# Though our Enemies' Eyes



## ibucephalus (28 Dec 2004)

I just finished reading Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America. It is an open-source analysis of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida by an anonymous author later revealed to be Michael Scheuer, a career CIA  analyst who served for a period as chief of the Bin Laden unit. The book was written before 11 Sep 2001, but published shortly afterwards with slight revision. Mor recently, he wrote Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror this year.

Through Our Enemies' Eyes is a detailed analysis of Osama Bin Laden's personal characteristics and experience based on a mostly overlooked source; OBL's own words. The author, an intelligence analyst (as opposed to an academic or media pundit), draws on OBL's published declarations and interviews with western and other media sources in the period before 9/11 to draw a vivid portrait of an unusually intelligent and dangerous enemy. The book also covers Al Qaida, its formation, beliefs, demands, victories, and defeats in detail. The book dispels a few prominent media myths about the War on Terror as well. It is a useful book for anyone looking for insight into the enemy the west faces in the War on Terror. Anyone else read it?

I received Imperial Hubris for Christmas and it is next on my list of books to read, after I clear through a few nearly overdue library books.


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