Holy War, Inc.: Inside The Secret World of Osama Bin Laden

Additional Holy War, Inc.: Inside The Secret World of Osama Bin Laden Information

On September 11, 2001, the world in which we live was changed forever. The twin towers of the World Trade Center came crashing down, one side of the Pentagon burst into flame, and more than six thousand men, women, and children lost their lives in the most deadly terrorist attack on American soil. As shocking as it was, it had been long in the making: The assault was the most sophisticated and horrifying in a series of operations masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his Jihad group -- an organization that CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen calls Holy War, Inc.

One of only a handful of Western journalists to have interviewed the world's most wanted man face to face, Peter Bergen has produced the definitive book on the Jihadist network that operates globally and in secrecy. In the course of four years of investigative reporting, he has interviewed scores of insiders -- from bin Laden associates and family members to Taliban leaders to CIA officials -- and traveled to Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom to learn the truth about bin Laden's al Queda organization and his mission.

Immense in scope and unnerving in its findings, Holy War, Inc. reveals:

How bin Laden lives, travels, and communicates with his "cells." How his role in the crushing defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan made him a hero to Muslims all over the world -- and equipped him to endure a long and bloody siege. How the CIA ended up funding -- to the tune of three billion dollars -- radical, anti-American Afghan groups allied to bin Laden. How the attacks that foreshadowed the destruction of the World Trade Center -- among them the bombings of the American embassies in Africa and the warship USS Cole in Yemen -- were planned and executed. The dimensions of bin Laden's personal fortune, and why freezing his assets is both futile and nearly impossible. The ideology of bin Laden's number two, the man who has influenced him most profoundly in his holy war -- the Egyptian Ayman al Zawahiri. What we can expect from Islamist extremists in the future.

Above all, Peter Bergen helps us to see bin Laden's organization in a radically new light: as a veritable corporation that has exploited twenty-first-century communications and weapons technologies in the service of a medieval reading of the Koran and holy war. Holy War, Inc. is essential reading for anyone trying to understand tomorrow's terrorist threats and the militant Islamist movements that could determine the fate of governments -- and human lives -- the world over.

Both author and publisher will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to United Way's September 11th Fund for the relief of victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

What Customers Say About Holy War, Inc.: Inside The Secret World of Osama Bin Laden:

Those wishing to know who Bin Laden is and what he wants would be well-advised to read this accurate, clearly written volume. Bergen's first book on Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda network, this is still an excellent and dependable resource for learning about one of the world's most infamous men. Bergen is a reliable source, and one of the few men in the world to have personally met Bin Laden in very dangerous circumstances.

There are for instance things that I never knew about the man and his orginazation that I now know thanks to Mr. Peter L. A must read for anyone that is interested in seeing passed all the talking points and truly understanding the root causes for islamic terrorism. Bergen's tireless work. Bergen takes us around the world in his pursuit of unraveling the man who many of us know by face and name only. The aura that surrounds O.B.L is incredibly large.

Bergen uses multi-national corporations as a model for how a group like Al-Qaeda functions. One of the most encouraging aspects of the book is Bergen's assertion that the single most important blow to strike against terrorism is elimination of the training camps in Afghanistan. This is the third book I've read on terrorism and was the best by far. I particularly enjoyed the analysis of the strategic importance of Stinger missiles in the past and the future. The multi-national corporation isn't an effective map for understanding the terrorist network terrain.This book was written before and shortly after the 9/11 attacks. After he was honorably discharged, Ali Mohamed took the explosives skills that he'd learned, went to bin Laden's Afghanistan training camp, and shared his knowledge with scores of terrorists. Although an excellent book, I don't believe the "Holy War, Inc." paradigm works very well.

The fragmentation and factionalization of these groups has no equivalent in the corporate world. There is no profit imperative or other objective measures.

Here was an Egyptian-born man who served in the American Special Forces and was highly valued because of his middle-eastern language skills. The head or CEO of a terrorist group has no absolute control over the cells.

Not only does it take the reader through the important points of bin Laden's life and the historical events that surround them, but the author also analyzes the larger context within world politics. Aside from surface similarities, the parallels between these organizations are few and far between.

Since the war in Afghanistan has done just that, the book definitely ends on an up note. I found Bergen's account of Ali Mohamed very unnerving.

Scary.

This Bergen ignores.In his discussion of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan he spends all his time talking from the side of the rebels. See page 99 and note the Bergen's equalization of the words infidel and idolater. I was hoping for a documented history about OBL. Later he outright says training in an Al-Qaeda camp is better that basic training in the Army. He also defends OBL's rants against the US by clarifying for the reader that UN sanctions killed 500,000 Iraqi children. The more you know about these subjects the more you will realize that Bergen interjects his political opinions throughout the book with side comments; by selectively adding some facts and leaving out others; and by the clever arrangements of facts. While recounting OBL's case against the US (like the reader is suppose to take this seriously) he adds his opinion that for two thousand years Christians don't follow the teachings of Jesus.I'm not half way through the book and I'm sorry I bought it. He does mention the US made Stinger missile, but spends more time talking about how clumsy the US was to let some of these go unaccounted for; rather than mentioning that without the Stinger the Soviets would not have pulled out.In Chapter 4, he mentions Desert Storm and out of left field adds the fact the Timothy McVeigh was one of the 500,000 US troops there.

Other scholars suspect OBL of murdering Azzam. Warning, before reading this book make sure you are well schooled in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, US involvement with Somalia, the Persian Gulf War, and Islam. He leaves out background information about the UN and Boutris Boutris Ghali role in tribal conflict. He claims at "least 500" Somalis died when more respected accounts put the number at 3000. The subliminal message is US Army is an equivalent terrorist organization as Al-Qaeda.

He adds that before 9-11 OK City was the worst terrorist activity in US. He doesn't mention the decision by Les Aspin to hamper the mission by denying the US its own armor-protected vehicles. Instead I got the CNN view of the world - OBL is a deeply religious man, a great military leader, a successful businessman, and has a legitimate case against the US, which by default is guilty. In all he makes the US look foolish and A-Qaeda's cause of serious blow against US. He gives no background as to events leading up to it, nor the poor military practices in the Soviet army which contributed to its own defeat. He says US "tried" to capture and never mention they did capture two bad guys. Bergen is biased against the US and eerily; the net affect is some sort of weird admiration for OBL.Bergen falls for some of OBL's twisted, misrepresentation of the Koran.

In discussing Somalia, he makes sure the reader is aware George H Bush got US involved. Bergen only presents OBL view that he brought down a super power. Of course Bergen leaves out Saddam Hussein's role in starving his own people.Bergen's account of the murder of Abdullah Azzam (Bergen calls him OBL's mentor) follows right after discussion with former Pakistani Prime Minister so this arrangement implies that somehow they are connected. The Soviet Union published an after action review, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, that points out individual combat leaders and mistakes they made that were grievous enough so that any band of rebels could have beaten them.

I just found it so fascinating and detailed and marvelously written. She really shows a new side of him and his friends and family. This book had a lot of technical stuff, but I still really enjoyed it.I'm more excited by the new book by Osama Bin Laden's mistress, Kola Boof--"Diary of a Lost Girl". I've read an advance copy and it was absolutely stunning.I think her portrait of Bin Laden and his inside world should be widely discussed by the Bin Laden experts.