Book Description
From sources inside the Pentagon and the CIA, Bill Gertz tracks the path of terrorists and terrorism in the United States. He uncovers information that could have prevented 9/11.
Customer Reviews:
Reads like a novel - Well done........2007-09-10
From the opening to the very end, this author writes in a novel-like style that makes this book so very readable.
There is no doubt that the author lays 9/11 at the feet of Bill Clinton - and, a LOT of the blame belongs there. Even more than I thought before reading this.
I do think that much of it lies in the bureaucracy that the FBI, CIA, and military intelligence had to deal with. And will the views of some bureaucrats.
Gertz does a great job of drilling down into some of these organizations and peeling the scab off of some of the intelligence wounds. As I read it, I kept thinking this guy must have INCREDIBLE access to sources and/or his research is just impeccable.
Bottom line - very well written and an easy read. Thank you!
Government Bungling - Again!.......2005-12-24
Gertz begins by relating how, prior to 9/11, the CIA failed to help an Afghan leader trying to rally forces against the pro bin Laden Taliban. As a result, he was captured and executed.
Lack of Coordination: In '95, Philippine police investigating a fire and explosion learned the details of plans to blow up 11 airliners over the Pacific, as well as to fly a plane into CIA headquarters. The individual involved also admitted having attended several U.S. flight schools. This information was not combined with Phoenix FBI findings that a number of Middle-East men with a hatred of America - one had bin Laden photo on his wall. another made calls to a Palestinian terrorist, still another was asking about airport security, and they had a "fatwah" that commericial airplanes were legitimate targets. Nor was it combined with the Minneapolis' finding that Moussaoui was similarly trying to learn to fly large jets, nor a like finding in Oklahoma City. The CIA did track two 9/11 terrorists to the U.S. (who had taken U.S. flight training) - but failed to even notify the FBI. Worse yet, when Minneapolis FBI agents were frustrated in their efforts to have Moussaoui's computer searched (refused because "no crime had been committed") and tried to notify the CIA - they were reprimanded.
The CIA attempted to prosecute Robert Baer (one of its top operatives) for supposedly trying to assassinate Sadam Hussein, per Iranian intelligence. It then claimed credit for stopping several Millenium attacks (actually accomplished via alert Custom's official), and for "thwarting" terrorist attacks after simply nabbing individuals entering with false documents. Also determined that a small boat attack against a U.S. warship was not possible, prior to the U.S.S. Cole bombing.
Lack of Capable Staff: In the early 1990s, the CIA had nobody in Iraq. Subsequent intelligence buildup involved adding staff attached to embassies who largely stayed inside and filed reports. Prior "housecleanings" had moved away from rewarding staff for recruiting spies, and instead focused on diversity, and avoiding recruitment of those with prior criminal or terrorist backgrounds. Clinton administration further weakened efforts by refocusing counter-intelligence on antii-abortion bombings - despite the FBI believing that Islamic terrorism was a much greater problem.
Sudan offered intelligence on bin Laden, and even to arrest him. Clinton administration did not follow-up, and the offer evaporated upon the erroneous bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant.
Former CIA Director Woolsey: Prior to 9/11, several times each year some crazy person would get into a cockpit, and the call would go out to strengthen the doors. NOTHING HAPPENED! (Was the ONE simple action that likely prevented 9/11.)
A little right biased.......2005-09-09
This was a informative book that outlined what Gertz thought was the reason Sept 11th happened. Though these were problems left over from countless decades of neglect to the intellgence community Gertz seems to protray this as the cause of failure. It is a combination af manyy things and to point your finger at one aspect of the pie is ludicris. The book does make a good point on how politics get in the way of policy. "It is what you do and not what you say, if your not part of the future than get out of the way." Stop pissing around and playing favorites and get the job done!
Excellent reminder of how 9.11 was a complete failure for .......2005-05-12
both the CIA and FBI. Mr. Gertz, the excellent correspondent for the excellent (meaning not anti-Bush/republican NY Times/Wash. Post/CNN/CBS/ABC,etc.) Washington Times does an excellent job in explaining how 9.11 could have been prevented. Examples include the lack of adequately trained translators, CIA apprehension in "penetrating" al-Qaeda, and the 1970 era of anti-CIA political machinatiions that decimated the US intelligence. Also, Mr. Gertz details the lack of attention paid to the intelligence community during eight years of Bill/Hillary/Madeline/fat Al Gore/Sandy stolen documents Berger/et al. Binny struck in 93, 95, 96, 98, and 2000 (and many aborted/thwarted attacks) and all we got from that administration was some cruise missiles and an exploded milk factory in Sudan (while cowardly running from Somalia). This all led to the tragedy of 9.11 (and now the madman Kim Jong-il.)
Mr. Gertz does offer many solutions to the problems with many quote from senior intelligence officials (thank you, James Woolsey).
Thank you for the great work Mr. Gertz.
"Breakdown" Wears Blinders.......2005-03-04
"Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11" by Bill Gertz provides an operational history of America's spy community.
While his credentials and writing ability are beyond reproach, Gertz fails miserably by simplistically concluding that politics ruined our intelligence gathering system. Without mentioning the bloody, destabilizing covert actions that compelled legislative intervention, Gertz blames congressional panels "packed with liberal Democrats who assumed that U. S. intelligence agencies posed a threat to American democracy and engaged in wide criminal activity."
To agree with Gertz, one must ignore scores of corporate-friendly coups supported by the CIA in the last half century. For a more complete examination of intelligence misdeeds, read "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" by Jonathan Kwitny.
By taking a partisan stance to draw a political conclusion, Gertz fails to put the blame where it belongs; on the hubris ridden, bureaucratic Boys Club that the intelligence service has become. Sycophancy and conformity cross party lines, and smother the creative thinkers in our nation's intelligence community.
Amazon.com
The war on terror has created near unanimity on many points, at least within the American press and political leadership. One essential point of agreement: al Qaeda specifically and radical Islamism in general are stirred by a hatred of modernity. Or as President George W. Bush has articulated repeatedly, they hate freedom. Nonsense, responds the nameless author of this work and 2003's Through Our Enemies' Eyes (the senior U.S. intelligence official's identity became an open secret by publication date). Indeed, he grimly and methodically discards common wisdom throughout this scathing and compelling take on counterterrorism. Imperial Hubris is not a book that will cheer Americans, regardless of their perspectives on the post-9/11 environment. We are, the author notes, losing the war on terror. Hawks will squirm as the author heaps contempt on U.S. missions in Afghanistan (too little, too late) and Iraq ("a sham causing more instability than it prevents"), but opponents of Bush administration policies may blanch at Anonymous' suggestion that what's needed is for the West to "proceed with relentless, brutal, and, yes, blood-soaked offensive military actions until we have annihilated the Islamists who threaten us." Quoting the at-all-cost likes of William Tecumseh Sherman and Curtis Lemay on one hand and contending that unrelenting military measures be accompanied by concessions to the ideology of the militants on the other are unlikely to curry widespread support from either side of the divide. And how will readers conditioned to references to Osama bin Laden as a deranged gangster or simple-minded fanatic with deep pockets digest the respect accorded "the most popular anti-American leader in the world today"? Imperial Hubris clearly wasn't written to win friends, though the author believes it's essential that his words influence people at the top. Whether it will is debatable, but that this blunt, forceful, urgently argued polemic recharges the discussion is a foregone conclusion. --Steven Stolder
Book Description
Though U.S. leaders try to convince the world of their success in fighting al Qaeda, one anonymous member of the U.S. intelligence community would like to inform the public that we are, in fact, losing the war on terror. Further, until U.S. leaders recognize the errant path they have irresponsibly chosen, he says, our enemies will only grow stronger.
According to the author, the greatest danger for Americans confronting the Islamist threat is to believe—at the urging of U.S. leaders—that Muslims attack us for what we are and what we think rather than for what we do. Blustering political rhetoric “informs†the public that the Islamists are offended by the Western world’s democratic freedoms, civil liberties, inter-mingling of genders, and separation of church and state. However, although aspects of the modern world may offend conservative Muslims, no Islamist leader has fomented jihad to destroy participatory democracy, for example, the national association of credit unions, or coed universities.
Instead, a growing segment of the Islamic world strenuously disapproves of specific U.S. policies and their attendant military, political, and economic implications. Capitalizing on growing anti-U.S. animosity, Osama bin Laden’s genius lies not simply in calling for jihad, but in articulating a consistent and convincing case that Islam is under attack by America. Al Qaeda’s public statements condemn America’s protection of corrupt Muslim regimes, unqualified support for Israel, the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a further litany of real-world grievances. Bin Laden’s supporters thus identify their problem and believe their solution lies in war. Anonymous contends they will go to any length, not to destroy our secular, democratic way of life, but to deter what they view as specific attacks on their lands, their communities, and their religion. Unless U.S. leaders recognize this fact and adjust their policies abroad accordingly, even moderate Muslims will join the bin Laden camp.
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Customer Reviews:
Hit me baby one more time..........2007-10-10
...Or 8 more times and hit me harder, who knows. But that is in essence what we seem to be saying (among other things) to our enemies as we sit on our hands trying to fight a politically correct and "safe" war.
