I have just gone through the much hyped book - Obamas Wars. This is what I have to say. The book mostly pertains to the wrangling and the intricacies of internal planning and palace intrigues, which is of little interest to the world outside the US. The whole process is dominated by doubts and double-dealings. More than half the book is about discussions over the troop allocation to Afghanistan - whether it should be 40,000 or 30,000. The diversity in terms of ethnicity of the Afghan freedom fighters keeps the thinking of the US in complete quandary. The US are used to dealing with one pliable person at the top. They have no contact with the actual strength of Afghanistan - the people of Afghanistan. There is a deep mistrust of Pakistan, overlooking Pakistans historically justified mistrust of the US. There is a deep mistrust of ISI, overlooking the fact that the ISI is looking after the interest of Pakistan just as the CIA is of the US. Also that the ISI is operating like the CIA but on a much lesser and localized scale. So the chagrin against the ISI is a symbol of their double-standards. The Americans are egocentric and have double-standards in everything. They cannot understand that someone else can have a different opinion. That is why their view of the rest of the world is warped and thus faulty. They do not have the honesty or courage to face the basic question, that why are they in Afghanistan. They still, officially refuse to admit that the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have been based on total and premeditated lies. Hence, all their assessments and decisions are wrong. The book also reveals that the US dont really have the interest of Afghanistan or Pakistan in mind. Only the US gains and assertion of their super power status is the main agenda. The thrust of the entire thought process of the White House seems to be missing the main factor. In this entire conflict of this region, Pakistan is the deciding factor. However, while they realize that without Pakistan they cannot win the war in Afghanistan, they have this sickening fixation on Afghanistan. They are willing to spend over 113 billion dollars in Afghanistan annually with no checks and balances, but the $3.5 billion for Pakistan over a period of five years, comes with the strings of Kerry Lugar bill. Having read the book, and knowing the general behaviour pattern of the Americans, I have three general observations. The Americans have this driving conviction that no country in the world knows what is good for it. The Americans know, and therefore have the right to thrust their decisions on those countries. The more brawn you have, the less brain you tend to use. The US has more brawn than any other country therefore brain is not considered necessary AYAZ AHMAD, Rawalpindi, October 29.