Shuja Nawaz is the author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army, and the Wars Within (Oxford University Press, April 2008) from which this article has been adapted. He was a newscaster and producer with Pakistan television and covered the India–Pakistan War in 1971 on the western front. He has also worked for the World Health Organization and The New York Times. He was a division chief for the International Monetary Fund and director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He was also Editor of Finance and Development, the joint quarterly of the IMF and the World Bank. Currently he is a political analyst and author and speaks widely on radio, television, and at think-tanks on South Asia and Central Asian issues.