Mr. Scheuer has raised many points of view gleaned by 17 years of analysis in the very subjects we are fighting, or playing tit for tat with. He gets past the arguments of simpletons that say they attack us because we are free, or hate our pop-culture, clothing, etc. He breaks down the 6 main reasons why bin Laden and company attack us repeatedly. Additionally he breaks down bin Laden himself, even comparing him to - brace yourself - our very own Abe Lincoln. The comparison is in reference to how he is viewed in the Islamic culture, and how he is fighting for the cause and what's right in the Islamic religion. He lays out a very detailed profile of bin Laden, going against the grain in terms of labeling him just a terrorist, a megalomaniac, mass-killer, etc. Basically he gets deep, and honest and some of it is disconcerting to read but none-the-less informative.
Additionally, he breaks down where we (Clinton and Bush) went wrong fighting this war. Why did it take a month to get into Afghanistan after 9/11? Why didn't we use assets we had from assisting in Afghan-Soviet war? Why does it seem we are sitting on our hands? Do these people even want to be "free" and democratized? What about the propping up of puppets in government that don't have the support of their countrymen?
The book also talks of Islam in general and why and how our country and its policies are on a crash course with the insurgents fighting against us. One such example is man-made law vs. God's law. Mr. Scheuer also suggests certain policy changes that we need to make, lest we let our children continue fighting this war. I hate to use a cliché, but he calls for the "gloves to come off", really come off and you may not agree with some of his ideas (bringing back land mines to mine areas of mountain passes we cannot protect or block or basically bombing the country/is into submission, so much so that they lose all hope or at least support from the people of the country, stopping our support of Israel - which is one of the 6 reasons they attack us, and more) but other options need to be on the table because so far we aren't really winning.
The fact that bin Laden himself references this book as the reason we are losing this war, should be seen as a kick in the nuts because he knows that we do not have the stomach to do what is necessary to win. And he may be right.
Recommended by Osama bin Laden.......2007-09-08
Most infamously recommended as "further reading" by Osama bin Laden in his message of 9/7/07, this work by the former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit is a must-read for those wishing to fully educate themselves on the issues in the War vs. Terrorism.
Scheurer's book is a well-reasoned treatise focusing on the strengths of bin Laden's "humiliate/bleed America to death" strategy in the current Iraq campaign. Differentiating himself from the Steve Emerson's and Daniel Pipes of the world, Scheuer paints a politically incorrect picture of the Al Qaeda movement as a very sane response to Western policy rather than simply the rantings and ravings of a group of abhorrent fanatics.
Neither far left or far right, Scheurer is a refreshing centrist who opines that the Islamists rightfully have a bone to pick with the imperial hubris of the US. While we may not want to agree that we're losing the War on Terror, Schuerer makes a very solid case and offers myriad tangible solutions.
Warning: it's not always a comfortable read for those with a great deal of hope for the long-term survival of this country. Scheuer's view is that, collectively as a country, we are "whistling past the graveyard" and that merely the first shot has been fired in this long and bloody war.
"If you want to understand what's going on and if you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing the war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer." - Osama bin Laden, 9/7/07
Author Fails to Drill in on the President.......2007-08-05
Mr. Scheuer was persuasive with his argument that Americans need to be re-awakened from a wasteful diversion into Iraq and the downgrading of bin Laden as a threat. Mr. Scheuer certainly awakened me to the bin Laden menace and hopefully it will be the catalyst to reawaken an American sleeping giant (again). He puts forth the proposition that U.S. forces have fought incorrectly in Afghanistan by not pursuing an all out war against bin Laden, like the WWII battle against Hitler and Emperor Hiroshima. Civilians standing in the way were not spared in the bombing of the civilian populations in Dresden, Germany and the atomic bombing of two cities in Japan. The WWII U.S. fight was massive with total destruction to both German and Japanese forces. In contrast Mr. Scheuer says our strategy to "fight and win quickly; do not kill many of the enemy, destroy much of his property, or kill many of his civilians; and above all, lose the barest minimum of U.S. soldiers," has been a primary reason for our defeats in wars since WWII.
Mr Scheuer makes a lot out of the fact that the U.S. lost the initiative by delaying for several months attacking bin Laden and his al Qaeda forces. Here he absolutely misses the most important reasons behind the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan and failure to capture bin Laden and his al Qaeda forces. I almost think, as a conservative, he was trying not to offend the radical right; or perhaps he just did not know. Here is what he left out, information that would have made his arguments stand out and given his book more attention.
(1) Troops Moved to Iraq. Two months after 9/11, late November 2001, The Whitehouse distracted top military commanders from the hunt for Bin Laden with rushed plans for a new war in Iraq. About half of the intelligence and Special Forces assets in Afghanistan were diverted to support the war in Iraq. This shifted focus at a critical moment, when US forces thought they had corned Osama in the White Mountains (Spin Ghar). With too few troops, bin Laden was able to escape.
(2) Reinforcements Never Sent. Despite CIA leaders' direct appeals in Dec 2001 to the Whitehouse (by phone) for 1,200 marines, sitting idly in Kandahar, to be deployed to the White Mountains (Spin Ghar), they were never ordered into battle.
(3) Cease-fire Allows Most Al Qaeda Fighters to Escape. A cease-fire was declared on Dec. 12 2001 with Al Qaeda forces in hopes that some would surrender in the White Mountains (Spin Ghar). This allowed a large contengent of al Qaeda forces to slip through the valleys and over the White Mountains into Pakistan.
(4) Whitehouse - Musharraf May Have Cut Deal to Let Bin Laden Go. Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf said that he was sending in Pakistani Special Forces to cut off Bin Laden's escape into Pakistan in Dec 2001 during the battle of Tora Bora in the Spin Ghar mountain range. Those forces never came. His lack of action gives credibility to a 25-Aug-03 report in the UK London based paper, the Guardian, suggesting the Whitehouse and Musharraf had stuck a deal not to seize Bin Laden after the Afghan war for fear of inciting trouble in Pakistan. The Guardian asserts that after Bin Laden's escape the Pakistanis set up three elaborate security rings which stretched 120 miles in diameter around Bin Laden in order to protect him from capture.
(5) Army Misdirects Attack on bin Laden's Retreat. Al United States Central Command in Florida directed the CIA forces to Tora Bora, not Zhawar Kili, in the pursuit of Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda forces in Dec 2001. Bin Laden most likely used Zhawar Kili as his escape route which was 70 miles south of Tora Bora. Tora Bora consisted mostly of natural caves that were not interconnected. By comparison Zhawar was a nine-square-mile complex including tunnels, built with U.S. assistance during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1986. And then in Aug 1998, in retaliation for bombing of U.S. embassies in eastern Africa, it was bombed with cruise missiles as directed by the U.S. Central Command in Florida. Despite having bombed Zhawar Kili, and in a possible attempt to cover up Whitehouse orders to allow Bin Laden's escape, Central Command claimed ignorance about Zhawar. A spokesman for General Tommy R. Franks, the Commander in Chief, United States Central Command, stated, "Had we known in November 2001 of ...the place... we'd have paid more attention to it, I suspect."
(6) Bin Laden Capture Low Priority for Whitehouse. The President has always focused on Iraq (even before becoming President) and has stubbornly refused to consider Osama a serious threat. Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes appeared on Fox September 14, 2006 to discuss his recent meeting with President Bush in the Oval Office. The key takeaway for Barnes was that "bin Laden doesn't fit with the administration's strategy for combating terrorism." Barnes said that Bush told him capturing bin Laden is "not a top priority use of American resources." Mr. Scheuer does say that our involvement in Iraq took the eye off the real enemy, but he never actually drills in on the President. In my opinion, a strategic mistake that takes a lot away from the book.
One Of The Best.......2007-05-13
Michael Scheuer's work is without a doubt the seminal work on how the Muslim world views bin Linden and he points out that we need to pay attention to that. He also notes that the Bush Administration failed to check the CIA "checkables" on Afghanistan and that we will pay for that error. Were I still teaching history at the secondary level, this work would be required reading for all my students. A non-fiction work that reads like a thriller, the academic community needs to make it a part of their curriculum. I intend to acquire additional works by this very polite former CIA analysist.
My Attempt to Understand Jihad.......2007-05-09
Good read. A bit dated now in 2007, but still relevant. Also read "Future Jihad" by Waleed Faras if you want to learn about where these animals are coming from and "Perfect Soldiers", also sheds light on the breeding and conditioning of subhumans who would strap bombs on their children and send them to oblivion or attach innocent civilians in the name of a "prophet" who robbed the cradle, committed puligamy, and robbed and murdered his way to fame.
Islam, the "Religion of Peace"....or is that "Follow Allah and be Blown to Pieces"?
If you aren't serious now about the problem, either you will be after reading these books or there's no hope for you.
Book Description
Despite the saturation of global media coverage, Osama bin Laden's own writings have been curiously absent from analysis of the "war on terror." Over the last ten years, bin Laden has issued a series of carefully tailored public statements, from interviews with Western and Arabic journalists to faxes and video recordings. These texts supply evidence crucial to an understanding of the bizarre mix of Quranic scholarship, CIA training, punctual interventions in Gulf politics and messianic anti-imperialism that has formed the programmatic core of Al Qaeda.
In bringing together the various statements issued under bin Laden's name since 1994, this volume forms part of a growing discourse that seeks to demythologize the terrorist network. Newly translated from the Arabic, annotated with a critical introduction by Islamic scholar Bruce Lawrence, this collection places the statements in their religious, historical and political context. It shows how bin Laden's views draw on and differ from other strands of radical Islamic thought; it also demonstrates how his arguments vary in degrees of consistency, and how his evasions concerning the true nature and extent of his own group, and over his own role in terrorist attacks, have contributed to the perpetuation of his personal mythology.
