Abdel Bari Atwan is a Palestinian writer and journalist recognized for his extensive career as editor-in-chief of the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi. He now directs the news website Rai al-Youm. Atwan draws upon his deeply cultivated sources within Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda and IS, to write authoritatively on critical contemporary issues. His work offers unique insights into these organizations and their profound global impact.
An autobiography of newspaper editor Abdel Bari Atwan who recounts his many extraordinary encounters, including tea with Margaret Thatcher, his weekend with Osama bin Laden, intimate meetings with Yasser Arafat, and the row between Colonel Gaddafi and the Shah of Iran that earned him his first journalistic break.
As al-Qa'ida enters its third decade, journalist Abdel Bari Atwan investigates how it has survived all attempts to destroy it; evolving, instead, into a global actor with a rapidly expanding portfolio of franchises and a variety of, sometimes unexpected, alliances.