The Cult of Osama: Psychoanalyzing Bin Laden and His Magnetism for Muslim Youths

by Peter Alan Olsson

From the publisher:
In The Cult of Osama, Psychiatrist Peter Olsson examines Osama bin Laden's early life experiences and explains, from a psychoanalytical perspective, how those created a mind filled with perverse rage at America, as well as why his way of thinking makes him in many cases a hero to Arab and Muslim youths.

"Many other writings totally demonize bin Laden, and therein strangely play into putting this troubled man onto a pedestal," says Olsson, who spent 25 years on a social psychological and psychoanalytical study of destructive cults and cult leaders.

There are many journalistic, political, military, and intelligence books about bin Laden and his terror cult group. But this one offers a purely psychological and psychobiographical perspective on bin Laden and his mushrooming influence. Bin Laden's destructive "Pied Piper" appeal, leading youths to murder others and even themselves in suicide missions, stems from the peculiar and profoundly important synchrony of shared trauma and pain between bin Laden and Arab/Muslim youth, says Olsson. "And we in the West neglect this topic, at our own peril." Among the insights Olsson provides as he traces the psychological threads of narcissistic wounds and unresolved grief from Osama's childhood are the death of his father when Osama was 10, separation from his mother even earlier, the humiliation of Osama as the "son of a slave" in his father's household, and his lifelong search for a surrogate older brother and father figures among radical Islamist teachers and mentors.

Olsson also spotlights the idea that Osama experienced "dark epiphanies" as a young adult which further magnified and focused his unresolved disappointments and narcissistic rage. This psychobiography of one of the world's most notorious terrorists, written by an Assistant Professor at Dartmouth Medical School, shows how understanding the psychohistory and mindset of bin Laden could help prevent the development and actions of home-grown American and Western terrorists and their cells.

The Terrorism Ahead: Confronting Transnational Violence in the Twenty-first Century

by Paul J. Smith

From the publisher:
Written for students and general readers, this accessible book examines the evolving threat of terrorism and draws on the latest research to assess future trends. The author assumes that terrorism will remain a potent threat to the international system throughout the twenty-first century, primarily because of the convergence of two negative trends: the availability of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Weapons (CBRN)--also known as Weapons of Mass Destruction--and the proliferation of terrorist organizations seeking to achieve mass casualties.

The book surveys specific aspects of contemporary terrorism, including political, social, economic, religious, and ideological factors, globalization as a stimulant to contemporary terrorism, the role of organized crime in terrorist movements, and more. Written with students in college and professional programs in mind, the book includes case studies interspersed throughout the chapters that provide clarifying examples.

Female Terrorism and Militancy: Agency, Utility, and Organization

by Cindy D. Ness

From the publisher:
This edited volume provides a window on the many forces that structure and shape why women and girls participate in terrorism and militancy, as well as on how states have come to view, treat, and strategize against them.

Females who carry out terrorist acts have historically been seen as mounting a challenge to the social order by violating conventional notions of gender and power, and their participation in such acts has tended to be viewed as being either as a passive victim or a feminist warrior. This volume seeks to move beyond these portrayals, to examine some of the structuring conditions that play a part in a girl or woman’s decision to commit violence. Amidst the contextual factors informing her involvement, the volume seeks also to explore the political agency of the female terrorist or militant. Several of the articles are based on research where authors had direct contact with female terrorists or militants who committed acts of political violence, or with witnesses to such acts.

Iran and Its Place among Nations

by Alidad Mafinezam and Aria Mehrabi

From the publisher:
Iran and Its Place among Nations takes a bird's-eye view of where Iran has been in the international community, where it is today, and where it may ideally end up in the future. Is Iran an Eastern country, bound by traditions that hinder economic development? Or does it also have some attributes of Western countries, given its history, geographic location, culture, and politics?

Among the key insights in this book is the observation that Iran is a bridge between East and West. Is Iran a fomenter of Islamic radicalism in the Middle East and beyond, or can it be a promoter of moderation and reform within its own borders and in other Muslim countries? How effectively can the religious and national sources of Iran's identity by reconciled, or must the country choose one over the other and overcome the inherent tensions of this dual identity? This book addresses these and similar questions regarding one of the most important and newsworthy countries in the world.

Combining description and prescription, the authors shed light on the tumultuous history of Iran in the twentieth century and uncover the domestic and foreign factors that have aided and retarded the country's development in modern times. Providing a close look at the backgrounds and identities of key pre- and post-revolutionary leaders in Iran, the authors make insightful recommendations to Iranians and the international community on how to integrate Iran into harmonious and stable relationships that benefit Iranians, the region that surrounds them, and the world. Grounded in solid scholarship yet written accessibly, this is a must-read for all Iran watchers today.

ALIDAD MAFINEZAM is a Toronto-based lecturer and consultant. He has taught at the University of Toronto and the University of Winnipeg and has worked as a consultant to numerous foundations and nonprofit organizations. He is translator and editor of Hope and Challenge: The Iranian President Speaks by Mohammad Khatami (1997). He has also written about Iran for the Middle East Institute at Columbia University.

ARIA MEHRABI earned his Ph.D. in international affairs and economic development at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, where he wrote and conducted field research on Iran's information revolution and its transformative effects on politics, religion, and the economy. He has worked as a Middle East risk consultant to the RAND Corporation and lectured on international affairs at Georgetown University. An advocate on the forefront of the global issue of trafficking in women and children, he has funded programs at the Protection Project of Johns Hopkins in connection with the State Department, educating global bureaucrats on the issues of trafficking. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Leadership Council of the New America Foundation.

