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Tuesday, Nov 26, 2002 CNN Special War on Terrorism

BERGEN: I think this story about the money transfers from the wife of the Saudi ambassador possibly to these hijackers, when you look at it, may not add up to very much. She probably didn’t know where the money was going. It is not even clear if it ended up in their pockets.
However, I think there is a wider point, Anderson, which is that Saudi Arabia historically has never cooperated with investigation in terrorist actions against Americans, that was in the ’90s, and the attacks against U.S. facilities in Saudi Arabia, Dhahran and Khobar Towers. But again in the 9/11 investigation where you would have thought they would be pretty cooperative. I know some people directly involved in the investigation. They use the words like “useless,” “obstructionist,” “despicable;” those are the words that are printable.

Thursday, Nov 21, 2002 Al Nashiri arrest

(CNN) — The arrest of Abd Al-Rahim al-Nashiri is a significant development in the international war on terrorism. Peter Bergen, CNN’s terror analyst, placed al-Nashiri in an al Qaeda “top 10” of leaders. He spoke with CNN Anchor Martin Savidge about the arrest Thursday. SAVIDGE: This is a man who is claimed to be a […]

In past weeks Al Qaeda has relaunched itself, a rebranding that presages a second phase in its war against the West. The clearest evidence for this shift is in three audiotapes that Al Qaeda has released since the beginning of October from its top leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.

Wednesday, Nov 13, 2002 New bin Laden audiotape

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A senior U.S. State Department official confirmed Wednesday a voice on a recording released by the Qatar-based, Arabic language television network Al-Jazeera appears to be that of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. CNN terrorism expert Peter Bergen, one of the few Western journalists ever to meet bin Laden, agrees with that […]

Thursday, Oct 31, 2002 Rocker Alice Cooper on Holy War

We all see this guy as one thing. The thing about this book is that you learn the history of this power mongerer and where his insanity comes from.”

Wednesday, Oct 30, 2002 Al Qaeda 2.O. Article for site

Al Qaeda 2.0In the past month al Qaeda has relaunched itself, a rebranding that presages a second phase its war against the West. Where once al Qaeda attacked, for the most part, only American military, governmental and symbolic targets the group is now focusing on a wide range of western and economic targets. This repositioning […]

Wednesday, Oct 16, 2002 Al Qaeda’s new tactics

THE author of Holy War Inc, a best-selling book on al-Qaeda, said the impact of the Bali bombing does not depend on whether the culprits are directly linked to Osama bin Laden’s terror network.
“It doesn’t really matter in the end,” said Peter Bergen. “Let’s say it is nothing to do with al-Qaeda. Is that a cause for comfort? I don’t think so. Because then, we are moving into a new phase of leaderless resistance, where people are doing things on their own.” Bergen compared al-Qaeda and associated groups to a cluster of grapes: both tied together and separate. Some groups share training and personnel with al -Qaeda; others identify more with its ideology and outlook.

With a top al-Qaeda expert as the guide, Nuclear Terrorism: Blinding Horizons offers a credible, chilling journey through scenarios many news organizations ignore and many viewers avoid.
Peter Bergen, the author of Holy War Inc., examines Osama bin Laden’s nuclear plotting and the security lapses at Russian nuclear facilities that terrorists could exploit. “Two important things about al-Qaeda: They’re extremely patient,” Bergen says in a phone interview. “They took two years to plan Sept. 11. And with this group, all bets are off. They could care less about how many people they kill.”

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Investigators cleared debris and gathered forensic evidence Sunday from the site of two explosions and subsequent fires that killed at least 182 people on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.
Many of the victims were Australian tourists. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said “preliminary indications” suggested that an Islamic radical group could be behind the attack.

(Washington, D.C. September 18, 2002) One of the most disturbing legacies of September 11th is the realization that no threat scenario is impossible.