Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
There's a lot that's intriguing in this examination of the economic links between the United States and Middle East oil and the diplomatic side of the war on terrorism-but this expos‚ occasionally suffers from insinuations that outstrip the evidence presented. The authors, both French intelligence experts, attempt to detail how "political channels, financial networks, oil stakes and secret diplomatic deals" helped support Osama bin Laden and his band of fundamentalist terrorists. They do spell out how worldwide Islamic charities helped fund terrorism and the fact that al-Qaeda received substantial funds from Saudi sources. Relying on both primary and secondary sources, the authors also add nuance to our understanding of the situation, noting, for example, that Libya, after an assassination attempt against Khadafy, was the first country to issue a warrant for bin Laden's arrest, in 1998. Among their more surprising charges (though they admit there is no direct evidence of the links) is that scandal-ridden BCCI-of which one of bin Laden's brothers-in-law is a former top executive-"is now at the center of [bin Laden's] financial network," supporting him with an intricate chain of business, banking and family ties. Other points-such as the implication that Bush administration officials have some guilt in the September 11 attacks because they worked for oil companies that had dealings with Saudi oil companies and had an interest in oil pipelines running through Afghanistan-rely also on heavily circumstantial evidence. This was a bestseller in France, but here it may be buried in the flood of September 11 books.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
There's been a lot of prepublication buzz about this book, especially on the Web. A best-seller in Europe and banned in Switzerland (because of a bin Laden lawsuit), this first American edition links the events of September 11 to pipeline politics, especially as practiced by the Bush administration. Although these sorts of charges have been made in a general way, the authors have collected a great deal of information, all footnoted. Investigating for three years, Brisard and Dusquie were able to... read more
Book Description
An international bestseller, banned in Switzerland by the bin Laden family, FORBIDDEN TRUTH: U.S. -Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy and the Failed Hunt for Bin Laden by Jean-Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie shows how U.S. national security in Afghanistan was disastrously compromised by corporate oil interests and Saudi Arabia.
Author Brisard wrote the first intelligence report on the bin Laden financial networks which was used to close down fraudulent Islamic charities that funded terrorism, a report that President Jacques Chirac handed to George Bush on his visit to the US in the wake of 9/11.
Forbidden Truth reveals that French intelligence gave the FBI clear and unambiguous information that the so-called 20th hijacker, Zacarias Massaoui, was tied to Al Qaeda, a story Brisard broke to Salon magazine before Special Agent Coleen Rowley came out publicly to say the FBI stifled the investigation.
John O’Neill the former head of the FBI’s antiterrorism division – who perished in the World Trade Center on September 11— told Jean-Charles Brisard in July 2001, "All of the answers, all of the clues allowing us to dismantle Osama bin Laden's organization, can be found in Saudi Arabia."
The result of three years of investigation by a leading French intelligence expert and investigative journalist, Forbidden Truth is the untold story of the Clinton and Bush administration's attempts to stabilize Afghanistan so that U.S. energy companies could build a pipeline. In particular, it details the secret and hazardous diplomacy between the Bush administration and the Taliban between February and August 2001 — a story still untold in the U.S. media — talks that ultimately led the US to make threats via Pakistani intermediaries to the Taliban in July 2001 that they were going to bomb Afghanistan if the Taliban didn't comply.
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25 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
3 out of 5 stars not as good as it might have been, December 11, 2002
Reviewer: Conn_Yankee (see more about me) from Woodbridge, VA USA
I wanted very much to like this book and be able to recommend it to others, out of my conviction that the Bush family (and other powerful US financial/political dynasties) have sold out America's true national security interests to the Saudis. There is much about 9/11 we may never know because it would be too embarrassing to Dubya and his oil cronies.
Unfortunately, Forbidden Truth falls short of expectations: it was obviously written in a hurry, to capitalize on 9/11. Plus, I disagree with those reviewers who say it is well researched; looking at the footnotes, one is struck by how heavily the authors rely on a small handful of sources, primarily what appear to be Swiss banking publications (Brisard and Dasquie don't bother to explain the provenance of their sources). The evidence for some of their more damning "revelations" is exceedingly thin, and in a few cases wouldn't pass muster in a high school journalism class. The authors cite no Saudi sources whatsoever and neither appears ever to have set foot in the Middle East.