Battlebabble: The Selling of War in America

by Thomas Lee

From the publisher:
Euphemisms sell war. From Operation Desert Storm to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and throughout the intervening years of deadly sanctions, a dense fog of rhetoric rose to hide the government's imperialistic ambitions and our brutality. Blunt realities of war have been smothered under layers of language. This book will play a role in the evolution of an increased sensitivity towards the deceptive words of war.

Thomas Lee, Ph.D., biologist and pacifist, is also the author of books on the promises and perils of modern genetics, including The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Genetic Code of Life and Conquering Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Latest Breakthroughs and Treatments.

Terror Threat: For Canadian Eyes Only

by Dwight Hamilton and Kostas Rimsa

From the publisher:
The discovery of a suspected homegrown Islamic terrorist cell in our own backyard last year shocked most Canadians. The question arose: Is this country next on Al Qaeda's hit list? But although terrorism in Canada did not begin with Al Qaeda, its fundamental dynamics are as unfamiliar to most of the public as the minutiae of quantum physics.

How could such shocking developments happen in a nation of "peacekeepers" that opposed the American intervention in Iraq? The majority of Canadians have no idea why soldiers are presently sacrificing their lives in Afghanistan. Terror Threat provides an examination of every key facet of current terrorist operations affecting this country -- and it does so in a way that shows how serious the dadnger really is. Who are these people? How do they operate? And why in the world are they trying to kill us?

Dwight Hamilton, a former member of Canadian military intelligence, began writing at the Toronto Sun and Financial Post Magazine. He has been a staff editor at two of Canada's largest professional journals.

Kostas Rimsa served as an officer in Canadian military intelligence and instructed a program on international terrorism at Humber College in Toronto. He worked in a variety of roles in the former Soviet Union and assisted in the formation of Lithuania's new secret service.

Terrorism and International Law 2006

by Centre d'Etude et de Recherche de Droit International et de Relations Internationales de l'Académie Droit International de la Haye/ Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations of the Hague Academy of International Law

From the publisher:
The Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations forms part of the Hague Academy of International Law, and operates under the authority of its managing board and within the framework of its teaching. The Centre was established for further in-depth research in the area of international law.
The topic for 2005 was: The Cultural Heritage of Mankind.

From LWBN:
No description of this title was available from the publisher.

Negotiating Hostage Crises with the New Terrorists

by Adam Dolnik and Keith M. Fitzgerald

From the publisher:
This book is about the role of negotiation in resolving terrorist barricade hostage crises. What lessons can be learned from past deadly incidents so that crisis negotiators and decision makers can act with greater effectiveness in the future? What are the lessons the terrorists are learning and how will they affect the dynamics of future incidents? What can we learn about the terrorist threat, and about preventing the escalation of future terrorist hostage-taking situations? While there are many trained crisis negotiators around the world, almost none of them has ever had contact with a terrorist hostage-taking incident. Further, the entire training program of most hostage negotiators focuses on resolving crises that do not take into consideration issues such as ideology, religion, or the differing sets of strategic objectives and mindsets of ideological hostage takers. This is especially true with regard to the terrorists of the "new" breed, who have become less discriminate, more lethal, and more willing to execute hostages and die during the incident. Further, many of the paradigms and presumptions upon which the contemporary practice of crisis negotiation is based do not reflect the reality of the "new terrorists." The main focus of this book is on the detailed reconstruction and analysis of the two most high-profile cases in recent years, the Moscow theater and the Beslan school hostage crises, with a clear purpose of drawing lessons for hostage negotiation strategies in the future. This is an issue of top priority. Terrorist manuals from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq reveal that terrorist organizations are very closely observing and analyzing the lessons learned from these two incidents, suggesting that we are likely to see this type of "new" terrorist hostage taking involving large numbers of suicide fighters and executions of hostages at some point in the future. This raises a wide array of questions about appropriate responses and negotiation strategies. From the first glance, it is clear that we are not prepared.

"This pioneering book provides fascinating case studies that are vital in understanding negotiation strategies in this ever-changing world of terrorism. The authors set the example that one should never assume an end result in hostage negotiations, even with the terrorist extremist. A must read for all hostage negotiators." - Lt. Jack Cambria, Commanding Officer, NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team

"A path breaking contribution to this critical field. The authors' insights and prescriptions--informed by cutting edge negotiation theory and relevant hostage cases--will help save lives in future crises and enhance states' capacity to bring all their resources to the table when dealing with today's terrorists." - LTC Joe Felter, Director of the Center for Combating Terrorism at the US Military Academy (West Point)

Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11: From Invisible Citizens to Visible Subjects

by Amaney Jamal (ed.)

From the publisher:
Bringing the rich terrain of Arab American histories to bear on conceptualizations of race in the U.S., this groundbreaking volume fills a critical gap in the field of ethnic studies. Unlike most immigrant communities who either have been consistently marked as "non-white," or have made a transition from "non-white" to "white," Arab Americans historically have been rendered "white" and have increasingly come to be seen as "non-white."

This book highlights emergent discourses on the distinct ways that race matters to the study of Arab American histories and asks essential questions. What is the relationship between U.S. imperialism in Arab homelands and anti-Arab racism in the lives of Arab Americans? What are the relationships between religion, class, gender, and anti-Arab racism? What is the significance of whiteness studies to Arab American studies? Transcending multiculturalist discourses after September 11 that have simply "added on" the category "Arab American" to the landscape of U.S. ethnic and racial studies, this volume locates September 11 as a turning point, rather than a beginning, in the history of Arab American engagements with race, multiculturalism, and Americanization.

Amaney Jamal is assistant professor of politics at Princeton University. She is the author of Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World (forthcoming).

