The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright is an in-depth exploration of the events and people coalescing in the decades leading up to the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. Preceding the attack was a long and tumultuous history of international politics, power struggles, and infighting among several radical Islamic organizations. Ill-conceived interventions from the United States and the support of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East further enabled extremist organizations like Al-Qaeda to flourish and set in motion the events leading to 9/11.

The Looming Tower begins with a study of the life of Osama bin Laden, his radical beliefs and the formation of Al-Qaeda. Wright discusses how bin Laden was radicalized by his perception of the United States’ dual policies of supporting authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes while simultaneously decrying their oppressive behavior. Bin Laden saw the US’ lackluster response to the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a sign of cowardice and hypocrisy and began to advocate a more radical solution: a holy war on unbelievers. Wright compiles bin Laden’s speeches, advocacy of violent attacks against the US, and his subsequent rise as the leader of Al-Qaeda to show how these ideologies shaped the 9/11 attacks.

The Looming Tower then examines other influential Islamic radicals and their organizations, namely Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abdullah Azzam, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Wright offers pertinent background on each individual to provide further context to how their beliefs meshed with those of bin Laden and further distilled the anti-West sentiment that eventually gave rise to Al-Qaeda.

The book then shines a spotlight on United States’ foreign policy and its relationship with foreign governments and non-state actors, in particular its relationship with Saudi Arabia and the clandestine support of the Taliban by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Wright discusses how religious fundamentalism was allowed to flourish because of these regimes’ policies and the support of the US in the form of funding and arms during proxy battles in Afghanistan and Somalia. As a result, terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda had a safe haven provided to them and were able to formulate ideas and plans for more extreme and destructive operations.

One of the most crucial parts of The Looming Tower is Wright’s compelling analysis of the roles of the US intelligence community’s bungled response to the imminent threat posed by Al-Qaeda. Wright describes how the FBI, CIA, and intelligence agencies of foreign governments were aware of the threat but were either unable or unwilling to cooperate with each other to combat it.

The final section of The Looming Tower delves into the internal strife and turmoil that occurred within Al-Qaeda in the years leading up to 9/11, including an examination of bin Laden’s inner circle and their attempts to prevent the attack. This part of the book also examines how Al-Qaeda’s internal and external tensions led to the belief that a violent attack on the US was necessary for their message to reach a larger audience.

The Looming Tower is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the origins of Al-Qaeda and the factors that contributed to the 9/11 attacks. Through his in-depth analysis, Lawrence Wright offers an invaluable look at the powerful forces driving radical Islamic terrorism and the perils of US foreign policy in the Middle East. Furthermore, Wright successfully broadens the extant discourse of 9/11 by showing how the lack of cooperation in the intelligence community, the rise of religious extremism, and US interventions have all played a role in the attacks.