Osama Bin Laden is unquestionably the leader of the world’s most deadly terrorist cult. He has perverted the teachings of Islam to create a fringe religious ideology where only al-Qaeda speaks for God. In his cult, suicide bombing and the mass murder of Muslims prove one’s devotion.
Al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attack on the United States was just a small part of bin Laden’s strategy to win a civil war for control of Islam. By fighting his terrorists solely with bullets and bombs and ignoring his war on Islam, we have bolstered bin Laden’s recruiting efforts abroad, undermined civil liberties and economic security at home, and tarnished America’s reputation abroad.
Career intelligence officer Malcolm Nance proposes a quantum shift in how to eliminate al-Qaeda in less than twenty-four months, while restoring America’s reputation as a force for good around the world. His plan includes: • Exposing al-Qaeda’s mission to create a nuclear-armed terror Emirate, incite a Muslim civil war, and eventually seize control of Islam • Challenging and breaking the perceived spiritual link between mainstream Islam and al-Qaeda’s cultist ideology • Attacking al-Qaeda fighters through precision intelligence and special-operations missions, thereby reducing the deaths of innocent civilians • Restoring America’s shattered image in the developing world in order to support the global counterterrorism campaign An End to al-Qaeda is both a blueprint for destroying al-Qaeda and a fierce critique of America’s poorly executed war on bin Laden’s terrorists.
Publishers Weekly Intelligence veteran Nance offers a problematic prescription for defeating al-Qaeda in this disappointing polemic. Arguing that bin Laden's objective is “the destruction of traditional Islam” and the “real ideological conflict... is about control of Islam itself,” the author contends that “if we break [al-Qaeda's] spiritual link to the Muslim community, they will be quickly defeated.” Moreover, victory can be achieved not only quickly but also “simply and inexpensively” by employing “simple counter-ideological tools of compassion and debate.” Such an approach requires that the U.S. “reframe ourselves” as “Well-Meaning Ones Who Want to Help” and reframe al-Qaeda “as an exceptionally dangerous armed militant cult.” Toward this end, the author recommends that the U.S. “employ the national bullhorn,” appoint “a new czar” of counterideological warfare, and organize conferences. Noting President Obama's “ability to make people believe his words,” Nance calls the president “[t]he best tool in our quiver.” If the author's conclusions are controversial, the underlying material is mostly derivative, the format approximates PowerPoint, and the style alternates among melodramatic (“raindrops of chaos”), preachy (“[t]he Muslim dream is the American dream”), and pedantic. (Feb.)

Nance, Malcolm W

Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

Wadsworth

United States, United States of America

New York, New York State, 2010

First ed, New York, c2010

Includes bibliographical references.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [275]-286) and index.

Osama Bin Laden is unquestionably the leader of the worlds most deadly terrorist cult. He has perverted the teachings of Islam to create a fringe religious ideology, Bin Ladenism, where only al-Qaeda speaks for God. In his cult, suicide bombing is the highest form of worship and the mass murder of Muslims proves ones devotion. Al-Qaedas 9/11 attack on the United States was just a small part of Bin Ladens long-term strategy to win a civil war for control of Islam. By fighting his terrorists solely with bullets and bombs and ignoring his war on Islam, we have bolstered Bin Ladens recruiting efforts abroad, undermined civil liberties and economic security at home and tarnished Americas reputation internationally. Career intelligence officer Malcolm Nance proposes a quantum shift in how to eliminate al-Qaeda in less than twenty-four months, while recreating Americas reputation as a force for good around the world. His plan Exposing al-Qaedas mission to create a nuclear armed terror Emirate, incite a Muslim civil war and eventually seize of control of Islam. Challenging and breaking the perceived spiritual link between the mainstream Islam and al-Qaedas cultist ideology. Attacking al-Qaeda fighters through precision intelligence and special operations missions, thereby reducing the deaths of innocent civilians. Reframing and restoring Americas shattered image in the developing world in order to support the global counterterrorism and counterinsurgency campaign. An End to al-Qaeda is both a revolutionary blueprint for destroying al-Qaeda and a fierce critique of Americas poorly executed war on Bin Ladens terrorists.

Bin Laden has built a large following by perverting Islam to justify the mass murder of innocent people. By fighting him with bullets and bombs we have bolstered Bin Laden's recruiting efforts abroad, undermined civil liberties and economic security at home and tarnished America's reputation internationally. The author retools the "War on Terror" to assert that the U.S. could eliminate Al Qaeda in less than 24 months without a single violent military action, while recreating America's reputation as a force for good around the world. Nance's plan includes: dominating the information battlespace by exposing Al Qaeda to the rest of the international Moslem community as the global death cult that they are; waging a war against the fear Al Qaeda has stoked; drastically reducing the number of heavy military operations that cause the death of civilians in the process; and relying more heavily on counterintelligence to root out the terrorist group.--From publisher description

p. cm
Includes bibliographical references
From tragedy to triumph -- Crushed in the shadows -- Coup de pointe: the ideology of mass murder -- Companions of the fire: the corrupted framework of AQ's ideology -- The political objectives of Bin Ladenism -- The cult of death -- Afghanistan-Pakistan: the Takfiri emirate of Osama Bin Laden -- Coup d'arret: launching counter-ideological warfare against al-Qaeda -- Rallying to the defense of Islam -- Re-framing America, re-framing AQ -- Break the links to Islam: waging counter-ideological warfare -- Circuit breaker strategy: the total shutdown of al-Qaeda

2023-06-28