Gartenstein-Ross - Bin Ladens Legacy: Why Were Still Losing the War on Terror

Contents

Additional Praise for Bin Ladens Legacy

At this critical crossroads in U.S. foreign policy marked by the death of bin Laden, the Arab revolutions, and the global debt crisis, Gartenstein-Ross offers a sorely-needed explanation of why spending too much money on counterterrorism plays into our enemies hands.

Will McCants, founder and co-editor of Jihadica

With an incisive analysis, balanced argumentation, and sometimes unconventional approaches, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross gives us a refreshing insight into the U.S. strategy against al Qaeda. He raises questions about the U.S. defense posture facing the terrorist threat and on the feindbild of Osama bin Laden nourished by the analyst community. He ends this very readable book with useful and sensible proposals to mend the U.S. strategy in the fight against international terrorism.

Ambassador Thomas Baekelandt, counterterrorism coordinator, Belgium Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Gartenstein-Ross leaves no stone unturned in this provocative examination of Americas decade-long war with al Qaeda. An essential read for any serious observer of Americas counterterrorism efforts since 9/11.

Jarret Brachman, author of Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice

Bin Ladens Legacy is important and ultimately a fascinating read. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross tells a story and provides you with an unforgettable detailed insight into the mindset of al Qaeda and how they planned and continue to plan to destroy America financially. It is a must-read for all Americans.

Barry McManus, former CIA interrogator

I really wish Daveed Gartenstein-Ross had not made so persuasive a case in this book. Al Qaeda, as Gartenstein-Ross demonstrates, has cleverly convinced the United States to bleed itself dry in response to the threat posed by transitional terror groups. Whether or not the United States can adjust its tactics and priorities remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Americans of all political and ideological stripes should consider the important observations and recommendations to be found in these pages.

Andrew Exum, Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former Army Ranger officer

There is remarkably little consensus among analysts about the threat now posed by al Qaeda. All agree, however, that the end of bin Laden does not end al Qaedas campaign of terrorism. We may be chasing al Qaeda for decades and must get a lot smarter about how we do it, which is why this thoughtful book is a must read.

Brian Michael Jenkins, senior adviser to the president of the RAND Corporation

Copyright 2011 by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit us at www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed, date.

Bin Ladens legacy: why were still losing the war on terror / Daveed Gartenstein-Ross.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-09494-5 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-15093-1 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-15094-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-15095-5 (ebk)

1. War on Terrorism, 20012009. 2. TerrorismUnited StatesPrevention. 3. Qaida (Organization) I. Title.

HV6432.G375 2011

363.325dc23

2011021413

This book is dedicated to Ross Kennedy Smith, my debate coach at Wake Forest University and a remarkable teacher. R.I.P.

It is also dedicated to Robert Jarrod Atchison, who carries on Rosss legacy as Wake Forests new director of debate. I wrote the first chapter of this book in Jarrods office, which had once been Rosss.

This world needs more teachers.

Acknowledgments

At the inception of this project, I did not intend it to be a book. I initially had the more modest goal of publishing an academic article about al Qaedas economic strategy; I had in fact submitted a piece on just that topic to a specialized journal. I had been waiting to hear back from that publication for several months and was beginning to lose patience by November 2010, when al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a special issue of its English-language online magazine, Inspire , that was dedicated to its recent ink-cartridge bomb plot. That issue, focused as it was on the disparity between what the plot cost AQAP and what it cost Western countries to defend themselves, strongly verified my conclusions about the direction that al Qaedas strategy was taking.

Rather than continuing to wait on the academic journal that was sitting on my article, I decided to adapt my basic argument about al Qaedas economic strategy for publication in Foreign Policy. The first person I would like to thank is Blake Hounshell, my editor at Foreign Policy and an incisive analyst, who decided to publish that piece.

It immediately generated a great deal of public discussion; among other things, it caught the attention of my editor at John Wiley & Sons, Stephen Power. Stephen reached out to my agent, Gary Morris, to see if I might be interested in adapting the Foreign Policy article into a book, and it didnt take me long to say yes. If Stephen hadnt approached me, this book project would never have begun. I thus owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Stephen and Gary, both of whom have shown great dedication to this project throughout.

This book was by no means a solo effort. Tara Vassefi has worked as my researcher since January 2010. Her competence, loyalty, and raw enthusiasm for this project has made working with her an enormous joy. These qualities also made her an outstanding manager of the team of interns who assembled some of the raw research materials that I relied on in preparing the manuscript. It is no exaggeration to say that this book couldnt have been completed in such a timely manner without Taras remarkable efforts and that the book would have been worse without her contributions.