Download or read book Terrorism The Basics written by James Lutz and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2011-02-28 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Terrorism: The Basics is an ideal starting point for anyone interested in one of the most discussed, written about and analysed aspects of modern life. Common misconceptions are dispelled as the authors provide clear and jargon-free answers to the big questions: What does terrorism involve? Who can be classified as a terrorist? What are terrorists trying to achieve? Who are the supporters of terrorism? Can there ever be an end to terrorist activity? These questions and more are answered with reference to contemporary groups and situations allowing readers to relate theory to what they have seen on the news. Written with clarity and insight, this book is the perfect first book on terrorism for students of all levels.

Download or read book What Terrorists Want written by Louise Richardson and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is at the top of my list for best books on terrorism.” –Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill How can the most powerful country in the world feel so threatened by an enemy infinitely weaker than we are? How can loving parents and otherwise responsible citizens join terrorist movements? How can anyone possibly believe that the cause of Islam can be advanced by murdering passengers on a bus or an airplane? In this important new book, groundbreaking scholar Louise Richardson answers these questions and more, providing an indispensable guide to the greatest challenge of our age. After defining–once and for all–what terrorism is, Richardson explores its origins, its goals, what’s to come, and what is to be done about it. Having grown up in rural Ireland and watched her friends join the Irish Republican Army, Richardson knows from firsthand experience how terrorism can both unite and destroy a community. As a professor at Harvard, she has devoted her career to explaining terrorist movements throughout history and around the globe. From the biblical Zealots to the medieval Islamic Assassins to the anarchists who infiltrated the cities of Europe and North America at the turn of the last century, terrorists have struck at enemies far more powerful than themselves with targeted acts of violence. Yet Richardson understands that terrorists are neither insane nor immoral. Rather, they are rational political actors who often deploy carefully calibrated tactics in a measured and reasoned way. What is more, they invariably go to great lengths to justify their actions to themselves, their followers, and, often, the world. Richardson shows that the nature of terrorism did not change after the attacks of September 11, 2001; what changed was our response. She argues that the Bush administration’s “global war on terror” was doomed to fail because of an ignorance of history, a refusal to learn from the experience of other governments, and a fundamental misconception about how and why terrorists act. As an alternative, Richardson offers a feasible strategy for containing the terrorist threat and cutting off its grassroots support. The most comprehensive and intellectually rigorous account of terrorism yet, What Terrorists Want is a daring intellectual tour de force that allows us, at last, to reckon fully with this major threat to today’s global order. KIRKUS- starred review "The short answer? Fame and payback, perhaps even a thrill. The long answer? Read this essential, important primer. Terrorist groups have many motives and ideologies, notes Richardson (Executive Dean/Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study), but they tend to similar paths: They are founded by mature, well-educated men but staffed by less learned and certainly more pliable youths; they are fueled by a sense of injustice and the conviction that only they are morally equipped to combat it; they see themselves as defenders and not aggressors; they often define the terms of battle. And, of course, this commonality: "Terrorists have elevated practices that are normally seen as the excesses of warfare to routine practice, striking noncombatants not as an unintended side effect but as a deliberate strategy." Thus massacres, suicide bombings and assassinations are all in a day's work. Richardson argues against Karl Rove, who after 9/11 mocked those who tried to understand the enemy, by noting that only when authorities make efforts to get inside the minds of their terrorist enemies do they succeed in defeating them, as with the leadership of the Shining Path movement in Peru. Still, as Rove knows, if terrorists share a pathology, then so do at least some of their