Decoding Al-Qaeda's Strategy

The Deep Battle Against America
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-0-231-16385-9
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 368 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 151 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 503 g

Reihe: Columbia Studies in Terrorism and Irregular Warfare

By consulting the work of well-known and obscure al-Qaeda theoreticians, Michael W. S. Ryan finds jihadist terrorism strategy has more in common with the principles of Maoist guerrilla warfare than mainstream Islam. Encouraging strategists and researchers to devote greater attention to jihadi ideas rather than jihadist military operations, Ryan builds an effective framework for analyzing al-Qaeda's plans against America and constructs a compelling counternarrative to the West's supposed "war on Islam."

Ryan examines the Salafist roots of al-Qaeda ideology and the contributions of its most famous founders, Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a political-military context. He also reads the Arabic-language works of lesser known theoreticians who have played an instrumental role in framing al-Qaeda's so-called war of the oppressed. These authors readily cite the guerrilla strategies of Mao, Che Guevara, and the mastermind of the Vietnam War, General Giap. They also incorporate the arguments of American theorists writing on "fourth-generation warfare."

Through these texts, readers experience events as insiders see them, and by concentrating on the activities and pronouncements of al-Qaeda's thought leaders, especially in Yemen, they discern the direct link between al-Qaeda's tactics and trends in anti-U.S. terrorism. Ryan shows al-Qaeda's political-military strategy to be a revolutionary and largely secular departure from the classic Muslim conception of jihad, adding invaluable dimensions to the operational, psychological, and informational strategies already deployed by America's military in the region.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ryan, Michael W. S.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Gewalt Terrorismus, Religiöser Fundamentalismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Militärwesen Nationale und Internationale Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islamismus, Fundamentalismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Note on TransliterationAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Historical Roots of al-Qaeda's Ideology2. The Leadership Inspires a New Strategy3. Jihad as Revolution4. An Action Plan for Savagery5. The Jihadist Legacy of Abu Mus'ab al-SuriConclusion: What It All MeansAppendix 1: Translation of "Revolutionary Wars"Appendix 2: Translation of "Fourth-Generation Warfare"NotesBibliographyIndex

Über Autor(innen)

Michael W. S. Ryan, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, studied Arabic in Egypt and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He served as a senior executive in the U.S. Departments of State and Defense and as vice president of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Middle East Institute. He lives in Virginia.