Customer Reviews:
Any who want insights on Bin Laden's thoughts and viewpoint must have MESSAGES TO THE WORLD........2007-01-07
Osama Bin Laden's statements have been widely covered in TV and radio in bits and pieces; but they haven't been gathered together under one cover before; so to receive a unified presentation of all his admonitions, turn to MESSAGES TO THE WORLD: THE STATEMENTS OF OSAMA BIN LADEN. Statements issued in his name over the last ten years are here newly translated from the Arabic and annotated with a critical introduction by editor Lawrence, an Islamic scholar, which adds historical, political and religious context to the statements. Any who want insights on Bin Laden's thoughts and viewpoint must have MESSAGES TO THE WORLD.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Hardly a Manifesto But Interesting.......2006-04-28
As someone who has been critical of US foreign policy through a variety of administrations, it may seem inevitable that I would be drawn to someone like bin Laden. Having read my share of writings by sociopaths such as Hitler, Mao, and even Kaczynski, my only compliment for bin Laden would be that his thoughts aren't nearly as fractured and self-contradictory as others I've read. In a sense, I agree with the commentary provided in the foreword -- whatever his faults, he is very likely a true believer and not merely a charlatan.
On to the book. It enlightens on several fronts. It provides small glimpses into the world of Islamic expression -- I was never aware of the existence of Arabic literary forms such as the juridicial decree. It made me wonder how an American analog to bin Laden might communicate with the masses -- the newsletter, the Shakespearean sonnet, the folk song in 4/4 time, iambic pentameter, maybe even a film documentary. Could one man besides Bob Dylan be able to flow between media and literary forms with the ease of bin Laden?
Also interesting were some of the Arabic social trivia such as the uses of bin/ibn and Abu in Arabic names.
The sign of a good book (as with good research) is that it generates more questions than answers. For instance, why did bin Laden wait until 10/2004 to fully (or at least convincingly) accept responsibility for 9/11? Obfuscation? Maybe. The book itself does not hazard any speculation. My take is that he's reluctant to accept credit for something in which he did not personally participate. Once it was obvious he was going to get the rap anyway, he probably decided it was best politically to accept the credit. After all, he has to compete for resources with other jihadis, and "Mastermind of 9/11" is the jahidi equivalent to membership in the CFR or Trilateral Commission. We've seen recent (if less credible) examples of self-incrimination in the Moussaoui case.
That being said, I wish bin Laden much ill. If anything, he has given America an excuse to shed any vestige of self-reflection about its' past. What we've done to the Muslim world is a drop in the bucket of blood compared to what the Cherokee nation or African-Americans have suffered. If he has come to collect damages, the line forms in the WAY BACK.
Timely in the Extreme.......2006-04-27
This collection of translated and annotated statements by Osama bin Laden is the sort of primary source collection I had begun to fear would never be published.
In order to understand the "War on Terror" environment in which we currently live, it is imperative to understand the rhetoric of both sides. Regardless of which viewpoint one supports, it is important to know exactly what the other side is fighting for. This knowledge is abundant on the non-terrorist side, but has so far been available on the terrorist side purely through analyses by expert commentators. Thus, being able to read the actual words of the major ideologue of world terrorism at the moment is a considerable boon.
I say "ideologue" for very good reason. As these statements and their accompanying (and copious) notes and introductions demonstrate, there is a distinct ideology involved in this movement. It may be an ideology directed against everything the West holds dear, but it is an ideology nonetheless. Osama bin Laden has clearly thought about a great many issues prior to initiating the campaigns of violence he has.
As case in point, the significance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often debated by academics and policymakers: Is it central to the globalisation of terrorism, or is it merely a convenient justification to use when asked? As even the earliest statements here demonstrate, this is a key plank in al-Qa'ida's ideology - perhaps even more so than many writers have realised.
While one particular statement (the "Declaration of Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders") will be familiar to any reader interested in this conflict as it has been included in a great many works (Gunaratna's "Inside Al-Qaeda" being the most well-known), many of these statements appear never to have been translated fully into English before. In this case, the team involved in this collection deserve even more praise for enabling those with an interest in understanding these issues to do so - particularly when, as they frequently note, the websites originally hosting these messages have been shut down.
The scope of these statements will probably be debated for many years to come. One review here makes the dogmatic assertion that these are not all of the statements made by bin Laden, for example. While this may be true - and bear in mind that many of these statements have been excerpted by various news outlets at various times, which may create the impression of there being more than there are - it seems rather immaterial. Far from only presenting a reasoned side of the man, these statements present his ideas in a clear form. Those translated from audio and video tapes, for example, never make mention of any gestures or tones of voice, since to do so would be rather pointless in my opinion.
Taken as a whole, these statements tend to appear rather repetitive - the only notable change from one to the next being a slightly different emphasis on particular events as they've changed. That said, reading the book cover to cover is probably not the best way to go about it anyway.
The copious amounts of footnotes and introductory matter are also a great strength of this collection. While it is possible to criticise the scholars involved (and it's almost a hobby for some of the reviewers here already), they have at least attempted the difficult task of placing Osama bin Laden in context. He's not a representative of all Muslims, but neither is he the "monster under the bed" for the new millennium.
The footnotes, too, provide a wealth of Qur'anic and Hadith references - including remarks on when the verse or tradition has been taken out of context or deprived of a section of text. Similarly, key figures and events (both past and present) referenced in the text are explained concisely in the notes.
Unfortunately, the sheer volume of these notes has presumably caused the poor proofreading which some statements suffer from. There are a number of words and phrases footnoted which do not have an accompanying note below, and some of these are germane to the text.
Further, one of the introductory notes makes the comment that Yemen is a "military dictatorship" (along with Pakistan and Nigeria). In reality, Yemen is a multi-party democracy (the only such in the Arabian Peninsula) and was so both at the time the book was written and at the time the statement was made. Admittedly, the country may not have a stable and entrenched tradition of democracy, but it is far from the military dictatorship described in this note.
In conclusion, "Messages to the World" is an invaluable aid to those who want to understand the current conflicts "from the source" as it were. It is somewhat heavy reading in places and will remain a controversial book for much of the foreseeable future. Its publication, however, represents a great step forward for much of the world.
Know Your Enemy!.......2006-03-13
Bruce Lawrence (the compiler) points out that while occasional fragments of bin Laden's words are cited, official pressures have ensured that, for the most part, his voice has been tacitly censured - as though too dangerous to hear. This collection of 24 items include interviews with Arab and Western journalists, handwritten letters, and video recordings.
Lawrence also helps one to understand why bin Laden is a heroic figure for millions of Muslims, including many with no sympathy for terrorism. This is based not just on his success in eluding Americans and their allies, but because his personal reputation for probity, austerity, dignity, and courage - contrasting starkly with the mismanagement, lavishness, and arrogance of most Arab regimes.
Bin Laden points out that his terrorism acts are only retaliation, and that the West has killed far larger numbers in the region within living memory - poison gas and strafing of Iraqi villages by Britain in the 1920s, crushing the Palestinian uprising of the 1930s, France's colonial war in algeria in the 1950s-60s, and deaths through malnutrition and disease of Iraqi children in the 1990s due to the U.N. sanctions. Bin Laden estimates 1.5 million were killed in the preceding - Lawrence estimates it as 300,000.
Bin Laden began his massive undertaking against the U.S. after seeing the mujahidin victory over the Red Army in Afghanistan, and the withdrawal of American forces from Somalia in '93. Unfortunately, bin Laden greatly underestimated the special circumstances associated with both - the U.S. and Pakistani support in Afghanistan, and the inconsequentialness of the U.S. landings in Somalia.
Bin Laden on 9/11 (10/21 interview): ". . . they have done this . . . in self-defense, defense of our brothers and sons in Palestine, and in order to free our holy sanctuaries." "the defeat of America . . . is easier for us . . . than the defeat of the Soviet Empire previously. We have already fought them . . . as in Somalia. We have not yet found a significant force of note." ". . . America, has lost its values and appeal . . . Freedom, Human Rights, and Equality . . . were revealed as a total mockery."
On Surviving Tora Bora: Bin Laden reports that bombing was around the clock, every second. There were about 300 mujahidin dug into 100 trenches, spread over one square mile in ten degree below zero temperatures - only about 18 were killed by the combination of ground and air attacks. Certainly this had to have been an easy opportunity for American ground forces if they had been deployed at that time, instead of outsourcing the job to Afghans!
Bin Laden also speaks of how Iraqis should resist the U.S., describing a guerilla campaign like that actually waged.
"Messages to the World" is essential to understanding bin Laden, America's "Public Enemy #1" - especially for counteracting the incomplete and misleading statements provided by our own government.
Mien Kampf from Saudi.......2006-02-28
This book pretends to open our eyes to the logic of Bin Laden's message by showing us his writings and speeches in their entirety rather than the 'sound bites' we hear in the western media. Supposedly the sound bites give us only a negative stereotype of Bin Laden who is actually a quite intelligent, just, freedom loving, women's rights crusader only 'opposing American policies'. Thus the killing of 3,500 American civilians, the destruction of the Bamiyan Biddha statues in Afghanistan, the slaughter of Shiites in Iraq, all of it is merely about 'opposing' the totalitarian imperialism of America.
