before becoming an award-winning and best-selling book author.

This event, which looks beyond the upcoming U.S. presidential election, is free of charge and will be held at the Wagner school’s home in the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd floor (at the corner of Houston St.), New York, N.Y.

RSVP is required – go to http://wagner.nyu.edu/events/policy-09-13-2012. For further information, please call 212 998 7400.

Rashid’s 2010 book, Taliban, first introduced American readers to the brutal regime that hijacked Afghanistan and harbored the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Now, Rashid examines the region and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe to see how the promised nation building in these countries has progressed.

His conclusions are devastating: An unstable and nuclear armed Pakistan, a renewed al’ Qaeda profiting from a booming opium trade, and a Taliban resurgence and re-conquest. While Iraq continues to attract much of American media and military might, Rashid argues that Pakistan and Afghanistan are where the conflict will finally be played out and that these failing states pose a graver threat to global security than the Middle East. His books include Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in central Asia (2002); Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition (2010); and Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (2012).

 

Press Contact

Robert Polner
Robert Polner
(212) 998-2337