Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East: A Documentary Reader [Hardcover]

Barry Rubin (Editor), Judith Colp Rubin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2002 | ISBN-10: 019515715X | ISBN-13: 978-0195157154 | Edition: annotated edition

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a stunned public asked: How could this happen? Why did the attackers do what they did? What did they hope to accomplish? This wasn't the first battle in a conflict that has included bombings of U.S. embassies and planes, the Iran hostage crisis, and kidnappings or shootings of American citizens. This unique volume sets out to answer these questions using the unfiltered words of the terrorists themselves. Over many decades, radical forces in the Middle East have changed and evolved, yet their basic outlook and anti-Western views have remained remarkably consistent. Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin have assembled nearly one hundred key documents, charting the evolution of radical Middle East movements, their anti-Americanism, and Western policy response. The buildup to the battle between a world superpower and Middle East revolutionaries is brought dramatically to life. Among the documents included are the charters of such organizations as Hizballah, Hamas, and World Islamic Front; speeches by Syrian president Hafiz al-Asad and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein; al-Qa'ida recruitment materials; and terrorist training manuals. The book also shows and analyzes the often conflicting and deeply conflicted responses to September 11 by journalists, clerics, and activists in the Arab world. Supplemented by an annotated chronology, a glossary of terms, and sections that put each selection in context, this comprehensive reference serves not only as essential historical background to the ongoing aftermath of the September 11 attacks, but more generally as an invaluable framework for understanding a long-term, continuing conflict that has caused many crises for the United States.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For readers who want to go back to the source(s), Barry Rubin, a leading scholar on the Middle East, and Judith Colp Rubin, a journalist, present a wide range of texts, including writings by Islamist Sayyid Qutb (on preparing for jihad), Osama bin Laden (his 1996 declaration of war against the "Zionist-crusaders alliance") and his close associate Aymam al-Zawahiri ("Why Attack America").
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The book contains copies of nearly 100 important documents related to the Middle East conflict, including the charters of such organizations as Hezbollah and Hamas, as well al al Qaeda recruitment and training materials."--The Washington Post Book World

"... the fine documentary reader. It also offers a sampling of American, Middle Eastern, and world reactions to the event. With a detailed chronology of Middle East-connected terrorism against Americans and helpful glossaries, this book is a useful reference book."--Foreign Affairs

"For readers who want to go back to the sources." --Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; annotated edition edition (September 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019515715X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195157154
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ideological basis for anti- American in the Middle East, July 21, 2009

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East: A Documentary Reader (Paperback)

This book was initially published in hardback in 2002. It very much has 9/11 in the background. It provides a great deal of documentation on the terror - programs and plans of various Middle East originated players, most notably Al- Quaeda. But it also provides a solid understanding of the ideological foundations of anti- American Terror. It has a number of selections from the thought of radical Shiite and Sunnite thinkers. Though the book does not include developments up to and through 2009, which would include analysis of what is happening in Afghanistan- Pakistan, Iraq it does provide a real understanding of the foundational- views of the anti- American middle eastern world.
Given the rapid changes in the world, including the Obama effort to move the Islamic world away from hostility to the United States the book could certainly gain from an update. And this however when it provides a real basis for understanding Middle-Eastern anti- Americanism.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read but not what was expected, March 11, 2004

By 

"[e-mail]" (WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East: A Documentary Reader (Hardcover)

I thought this book was going to provide more of an analysis of the middle east and terror groups. The book is organized in topics. Each topic begins with a brief analysis by the editor and then goes into pages of text from extremist leaders such as Osama bin Laden as well as other well known terrorists. The analysis that was done was very short and seemed to have little to do with the texts being displayed. However, the book was well worth reading as it provided a good array of speaches and articles given by middle east extremist leaders. The articles provided a look into the minds of the extremists as well as seeing the issues from their point of view. This is not to say that the editor, or I, agree with anything the extremists say, but it is valuable to know what the enemy thinks rather than relying on the worthless writing provided by our media. I would advise borrowing this book from the library rather than purchasing it, and I generally like to own any book I have read.