Despite the leftists encouragement that Bin Laden is a liberal and that he is merely Chomsky in a long robe and beard with an AK-47 the writings in fact prove the opposite and is perhaps the very reason to read this book. The editors of this book tried to show us the 'good' Bin Laden, not the raving hateful lunatic fundamentalist. However some snippets of the true Bin Laden seep through. In one of his letters he explains why he hates the west. Among the reasons is that the west is 'controlled by the Jews and the Zionists". Yes, this is part of merely 'opposing U.S policies'. By this logic the American Nazi party, Hitler and Mussolini were also merely 'opposing U.S policies'. Stalin also merely 'opposed' U.S policies, in order to kill 20 million of his own people and take over half of Europe and Asia. Perhaps these writings are a wonderful insight into the true righteousness of the cause of America in fighting terror, the tapes show the true hatred, intolerance, and neo-Nazism that informs Bin Laden's thoughts. Everyone should read this, this is what the war on terror is all about and these are the ideas of the planner of the murder of 3,500 American civilians. Just remmember that this book isnt a compilation of ALL of Bin Ladens thoughts it is in fact completely edited to show his most calm and controlled outburts, rather than the speeches where he speakes glowingly of murdering civilians and slaugther "Jews and Crusaders". This book is also useful evidence of the continuing alliance of western leftists and Islamic terrorists.
Seth J. Frantzman
Book Description
This seminal work on modern terrorism is the one book to read in order to truly understand the reasons why radical Muslims such as Osama bin Laden and his followers have declared war on America and the West. In order to win the war against terrorism, argues Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden Unit, we must first stop dismissing militant Muslims as "extremists" or "religious fanatics." Formulating a successful military strategy requires that we see the enemy as they perceive themselve—highly trained and motivated soldiers who believe their cause is righteous.
This revised paperback edition provides a more extensive study of Osama bin Laden and the sources of his thought. Scheuer has added a good deal of bin Laden’s words, focusing on those issues that have been most misunderstood or ignored and therefore are most in need of exposition. These include bin Laden’s personality; his early years as a nonviolent Saudi dissident and reformer; the causes motivating al Qaeda and its allies, especially their perception that U.S. foreign policy threatens Islam’s survival; bin Laden’s long history of interest in and support for the Palestinian cause against Israel; his evolutionary growth as an Islamic hero and leader between 1996 and 2001; and the profound impact the Afghan-Soviet War had and continues to have on bin Laden, al Qaeda, and worldwide Sunni Islamic militancy. Only by understanding these words can the West appreciate the threat it faces and formulate a strategy to defeat it.
Customer Reviews:
Required Reading.......2007-10-10
A phenomenal perspective and one every citizen of the US should read (especially the idiots in the Bush Administration).
Wake up America!.......2007-09-02
Fabulous book, well written, eye opening. Every Christian in America needs to read this Scheuer book. The future is frightening, and Scheuer explains why in no uncertain terms.
Understanding our opponents.......2007-07-03
Mr. Scheuer has rendered an invaluable service by writing this book. We have to understand what motivates al Queda in order to find a way to make peace with them... I'm three quarters of the way through the book and I wish there was some way to make every member of Congress and the Administration to read it. Whatever you think about the war in Iraq, you cannot help but learn some of the backstory that we in the West don't know about "radical" Islam and why our efforts there may be doomed to failure. My thanks to the soldier who recommended it to me.
Confused Analysis, Unclear Message.......2007-02-02
While I did not read this book, I did attend a 1 1/2 hour lecture given by Scheuer at a local college. I found myself agreeing with the some of his conclusions, but found that he arrived at most of them for all the wrong reasons. I will give here a brief critique of his lecture.
1. Scheuer believes that militant Islam's grievances are valid (to some unspecified extent) and should be addressed. He suggested that the problems with Islamism stem in part from the Arab-Israeli conflict, but then, confusingly, explained that Islamic terror is a global phenomenon [true], citing as an example the Muslim terrorism against Thai Buddhists and the military coup there which recently transpired. Scheuer thinks the "clash of civilizations" would be mitigated if we ceased all support for Israel. Curiously, he thinks it would be desirable to let Israel pursue the harsh measures required to defeat terror without US intervention. But this is odd, coming from a man who thinks US support for Israel is one of the roots of the problem. Does he believe that US restraint of Israel is the problem, or does he think that US involvement with Israel, largely supportive, is the problem? In the lecture, Scheuer stated that America pussyfoots by trying to win "hearts and minds", and openly stated that militant Islam will require the same unambiguously decisive defeat that America inflicted on the Japanese. I don't entirely disagree with that conclusion, but then Scheuer criticizes Israel for being too harsh in its war against Hizballah. Scheuer accuses Israel of barbarously leveling buildings but ignores the thousands of Hizballah rockets that killed hundreds of Israelis. In other words, does Scheuer think that America was justified to exhort Israel to use "proportionate force" when dealing with Hizballah, or does he think Israel should have employed the same overwhelming force that he recommends the US employ in Iraq? Does he think that only the US is entitled to employ overwhelming force and that Israel alone should be prevented from doing so? Which is it?
2. Scheuer repeatedly made the analogy that Bin Laden is a modern incarnation of the Civil War's Stonewall Jackson. I find this fawning comparison to be ahistorical, morally equivalent, and almost offensive. Jackson was not a murderer. Jackson wore a uniform and actually led his men in battle. Jackson was simply a brilliant military commander, like many before and after him. Scheuer's analogy reminds me of a similar one by Yassir Arafat, who stated, "I am like George Washington". Patton was a brilliant tactical commander -- was he like Bin Laden, too?
3. Indeed, it seems that Scheuer ignores 1300 years of history. His analysis of global Islamic militancy starts, more or less, with Khomeini. While a case can be made (a difficult one) that Khomeini initiated a total change in the Islamic weltanschauung, this contention would require significant bolstering on Scheuer's part, given that Islamic conflict with the West hearkens back almost to its inception, and has been waged almost without respite ever since. It can be argued that our clash with Islam represents a discontinuous break from, say, the Ottoman clashes with Russia and Austria, or the Moor's conquest of Spain, or the Saracen invasion of Sicily, and so on -- but he does not provide that argument. Indeed, Scheuer's historiography, while glib and seductive, is rather amateurish and spotty. It doesn't seem to go further than his recommendation that America resuscitate the spirit of General Sherman -- a recommendation that, while not without its merits, is founded on a rather superficial historical comparison.
4. Scheuer's explanation for why (he assumes?) Bin Laden is alive was utterly unconvincing. "We would know if he was dead," he stated. When asked why Bin Laden has not seized the rich propaganda opportunity to taunt the West by making new video appearances, Scheuer asserted - incredibly - that Bin Laden does not desire to taunt the West. He contends, therefore, that Bin Laden does not relish propaganda opportunities. His is certainly an interesting theory, but not convincing in my view.
5. Scheuer characterized the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as "infantile". Scheuer fails to mention if there are any other conflicts around the world, or in history, that he regards as infantile. He apparently feels that calling the conflict "infantile" is helpful. Scheuer suffers from the disease of moral equivalency here, treating both sides as equally responsible for the conflict. Any recognition of Israel's peace overtures at the Camp David accords and at Oslo was absent.
6. Scheuer stated that no nation, including the US, has a "right" to exist. He did not explain this comment in greater detail, but by implication, he therefore believes that the last victor in a struggle is by definition, legitimate -- that is, that might makes right.
7. Scheuer dredges up the favorite bogeyman of the Left and of America-Last conservatives -- Neocons! He stated (and I quote) that "Neoconservatives manufactured the Islamic Caliphate." Given that the caliphate first appeared during 7-8th century Islamic conquest, I find his assertion hard to swallow. Love Neocons or hate them, it is hard to take Scheuer seriously when he makes comments so obviously absurd. In general, Scheuer claims that many of our current problems with Islamic militancy is our fault. He derides US foreign policy for supporting dictators, like Mubarak, but did not adequately address the alternative, in this case the Muslim Brotherhood. If not Mubarak, then what? Scheuer apparently believes that Muslims are justified in rioting around the world because of cartoons in a Danish newspaper. It is not clear how Scheuer would attack these difficulties -- should we stop publishing cartoons? Should there be censorship? Should we bow and scrape whenever Muslims are offended?
8. Scheuer neglects to mention that the US rescued Muslims in Kosovo, saved Shia and Kurds in Iraq, and helped Bin Laden's own Mujaheddin repulse the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan, and yet, somehow, asserts that we are still responsible for the (valid?) negative perception of the US among Muslims. He feels that terror will decrease if we take steps to make us more popular with terrorists.
9. Scheuer resigned from the CIA to protest the Bush Administration's handling of the War on Terror, or rather, its mishandling at the hands of the dreaded Neocons. But Scheuer does not explain why he opted not to resign under Clinton, who did not act to kill Bin Laden when he had the chance. Scheuer himself harshly condemns Clinton for that decision, but fails to explain why Clinton's errors did not merit a resignation but Bush's alleged errors do. This leads the listener to wonder if his resignation wasn't motivated by some mysterious personal reason. More to the point, if Scheuer has so much vitriol for the alleged mismanagement of the War on Terror by Neoconservatives, why does he also berate the Clinton administration for mismanagement -- an administration which did not contain Neoconservatives?
10. Scheuer derides the media's hand wringing and "whining" about the war, yet he himself, as the CBS "Terrorism Expert", seems part of the problem. I have not seen him forcefully take his own network to task (let alone the media as a whole) for glorifying failure, ignoring successes, and furthering its own demonstrably Leftist bias.
