This book is quite full of information on a man who will go down in history as one of the most evil men in the 21st Century... not just for what he did but for what he attempted to do.

Falling outside the mainstream media this book actually tells quite a bit about Bin Laden's personal history, how he wound up in Afghanistan fighting the Soviets and what he did in order to fund and organize this fight, his first "jihad." One of the important facts that I took away from this book is that Bin Laden was never a U.S. "client," although he did accept some indirect assistance from the U.S. Bin Laden was anti-American from the start and while we helped the Mujideen (which later became the Northern Alliance) Bin Laden put his organization behind the Taliban. Once the Taliban controlled much of Afghanistan Bin laden's al-Qaida moved on to launching all sorts of terror attacks throughout the world, culminating in 911. His intent was no less than a global Jihad which would end with an Islamic planet.

The writing in the book may be quite dry and at times it is difficult to keep track of all the names being thrown about but overall an excellent book.

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.Terrorism is a poor country's quick entry into world politics,an attempt by these countries to seem powerful. They do this by making large nations seem impotent to stop random,sporadic, and spectacular violence.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism along with the rise of the mideast-suicide deathcults complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.By the way in a book on hinduism i had previously read that the deathcult ideology so appealing to the arab youth of today initially came from India where it was practiced for hundreds of years.But then a person could only do so much damage with a knife.So it appeared the death cult is another scissors and paste job(gruesome too),added onto the Islamic religion.Since the suicide cult is so old it probably will never go away,and thrives on a population that views itself as surplus and super bitter.The christian desert fathers expressed their contempt for world affairs by withdrawal and self denial and austerity in their behavior but with a creative impulse like translating works of art into vernacular,but this suicide/homocide Islamic movement is something beyond comprehension. You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial.Also the book leaves little doubt that Bin Laden's movement is supported largely in alot of third world countries out of pure jealous rage.The reaction of Palestinian glee at 911 is shared by a surprising majority (although not as forward about it) in these third world countries.They see Al-queda as their political voice in world affairs,it's no wonder that this organization is such a Hydra,growing a new head for everyone sliced off. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought and do people have the stomach for it anyway.Will the medicine be as a cliche goes,"kill both the pain and the patient"?Bodansky's other book is also a 5 star and the author is never "politically correct" in the interpretations equally blistering toward American and European-
soviet politicians as well.

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism along with the rise of the mideast-suicide deathcults complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.By the way in a book on hinduism i had previously read that the deathcult ideology so appealing to the arab youth of today initially came from India where it was practiced for hundreds of years.But then a person could only do so much damage with a knife.So it appeared the death cult is another scissors and paste job(gruesome too),added onto the Islamic religion.Since the suicide cult is so old it probably will never go away,and thrives on a population that views itself as surplus and super bitter.The christian desert fathers expressed their contempt for world affairs by withdrawal and self denial and austerity in their behavior but with a creative impulse like translating works of art into vernacular,but this suicide/homocide Islamic movement is something beyond comprehension. You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial.Also the book leaves little doubt that Bin Laden's movement is supported largely in alot of third world countries out of pure jealous rage.The reaction of Palestinian glee at 911 is shared by a surprising majority (although not as forward about it) in these third world countries.They see Al-queda as their political voice in world affairs,it's no wonder that this organization is such a Hydra,growing a new head for everyone sliced off. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought and do people have the stomach for it anyway.Will the medicine be as a cliche goes,"kill both the pain and the patient"?Bodansky's other book is also a 5 star and the author is never "politically correct" in the interpretations equally blistering toward American and European-
soviet politicians as well.

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism along with the rise of the mideast-suicide deathcults complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.By the way in a book on hinduism i had previously read that the deathcult ideology so appealing to the arab youth of today initially came from India where it was practiced for hundreds of years.But then a person could only do so much damage with a knife.So it appeared the death cult is another scissors and paste job(gruesome too),added onto the Islamic religion.Since the suicide cult is so old it probably will never go away,and thrives on a population that views itself as surplus and super bitter.The christian desert fathers expressed their contempt for world affairs by withdrawal and self denial and austerity in their behavior but with a creative impulse like translating works of art into vernacular,but this suicide/homocide Islamic movement is something beyond comprehension. You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial.Also the book leaves little doubt that Bin Laden's movement is supported largely in alot of third world countries out of pure jealous rage.The reaction of Palestinian glee at 911 is shared by a surprising majority (although not as forward about it) in these third world countries.They see Al-queda as their political voice in world affairs,it's no wonder that this organization is such a Hydra,growing a new head for everyone sliced off. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought and do people have the stomach for it anyway.Will the medicine be as a cliche goes,"kill both the pain and the patient"?

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism along with the rise of the mideast-suicide deathcults complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.By the way in a book on hinduism i had previously read that the deathcult ideology so appealing to the arab youth of today initially came from India where it was practiced for hundreds of years.But then a person could only do so much damage with a knife.So it appeared the death cult is another scissors and paste job(gruesome too),added onto the Islamic religion.Since the suicide cult is so old it probably will never go away,and thrives on a population that views itself as surplus and super bitter. You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought.

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism along with the rise of the mideast-suicide deathcults complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.By the way in a book on hinduism i had previously read that the deathcult ideology so appealing to the arab youth of today initially came from India where it was practiced for hundreds of years.But then a person could only do so much damage with a knife. You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought.

