Al-Qaeda's Post-9/11 Devolution

Reviews / Votes

Dr. Celso makes a substantial contribution to the scholarship with this new work. Consistently and accurately researched, and articulately written, this book will make important and ground breaking reading for policy makers and academics alike. This book should be required reading for anyone who truly wishes to understand the Al-Qaeda threat. * Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., Associate Professor of Political Science, Angelo State University, USA * A superb work that takes the reader far beyond the traditional and inaccurate representations of Al-Qaeda and its affiliates as existential threats to the global community and in particular the West. Using a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Celso illustrates how weak these extremist organizations are, how harried they are by their pursuers, and why concerns about the threats they pose, if by no means unfounded, are in general overblown. The devolution of Al-Qaeda into weaker affiliate groups with less capable leaders and major impediments to funding, training, and the execution of attacks, is clear throughout the narrative. Celso explains with great skill how the 'hunters' have become the 'hunted,' and the degree to which Al-Qaeda has become, in the author's words, 'a badly crippled and failed organization.' Will be profitably read by military, homeland-security, and law-enforcement personnel as well as scholars and any serious students of terrorism. * Robert S. Ehlers, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of Security Studies, Angelo State University, USA * Anthony Celso has written an exceptionally important book on the "devolution" of Al-Qaeda after 9/11. While some pundits still believe that Al-Qaeda remains a viable terrorist organization, Celso's research has revealed the opposite. He shows in clear terms that Al-Qaeda's central message of jihad is failing to resonate with affiliates and associated organizations and that fragmentation has caused their 'vexation and exhaustion' campaign to founder. While Al-Qaeda still has the capacity to cause serious trouble, Celso shows that they are in organization in decline and this is good news for everyone. * Charles P. Neimeyer, Ph.D. Director, USMC History/Gray Research Center, Quantico, VA, USA * Dr. Celso's book takes its readers into the fascinating journey of exploring the changing nature of global terrorist networks, as a separately acknowledged phenomenon. Constantly mutating nature of Al-Qaeda, the flagship of modern-day trans-border terror, poses considerable challenges to the defense and security communities worldwide. Dr. Celso did a superb job in bringing together in a comprehensive way all the functional and regional transformations of Al-Qaeda and its implications for the counter-terrorist efforts across the globe. The book is a great read for all those interested in knowing what the 'new' terrorism is; what threats it presents to the civilized world and how to tackle it. * Robert Nalbandov, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Utah State University, USA *