11. Scheuer decries President Bush and his alleged Neocon cabal for involving us in Iraq. Certainly, I would not argue his Presidency is free of mistakes. Yet Bush's decision was based on intelligence furnished not only by the CIA, but by the British MI5 and also French intelligence. If the intelligence made available to Bush was flawed, it seems unfair, in the absence of other details, to criticize the White House for its decision to go to war.
Some of Michael Scheuer's recommendations seem correct -- use overwhelming force, cease support for dictators, or jettison Europe, for example. But he appears to arrive at them via a twisted path of factual omissions and contradictions. Scheuer seems to suffer from a type of analytical schizophrenia, or cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, he adopts the rather Leftist positions that we are responsible for Islamic antipathy toward us, that Israel is the problem, that we have inflamed the Muslim world, and that Iraq has created more terrorists. On the other, he regards US military actions as timid. Indeed, Scheuer's lecture left me not only dismayed by his apparently romantic attachment to Bin Laden as an anti-hero, but wondering, simply, whether Scheuer himself contributed to the ineffectiveness of the CIA during his tenure. Until Scheuer can answer these and other questions, I will refrain from spending time and money on his books.
To See Ourselves as Others See Us........2006-03-15
The Scottish poet Robert Burns once said, "Oh would some power the gift give us, To see ourselves as others see us!
And in this day and age, the 'others' that really concern me include Osama bin Laden and the people in al Queda. This book does just that. It quotes bin Laden and associates to see what they are really saying rather than the quick thirty second news bite so favored by the news organizations when they can't find any blood to photograph.
This book takes bin Laden's statements, and in an interesting turn-about compares them with statements of a very similar nature made by Americans related to our revolution. He then goes on to show how bin Laden views the Americans not too differently from the way the American Patriots viewed England in 1776. (Strange how patriot or terrorist may be the same people depending on the eye of the looker.)
All in all, this is a very frightening book. It says that the anger from bin Laden is real, based on actual events, and not an isolated case, but spread throughout the Muslim world. Perhaps all Muslims would not be willing to go to the extremes to crash into the World Trade Center. It is clear however, that there are enough holding these views to provide the ocean in which the 'extremists,' 'religious fanatics,' 'terrorists,' 'guerrillas,' or 'patriots' can swim.
All in all, I rank this book as one of the three 'must reads,' anyone interested in what happens now must read. The other two are 'The 9/11 Commission Report,' and 'The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order' by Samuel P. Huntington.
There are a lot of reviewers of all three of these books who seem so rabidly angry at President Bush that they reject everything that these books have to say. I really like one review of 'Clash' who asked what a bunch of people living in a backward country like Afghanistan could possibly do to hurt the United States. That was before 9/11.
Book Description
Drawing on unparalleled access to Osama bin Laden and his key associates, journalist Abdel Bari Atwan gives an incisive and timely account, the clearest we have so far, of the rise of the notorious terrorist organization, al Qaeda. In this lively narrative, the author establishes what al Qaeda is or has become, what it wants, what its capabilities are, and how the West can answer its complaints and challenges.
The only Western-based journalist to have spent time with Osama bin Laden, Atwan begins with an engrossing personal record of his 1996 trip to visit al Qaeda's founder and guide at his Tora Bora hideout. He takes an in-depth look at bin-Laden, presenting a nuanced portrait of the man and a description of his development as the prime exponent of jihad today. Atwan reveals how al Qaeda's radical departure from the classical terrorist/guerilla blueprint has enabled less adaptable efforts to neutralize it. The fanaticism of its fighters, and their willingness to kill and be killed, are matched by the leadership's opportunistic recruitment strategies and sophisticated understanding of psychology, media and new technology--including the use of the Internet for training, support and communications. Atwan's outspoken London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, of which he is Editor-in-Chief, has been the vehicle of choice for the release of many al Qaeda electronic communiqués.
The Secret History of al Qaeda reveals events in Iraq and Saudi Arabia as watershed moments in the organization's evolution that are making it more dangerous by the day. Atwan efficiently charts how the concept of jihad is being refined and appropriated, how a new kind of leader has been made possible by al Qaeda's horizontal chain of command, the making of the suicide bomber as a permanent feature of a global holy war, al Qaeda's economic strategy, and how the war in Iraq has transformed that country into a breeding ground for the most ruthless and militant al Qaeda fighters to date.
Copub: Saqi Books
Customer Reviews:
The secret history of al qaeda.......2007-05-14
the book is excellent. I recommend it to anyone interested in terrorism and Al Qaeda. It is chock full of relevant and pertinent information and well written.
Understanding the enemy.......2007-02-20
This book is required reading for every voting American. It brings to light the objectives of the enemy and what their ultimate goal is.
An interesting guide through extreme Islam.......2006-10-08
Abdel Atwan's history of Al Qaeda and extreme Islamic movements is very illuminating. As opposed to many western writers on the subject, Mr. Atwan has a cultural relationship with many of the subjects he writes about. All Americans should read this book to understand the amorphous face of terrorism.
A Valuable Contribution to Understanding Al Qaeda.......2006-10-05
Abdel Bari Atwan, who is the editor-in-chief of the London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, is uniquely qualified to write THE SECRET HISTORY OF al QAEDA, as he is the only Western-based journalist to have spent time with Osama Bin Laden. The extended interview took place in Tora Bora, Afghanistan in 1996, and his personal insights into Bin Laden, those around him, and the living conditions at Tora Bora make for fascinating reading. Furthermore, as a result of this meeting, Atwan and his newspaper have been privy to numerous al Qaeda communiques and insider information over the years - including the famous tidbit from Bin Laden associates that Bin Laden was alive and recovering from injuries caused by U.S. bombing near Tora Bora in late 2001. His discussion of how Al Qaeda, as an organization and it's military and economic strategy/ tactics has evolved since 9/11 makes for some eye-opening and chilling reading. Long before the controversial National Intelligence Estimate, Atwan tells us that Iraq has become a breeding ground for the most ruthless and militant Al Qaeda fighters to date. This book is AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ, and should be REQUIRED READING for all US Government and military leaders. It ranks right up there with Peter Bergen's THE OSAMA BIN LADEN I KNOW and HOLY WAR, INC.
Amazon.com
The first wave of U.S. Army Special Forces arrived in Afghanistan in mid-October, 2001; a few months later, they had routed the Taliban and taken control of the country. In fact, writes Robin Moore, "fewer than 100 American soldiers were on the ground when Kabul fell." The Hunt for Bin Laden is both a celebration of the Special Forces, "the most fearsome fighting unit the world has ever known," and a detailed account of how just a few hundred Green Berets, working alongside the Northern Alliance, were able to overcome nearly 100,000 entrenched al-Qaida and Taliban members and take control of Afghanistan in such a short time. Though Special Forces had participated in all of the small conflicts since World War II, the war in Afghanistan was the first time they were in charge of an entire operation. For these gung-ho soldiers, it was the moment they had been waiting for. From the beginning, the operation was a blend of cutting-edge and 19th-century weaponry. The Northern Alliance soldiers, though brave and determined, were often outfitted with only rusted rifles and worn-out boots. In one particularly fascinating scene, Moore writes of the Northern Alliance cavalry leading a charge on horseback while American fighter jets roared overhead dropping laser-guided missiles with pinpoint accuracy on Taliban forces. The author of the military classic The Green Berets, Moore knows his subject intimately and his access to the troops on the ground is impressive. This makes the book incredibly detailed, but unquestionably subjective, so those interested in a political overview or an objective look at the policy behind the operation should look elsewhere. This is strictly a heroic portrayal of a military victory and the difficult search for Osama bin Laden, and at times Moore's writing sounds like copy out of Soldier of Fortune magazine. This bombast may not appeal to all readers, but his deep knowledge of Special Forces and his inside information makes this book a must read for those interested not only in this particular conflict but in how guerilla and unconventional warfare is executed. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
“As the [al-Qaida terrorists] charged one wall, three Green Berets leaned over the parapets, oblivious to the enemy small-arms fire that was cracking by their heads and shoulders.
“ ‘Focus, squeeze, focus, squeeze,’ they recited quietly. . . . Each time . . . the lifeless body [of an al-Qaida terrorist] would snap back through the desert air and drop onto the sandy courtyard.”
The war in Afghanistan was the most secret conflict since the CIA’s covert war in Laos; thousands of journalists covered it, yet, ironically, little is known about how it was waged or what really happened—until now.
The Hunt for bin Laden plunges the reader into America’s War on Terror, from the first top-secret meetings of TASK FORCE DAGGER in Tampa on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, through the liberation of Kabul sixty-two days later and the tragedies of OPERATION ANACONDA. The book takes the reader into the heat of battle—as seen through the eyes of the Green Berets on the ground. This is the story of how only a few hundred men, operating from a secret Special Forces base, changed the course of history in Central Asia and destroyed a hundred-thousand-man terrorist army in less than ninety days.
Action-packed and controversial, The Hunt for bin Laden is teeming with revelations and inside information: the truth about John Walker Lindh and Mike Spann; the failure of the “conventional” generals; the courage of the Northern Alliance; the wounding and murder of journalists; and the flaws and frustrations of the hunt for bin Laden himself.
In mid-December 2001, Robin Moore arrived in Afghanistan, where he joined his old friends, whom he had celebrated thirty-five years earlier in his book The Green Berets and who were now calling in airstrikes and fighting alongside the armies of the Northern Alliance against the terrorist al-Qaida and Taliban. In less than three winter months, about a hundred Green Berets accounted for the deaths of perhaps as many as forty thousand terrorists and the winning of a war in Afghanistan—where the Soviets had found fighting a war all but impossible.
