The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam

440 Pages·2013·3.71 MB·English

by  Akbar Ahmed

A K B A R A H M E D
HOW AMERICA’S WAR
ON TERROR BECAME
A GLOBAL WAR
ON TRIBAL ISLAM
I
n the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the United
States declared war on terrorism. More
than ten years later, the results are decidedly
mixed. Here world-renowned author,
diplomat, and scholar Akbar Ahmed reveals
an important yet largely ignored result of
this war: in many nations it has exacerbated
the already broken relationship between central
governments and the largely rural Muslim tribal
societies on the peripheries of both Muslim
and non-Muslim nations. The center and the
periphery are engaged in a mutually destructive
civil war across the globe, a conflict that has
been intensified by the war on terror.
Conflicts between governments and tribal
societies predate the war on terror in many
regions, from South Asia to the Middle East
to North Africa, pitting those in the centers
of power against those who live in the outlying
provinces. Akbar Ahmed’s unique study
demonstrates that this conflict between the
center and the periphery has entered a new
and dangerous stage with U.S. involvement
after 9/11 and the deployment of drones, in the
hunt for al Qaeda, threatening the very existence
of many tribal societies.
American firepower and its vast anti-terror
network have turned the war on terror into a
global war on tribal Islam. And too often the
victims are innocent children at school, women
in their homes, workers simply trying to earn a
living, and worshipers in their mosques. Bat-
tered by military attacks or drone strikes one
day and suicide bombers the next, the tribes
bemoan, “Every day is like 9/11 for us.”
In The Thistle and the Drone, the third vol-
ume in Ahmed’s groundbreaking trilogy examin-
ing relations between America and the Muslim
world, the author draws on forty case studies
representing the global span of Islam to demon-
strate how the U.S. has become involved directly
or indirectly in each of these societies. The study
(cid:38)(cid:50)(cid:49)(cid:55)(cid:44)(cid:49)(cid:56)(cid:40)(cid:39)(cid:3)(cid:50)(cid:49)(cid:3)(cid:37)(cid:36)(cid:38)(cid:46)(cid:3)(cid:41)(cid:47)(cid:36)(cid:51)(cid:3)(cid:179)
provides the social and historical context
necessary to understand how both central
governments and tribal societies have become
embroiled in America’s war. Beginning with
Waziristan and expanding to societies in
Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa,
and elsewhere, Ahmed offers a fresh approach
to the conflicts studied and presents an un-
precedented paradigm for understanding and
winning the war on terror.
AKBAR AHMED
is the Ibn Khaldun
Chair of Islamic Studies
at American University
in Washington,
D.C. He was the
former Pakistani high
commissioner to the United Kingdom, the
first Distinguished Chair of Middle East
Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy, and is a
nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution. Among his previous books are
Journey into Islam and Journey into America,
both published by Brookings. He is also a
published poet and playwright.
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Praise for The Thistle and the Drone
“In the end, like the Kurdish observers of Noor in Sulaimani in the book,
I was close to tears. Lagrimas caudales or “flowing tears,” to use the apposite
phrase of Blas de Otero, seems to be what the book’s conclusions lead to. This
is particularly true if, like me, you have been very, very close to the center of
decisionmaking in the U.S. and you know how incapable it is of embracing
such sophisticated reasoning, let alone developing and applying strategies in
accordance with such reasoning. Thus lagrimas for the tribes, for the s oldiers,
and for the United States. If one extrapolates from Professor Ahmed’s findings
and from the history of torture as well, ‘bug splat’, as the victims of drone
strikes are called, and torture live in the same house. Ahmed makes clear that,
like torture, the creation of such profound fear wounds the creators as well—
destroying their liberties, polluting their democracy, and devouring their
souls. Professor Ahmed gives us the only way out of this dangerous dilemma,
a way to coexist with the thistle without the drone.”—Colonel Lawrence
Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell and
Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary
“Riveting in its original description of events we thought we knew and
revealing in its trenchant analysis of their contexts, Akbar Ahmed shows us
how vital are the world’s tribes to our understanding of and interactions with
the Muslim world. This highly original combination of firsthand experience
and insightful synthesis is an indispensable guide to policymakers and
concerned readers who want to comprehend just how astonishing is the
world when seen through the eyes of a brilliant and dedicated guide.”
—Lawrence Rosen, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Anthropology,
Princeton University
“This book is the culmination of a lifetime’s work. The contribution of
Professor Akbar Ahmed to peace and harmony and broader understanding
among the human race is beyond any imagination. I believe he is the
most humble, inspirational and highly respected scholar amongst all
faiths and communities today. I support wholeheartedly what he has
done in this book—pleading for compassion and rejecting violence of any
kind against fellow humans. May God help and support his Mission!”—
Dr. James Shera, MBE, Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan), former
mayor of Rugby and prominent Christian Pakistani leader in the UK
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“Akbar Ahmed is one of the few scholars intimately familiar with East and
West as well as Judaism, Christianity, and especially Islam. He provides the
reader with a treasure trove of wisdom and knowledge. By applying different
fields of learning, notably anthropology, to explore cross-cultural and
even cross-civilizational encounters, Ahmed has produced a profound and
significant book. The 20th century witnessed mass destruction and genocide.
The 21st century is going the same way, and The Thistle and the Drone is a
wake-up call to all of us before it is too late. This is a must-read book.”
—Dr. Edward Kessler, MBE, Founder and Director, The Woolf Institute,
and Fellow of St. Edmunds College, University of Cambridge, UK
“In this groundbreaking and startling book, Akbar Ahmed bravely uncovers
an inconvenient truth, a fearful reality which endangers us all and in which
we are all implicated. It should be required reading for those working in the
media, policymaking, and education—and, indeed, for anybody who wishes
to understand our tragically polarized world.”—Karen Armstrong,
Author of A History of God and creator of the Charter for Compassion
“Yet another brilliantly written masterpiece, a must-read for all,
particularly Muslims who have an interest in understanding the roots