Cyber-Security and Threat Politics: US Efforts to Secure the Information Age

by My Dunn Cavelty

From the publisher:
This book explores the political process behind the construction of cyber-threats as one of the quintessential security threats of modern times in the US.

Myriam Dunn Cavelty posits that cyber-threats are definable by their unsubstantiated nature. Despite this, they have been propelled to the forefront of the political agenda. Using an innovative theoretical approach, this book examines how, under what conditions, by whom, for what reasons, and with what impact cyber-threats have been moved on to the political agenda. In particular, it analyses how governments have used threat frames, specific interpretive schemata about what counts as a threat or risk and how to respond to this threat. By approaching this subject from a security studies angle, this book closes a gap between practical and theoretical academic approaches. It also contributes to the more general debate about changing practices of national security and their implications for the international community.

Jihad and American Medicine: Thinking Like a Terrorist to Anticipate Attacks via Our Health System

by Adam Frederic Dorin

From the publisher:
State-of-the-art counter-terrorism techniques, insights into modern medical practice, medical errors, and disaster prevention all intersect in this groundbreaking book by Adam Dorin, M.D., an anesthesiologist and medical director across 15 years.

Dr. Dorin shows us why our healthcare system may be the next Ground Zero for terrorism and how many opportunities there are for terrorists to infiltrate the system. He offers a history of medical and healthcare-related serial killers, showing how they got inside the system to murder relatively easily, takes a detailed look at the profound problems that already exist in counterfeit and tainted medicinal products, and describes biological, chemical, and nuclear terrorism that could be used against our healthcare system.

Most critically, Dr. Dorin presents a detailed blueprint for safeguarding our system and preventing medical terrorism from ever taking place. In tackling largely hidden but potentially deadly issues such as the failures of security at hospitals and surgical centers, Dr. Dorin's unique book offers the first in-depth public expose and loud alert to the risks and gaping weak spots in our healthcare system. Written simply and clearly, this work will interest all readers concerned with terrorism and the ways they might become victim to it. Dr. Dorin's warnings should certainly also interest and inform leaders and employees in the security, law enforcement, and medical fields.

"Dr. Dorin sounds the alarm on two critical and related fronts. First, he details the recognized current safety failings of our medical-care system. Alone worthy of a read. Then, thinking far beyond the box, he presents scenarios by which our dedicated and fanatical Jihadist enemies might exploit those big chinks in that medical-care safety armor. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking. A must read for anyone who is or might ever be a patient. And, that means every American." - Robert Kotler, M.D., FACS Clinical Instructor, University of California, Los Angeles

Double Trouble: Iran and North Korea as Challenges to International Security

by Patrick M. Cronin (ed.)

From the publisher:
North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, while Iran is poised to acquire them in the next decade. How the United States and other nations seek to roll back these burgeoning nuclear powers is among the most urgent issues of the day. At stake is regional security in the Persian Gulf and Northeast Asia, America's standing abroad, and prospects for nuclear nonproliferation.

The contributors to this volume offer complementary international perspectives on the critical security issues that stem from the challenges posed by Iran and North Korea. No other work combines the analysis of the two countries and explores the threat posed by each to regional stability and world order. The book examines how and why attempts to curb the nuclear programs and broader political ambitions of each nation have failed. It also examines how each nation, in its own way, has managed to defy the world's preponderant power, the United States, as well as other major powers and the United Nations. And it offers analysis on where the fractured and oscillating relations with these two nettlesome actors are heading and the long-term implications of their current trajectories for nuclear proliferation, deterrence, alliance management, regional security, and world order.

Expert, balanced analyses--augmented by new chronologies and maps--make the volume an invaluable reference for all those interested in understanding the options available in dealing with Iran and North Korea.

PATRICK CRONIN is Director of Studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and previously directed research at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, United States Institute of Peace, and Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Non-State Actors and Terrorism: Applying the Law of State Responsibility and the Due Diligence Principle

by Robert P. Barnidge, Jr.

From the publisher:
In our post-11 September world, challenges to international peace and security emanate from non-State actors as never before. Under international law States have an obligation to act with due diligence in confronting non-State actors that engage in terrorism.

The author of this book examines the grounds and mechanisms through which a State can bear responsibility for breaching its due diligence obligations in this regard. He explores the question whether a comprehensive definition of terrorism exists and reviews the development of the due diligence principle during the last century. After doing so, the author examines how the due diligence principle operates in the counterterrorism context by analysing international and regional treaties and Security Council Resolutions. Theoretical issues that arise when interpreting the due diligence principle are also studied. The author concludes by critically engaging with the question whether national security should trump human rights in the fight against terrorism.

This book fills a significant gap in the literature. It is principally designed for policy makers, academics, and students of international law.

Robert P. Barnidge, Jr., is presently a Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Reading, United Kingdom.

Nuclear Insecurity: Understanding the Threat from Rogue Nations and Terrorists

by Jack Caravelli

From the publisher:
Nuclear Insecurity is an insider's account of official American efforts to prevent the theft or diversion of nuclear and radiological weapons that could be used by rogue nations or terrorist groups. This perspective draws heavily from the author's work on the White House National Security Council Staff (1996-2000), where he was directly responsible to President Clinton for the development of U.S. nuclear material security policies and, subsequently, at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he directed the department's largest international nuclear security program, focused primarily on Russia. In Caravelli's assessment, despite exceptional bipartisan political support and very high funding levels that have reached over $9 billion, a series of policy mistakes and programmatic bureaucratic missteps have badly compromised the United States government's efforts to protect against the spread of nuclear weapons and materials. The most striking example of the current situation is that the U.S. government, some 12 years after the start of these programs, still has failed to enhance the security of more than 300 metric tons of nuclear materials in Russia alone, enough to make hundreds of nuclear devices. The book concludes with recommendations and policy prescriptions for addressing some of these problems.

