The New Jackals

by Simon Reeve

Book Overview

A chillingly prophetic profile of the most dangerous men in the world, written before the September 11 attacks. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555534074
• ISBN13: 9781555534073
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Northeastern University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Reads like a prophecy

Although this book was written well before the WTC and Pentagon attacks, it is an excellent background for the terrible situation that we find ourselves in now. Reeve describes the first WTC attacks and the investigation of them in great detail, then goes on to describe the difficulties that will be faced in fighting terrorism in the future, and alludes to the types of attacks that America might face. I recommend this book very highly in conjunction with two other books that I have read in the last few weeks. New Jackals puts a more human face on the terrorism than the other two books do. It describes where the terrorists lived, how they worked, how they found each other, and how the FBI found them. It describes other attacks that they were planning, some very scary, and others ridiculous-- they even planned to kidnap former president Nixon. It also describes actions that the US has already taken or attempted to take against Osama bin Laden, and makes it clear that our current battle will not be easy. The other two books that I'd recommend are The Taliban, by Peter Marsden, and Taliban, Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, by Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist. These other two books will provide a political, economic, religious, and historical background to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.

Haunting and Eerie

...I have read this book before but the second reading is far more meaningful,educational, and insightful. It helps to explain the mentality of the "New Jackals, poisoned by political hatred and religious fervor... who have no qualms about mass killing." It clearly describes the initial bombing of the World Trade Center and the disappointment of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind and predecessor to Osami bin Laden, who had originally expected at least one of the towers to fall into the other and kill 250,000 people. After describing the investigation and manhunt to capture Yousef, author Simon Reeve traces the origins of this extreme and very real terrorism. He gives an enlightening background study of bin Laden that helps the reader understand the intelligence, resources, and deadly intent of this Afghan Arab who has been responsible for the terrorist war against the West that has now reached massive proportions. If it doesn't do anything else, this haunting and eerie warning should drive home to all who read it the serious reality that lies before us. It should certainly strenghthen our resolve to stand together and fight for the freedom we often take for granted.

Haunting and Eerie

This book is highly recommended especially given the events of Tuesday, September 11,2001. I have read this book before but the second reading is far more meaningful,educational, and insightful. It helps to explain the mentality of the "New Jackals, poisoned by political hatred and religious fervor... who have no qualms about mass killing." It clearly describes the initial bombing of the World Trade Center and the disappointment of Ramzi Yousef, Osami bin Laden's first soldier, who had originally expected at least one of the towers to fall into the other and kill 250,000 people. After describing the investigation and manhunt to capture Yousef, author Simon Reeve traces the origins of this extreme and very real terrorism. He gives an enlightening background study of bin Laden that helps the reader understand the intelligence, resources, and deadly intent of this Afghan Arab who has been responsible for the terrorist war against the West that has now reached massive proportions. If it doesn't do anything else, this haunting and eerie warning should drive home to all who read it the serious reality that lies before us. It should certainly strenghthen our resolve to stand together and fight for the freedom we often take for granted.

A frightening insight into the new age of terrorism

This book is a detailed account of the activities of the two notorious terrorists Ramzi Yousef and Osama bin Laden. Yousef was the man who planned the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, while Osama bin Laden is allegedly the brains behind the massive 1998 attacks on American embassies in East Africa. Both men claim to be good Muslims fighting a holy war, but the author quite rightly reminds us that as Islam is a religion of peace and veneration - and forbids the killing of civilians in war - the two terrorists are not true Muslims.The book details the political events which caused bin Laden and Yousef to launch themselves against the West. The author traces the cause back to the 1980s war in Afghanistan, which the Soviet Union (as it was then) invaded and tried to conquer. The Reagan administration gave the anti-Soviet mujaheddin fighters huge amounts of logistical support, weapons, training and intelligence backing. Between 86 and 89 Reagan and his friends in the Saudi Arabian government ploughed $1,500 million into the coffers of the mujaheddin. The US also supplied the Afghan fighters with highly-sophisticated 'Stinger' missiles, which the mujaheddin used with devastating effect to down dozens of Soviet fighters and helicopters. The author points out that at the end of the war - after the Soviets were forced into a humiliating retreat - the US administration tried to persuade the Afghans to make alliances with some of the pro-Soviet puppet politicians they had previously been fighting (!). Not surprisingly, they weren't happy about this, and predictable chaos ensued. In the mid 1990s a new force emerged in Afghanistan - the ferocious Taliban militia - and the US government seems to have had some small responsibility for this. Ironically, the Taliban are now the men guarding and protecting Osama bin Laden from the FBI and CIA.However the book does not lump all the blame for the current situation on the West. It gives a detailed account of how Ramzi Yousef was transformed from a peaceful young student into a terrorist by militant Muslims. The book starts with a frightening account of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and reminds readers that the six people who were killed in the attack were people with families and lives that Yousef cruelly took away. It IS upsetting reading how the workers in the World Trade Center went about their jobs while Yousef planted a huge bomb (until 93 the largest by weight or design detonated in such an attack in the US) right in the very heart of this massive building, but it reminds us they aren't just statistics, and there was a terrible human cost.Fortunately Yousef did not succeed with his plot to topple one of the twin towers of the building, and the Trade Center still dominates our skyline in southern Manhattan.After describing Yousef's appalling crimes, which included a series of bombings and attempted assassinations, the author turns to Osama bin Lade

Excellent investigation of our public enemy number 1

I find it astonishing that this is the first good book to comeout on Osama bin Laden and Ramzi Yousef. President Clinton hasidentified bin Laden as America's number one terrorist threat, and yet nobody in the so-called 'serious media' has really bothered to investigate the guy. Thankfully we now have this excellent book, which gets behind the headlines and explains bin Laden's motivation and anger. I found the details of his early years fascinating, especially since the US media have conspicuously failed to explain why he keeps bombing (or trying to bomb) American embassies and kill US servicemen and women around the world. More than half the book is about Ramzi Yousef, who the author describes as the first soldier bin Laden sent against the West. I found the details of Yousef's crimes absolutely astonishing - if there was a terrorist league table, then Yousef would surely be at number one. Excellent book. I recommend it to anyone interested in international affairs. I hope the President will read it to understand why people like bin Laden are so angry with the USA (what can we expect if we support undemocratic regimes like the Saudi government).