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources.You can easily see how corrupt mid-east governments use the Arab mafia for an important link as a smoke screen of denial. He offers solutions as well,but as the title suggests,it won't be cheaply bought.

Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources. He offers solutions as well.

Anyone looking for an authoritative book on Bin Laden would do better to consult either of Peter Bergen's works, or Rohan Gunaratna. While many of the details in Bodansky's book are plausible, and even correspond with those of other authors, no footnotes are given throughout, and many details (such as Al Qaeda's possession of nuclear weapons) are highly suspect if not patently false. Bodansky portray's Bin Laden as largely a state-sponsored terrorist, and I think he fails utterly to show the grass roots genesis of Islamist resistance. In fact, most of the book isn't even on Bin Laden, save one chapter, and deals with background events of Islamist terrorism. Most damaging is Bodansky's failure to be transparent about his sources and convincing about his facts. A critical reader should suspect an agenda or ideological lens in this work that is absent from Bergen and Gunaratna.

Here is a book written before 9-11 which documents a connection between Saddam Hussein and bin Laden including their cooperative pursuit of WMD. But Iraq comes across as almost a reluctant participant in the Islamist movement, becoming involved out of desperation, believing that a U.S. invasion was certain. The movement is sponsored primarily by Iran, Pakistan and Sudan. The reader may then wonder why the U.S. invaded Iraq rather than these countries.

There should be no surprise that insurgent terrorists are present after the recent Iraq War. Bin Laden had made a pact with Saddam Hussein. Terrorism had been expected following an earlier attack on Iraq. Also, any Western intrusion into an Arab country sparks increased Islamist terrorism.

U.S. ineptness is revealed in the book. Perhaps most glaring is the Abu-Umar al-Ameriki Incident wherein The Clinton administration reportedly made a secret deal with the Islamists to sacrifice U.S. support for Egypt in exchanged for reduced Islamist pressure in Bosnia - Herzegovina. Egypt's President Mubarak found out about the deal and joined the Islamists to save his own skin. The U.S. was oblivious to this realignment which came just as the U.S. sought support against Iraq.

Islamist motives for terrorism are clearly indicated in the book: constant meddling by the West in the Arab and Muslim world, including exploitation of oil, support of puppet governments, desecration of religious sites, and mistreatment of Muslims, most notably by the founding of Israel at the expense of the native Palestinian population. The current Islamist movement can be traced to the Afghanistan war against Russia wherein Islamists from all over the Middle East were brought together in a military brotherhood. "Afghan" veterans became the leaders in the terrorist war against the West, primarily the U.S.

Perhaps the most alarming revelation in the book is the Islamist capability in WMD. It was stated that if conventional weapons fail to accomplish the Islamist objectives, WMD may be deployed.

BOOK QUALITY
The book is more about the Islamist movement in general than a story of bin Laden. It comes across as very credible with it's choking detail and it's well-informed author, the director of the House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. But the book is a very difficult read with many names and organizations and an elusive time line. The story could have been told more concisely and with a much better overview.

Page breakdown: table of contents - 1, table of abbreviations and organizations - 1, text (including introductory material) - 434, glossary - 4, sources - 5, and index - 22. One map, provided inside the front cover, is of the broader Middle East, but it lacks detail. There should have been other maps, organizational charts, and a timeline to keep track of events.

Some day, at the brave and professional hands of USA and Coalition soldiers and agents, Bin Laden and his followers are dead meat. Bin Laden and his followers are cowards, the butchers of Beslin, the vermin who are beheading innocents in the middle east, and bombing babies on buses in Israel. May the terrorists drink pig's blood for all eternity!

I remember walking by this book on display in 2000 and noting that Jeane Kirkpatrick praised it, and I thought, "If she's blurbing the back cover, it must be great." But like most Americans, I never really looked into it further and never wrote my congressman about it. Only a few listened to Bodansky's warnings.

The greatness of this book is not just that it was written before 911 and is free of the post-911 posturing and second-guessing. It's even more important today.

Even this book details Iraq's intelligence agents' involvement with underlings of Bin Laden, the Sudan connection between Bin Laden and Iraq. Iran's greasy paws reach to horn of Africa also.

Although the Iraq-Bin Laden axis and mutual hatred of the Saudi royal family is paramount, it is not the main point of discussion. There are many twists and turns in the landscape of Radical Islam - from the Algeria to the horn of Africa to Pakistan. Bodansky really knows his stuff. I've heard him on the radio as well, and he's got it down to a science.l

If the story told here could be verified, then it would validate the methods behind our war on terror...yes, even the invasion of Iraq. While Mr. Bodansky, apparently a well-knowned counter-terrorism "expert", writes with thematic clarity, he fails in a major regard to verification. Although the book has a list of sources in the back, they are not cross-referenced to any of the material in the book. This leaves the reader with several choices. 1. Accept his premise entirely, 2. Accept parts of his premise (which parts are fact, which parts are fiction?), or 3. reject his premise entirely. What a conundrum. I can reject item 3 because I would have had to have been living on the moon for the last 20 years to escape the wealth of information negating that premise. I cannot accept premise 1 either due to the lack of a well thought out set of footnotes and references that could be checked for veracity. That leaves item 2 as the only choice available...hmmm...what to believe and what not to believe. Like I said, a conundrum.
In the age of everyone writes a book and the "drive-by" work of literature, I hope that these authors will soon learn that some of us would like a detailed reference list so we can verify what is truth and what is only truth in their own reality.