Customer Reviews:
inaccurate.......2007-09-14
Unfortunately, Amazon does not allow zero-star reviews. Many military units, including of course SF, did excellent work in Afghanistan. This book, however, is highly inaccurate. Given his history with the "Green Berets", Robin Moore was support by SF in this book. Essentially, this is propoganda intended to make SF look good at expense at any and all others. I am not saying that SF does not deserve credit for all of the oustanding work they did. If you are looking for an accurate description of how events unfolded in Afghanistan and SF's role in them, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a self-agrandizing book which attempts to deify SF at the expense of all others and historical accuracy, then this is the book for you.
The book is fiction, for the most part. Embellishments of things SF did, yet also missing significant contributions SF made. Not worth even a used copy.
Sad Times We Live In.......2007-05-30
I read an Associated Press article today that Jack Idema has been pardoned by Afghanistan's President Karzai; they don't seem to want this loser either.
This book is trash. It was basically written by "Jack" Idema, who is trash and it is an embarassment to the Special Operations community that this clown was ever part of it.
For those of you that believed this drivel, it is sad times we live in...
This book needs to be the first to be awarded negative stars.
"Rambo III" was a more historically accurate document.......2007-04-20
ZERO STARS. Largely a piece of fiction -- high school fanboy fiction, at the expense of an author who is highly respected in the SF community.
Poor Robin Moore. In frail health, he only wished to reunite with his beloved Green Berets as they embarked on their greatest military campaign since Vietnam -- Operation Enduring Freedom. Little would he know that at the end of it he would be snookered by an opportunist and charlatan, Jonathan "Jack" Idema, who made massive revisions to the final manuscript in order to give himself the stage he so desperately craved as a covert ops wannabe.
What's left is a grossly inaccurate, comic-book reinterpretation of Task Force Dagger, and a book that the author has since disavowed. Shame on Idema, who actually served for a brief period as a Green Beret, for conning the only civilian to successfully complete SF training. Fortunately, the controversy surrounding this book has not diminished Moore's stature in the Special Forces community.
Beware too the glowing editorial "review" in the book description from Sgt. Thomas R. Bumback. Bumback is Idema's business partner, and in league with some bogus "counterterrorism school" with a murky legal status.
Read all about Idema's exploitations in Robert Young Pelton's "Licensed to Kill". You can also look up Idema on Wikipedia for the latest.
For a good -- and true -- account of the opening salvos in the War on Terror, Gary Berntsen's "Jawbreaker" is a must.
Not real .......2007-04-02
Sadly this book was written by an author suffering from Alzheimer's and was deceived by others. The man (center) in the cover photo is a con artist who fabricated stories in the book and is also a convicted felon.
Excellent book for non readers.......2007-02-01
I thought this was an awesome book. I Was an E-6 in the Army when i read this and at the time, I was deployed to Kandahar. I often read this during my spare time and consulted a lot of the locals, and terps about everything that i was reading. When they talked about the Afghan Generals they brought up more stories and even confirmed some of the ones in the book. I'm by no means a Special Forces hooah hooah guy but i thoroughly enjoyed this book!!
Book Description
All Americans must read this book in order to truly understand the reasons why radical Muslims like Osama bin Laden and his followers have declared war on America and the West. Furthermore, only this book accurately describes the severity of the threat they will continue to pose, with or without bin Laden’s leadership, to our national security.
To win the war against terrorism, the author argues that we must first stop dismissing militant Muslims as “extremists†or “religious fanatics.†Formulating a successful military strategy requires that we must see the enemy as they perceive themselves—highly trained and motivated soldiers who fervently believe their cause is righteous. The author describes how militants throughout the Islamic world are enraged by what they believe is Western aggression against their people, religion, and culture. Though bin Laden declared war on America years ago—not once but twice—the author argues that American complacence in the face of such violent threats stems from the increasing secularization and moral relativism of American society and culture. Even if bin Laden is brought to justice, the author warns, the dangers posed by radical Islamic militants will not disappear, and we must be prepared for a protracted war against terrorism. This important book will make a major impact on how America thinks about its enemy and itself.
Customer Reviews:
Something to keep in mind.......2007-02-13
A professor of mine was once discussing the economic motivation for terrorism in a course designed to look at social ills around the world through the lens of economics. He abruptly stopped, half-way through the middle of a sentence, solemnly looked above his reading glasses at the students in the class, and said one of the most interesting things I remember from the class. "I am an academic," he said. "When speaking of these events, I am not making a moral judgment on them. I am simply looking at them through the lens of an individual trying to understand something for the sake of dealing with it. That does not mean that I condone or am complicit in the action, but it does note my character. I am trying to understand it, and that is something very different from simply labeling it."
Often, when I see that people are attacked for books that delve into such topics, it is usually an ad hominem attack meant to discredit them as unpatriotic or complicit with the enemy. Whatever their reasons, the attackers forget that to conquer your enemy, you must understand him. Only then can you fully realize the most effective tactics in dealing with him. Maybe the rest of us can learn a little bit by people like Michael Scheuer.
How radical Islam operates.......2006-04-23
Any studying Islamic terrorism and the current war must understand Bin Laden, his movement, and how radical Islam operates. There's no better place to do this than with the latest revised edition THROUGH OUR ENEMIES' EYES: OSAMA BIN LADEN, RADICAL ISLAM AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. Here is a treatment which analyzes his ideology, its translation to terrorist activities, and its potential for future conflict. Chapters provide a strong focus on Bin Laden's character traits, various exiles, impact on other nations, and instigation of jihad. A 'must' for any who would understand the roots of Bin Laden's organization and ideas.
Just a comment on a review.......2006-04-20
One review here states:
"The one peeve I have with the author, as with so most of the pseudo-journalists today, is that he consistantly referred to the Muslim god "Allah" as "God." Indeed, most of the time you read or hear an English translation of an Arabic source, "Allah" is usually rendered "God." It has to be pointed out that "Allah" is not the same person as "God." All that has to be pointed out to prove that point is that Allah has no son named Jesus Christ, though I could go on and on about the distinctions. Christians and Muslims do NOT worship the same Being."
Actually, Muslims DO believe they worship the same god as that revered by those they call the 'people of the book' - just that Mohammad's revelations were the last and final word on matters (superceding all others).
The Muslim call to prayer begins "la allah illa Allah", which means EXACTLY, "There is no god but God". I hear it five times a day from a hundred mosques in this city.
Frightening Assessment.......2006-03-18
I titled this review "Frightening Assessment" because if the author is correct, which I tend to agree he is, the war on terror is going to last a lot longer than any of us have imagined, or else end in quick defeat when the liberals completely sell us out to the enemy.
The author makes the point that Osama Bin Laden, while being a charasmatic leader, is not the real problem. The problem is that we, like it or not, are fighting an ideology that presents itself as a religion, and ideology/religion is absolutely devoted to the destruction of Western society. The problem is like the mythical Hydra: cut off one head and two more will spring into its place. In other words, this war will continue long after Bin Laden is roasting in Hell.
With that said, what will ultimately defeat us is not the enemy directly, but our lack of understanding of who the enemy actually is and why they hate us. Until we recognize that we will be severely, possibly fatally, handicapped.
The one peeve I have with the author, as with so most of the pseudo-journalists today, is that he consistantly referred to the Muslim god "Allah" as "God." Indeed, most of the time you read or hear an English translation of an Arabic source, "Allah" is usually rendered "God." It has to be pointed out that "Allah" is not the same person as "God." All that has to be pointed out to prove that point is that Allah has no son named Jesus Christ, though I could go on and on about the distinctions. Christians and Muslims do NOT worship the same Being.
Why do I make that point? That very issue is at the heart of the misunderstanding that this same author so aptly discusses.
Bin Laden's sycophantic "critic".......2006-03-14
As this book is re-released, readers should be well aware that Michael Scheuer is the perfect example of the miserable state of American intelligence services - thankfully, he no longer provides analysis for the CIA, now it's the general public that gets to read his "intelligence". A great example of his extraordinary incompetence was provided on March 12, 2006 when he suggested to Ian Masters on KPFK, Los Angeles, that the attack on Samarra's Golden Mosque was more likely carried out by the Israeli military than by al-Qaida. From this text, as with his most recent pronouncements, it is indeed difficult not to conclude that Scheuer is absolutely besotted with bin Laden.
Book Description
In the wake of 9/11 no one knew when the next attack would come, or where it would come from. America's enemies seemed gathered on all sides, and for several nerve-racking months, we lived in fear that the perpetrators might be plotting another action or, worse, that our most dangerous enemies -- al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's murderous regime in Iraq -- could be banding together against us.
The Bush administration and CIA director George Tenet warned against complacency and pointed to growing indications that al Qaeda and Iraq were in league. But their case was undercut by unnamed intelligence officials, skeptical politicians, and a compliant media. So America relaxed. A comforting consensus settled in: Osama bin Laden was an impassioned fundamentalist, Saddam a secular autocrat. The two would never, could never, work together. ABC News reported that there was no connection between them, and the New York Times said so too, and pretty soon just about everyone agreed.
Just about everyone was wrong.
In The Connection, Stephen Hayes draws on CIA debriefings, top-secret memos from our national intelligence agencies, and interviews with Iraqi military leaders and Washington insiders to demonstrate that Saddam and bin Laden not only could work together, they did -- a curious relationship that stretches back more than a decade and may include collaboration on terrorist acts, chemical-weapons training, and sheltering some of the world's most wanted radicals.
