Download or read book The Secret History of al Qaeda written by Abdel Bari Atwan and published by Saqi. This book was released on 2012-07-15 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last ten years, journalist and al-Qa'ida expert Abdel Bari Atwan has cultivated uniquely well-placed sources and amassed a wealth of information about al-Qa'ida's origins, masterminds and plans for the future. Atwan reveals how al-Qa'ida's radical departure from the classic terrorist/guerrilla blueprint has enabled it to outpace 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 shows that far from committing acts of violence randomly and indiscriminately, al-Qa'ida attacks targets according to a decisive design underwritten by unwavering patience. He also argues that events in Iraq and Saudi Arabia are watershed moments in the group's evolution that are making it more dangerous by the day, as it refines and appropriates the concept of jihad and makes the suicide bomber a permanent feature of a global holy war. While Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri remain al-Qa'ida's figureheads, Atwan identifies a new kind of leader made possible by its horizontal chain of command, epitomized by the brutal Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi in Iraq and the bombers of London, Madrid, Amman, Bali, and elsewhere. Scholarly, analytical, objective, it is also intensely readable, being by far the best book on the subject.' -- Tony Benn 'This is a must-read book for anyone interested in understanding our increasingly scary world.' -- Gavin Esler 'What shines out ... is a profound desire to investigate and reveal the truth. Intelligent and informative.' -- Jason Burke, Guardian 'Deeply researched, well reported and full of interesting and surprising analyses. It demands to be read.' -- Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc

Download or read book Al Qaeda 2 0 written by Baldvin Donald Holbrook and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An indispensable resource for understanding the evolution of Al-Qaeda since the death of Osama bin Laden.

Download or read book Decoding Al Qaeda s Strategy written by Michael Ryan and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to draw a blueprint for defeating al-Qaeda on ideological rather than military grounds.

Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda written by Fawaz A. Gerges and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011-09-14 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author re-evaluates the threat posed by Al-Qaeda following a decade of war.

Download or read book The Evolution of the Global Terrorist Threat written by Bruce Hoffman and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining major terrorist acts and campaigns undertaken in the decade following September 11, 2001, internationally recognized scholars study the involvement of global terrorist leaders and organizations in these incidents and the planning, organization, execution, recruitment, and training that went into them. Their work captures the changing character of al-Qaeda and its affiliates since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the sophisticated elements that, despite the West's best counterterrorism efforts, continue to exert substantial direction over jihadist terrorist operations. Through case studies of terrorist acts and offensives occurring both in and outside the West, the volume's contributors investigate al-Qaeda and other related entities as they adapted to the strategies of Operation Enduring Freedom and subsequent U.S.-led global counterterrorism programs. They explore whether Osama bin Laden was indeed reduced to a mere figurehead before his death or continued to influence al-Qaeda's global activities. Did al-Qaeda become a loose collection of individuals and ideas following its expulsion from Afghanistan, or was it reborn as a transnational terrorist structure powered by a well-articulated ideology? What is the preeminent terrorist threat we face today, and what will it look like in the future? This anthology pinpoints the critical patterns and strategies that will inform counterterrorism in the coming decades.

Download or read book The History of Terrorism written by Gérard Chaliand and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in English in 2007 under title: The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda.

Download or read book The Evolution of Al Qaedaism written by Edwin Bakker and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Al Qaeda in Its Own Words written by Gilles Kepel and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To reveal the inner workings of Al Qaeda, this book collects and annotates key texts of the major figures from whom the movement has drawn its beliefs and direction. There are excerpts from the writings of Azzabdallah Azzam, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Download or read book Al Qaeda s Revenge written by Fernando Reinares and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-17 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Al-Qaeda's Revenge: The 2004 Madrid Train Bombings, Fernando Reinares tells the story of "3/11" - the March 11, 2004, bombings of commuter trains in Madrid, which killed 192 people and injured more than 1,800. He examines the development of an al-Qaeda conspiracy in Spain from the 1990s through the formation of the 3/11 bombing network beginning in March 2002, and discusses the preparations for and fallout from the attacks. Reinares draws on judicial, police, and intelligence documents to which he had privileged access, as well as on personal interviews with officials in Spain and elsewhere. His full analysis links the Madrid bombings to al-Qaeda's senior leadership and unveils connections between 3/11 and 9/11. Al-Qaeda's Revenge, Spain's counterpart to The 9/11 Commission Report, was a bestseller in Spain.

Download or read book Leaderless Jihad written by Marc Sageman and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2011-09-28 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the post-September 11 world, Al Qaeda is no longer the central organizing force that aids or authorizes terrorist attacks or recruits terrorists. It is now more a source of inspiration for terrorist acts carried out by independent local groups that have branded themselves with the Al Qaeda name. Building on his previous groundbreaking work on the Al Qaeda network, forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman has greatly expanded his research to explain how Islamic terrorism emerges and operates in the twenty-first century. In Leaderless Jihad, Sageman rejects the views that place responsibility for terrorism on society or a flawed, predisposed individual. Instead, he argues, the individual, outside influence, and group dynamics come together in a four-step process through which Muslim youth become radicalized. First, traumatic events either experienced personally or learned about indirectly spark moral outrage. Individuals interpret this outrage through a specific ideology, more felt and understood than based on doctrine. Usually in a chat room or other Internet-based venues, adherents share this moral outrage, which resonates with the personal experiences of others. The outrage is acted on by a group, either online or offline. Leaderless Jihad offers a ray of hope. Drawing on historical analogies, Sageman argues that the zeal of jihadism is self-terminating; eventually its followers will turn away from violence as a means of expressing their discontent. The book concludes with Sageman's recommendations for the application of his research to counterterrorism law enforcement efforts.

