"Inside Al Qaeda" examines the leadership, ideology, structure,
strategies, and tactics of the most violent politico-religious
organization the world has ever seen. The definitive work on Al
Qaeda, this book is based on five years of research, including
extensive interviews with its members; field research in Al
Qaeda-supported conflict zones in Central, South and Southeast Asia
and the Middle East; and monitoring Al Qaeda infiltration of
diaspora and migrant communities in North America and Europe.
Although founded in 1988, Al Qaeda merged with and still works
with several other extremist groups. Hence Al Qaeda rank and file
draw on nearly three decades of terrorist expertise. Moreover, it
inherited a full-fledged training and operational infrastructure
funded by the United States, European, Saudi Arabian and other
governments for use in the anti-Soviet Jihad.
This book sheds light on Al Qaeda's financial infrastructure and
how they train combat soldiers and vanguard fighters for multiple
guerrilla, terrorist and semi-conventional campaigns in the Middle
East, Asia, Africa, the Caucuses, and the Balkans. In addition, the
author covers the clandestine Al Qaeda operational network in the
West.
Gunaratna reveals:
how Osama bin Laden had his mentor and Al Qaeda founder,
"Azzam," assassinated in order to take over the organization and
that other Al Qaeda officers who stood in his way were
murdered,
Al Qaeda's long-range, deep-penetration agent handling system in
Western Europe and North America for setting up safe houses,
procuring weapons, and conducting operations,
how the O55 Brigade, Al Qaeda's guerrilla organization,
integrated into the Taliban,
how the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui forced Al Qaeda to move
forward on September 11,
how a plan to destroy British Parliament on 9/11 and to use
nerve gas on the European Union Parliament were thwarted,
how the Iran--Hezbollah--Al Qaeda link provided the knowledge to
conduct coordinated, simultaneous attacks on multiple targets,
including failed plans to destroy Los Angeles International
Airport, the USS Sullivan, the Radisson Hotel in Jordan, and eleven
US commercial airliners over the Pacific ocean,
that one-fifth of international Islamic charities and NGOs are
infiltrated by Al Qaeda,
how the US response is effective militarily in the short term,
but insufficient to counter Al Qaeda's ideology in the
long-term.
Finally, to destroy Al Qaeda, Gunaratna shows there needs to be
a multipronged, multiagency, and multidimensional response by the
international community.
General
Imprint: |
Columbia University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
June 2002 |
First published: |
June 2002 |
Authors: |
Rohan Gunaratna
|
Dimensions: |
239 x 157 x 23mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Trade binding
|
Pages: |
240 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-231-12692-2 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Politics & government >
General
|
LSN: |
0-231-12692-1 |
Barcode: |
9780231126922 |
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