Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban : Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11

Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pluto Press, 2011, pp. 260. ISBN : 978-0-7453-3101-0 (paperback)

Abstract

‘Terrorism’, though most studied, suffers from three problems (Colin Wight, 2007: 99). First, it defies definition; second, it is difficult to obtain primary data due to various obstacles; and finally, it has attracted major attention of policy makers without studying the phenomenon itself. Colin, therefore, suggests adopting a structural approach rather than the present psychological approach, and studying the phenomenon in a historical context rather than concentrating on its contemporary manifestations (p. 100). Saleem Shahzads’s Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, by and large, complies with Colin’s suggestion. It provides the picture of Al-Qaeda and traces its historical roots, its arguments, as well as explores its different parts. The author highlights the implication of ill-understanding the subject in the light of series of developments from 1996 to 2010. The book was launched on May 24, 2011, and its author was kidnapped allegedly by the Pakistan’s intelligence agency on May 29, 2011, and his body was discovered the next day far from his home.