Osama bin Laden was an avid reader.
The al Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind spent years in hiding after the United States invaded Afghanistan. He was eventually traced to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed by commandos in a 2011 raid.
On Wednesday, the U.S. released a "sizable tranche of documents" taken from the compound that night, which included a list of the English-language books found on bin Laden's bookshelf.
Among them are a simplistic guide to understanding Islam, Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars and Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival.
Here's the full reading list, courtesy of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The 2030 Spike by Colin Mason
A Brief Guide to Understanding Islam by I. A. Ibrahim
America’s Strategic Blunders by Willard Matthias
America’s “War on Terrorism” by Michel Chossudovsky
Al-Qaeda’s Online Media Strategies: From Abu Reuter to Irhabi 007 by Hanna Rogan
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast
The Best Enemy Money Can Buy by Anthony Sutton
Black Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century by Bev Harris
Bloodlines of the Illuminati by Fritz Springmeier
Bounding the Global War on Terror by Jeffrey Record
Checking Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions by Henry Sokolski and Patrick Clawson
Christianity and Islam in Spain 756-1031 A.D. by C. R. Haines
Civil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources, and Strategies by Cheryl Benard
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
Conspirators’ Hierarchy: The Committee of 300 by John Coleman
Crossing the Rubicon by Michael Ruppert
Fortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance (only the book’s introduction) by C. Christine Fair and Peter Chalk
Guerilla Air Defense: Antiaircraft Weapons and Techniques for Guerilla Forces by James Crabtree
Handbook of International Law by Anthony Aust
Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky
Imperial Hubris by Michael Scheuer
In Pursuit of Allah’s Pleasure by Asim Abdul Maajid, Esaam-ud-Deen and Dr. Naahah Ibrahim
International Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific by John Ikenberry and Michael Mastandano
Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War II by William Blum
Military Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-Wilson
"Project MKULTRA, the CIA’s program of research in behavioral modification." Joint hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research of the Committee on Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session, August 3, 1977. United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Intelligence.
Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies by Noam Chomsky
New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray Griffin
New Political Religions, or Analysis of Modern Terrorism by Barry Cooper
Obama’s Wars by Bob Woodward
Oxford History of Modern War by Charles Townsend
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy
Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower by William Blum
The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Hall (1928)
Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace Mullins
The Taking of America 1-2-3 by Richard Sprague
Unfinished Business, U.S. Overseas Military Presence in the 21st Century by Michael O’Hanlon
The U.S. and Vietnam 1787-1941 by Robert Hopkins Miller
“Website Claims Steve Jackson Games Foretold 9/11,” article posted on ICV2.com (this file contained only a single saved web page)
The release of the documents comes less than two weeks after journalist Seymour Hersh published an article casting doubt on the official story of bin Laden's killing. Among Hersh's claims -- which the White House has sought to discredit -- was that the "treasure trove" of documents obtained from bin Laden's compound was either worthless or fabricated.
"The release, which followed a rigorous interagency review, aligns with the President’s call for increased transparency–consistent with national security prerogatives–and the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act, which required the ODNI to conduct a review of the documents for release," said Jeffrey Anchukaitis, Deputy Director, Public Affairs in a statement. He added that the information released was deemed not a threat to ongoing operations against al Qaeda or its affiliates.
We're still going through the documents and will likely post more on them later today. You can see the full cache on the ODNI's website.