Forbidden Truth: U.S.-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and the Failed Search for bin Laden

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 follow the dots along a "parallel diplomacy" in which the private negotiations of oil tycoons, religious extremists, international financiers, and American politicians had little to do with the U.S.' best interests. The book is not particularly easy on the Clinton administration; however, especially incriminating is the authors' claim that FBI counterterror chief John O'Neil quit his job to become security head at the Twin Towers, where he died, because of his frustrations with the Bush administration's willingness to accommodate the Taliban (and bin Laden) for the sake of the pipeline. Considering how complicated the material is, this book is surprisingly easy to follow. It could wind up as the first 9/11 book for conspiracy theorists or as the story behind the story. Maybe both. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Los Angeles Times
"The book opens with a scoop ... and an indictment of the hypocrisy of western governments."


U.S. Representative Ron Paul calling for an investigation of charges made in the book on the House floor
"The charges made by [Brisard and Dasquié] deserve close scrutiny."


Joseph Trento, author of The Secret History of the CIA
"[T]he most important explanation of the secret history of how the U.S. came to be attacked and who was responsible."


Publishers Weekly
"There's a lot that's intriguing in this examination of the economic links between the United States and Middle East oil."


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.


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French


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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. (Sept. 20)


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