The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda
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The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda by Fawaz A Gerges
In this concise and fascinating book, Fawaz A. Gerges argues that Al-Qaeda has degenerated into a fractured, marginal body kept alive largely by the self-serving anti-terrorist bureaucracy it helped to spawn. In The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda, Gerges, a leading authority on Islamic extremism, argues that the West has become mired in a "terrorism narrative," stemming from the mistaken belief that it is in danger of a devastating attack by a crippled Al-Qaeda. To explain why Al-Qaeda is no longer a threat, he provides a briskly written history of the organization, showing its emergence from the disintegrating local jihadist movements of the mid-1990s—not the Afghan resistance of the 1980s, as many believe—in "a desperate effort to rescue a sinking ship by altering its course". During this period, Gerges interviewed many jihadis, gaining a first-hand view of the movement that Bin Laden tried to reshape by internationalizing it. He reveals that global jihad has attracted but a small minority within the Arab world and possesses no viable social and popular base. Furthermore, he shows that the attacks of September 11, 2001, were a major miscalculation—no "river" of fighters flooded from Arab countries to defend Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, as Bin Laden expected. Gerges concludes that the movement has splintered into feuding factions, neutralizing itself more effectively than a Predator drone. Forceful, incisive, and written with extensive inside knowledge, this book will alter the debate on global terrorism.
.. a masterly and trenchant account of the origins of al Qaeda and its decline after 9/11. * Foreign Affairs *
Worth reading * The Economist *
Worth reading * The Economist *
Fawaz A. Gerges is Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics. His books include Journey of the Jihadist and The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780199790654 |
| ISBN 10 | 0199790655 |
| Title | The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda |
| Author | Fawaz A Gerges |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Year published | 2011-09-22 |
| Number of pages | 272 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |