Michael Scheuer-the former chief of the bin Laden unit at the CIA's Counterterrorist Center-is the bestselling author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terrorism and Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America. With Osama bin Laden, Scheuer challenges bin Laden biographers who depict the mastermind of the attacks of September 11, 2001, as a no-longer-relevant historical figure. Instead, he offers a hard-headed, closely reasoned portrait that shows bin Laden as a leader and strategic genius with considerable rhetorical abilities. Patient, devout, and ruthless, Scheuer's bin Laden remains a formidable enemy of the West.

  (recorded 2/10/2011)