JACK CARAVELLI is one of America's leading experts on nonproliferation and nuclear terrorism. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the U.K. Defence Academy and Visiting Professor at Cranfield University. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy (2000-2003), and he served on the White House National Security Council (1996-2000), where he was the president's principal advisor for nonproliferation policies and programs involving Russia and the Middle East. He began his governmental career in 1982 at the Central Intelligence Agency. Caravelli is a Chatham House Fellow and member of the advisory board of Oxford University's Pluscarden Program on Intelligence and Terrorism.

Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Responding to the Challenge

by Ian Bellany

From CWBN:
There is a widely held belief in the imminent probability of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons of mass destruction being used by terrorists against civilian targets. This edited volume critically assesses the suggestion that one safeguard against this possibility would be to strengthen existing international prohibitions against state-level acquisition of such weapons.

A glimpse of the possible potential of terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction has been seen through the actions of the Tokyo Aum group, and through the use of chlorine by insurgents in Iraq. However, the extent of the real threat posed is as yet unclear, and safeguarding against it in developing countries will not be easy. This book assembles specialists in each category of WMD in order to examine the potential of expanding the three ‘classical’ arms control treaties in order to combat the threat posed by smaller terrorist groups, and draws conclusions as to the strengths and weaknesses of this suggestion.

Danger Close: Tactical Air Controllers in Afghanistan and Iraq

by Steve Call

From the publisher:
"America had a secret weapon," writes Steve Call of the period immediately following September 11, 2001, as planners contemplated the invasion of Afghanistan. This weapon consisted of small teams of Special Forces operatives trained in close air support (CAS) who, in cooperation with the loose federation of Afghan rebels opposed to the Taliban regime, soon began achieving impressive—and unexpected—military victories over Taliban forces and the al-Qaeda terrorists they had sponsored. The astounding success of CAS tactics coupled with ground operations in Afghanistan soon drew the attention of military decision makers and would eventually factor into the planning for another campaign: Operation Iraqi Freedom.

But who, exactly, are these air power experts and what is the function of the TACPs (Tactical Air Control Parties) in which they operate? Danger Close provides a fascinating look at a dedicated, courageous, innovative, and often misunderstood and misused group of military professionals.

Drawing on the gripping first-hand accounts of their battlefield experiences, Steve Call allows the TACPs to speak for themselves. He accompanies their narratives with informed analysis of the development of CAS strategy, including potentially controversial aspects of the interservice rivalries between the air force and the army which have at times complicated and even obstructed the optimal employment of TACP assets. Danger Close makes clear, however, that the systematic coordination of air power and ground forces played an invaluable supporting role in the initial military victories in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This first-ever examination of the intense, life-and-death world of the close air support specialist will introduce readers to a crucial but little-known aspect of contemporary warfare and add a needed chapter in American military history studies.

Steve Call is an assistant professor at Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York, teaching both American and military history. During his twenty-year career in the air force, Call held many command and staff positions, including liaison officer with the army, Pentagon staff officer, and squadron commander. His Ph.D. in military history is from Ohio State University.

Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil

by Robert Zubrin

From the publisher:
In this compelling argument for a new direction in US energy policy, world-renowned engineer and best-selling author Robert Zubrin lays out a bold plan for breaking the economic stranglehold that the OPEC oil cartel has on our country and the world. Zubrin presents persuasive evidence that our decades-long relationship with OPEC has resulted in the looting of our economy, the corruption of our political system, and now the funding and protection of terrorist regimes and movements that are committed to our destruction. Debunking the false solutions and myths that have deterred us from taking necessary action, Zubrin exposes the fakery that has allowed many politicians--including current US president George W. Bush--to posture that they are acting to resolve this problem while actually doing nothing significant toward that goal.

Zubrin's plan is straightforward and practical. He argues that if Congress passed a law requiring that all new cars sold in the USA be flex-fueled--that is, able to run on any combination of gasoline or alcohol fuels--this one action would destroy the monopoly that the oil cartel has maintained on the globe's transportation fuel supply, opening it up to competition from alcohol fuels produced by farmers worldwide. According to Zubrin's estimates, within three years of enactment, such a regulation would put 50 million cars on the road in the USA capable of running on high-alcohol fuels, and at least an equal number overseas. He further advocates tariff policies favoring alcohol over petroleum imports.

Energy Victory shows how we could be using fuel dollars that are now being sent to countries with ties to terrorism to help farmers here and abroad,boosting our own economy and funding world development. Furthermore, by switching to alcohol fuels, which pollute less than gasoline and are made from plants that draw carbon dioxide from the air, this plan will facilitate the worldwide economic growth required to eliminate global poverty without the fear of greenhouse warming. Energy Victory offers an exciting vision for a dynamic, new energy policy, which will not only go a long way toward safeguarding homeland security in the future but will also provide solutions for global warming and Third World development.

Americans are buying ammunition for their enemies every time they buy gas. Energy security is the way out of this dilemma and Dr. Zubrin has a plan to achieve it. --Clifford D. May, Syndicated Columnist; President, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

Robert Zubrin pulls no punches and moves effortlessly from a fascinating oil-centered take on WW II to making the mathematics of oil alternatives intelligible to lay readers. Oil and hydrogen take huge hits and alcohol fuels win big. Don't miss this one. --James Woolsey, former Director, Central Intelligence Agency

Modern Iran

by Ali Ansari

From the publisher:
Today’s Iran is rarely out of the headlines. Labelled by George W Bush as a part of his ‘axis of evil’ and perceived as a real nuclear threat by some, Iran is increasingly seen as an enemy of the West. And yet for many Iran remains shrouded in mystery and incomprehensible to Western analysis.

