Customer Reviews

The al-Qaeda Threat: An Analytical Guide to al-Qaeda's Tactics & Targets

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Both Ben and Aimee have provided what I call a "landmark", baseline study that is destined, if not already, to become the counterterrorism benchmark on al-Qaeda for all levels of law enforcement (federal, state, and local) and DoD. The book is easy to follow, well structured, sequential, logical, and useful. This work provides anyone with the ability to grasp the "mechanics" of al-Qaeda sponsored terrorism with a central reference.......bringing alive al-Qaeda for the reader. Their in-depth study, through meticulous research, translations from excerpts, and summarizations in an analytical fashion gives the reader a sense of what it all means. These are the golden nuggets of the book.

What Ben and Aimee have done for the United States and other countries in The al-Qaeda Threat: An Analytical Guide to al-Qaeda's Tactics & Targets, should be taken seriously. The only detailed, critical, analytical account done on al-Qaeda to date that every Law Enforcement Agency, Senator and Congressional representative, DoD component, and academic institution should have. For anyone seriously devoted to understanding al-Qaeda, this is a must-have reference.

David Jimenez, MSgt, USAF, Ret, CCA; President, Texas Association of Crime & Intelligence Analysts; Instructor, University of Texas at El Paso; Adjunct Faculty, American Military University

For the study of al-Qaeda (AQ), Osama bin Laden, Islamic terrorism or related fields, this book is an excellent starting point.

It covers tactics, targets, goals, organization, media releases, and the philosophy of AQ and provides a timeline of their media releases and attacks from 1992 through 2002. The book appears to be composed, in large part, of extracts from a more comprehensive data base with accompanying analysis. The tactics section covers both tactics that have been used by AQ, and tactics that they have expressed a desire or interest in using. Likewise, the targeting section reviews both past and discussed targets of AQ. The analysis of statements is excellent, providing considerable insight into the AQ mindset, perceptions, and philosophy. Citations are generally good, but could be improved with more detail on dates of interviews and publication.

Overall, it is very good, but could be better. It lacks visual presentation of some of the most valuable material. A simple plot of the relationship between press releases and actions would make the book much more valuable. Much of the discussion of tactics is repetitive, but could have benefited from cross-referencing. And the lack of an index is a glaring omission.

Despite these shortcomings, this is an essential reference for serious research and professionals. This book is not for the New York Times best-seller list readers, but for military, security, intelligence, and policy professionals. In that context, it condenses a diverse range of material into a handy package that will make research go much faster.

as far as an analytical guide i find it hard to believe the preface that they are a "thinktank" type of group providing analysis on AQ, every tactic I've read was a mediocre breakdown, i expected something with a bit more product instead of cut and paste of the same excerpts from what seemed to be the same interviews or manuals. If they had the comlete text initially in the book as opposed to snippits prior to the tactics it would have made a better book, i wouldn't buy this book unless you want to read quotes of extremist speeches.