Product Description

In Insurgent Iraq, Loretta Napoleoni examines the climate in which Iraq's most notorious insurgent, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, opened a new front in the modern jihad. With the help of George W. Bush's war, al-Zarqawi was able to do what bin Laden could not: spread the message of jihad into Iraq.

Arguing that the American adventure in Iraq resuscitated a network rife with conflict and birthed a new generation of post-Cold War mujahedin, the author presents previously unpublished documents from Afghanistan that reveal bitter disagreement between the Egyptian and the Saudi factions of al-Qaeda prior to 9/11. Within this dispute Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a working-class, uneducated Jordanian, emerged to successfully create his own network of Islamist warriors based in Afghanistan, opening up a new front in the modern jihad in Iraq.

In Insurgent Iraq, Napoleoni presents a chilling account of the regrouping of terror networks under a new leadership with a new agenda, tracing the ascent of one of the globe's most enigmatic and deadly figures.

Loretta Napoleoni, a former Fulbright Scholar at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and Rotary Scholar at the London School of Economics, is an expert on international terrorism who has worked as an economist and foreign correspondent for Italy's financial papers. She has written novels and guidebooks in Italian and translated and edited books on terrorism. Her most recent novel, Dossier Baghdad, is a financial thriller set during the Gulf War. She was among the few people to interview the Red Brigades in Italy after three decades of silence. She is the author of Terror Incorporated (Seven Stories Press, May 2005).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #933801 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
One of the world's leading experts on money laundering and terror financing, Loretta Napoleoni holds an MA in international relations and economics from Johns Hopkins University, and an MPhil in terrorism from the London School of Economics. Her books include: Terror Inc: Tracing the Money Behind Global Terrorism; Insurgent Iraq: Al Zarqawi and the New Generation; and Rogue Economics.

Customer Reviews

Susan from LSE - London
Napoleoni's book is well researched, full of useful information and easy to read. It is a biography of al Zarqawi and at the same time the story of the Jihadist movement and the chronicle of the war in Iraq. She writes beautifully, as a skillful and passionate author, so that the reader cannot stop turning the pages. I bought the book at LSE book shop and read it overnight, I simply had to get to the end of it.

This is a book which stands out from the vast production of books on terrorism and Iraq, a book written by someone who understands the meaning of terrorism. Napoleoni, I found out by reading her biography on the net, did a PhD at LSE in the early 1990s on terrorism, at the time she was the sole student working on such a topic. We often forget that until 9/11 terrorism was not a hot topic and famous journalists and authors were uninterested in researching it.

This book confirms what most academics and studends of current affairs know, you cannot master a topic in a short time. True knowledge requires years and years of research, reading and above all experience.

Well done from a fellow LSE scholar,

Susan

Examines Iraqi insurgency and the forces which contribute to it
A 'must' for any seeking to understand the roots of terrorist activities is INSURGENT IRAQ: AL ZARQAWI AND THE NEW GENERATION. It examines Iraqi insurgency and the forces which contribute to it, documenting the regrouping and strengthening of terror networks and the development of an Iraqi resistance since the invasion over two years ago. Most of all, it tells of al Zarqawi and his history and involvement in Iraq, providing a blend of history and social inspection throughout.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Essential Reading!!
"Insurgent Iraq" is the most lucid account I've been able to find on the dynamics behind the current threat posed by radicalized Islam. I've read books by American, European, and Muslim writers, but "Insurgent Iraq" seems the most unbiased account of how we've reached the point of near-certain civil war in Iraq. Ms. Napoleoni provides a clear analysis of the myriad players and agendas in this very complex situation. Key leaders within the Democratic and Islamic camps have made ill-conceived decisions because of their reliance on dogma rather than on realistic assessments. Too bad Napoleoni had not been consulted right after 9/11; we might have implemented much more astute policy. In the meantime, readers can rely on this exceptional work to better understand how we've gotten to this point. I look forward to her future writings -- this story is far from over.