Moreover, the title of the US edition of the book is very misleading: Forbidden Truth has precious little to say about the Taliban and the ongoing search for Osama bin Laden. Instead, the book quite oddly shifts emphasis to Muammar Qaddafi. Why the Libyan leader should merit an entire chapter and an Appendix in this short book is beyond me; it seems the authors got hold of an old Interpol document and felt compelled to publish it somewhere.
Despite these misgivings, I gave Forbidden Truth 3 stars because it does raise a few critical points and open worthwhile avenues of investigation and research. It's not that I disbelieve Brisard and Dasquie; in fact, the Truth is probably much worse than they present it. It's the shoddiness of their presentation that I take issue with.
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77 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
4 out of 5 stars The ugly world of realpolitik is exposed, July 24, 2002
Reviewer: Birdwell (see more about me) from Frederick, MD USA
Brisard and Dasquie's "Forbidden Truth" is a very solid piece of research that contains more than a few surprises about the realpolitiks of the Middle East, especially as it pertains to the United States and Saudi Arabia. The book turns a number of received wisdoms on their head and should give everyone concerned about the war on terror a few things to think about.
Of course, the authors show that fossil fuels drives American policy in the region. The Clinton and Bush administrations both negotiated with the Taliban for the construction of a natural gas pipeline to be built in Afghan territory despite clear-cut evidence of the regime's human rights abuses. However, the book also makes the eye-popping suggestion that U.S. representatives may have recklessly threatened the Taliban prior to the September 11 attack, thereby provoking Al Qaeda into action.
Basically, Brisard and Dasquie explain that Saudi Arabia supports radical Islamic movements (including the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Usama Bin Laden) in order to extend its hegemony over the area. Saudi support of the Taliban, for example, helped keep Afghanistan from falling under Iranian influence. Interestingly, the authors point out that the first arrest warrant ever issued against Usama Bin Laden came not from the U.S. -- which wanted to overlook Usama's behavior in order to keep Saudi oil flowing -- but from Libya.
I must admit that all of this came as quite a surprise to me, since Saudi Arabia has always been portrayed as a staunch ally of the U.S. In fact, Brisard and Dasquie recall how U.S. oil companies helped the country develop, but they also show that the Kingdom remains dependent on religion to maintain control over its people. So the country is practically schizophrenic in its need to simultaneously maintain business ties with the U.S. and defend against the spread of Arab nationalism by covertly preaching the gospel of anti-Americanism.
The authors go into considerable detail illuminating the people, organizations and financial relationships that make the Saudi-supported terror network possible. The indictments reach the highest levels of Saudi society. In this light, it appears that Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda simply spun out of their master's control and took the anti-American cause too far.
All this should give us pause to consider why the U.S. allowed the Saudis to play such a dangerous game for so long. Also, one would think that prudence should compel the U.S. to develop an energy policy that does not depend on Middle Eastern oil. But already, Brisard and Dasquie report that talks for the pipeline have resumed since the installation of the Karzai regime in Afghanistan in May 2002.
On a technical note, the book could benefit from additional editorial work to correct a few grammatical errors (presumably due to the translation from French to English?) and several footnote mistakes. Stylistically, the author's research sometimes makes for dry reading, but that is only because the facts have been meticulously documented and presented. So although "Forbidden Truth" is at times far from entertaining, the reader is nevertheless impressed with the professionalism of the research and its air-tight conclusions. (Indeed, sensing the threat that the book poses to its business empire, the Bin Laden family succeeded in getting the book banned in Switzerland.)
"Forbidden Truth" is recommended for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the dynamics underlying the war on terror.
