After his fairly good performance in Iraq, General David Petraeus takes charge of his new post as the overall head of the U.S. forces in the Middle East (including Afghanistan) on October 31. But now General Petraeus needs to acquaint himself better with the history and ground realities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Central Asia.

History tells us that even the best foreign soldiers, and great conquerors and diplomats, in the world have met their nemesis in Afghanistan. So it would do no harm even if presidential hopefuls Obama/McCain too leaf through the past and recent history.

The intelligent US soldier Petraeus is likely to discover that Afghanistan has been a graveyard of the ambitions of the mighty empire builders — including Alexander the Great, the Great Mughals, the clever British colonialists, and the powerful Soviets. All of them failed to subdue its hardy and fiercely independent people inhabiting the toughest of mountainous terrain.

What have the US/NATO forces achieved in the past six years? Is there any other option to sort out the Afghanistan mess? General Petraeus has one month before he takes up the challenging Afghanistan assignment. I strongly recommend that he, or any other person interested in Afghanistan, should read at least three books to get an inkling of the enormous challenge ahead.

In Afghanistan the invading forces are fighting not just ‘militants/terrorists’ but a centuries old way of life and culture that have flourished to this day. So the biggest challenge before Petraeus/NATO forces is how to win the “War against Terror” without losing forever the goodwill of the people in Afghanistan/Pakistan. (In an interview this week General Petraeus expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it got better).

General Petraeus must know that “low intensity war” is different from a full-fledged war and hence the strategy has to be different. In such long-lasting wars, the armed forces should play a stand-by role, leaving the civilians to tackle day-to-day exigencies. India learnt it the hard way. In fact, General Petraeus should seek active participation of seasoned Indian and Pakistani soldiers in his new enterprise.

Meanwhile to get a fascinating insight into the complex yet fascinating past (as well as present) of this part of the Indian subcontinent I recommend a newly-released book by a young British woman (Empires of the Indus — The Story of A River by Alice Albinia) that I read recently.

I quote from a review in the Financial Times: “Empires of the Indus is a magnificent book, a triumphant melding of travel and history into a compelling story of adventure and discovery. Alice Albinia has…a captivating account of her explorations through Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Tibet, taking us back in time to the earliest days. We have been drawn through an array of peoples, cultures, landscapes and stories.” More here…

Or the review by Nigel Collett (author of The Butcher of Amritsar: Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer). “She (Alice Albinia) traverses areas darkened by the fanatics of the Muslim world, areas from which the faint hearted of the west have been frightened by books such as Bernard-Henri Levy’s account of the murder of Daniel Pearl. She lets the refusal of no official, Pakistani, Indian or Chinese, prevent her getting where she wants to go.” More here…

Other reviews: “Impressive and original …In the course of her journey, Albinia encounters all kinds of danger, and at times her courage tips her into foolhardiness…This, however, is the behaviour we expect of the best kind of travel writer.” (Peter Parker, Daily Telegraph) “The truly great achievement of this book is to reveal, unflinchingly and with panache, the rich and varied heritage of the Indus in all its appalling spleandour.” (Guardian ) “Alice Albinia is well placed to unpick the country’s complex history in this impressive debut.” (Independent )

Here is Alice Albinia’s piece in New Statesman…Pl click here. And to visit her website please click here…

There are two more books that deserve a read. “The Second Plane: September 11 Terror and Boredom” by Martin Amis. I quote from a review: “It would be too easy to read Martin Amis’ slim book on Sept. 11 in a day and to dismiss it with a politically correct glare. The dozen essays, columns and reviews and two short stories in ‘The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom’ are more illuminating than that, though deeply, sometimes self-indulgently flawed.” More here…

Then there is “A Short History of Progress” by Ronald Wright. As a reviewer puts it: “Ronald Wright has taken a comprehensive survey of archeological information and recorded history and created a cohesive explanation for the rise and fall of civilizations.

“In short, it does not look good for us. Wright shows that we have shown a historical talent for self-destruction and that today’s global civilization may be our last hurrah on the civilization train.

“Previous civilizations that have outstripped their natural resources have collapsed, but there has always been a new civilization elsewhere to pick up the pieces. But, now that we have a global civilization a collapse would take down the whole world.” More here…