Gerges, Fawaz A. 
ORCID: 0009-0006-1952-0171
(2011)
The rise and fall of Al-Qaeda.
Oxford University Press.
ISBN 9780199790654
Abstract
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 America 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.
| Item Type: | Book |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www.oup.com |
| Additional Information: | © 2011 Oxford University Press |
| Divisions: | International Relations Middle East Centre |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology J Political Science > JZ International relations |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Nov 2010 16:27 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Oct 2024 11:03 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/29846 |
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