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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 3.77 out of 5 stars
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4 out of 5 stars Good, but no killer blow, September 29, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from Glasgow, UK
Demonstrates many of the connections between US oil interests, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the government of Saudi Arabia. Much of the research was done by John O'Neill, formerly in charge of the FBI's counter-terrorism work, who died in the WTC on 9/11. Opens up a lot of questions on why the US government is protecting people in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan who are themselves protecting terrorists attacking the USA. However, it does not clearly demonstrate a high-level government conspiracy along the lines of the Iran-Contra cocaine smuggling scandal of the 1980s. Much of the criticism of conservative reviewers here is odd, considering that the same basic points have been made from a conservative perspective by people like Dore Gold, albeit without so much supporting evidence.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5 out of 5 stars I can see why the Bush people tried to ban this book, September 21, 2003
Reviewer: truthandjustice (see more about me) from USA
Some people would try to say this book shouldn't be trusted because it is written by the French, but I look at it this way, if, John O'Neill, the former head of the FBI's antiterrorism division, trusted Brisard enough to confide with him about his fears of Al Queda and the answers to them being found in Saudi Arabia and of our government, especially the current administration, of trying to block him from further investigation in that direction, then I feel I can also trust the author (besides which, much of the information in the book is being validated elsewhere). The administration tried to make France sound terrible because they voted against going to war against Iraq without more reliable information, that was a right that they had as we have in the United States. Remember, if it hadn't been for the help of the French, we wouldn't be the United States now.
Anyway, back to the book. I am going to quote a part of the forward that gives a little summary of the book, "Forbidden Truth" is the first comprehensive revelation of how the foreign policy of the President's father and the cozy relationship with the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia exploited and created an extremist army that eventually turned on its creators."
"our government knew Saudi government was financing bin Laden's Al Queda through Islamic charities years before the attacks."
Oil, and the power and money that it can give to certain individuals can be addictive and lead to abuses. Because of how much our country depends on oil, a lot things have been overlooked by our government and certain people who profit from it in a huge way (the lives of our citizens take the back seat for many of these people).
There was a pipeline for oil dream that developed that concerned Afghanistan, but in order for our companies to be able to go through it, the country had to be stable, which different people tried to show the U.S. (some our own people) that it was, when in fact it was just the opposite. They were succeeding until the Taliban treatment of their women and their vile actions were found out. Unicol a division of Chevron, of which Condoleeza Rice was a director of for years, was the company wanting to build the pipeline. A representative from our country, who had been trying to negotiate with the Taliban to give us Osama Bin Laden and let us run a pipeline through Afghanistan reportedly told them that they could be blanketed with a carpet of money or with bombs if they didn't comply.
The book details Osama bin Laden's path and describes Saudis and the events that led up to 9/11. It also shows how the same people who were involved in the previous Bush administration are still involved in this one and it shows many connections of these people to the Oil and the defense building, like the Carlyle Group. These are the people making a lot of money because of the war and stand to make a lot more, using our tax dollars and our young men and women to pay for it. I think everyone should read this book and you will get a better idea of how Al Queda developed and why it became what it is today. People from other countries know more about what is going on than we do and that seems to be the way our government wants it but we can no longer trust that we are receiving the whole truth, we need to dig deeper. You owe it to your country.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4 out of 5 stars Not Innuendo., July 26, 2003
Reviewer: almandude (see more about me) from Rowlett, TX
Brilliant, scathing journalism. Well researched, documented, sourced, and most of the information in the book is attributed to verifiable sources. Much of the 28 blacked-out pages in the recently released 911 investigation is probably already covered here, detailing Saudi involvement in terrorism, specifically financing. Read it & find out what the US mainstream media doesn't seem to have the guts to cover.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5 out of 5 stars economic history and linking the institutions--valuable info, July 19, 2003
Reviewer: debocracy (see more about me) from San Francisco, CA United States
I now have a better understanding of the political economy of oil since reading this book. It details the support given the Saudi Arabian government by petrodollars while the US turned a blind eye to the Wahhabi brand of fundamentalist Islam that is SA's state religion. From Wahhabi comes Osama. If he were disowned by the BinLadin family, utterly a creature of the SA government, don't you think they could have gotten to his funds as well? The US may have indeed fueled the horror of 911 by threatening the Taliban with a carpet of bombs in the summer of 2001, then ignoring the warning signals that they should have unwaveringly tracked. So WHAT if both Clinton and the Bushes and everyone else have unclean hands? Who said Democrats weren't corporate shills just like Republicans? Take yourself out of the two-party boundaries and look at the evil transnational corporations do.
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