Books > Reviews

Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden

This is the third book I’ve read on terrorism and was the best by far. Not only does it take the reader through the important points of bin Laden’s life and the historical events that surround them, but the author also analyzes the larger context within world politics. I particularly enjoyed the analysis of the strategic importance of Stinger missiles in the past and the future.

I found Bergen’s account of Ali Mohamed very unnerving. Here was an Egyptian-born man who served in the American Special Forces and was highly valued because of his middle-eastern language skills. After he was honorably discharged, Ali Mohamed took the explosives skills that he’d learned, went to bin Laden’s Afghanistan training camp, and shared his knowledge with scores of terrorists. Scary.

Although an excellent book, I don’t believe the “Holy War, Inc.” paradigm works very well. Bergen uses multi-national corporations as a model for how a group like Al-Qaeda functions. Aside from surface similarities, the parallels between these organizations are few and far between. The head or CEO of a terrorist group has no absolute control over the cells. There is no profit imperative or other objective measures. The fragmentation and factionalization of these groups has no equivalent in the corporate world. The multi-national corporation isn’t an effective map for understanding the terrorist network terrain.

This book was written before and shortly after the 9/11 attacks. One of the most encouraging aspects of the book is Bergen’s assertion that the single most important blow to strike against terrorism is elimination of the training camps in Afghanistan. Since the war in Afghanistan has done just that, the book definitely ends on an up note.