of the conflicts that go back in history but have become accentuated
since 9/11. Only Akbar Ahmed can give us these insights into the post-
modern era we live in and the conflicts that bedevil our times through
this highly readable and deeply engaging narrative.”—Dr. Jafer
Qureshi, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatry, Trustee of Muslim
Aid, and co-convenor of the UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs
“The author has examined drone operations in the Tribal Areas of
Pakistan and elsewhere in Muslim tribal societies from a rare combina-
tion of perspectives. Firstly those of a political agent managing tribes in
Pakistan’s lawless Tribal Areas, then as a top notch anthropologist, and
finally as a diplomat and a teacher of comparative religion. It is a wonder
how one could encompass so many diverse careers in one lifetime.
Policymakers need to pay heed to Akbar Ahmed’s message. This writing
is a tour de force on the subject and replete with practical wisdom.”—
Khalid Aziz, former political agent, North Waziristan Agency and
Chief Secretary, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, and Chairman,
Regional Institute of Policy Research and Training, Peshawar, Pakistan
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“The Thistle and the Drone provides a trenchant and original critique of
the conduct of the U.S. government’s declared war on global terrorism.
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed brilliantly illuminates the complex and little
understood world of Islamic tribal societies. Policymakers should take heed.”
—Thomas Banchoff, Professor of Government, and Director, Berkley Center
for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
“While being faithful to Islam, Akbar Ahmed is also a true humanist, looking for
the best in other religions, in Euro-American traditions of human rights, and
in cultural anthropology. Yet he also has an unsentimental grasp of geopolitical
realities and dangers. He deserves a wide readership for his new analysis of
center-periphery relations in the Muslim world, which is reminiscent of past
masters of social science such as Ibn Khaldun and Ernest Gellner but also brings
to bear his unique practical experience as a former government administrator
in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan.”—Jonathan Benthall, former director of the
Royal Anthropological Institute and Founding Editor of Anthropology Today
“While our technology is advancing at such an unprecedented pace, our
cultural and human intelligence seems not only not to have kept pace but
is increasingly being marginalized where fast but far-reaching decisions are
being made every day. Professor Ahmed’s excellent book is a must-read for
policymakers and students of international affairs as it opens our eyes to the
complexities faced by governments and societies around the world. It is also
a timely book that brings to our attention vast areas of human suffering from
which we have become detached.”— His Imperial Highness Ermias Sahle
Selassie of Ethiopia
“Akbar Ahmed’s latest literary journey—The Thistle and the Drone—is a
compelling and insightful study of the suffering, the dilemmas, the dangers
and the challenges facing our world. It is the first-ever comprehensive study
dealing with tribal societies forming the interstices between states and borders.
Through over forty case studies he addresses the difficult issues of identity
and power with respect and reverence, honesty and humility. In this profound
study, Ahmed draws on non-Abrahamic and Abrahamic societies to offer a
perfectly balanced approach, a panacea, for the deeply embedded problems
between center and periphery. Sharing a common South Asian culture and
history with the author, I am awestruck and spellbound by the compelling
narrative, the poetic analysis, and the sheer scope of the work. A must-read
for all—the academic, the student, the policymaker, and the concerned citizen
of the world—this is a work of epic stature imbued with the lofty spirit of
humanity captured in the Sufi motto sulh-i-kul—Peace with All.”
— Manjula Kumar, Project Director of the Smithsonian Center for
Education and Museum Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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“What impresses are not only the author’s insightful analyses and vast
learning, but also the utter fearlessness of his vision. Akbar Ahmed
has no favorites. This powerfully written and deeply researched book
will revolutionize our understanding of one of the most consequential
controversies of our age—the so-called war on terror, symbolized by the
deployment of that most deadly of modern weapons, the drone, especially
against its Muslim tribal victims, and the political fallout this engenders.
This book will stand as one of the most influential of our times.”—
Julius Lipner, Fellow of the British Academy and Professor of Hinduism
and the Comparative Study of Religion, University of Cambridge, UK
“The Thistle and the Drone demonstrates Professor Ahmed’s compassion,
courage, and unique insight. As an American asylum and refugee officer
who has listened to thousands of personal accounts of man’s inhumanity
to man for the past 25 years as nations go to war with their own, I believe
this book helps us understand the history and the context of many
current refugee situations and provides us a conceptual framework to
correct national security misconceptions engendered in our ‘war on
terrorism.’ Despite the despair listening to such stories might cause, we
each have an ability to know and to move our hearts beyond the darkness.
I am still hopeful peace is within our capacity and reach, and this book
points the way forward.”—Joseph P. Martin, former supervisor, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security Refugee Officer Corps, Washington,
D.C., and Immigration Attaché, U.S. Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya
“America is fighting the wrong war with the wrong methods against the wrong
people. This is Akbar Ahmed’s stark message. An anthropologist, a diplomat,
and a public servant of distinction who is familiar with the battle terrain where
the war of the drones on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is being waged,
Ahmed analyzes tribal cultures in depth and traces their relationships with
their own metropolitan governments as well as the hegemonic metropolitan
power—the U.S.A. Read this book and it will open your eyes to a fascinating
world of tribal cultures which date back to the time of Alexander the Great
and beyond and their struggle against modern war machines. Its message is
for all of us.”—Lord Meghnad Desai, founder and former director of the
Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics, UK
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the thistle
the drone
and
How America’s War
on Terror Became
a Global War
on Tribal Islam
Akbar Ahmed
brookings institution press
Washington, D.C.
Ahmed.indb 7 2/12/13 8:34 PM