After September 11th, Ahmed Rashid's crucial book Taliban introduced us to that now notorious regime. In his new work, "Pakistan's best and bravest reporter" (Christopher Hitchens) examines Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia as well as the corridors of power in Washington and Europe to see how the promised nation building has progressed. His conclusions are devastating: an unstable and nucleararmed Pakistan, a renewed Al Qaeda, and a Taliban resurgence and reconquest. As he predicted, Pakistan and Afghanistan are now where the real war is. His blistering critique of American policy is a dire warning and an impassioned call to correct our failed strategies. There is no more urgent global task. Book jacket.