victims: Once attacked, people in democratic societies are more than willing to trade freedom for security. Richardson closes by offering a set of guidelines for combating terrorism, with such easily remembered rules as "Live by your principles" and "Engage others in countering terrorists with you"–observing, in passing, that the Bush administration's attack on Iraq and subsequent occupation will likely be remembered as serving as a recruiting poster for still more terrorists. How to win? Develop communities, settle grievances, exercise patience and intelligence. That said, watch for more terrorism to come: "We are going to have to learn to live with it and to accept it as a price of living in a complex world." _________________________________________________________________________________ “Louise Richardson . . . has now produced the overdue and essential primer on terrorism and how to tackle it. What Terrorists Want is the book many have been waiting for.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice) “Lucid and powerful, Richardson’s book refutes the dangerous idea that there’s no point in trying to understand terrorists. . . . rich, readable.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “The kind of brisk and accessible survey of terrorism-as-modus operandi that has been sorely missing for the past five years . . . [What Terrorists Want] ought to be required reading as the rhetoric mounts this campaign season.”—The American Prospect “Richardson is one of the relative handful of experts who have been studying the history and practice of terrorism since the Cold War. . . . This book is a welcome source of information. It’s written by a true expert, giving her measured thoughts.”—Christian Science Monitor “Richardson’s clear language and deep humanity make What Terrorists Want the one book that must be read by everyone who cares about why people resort to the tactic of terrorism.”–Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus “This is a book of hope. Terrorism, like the poor, will always be with us in one form or another. But given sensible policies, we can contain it without destroying what we hold dear.”–Financial Times “A passionate, incisive, and groundbreaking argument that provocatively overturns the myths surrounding terrorism.”–Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights “In its lucid analysis and summary, [What Terrorists Want] is simply the best thing of its kind available now in this highly crowded area.”–The Evening Standard “If a reader has the time to read only one book on terrorism, What Terrorists Want is that book. Extensive historical knowledge, personal contacts, enormous analytic skills, common sense, and a fine mix of lucidity and clarity, make of this work a most satisfying dissection of terrorists’ motives and goals, and of the effects of September 11, 2001. Richardson also offers a sharp critique of American counterterrorism policies, and a sensible plan for better ones.”–Stanley Hoffmann, Buttenwieser University Professor, Harvard University “An astonishingly insightful analysis by one of the world’s leading authorities on terrorism, this book is filled with wisdom–based not only on the author’s extensive and long-term study of terrorism but also on her experience growing up in a divided Ireland.”–Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill “A wide-ranging, clear headed, crisply written, cogently argued anatomy of terrorist groups around the world.”–Peter Bergen, senior fellow, New America Foundation, and author of The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader “Among the numerous books published on terrorism after the 9/11 attacks, Louise Richardson’s stands out as an unusually wise, sensible, and humane treatise. An engrossing and lucid book, which hopefully will be read by many and spread its unique spirit of realistic optimism.” –Ariel Merari, Professor of Psychology, Tel Aviv University “Thoughtful and stimulating . . . Controversially, and indeed courageously, [Richardson] argues that, instead of regarding the terrorists–even al-Qaeda types–as mindless and irrational creatures motivated by dark forces of evil, it would be more constructive to examine and seek to moderate some of the grievances that drive previously normal and even nondescript characters to kill and maim innocent people they don’t even know.”–The Irish Times “A textbook and a myth-buster . . . [Richardson] is calling for nothing less than a total re-evaluation of how we consider, and react to, terrorism. . . . What Terrorists Want ought to be on the bookshelf in every government office. Certainly, for any student of international affairs it is an essential reading.” –The Atlantic Affairs

