Doubleday to publish Bin Laden book

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/01/21/Arts/binladenbook050121.html

NEW YORK - The public will get a glimpse into the motivation behind Osama bin Laden next year when Doubleday publishes an English translation of interviews with the al-Qaeda leader.

The publisher, an imprint of Random House, plans to release the book tentatively titled The al-Qaeda Reader in 2006.

"It's important to know what our enemy is thinking," Doubleday spokesperson Suzanne Herz said Thursday. "It gives us a beeline into their thoughts, ideas and teachings."

The volume will largely consist of the English translation of two works previously released in Arabic: The Battles of the Lion's Den of the Arab Partisans in Afghanistan, a collection of interviews with bin Laden and his associates about the origins of al-Qaeda, and Bitter Harvest, a book by Ayman al-Zawahri, the former Egyptian surgeon considered bin Laden's second-in-command. In it, al-Zawahri criticizes moderate Muslims in his home country and recounts his justification for jihad.

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Wonder if he speaks about his years as an employee of the CIA?

[htuttle]

1. Another tell-all by a disgruntled former Bush administration employee?

[imenja]

2. tune in to Fox to witness the fallout

I agree it is a good idea to publish these things so that we know what Bin Laden and those who follow him think. The Right wing media, of course, will have a field day with this. I can just imagine Fox or Scarborough tonight.

[NNN0LHI]

4. The Rethugs don't want to talk about bin Laden and his Bush connections

They would prefer talking about this guy who does not exist.

Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405B.html

<snip>Al Zarqawi is often described as an "Osama associate", the bogyman, allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in several countries. In other reports, often emanating from the same sources, it is stated that he has no links to Al Qaeda and operates quite independently. He is often presented as an individual who is challenging the leadership of bin Laden.

His name crops up on numerous occasions in press reports and official statements. Since early 2004, he is in the news almost on a daily basis.

Osama belongs to the powerful bin Laden family, which historically had business ties to the Bushes and prominent members of the Texas oil establishment. Bin Laden was recruited by the CIA during the Soviet-Afghan war and fought as a Mujahideen. In other words, there is a longstanding documented history of bin Laden-CIA and bin Laden-Bush family links, which are an obvious source of embarrassment to the US government.

In contrast to bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi has no family history. He comes from an impoverished Palestinian family in Jordan. His parents are dead. He emerges out of the blue. snip

The CIA, with its $30 billion plus budget, pleads ignorance: they say they know nothing about him, they have a photograph, but, according to the Weekly Standard (24 May 2004), they apparently do not know his weight or height.

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[imenja]

5. Bin Laden was a minor player in the Mujihadeen

He financed some operations. Everyone knows we armed the Mujihadeen against the Soviets. You might recall, that policy began under Jimmy Carter. Bin Laden was not directly recruited by the CIA, but he participated in the war against the Soviets, primarily by financing the rebels.

Here is an excerpt of a review, published in the _New York Review of Books_, by Ahmed Rashid of Steve Coll's_ Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001_

"When the US walked away from Afghanistan in 1989, it left behind a seasoned group of jihadists, whose brand of radical Islam had found an enormously rich supporter in Osama bin Laden. The son of a Saudi billionaire, bin Laden had joined the jihad shortly after the Soviet invasion, using his financial resources to build military facilities and training camps for volunteer fighters. Bin Laden first began to turn his radical energies against the United States in 1990, when the Saudi royal family agreed to invite American troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia as part of its alliance against Iraq. Coll quotes Prince Turki, the Saudi intelligence chief, suggesting that this was the moment when bin Laden's extremism and hatred for American infidels began to assert itself: "He changed from a calm, peaceful, and gentle man interested in helping Muslims into a person who believed that he would be able to amass and command an army...."

The full review is available here: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17114

[Igel]

6. Hey. That was my post.

(grumble ...)

Somewhere I remember reading that OBL was irked when people said he took money from the CIA. Sort of a badge of honor not being on the payroll, but being the bank.

[Just Me]

3. That should include a perspective which will turn heads.

I hope no one attempts to block that publication.

[sweetheart]

7. including the lie that al queda exists!

It seems that the very concept of a bin laden lead multinational
organization does not exist to start with.... so lets repeat endemic
lies. Everyone repeat... If you want to be informed, better to see
the bbc series "the power of nighmares"... zawahri is more importan
than bin laden... and both are independent operators, part of no
organization... sadly for the bush-criminals attempt to recreate the
cold war bugbear.

[tlcandie]

8. Thought this was now illegal to publish/print books about

terrorists/evil axis countries/people?!? :wow:

[kybob]

9. ok

so who gets the profits??? Double Day or OBL, or the translator???