|
|
|
April 7, 2002
REVIEW: Cloak and dagger story
WRITTEN with authority and insight, Yossef Bodansky’s Bin Laden: the man who declared war on America, is more than the story of a single individual. In fact, those readers looking for a biography of Osama will be disappointed as more information on him has been disseminated through the newspapers than is to be found in this book. Unlike Peter Bergen’s Holy War, Inc.: inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden which has evocative descriptions (like “He [Osama] is a tall man, well over six feet, his face dominated by an aquiline nose.... he walked with a cane and seemed tired, less like a swaggering revolutionary than a Muslim ascetic”) Bodansky’s work is more of an erudite account of terrorism, subterfuge and murky world of international politics — where shifting loyalties prove that there are no permanent friends or foes.
The book, Bin Laden, a New York Times bestseller, traces various significant events and happenings, specially in the Muslim world (the turmoil in Mogadishu and the Horn of Africa, the assassination attempt on Mubarak, the training camps in Kashmir and Afghanistan) while the shadowy figure of Osama lurks about and only occasionally peeks in.
Bodansky portrays Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and Somalia as rogue states working fervently to promote the religiously motivated extremist groups. America’s role in Afghanistan is limited to the extent of providing money via Islamabad; monetary and arms distribution left at the discretion of Pakistan. The house of al-Saud, specially after the death of King Fahd, is depicted as rift-ridden, with conspiracies prevalent within the family.
There is the speculation that Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz had prior knowledge about the car bombing on November 13, 1995 in Riyadh that killed five people and wounded over 60, but he “let the terrorist operation take place so that he could capitalize on it for his own personal gain”. Moreover, Bodansky asserts that the Saudi government provided lavish funding to jihadi groups as a kind of protection money to keep their activities away from Saudi soil.
The style tends to be dull. Yet the gripping contents with conspiracies that make Machiavelli seem like a dim-wit in comparison makes the book as exciting as a Ludlum novel. For instance it is suggested that the Clinton administration was willing to negotiate a deal with Egyptian terrorist leader Ayman al-Zawahiri regarding the overthrow of the Mubarak government. In November 1997, Abu-Umar al-Amriki, known to be an emissary of CIA met with Zawahiri at a camp near Peshawar. The offer being “The United States would not interfere with or intervene to prevent the Islamists’ rise to power in Egypt if the Islamist mujahideen currently in Bosnia-Herzegovina would refrain from attacking the US forces there”.
In addition, al-Amriki offered $50 million to various Islamic charity organizations. The attack on the tourist in Luxor on November 17, 1997 was supposedly to judge the credibility of the offer, and the “virtually deafening silence of the Clinton administration”, assured Zawahiri and Laden of the authenticity of the deal.
Bodansky’s analyses are often considered controversial in Washington, like the declaration that Osama bin Laden has biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, including suitcase bombs (acquired through Chechnyan rebels and Pakistan). Some of the assertions made in this book are startling and the lack of footnotes, or any sort of reference material makes it difficult for the reader to judge the credibility of the sources, or reach conclusions other than the ones stated by Bodansky. In a non-fiction book on current affairs, a reader cannot indulge in Coleridge’s “willing suspension of disbelief”.
The author justifies the omission on the grounds of his need to protect his sources. This could have explained the holding back of a few sources, not all. However, Bodansky’s personal bio-data, (military and threat analyst and director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, author of eight books) means that the material will be read with an added interest.
Written before 9/11, the book is still relevant. It gives the background information necessary to put the September events into perspective. In the chapter on ‘The Bin Laden plans’ the writer claims that the security services of the United States, Western Europe, India and Israel are “working fiercely to prevent Osama bin Laden’s Islamic terrorists from launching any of the spectacular, horrendous strikes...” and forecasts “...if any of these operations is carried out, the magnitude of casualties and carnage will be unprecedented”.
Other than providing a detailed study of the closely-guarded working of a terrorist organization, at a metaphysical level this book is a study of the futility of war and violence as a means of redressing real or imagined grievances. “Violence is like virus,” said Kamal Hilbawi, the former head of Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and Bodansky’s book, showing the link between the series of retaliations between the two supposed antagonists, the western way of life and Al-Qaeda groups, amply proves this. Blowing up an embassy or bombing a country has failed to achieve peace, and could only lead to more hatred. An inability to understand this means relinquishing our claim of being ‘civilized’, and have posterity remember us with pity and contempt.
These considerations make reading this book a must, irrespective of whether you choose to agree, disagree, believe or disbelieve. The assertions are startling at times. Yet reading material provocative to one’s faith may provide insight into how others feel about our self-righteous claim and conceited judgment of being the chosen people. Or the notion of monopolized mercy reserved for people of one supreme faith regardless of one’s misdeeds.
Bin Laden: the man who declared war on America
By Yossef Bodansky
Forum, Random House, New York. Distributed in Pakistan by Paramount Books, 152/O, Block 2, PECH Society, Karachi-75400 Tel: 021-4310030.
Email: paramount@cyber.net.pk
ISBN 0-7615-3581-0 439pp. Rs995
|
|
|
|