Download or read book Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-08-26 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oklahoma City bombing, intentional crashing of airliners on September 11, 2001, and anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001 have made Americans acutely aware of the impacts of terrorism. These events and continued threats of terrorism have raised questions about the impact on the psychological health of the nation and how well the public health infrastructure is able to meet the psychological needs that will likely result. Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism highlights some of the critical issues in responding to the psychological needs that result from terrorism and provides possible options for intervention. The committee offers an example for a public health strategy that may serve as a base from which plans to prevent and respond to the psychological consequences of a variety of terrorism events can be formulated. The report includes recommendations for the training and education of service providers, ensuring appropriate guidelines for the protection of service providers, and developing public health surveillance for preevent, event, and postevent factors related to psychological consequences.

Download or read book Terrorism A Very Short Introduction written by Charles Townshend and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is one person's terrorist another's freedom fighter? Is terrorism crime or war? Can there be a 'War on Terror'? For many, the terrorist attacks of September 2001 changed the face of the world, pushing terrorism to the top of political agendas, and leading to a series of world events including the war in Iraq and the invasion of Afghanistan. The recent terror attacks in various European cities have shown that terrorism remains a crucial issue today. Charting a clear path through the efforts to understand and explain modern terrorism, Charles Townshend examines the historical, ideological, and local roots of terrorist violence. Starting from the question of why terrorists find it so easy to seize public attention, this new edition analyses the emergence of terrorism as a political strategy, and discusses the objectives which have been pursued by users of this strategy from French revolutionaries to Islamic jihadists. Considering the kinds of groups and individuals who adopt terrorism, Townshend discusses the emergence of ISIS and the upsurge in individual suicide action, and explores the issues involved in finding a proportionate response to the threat they present, particularly by liberal democratic societies. Analysing the growing use of knives and other edged weapons in attacks, and the issue of 'cyberterror', Townshend details the use of counterterrorist measures, from control orders to drone strikes, including the Belgian and French responses to the Brussels, Paris, Nice, and Rouen attacks. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Download or read book The Foundations of Modern Terrorism written by Martin A. Miller and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking history of the roots of modern terrorism, ranging from early modern Europe to the contemporary Middle East.

Download or read book Countering the New Terrorism written by Ian Lesser and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 1999-04-20 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the recent evolution of international terrorism against civilian and U.S. military targets, looks ahead to where terrorism is going, and assesses how it might be contained. The authors consider the threat of information-based terrorism and of weapons of mass destruction, with an emphasis on how changes in the sources and nature of terrorism may affect the use of unconventional terror. The authors propose counterterrorism strategies that address the growing problem of homeland defense.

Download or read book Understanding Terrorism written by James M. Poland and published by Pearson College Division. This book was released on 2011 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: UNDERSTANDING TERRORISM: GROUPS, STRATEGIES, AND RESPONSES, 3/e is fully updated and brings together today's most crucial lessons and discoveries for analyzing terrorism and terrorist strategies, and defining effective countermeasures. It brings together both theory and practice, helping students realistically assess threats; understand terrorist acts and their impact; and examine police and governmental responses. This Third Edition reflects today's latest trends, including an escalation of suicide bombings, increased terrorist sophistication, the decline in state-sponsored terrorism, terrorist resistance in Iraq, and the evolution of antiterrorism legislation. It also presents new coverage of hardening targets, anti-terrorism technology, and international cooperation.

Download or read book Homeland Security written by Paul M. Maniscalco and published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers. This book was released on 2010-02-16 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Homeland Security: Principles and Practice of Terrorism Response is the definitive resource on all aspects of homeland security, including incident management, threat assessment, planning for and response to terrorism and other forms of violence, the federal response plan, and weapons of mass effect. Ideal as a textbook for college-level homeland security courses or as a training text for first responders and government officials, Homeland Security: Principles and Practices of Terrorism Response explains key concepts of national security and applies them to real-world operations.

