Homeland Security and Criminal Justice: Five Years After 9/11

by Everette B. Pen

From the publisher:
Previously published as a special issue of Criminal Justice Studies, this volume analyzes the nexus of homeland security to the discipline of criminal justice by addressing in a scholarly manner issues and challenges facing criminal justice students, practitioners, and faculty in the burgeoning field of homeland security.

No event has shaped international events over the last five years more than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Tragically, less than four years later Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Indeed, in less than five years the United States has experienced its worst terrorist attack and worst natural disaster, both in the number of lives lost and in the costs needed for reconstruction. Both events have clearly indicated that there are tremendous threats to the security and well-being of Americans in their own homeland. Furthermore, these events have demonstrated the importance of criminal-justice agencies who are the first responders to threats to the US. Since the threats of further terrorist attacks, natural disasters, epidemics and cyber crime continue to lurk as potential dangers to the homeland, the American Criminal Justice System must be committed to mitigating, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from these tragic events, and its commitment must be steadfast and ubiquitous.

The Truth about Syria

by Barry Rubin

From the publisher:
American policymakers have wrestled with the Syria question for years, but it has gained particular urgency in light of the war between Hezbollah and Israel and the country's continued support for the Iraq insurgency. With its mix of competing religious and ethnic groups, radical ideologies, and ferocious political repression, the growing tension surrounding Syria presents an increasingly serious problem for the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. Yet surprisingly, very little is known about this country and its role in shaping the destiny of the region. In this bold investigation, Middle East expert Barry Rubin looks at how the country has become the powderkeg of the Middle East and offers an insightful analysis of recent developments.

Barry Rubin is the author of The Long War for Freedom, Yasir Arafat, The Tragedy of the Middle East, and Hating America. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and many other publications. He has been a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow and is the editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs.

Our Good Name

by J. Phillip London

From the publisher:
The Crisis That Rocked a Country and a Company...
In April 2004, an illegally leaked U.S. Army report thrust CACI, an information technology company, into the international spotlight by casting suspicion on a CACI employee for being "either directly or indirectly responsible" for the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. At the same time, pictures from the abuses were shown on national television and tarnished anyone associated with Abu Ghraib--including CACI.

What ensued was a media frenzy rarely seen by any company in recent decades. The media twisted the unsupported allegations into a guilty verdict without regard for the facts or the truth, creating a damning public perception of CACI. Our Good Name recounts how CACI battled to defend itself against erroneous and malicious reports by a rampaging media, how it responded to the wide-ranging government investigations, and how it overcame misplaced anger and criticism that put the company's dedicated employees and excellent reputation--even it's future--at risk.

Faced with constant accusations, exaggerations, and false reports, CACI refused to allow the media storm and uninformed opportunists to drag it down. The company condemned the behavior depicted in the infamous prison photos. If any employee had been culpable of any wrongdoing, the company would respond forcefully and accordingly, but only adhering to the rule of law. There would be no witch hunts, no lynch mobs, and no kangaroo courts.

Spearheaded by its long-time leader, chairman, president, and CEO Dr. J. Phillip London, the company mounted a concentrated campaign to address the allegations and make the facts known. CACI used innovative methods of crisis management and consistent communications to push back against the distortions and mistakes. CACI would also rely upon its long-established, proven culture of ethics and integrity to direct its activities and set the record straight.

Our Good Name is CACI's story of facing one of the biggest scandals in recent history...and coming out honorably with its head high.

Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement

by Zaki Chehab

From the publisher:
The radical Islamist movement Hamas shocked the world when it won a landslide election victory in January 2006 in the Palestinian occupied territories.

One of the few journalists not to be surprised by this outcome was Zaki Chehab who has developed an international reputation as a fearless reporter and was one of the first to interview members the Iraqi resistance in May 2003. Fluent in Arabic, he is a Palestinian refugee who grew up in UN refugee camps and has unique access to and understanding of Hamas.

Like Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, Chehab shows how Hamas built a formidable social base in Palestine through its welfare programs. He also explains why, in the face of the endless complexities, disappointments and delays brought about by the signing of the Oslo Peace Accord, Hamas's strategy of armed struggle and terrorism offers the Palestinian people a seductive, simple and deadly alternative.

In this compelling and sober portrayal, Chebab, an intrepid Palestinian journalist (who was nearly blown up in 2002), explains how the highly organized and notoriously militant Islamic group Hamas was elected to head the Palestinian government in January 2006, to the surprise of much of the world. - Publishers Weekly

Terrorism in Asymmetric Conflict: Ideological and Structural Aspects

by Ekaterina A. Stepanova

From the publisher:
The book's main focus is on extremist ideologies and structural capabilities of violent non-state actors that employ terrorist means. Ideologies and organizational patterns are seen as the main comparative advantages of such groups in an asymmetrical confrontation at all levels, from the local to the global. Resolution of the key issues of the armed conflict is seen as essential, but this is not sufficient to undermine the foundations of terrorism generated by that conflict, unless the structural capabilities of militant groups are fully disrupted and the role of extremist ideologies in
driving their terrorist activities is neutralized.

