After bin Laden

Osama bin Laden is dead, but Al Qaeda remains the CIA’s “number one threat.” Yet since the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the organization has evolved into a much more complex and far-flung entity, even as American military strikes have killed its most identifiable spokesmen and leaders. Moving well beyond the headlines, this richly documented and fascinating account of Al Qaeda offers readers a completely new understanding of the organization’s aims, strategies, and fortunes in a new era of conflict with the United States and the Western powers. Drawing on firsthand accounts and interviews with uniquely well-placed sources within Al Qaeda, noted journalist and expert Abdel Bari Atwan investigates the movement’s new internal dynamics, how it survives financially, and how its political appeal has changed dramatically following the Arab Spring. Atwan profiles the next generation of foot soldiers and leaders and explores both the new methods they embrace—especially on the digital battlefield—as well as the full global range of their operations and local variations in Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and elsewhere. After Bin Laden is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the latest chapter in America’s long struggle with terrorism.