About the Author

Born in Gaza, Abdel Bari Atwan is editor in chief at the London-based newspaper "Al Quds al-Arabi." Atwan is one of the foremost experts on Al Qaida, having interviewed Osama Bin Laden twice in the 1990s and cultivated uniquely well-placed sources within the movement. His other works include "The Secret History of Al Qaida" and "A Country of Words." He lives in London.

Reviews

Praise for Abdel Bari Atwan:

"Abdel Bari Atwan has long been one of the sharpest commentators about al Qaeda and the Middle East in general. Now he turns those sharp analytical skills to what the future holds for al Qaeda and its affiliated groups in the Middle East as some of the early promise of the Arab Spring begins to sour. His prognosis is dismaying: In countries from Syria to Libya to Yemen, al Qaeda and its allies are poised for a comeback. Atwan's sobering assessment deserves a wide audience."
—Peter Bergen, director of the national security studies program at the New America Foundation and author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Osama bin Laden, from 9/11 to Abbottabad

"An insightful book on Al Qaeda today and tomorrow by one of the Arab world's most renowned journalists. After Bin Laden is crucial to understanding how al Qaeda used the Arab awakening to strike back after bin Laden's death."
—Bruce Riedel, senior fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute and author of The Search for Al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future

"Abdel Bari Atwan has written a critically important book on the future of al Qaeda. Based on his unparalleled access to al Qaeda associates, Atwan highlights the evolution of al Qaeda into a more complex, decentralized, yet still dangerous organization. After Bin Laden provides us with a crystal-ball glimpse into the future of al Qaeda."
—Seth G. Jones, senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation and author of Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of Al Qa’ida Since 9/11

"The book we’ve been waiting for since Abbotabad. Here is painstaking research by a thoughtful investigator; intelligent, readable analysis that cuts through the DC rhetoric. Despite all those drone attacks, Al-Qaeda is on the come back."
—Paul McGeough, author of Killing Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas

"Atwan captures the essence of Osama bin Laden, the man, his leadership, and why we will never be free of the legacy he left behind. Intelligent and fascinatingly readable."
—Pat Lancaster, editor in chief of Middle East Magazine

"As editor in chief of the best Arabic- language daily newspaper, Al-Quds al-Arabi, Atwan 'got it' from the moment bin Laden appeared on the scene. . . . Atwan’s 1996 interview with bin Laden in his Afghanistan redoubt was one of the first and remains one of the best."
—Michael Scheuer, former chief of the CIA's Bin Laden Issue Station

"[Atwan’s work] is required reading for all journalists covering the present Middle East mess and indeed for anybody concerned with the future of the globe."
—The Spectator

"Atwan offers a chilling narrative that covers [Al Qaeda] activity in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula, where it hopes for its strongest toehold; Iraq and Afghanistan, as the U.S. departs; the Maghreb, Africa, Indonesia, China and even ex-Soviet Muslim states; and an increase in ‘lone wolf’ jihadist attacks in the West. Moreover, the group has cunningly adapted the Internet for its ideological spread. A sobering, intensive report."
—Kirkus Reviews