#69: Peter Bergen - "The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden"

Twenty years after the worst terrorist attacks in US history, we speak with Peter Bergen, one of the foremost authorities on the threat the United States faces from fundamentalists. Bergen is a journalist for CNN who has interviewed Osama bin Laden and has now written a biography that catalogues "The Rise and Fall" of the terrorist who spearheaded the 9/11 attacks. Bergen argues that bin Laden's turn to terrorism was not pre-ordained, and that key events like the death of his father and the opportunity to wage war against the Soviets drove the rigorous practitioner of Islam to adopt violence in hopes of influencing the United States to give up its presence in Saudi Arabia and the Holy Land. Bergen describes what it was like to interview bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1997 and to tour bin Laden's compound in Pakistan after he finally faced punishment for the deaths of thousands of people across the world.Bergen's website can be found at peterbergen.comHe is on social media at www.twitter.com/peterbergencnnHis book was published by Simon and Schuster and can be found here at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Osama-bin-Laden/Peter-L-Bergen/9781982170523Support our show at patreon.com/axelbankhistory**A portion of every contribution is given to a charity for children's literacy**"Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at twitter.com/axelbankhistoryinstagram.com/axelbankhistoryfacebook.com/axelbankhistory