In March 1968 Palestinian guerrillas and Jordanian troops combined forces to respond to Israeli raids into Jordan, provoking visions of new unity and future military success. Yet by September 1970 mounting friction between the Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan and King Hussein's regime came to a head with the hijackings at Dawson's Field and the defeat by Jordan's forces of the Palestinians. The savagery of the fighting and the bitter consequences for the Palestinian guerrillas gave this month the name Black September: a name that was to reappear ominously in months to come. Who are the Palestinians? Many people only became aware of their existence because of terrorism, particularly the Black September operation at the Munich Olympics. Yet the Palestinians are at the very heart of the Middle East problem, and this book, first published in 1973, tells their story. The core of the book describes the emergence of the various guerrilla groups, joined by Palestinians hopeful of regaining lost land and lost dignity, and the ideologies and differences of the groups. There are personal interviews with some of the main leaders, and other chapters examine the relationships and interaction between the Palestinian groups and the Soviet bloc, the Chinese, the Third World, the West, and most important, the Israelis themselves.

Cooley marshals a wealth of evidence to demonstrate the devastating consequences of the alliance between the US government and radical Islam - from the assassination of Sadat, the destabilization of Algeria and Chechnya and the emergence of the Taliban, to the bombings of the World Trade Center and the US embassies in Africa. Cooley examines the crucial role of Pakistan's military intelligence organization; uncovers China's involvement and its aftermath; the extent of Saudi financial support; the role of America's most wanted man, the guerrilla leader Osama bin Laden; the BCCI connection; and the CIA's cynical promotion of drug traffic in the Golden Crescent. This text seeks out the lessons to be learned from this still unfolding drama. This revised edition examines the events of September 11th 2001, Osama bin Laden's role and the complex working of the Al Queda terror network. It also covers the important events in Pakistan since the military coup of October 1999 and the impact of this on Indo-Pakistani relations. This should be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the roots of the international crisis.

In March 1968 Palestinian guerrillas and Jordanian troops combined forces to respond to Israeli raids into Jordan, provoking visions of new unity and future military success. Yet by September 1970 mounting friction between the Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan and King Hussein's regime came to a head with the hijackings at Dawson's Field and the defeat by Jordan's forces of the Palestinians. The savagery of the fighting and the bitter consequences for the Palestinian guerrillas gave this month the name Black September: a name that was to reappear ominously in months to come. Who are the Palestinians? Many people only became aware of their existence because of terrorism, particularly the Black September operation at the Munich Olympics. Yet the Palestinians are at the very heart of the Middle East problem, and this book, first published in 1973, tells their story. The core of the book describes the emergence of the various guerrilla groups, joined by Palestinians hopeful of regaining lost land and lost dignity, and the ideologies and differences of the groups. There are personal interviews with some of the main leaders, and other chapters examine the relationships and interaction between the Palestinian groups and the Soviet bloc, the Chinese, the Third World, the West, and most important, the Israelis themselves.