What Are You Reading 2013 - Page 26

Taking a break from the usual sci-fi fiction to read this really intriguing piece of Pulitzer-prize winning journalism. It's a lengthy and deep look into the happenings around the Middle East from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan onwards. The book really does a great job of detailing the overall scene of the mujahideen movement against the Soviets, and how it led to the creation of Sunni non-state funded terrorism and the general espionage and diplomatic situation of the Middle East and Central Asia prior to September 11, 2001.

For example, Coll explores how the spread of Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's ultra-conservative branch of Islam, came to spread its ideology throughout the Middle East due largely to a massive influx of oil money from the 1979 OPEC oil price gouging - leading to Wahhabi-funded religious schools which trained a huge number of mujahideen in and around the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. These fighters would then, after the victory against the USSR, disperse all around the Islamic world spreading a deadly mixture of hardcore guerilla warfare training and radical Saudi Sunni beliefs.

Also covered in extensive detail are the relationship between the various American intelligence and diplomatic agencies with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, the history of Afghanistan, the Afghan civil war following the Soviet expulsion, and the rise of bin Laden as a prominent terrorist figure. This book is very eye opening and what I find really worthwhile here is learning about how diplomacy and inter-institutional relationships work in the real world, which is in stark contrast with the simplicity you generally see on TV shows and movies.

Very worthwhile if you're interested in the subject, or want to broaden your knowledge of politics in general.