In "The Looming Tower - Al-Qaeda's Journey To America", Lawrence Wright.

From the Naval War College Review: "Lawrence Wright has provided the military professional an excellent primer into the world of those who see the United States as a threat. The Arab world remains little understood by most Americans. It takes Wright nearly five hundred pages to lay out the complex tale of modern Islamic fundamentalism. It is no surprise that Osama Bin Laden is a key player, and Wright gives him center stage."

I recently finished this book and found it fascinating. It seems well-researched, and the author is clearly not a fan of bin Laden.

Part of the rationale for the "war on terror" in Iraq and Afghanistan is that "we're fighting them over there and not here". Wright doesn't mention that, but does take pains to point out that bin Laden had hoped that the bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi and dar es Salaam would provoke the US to attack Afghanistan. When that didn't work, they bombed the USS Cole. Bin Laden wanted the US to get involved over there the way the Russians had, whom the Afghanis had chewed up for 10 years.

So then he seriously pursued the WTC disaster. OBL was frustrated he had to go to such length to draw the US into Afghani military adventure.

And, by the way, it's been 6 years for America and there is nothing positive to show for it. So OBL's strategy is still working, and very well for him.

Arf