Usama bin Laden’s Al-Qaida:Profile of a Terrorist Network

The al-Qaida informal and loose international network in over 50 countries has been responsible for spectacular terrorist operations such as the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing in New York, the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa, and is apparently linked to the attack of the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in 2000. The purpose of this book is not to glorify bin Laden and al-Qaida. Rather, it is designed to provide an easily accessible reference for academics, policy makers, reporters and other interested individuals on one of the most notorious terrorist groups. The volume exposes much of al-Qaida’s mystique and thereby places it in perspective as one of the many challenges facing the international community in the 21st Century.