Modern Iran offers a comprehensive analysis and explanation of political, social and economic developments in Iran during the 20th century. Since it first published in 2003 Modern Iran has become a staple for students and lecturers wishing to gain a clear understand of the history of this strategically important Middle Eastern Country.

The new edition will bring us up to dateand will include: an analysis of the successes and failures of the Khatami Presidency; an examination of the effect of 9/11; the rise of the Reform Movement and the efforts to promote Islamic Democracy; the resistance to democratisation among the hardline elites.

Iran's Foreign Policy: From Khatami to Ahmadinejad

by Anoush Ehteshami and Mahjoob Zweiri (editors)

From the publisher:
This timely collection of papers by leading academics and prominent government officials sheds new light on the foreign policy of Iran under President Khatami and into the period of President Ahmadinejad. The topics covered include the influence of the Iranian constitution on its foreign policy, Iran's relations with the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the Arab world, and Iranian involvement in Iraq.

From LWBN:
The exact day of release for this November title is unknown.

Essentials of Terrorism: Concepts and Controversies

by Clarence Augustus Martin

Essentials of Terrorism: Concepts and Controversies is a concise resource for understanding modern terrorism. This briefer version of Martin’s popular text Understanding Terrorism, Second Edition, can be readily used in conjunction with other resources such as Martin’s The New Era of Terrorism collection of readings, or with other supplemental texts or journal articles.

The content of Essentials of Terrorism: Concepts and Controversies is directed to academic and professional courses of instruction whose subject areas include terrorism, homeland security, international security, criminal justice administration, political conflict, armed conflict, and social movements. It can also be incorporated into academic conferences and professional training seminars covering international and homeland security studies, criminal justice administration, the attributes of terrorism and extremism, conflict resolution, and related subjects of inquiry.

The intended level of instruction is flexible: As a stand-alone text, it is suitable for introductory undergraduate classes. When used in conjunction with other resources, the level of instruction can be adapted to upper-division undergraduate and master’s-level classes. If used in conjunction with professional manuals, Essentials of Terrorism: Concepts and Controversies is suitable for professional practitioners who require instruction in understanding terrorism.

Gus Martin is the assistant vice president for Faculty affairs in the Division of Academic Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills. His research and professional interests are juvenile justice, terrorism and extremism, administration of justice, and fair housing. He has served as a panelist for university and community symposia and interviews on the subjects of administration of justice, terrorism, and fair housing. He has also been a consultant to government and private agencies. Prior to joining academia, he was a legislative assistant to Congressman Charles B. Rangel of New York and Special Counsel to the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, he served as managing attorney for the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, where he was also director of a program created under a federal consent decree to desegregate public and assisted housing. He is the author of the following Sage titles: Understanding Terrorism 2/e, Juvenile Justice, and The New Era of Terrorism.

Technology and Security: Governing Threats in the New Millennium

by Brian Rappert

From the publisher:
Technology and Security takes forward the existing state of academic understanding where security and technology intersect. It assesses the challenges posed by emerging scientific and technological developments for security while understanding how perceptions of security threats are themselves formed in relation to conceptions of science and technology.

BRIAN RAPPERT is an Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Public Affairs in the Department of Sociology & Philosophy at the University of Exeter, UK. His long term interest has been the examination of how choices can and are made about the regulation of technologies in conditions of uncertainty and disagreement.

On Nuclear Terrorism

by Michael Levi

From the publisher:
Nuclear terrorism is such a disturbing prospect that we shy away from its details. Yet as a consequence, we fail to understand how best to defeat it. Michael Levi takes us inside nuclear terrorism and behind the decisions a terrorist leader would be faced with in pursuing a nuclear plot. Along the way, Levi identifies the many obstacles, large and small, that such a terrorist scheme might encounter, allowing him to discover a host of ways that any plan might be foiled.

Surveying the broad universe of plots and defenses, this accessible account shows how a wide-ranging defense that integrates the tools of weapon and materials security, law enforcement, intelligence, border controls, diplomacy, and the military can multiply, intensify, and compound the possibility that nuclear terrorists will fail. Levi draws from our long experience with terrorism and cautions us not to focus solely on the most harrowing yet most improbable threats. Nuclear terrorism shares much in common with other terrorist threats--and as a result, he argues, defeating it is impossible unless we put our entire counterterrorism and homeland security house in order.

As long as we live in a nuclear age, no defense can completely eliminate nuclear terrorism. But this book reminds us that the right strategy can minimize the risks and shows us how to do it.

Michael Levi presents a strong case for why we need to do everything we can to keep the world's most dangerous weapons and materials out of the hands of the world's most dangerous people. He focuses on the broad range of today's nuclear threats and provides unique insights into how terrorist groups work. He also makes important specific recommendations to address these dangers -- the most critical security issue facing our nation and the world. -- Sam Nunn, Former U.S. Senator and Co-Chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative

A Chronology of United States–Iraqi Relations, 1920–2006

by Henry E. Mattox

From CWBN:
This volume offers an extensive chronological overview of the political, economic, and diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq from 1920 to 2006. The beginning year of the chronicle is when the U.S. was beginning to comprehend the vital importance of Iraq’s abundant oil supplies. The work continues through several major events in U.S.-Iraqi relations, including several Iraqi coups and countercoups, the U.S. response to Iraq’s invasions of Iran and Kuwait, and each country’s actions in the first Gulf War and the current Iraq War. The overview ends in December 2006, at the news of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s death and the end of the Ba’athist Party regime.

