Are the United States and their Saudi allies sponsoring and financing the radical Islamists? Labeviere uncovers the money-laundering, organized crime, and the interlocking world of business and politics. The central nerve of Islam, he states, is not religion -- it is money...
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In a provocative expos , Swiss TV journalist Lab vi re argues that the real threat to the West from radical Islamic fundamentalism comes not from Iran or Iraq but rather from America's solid allies--Saudi Arabia and neighboring oil monarchies. Based on his four-year investigation, Lab vi re charges that Saudi Arabia is the principal financial backer of extremist Islamist movements around the world. The linchpin in this operation, he states, is Saudi billionaire Osama bin Ladin, trained by the CIA, who recruited, armed and trained in turn Arab volunteers to fight the Soviet army in the Afghanistan war, thereby strengthening the totalitarian Muslim Taliban regime. Bin Ladin, who, according to the author, maintains close ties with the Saudi and Pakistani secret services, now bankrolls terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and abets Islamist extremist movements in Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, South Africa, Algeria and elsewhere. Veterans of the Afghan "holy war" have been implicated in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City and the attempted murder of Egyptian president Mubarak in 1996. In Lab vi re's riveting, often shocking, analysis, the U.S. is an accessory in the rise of Islam, because it manipulates and aids radical Muslim groups in its shortsighted pursuit of its economic interests, especially the energy resources of the Middle East and the oil- and mineral-rich former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Lab vi re shows how radical Islamic fundamentalism spreads its influence on two levels: above board, through investment firms, banks and shell companies, and clandestinely, through a network of drug dealing, weapons smuggling and money laundering. This important book sounds a wake-up call to U.S. policy makers. (May)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French
Original Language: French
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With a smidgen of slack at the beginning of this book, for awkward passages which I attribute to the fact that Labeviere is Swiss and is just getting his keyboard warmed up, this book ranks as one of the most important books on international relations, terrorism, Islamism, blowback of foreign policy postures and decisions prior to and during the Cold War, and a litany of other subject headings made not only important, but crucial, since the September 11th attacks on the WTC and Pentagon and the ongoing low intensity/destabilization campaign being waged against the USA and the West. Once he gets cranked up, Labeviere gives rich insight and valuable historical overview in addidtion to posing useful questions which arise au naturel from the unfolding landscape of discourse. He gives the reader the who, where, how, why, when, and the linkages. He shows us the chinks in our security, the cracks in our armor, and challenges us to take heed. Originally published in French in 1999, before our current crisis, his observations are robustly clear and alarming, and steer one away from the comfort of oversimplicity in casting the shadow of blame or in the proposal of tidy solutions. Every public official should be put in a jumbo jet and told that they will not stand on terre firma again until they have read every word of this book. It is an outstanding summary essential to understanding our world and our time. It is a must read for every citizen who wants to know what we are really facing domestically and internationally. It is an excellent introduction for the student of world affairs who wants a solid foundation from which to dive deeper into the complexities which drive our modern realities. It is a challenge to the modern thinker, strategist, or armchair optimist to survey and prioritize the real problems and find real solutions for the world where we live, which will leave the politically sensitive and politically correct bobbling and abandoned in the wake of national security imperatives like garbage behind the Islip barge. A must read in real politik. I have extensive notes and marked passages all throughout my copy. For the connoisseur, two flavors, English or French. Very interesting passage on page 297, quoting Egyption President Mubarak's adviser, Dr. Ossama Al-Baz, after the Luxor massacre, which will echo with all Americans. Every chapter could inspire dozens of satirical caricatures and political cartoons, were the subject less serious. Given the truths which emerge, the face in the mirror is our own, and it is ourselves who must answer the gauntlet, who must set aright the chesspieces scattered across the floor of civilization. The stakes are indeed high. Caveat: There are distracting prejudices reflecting the author's personal bias woven in the last two chapters which are less than professional, but the body of the book can be corroborated by other authors, such as Mark Huband and John Cooley, both experts in the area.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is profoundly relevant in light of the recent events. For anyone truly looking to understand the history and politics leading up to September 11th, this book is an excellent source. Added to a little pre-existing knowledge about history, it illuminates an entire chain of events, drawing connections and conclusions that proved to be amazingly on target. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to grasp the different angles of the situation in the middle east.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
At a time of renewed terrorist attacks in the United States, this book can provide some useful background information that goes beyond the portraits given in the News Media as an antidote to stereotypical and jingoistic portraits of fanaticism pinned on the Islamic world. The portrait of Bin Laden as a 'public enemy number one' requires a reminder that he is a creature of the American Intelligence system in a milieu of the most sordid operations of American espionage, international finance, the Afghan war, promotion of Islamism (not the same as Islam) with its connections to global capital, etc... Seamy stuff. And an important caution at a moment when anger can spawn schemes of retaliation that could never match the reality powerful forces manipulate ad infinitum.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An illuminating and gripping book !!
Labeviere provides in his book a brilliant analysis on the state of international affairs. It is a frightening notion to realize that nationalism was and continues to be an... Read more
Published on November 8, 2005 by Rev4u
4.0 out of 5 stars
Useful Explanation of Events Leading Up to 9/11
This was an extremely detailed book about our problems leading up to September 11th in the Islamic World. It's a different perspective because the author isn't American. Read more
Published on February 8, 2002 by Michael Charton
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