Stephen Hayes's bombshell Weekly Standard piece on this topic was cited by Vice President Cheney as the "best source of information" about the Saddam-al Qaeda connections. Now Hayes delves even deeper, exposing the inner workings of America's deadliest opponents and providing a clear-eyed corrective to reams of underreported, politicized, and just plain wrong information.
The Connection is both a gripping snapshot of the War on Terror and a case study in how bureaucratic assumptions and media arrogance can put us all at risk.
Customer Reviews:
never received book.......2007-10-14
Bad - I never got my book and having a hard time trying to trace it back thru this maze in amazon.
written by a fool to be read by wingnuts.......2007-07-23
Seriously, how could anyone take this seriously? All of its claims have been debunked. My favorite is the guy in the Iraqi army who happened to have the same name as a higher-up in Al Qaeda.
Smarter wingnuts, please.
Reveiw the reviewers.......2006-12-13
It seems to me that the reviews posted here are more politically slanted than most book reviews should be. Probably what would be most disheartening to the 5 star awarders is that so soon after publication the "fair market" value given to this book by the "free market" is as used, one cent.
If it looks like a Duck and sounds like a Duck, it is a Duck!.......2006-10-26
You definetly should read this book! Don't believe what the 1 Star writers are saying. They don't want you to know the truth! The Left claims that Bin Laden would never side with Saddam because of their beliefs, yet the Left is adamant that Osama bin Laden was funded by the United States. Go figure!
We all knew there was a connection and Stephen Hayes demonstrates so with great care! There is a connection with al Qaeda and Iraq and the book explains it in detail!
Not Even Good Fiction.......2006-08-06
Its amazing with all the resources of 911 Commission at their disposal, they could not find an operational link between Hussein and al Qaeda. If the Commission could only get the Bush/Cheney team to testify under oath, there wouldn`t even be a debate. Perhaps Hayes should spend time reading their final report which claimed there was no link between Iraq and 911.
But Hayes like his other conservative peers have a gift of throwing half truth and innuendo at their faith based readers to come to ludicrous conclusions.
Amazon.com
Shortly after terrorists led by Osama bin Laden attacked the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered retaliatory missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. It was the first time the United States had responded to an individual terrorist with such overwhelming military force. Bin Laden, of course, is no run-of-the-mill rabble-rouser; Clinton called him "perhaps the preeminent organizer and financier of international terrorism in the world today." That's quite a label for someone who, as biographer Yossef Bodansky describes, "lives with his four wives and some fifteen children in a small cave in eastern Afghanistan" without running water. Yet he is "a principal player in a tangled and sinister web of terrorism-sponsoring states, intelligence chieftains, and master terrorists." Remarkably little is known about the man; as Bodansky reveals, even the year of bin Laden's birth is uncertain. This book, then, is more than the story of a single terrorist. It's a description of a whole movement waging a jihad--holy war--against the United States in the belief that America's modernizing influence on Arab nations thwarts Islamic fundamentalist goals. Bin Laden is strikingly current, extremely well informed, and thoroughly detailed. Readers interested in facts about the Middle East's violent underworld will find it fascinating--and chilling. Bodansky notes that bin Laden has become a hero to radical Muslim youth, and Osama is now a very popular baby name in many Arab countries. --John J. Miller
Book Description
In August 1998 two powerful car bombs exploded simultaneously outside U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. In Nairobi, the force of the blast shattered windows more than a quarter mile away. Less than two weeks later the United States retaliated by launching cruise missiles directed against terrorist camps in both Afghanistan and Sudan. The real target, however, was one man who has become the symbol of Islamic terror. "Our mission was clear," a somber President Clinton told the nation. "To strike at the network of radical groups affiliated with and funded by Osama bin Laden, perhaps the preeminent organizer and financier of international terrorism in the world today."
"Fascinating account. I strongly recommend it."
— Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
In meticulous detail, world-renowned terrorism expert Yossef Bodansky uncovers the events in bin Laden's life that turned the once-promising engineering student into a cold-blooded leader of radical Islam. In the process, Bodansky pulls together a chilling story that is as current as today's headlines but as ancient as the Crusades; a story that transcends bin Laden and any other single man, one that sweeps from Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq to Kosovo and beyond. He takes you deep into the heart of centuries-old hatreds that have produced generations of bin Ladens and a terror network of underground armies that can strike virtually anywhere in the world. Fueled by Middle Eastern oil wealth and covertly armed by some of America's closest allies, this terror network is waging a brutal guerrilla war whose aim is nothing short of changing the course of history. The battlefields are increasingly Western city streets and the casualties are most often innocents caught in the crossfire.
Including new information about bin Laden's pursuit of chemical and nuclear weapons, covert deals between the U.S. and Islamic terrorists, and American foreign policy blunders that have cost countless lives, this book is a sobering wake-up call.
Customer Reviews:
Bodansky and his "think tank" outhinking about everyone i've read........2006-09-26
Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism along with the rise of the mideast-suicide deathcults complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.By the way in a book on hinduism i had previously read that the deathcult ideology so appealing to the arab youth of today initially came from India where it was practiced for hundreds of years.But then a person could only do so much damage with a knife.So it appeared the death cult is another scissors and paste job(gruesome too),added onto the Islamic religion.Since the suicide cult is so old it probably will never go away,and thrives on a population that views itself as surplus and super bitter.The christian desert fathers expressed their contempt for world affairs by withdrawal and self denial and austerity in their behavior but with a creative impulse like translating works of art into vernacular,but this suicide/homocide Islamic movement is something beyond comprehension. You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial.Also the book leaves little doubt that Bin Laden's movement is supported largely in alot of third world countries out of pure jealous rage.The reaction of Palestinian glee at 911 is shared by a surprising majority (although not as forward about it) in these third world countries.They see Al-queda as their political voice in world affairs,it's no wonder that this organization is such a Hydra,growing a new head for everyone sliced off. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought and do people have the stomach for it anyway.Will the medicine be as a cliche goes,"kill both the pain and the patient"?Bodansky's other book is also a 5 star and the author is never "politically correct" in the interpretations equally blistering toward American and European-
soviet politicians as well.
Only half on track.......2006-07-08
Anyone looking for an authoritative book on Bin Laden would do better to consult either of Peter Bergen's works, or Rohan Gunaratna. While many of the details in Bodansky's book are plausible, and even correspond with those of other authors, no footnotes are given throughout, and many details (such as Al Qaeda's possession of nuclear weapons) are highly suspect if not patently false. Bodansky portray's Bin Laden as largely a state-sponsored terrorist, and I think he fails utterly to show the grass roots genesis of Islamist resistance. In fact, most of the book isn't even on Bin Laden, save one chapter, and deals with background events of Islamist terrorism. Most damaging is Bodansky's failure to be transparent about his sources and convincing about his facts. A critical reader should suspect an agenda or ideological lens in this work that is absent from Bergen and Gunaratna.
Pre-9-11 Insight into Islamist Movement.......2005-08-27
Here is a book written before 9-11 which documents a connection between Saddam Hussein and bin Laden including their cooperative pursuit of WMD. But Iraq comes across as almost a reluctant participant in the Islamist movement, becoming involved out of desperation, believing that a U.S. invasion was certain. The movement is sponsored primarily by Iran, Pakistan and Sudan. The reader may then wonder why the U.S. invaded Iraq rather than these countries.
There should be no surprise that insurgent terrorists are present after the recent Iraq War. Bin Laden had made a pact with Saddam Hussein. Terrorism had been expected following an earlier attack on Iraq. Also, any Western intrusion into an Arab country sparks increased Islamist terrorism.
U.S. ineptness is revealed in the book. Perhaps most glaring is the Abu-Umar al-Ameriki Incident wherein The Clinton administration reportedly made a secret deal with the Islamists to sacrifice U.S. support for Egypt in exchanged for reduced Islamist pressure in Bosnia - Herzegovina. Egypt's President Mubarak found out about the deal and joined the Islamists to save his own skin. The U.S. was oblivious to this realignment which came just as the U.S. sought support against Iraq.
Islamist motives for terrorism are clearly indicated in the book: constant meddling by the West in the Arab and Muslim world, including exploitation of oil, support of puppet governments, desecration of religious sites, and mistreatment of Muslims, most notably by the founding of Israel at the expense of the native Palestinian population. The current Islamist movement can be traced to the Afghanistan war against Russia wherein Islamists from all over the Middle East were brought together in a military brotherhood. "Afghan" veterans became the leaders in the terrorist war against the West, primarily the U.S.
Perhaps the most alarming revelation in the book is the Islamist capability in WMD. It was stated that if conventional weapons fail to accomplish the Islamist objectives, WMD may be deployed.
BOOK QUALITY
The book is more about the Islamist movement in general than a story of bin Laden. It comes across as very credible with it's choking detail and it's well-informed author, the director of the House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. But the book is a very difficult read with many names and organizations and an elusive time line. The story could have been told more concisely and with a much better overview.
Page breakdown: table of contents - 1, table of abbreviations and organizations - 1, text (including introductory material) - 434, glossary - 4, sources - 5, and index - 22. One map, provided inside the front cover, is of the broader Middle East, but it lacks detail. There should have been other maps, organizational charts, and a timeline to keep track of events.