Henry E. Mattox is a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer. He is also the author of Chronology of World Terrorism, 1901–2001 (2004) and lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

A Window of Opportunity: Europe, Gulf Security and the Aftermath of the Iraq War

by Christian Koch and Felix Neugart (editors)

From the publisher:
Contributors to this volume explore the chances for greater engagement by the European Union in future Gulf security arrangements. They look at a variety of themes including the security prerogatives of the Gulf States, the current situation in both Iraq and Iran, the applicability of various security models for the region and the possibility of expanding the GCC-EU political dialogue on security matters.

Christian Koch is Program Director for GCC-EU Relations at the Gulf Research Center (GRC), Dubai. Felix Neugart is a Research Fellow at Ludwig-Maximilians Unversity, Munich.

What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat

by Louise Richardson

From the publisher:
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.

Challenges to Global Security: Geopolitics and Power in an Age of Transition

by Hussein Solomon

Ours is an age of great upheaval where change sometimes appears to be the only constant. Three of the most important forces driving such change are globalization, regionalization and democratization. This substantial work makes a concerted attempt to understand these forces, and to show how they impact on the vitally important question of global security in the USA, Latin America, South Asia, South East Asia, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa. Each discourse receives substantial coverage: from economics and politics to religion, religious fundamentalism and human rights.

Hussein Solomon lectures in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria where he is also Director of the Centre for International Political Studies. He sits on the International Steering Committee of the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research in Hawaii, and serves as a member of the Executive Committee of Global Action to Prevent War.

Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching Terror?

by Jamal Malik

From the publisher:
After 9/11, madrasas have been linked to international terrorism. They are suspected to foster anti-western, traditionalist or even fundamentalist views and to train al-Qaeda fighters. This has led to misconceptions on madrasa-education in general and its role in South Asia in particular. Government policies to modernize and ‘pacify’ madrasas have been precipitous and mostly inadequate.

This book discusses the educational system of madrasas in South Asia. It gives a contextual account of different facets of madrasa education from historical, anthropological, theological, political and religious studies perspectives. Some contributions offer recommendations on possible – and necessary – reforms of religious educational institutions. It also explores the roots of militancy and sectarianism in Pakistan, as well as its global context.

Overall, this book tries to correct misperceptions on the role of madrasas, by providing a more balanced discussion, which denies neither the shortcomings of religious educational institutions in South Asia nor their important contributions to mass education.

An Iraq of Its Regions: Cornerstones of a Federal Democracy?

by Reidar Visser and Gareth Stansfield (editors)

From the publisher:
The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime may have marked a watershed moment in Iraqi history, but to the majority of Iraq's eighteen governorates, the most dramatic shifts in power have yet to occur. In 2008, federal entities will begin to form in south Kurdistan, triggering a series of fundamental changes in Iraq's state structure.

This open-ended process is poorly understood in the West, with many believing that federalization will lead to the creation of three large regions based on Iraq's dominant ethno-religious communities: Shiite Arabs, the Sunni Arabs, and the Kurds. However, if the Iraqi constitution is upheld, such an outcome is actually quite unlikely. According to the Iraqi charter, ethnicity does not play a role in the delineation of Iraq's federal map. Instead, regions geographically defined by the conversion or amalgamation of existing governorates will form the building blocks of the new Iraq. In this volume, contributors offer the first comprehensive overview of regionalism as a political force in Iraq. Their essays present a richly detailed yet cogent analysis of the political and geographical challenges Iraq will face in the upcoming decade.

Reidar Visser is a research fellow specializing in Iraqi politics at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo. He is the author of Basra, the Failed Gulf State: Separatism and Nationalism in Southern Iraq.

Gareth Stansfield is reader in Middle Eastern politics at the University of Exeter and the author of several books, including Iraq: People, History, Politics.

From CWBN:
The exact day of release for this November title is unknown.

Denial of Sanctuary: Understanding Terrorist Safe Havens

by Michael A. Innes

From the publisher:
Critics of the war on terror have pointed to the futility of waging war on a tactic. Its emphasis on denying "sanctuary" and "safe havens" to terrorists, rooted primarily in traditional counterinsurgency theory and poorly conceptualized policy statements, has placed a premium on physical territory, from mountain caves and frontier hideouts to the bordered world of modern states. To fully understand sanctuaries is to uncover the problems and pitfalls of waging war on locations - exposing the secret lives of multiple hidden worlds, filled with extremists, criminals, soldiers, and spies, with the pious and the profane, with dangers that lie below the surface and in the margins. As this volume makes abundantly clear, such a murky underground is far more complex and varied than the conventional wisdom suggests.

Terrorists have hidden in plain sight in modern cities, used advanced communications technology to build virtual refuges, crafted militant enclaves out of the disarray of failed states, flocked to distinctly unsafe insurgent battlespaces, and generally challenged the protective limits of law, citizenship, and state. Denial of Sanctuary brings together top experts in the field to expand the debate; to explore the roots, causes and consequences of the problem; and to clarify our understanding of sanctuary in terrorist thought and practice.

