Yossef Bodansky

In this authoritative look at the roots of modern terrorism, Yossef Bodansky, one of the most respected—and best-informed—experts on radical Islamism in the world today, pinpoints the troubled region of Chechnya as a dangerous and little-understood crucible of terror in the struggle between East and West. In his number one New York Times bestseller, Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America, published before 9/11, Bodansky was among the first to introduce American readers to Osama bin Laden. Now in Chechen Jihad he returns to alert American readers to the lessons to be drawn from the terror campaign in Chechnya—and its ramifications for the global war on terrorism.The final years of U.S.-Soviet relations left Chechnya a fertile breeding ground for Islamic terrorism, and in the past decade an uneasy alliance of native Chechen separatists and militant jihadists have joined forces to help al Qaeda and the greater Islamist movement pursue its war against the West. As Bodansky points out, "the Chechens are professional fighters—disciplined and responsible, with a combination of skills, expertise, and character that has made them the most sought-after 'force multipliers' in the jihadist movement." Bodansky traces the secret history of the two Chechen wars, illuminating how the process of "Chechenization" transformed the fight from a secular nationalist struggle into a jihadist holy war against Russia and the secular West. And, in the most instructive message for Western audiences, he reveals how the Chechen rebellion was eventually crippled by a schism between the jihadists and the Chechen people whose nationalist rebellion they had co-opted—an object lesson in the potential vulnerability of Islamist campaigns around the world.Drawing on mountains of previously unseen intelligence from Islamist movements and other military and intelligence sources from throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as senior officials in many of the affected nations, Chechen Jihad offers an intimate and startling portrait of the jihadist movement that is astonishing in its detail and chilling in its implications—but one that points to a new way forward in the struggle to answer the challenges of international Islamist terrorism.

In the months leading up to March 2003, fresh from its swift and heady victory in Afghanistan, the Bush administration mobilized the United States armed forces to overthrow the government of Iraq. Eight months after the president declared an end to major combat operations, Saddam Hussein was captured in a farmhouse in Al-Dawr. And yet neither peace nor democracy has taken hold in Iraq; instead the country has plunged into terrorist insurgency and guerrilla warfare, with no end in sight. What went wrong? In The Secret History of the Iraq War, bestselling author Yossef Bodansky offers an astonishing new account of the war and its aftermath -- a war that was doomed from the start, he argues, by the massive and systemic failures of the American intelligence community. Drawing back the curtain of politicized debate, Bodansky -- a longtime expert and director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare -- reveals that nearly every aspect of America's conflict with Iraq has been misunderstood, in both the court of public opinion and the White House itself. Among his revelations: The most authoritative account of Saddam Hussein's support for Islamic terrorist organizations -- including extensive new reporting on his active cooperation with al-Qaeda in Iraq long after the fall of BaghdadExtensive new information on Iraq's major chemical and biological weapons programs -- including North Korea's role in building still-undetected secret storage facilities and Iraq's transfer of banned materials to Syria, Iran, and LibyaThe first account of Saddam's plan for Iraq, Syria, and Iran to join Yasser Arafat's Palestinian forces to attack Israel, throw the region into turmoil, and upend the American campaign The untold story of Russia's attempt to launch a coup against Saddam before the war -- and how the CIA thwarted it by ensuring that Iraq was forewarnedDramatic details about Saddam's final days on the run, including the untold story of a near miss with U.S. troops and the stunning revelation that Saddam was already in custody at the time of his capture -- and was probably betrayed by members of his own Tikriti clanThe definitive account of the anti-U.S. resistance and uprising in Iraq, as the American invasion ignited an Islamic jihad and Iran-inspired intifada, threatening to plunge the region into irreversible chaos fueled by hatred and revengeRevelations about the direct involvement of Osama bin Laden in the terrorism campaigns in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Middle East -- including the major role played by Iran and HizbAllah in al-Qaeda's operationsDrawing upon an extraordinary wealth of previously untapped intelligence and regional sources, The Secret History of the Iraq War presents the most detailed, fascinating, and convincing account of the most controversial war of our times -- and offers a sobering indictment of an intelligence system that failed the White House, the American military, and the people of the Middle East.

"In The High Cost of Peace, terrorism expert Yossef Bodansky uncovers the bitter legacy of a peace process that has cost tens of thousands of lives, emboldened such outlaw countries as Iran and Iraq, enriched Arab militaries with billions of U.S. dollars, and mobilized an underground network of terrorist cells around the globe. He reveals in engrossing detail the political undercurrents and secret deals that have shaped and destabilized the region, the confluence of events leading up to September 11, and the inside story of a dangerous quest for peace that has led to a war unlike any the Middle East has seen before - the details of which rarely make the anti-Israeli-tinged evening news.". "At the heart of the failed peace negotiations is the utopian notion that Israel's militant enemies even want peace. This book proves once and for how the United States is put in perpetual danger of terrorist attack because of its repeated blunders in dealing with the Arab world and the vital contributions of Israel - America's staunchest ally in this turbulent region - to U.S. security interests. Meanwhile, as many Arab leaders play to American and European news cameras with empty promise of peace, they are secretly conspiring with terrorists to fulfill their ultimate goal: the complete annihilation of the Israeli state."--BOOK JACKET.

From the back cover: HERE IS THE INSIDE STORY THAT WILL NOT COME OUT IN THE TERRORIST TRIALS. AMERICANS HAVE AWAKENED TO FIND THEMSELVES TARGETED BY FANATIC ISLAMIST TERRORISTS. HOLY WAR HAS COME TO AMERICAN SOIL. TERROR! reveals new, conclusive information that: - Iran was directly behind the recent terrorist plots in New York, Sudan, Pakistan, and Syria are also heavily involved. - Sheikh Abdel-Rahman was responsible for the New York Terrorist Network. - Exposes the secret inner workings of the N.Y. Terrorist Network. Their tactics, resources and motives. - Recent U.S. homicides were actually the work of Iranian assassins. TERROR! documents how terrorist groups have already set up powerful, widespread networks across America to strike at significant civilian and military targets.

"An International Strategic Studies Association Book"--Cover. Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-114).