“When news of the first plane's hitting the World Trade Center reached them, bin Laden's followers exploded with joy. But shrewder members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan realized that the attacks might not be the stunning victory that bin Laden, and many in the West, took them to be.”

American journalist and national security analyst Bergen is a leading voice on terrorism and geopolitics, known for his work as CNN’s chief national security correspondent and as a senior director at the New America Foundation. His books and reporting have shaped public understanding of conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.