Gunaratna - Inside Al Qaeda: global network of terror

INSIDE AL QAEDA

To my wife Anne
and our sons
Kevin and Ryan

ROHAN GUNARATNA

Inside
Al Qaeda

Global Network of Terror

Columbia University Press
New York

PUBLISHERS NOTE

A wide range of organisationsbanks, governmental and non-governmental bodies, financial enterprises, religious and educational institutions, commercial entities, transport companies and charitable bodiesare referred to in this book as having had contact or dealings with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Unless such references specifically state otherwise, they should be treated as nothing other than a suggestion that the organisations concerned were the unwitting tools of those who attempted, successfully or otherwise, to infiltrate, use or manipulate them for terrorist purposes.

I am indebted to my mentors, colleagues, friends and family for making this book possible.

For sharing their knowledge, experience and time, I am grateful to my teachersDr Bruce Hoffman, Vice President, RAND; Professor Paul Wilkinson, Chairman, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, St Andrews University, Scotland; and Dr Gerard Chaliand, former advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France. For encouraging me to look beyond the Asia-Pacific I wish to express my gratitude to the late Professor Cyril Ponnamperuma, then Presidential Science Advisor to Sri Lanka; Professor Stephen P. Cohen, Professorial Fellow, Brookings Institute, Washington, DC; Professor Martha Crenshaw, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University; and Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs at the UN.

The opportunities and resources to conduct terrorism research provided the space, time and funds to work on this book. On the Asia-Pacific, M.J. Gohel, President, Asia-Pacific Foundation, UK; on Central Asia, Charles Schmitz, President, Global Business Associates, USA; on information operations, Dr Miles Hills of the Cabinet Office, UK; on the mass casualty attacks, Dr John Parachini, former Director, Monterey Centre for Non-Proliferation Studies, USA; on escalation and de-escalation, Dr Alex P. Schmid, Officer-in-Charge, United Nations Terrorism Prevention Branch, Austria; on the maritime threat, Dr David Claridge, Managing Director, Janusian Security Risk Management, UK; on Al Qaeda, Chris Aaron, editor of Janes Intelligence Review, UK; and on the threat of terrorism, Ian Synge, editor, Janes Counter-Terrorism Manual. At the terrorism database at CSTPV, St Andrews, I wish to thank Captain Eric Bray, Kweilen Kimmelman, Benjamin Weber, Catherine Zara Raymond and Christina Hellmich for their dedication and commitment. Many others, working in the shadows, cannot be named. For sharing their insights and know-how, each one of them is in my debt.

I also wish to thank Dr John King and Dr Peter Riddell for their comments on the manuscript.

For their friendship I wish to express my appreciation to Ambassador Barry Desker, Dr Andrew Tan, Dr Kumar Ramakrishna, Zerney Wijesuriya, Ambassador Nanda Godage, Jean-Paul Rouiller, Captain Lasantha Waidyaratne, Brigadier Rizvy Zaky, Major N.G. Chandrasena, Amith Attygalle, Shanaka Jayasekera, Shyam Tekwani, Dushy Ranetunge, Madurendranath Jha, my publisher Christopher Hurst and my editor Michael Dwyer. Before and during editing, Michael read every piece of writing on Al Qaeda. I also thank the dynamic team at Columbia University PressPeter Dimock, Madeleine Gruen, Anne Routon, Melissanne Scheld, Helena Schwarz and Clare Wellnitz.

Finally, I thank my family who have stood by me in both good and sad times. For their steadfast support and affection, I express my gratitude to my parents and to Kirthi, Selomi, Malkanthi, Kumar, Samantha and Tamara. For their understanding and love I thank my wife Anne and our sons Kevin and Ryan. To them I dedicate this book.

St Andrews, Scotland
May 2002

R.G.

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