1. INTRODUCING MUSTAFA HAMID
On how we met
From a rocky introduction, dialogue and, eventually, a book
2. THE ARAB-AFGHAN JIHAD
A low-profile start
The first Arab arrivals
Lack of training for Arabs and Afghans
Pakistan's role
3. EARLY TRAINING INITIATIVES FOR ARABS AND AFGHANS, AND THE BEGINNING OF THE TALIBAN MOVEMENT
Mawlawi Nasrullah Mansur and the real beginnings of the Taliban movement
Arrival of the Pakistani trainer Rashid Ahmad
Mawlawi Mansur and Rashid's establishment of the Qais camp
Rashid and Mawlawi Mansur's contribution to the Afghan and Arab jihad
4. TWO MEMOS AND AN IDEA THAT SPREAD: THE REAL ORIGINS OF MAKTAB AL-KHADAMAT
The two memos: early suggestions for an Arab-led organisation
Azzam, Sayyaf and bin Laden establish Maktab al-Khadamat
Early Arab training and combat efforts
The establishment of Sadda camp by Maktab al-Khadamat
5. THE JAJI BATTLES AND BIN LADEN'S ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AL-MASADAH CAMP
How and why al-Masadah was established
Opposition to bin Laden's establishment of al-Masadah
The Jaji battle and its aftermath
Exclusion of the Afghans
On leadership and lessons: the dangers of the Jaji success
6. CONFUSED ORIGINS: AL-QAEDA'S POST-JAJI EMERGENCE AND THE ARAB-ADVISORY COUNCIL
The how, when and why of al-Qaeda's formation
More than a move: al-Qaeda's relocation to Khost and its turn away from Afghanistan
Changing focus: Arab-Afghan efforts to gain bin Laden's support and al-Qaeda's resources
Al-Qaeda and the Arab-Afghan Advisory Council
The Arab-Afghan yard: disagreements, arguments and power plays
Training
7. JALALABAD AND THE ARAB-AFGHAN TRAINING STORM
An inglorious defeat
Ikhwan Muslimin enters the fray
The rise of the current of preparation and the Jalalabad School
8. THE AFGHAN CIVIL WAR, PAKISTAN'S CRACKDOWN AND ARAB-AFGHAN FLIGHT
Short on options: bin Laden's journey from house arrest in Saudi Arabia to Pakistan
The fall of the Kabul regime, Afghanistan's descent into civil war and Pakistan's crackdown on Arab-Afghans
The forgotten men on the mountain: the Arab-Afghans who remained in Khost
9. THE ARAB-AFGHAN RETURN AND THE RISE OF THE TALIBAN
An unhappy return to Afghanistan
From Tora Bora a declaration of jihad
The Taliban gain a controversial guest
10. STRONG HORSE, WEAK HORSE: ARAB-AFGHAN POLITICS AND AL-QAEDA'S REALPOLITIK
Bin Laden's invitation to Khattab
Bin Laden's outreach to the Pakistanis
The politics among the Arab-Afghan groups about giving oaths to Mullah Omar
The politics between Abu Musab al-Suri and al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda's support for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as a counterweight to Abu Musab al-Suri 3
Khaldan closes operations in Jalalabad
Al-Qaeda's training efforts in Kandahar and Kabul
11. UNITY EFFORTS AMONG ARAB-AFGHANS, THE LEAD UP TO 9/11 AND THE AMERICAN INVASION
The Uzbek-al-Qaeda relationship and Mullah Omar's appointment of Uzbek military leader, Juma Bai, as amir of the foreign brigade in Kabul
The al-Qaeda, Tanzim al-Jihad merger
Disagreement about al-Qaeda's upcoming (9/11) attacks
Al-Qaeda's pre-9/11 preparations for an American retaliation and an absence of warnings
The American invasion
12. REFLECTIONS
GLOSSARY
CAMPS, ORGANISATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
LOCATIONS
REFERENCES