The Osama Bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda's Leader

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, Aug 8, 2006 - Biography & Autobiography - 483 pages
No one knows more about Osama bin Laden than Peter Bergen. In 1997, well before the West suddenly became aware of the world's most sought-after terrorist, Bergen met with him and has followed his activities ever since.

Today, years after President Bush swore to get him dead or alive and despite haunting the popular imagination since September 11, 2001, bin Laden remains shrouded in mystery and obscured by a barrage of facts, details and myths. With numerous never-before-published interviews, The Osama Bin Laden I Know provides unprecedented insight into bin Laden's life and character drawing on the experiences of his most intimate acquaintances. This timely and important work gives readers their first true, enduring look at the man who has declared the West his greatest enemy.
 

Contents

The Afghan War
24
From Donor to Holy Warrior
49
The Birth of al Qaeda
74
Al Qaeda Goes Global
108
Afghanistan Again
160
Al Qaeda Attacks
219
The Charismatic Leader
258
The 911 Plot 283 10 The Fall of the Taliban and the Flight
311
Al Qaedas Quest for Weapons
337
How al Qaeda Took Root in Iraq and
350
Bin Laden on the Run
369
Bin Ladens Legacy
382
Appendix A Newly Released al Queda Documents
402
Appendix B Where Are They Now?
431
Acknowledgments
465
Copyright

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About the author (2006)

Peter Bergen is the author or editor of nine books, including three New York Times bestsellers and four Washington Post best nonfiction books of the year. A Vice President at New America, Bergen is a professor at Arizona State University and a national security analyst for CNN. He has testified before congressional committees eighteen times about national security issues and has held teaching positions at Harvard and Johns Hopkins University.

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