"[D]emonstrates the shortcomings of proposals to attack terrorism at its source when there are so many ways of hiding: in the ungovernable interiors of failed states, in the obscurity of urban London, on the Internet." - Foreign Affairs

"Denial of Sanctuary is essential reading for anyone seeking a better understanding of the role of terrorist and insurgent safe havens." - William Rosenau, Ph.D RAND Corporation Washington Office

"In an age where divisive rhetoric and personal opinion increasingly pass for knowledge and expertise on the nature of terrorism, Michael Innes has assembled what in years to come will be seen as the indispensable contribution to understanding terrorist sanctuary and its implications. In his carefully researched and thought-provoking collection we find terrorism analysis at its very best and essential reading for students, theorists, diplomats and policymakers alike. Simply excellent." - John Horgan, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews

"Denial of Sanctuary offers the first comprehensive glimpse into those cracks between and within states that provide safe refuge for terrorists. Innes takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the liminal realm that has come to capture the attention of students of geopolitics, transnational violence and the modern state. From reflections on counter-sanctuary discourse to first-person reports from inside Afghani military prisons, this volume challenges our preconceptions of terrorist sanctuaries and offers cutting-edge analyses of their military, legal, financial and virtual implications." - Ron E. Hassner, Assistant professor of political science, UC Berkeley

MICHAEL A. INNES is Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, and a Research and Practice Associate of the Institute for National Security and Counter-Terrorism, College of Law/Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. His research and writing focuses on intermediacy in armed conflict, and touches on broader theories and histories of political violence, sanctuary, surrogacy, and political and legal exceptionalism. His publications include an edited monograph, Bosnian Security after Dayton: New Perspectives (2006), as well as articles, essays, and reviews in such journals as Civil Wars, Small Wars and Insurgencies, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, SAIS Review, and the Journal of Conflict Studies.

From CWBN:
This title originally appeared in July and was recently brough to our attention. For additional incormation see here and here.

Special Forces, Terrorism and Strategy: Warfare By Other Means

by Alastair Finlan

From the publisher:
This volume undertakes a systematic analysis of the relationship between Special Forces and contemporary strategy, explaining the resurgence of interest in Special Forces, particularly in the West, by exploring their appeal over traditional conventional force options in the current ‘War on Terror’.

Special Forces, Terrorism and Strategy comprises four overarching themes:

- theory and practice
- command and control
- culture and technology
- operations and the ‘War on Terror’

By developing a credible theory about the role of Special Forces in contemporary strategy, Alastair Finlan assesses the changing character of the relationship between conventional forces and Special Forces, illustrating the prominent role of these forces in the ‘War on Terror’.

This book will be of great interest to students of strategic studies and military history, as well as for professional military colleges.

Global Insurgency and the Future of Armed Conflict: Debating Fourth-Generation Warfare

by Regina Karp, Aaron Karp, Terry Terriff (editors)

From the publisher:
This volume covers a timely debate in contemporary security studies: can armed forces adjust to the rising challenge of insurgency and terrorism, the greatest transformation in warfare since the birth of the international system? Containing essays by leading international security scholars and military professionals, it explores the Fourth-Generation Warfare thesis and its implications for security planning in the twenty-first century.

No longer confined to the fringes of armed conflict, guerrilla warfare and terrorism increasingly dominate world-wide military planning. For the first time since the Vietnam War ended, the problems of insurgency have leapt to the top of the international security agenda and virtually all countries are struggling to protect themselves against terrorist threats. Coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq are bogged down by an insurgency, and are being forced to rely on old warfare tactics rather than modern technologies to destroy their adversaries. These theorists argue that irregular warfare—insurgencies and terrorism—has evolved over time and become progressively more sophisticated and difficult to defeat as it is not centred on high technology and state of the art weaponry.

Global Insurgency and the Future of Armed Conflict will be of interest to students of international security, strategic studies and terrorism studies.

China's War on Terrorism: Counter-Insurgency, Politics and Internal Security

by Martin I. Wayne

From the publisher:
China’s war on terror is among its most prominent and least understood of campaigns. With links to the global jihad, an indigenous insurgency threatens the government’s grip on a massive region of north- western China known as Xinjiang. Riots, bombings, ambushes, and assassinations have rocked the region under separatist and Islamist banners. China acted early and forcefully, and although brutal, their efforts represent one of the few successes in the global struggle against Islamist terrorism.

The effectiveness of this campaign has raised questions regarding whether China genuinely confronts a terrorist threat. In this book, based on extensive fieldwork, Martin Wayne investigates China’s counterinsurgency effort, highlighting the success of an approach centred on reshaping local society and government institutions. At the same time, he raises the question of what the United States may be able to learn from China’s approach, and argues that as important a case as Xinjiang needs to be fully examined in order for terrorism to be defeated.

This book will be of interest to students of China, Asian politics, terrorism and security studies in general.

Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender

by Kenneth R. Timmerman

From the publisher:
It is an intelligence war conducted behind the scenes, aimed at confusing, misleading, and ultimately defeating the enemy. The goal is nothing less than toppling the regime in power.

Who is the target of this vast, sophisticated CIA operation? The target is America's president, George W. Bush.

Drawing on exclusive information from senior government officials, intelligence operatives, and many others, investigative reporter Kenneth Timmerman provides the full, untold story of the sabotage that occurs behind the scenes at key government agencies.

Kenneth R. Timmerman is the author of several books, including Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America, the New York Times bestseller Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson, and The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq. An investigative reporter who has written for Time, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, and Reader’s Digest, he lived in France for eighteen years.

The Islamic Republic and the World: Global Dimensions of the Iranian Revolution

by Maryam Panah

From the publisher:
Iran is now in the eye of the storm. As events in Iraq deteriorate, a US invasion of Iran looms as a real threat.

This book provides a detailed analysis of Iran's recent history, and in particular how the country has been shaped by the 1979 revolution. It is often forgotten that modern Iran is a revolutionary republic that arose out of the overthrow of the old, secular and very pro-western regime. Since the revolution, this has been replaced by an Islamic State.

Maryam Panah explores the Iranian revolution in its international context, and examines the different forces at play within the country, and how these conflicting political interests continue to mould the country today and shape its external relations.

