New Zealand
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL , England
www.penguin.com
First published as Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror by I. B. Tauris 2003
This revised edition first published by Penguin Books 2004
Reissued in Penguin Books with further amendments 2007
1
Copyright © Jason Burke, 2003, 2004, 2007
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Except in the United States ofAmerica, this book is sold subject
to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent,
re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s
prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
EISBN: 978–0–141–90132–9
In the memory of
Samuel Burke and Sidney Marks.
In the memory of victims of terrorism
and victims of the war on terrorism.
Acknowledgements
I have many people to thank. I am particularly indebted to my colleagues at the Observer . Roger Alton, Paul Webster, Andy Malone, John Mulholland, Allan Jenkins and many others have taught me a huge amount and have provided unfailing support. Other reporters on the newspaper, especially Martin Bright, have been generous with their time and contacts. I owe Peter Beaumont, a great reporter and friend, a lot. For their faith in my days as a penurious freelancer, thanks are due to Leonard Doyle and Ian Birrell at the Independent . Without Ciaran Byrne’s advice at Lambeth town hall in 1993, things would have been very different.
I also have to thank the many colleagues outside the newspaper who have been so generous with their own work, advice and resources both during the writing of this book and on innumerable days in the field. They must include Abdul Bari Atwan, Scott Peterson, Adrian Levy, Alex Milner, Paul Danahar, Munir Ahmed, Zaffar Abbas, Ahmed Zaidan, Janaullah Hashimzada, Rory McCarthy, Ibrahim, Said Aburish, John Aglionby, Stephen Farrell, Luke Hunt, Syed Salahuddin, Fareed, Mirwais, Abdullah, Ahmed Shah and Azzam in Kabul, Muzamil Jaleel in Srinagar, Peter Popham, Tim Judah, Ben Brown and Dilip Hiro. There are many, many others who have been excellent company on long journeys in strange places, far too many to list here.
I was enormously lucky to be able to tap the profound scholarship of Malise Ruthven, who very kindly read much of my manuscript at very short notice and made many invaluable suggestions. Peter Bergen gave me the benefit of his own deep knowledge with a similarly detailedreading of the book. Brian Whitaker was generous and patient, as were Gilles Kepel, Owen Bennett Jones, Camille Tawil, Peter Marsden and Alice Perman. I am very grateful to them all. My thanks to Simon Reeve too.
Ilyas Masih is the best driver in Pakistan. His brother, Taj, is the second best. Ershad Mahmud of Islamabad’s IPS and Alexander Evans have been particularly helpful. Ala Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was a huge help in northern Iraq. In five years living or working in Pakistan and Afghanistan, there are many, many people who have assisted me in one way or another. Hundreds of people from prime ministers and presidents to shepherds and kebab-sellers enabled me to travel and work in safety in such interesting times. My thanks to Karen Davies as well. There are many others, diplomats, policemen and security officials in the UK, the Middle East and the Far East, whom I cannot thank by name. They know who they are and I am grateful to them. I owe Ashleigh Lezard thanks too.
Above all I have to thank Mohammed Ekram Shinwari. Ekram is a fantastic reporter, and a good friend. His understanding of Afghanistan, contacts, news judgement, unflagging enthusiasm, energy, sense of humour and
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL , England
www.penguin.com
First published as Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror by I. B. Tauris 2003
This revised edition first published by Penguin Books 2004
Reissued in Penguin Books with further amendments 2007
1
Copyright © Jason Burke, 2003, 2004, 2007
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Except in the United States ofAmerica, this book is sold subject
to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent,
re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s
prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
EISBN: 978–0–141–90132–9
In the memory of
Samuel Burke and Sidney Marks.
In the memory of victims of terrorism
and victims of the war on terrorism.
Acknowledgements
I have many people to thank. I am particularly indebted to my colleagues at the Observer . Roger Alton, Paul Webster, Andy Malone, John Mulholland, Allan Jenkins and many others have taught me a huge amount and have provided unfailing support. Other reporters on the newspaper, especially Martin Bright, have been generous with their time and contacts. I owe Peter Beaumont, a great reporter and friend, a lot. For their faith in my days as a penurious freelancer, thanks are due to Leonard Doyle and Ian Birrell at the Independent . Without Ciaran Byrne’s advice at Lambeth town hall in 1993, things would have been very different.
I also have to thank the many colleagues outside the newspaper who have been so generous with their own work, advice and resources both during the writing of this book and on innumerable days in the field. They must include Abdul Bari Atwan, Scott Peterson, Adrian Levy, Alex Milner, Paul Danahar, Munir Ahmed, Zaffar Abbas, Ahmed Zaidan, Janaullah Hashimzada, Rory McCarthy, Ibrahim, Said Aburish, John Aglionby, Stephen Farrell, Luke Hunt, Syed Salahuddin, Fareed, Mirwais, Abdullah, Ahmed Shah and Azzam in Kabul, Muzamil Jaleel in Srinagar, Peter Popham, Tim Judah, Ben Brown and Dilip Hiro. There are many, many others who have been excellent company on long journeys in strange places, far too many to list here.
I was enormously lucky to be able to tap the profound scholarship of Malise Ruthven, who very kindly read much of my manuscript at very short notice and made many invaluable suggestions. Peter Bergen gave me the benefit of his own deep knowledge with a similarly detailedreading of the book. Brian Whitaker was generous and patient, as were Gilles Kepel, Owen Bennett Jones, Camille Tawil, Peter Marsden and Alice Perman. I am very grateful to them all. My thanks to Simon Reeve too.
Ilyas Masih is the best driver in Pakistan. His brother, Taj, is the second best. Ershad Mahmud of Islamabad’s IPS and Alexander Evans have been particularly helpful. Ala Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was a huge help in northern Iraq. In five years living or working in Pakistan and Afghanistan, there are many, many people who have assisted me in one way or another. Hundreds of people from prime ministers and presidents to shepherds and kebab-sellers enabled me to travel and work in safety in such interesting times. My thanks to Karen Davies as well. There are many others, diplomats, policemen and security officials in the UK, the Middle East and the Far East, whom I cannot thank by name. They know who they are and I am grateful to them. I owe Ashleigh Lezard thanks too.
Above all I have to thank Mohammed Ekram Shinwari. Ekram is a fantastic reporter, and a good friend. His understanding of Afghanistan, contacts, news judgement, unflagging enthusiasm, energy, sense of humour and
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