Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly is an American right wing political commentator and a news personality, with a daily show on Fox News. Bill is like the Arnab Goswami of USA or vice versa. Outspoken and sometimes even boorish Bill is loved and hated in equal measure by his audience, although watched by millions. Bill, along with Martin Dugard, is also the co-author of several popular historical books. Most notably their popular 'Killing' series. Killing Patton is their attempt at documenting the last few years of the audacious US general, George S Patton, who led the military campaign against the Nazi forces.

The authors try and uncover the mystery behind Patton's strange and sudden death. It seems that the General was on the hit list of not only the Nazis, who regarded him as a superlative military commander but also Russians and some clandestine US Govt agencies. The reason why the latter wanted Patton dead was because by the end of the war Patton's status had grown legendary and he was planning to ascend to important political offices, but his view did not fit the new political views especially of some of his peers and these Govt agencies.

There is some genuine evidence brought forward by Bill and Martin which indicates foul play in the car accident which lead to the death of Patton. I'm not sure what the governments response has been? This incident is reminiscent of the mysterious death of another military leader SC Bose, post the second world war.

Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War by C. Christine Fair

There is a famous saying about the Pakistan Army "Most countries have an Army but the Pakistan Army has a country". Right from Ayub Khan to Zia to Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan has had multiple, able and strong military rulers. Pakistan's history is full of coups by the Army and weak civilian governments who are almost always backed up the military.

The Pakistan army is the most powerful and enduring organization in Pakistan. Even during civilian rule it is the army which has controlled its defense and foreign affairs policy. No civilian leader can become a success there without the tactical help and tacit approval of the army. Pakistan's over reliance on the army has led to disastrous consequences for its economy, International standing and human rights.

The author, Christine Fair, argues that the Pakistan Army is the chief propagator of the two nation theory, which was floated by the Muslim League before India's independence the theory states that India should be split into two based on religious lines Pakistan for Muslims and India for Hindus. Pakistan Army always lives in fear of India's hegemony whether real or imagined. Kashmir is a central issue in their policies and the Pak army feels that they were cheated, when India annexed a huge part of Kashmir including the capital Srinagar. After the partition Pakistan also got the NWFP as a responsibility from the British, perhaps the most unmanageable area in the world where Osama and his gang hid for years. Pakistan Army felt cheated that they got only a fraction of resources after the partition but had to take care of the majority of problems which includes a large hegemonic neighbor, unstable and non friendly Afghanistan and the NWFP.