Atwater argues that al Qaeda is more capable and dangerous than ever in this quasi-academic discussion of the world's most problematic global terrorist organization. As a matter of fact, Atwan asserts twice that the organization has as much clout and many of the same resources as a state! Scary stuff.
The problem with this work is that the entire premise of the work relies not on Atwan's analysis of al Qaeda, per se, but rather on what he calls "AQAM" - al Qaeda and Associated Movements. Bundling together groups as diverse as the Haqqani network, Bolo Haram, Lakshar e Taiba, and the Taliban (both factions) - as well as all the "lone wolf" personalities who have launched or attempted to launch terrorist attacks against western interests - into a monstrously powerful and somehow cohesive network that is well on its way to world domination...well, it just didn't sit all that well with me, especially since he just dismisses the very real problems of competing agendas, interests, and capabilities among these groups. He also ignores the reality of, for lack of a better term, the "Arab street," which has rejected radical jihadist ideologies on multiple occasions and in multiple societies over the past 25 years (he also has a bad habit of talking about the Arab Springs as a monolithic event and the Muslim world as a singular society).
Overall, I found this a useful book for my 9/11 senior seminar because it gives a clear counterargument to much of what's out there and offers great insight into how to build a weak argument, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone seeking a single work to inform them of the post OBL al Qaeda and its capabilities.