Download or read book Learning From the Octopus written by Rafe Sagarin and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-03-27 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the billions of dollars we've poured into foreign wars, homeland security, and disaster response, we are fundamentally no better prepared for the next terrorist attack or unprecedented flood than we were in 2001. Our response to catastrophe remains unchanged: add another step to airport security, another meter to the levee wall. This approach has proved totally ineffective: reacting to past threats and trying to predict future risks will only waste resources in our increasingly unpredictable world.In Learning from the Octopus, ecologist and security expert Rafe Sagarin rethinks the seemingly intractable problem of security by drawing inspiration from a surprising source: nature. Biological organisms have been living -- and thriving -- on a risk-filled planet for billions of years. Remarkably, they have done it without planning, predicting, or trying to perfect their responses to complex threats. Rather, they simply adapt to solve the challenges they continually face.Military leaders, public health officials, and business professionals would all like to be more adaptable, but few have figured out how. Sagarinargues that we can learn from observing how nature is organized, how organisms learn, how they create partnerships, and how life continually diversifies on this unpredictable planet.As soon as we dip our toes into a cold Pacific tidepool and watch what we thought was a rock turn into an octopus, jetting away in a cloud of ink, we can begin to see the how human adaptability can mimic natural adaptation. The same mechanisms that enabled the octopus's escape also allow our immune system to ward off new infectious diseases, helped soldiers in Iraq to recognize the threat of IEDs, and aided Google in developing faster ways to detect flu outbreaks. While we will never be able to predict the next earthquake, terrorist attack, or market fluctuation, nature can guide us in developing security systems that are not purely reactive but proactive, holistic, and adaptable. From the tidepools of Monterey to the mountains of Kazakhstan, Sagarin takes us on an eye-opening tour of the security challenges we face, and shows us how we might learn to respond more effectively to the unknown threats lurking in our future.

Download or read book Why Terrorism Works written by Alan M. Dershowitz and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2003-08-11 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of America's most distinguished defenders of civil liberties presents measures that will prevent terrorism and still uphold our democratic values The greatest danger facing the world today, says Alan M. Dershowitz, comes from religiously inspired, state sponsored terrorist groups that seek to develop weapons of mass destruction for use against civilian targets. In his newest book, Dershowitz argues passionately and persuasively that global terrorism is a phenomenon largely of our own making and that we must and can take steps to reduce the frequency and severity of terrorist acts. Analyzing recent acts of terrorism and our reaction to them, Dershowitz explains that terrorism is successful when the international community gives in to the demands of terrorists--or even tries to understand and eliminate the "root causes" of terrorism. He discusses extreme approaches to wiping out international terrorism that would work if we were not constrained by legal, moral, and humanitarian considerations. And then, given that we do operate under such constraints, he offers a series of proposals that would effectively reduce the frequency and severity of international terrorism by striking a balance between security and liberty.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism written by Erica Chenoweth and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-14 with total page 824 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism systematically integrates the substantial body of scholarship on terrorism and counterterrorism before and after 9/11. In doing so, it introduces scholars and practitioners to state of the art approaches, methods, and issues in studying and teaching these vital phenomena. This Handbook goes further than most existing collections by giving structure and direction to the fast-growing but somewhat disjointed field of terrorism studies. The volume locates terrorism within the wider spectrum of political violence instead of engaging in the widespread tendency towards treating terrorism as an exceptional act. Moreover, the volume makes a case for studying terrorism within its socio-historical context. Finally, the volume addresses the critique that the study of terrorism suffers from lack of theory by reviewing and extending the theoretical insights contributed by several fields - including political science, political economy, history, sociology, anthropology, criminology, law, geography, and psychology. In doing so, the volume showcases the analytical advancements and reflects on the challenges that remain since the emergence of the field in the early 1970s.

Download or read book Risk Management of Terrorism Induced Stress written by E. Vermetten and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2020-02-21 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Terrorism is a psychological weapon; by definition its purpose is to spread terror or fear in order to achieve goals unattainable by more conventional means. It is a weapon of asymmetric warfare whose success or failure is entirely dependent on the psychological reactions of its targets. Despite this, interest in the effects of terrorism from a behavioral and psychological perspective is relatively recent, dating initially from the 1990s and boosted by the events of September 11th 2001. This book presents papers delivered at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) Risk Management of Terrorism Induced Stress – Guidelines for the Golden Hours (Who, What and When) held in Odesa, Ukraine, from 16-19 September 2018. The aim of the workshop was to bring together experts from the military, science and policy to revisit old guidelines and inform new research into novel approaches. The focus of the workshop was the so-called ‘Golden Hours’; the period immediately following a traumatic event in which therapeutic interventions are thought to have the most impact. What needs to be done in the immediate aftermath of terror, who is vulnerable and who is resilient, and when is intervention appropriate? The book is divided into sections covering the areas of biology, interventions, special populations, additional perspectives, policy, déjà-vu and future directions. Providing a comprehensive overview of the management of terror-related stress, the book will be of interest to planners and policy makers, as well as mental health professionals working with PTSD and other consequences of terror events.

