America's Secret War - George Friedman

Book Sommaries: "Chapter 1: The Origins of the Fourth Global War

The U.S. war with Al Qaeda grew out of the Cold War. Specifically, it grew out of the decision by Jimmy Carter to use Saudi money and Pakistani intelligence to create a cadre of Islamist warriors to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda developed out of that decision.

Chapter 10: Tora Bora and Nuclear Nightmares

The battle of Tora Bora was a major defeat for the United States. Osama bin Laden and his team escaped into Pakistan from there, ready to fight another day. This involved a major crisis with Pakistan that threatened nuclear war on two levels. One was an Indian-Pakistani confrontation. The other, intelligence reporting that Al Qaeda had gotten hold of a nuclear weapon.

Chapter 13: The Great Reversal

The basic American strategy was to work with the Iraqi Shiites and the Iranian intelligence services to contain the Sunnis. That worked until April, 2004 when a Shiite uprising coinciding with the battle of Fallujah caused the United States to reverse its policy. It signed a treaty with Jihadist fighters in Fallujah and turned on the Iranians. Instead of getting control of Iraq, the Iranians were left with nothing but anger. "