7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page i The SEARCH for AL QAEDA 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page ii 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page iii The SEARCH for AL QAEDA Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future BRUCE RIEDEL brookings institution press Washington, D.C. 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page iv Copyright © 2008 the brookings institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036 www.brookings.edu All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Brookings Institution Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Riedel, Bruce O. The search for al Qaeda : its leadership, ideology, and future / Bruce Riedel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “Profiles the most important figures in the al Qaeda move- ment—Osama bin Laden, Ayman Zawahiri, Abu Musaib al Zarqawi, and Mullah Omar, giving a comprehensive analysis of its origins, leadership, ideology, and strategy. Focuses more closely on what has happened to al Qaeda since 9/11 and outlines its ultimate goals”—Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-8157-7414-3 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Qaida (Organization) 2. Terrorism. 3. Ideology. 4. Leadership. 5. Zawahiri, Ayman. 6. Bin Laden, Osama, 1957– 7. Muhammad Omar, Mullah, 1960– 8. Zarqawi, Abu Mus'ab, 1966-2006. I. Title. HV6432.5.Q2R54 2008 363.325—dc22 2008027655 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 The paper used in this publication meets minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials: ANSI Z39.48-1992. Typeset in Sabon Composition by Peter Lindeman, OSP Inc. Arlington, VA Printed by R. R. Donnelley Harrisonburg, Virginia 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page v To my father Milton A. Riedel 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page vi 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page vii Contents Preface ix one The Manhattan Raid 1 two The Thinker: Zawahiri 14 three The Knight: Osama 37 four The Host: Mullah Omar 61 five The Stranger: Zarqawi 85 six Al Qaeda’s Plans 116 seven How to Defeat al Qaeda 134 Notes 155 Bibliography 167 Index 171 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page viii 7413-3 ch00 FM 7/15/08 3:35 PM Page ix Preface A l Qaeda is the first truly global terrorist organization in history. Over the past ten years it has carried out acts of catastrophic terror around the world. From New York to New Delhi, al Qaeda and its allies have killed thousands of innocents. Using the Internet and cell phones, it has created franchises throughout the Islamic world and clan- destine cells in the Muslim diaspora in Europe and elsewhere to build and deploy a global weapon. This book attempts to search for al Qaeda and explain the danger it poses. It relies heavily on al Qaeda’s own words and statements. These are available on many websites and in various collections of statements. I have relied primarily on the translations provided by the former Foreign Broadcast Information Service, now known as the Open Source Center. I have also benefited from the insights and comments of many colleagues from my career in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), both Americans and others in Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. When I joined the CIA in 1977, one of my first mentors was Robert C. Ames, an officer who had served for years in the Middle East and South Asia. He taught me many skills but especially a belief in the urgency of bringing peace to the Levant. Tragically, he was killed in the terrorist attack on the American Embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983. Like many other colleagues in the intelligence community and elsewhere in the U.S. govern- ment over these twenty-nine years, Bob Ames helped to shape this book. ix