An Al Qaeda suggested reading list by PB

A suggested reading list for those who want to know more about al Qaeda, by topic
Al Qaeda in general

Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, (New York: Random House, 2002)

Peter Bergen, Holy War, Inc. Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (New York: Touchstone, 2002). (paperback edition)

Rohan Gunaratna, Inside Al Qaeda, Global Network of Terror (New York, Columbia University Press 2002)

An overview of the rise of religious terrorism around the world, focusing primarily on Islamist terrorism and its intellectual influences.

Benjamin and Simon, chapter 2, pp.38-94

Bruce Hoffman, Inside Terrorism, (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1998) chapter 4 pp.87-129

Gilles Kepel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (Cambridge, Belknap Press Harvard 2002) Introduction, pp 1-20

Bernard Lewis, The Political Language of Islam (Chicago: the University of Chicago Press, 1988) ch. 4 pp.71-90

Reuven Firestone, Jihad, the Origin of Holy War in Islam ( New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) ch. 1 pp.13-18 and ch. 3 pp 47-65

Syed Qutb, Milestones (Mumbai, India: Bilal Books, 1998) ch. 4 pp. 53-76

Edited by James F. Hoge Jr. and Gideon Rose, How Did This Happen?
Terrorism and the New War, (New York: Public Affairs, 2001) essay by Michael Scott Doran, pp.31-52 (Essential)

Malise Ruthven, A Fury for God. The Islamist Attack on America (New York: Granta Books, 2002) ch. 3 pp.72-98

The Afghan war against the Soviet Union, the role of the United States, and the formation of an Islamist internationale, 1979-1989.

Bergen, ch. 2, pp.44-65 and ch. 3, 66-78

Mark Urban, War in Afghanistan, (London: Macmillan Press, 1988) pp. 203-222

Henry S. Bradsher, Afghan Communism and Soviet Intervention (Oxford University Press, 1999) ch. 6 pp.177-192

Olivier Roy, Afghanistan From Holy War to Civil War (Princeton, New Jersey The Darwin Press 1995) chapters 3, 4 and 5, pp. 43-92

John Cooley, Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism (London and Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2000). Chapter 5 pp. 80-105

Mark Huband, Warriors of the Prophet (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1998) chapter 1, pp.1-24

Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin, The Bear Trap, Afghanistan's Untold Story, London: Leo Cooper, 1992) Chapter 5, pp. 78-96

Edited by James F. Hoge Jr. and Gideon Rose, How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War, (New York: Public Affairs, 2001) essay by Milton Bearden, "Graveyard of Empires, Afghanistan's Treacherous Peaks", pp. 83-95

Anonymous, Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America. (Washington, DC: Brasseys, 2002) [Anonymous is a serving CIA officer] chapter 7 pp.89-108

Al Qaeda from its formation in 1989 to 1996

Bergen, pp. 79-107

Gunaratna, chapter 2, pp.54-94

Anonymous, Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America. (Washington, DC: Brasseys, 2002)
[Anonymous is a serving CIA officer] ch. 8 pp. 109-118 and chapter 9 pp.119-131 and chapter 10 pp.133-147

Mamoun Fandy, Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent (New York, St. Martin's Press, 1999) ch.6 pp.177-194

An important resource is:
http://www.al-bab.com/arab/background/laden.htm. This site contains a large number of bin Laden's statements and interviews and other resources.

The court transcript of USA v. Usama bin Laden (the embassy bombings trial) provides a wealth of material. The entire transcript of the trial is available at http://cryptome2.org/usa-v-ubl-dt.htm

The most important testimony for is from the following days:
Testimony of L'Hossaine Kherchtou, February 21, 26; Testimony of Essam al-Ridi, February 14, 2001; Testimony of Jamal al-Fadl, February 6, 2001.

Also of interest is: Ali Mohamed's plea agreement, reprinted as "Excerpts from Guilty Plea in Terrorism Case," New York Times, October 21, 2000

Roland Jacquard, In the Name of Osama Bin Laden, Global Terrorism and the Bin Laden Brotherhood, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2002). The Appendix of this compiles a useful series of documents pp.168-272

Al Qaeda from 1996-9/11

Bergen, pp. 108-116

Anonymous, Through Our Enemies' Eyes. Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America. (Washington, DC: Brasseys, 2002) [Anonymous is a serving CIA officer.] ch.11 pp 151-168 and ch. 12 pp. 169-194 and ch.13 pp. 195-224.

Bernard Lewis, "License to Kill," Foreign Affairs, November/December 1998. (Essential)

The court transcript of USA v. Usama bin Laden (the embassy bombings trial) provides a wealth of material. The entire transcript of the trial is available at http://cryptome2.org/usa-v-ubl-dt.htm
The most useful days are Testimony of FBI Agent John Anticev, February 27, 2001; Summation of Ken Karas, May 1, 2001; Testimony of Jerrold M. Post, M.D., June 27, 2001.

Al Qaeda and 9/11

Bergen, ch.1 pp.24-41

Yosri Fouda, The Terror Plot, The Sunday Times (London), September 8 2002 (Essential )

Hassan Mneimneh and Kanan Makiya, "Manual for a Raid", The New York Review of Books, January 17, 2002 (Essential)
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15106

The Reporters of Der Spiegel magazine. Inside 9-11 What Really Happened (New York, St. Martins Press, 2001) pp 177-202 and pp. 253-321 has an important appendix

The indictment of Zacarias Moussawi has some useful information about the planning of 9/11 and can be found at http://cryptome.org/usa-v-zm-ind.htm

An excellent roadmap to 9/11 can be found in the testimony of Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet before the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks on the United States which he delivered on 18 June, 2002 and can be found at http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/dci_testimony_06182002.html

Bin Laden reflects on 9/11 in a private meeting with a Saudi supporter in November 2000 which can be found at: http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page436.asp

U.S. attempts to counter al Qaeda and its forerunners from the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center until today, and al Qaeda penetration of the United States pre 9/11.

Benjamin and Simon ch. 6,7, 8,9 and 10 pp. 229-380

Bergen pp. 116-145

A vigorous defense of U.S. efforts to counter al Qaeda can be found in the testimony of Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet before the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks on the United States which he delivered on 17 October, 2002 and can be found at: http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/dci_testimony_10172002.html

Al Qaeda after 9/11.

Bergen pp. 225-245

Gunaratna ch. 4 pp. 167-220 and ch.5 pp. 221-242

Benjamin and Simon ch.11 pp. 393-418

Malise Ruthven, A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America (New York: Granta Books, 2002) ch.8 pp. 240-291

Roland Jacquard, In the Name of Osama Bin Laden, Global Terrorism and the Bin Laden Brotherhood, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2002) Afterword by Samia Seragaldin pp.160-165

Bruce Hoffman Rethinking Terrorism and Counterterrorism Since 9/11, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Vol. 25, number 25, September, 2002, pp.303-316

Bin Laden's only print interview post 9/11 can be found at http://www.dawn.com/2001/11/10/top1.htm

Bin Laden's only post 9/11 television interview, which never aired on al Jazeera, can be found at: http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/02/05/binladen.transcript/index.html

Philip Smucker, "How Bin Laden Got Away," Christian Science Monitor March 4, 2002 (important piece)

Susan B. Glasser, "The Battle of Tora Bora" Washington Post, Feb. 10, 2002 (also good)