After bin Laden
Al Qaeda, the Next Generation
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
An "intelligent and fascinatingly readable" examination of Al Qaeda after the death of its longtime leader, by the renowned Arab world journalist (Pat Lancaster, editor in chief of Middle East Magazine).
Osama bin Laden is dead, yet Al Qaeda remains the CIA's number one threat. Since the 9/11 attacks on the United States, and the US military's subsequent strikes, the organization has evolved into a much more complex and far-flung entity. This richly documented account of Al Qaeda moves well beyond the headlines to offer readers a deeper understanding of the organization's aims, strategies, and fortunes in a new era of conflict with the United States and the Western powers.
Drawing on firsthand accounts and interviews with uniquely well-placed sources within Al Qaeda, noted journalist and expert Abdel Bari Atwan investigates the movement's new internal dynamics, how it survives financially, and how its political appeal has changed dramatically following the Arab Spring. Atwan profiles the next generation of leaders and explores both the new methods they embrace—especially on the digital battlefield—as well as the global range of their operations and local variations in Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and elsewhere.
"Abdel Bari Atwan has long been one of the sharpest commentators about Al Qaeda and the Middle East." —Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Osama bin Laden, from 9/11 to Abottabad
"A sobering, intensive report." —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this dry account of the Al Qaeda movement, Atwan writes that Bin Laden's death simply enhanced the leader's legacy; the movement is now "stronger and more widespread" than ever. In fact, he adds, since Bin Laden's death the rise of "regional emirs" has made the worldwide movement "harder to target and destroy." Atwan shares the enormous advances Al Qaeda has made via social media since he completed his 2006 book, The Secret History of al-Qa'ida, though he primarily focuses on the extent to which the Al Qaeda movement has infiltrated countries from South Asia to North Africa. For instance, Atwan analyzes widespread media coverage about Somali pirates, noting how little of said publicity emphasizes the enormous contributions those pirates make from ransom payments to support jihad. He also provides specific examples of the Taliban leadership's innovation. Certainly Atwan's description of Al Qaeda's widespread influence in Libya and Algeria should send chills up readers' spines when they realize those countries' enormous shares of oil reserves and natural gas . It's likely that only extremely motivated readers will make it through this book, but those who do will be rewarded with fascinating and often horrifying tidbits along the way.
