Join author Mike Springmann for a discussion and signing of his book Visas for Al Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked the World: An Insider's View.
Mike Springmann is a former head of the US visa section in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 1987-1989.
In his book, "Visas for al-Qaeda: CIA Handouts that Rocked the World", Springmann details how, "during the 1980s, the CIA recruited and trained Muslim operatives to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Later, the CIA would move those operatives from Afghanistan to the Balkans, and then to Iraq, Libya, and Syria, traveling on illegal US visas. These US-backed and trained fighters would morph into an organization that is synonymous with jihadist terrorism: al-Qaeda."
"I Know. I Was There. I Issued The Visas"
Sep 16, 2026 3:00 pm
