YOSSEF BODANSKY, director of the House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, has done it again. He has proved that he is not only a wordsmith but also a meticulous researcher and superb political analyst. Using these skills in a private capacity, he has set forth reasonable and prudent information never before published that explains recent events such as the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, including a well-documented sequence of events leading up to the attacks. The results are informative, for Bodansky explains the vast global conspiracy that uses terrorism as a strategic weapon that has resulted in the tragic deaths of Americans and the wounding of many innocents.
Contemporary terrorism has become a direct threat to all Americans as it casts its ominous shadow worldwide. Bodansky proves that “Fortress America” is a concept relegated to history books, for today Islamist terrorism penetrates America’s geographic shield, bringing us within target range of terrorist activities. Focusing on this salient thought, Bodansky points out the fallacy of assuming that the United States is immune to terror attacks.
Understanding and reacting to the information presented here is the responsibility of all Americans, because indifference is not an acceptable option, nor a heritage we would wish to pass on to future generations. This book should provide the stimulus to all Americans to join in with their elected representatives in preparing for the major threats currently posed to the United States and its friends. There is no better armament than accurate knowledge, factual information, and elected representatives who are sensitive and responsive to the needs of their constituents and all Americans. If there is one important message that this book conveys, it is that a campaign by radical, militant Islam threatens our way of life.
Bodansky explains the subtleties that define the relationships between the extremist elements in the Muslim world, their leaders, and the more visible figures, such as Osama bin Laden. We learn not only that bin Laden is responsible for a number of bombings but also that he is part of a dynamic, political intrigue, involving the heads of state of many countries. Bin Laden’s history is presented, as is the evolution of his hatred for Jews and “Crusaders”—whom he holds responsible for debasing Saudi Arabia with “corrupting Western influences.”
A tour of the many countries entangled in international terrorism is embarked upon with Bodansky as our tour guide, saying in effect, “Join with me and we will learn together.” By understanding the view of the West held by Islamists, we learn about the religious and psychological justifications used by fanatics to destroy innocent civilians.
The tour begins with an overview of bin Laden’s youth and his development into a wealthy ideologue whose sole purpose is to bring glory to Islam by destroying its perceived enemies. Bodansky carefully explains why the royal family of Saudi Arabia initially supported bin Laden in his efforts to purge Islam of tainting influences in such remote places as Afghanistan. A split between the Saudi rulers and bin Laden occurred, however, after the Saudis allowed the United States to remain in the country after the Gulf War. This was the catalyst for bin Laden’s continued confrontation with the House of al-Saud. Bodansky reveals that the complicated involvement of other terrorism-sponsoring countries was a necessary ingredient in bin Laden’s rise to a paramount role as a spiritual and military leader of his terrorist forces.
Bodansky highlights how fundamentalist Islam—as manifested in the Iranian Revolution—shaped bin Laden as the supreme ideologue whose militant identity was forged during the war in Afghanistan. Later we learn of the rise to power of Hassan al-Turabi, the spiritual leader of Sudan and a bin Laden sponsor. During this period a dramatic combination of Sunni militancy with Iranian terrorist techniques helped bring radical Islam, along with terrorist networks, into Africa.
Additional details of Islamist networks in the Horn of Africa and East Africa reveal how terrorist-sponsoring nations made inevitable the armed clash with American forces in Somalia. As bin Laden rose to power along with other terror chiefs such as Ayman al-Zawahiri, the key terrorism-sponsoring states—Iran, Sudan, and Pakistan—collaborated to form terrorist networks worldwide. This dangerous collaboration between Sunni and Shiite terrorists bodes ill for the entire world. Detailed analysis of the attempted assassination of Hosni Mubarak, president of Egypt, is provided by Bodansky, along with details never before revealed about those responsible for the bombing of the U.S. barracks known as Khobar Towers and the downing of TWA800.
Successful, the terrorist groups continued their ways and expanded their efforts from the Balkans to the Philippines—with the continued support of Tehran, Khartoum, and Islamabad. Expanding on their role, these groups set their sights on a worldwide jihad—holy war—rationalized away by religious decrees, called fatwas, issued by bin Laden. Bodansky explains why the terrorists feel they were betrayed by the United States, resulting in attempts at revenge. By placing these details in a coherent, easy-to-understand analysis and review, Bodansky brings insight and understanding to the many events that preceded and initiated the twin bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Bin Laden’s narrative is geographically comprehensive and includes the latest developments in the bin Laden saga and the rise of Islamist terrorism, ranging from the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction to growing involvement in today’s hot spots in the world—mainly Albania and Kosovo as well as Kashmir. Bodansky also addresses the latest developments in international terrorism such as the relationship between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.
This clear presentation of factual information allows the reader to join with Bodansky in analyzing and predicting what may well lie ahead for the West. The information rests at your fingertips, making you a participant in understanding and analyzing the Islamist doctrines and preparing for a possible global conflict.
I know of no finer expert at unraveling and explaining the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of international terrorism than Yossef Bodansky. For almost ten years he has been the director of the Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare—of which I was a member while in Congress. His reports were prescient in anticipating terrorist activities and threats against America and its allies. The Task Force has been an independent voice in alerting the U.S. government to these threats. During this period, it has exposed numerous state-sponsored, terrorist operations, including the counterfeiting of U.S. $100 bills by Iran and Syria. The Task Force was the first to expose and warn against the rise of Islamist militancy and the presence of Arab terrorists in the Balkans—first in Bosnia and presently in Albania and Kosovo. Similarly, last February the Task Force issued a report detailing the collaboration between Iraq, Sudan, and Libya in the production of weapons of mass destruction. Half a year after dismissing this report, the Clinton administration emphasized the same Sudanese-Iraqi cooperation as a reason for the cruise missile attack on Khartoum.
In this book Bodansky breaks new ground in the study of international terrorism. This is why it is vital that all Americans read Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America. Only by learning about our adversaries and educating our citizens can America remain safe and protect its freedoms.
—Congresswoman (ret.) Helen Delich Bentley
U.S. House of Representatives 1985–1995