Download or read book Confronting al Qaeda written by Martha L. Cottam and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-03-22 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on in-depth interviews with tribal Sheiks involved in the Awakening and their American military counterparts, Confronting al Qaeda is a study of decision-making processes and the political psychology of the Sunni Awakening in al Anbar. It traces the change in American military strategy that made the Awakening collaboration between the Sunni tribes and the U.S. forces possible. It explains how the evolution of the tribal leaders’ perspective and of the American military strategy led to defeat al Qaeda in al Anbar. The process of these changing mutual images is detailed as well as how the cooperation between groups led to further evolution of perceptions. Political and military realities urgently forced these perceptual and social identity shifts initially, but the process of cooperation and engagement accelerated these shifts through increasingly mutually beneficial cooperation and interaction during the battle with al Qaeda in Iraq.

Download or read book Beyond al Qaeda Part 1 The Global Jihadist Movement written by Angel Rabasa and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2002-10-14 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines al-Qaeda??s evolution and the emergence of the broader global jihadist movement-groups affiliated, associated, or inspired by al-Qaeda-and the threat that they pose to the United States and U.S. allies and interests. The authors conclude by setting out a four-pronged strategy to counter the jihadist threat.

Download or read book The Syrian Jihad written by Charles R. Lister and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book contains a great deal of primary source material gleaned from three years of engagement and contacts within the Islamist and jihadist communities active in Syria. This includes much information never before made public by any source.

Download or read book Beyond al Qaeda Part 2 The Outer Rings of the Terrorist Universe written by Angel Rabasa and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2002-10-14 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines violent terrorist groups that, while not formally allied with al-Qaeda, could pose a threat to Americans now or in the future and to the security of our friends and allies. The authors show how terrorists use criminal organizations and connections to finance their activities, and they identify distinct strategies to neutralize or mitigate these threats.

Download or read book The Al Qaeda Doctrine written by Donald Holbrook and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-07-31 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This New Directions in Terrorism Studies volume describes Al-Qaeda's evolving religious and political doctrine by analyzing statements made by Bin Ladin and Al-Zawahiri"--

Download or read book Jihadism Transformed written by Simon Staffell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jihadist narratives have evolved dramatically over the past five years, driven by momentous events in the Middle East and beyond; the death of bin Laden; the rise and ultimate failure of the Arab Spring; and most notably, the rise of the so-called Islamic State. For many years, al-Qaeda pointed to an aspirational future Caliphate as their utopian end goal - one which allowed them to justify their violent excesses in the here and now. Islamic State turned that aspiration into a dystopic reality, and in the process hijacked the jihadist narrative, breathing new life into the global Salafi-Jihadi movement. Despite air-strikes from above, and local disillusionment from below, the new caliphate has stubbornly persisted and has been at the heart of ISIS's growing global appeal. This timely collection of essays examines how jihadist narratives have changed globally, adapting to these turbulent circumstances. Area and thematic specialists consider transitions inside the Middle East and North Africa as well as in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. As these analyses demonstrate, the success of the ISIS narrative has been as much about resonance with local contexts, as it has been about the appeal of the global idea of a tangible and realised caliphate.

Download or read book The Al Qaeda Reader written by Raymond Ibrahim and published by Crown. This book was released on 2007-08-07 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The global war on terror is not just a military conflict but a war of ideas. Indeed it is in some respects primarily an ideological struggle. Yet it is a war we cannot win without a broader understanding of al-Qaeda's goals and motives. What do our enemies believe? What motivates their war against the West? What is their vision of the ideal Islamic society? Surprisingly, more than five years after 9/11, there is very little understanding of these questions. Despite our tendency to dismiss Islamic extremism as profoundly irrational, al-Qaeda is not without a coherent body of beliefs. Like other totalitarian movements, the movement’s leaders have rationalized their brutality in a number of published treatises. Now, for the first time, The Al Qaeda Reader gathers together the essential texts and documents that trace the origin, history, and evolution of the ideas of al-Qaeda founders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. This extraordinary collection of the key texts of the al-Qaeda movement—including incendiary materials never before translated into English—lays bare the minds, motives, messages, and ultimate goals of an enemy bent on total victory. Al-Qaeda’s chilling ideology calls for a relentless jihad against non-Muslim “infidels,” repudiates democracy in favor of Islamic law, stresses the importance of martyrdom, and mocks the notion of “moderate” Islam. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of these works is how grounded they are in the traditional sources of Islamic theology: the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet. The founders of al-Qaeda use these sources as powerful weapons of persuasion, reminding followers (and would-be recruits) that Muhammad and his warriors spread Islam through the power of the sword and that the Koran is not merely allegory or history but literal truth that commands all Muslims to action. In addition to laying bare al-Qaeda’s ultimate motives, The Al Qaeda Reader includes the organization’s propagandist speeches, which are directed primarily at Americans, Europeans, and Iraqis. Here, al-Qaeda’s many "official" accusations against the West are meticulously delineated, from standard complaints such as the Palestinian issue and Iraq to wholly unexpected ones concerning the U.S.’s exploitation of women and the environment. Taken together, the Theology and Propaganda sections of this volume reveal the most comprehensive picture of al-Qaeda to date. They also highlight the double-speak of bin Laden and Zawahiri, who often say one thing to Muslims in their religious treatises ("We must hate and fight the West because Islam commands it") and another in their propaganda directed at the West ("The West is the aggressor and we are fighting back merely in self-defense"). Westerners from across the political spectrum will be fascinated and enlightened by The Al Qaeda Reader’s insights into the nature of Islamic texts and the ways in which al-Qaeda has used these texts to manufacture hatred against our civilization and our way of life.