Maryam Panah was born in Iran and is a fluent Farsi speaker. After reading Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, she completed her doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics. She works in the field of international development, has recently lived in the UK, Belgium and India and is currently based in Berlin.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: A Photographer's Chronicle of the Iraq War

by Ashley Gilbertson

From the publisher:
Arriving in Iraq on the eve of the U.S. invasion, unaffiliated with any newspaper and hoping to pick up assignments along the way, Ashley Gilbertson was one of the first photojournalists to cover the disintegration of America’s military triumph as looting and score settling convulsed Iraqi cities. Just twenty-five years old at the time, Gilbertson soon landed a contract with the New York Times, and his extraordinary images of life in occupied Iraq and of American troops in action began appearing in the paper regularly.

Throughout his work, Gilbertson took great risks to document the risks taken by others, whether dodging sniper fire with American infantry, photographing an Iraqi bomb squad as they diffused IEDs, or following marines into the cauldron of urban combat.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot gathers the best of Gilbertson’s photographs, chronicling America’s early battles in Iraq, the initial occupation of Baghdad, the insurgency that erupted shortly afterward, the dramatic battle to overtake Falluja, and ultimately, the country’s first national elections. No Western photojournalist has done as much sustained work in occupied Iraq as Gilbertson, and this wide-ranging treatment of the war from the viewpoint of a photographer is the first of its kind. Accompanying each section of the book is a personal account of Gilbertson’s experiences covering the conflict. Throughout, he conveys the exhilaration and terror of photographing war, as well as the challenges of photojournalism in our age of embedded reporting. But ultimately, and just as importantly, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot tells the story of Gilbertson’s own journey from hard-drinking bravado to the grave realism of a scarred survivor. Here he struggles with guilt over the death of a marine escort, tells candidly of his own experience with post-traumatic stress, and grapples with the reality that Iraq—despite the sacrifice in Iraqi and American lives—has descended into a civil war with no end in sight.

A searing account of the American experience in Iraq, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is sure to become one of the classic war photography books of our time.

From the critics:
The author rarely passes up the chance to record blood stains, ruined homes, flames and explosions as well as the sad stories behind them. Not yet 30, Gilbertson has clearly studied James Nachtwey, Robert Capa and David Douglas Duncan; this impressive book shows he has absorbed their lessons. - Publishers Weekly

From LWBN:
The University of Chicago Press advises us that readers

might be interested in a video we recently released online at the University of Chicago Press. In our video interview with Ashley Gilbertson he talks about the invasion of Iraq, the battle for Falluja, the Marines he worked with, post-traumatic stress disorder, Iraqi civilians, and the future of photojournalism.

The video is available at our website for the book
http://www.wtfiraq.org/

Gilbertson's own website is

http://www.ashleygilbertson.com/

where he has a extensive gallery of his Iraq photos:

http://www.ashleygilbertson.com/iraq.html

War on Terror, Inc.: Corporate Profiteering from the Politics of Fear

by Solomon Hughes

From the publisher:
Ever since British army housing was sold off to the highest bidder in the mid-1990s, military and national security planners and their political masters in the USA and UK have been seeking opportunities to plug the gap between what they would like to do—and frequently claim they can do—and what is actually possible. As Solomon Hughes shows in this gripping and shameful account, there will always be a private company willing to pitch for this fabulously lucrative business, whether providing the additional soldiery which made the invasion of Iraq seem realistic, or creating vast, minimally validated databases of people deemed to be a threat to national security.

Who is behind companies that reap the dividend of war? How close are they to our political decision-makers? Do they actually deliver what they are contracted to deliver, and at a cost-effective price? Hughes catalogues the appalling record of private contractors doing our governments' dirtiest work, and asks how we can possibly justify delivering into the hands of market forces an area of public life which requires the very highest standards of scrupulousness and integrity.

Solomon Hughes is a freelance investigative reporter who has written for the Observer, Guardian, Independent and In These Times. His work also appears regularly in Private Eye magazine.

From Heritage to Terrorism: Regulating Tourism in an Age of Uncertainty

by Brian Simpson

From CWBN:
Critical in style, this book examines the law and its role in shaping and defining tourism and the tourist experience. Using a broad range of legal documents and other materials from a variety of disciplines, it surveys how the underlying values of tourism often conflict with a concern for human rights, cultural heritage and sustainable environments.

Departing from the view that within this context the law is simply relegated to dealing the ‘hard edges’ of the tourist industry and tourist behaviour, the authors explore:

- the ways that the law shapes the nature of tourism how it can do this
- the need for a more focused role for law in tourism
- the law’s current and potential role in dealing with the various tensions for - tourism in the panic created by the spread of global terrorism.

Addressing a range of fundamental issues underlying global conflict and tourism, this thoroughly up-to-date and topical book is an essential read for all those interested in tourism and law.

From LWBN:
The publisher shows the release date for this volume as Sept. 30; Amazon shows it as today's date.

Ending Terrorism: Lessons for Policymakers from the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Groups

by Audrey K Cronin

From the publisher:
Terrorism, like war, never ends; but individual terrorist campaigns and the groups that perpetuate them always do. Why? This Adelphi Paper comparatively examines the waning days of terrorist groups, to understand crucial points where a critical mass of factors developed and led toward their demise. The goal is to identify typical watersheds and mistakes and search for parallels with the current threat.

Like all other terrorist movements, al-Qaeda will end. While it is a remarkable movement with traits that exploit and reflect the current international context, it is not utterly without precedent: some aspects of al-Qaeda are unusual, but some are not. How terrorist movements end reflects, among other factors, the counter-terrorist policies taken against them. It therefore makes sense to formulate those policies with an awareness of historical precedents and a specific image of an end in mind. The monograph analyses recent experience with the decline and demise of terrorist groups to gather policy lessons that apply to domestic, foreign and security policy today.