Download or read book Origins of Terrorism written by Walter Reich and published by Woodrow Wilson Center Press. This book was released on 1998-12 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the psychological aspects of terrorism and suicide bombing.

Download or read book Imperial Hubris written by Michael Scheuer and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2004-06-30 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though U.S. leaders try to convince the world of their success in fighting al Qaeda, one anonymous member of the U.S. intelligence community would like to inform the public that we are, in fact, losing the war on terror. Further, until U.S. leaders recognize the errant path they have irresponsibly chosen, he says, our enemies will only grow stronger. According to the author, the greatest danger for Americans confronting the Islamist threat is to believe-at the urging of U.S. leaders-that Muslims attack us for what we are and what we think rather than for what we do. Blustering political rhetor.

Download or read book Defense against Terrorism written by M. Coen and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global terrorism is a double-edged threat to democracies. Physically, because of the number of people killed and wounded, structurally, because it threatens social peace and over-reaction tends to undermine our basic values. The authors of the chapters in this book are multinational and interdisciplinary. Their papers were presented for discussion at the Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) held in Skopje (FYROM) 11-14th April 2018 on “Defence Against Terrorism, Enhancing Resilience of Democratic Institutions and Rule of Law”, organized within the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. Results can be summarised as follows. Counter-terrorist strategy must aim to achieve less, not more, terrorism. The countries with best results are the ones that cultivate human intelligence, confidence between security services and the local population, together with a tradition of effective respect of the Rule of Law. Militarization of internal security, and intelligence systems mainly based on databases (“big data”) and artificial intelligence, though popular, are showing serious limits. More effective democracy, not less, is the key to the resilience of our societies against the “new threats”, particularly for confronting the criminal violence of terror. In discussion, some core necessities were identified: to recognize that it is the method used, not the aims, that define criminal organisations as terrorist; that there is a structural link with organized crime for financing and operative support, and that corruption facilitates and protects any illegal activity; social capital must be developed as a fundamental basic tool for enhancing resilience. This book aims to help analyse the networks and contexts that feed terrorism. It provides anyone confronted with security issues an understanding of the negative as well as the positive aspects of specific counter-measures.

Download or read book Terrorism Informatics written by Hsinchun Chen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-06-17 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is nothing less than a complete and comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art of terrorism informatics. It covers the application of advanced methodologies and information fusion and analysis. It also lays out techniques to acquire, integrate, process, analyze, and manage the diversity of terrorism-related information for international and homeland security-related applications. The book details three major areas of terrorism research: prevention, detection, and established governmental responses to terrorism. It systematically examines the current and ongoing research, including recent case studies and application of terrorism informatics techniques. The coverage then presents the critical and relevant social/technical areas to terrorism research including social, privacy, data confidentiality, and legal challenges.

Download or read book Terrorism and Tyranny written by James Bovard and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The war on terrorism is the first political growth industry of the new Millennium." So begins Jim Bovard's newest and, in some ways, most provocative book as he casts yet another jaundiced eye on Washington and the motives behind protecting "the homeland" and prosecuting a wildly unpopular war with Iraq. For James Bovard, as always, it all comes down to a trampling of personal liberty and an end to privacy as we know it. From airport security follies that protect no one to increased surveillance of individuals and skyrocketing numbers of detainees, the war on terrorism is taking a toll on individual liberty and no one tells the whole grisly story better than Bovard.