Studied at Cambridge University. For 23 years, Pakistan, Correspondent, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Far Eastern Economic Review and Daily Telegraph. Currently writes for US, British and Pakistani newspapers, such as the Financial Times, New York Review of Books, BBC Online, Globe and Mail. Lectures worldwide. Author of bestselling books, including: Descent into Chaos (2009), Jihad, Islamic Militancy in Central Asia (2002); Taliban: Islam, Oil and the new Great Game in Central Asia (2000); The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism? (1994). Co-Author: Islam and Central Asia, an enduring legacy or an evolving threat?(2000); Fundamentalism Reborn, Afghanistan and the Taliban (1998). Author of articles, including: Talibanization, Foreign Affairs; Pakistan's Coup - Planting the Seeds of Democracy, Current History; The New Struggle in Central Asia, World Policy Journal; The Fires of Faith in Central Asia, World Policy Journal; Afghanistan: Ending the Policy Quagmire, Journal of International Affairs, Columbia University.