Book Description
In the aftermath of 9/11, America has been haunted by one question: why do they hate us? This book is an attempt to answer that question, tracing the roots of the crisis back to American's involvement in the Middle East, and in particular Lebanon. Journalist Lawrence Pintak was a correspondent for CBS in Beirut in the 1980s, where he witnessed the birth of the current 'terror': its tactics were honed there. In Seeds of Hate, he explores how America's flawed policy in the Lebanon transformed Muslim perceptions of the US -- from impartial peacekeeper to hated enemy of the Lebanese Muslims. Seeds of Hate is required reading for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how and why the relationship between America and the Middle East is now more volatile than ever. Pintak explores the links between those who carried out the terror war in Lebanon and the current wave of terror, examining in-depth the ongoing -- but little publicised -- role played by key figures behind the Beirut bombings. He considers how the template for shaping would-be terrorists is being replicated from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia and speaks with victims of the earlier wave of terror. Pintak also explores the differences between terrorism of al-Qa'ida and its allies, and that of Palestinians on the West Bank.

Book Info
Text attempts to answer the question of why the Middle East hates America. Traces the roots of terror back to the US military intervention in Lebanon. Softcover, hardcover available from the publisher. DLC: Lebanon--History--Israeli intervention, 1982-1984.

About the Author
Lawrence Pintak is a veteran foreign correspondent who has reported from more than 40 countries. As CBS News Middle East correspondent in the 1980s, he covered the birth of modern Islamic terrorism in Beirut. He writes frequently on terrorism, the Middle East and Southeast Asia for a variety of publications.

SYNOPSIS

Journalist Pintak was in Beirut during the disastrous two-year US war there in the early 1980s. It was there, if anywhere since the Crusades, he says that US treachery spawned the hate that blossomed on 9-11 and continues to grow. He updates his 1988 account, which has Lebanon instead of Middle East in the subtitle. Distributed in the US by Stylus. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Washington Post