Rating: 
Summary: Not for the weak of heart
Review: If you're interested in reading about our unequalled success in crippling al-Qaeda and making the world "safe" again, this book is NOT for you. This book paints a picture of religious reactionaries whose every defeat only serves to strengthen their resolve. It also points out the reasons America failed to address the situation in the first place, why the situation has still not been addressed, and why improper public perception and inconsistant and inept policy and security responses insure that the situation will continue to worsen. Read Ahmed Rashid's "Jihad", and then this book, and you are guaranteed to lose sleep.
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Summary: Annonymous
Review: Is Israels' Benjamin Netanyahu and anyone who's read his other books will instantly recognize his tone and style.
Rating:
Summary: One Book to Read
Review: It is evident that this book was well thought out and excellently researched on radical Islam's threat to the world. As the book clearly points out, how many more deaths and blunders must we endure as a nation before we take the time to truly understand who our enemy really is? I only hope that the US Government agency who employs this anonymous author is putting him and his insights to good use against this horrible menace.
Rating: 
Summary: Bush didn't get rid of Osama Bin Laden
Review: More than 3 years after Osama Bin Laden and his gang attacked us we still are having to deal with his threats. We need a president who will not lose sight of our true enemies. After losing so many of our young men and women and spending so much money we are no safer than we were on 9/11!
What was the point?
Please vote for John Kerry.
Rating:
Summary: Sobering and enlightening
Review: Perhaps the mark of an excellent book is that it is worth reading a second time or even a third time. This book is far more than a collection of facts, it offers some real in-depth and seasoned analysis not found elsewhere. It brings into focus the challenges America has to face up to. The biographical chapters on Osama Bin Laden are excellent. They detail the close relationship his family has to the royal Saudi family, their political and financial connections, Bin Laden's jihad against the Soviets and much more. After reading these chapters I finally began to understand why he is admired by Muslims around the world, why his followers are so loyal to him, and why a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture or killing of him might as well be $.25 for all the good it will do -- no amount of reward money will bring him in. This book clearly explains the goals of Osama Bin Laden and why he hates America. Contrary to popular opinion, from both the press and our government, Bin Laden's aims are clear and they are not irrational provided they are viewed through a fundamental Islamic lens. To say that Bin Laden has no demands and simply wants to destroy America is far too simplistic. I am reminded of the Saudi prince who offered $10,000,000 for relief aid after 9/11 to Mayor Giuliani along with the ill timed comment that the U.S. government should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause. Mayor Giuliani turned down the money stating, 'There is no moral equivalent for this attack.' No doubt this is true, but Giuliani's response misses a critical point -- Bin Laden and his immediate followers along with millions and millions of Muslims believe there is a moral equivalent. Through Our Enemies' Eyes systematically explains why so many Muslims hold this view and why simply defeating Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda's leadership and crossing off names from a list will not be near enough to make America safe from radical Islamic terrorism. To defeat one's enemy one must first understand one's enemy -- this book goes a long way towards this understanding. Two and a half years after 9/11 this book is still the best book I have been able to find on Bin Laden and Radical Islam. This book will make one think.
Rating:
Summary: A Sobering, Thoughtful Look At Al Qaeda's Jihad
Review: The author, an anonymous, highly decorated member of the U. S. intelligence community presents a brief, fascinating look at Al Qaeda and its war against the West through the words of its charismatic leader Osama bin Laden. Without at all being judgemental, the author is clearly warning us that this conflict may be a bitter one to the very end, since Al Qaeda seeks the utter, complete destruction of the USA. He also notes that this is a struggle which will continue even if we remove the entire Al Qaeda leadership, since independent cells will continue to conduct "military" operations against anti-Islamic, predominantly Western targets. I found most troubling the author's use of quotations from Colonial American religious and political figures to begin each chapter, yet clearly he makes a fascinating parallel between our early religious and political writing and those from the likes of bin Laden and his associates. Without a doubt, this is a sobering, unbiased examination of Al Qaeda's history and political thinking, which warrants reading by many senior American politicians and intelligence officials.
