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Summary
Summary
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 Islamist terrorism--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, have contributed 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 to track 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. Shedding light on his development as a theologian, media manipulator, and paramilitary commander, Scheuer makes use of all the speeches and interviews bin Laden has given as well as lengthy interviews, testimony, and previously untranslated documents written by those who grew up with bin Laden in Saudi Arabia, served as his bodyguards and drivers, and fought alongside him against the Soviets. The bin Laden who emerges from these accounts is devout, talented, patient, and ruthless; in other words, a truly formidable and implacable enemy of the West.Acclaim for Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terrorism"Pulls few punches...a fascinating window on America's war with Al Qaeda."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times"No serious observer of the war on terrorism can ignore this scathing critique."--Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc."A powerful, persuasive analysis of the terrorist threat and the Bush administration's failed efforts to fight it."--Richard A. Clarke, Washington Post Book World"A fire-breathing denunciation of U.S. counterterrorism policy."--Julian Borger, The Guardian"Presents overwhelmingly persuasive evidence to buttress a host of significant and controversial arguments."--Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly"Destined to become a classic in the field of counterterrorism analysis."--Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside Terrorism
Author Notes
Michael Scheuer was the chief of the CIA's bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999 and remained a counterterrorism analyst until 2004. He is the author of many books, including the bestselling Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terrorism. He lives in the Washington, DC area.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This propulsive biography is not bin Laden for beginners, but its central point is clear. Scheuer (Imperial Hubris), chief of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999, argues that the West chronically underestimates bin Laden's "piety, generosity, personal bravery, strategic ability, charisma and patience." In creating a cartoonish enemy, the U.S. has "mindlessly" played into bin Laden's plans to provoke a war on Muslim soil to catalyze a jihad to "obliterate America from within, by making it economically weak, until its markets collapse." The depiction of bin Laden's evolution from devout student to militant leader is deeply detailed and dense, and readers unable to keep up with a dissection of Islam's diverse creeds and doctrines will feel overwhelmed at times, but Scheuer's project is lucid and important. Bin Laden "anticipated a war of attrition that might last decades" and has planned ahead. He has cultivated a multigenerational cadre of between 5,000 and 7,000 loyal warriors, many from the educated upper classes. The conflict with al-Qaeda will, by bin Laden's design, likely be multigenerational, and Scheuer takes a crucial step in revealing how the West keeps itself vulnerable by persisting in demonizing rather than understanding its formidable opponent. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Scheuer, chief of the CIA's bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999 and a consultant to that unit until 2004, delivers an unnerving profile of the al-Qaeda leader. Unnerving not just because it lays out bin Laden's genius in luring the U.S. into a financially ruinous war on terrorism but also because it shows a pious, brave, intelligent, charismatic man fully capable of leading an insurgent Muslim force against the West, a profile at odds with the more fanatical, marginalized figure often portrayed by mainstream media. Scheuer tracks bin Laden's life from his Saudi childhood as the son of a remote but revered and very wealthy contractor all the way to his place as one of the pivotal political figures of our time. More to the point, as he has in previous books (Marching toward Hell, 2008), Scheuer argues that bin Laden's success owes as much to America's ineptness in the Mideast as it does to bin Laden himself, a sentiment that should warn policymakers and citizens alike.--Moores, Alan Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
Prior to Osama bin Laden's becoming a household name in 2001, few individuals knew the Saudi terrorist better than counterterrorist agent Michael Scheuer, head of the CIA's bin Laden unit from 1996-99. In numerous interviews and writings, Scheuer challenged the myths and the caricatures about bin Laden, whom the author depicted as a rational individual with a well-conceived agenda. Scheuer explained that a correct portrait of the real rather than the imaginary man was imperative to counter the al Qaeda threat. Ironically, this best and fullest characterization of the man and al Qaeda was published just as bin Laden's death transformed the book's focus from contemporary events to the realm of history. However, the book is a first-class study, well argued and written for a broad audience; it retains its value for understanding al Qaeda in the post-bin Laden era. Although Scheuer does not wish to lionize bin Laden, he respected his adversary's piety, integrity, dedication, intelligence, and talents. Now that the spate of bin Laden commentaries most likely will cease, unless the documents captured during the raid that killed bin Laden reveal huge new insights, this book will be the definitive biography for the future. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. J. P. Dunn Converse College
Library Journal Review
Since the events of 9/11, Osama bin Laden has been the subject of numerous books and articles of varying quality, but the U.S. intelligence community's assessment of bin Laden and al-Qaeda continues to be based on information before the attacks of 9/11. In this highly readable and jargon-free book, Scheuer (Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror), head of the CIA's bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999, updates the issues he had covered in his previous publications and offers a serious and nonideological treatment and analysis of bin Laden's thinking. Unlike many Western analysts who dismiss bin Laden as simplistic, uncouth, and incompetent, Scheuer portrays him as a patient, devout, and talented, albeit ruthless, leader who remains a formidable enemy of the West. Verdict This informative book is one of the most detailed biographical sketches of bin Laden available in the West and is useful for both the general public and specialists.-Nader Entessar, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.