So my scepticism...

...about the book I mentioned here, it turned out, was pretty much justified, and I have returned the book to the library. Any book that says that the USA was caught unaware of the rise of the Taliban is just plain silly. One has to, however, have been near that part of the world to maybe appreciate this.

Today I have...

...picked up the book "Ghost Wars" by Steve Coll from the local library. Its about "the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001". I am always sceptical about such books, and just turning the first few pages has made me even more sceptical. Before the book starts, there is a list of Principal Characters; the characters in Pakistan omits a very important character, General Nasirullah Babar, who, as the Interior Minister of the country, and due to his past links with Afghanistan in the 1970s, and being a Pathan himself, had played an instrumental role in the rise of the Taliban; so much so that he is often referred in the Pakistani press as being the father of Taliban, possibly because he once referred to them as "our children".
Will, however, try to read through the book. Its hardback, and has an immense almost 700 number of pages.

I couldn't agree...

...more to Turning the internet off, if you want to get something done. However, if what you are trying to do requires you to surf on the net, avoiding getting distracted is one big deal!

The reality of...

...the will of the Pakistani people, as manifested in the recent elections, being supreme is quite evident in this news report:
Why is the PM surrounded by serving military officers?