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Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus'ab al-Suri. By Brynjar Lia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-231-70030-6. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xii, 510. $28.95.
One should not use terms like "wow" and "zowie" in a respected, professional publication such as The Journal of Military History. Yet when one comes across a brilliant, wellresearched work, these are the terms that spring to mind. There must be something in the long, cold Scandinavian winters that leads to excellent work on warmer climes. The Scandinavian countries have produced some first-rate scholars on the Middle East and Central Asia. Brynjar Lia is one of them. He is a historian and research professor at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI), where he heads the FFI's research on international terrorism...