Best bahrain history books according to redditors

As the poster above indicated, this actually isn't correct and is a common misconception. The majority of those that engage in suicide bombing and similar attacks are actually college graduates. There is no "constructed example" of those who are the most susceptible to join terrorist organizations (as stated, people from all backgrounds seem to join), and mental disorders have little to no impact. Those in terrorist organizations generally have no higher levels of mental disorders than the general public. Often joining these types of organizations could be influenced by the desire of the young to be a part of something, which is something all of us experience at some point. A variety of personal factors, such as a death in the family, the feeling of no purpose, are only some of the reasons people join terrorist organizations. To go off a little with what you said, and maybe I interpreted you wrong and this is what you meant, people in in terrorist organizations tend to have a stronger tolerance of violence and aggression than others (but still "normal" levels).

Edit: Since many here seem to deny what I am saying and keep saying it's made up information, read this book on terrorism by an expert and it will back up the majority of my statements here.

I have a long list of books that I usually recommend to people who are interested in these types of subjects. Here are some that may be of interest to you. If you are ever interested in more books on the Middle East or international affairs issues, check out the r/geopolitics wiki.

As for the books that have been recommended to you, they are pretty good. I even repeated a few of them in my recommendations. The only ones that I would have reservations about are Gen. Daniel Bolger's because I have never read it.

Author | Title | Synopsis
---|---|----
Daniel Byman | Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Global Jihadist Movement: What Everyone Needs to Know | A terrific primer on al-Qaida, ISIL, and jihadism. Its a brief outline of the history of al-Qaida, its ideological underpinnings, and the rise of ISIL in the shadow of the Syrian Civil War.
Lawrence Wright | The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 | Probably the most approachable and argueably the best book for outlining the pro-9/11 history of al-Qaida and why 9/11 happened.
Michael Wiess and Hassan Hassan | ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror | One of several recent books on ISIL, this one provides an overview on the history and organization of ISIL.
Charles Lister | The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency | Written by an expert on jihadism in Syria, this books looks at the history and evolution of jihadists in the Syrian conflict.
Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger | ISIS: The State of Terror | Written by two top experts in the study of terrorism, this book focuses on how ISIL radicalizes and recruits individuals from all over the world to join their cause.
William McCants | The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State | An examination of ISIL's worldview and how it influenced its growth and strategy.
Kenneth Pollack | The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America | An excellent overview of the history of relations and tensions between the United States and Iran over the decades. Pollack published a second book on U.S.-Iranian relations in the wake of Iran's nuclear program called Unthinkable: Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy
Bob Woodward | Obama's Wars | Outline of the U.S. foreign policy decision making towards Iraq and Afghanistan in the early years of the Obama administration.
Michael R. Gordon | The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama | Follows U.S. strategic and political decision making process during the Iraq War and the U.S. occupation.
Peter R. Mansoor | Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War | An extensive outline of the development and outcome of the Surge during the U.S. Occupation of Iraq.
Mark Mazzetti | The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth | An overview of the CIA's targeted drone program against terrorist organizations.
Michael Morrell | The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism--From al Qa'ida to ISIS | Written by the former acting director of the CIA, this book examines U.S. counterterrorism successes and failures of the past two decades.

I was just there last weekend; while there, a demonstration broke out in a Shi'a neighborhood during a funeral procession that resulted in the police moving in to crack skulls. I saw what looked like a Cobra attack helicopter (not sure whose, Saudi or Bahrani) circling the neighborhood for most of the afternoon while police and army units sealed it with barricades, barb wire, and armored police vehicles. My Bahraini taxi driver (Bahrain has a high proportion of taxi drivers that are nationals and many are Shi'a) said they were trying to bring down the prime minister.

In a bar, a man, quite drunk, came up to me and said "Saudi military here, everything ok" before stumbling off for the bathroom.

With the exception of the traffic around the conflict zones, Bahrain has settled into a weird tit-for-tat cycle of protest, arrest, protest, arrest with hardly any political movement. The government has given up trying to stop demonstrations entirely and tolerates a few, but keeps strict control of where they can and can't go, never allowing them into Manama. I saw Bahrani police in the city center carrying assault rifles with noise suppressors during a trip in February 2013, though this time they just carried shotguns in the touristy old city.

Bahrani media reports these demonstrations, but slag them off as violent terrorists. (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/ is a local rag)

Internet remains heavily censored; anything about news in Bahrain is subject to restrictions, so when I did an Internet search about demonstrations I got blocked.

U.S. Embassy has frequent updates about demonstrations at: http://bahrain.usembassy.gov/demonstration.html

According to the most recent one, a "violent opposition group has called for countrywide demonstrations on March 8th." Bahrain is not big; it took me two hours to explore the place by car. These clashes will be intense and crowded.

Additionally, on Monday, a bomb went off killing three police, including an Emirati officer. Bombs are becoming more frequent; a week prior, another police officer was killed in a similar incident. (http://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/bahraini-delegation-visits-family-of-uae-martyr)

In Saudi Arabia, in the Shi'a village of Qatif, a smoldering uprising has been occurring since 2012. Qatif and Bahrain are not far from one another. Here's some video of protests there, but this is from 2011. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soEOxKxeux4). Chants of "Death to King Abdullah" are not uncommon in these protests. Saudi Arabia is terrified a Shi'a revolution in Bahrain would spread to their Eastern Province, where a majority of their oil is produced and exported.

As a long time resident of the Persian Gulf, I can attest to how much these governments are trying to keep a lid on Bahrain for fear a revolution there would lead to an explosion across the Gulf. Repression is more frequent; torture, more common, even in relatively 'liberal' places like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

There are two great books on the region that document what's happening here (and what might happen), both written by long-time residents of the Gulf.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Sheikhs-Coming-Collapse-Monarchies/dp/184904189X

http://www.amazon.com/Sectarian-Gulf-Bahrain-Arabia-Stanford/dp/0804785732

The problem with your comment is that it fails to distinguish the difference between al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad (JTWJ) before and after the invasion, and therefore doesn't assess the merits of Jean Edward Smith's claims.

Before the invasion, TJWJ aimed to topple the Jordanian government. After the invasion, the group's mission changed to focusing on Iraq.

Your comment therefore suggests that ISIS could have happened without the Iraq Invasion, and hence my disagreement.

As the authors of ISIS: State of Terror concluded

> “Many diverse factors contributed to the rise of ISIS, but its roots lie with Zarqawi and the 2003 invasion of Iraq that gave him purpose…“

Yea, it’s also detailed in The State is Terror

Spannend, weil Bahrain eine Schiiische Bevölkerungsmehrheit hat. Im Arabischen Frühling haben Schiiten und Sunniten gemeinsam gegen das Königshaus protestiert, aber die sind dann mit Saudi Arabischen Truppen dagegen vorgegangen und sind voll auf die sektiererische Schiene gegangen, haben Iran beeinflussung vorgeworfen und so weiter und so die Protestbewegung erfolgreich gespalten.



Gibt'n gutes Buch dazu: http://www.amazon.com/Sectarian-Gulf-Bahrain-Arabia-Stanford/dp/0804785732