Reaping the Whirlwind

'Filled with the dramatic moments, ironies and political intrigues ... Griffin writes engagingly.' The New York Times Book Review

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'Michael Griffin has reached a better understanding of the Taliban in his book than I have come across anywhere else. This is a highly intelligent account of one of the most interesting and disturbing political movements in the world, and is essential reading to anyone who wishes to understand its nature.' John Simpson, BBC



First published weeks before Al Qa’ida became the most reviled Islamist movement in history, this thoroughly updated edition of Michael Griffin’s widely acclaimed book provides a detailed account of the Taliban, its relationship with Osama bin Ladin, the hatching of the September 11 conspiracy and the US war in Afghanistan.



Reaping the Whirlwind now includes:

• A blow-by-blow account of the September 11 hijackings, the FBI failure to arrest the main protagonists and the Bush administration’s ambivalence to the Al Qa’ida threat in its first nine months in office

• Detailed analysis of the US war in Afghanistan, with critical examination of the battles of Kunduz, Tora Bora and Shah-I-Kot, the Pentagon’s use of proxy warlords to shield American troops, and Washington’s questionable commitment to the region’s other recent model of reconstruction and ‘regime-change’

• An examination of the financial links that tie key figures in the Bush administration with the Saudi sponsors of Osama bin Ladin, Central Asia’s crucial energy resources, the BCCI fraud of the early 1990s and its role in secretly funding the anti-Soviet jihad

• Profiles of leading players in the Afghanistan saga, from Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden to murdered resistance fighter Ahmed Shah Massoud and the new head of state, Hamid Karzai



Level-headed and plausible in an area that is always going to be filled with the wildest speculation, Griffin dissects the tangle of policies, ideologies, events and personalities that led to the destruction of the World Trade Center and the new panorama of the ‘war on terrorism’. Written with energy and authority, Reaping the Whirlwind provides a coherent narrative and chronology of events that historians, journalists and commentators will consider an essential reference work for years to come.





'It is this complicated story – the rise of the warlords and their subsequent vanquishing by the Taliban – that Michael Griffin describes in his splendid book.' The New Statesman



Reaping the Whirlwind has received major review coverage in the national papers.