Osama bin Laden spent more than two decades creating himself as a radical leader and terrorist in the Middle East. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, bin Laden came into international focus and became the world's most wanted man.

On reserve in the Uni Library

9/11 almost instantaneously remade American politics and foreign policy. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Patriot Act, water boarding and Guantanamo are examples of its profound and far-reaching effects. But despite its monumental impact - and a deluge of books about al-Qaeda and Islamistterrorism - no one has written a serious assessment of the man who planned it, Osama bin Laden. Available biographies depict bin Laden as an historical figure, the mastermind behind 9/11, but no longer relevant to the world it created. These accounts, Michael Scheuer strongly believes, havecontributed to a widespread and dangerous denial of his continuing significance and power.In this book, Scheuer provides a much-needed corrective - a hard-headed, closely reasoned portrait of bin Laden, showing him to be a figure of remarkable leadership skills, strategic genius, and considerable rhetorical abilities. The first head of the CIA's bin Laden Unit, where he led the effort totrack down bin Laden, Scheuer draws from a wealth of information about bin Laden and his evolution from peaceful Saudi dissident to America's Most Wanted. [...]

On reserve in the Uni library

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. [...]

On reserve, also available digitally

Ever since it was first established, the senior leadership of Al-Qaeda has sought to communicate its core values, rationalizations, and principles to the world. Altogether, these statements convey Al-Qaeda's doctrine and the beliefs for which the leadership claims to be fighting. This volume in the New Directions in Terrorism Studies series analyzes over 250 statements made by the organization's two key leaders, Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Usama Bin Ladin, over the last two decades. It provides an in-depth and systematic analysis of these communications, showing which key issues emphasized by the two leaders evolved over time and highlighting their core principles. It explore Al-Qaeda's problem diagnosis, the solutions offered by its two leaders, their escalating --although often contradictory-- approach towards violence, and their chosen communication strategy for different types of audiences. The book shows how Al-Qaeda's leadership began to develop an increasingly critical approach towards Islam in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and discusses tensions that may undermine the resilience of its doctrine. This unique evidence-based analysis of Al-Qaeda will attract academics specializing in terrorism and counterterrorism as well as the policy community.

On reserve in the Uni library.

A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright's remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI's counterterrorism chief, John O'Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal. [...] Brilliantly conceived and written, The Looming Tower draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001. The richness of its new information, and the depth of its perceptions, can help us deal more wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.

On reserve in the Uni library.

Translation of 24 public statements from Osama bin Laden into English, from 1994 to 2004.

On reserve in the Uni library.