After bin Laden

Osama bin Laden is dead but al-Qaida remains the CIAs number one threat. With branches in strategic hotspots from Yemen and Somalia to North Africa and an increasing influence among home grown jihadis in the West, journalist and al-Qaida expert Abdel Bari Atwan investigates how the organisation has survived all attempts to destroy it. Al-Qaida after bin Laden has expanded its reach by cementing new alliances and exploiting the opportunities regional turmoil affords. The Arab Spring has opened new battlegrounds for jihadists, particularly in Libya, the Sahel, Syria and Egypt. As the extremist zeal for a global caliphate shows no sign of abating, Atwan profiles the next generation of foot soldiers and leaders and explores the new methods they embrace in the pursuit of jihad in a digital age. One of the sharpest commentators about al-Qaida and the Middle East Atwans sobering assessment deserves a wide audience. Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: from 9/11 to Abbottabad, The Ten-Year Search for Osama bin Laden Atwan captures the essence of Osama bin Laden, the man, his leadership, and why we will never be free of the legacy he left behind. Intelligent and fascinatingly readable Pat Lancaster, Editor-in-Chief, Middle East Magazine An extraordinarily gifted, experienced and knowledgeable analyst of Arab affairs this is essential reading. Dame Ann Leslie DBE