America Will Hunt Down and Kill Radical Islamic Terrorists.......2004-09-23
Some day, at the brave and professional hands of USA and Coalition soldiers and agents, Bin Laden and his followers are dead meat. Bin Laden and his followers are cowards, the butchers of Beslin, the vermin who are beheading innocents in the middle east, and bombing babies on buses in Israel. May the terrorists drink pig's blood for all eternity!
I remember walking by this book on display in 2000 and noting that Jeane Kirkpatrick praised it, and I thought, "If she's blurbing the back cover, it must be great." But like most Americans, I never really looked into it further and never wrote my congressman about it. Only a few listened to Bodansky's warnings.
The greatness of this book is not just that it was written before 911 and is free of the post-911 posturing and second-guessing. It's even more important today.
Even this book details Iraq's intelligence agents' involvement with underlings of Bin Laden, the Sudan connection between Bin Laden and Iraq. Iran's greasy paws reach to horn of Africa also.
Although the Iraq-Bin Laden axis and mutual hatred of the Saudi royal family is paramount, it is not the main point of discussion. There are many twists and turns in the landscape of Radical Islam - from the Algeria to the horn of Africa to Pakistan. Bodansky really knows his stuff. I've heard him on the radio as well, and he's got it down to a science.l
LACKING VERIFICATION METHODS.......2004-08-03
If the story told here could be verified, then it would validate the methods behind our war on terror...yes, even the invasion of Iraq. While Mr. Bodansky, apparently a well-knowned counter-terrorism "expert", writes with thematic clarity, he fails in a major regard to verification. Although the book has a list of sources in the back, they are not cross-referenced to any of the material in the book. This leaves the reader with several choices. 1. Accept his premise entirely, 2. Accept parts of his premise (which parts are fact, which parts are fiction?), or 3. reject his premise entirely. What a conundrum. I can reject item 3 because I would have had to have been living on the moon for the last 20 years to escape the wealth of information negating that premise. I cannot accept premise 1 either due to the lack of a well thought out set of footnotes and references that could be checked for veracity. That leaves item 2 as the only choice available...hmmm...what to believe and what not to believe. Like I said, a conundrum.
In the age of everyone writes a book and the "drive-by" work of literature, I hope that these authors will soon learn that some of us would like a detailed reference list so we can verify what is truth and what is only truth in their own reality.
Book Description
No one knows more about Osama bin Laden than Peter Bergen. In 1997, well before the West suddenly became aware of the world's most sought-after terrorist, Bergen met with him and has followed his activities ever since.
Today, years after President Bush swore to get him dead or alive and despite haunting the popular imagination since September 11, 2001, bin Laden remains shrouded in mystery and obscured by a barrage of facts, details and myths. With numerous never-before-published interviews, The Osama Bin Laden I Know provides unprecedented insight into bin Laden's life and character drawing on the experiences of his most intimate acquaintances. This timely and important work gives readers their first true, enduring look at the man who has declared the West his greatest enemy.
Customer Reviews:
Doug M........2007-08-30
I listened to this as an audio CD. This method would of course be better since writting verbatim the way people talk is always hard to read. Just read one of the speeches that Bush makes to see the difference.
An Introduction to Bin Laden.......2007-01-13
Peter Bergen is a journalist, so it is not surprising that this book is a collection of brief interviews or quotes rather than one long narrative. The interviews are arranged chronologically, with some comments by Bergen interspersed to make a more cohesive and readable book. Bergen has clearly done his homework, and this book provides the reader with a good understanding of who Bin Laden is and where he came from. Now if Bergen could just tell us where to find Bin Laden today . . .
osama.......2006-11-10
A good read. Learn all about osama,this is something the government think tanks, should have done. From a very rich family with a good name to the depths of evil. When you think of evil, think of osama and hitler in the same thought.
A Rather Unsatisfactory Bio of Bin Laden.......2006-10-14
Peter Bergen is a journalist well known for his knowledge of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Here he presents an "oral" history by piecing together documents and interviews into what he considers a narrative whole. For the most part there is nothing new here that hasn't already been out in the public domain. And there is very little analysis. It is basically a group of documents strung together with commentary from Bergen.
For me, this style just doesn't work. It's not a very pleasant reading experience. And while the narrative hangs together well - Bergen would have been better off to write a narrative history of bin Laden with deeper analysis. That would have taken a bit more time and work to complete, but it would have served the reader much better.
Superb Context Shows How Clinton & Neo-Cons BOTH Fueled Islamic Violence.......2006-10-09
This is quite a superb composition of the statements of others about Bin Laden, interspersed with very credible observations and conclusion by Peter Bergen.
The book opens with a cast of characters and ends with a "where are they now" listing. It also provides a timeline, but a limitation of this book is that it focuses on Bin Laden alone.
I have a number of notes from this excellent book:
1) The 1967 war in which Israel won was vital in showing the Arabs that it was their own inept and corrupt regimes that were leaving the Zionists in power. Also this book, at the end, where the Sykes Picot 1916 agreement highlighted in the Lawrence of Arabia epic movie, is clearly identified by Bin Laden as the start of the current "crusade" against Islam.
2) Bin Laden was a shy and polite, very religious person with a good education--the classic revolutionary (contrary to conventional wisdom, the rebels are the smart ones that see through the facades).
3) The 1979 invasion by Saudi forces to recapture the Al Haram mosque radicalized Bin Laden, as did the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The writings of Egyptian Sayyid Qutb on Islam as a complete way of life, when COMBINED with the corrupt and often decadent lifestyles of the Saudi, Egyptian, and other Arab rules, were in tandem a foundation for the radicalization of youth across the region.
4) The Pakistani cleric Abdullah Azzam was a major influence and enabler for jihadists seeking to fight the Soviets by entering via Pakistan, and the clearly untold story, in this book or any other, is the deep and constant relations between the Pakistani intelligence service, the Taliban, and Bin Laden.
5) In Afghanistan the back story is Bin Laden the theocrat versus Massoud the tolerant secularist in the Northern Alliance.
6) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan produced 6 million refugees, half to Pakistan and half to Iran.
7) The open sources of information available on Bin Laden and anti-Israel and anti-us plans are legion, and the author is extremely effective in cataloging all of the overt information that the U.S. Intelligence Community simply ignored from 1988, when the Commandant of the Marine Corps and I first made terrorism, and the use of open sources to understand terrorism, a national issue.
8) In 1996 Jamal Al Fadl walked in to a US Embassy (probably Sudan) with plans for attacks on US by Bin Laden, and also in 1996 Bin Laden announced on CNN, ABC News and in Al Jazeera that he was declaring war on the US. My comment: in the US, only Steve Emerson ("American Jihad") and Yossef Bodansky "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America") took the declaration seriously.
9) Clinton and Bush BOTH were happy to deal with the Taliban, and the Taliban understood that the Americans, regardless of party, wanted a pipeline from Caspian energy to Pakistan (rather naively assuming Pakistan would be able to protect it), as well as bases against China and Iran.
10) This book makes it clear that every time George W. Bush talks about them attacking us for our way of life he is simply demonstrating either his idiocy or his hypocrisy. Bin Laden, over and over and over again, has specified Israeli and US behaviors, actions, and policies as the basis for his challenge.
11) In 1998 US rebuked Taliban and Bin Laden raised the ante, also focusing on the jailed Sheikh Abdel Rahman, the only religious figure to have blessed Bin Laden's lay fatwa with a commanding fatwa of his own. This individual, in US custody, has inspired violence from 1981 onwards, and US appears to have not understood his potency.
12) Quote on page 211: Zawahiri was to Osama Bin Laden what Karl Rove is to the White House."
13) Bin Laden explicitly cites Nagasaki and Hiroshima as justifications for targeting US civilians. While the author of this book discounts Bin Laden's having nuclear suitcase bombs, he acknowledges that nuclear waste is easily acquired.
14) On 10 June 1998 ABC aired an exclusive interview with Bin Laden and introduced him as the wan who had declared war on the US. No one noticed. (Steve Emerson's PBS broadcast in 1994 also got blown off).
15) The book toasts the Clinton Administration for both incompetence at getting Bin Laden (but then, the Saudis tried to assassinate Bin Laden several times and also failed), and for lionizing Bin Laden with the Tomahawk missile strike (which another book I have reviewed says included several that did not explode and enriched Bin Laden with $10 million from their sale to the Chinese).
16) The author recounts Bin Laden's illnesses witnessed by others as being Soviet gas impact on breathing, back pain, low blood pressure, foot wound, and NOT kidney failure.
17) Al Qaeda started looking for WMD after they noticed US beating that drum, and probably got their first chemicals from Uzbeckistan.
18) First references to airplanes attacking buildings were in Egyptian press 12 Aug 00.
19) Cheney and Franks both lied to US public about Bin Laden not being at Tora Bora (see my reviews of "JAWBREAKER" and "First In").
20) Al Qaeda's general guidance to all is to first, cause the West pain, and second, seek to arouse all Muslims.
21) Iraq is teaching foreign fighters and Iraqis who will likely become foreign fighters elsewhere, how to use IEDs, suicide bombs, and urban warfare against the West elsewhere.
Bottom line: has we stayed in Afghanistan, and dropped Rangers on Bin Laden as he walked from Tora Bora to Pakistan, it would have been "game over," and even if we had not caught him, he would have been marginalized. The author concludes that everything the US has done, both in the Clinton and the current Administrations, has served to empower Bin Laden and inspire millions of others to support terrorism as a tactic against the Israel, the US, the West, and the corrupt Arab regimes.
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- Get Out of That Pit: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance
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