Synopses & Reviews
Nicholas Barrington began his dramatic diplomatic career with a post in Afghanistan at a time the country was barely known to the world's headline writers. The narrative of his 37 year career in the British Foreign Office is woven with compelling insights on the countries to which he was posted and which are focal points of international attention: Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan. Serving in Iran during the political storm of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he had to navigate his way through the drama of a new political order, while his time in Cairo coincided with the assassination of President Sadat. In his rich and varied career, Barrington served as High Commissioner to Pakistan, a subject on which he writes authoritatively. Exploring the complex power relations between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and examining the multifaceted conflicts in Kashmir and Afghanistan, this book sheds an invaluable new light on the interaction between Islam, the West and British Foreign Policy in the 20th Century. With erudition and wit, these unique memoirs will prove essential reading for those seeking to understand the political tensions and international issues of the post-war world.
About the Author
Sir Nicholas Barrington was a career diplomat for 37 years prior to his retirement in 1994. He has served in a variety of posts overseas including Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan, where he ended as High Commissioner. He also served in Japan and Brussels. His home postings included three and a half years as a private secretary to two British Foreign Secretaries. In retirement he has been active in building bridges between East and West. He is the author of A Passage to Nuristan (I.B.Tauris) an account of his travels to remote areas of Afghanistan in the 1960s.
Table of Contents
PART I
1. Joining the Foreign Office and Language Student
2. Oriental Secretary in Kabul
3. Desk Officer and Resident Clerk in London
4. Brussels and the European Community
5. First Tour in Pakistan. The Kashmir War
PART II
6. Home Again. HMS Fearless
7. The Private Office with Michael Stewart
8. The Private Office with Alec Douglas-Home
9. EnjoyableTokyo. Also Hanoi
10. Head of Department in London
PART III
11. Cairo, with Sadat
12. With the Ayatollahs in Iran
13. A Session in New York
14. Ringmaster of the London Summit
15. Under Secretary at the Foreign Office (1)
16. Under Secretary at the Foreign Office (2)
PART IV
17. First Months in Islamabad (and Cricket)
18. Leading to a Ceasefire, and a Death
19. Prime Minister Benazir
20. Afghanistan
21. Nawaz Sharif and the Gulf War
PART V
22. Visit by the Princess of Wales
23. Life in Islamabad. Drugs and other Responsibilities
24. Another Prime Minister Dismissed, including Nuclear Issues
25. Kashmir
26. Goodbye to Pakistan
27. Coda: Policies after 9/11
ILLUSTRATIONS
APPENDIX I: Lessons of Iraq
APPENDIX II: Letters to the Times
INDEX