The Looming Tower
The Looming Tower is a page-turning work that gives an outstanding, overall view of the events and personalities that led to the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda on the U.S. The reporter Lawrence Wright has fashioned, in crisp prose, what is likely to be the authoritative book on the subject. Parts of read it like a novel, but a novel would have ended with the plot being foiled. The reader, armed with the knowledge that the plot will not fail, can't help but read both enthralled and sickened.
Wright begins with the Egyptian scholar Sayyid Qutb, who was so disgusted by the decadence he experienced while a student in the United States called for Muslims to spurn the West, and was hanged by Nasser for treason. Qutb's writings inspired many, primarily Aynman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian medical doctor who founded al-Jihad, and of course the Saudi Osama bin Laden, now the number one bogeyman of the U.S. Wright parallels this story with that of U.S. intelligence, primarily FBI agent John O'Neill, who endeavored to warn, Cassandra-like, of al-Qaeda's dangers.
Wright does many excellent things in this book. First of all, he manages to track all of the characters in a lucid narrative, particularly those of the Arabs, who have very similar names and took pseudonyms. Although clearly considering their views twisted, one can come to an understanding of where they are coming from. It is interesting to read about how Zawahiri and bin Laden were like Philadelphia lawyers getting around certain edicts of the Quran, such a ban on suicide and killing fellow Muslims. It is also fascinating to read about these men as human beings, as they are, no matter how monstrous. For example, bin Laden loved cowboy shows as a child, quizzed his children on their math and science homework, and had a health plan for al-Qaeda members. He may be the most villainous person of this new century, but one has to admit that a man sitting in a cave in Afghanistan and declaring war on the most powerful nation on Earth, and then pulling off the largest attack on our shores, is a man to be reckoned with.
As for U.S. intelligence, Wright doesn't pussyfoot about the missteps taken, particularly by the CIA, which refused to share information with other agencies, especially the FBI. The CIA knew al-Qaeda operatives were in the country, but did not tip the FBI off. Another man who should have been listened to is Richard Clarke, counterterrorism coordinator in the Nation Security Council, who became prominent when he testified to intelligence mistakes during the 9/11 commission hearings. Repeated in Wright's book is Clarke's memory of briefing Condoleezza Rice on al-Qaeda and coming to the realization she had never heard of them.
As for O'Neill, he is also fascinating. A driven FBI agent, O'Neill also led a double, or should I say triple life, carrying on relationships with three different woman, each ignorant of the other, while also being married. In the most ultimate of ironies, took a job after retiring from the Bureau as head of World Trade Center security, and perished there during the attack.
This book was named by the New York Times as one of the ten best of 2006, and it deserves that accolade. It is gripping, clear-eyed and exhaustively researched.
Wright begins with the Egyptian scholar Sayyid Qutb, who was so disgusted by the decadence he experienced while a student in the United States called for Muslims to spurn the West, and was hanged by Nasser for treason. Qutb's writings inspired many, primarily Aynman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian medical doctor who founded al-Jihad, and of course the Saudi Osama bin Laden, now the number one bogeyman of the U.S. Wright parallels this story with that of U.S. intelligence, primarily FBI agent John O'Neill, who endeavored to warn, Cassandra-like, of al-Qaeda's dangers.
Wright does many excellent things in this book. First of all, he manages to track all of the characters in a lucid narrative, particularly those of the Arabs, who have very similar names and took pseudonyms. Although clearly considering their views twisted, one can come to an understanding of where they are coming from. It is interesting to read about how Zawahiri and bin Laden were like Philadelphia lawyers getting around certain edicts of the Quran, such a ban on suicide and killing fellow Muslims. It is also fascinating to read about these men as human beings, as they are, no matter how monstrous. For example, bin Laden loved cowboy shows as a child, quizzed his children on their math and science homework, and had a health plan for al-Qaeda members. He may be the most villainous person of this new century, but one has to admit that a man sitting in a cave in Afghanistan and declaring war on the most powerful nation on Earth, and then pulling off the largest attack on our shores, is a man to be reckoned with.
As for U.S. intelligence, Wright doesn't pussyfoot about the missteps taken, particularly by the CIA, which refused to share information with other agencies, especially the FBI. The CIA knew al-Qaeda operatives were in the country, but did not tip the FBI off. Another man who should have been listened to is Richard Clarke, counterterrorism coordinator in the Nation Security Council, who became prominent when he testified to intelligence mistakes during the 9/11 commission hearings. Repeated in Wright's book is Clarke's memory of briefing Condoleezza Rice on al-Qaeda and coming to the realization she had never heard of them.
As for O'Neill, he is also fascinating. A driven FBI agent, O'Neill also led a double, or should I say triple life, carrying on relationships with three different woman, each ignorant of the other, while also being married. In the most ultimate of ironies, took a job after retiring from the Bureau as head of World Trade Center security, and perished there during the attack.
This book was named by the New York Times as one of the ten best of 2006, and it deserves that accolade. It is gripping, clear-eyed and exhaustively researched.
Sounds interesting. Did you read the 9/11 Commission Report? What got me about it were the little crucial tidbits that I never saw reported elsewhere, like how mistaken interpretations of rules within the FBI led to a lack of information-sharing within that agency. Fascinating stuff.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read it, but I remember the stink Clarke made during his testimony.
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