CIA veteran Scheuer examines the ongoing instability in Iraq and argues that the U.S has provided al Qaeda and its allies with the one thing they want most: a safe haven from which to launch operations across borders into countries that were previously difficult for them to reach.

Title from container. Abridged. Compact disc. In container (17 cm.) "An abridgement"--container.

Preface -- Introduction -- Author's note : intentions, methods, and sources -- Getting to 9/11 -- Readying Bin Laden's way : America and the Muslim world, 1973-1996 -- Fighting Islamists with a blinding cold war hangover, 1996-2001 -- Six years of war, 2001-2007 -- Afghanistan : a final chance to learn history applies to America -- Iraq : America bled white by history unlearned -- And the Islamists fire spreads -- Where stands the war? -- The bottom is out of the tub : taking stock for America -- "O enemy of God, I will give thee no respite" : al-Qaeda and its allies take stock -- Where to from here? -- A humble suggestion America first -- $Epilogue : an abiding uniqueness.