Inside Al Qaeda - Rohan Gunaratna

In the era of terrorism, no foe as deadly as Al Qae'da - a multi-dimensional, multi-national group of great expertise and resourcefulness - has emerged to threaten and indeed harm the international community with such impunity. With a membership drawn from three-dozen Middle Eastern, Asian and other nationalities, and with cells established in some 60 countries, Al Qae'da has developed an unprecedented global reach, threatening national, regional and international security worldwide.;"Inside Al Qae'da" examines the leadership, ideology, organization, strategies and tactics of one of the most ruthless and violent politico-religious organizations the world has ever seen, an unwanted by-product of the anti-Soviet multinational Afghan jihad. Gunaratna identifies three key phases in Al Qae'da's gestation, in Pakistan (1988-1992), in Sudan (1992-1996) and last, and most infamously, in Afghanistan (1996-to date, 2001). Al Qae'da finances and trains Islamist terrorists, but it also lends seasoned guerrilla fighters for terrorist and conventional military campaigns in Asia, Africa, the Caucasus and the Balkans. The author also discusses Al Qae'da's clandestine support and operational network in the West, focussing on the ways in which "sleeper" groups have infiltrated Britain, the United States and most European countries.;The book is based on extensive interviews with Al Qae'da members; field research in conflicts where Al Qae'da is active; and monitoring of Al Qae'da infiltration of diaspora and migrant communities in Europe and North America.;Dr Gunaratna has served as a consultant to several governments and corporations on terrorism, and immediately after the September 11 attacks, the US Congress invited him to testify on the Al Qae'da organization and counter-measures before the US Committee on National Security.