Rating: 
Summary: It's Not Post-Colonial Nonsense
Review: This book is an excellent and targetted look at everything that's non-classified on the subject. I say that because it ignores a lot of the rumors that swirl about al-Qaeda's various connections to other organizations, which may or may not be true, and focuses on what is knowable. I think that the book itself is especially useful because it is not a judge of the topic. At times it seems like the author may be leaning toward agreeing with some of the grievances that bin Laden has posed. But this is only because the author has accomplished what he/she has set out to do, which is present bin Laden's case. For this reason, you see a lot of reviewers who are eager to view the book through the post-colonial, anti-imperialist, neo-socialist viewpoint as being an indictment of America. It is not. What is truly great about this book is that it is far more neutral in the academic sense than most academics are on the subject. Someone of the post-colonial persuasion sees an indictment of American foreign policy. Someone who is a student of American foreign policy in the region, such as myself, sees an accurate portrayal of bin Laden's viewpoint such that, while reading, I find myself saying, "Well he's wrong about that." At first I found it easy to confuse Bin Laden with the author, as other reviewers have done, and thus I was originally thinking, "Well the author is wrong about that." But in retrospect, the author was simply putting down what bin Laden was about for the reader to judge. The policy implications section at the end demonstrate this objectivity. In that lense, I am uncomfortable with the reference quotes to American founding fathers found at the beginning of the chapter and see them as the book's lone flaw. I oppose the decision to add this for a few reasons. The first is that it taints an otherwise objective book. The text itself does what the title says it wants to do, show us the world through our enemies' eyes. However, the American Revolution has no effect on bin Laden's thinking. It therefore isn't a look into the enemy's mind. The inclusion of comparisons to the American Revolution reflect an editorial comment that is designed to frame the issue to an audience that is assumed to be unsympathetic and uneducated. But in so doing, it strays from the book's purpose which is to objectively describe bin Laden. Because bin Laden, in his own mind, has little relationship to the American Revolution, this inclusion perverts the clarity of the text. The second grievance is that if the author is going to set up this equivalence then it is only fair to critically analyze it. A critical analysis reveals a number of flaws. First of all, it is true to say that both the American Revolution and some sort of Islamic Revolution are both conservative revolutions in the sense that they seek/sought to preserve the existing order from foreign encroachment rather than something like the French Revolution which was designed to upset the existing order. The problem is that the equivalence ends there. The order that Americans revolted to preserve was a unique experiment in liberty whereas the order that the Islamic revolt seeks to preserve is a retrograde form of xenophobic Islam projected on a state-wise scale, hence the term Islamofascists. So, while what both were arguing against was sort of similar, what both argue for is radically different. Americans demanded a government of, by, and for the people. Islamofascists are content only with the first of those three. The other major flaw in this equivalence is the question of tactics. Again, both sides fought their war of independence through mostly clandestine means. The difference, analytically, was that Americans perpetrated no acts of clandestine violence in British territory or against British civilians. The conflict was fought on American ground against British soldiers. Bin Laden's tactics call for attacks outside of what he regards his territory and against those who are not directly fighting the conflict. Again, I add this criticism only because the author asks for it by adding the American equivalence section to the book. If the author were to keep only the portions that objectively describe Bin Laden's program, I would give the book 5 stars. That excellent part being the bulk of the book, the troublesome attempt to Americanize the subject matter detracts a star.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This book opened my eyes. Grudgingly at first, but the more I read the less I could find fault with the author. It seems to me that the Muslim world, indeed, the whole world outside America, is like a mirror to us. If we don't like our reflection what do we do, smash the mirror? In the recent past we've simply ignored the reflection. I don't know whether we can afford to do that any more. Please read this book.
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Summary: Excellent research with understanding the West lacks
Review: This book, written by an anonymous author, is a most impressive understanding of Al-Qaeda that illustrates brilliantly the vast gulf in thought between radical Islam and ordinary Westerners. The book begins by explaining the difficulties that present-day Western policy gives to an understanding of the motives behind Osama Bin Laden's declaration of holy war on America - relating to the supposed failure of Muslim nations to receive the oil revenues they should, the occupation and settlement of what is regarded by Bin Laden as Palestinian land by Jews, and the occupation by US troops (seen as "infidels" or unbelievers by Muslims) of the sacred Arabian peninsula. The next part of the book is a most impressive study of Al-Qaeda's finances and points out that their vast financial reserves donated by ordinary Muslims are not very important to Bin Laden even though they do allow him to set up terrorist camps in Sudan and Afghanistan. The next part of the book is a comprehensive study of Osama Bin Laden's life. It begins with a study of his father, Muhammad Bin Laden, who was a wealthy businessman from a Yemeni background who moved to Saudi Arabia and offered service to the kings of the day. The book looks at his other family members, inluding Muhammad Bin Laden's many wives, and what has happened to the company Osama's father founded. The next part of the book shows how Osama developed into a Muslim leader and crusader against the "infidels". It traces him from his recruitment by the US and Saudi governments to fight against the Soveit invasion of Afghanistan, up to the time aroung 1989 when he turned on his former allies and lost his Saudi citizenship. This part of the book is very clear and not difficult to understand because of the clear focus on Bin Laden. The latter part of the book continues on with understanding Bin Laden's motifs and the way in which he has trained "martyrs" and other terrorists for the cause of Islam. Especially good is the way in which the author shows that, in contrast to the ephemeral character of issues in Western politics, for these committed Muslims holy war against the unbeliever is something that can and must be prepared for decades. This suggests many problems with present-day Western government as far as meeting the Muslim terrorist threat because sudden changes in policy, the author points out, can occur very easily in the West but are ruinous in dealing with this threat. Hence we in the West have a major dilemma about islamic terrorism. A wonderful addition to anyone's reading list about Islam and terrorism after September 11 2001.
Rating:
Summary: 10 stars and should be required reading
Review: This is a book every public library should own and we are donating our copy to our local library. It is not an easy read for an American populace whose literature tastes have been dumbed down. Here is an author who comes as close to being a fly on the wall when it comes to Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the fastest growing part if Islam which is the poor, disenfranchised and radically violent men and women under the age of 35. My real concern is that our elected leaders may read the words the author has written but will not head the advise he offers, and in ignoring his words that what happened on 9/11 will pale in comparison with what will happen in the next few years. I was concerned when reading how the intelligence community the United States has, seems to prefer the ad nauseum political correctness approach to taking terrorism and preventative measures seriously. Especially during the Clinton administration. But in reading the book you may discover that the present Bush administration may suffer the same failures if they do not make Al Qaeda the MAIN focus of terrorism since the Saddam/Iraq problem is/was a walk in the park. He didn't have the rabid, strap on bombs, willing to die for the cause warriors that Osama Bin Laden has. His army and Republican Guard paled in comparison to the warriors that Osama Bin Laden has which number in the millions.
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