I went to the library and checked out "The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" by Lawrence M. Wright. If General Petraeus thinks it's worth reading, then I should read it.Not an easy read at first, but once you get going it grabs you. The book begins with the story of Sayyid Qutb. Little-known to westerners, Qutb helped launch radical Islamist movement. He was hanged in Egypt in 1966 for plotting against the Egyptian government. After Qutb's death, Ayman al Zawahiri became a prominent leader in the fledgling Islamist movement in Egypt. Zawahiri continued working with Islamist cell groups plotting the overthrow of Egypt's secular government. An Islamist assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981, and Zawahiri and hundreds of Islamists were thrown into prison. Sadat's replacement? Hosni Mubarak, the current Egyptian president.
After release from prison, Al Zawahiri went to Saudi Arabia in 1985. He met Osama Bin Laden, which is described in chapter 4. That's where I am right now.
Initial thoughts through chapter 4: first, these Islamists are committed to destroying the United States, and it won't matter to them if the US president is Obama or Clinton or McCain. Second, the Islamists want an Islamic caliphate ruled by Sharia law, so they despise secular Muslim governments and will work to overthrow them. Third, they won't give up their plotting even if Iraq becomes a stable democracy. The front in their war might move to other countries, but these people are too determined to yield.
