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

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• Publié par: ycyzadom
• Nombre de lectures: 86
• Langue: English

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Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden http://www.cceia.org/resources/transcripts/5444.html/:pf_printable?

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  Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden Peter Bergen , Joanne J. Myers   November 19, 2001

Introduction Remarks Questions and Answers

Introduction JOANNE MYERS: Who is Osama bin Laden? In 1996, the State Department called him "the most significant financial sponsor of Islamist extremist activities in the world" and s la r he is t Holy War, Inc.: Inside the today, five year te , he most wanted man on this planet. Secret World of Osama bin Laden   To millions of people in the Western world, he is viewed as the personification of evil. Yet, if you approach the man on the street in Cairo, in the mountains of northern Pakistan and even in the air-conditioned luxury homes of his native Saudi Arabia, he has many admirers who sing his praise—some in secret, others more overtly. But for his enemies and supporters alike, there is much about Osama bin Laden—the man at the epicenter of a loose-knit organization of Islamic terrorists spanning over 40 countries—that remains enigmatic and contradictory. Peter Bergen helps us see bin Laden's organization in a radically new light: as a veritable corporation that has exploited 21st century communications and weapons technologies in the service of a medieval reading of the Koran and holy war. For anyone trying to understand tomorrow's terrorist threats and the militant Islamist movements that could determine the fate of governments and human lives the world over, it is essential to have a better understanding of the man and his operations. To help us in this quest, we are very fortunate to have as our guest speaker a journalist who has actually met and interviewed bin Laden, and has spent several years researching the man and his operations. After graduating from Oxford, Peter Bergen moved to New York in 1984. He worked first for ABC News and later for CNN, for which he produced a variety of news stories and documentaries, including one on the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Our guest's interest in Afghanistan was sparked in 1983 when he made a documentary about the millions of Afghan refugees pouring into Pakistan following the Soviet invasion of their country. A decade later he traveled to Afghanistan to explore the links between the CIA-funded rebels who fought the Soviets, and the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center. As the man of the hour, I am sure many of you have seen Mr. Bergen on CNN and the McNeill-Lehrer Report, and listened to him on NPR [National Public Radio], as he educates us about terrorism or shares with us his first-hand observations based on his interview with bin Laden. His articles have appeared in various publications, including The New Republic , Vanity Fair , and The Times of London. He has received numerous honors including the Leonard Silk Journalism Fellowship, and he was a Pew Journalist in

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