Base [Paperback]

Jane Corbin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2003

The definitive investigation into the background, personnel and methods of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organisation which represents the greatest threat to democracy since the end of the Cold War. The late 1990s saw a number of attacks against American military and governmental offices, most notably the US Embassy bombings in Africa in 1998. On 11 September 2001, however, the scale of this conflict changed dramatically. The kidnapping of four commercial airliners led to the deaths of some 3,000 people. As in 1998, the terrorist group responsible for this devastating campaign was Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, or 'The Base', a loose network of extremists many of whom are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their cause. Jane Corbin has been studying Bin Laden's organisation for four years and has followed in his footsteps through the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America. She has conducted hundreds of interviews with key eyewitnesses, investigators and intelligence officers around the world. Tracing al-Qaeda's roots back to the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Jane Corbin picks up the complicated trail that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers and beyond. And as President Bush's 'war on terror' in Afghanistan poses more questions than it answers, Jane examines the West's response to the threat of al-Qaeda and declares it a failure. THE BASE is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and likely future operations of arguably the biggest threat to democracy since the Cold War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The 1990s saw a number of attacks against American targets. The perpetrators were presumed to be Islamic fundamentalists, protesting against the presence of the US in Saudi Arabia. On 11 September 2001, however, the scale of this conflict changed dramatically. The only terrorist group that could credibly have mounted such a devastating campaign was al-Qaeda, many of whose members are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the annihilation of America or the promotion of Islam. Osama Bin Laden has now effectively admitted his leadership of al-Qaeda and its involvement in the US atrocities. Who is he? Corbin's masterly study of not just the 11 September attacks and the response to them but, crucially, the build-up of pressure before, answers these and many other questions in its chilling portrayal of the world's most hunted man. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jane Corbin is a senior foreign correspondent for the BBC's flagship current-affairs programme, PANORAMA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (April 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743449428
• ISBN-13: 978-0743449427
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,521,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Know thy Enemy - What motivates Osama Bin Laden?, January 4, 2004

By 

Hilde Bygdevoll (Stavanger, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Base (Hardcover)

Jane Corbin is an award winning senior reporter working for the English news channel BBC. She has spent the last years studying the growth of terror movements, particularly in the Middle East.

`The Base' takes you inside the world of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and it is a fascinating read. An enormous strength of this book is Corbin's in-depth knowledge of her subject matter. She has been studying bin Laden's organization for four years, and was familiar with bin Laden and al-Qaeda long before 9/11.

The Author has followed in bin Laden's footsteps through the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America. Corbin uses her extensive range of sources, including her own experiences, to draw a remarkable portrait of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. She carefully examine how they carried out the attacks, including the synchronized bombings of the two US Embassies in Africa, the U.S.S. Cole attack in Yemen, and the recent attacks in America, using four commercial airliners to target the Twin towers and Pentagon.

`The Base' gave me a good insight into the al-Qaeda organization, bin Laden's dynasty, the culture and thoughts of those in the Middle East. This book also gave me a better appreciation of just *how* extensive al-Qaeda and bin Laden's reach is and it broaden my understanding of the sheer complexity of the war on terrorism.

`The Base' came highly recommended by a friend (Thanks Greg!). I read this book after reading `Longitudes and Attitudes' (Friedman) and `Holy War Inc. (Bergen). I finished off my 9/11 period with Giuliani's `Leadership'. These four books compliment each other, and reading them gave me a much broader, deeper understanding of the complexity of the problem(s) we are facing.