With its central focus on Islamist terrorism, the book argues that the quasi-religious, supra-national ideology of violent Islamism, especially in its most ambitious transnational forms, cannot be effectively counterbalanced at the ideological level either by Western democratic secularism or by the use of moderate versions of Islam itself. The author concludes that unless transnational violent Islamism is, first, 'nationalized' and, second, transformed in organizational terms through its being coopted into a more regular political process, it is unlikely to become amenable to persuasion or any external influence, let alone to be destroyed by the repression on which it thrives.

The study also proposes an original typology of terrorism based on the overall level of a militant group's goals and the extent to which its terrorist activities are linked to a broader armed conflict. It combines qualitative research with the analysis of available data on trends in modern terrorism and the use of primary sources and writings.

Dr Ekaterina Stepanova is a Project Leader of the Armed Conflicts and Conflict Management Project at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). She is also a Senior Researcher on leave of absence from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences, where she heads a research group on unconventional security threats at the Center for International Security. Her research and publications focus on armed conflict management and post-conflict peacebuilding, the political economy of conflicts, and unconventional/non-military security threats such as terrorism and transnational crime, particularly in conflict-related contexts.

How Terrorism Is Wrong: Morality and Political Violence

by Virginia Held

From the publisher:
What is terrorism? How is it different from other kinds of political violence? Why exactly is it wrong? Why is war often thought capable of being justified? On what grounds should we judge when the use of violence to be morally acceptable? It is often thought that using violence to uphold and enforce the rule of law can be justified, that violence used in self-defense is acceptable, and that some liberation movements can be excused for using violence--but that terrorism is always wrong. How persuasive are these arguments, and on what bases should we judge them?

How Terrorism is Wrong collects articles by Virginia Held that offer a moral assessment of various forms of political violence, with terrorism the focus of much of the discussion. Here and throughout, Held examines possible causes discussed, including the connection between terrorism and humiliation. Held also considers military intervention, conventional war, intervention to protect human rights, violence to prevent political change, and the status and requirements of international law. She looks at the cases of Rwanda, Kosovo, Iraq, and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Finally, she explores questions of who has legitimate authority to engage in justifiable uses of violence, whether groups can be responsible for ethnic violence, and how the media should cover terrorism.

Held discusses appropriate ways of engaging in moral evaluation and improving our moral recommendations concerning the uses of violence. Just war theory has been developed for violence between the military forces of conflicting states, but much contemporary political violence is not of this kind.

Held considers the guidance offered by such traditional moral theories as Kantian ethics and utilitarianism, and also examines what the newer approach of the ethics of care can contribute to our evaluations of violence. Care is obviously antithetical to violence since violence destroys what care takes pains to build; but the ethics of care recognizes that violence is not likely to disappear from human affairs, and can offer realistic understandings of how best to reduce it.

Virginia Held is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York's Graduate School and University Center.

Base Politics: Democratic Change and the U.S. Military Overseas

From the publisher:
According to the Department of Defense's 2004 Base Structure Report, the United States officially maintains 860 overseas military installations and another 115 on noncontinental U.S. territories. Over the last fifteen years the Department of Defense has been moving from a few large-footprint bases to smaller and much more numerous bases across the globe. This so-called lily-pad strategy, designed to allow high-speed reactions to military emergencies anywhere in the world, has provoked significant debate in military circles and sometimes-fierce contention within the polity of the host countries.

In Base Politics, Alexander Cooley examines how domestic politics in different host countries, especially in periods of democratic transition, affect the status of U.S. bases and the degree to which the U.S. military has become a part of their local and national landscapes. Drawing on exhaustive field research in different host nations across East Asia and Southern Europe, as well as the new postcommunist base hosts in the Black Sea and Central Asia, Cooley offers an original and provocative account of how and why politicians in host countries contest or accept the presence of the U.S. military on their territory.

Overseas bases, Cooley shows, are not merely installations that serve a military purpose. For host governments and citizens, U.S. bases are also concrete institutions and embodiments of U.S. power, identity, and diplomacy. Analyzing the degree to which overseas bases become enmeshed in local political agendas and interests, Base Politics will be required reading for anyone interested in understanding the extent--and limits--of America's overseas military influence.

"Base Politics is a thorough treatment of an important and still somewhat neglected aspect of international relations." --Simon Duke, European Institute of Public Administration

"In Base Politics, Alexander Cooley describes the conditions under which U.S. military basing arrangements in host countries become politicized. He shows that such conflicts often take place in countries that are making a transition to democracy. This is a very important book that highlights how our interests and our ideals can often come into conflict."-- Michael Desch, Robert M. Gates Chair in Intelligence and National Security Decision-Making, Texas A&M University

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

Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism

by Steve Tsang

From the publisher:
Facing the threats posed by dedicated suicide bombers who have access to modern technology for mass destruction and who intend to cause maximum human suffering and casualties, democratic governments have hard choices to make. The premise of this book is that for intelligence organizations in democratic states to be able to face up to the challenges of global terrorism, they must think outside the box and utilize all of their resources effectively and creatively.

To overcome the enemy, we must also secure the peace. Winning the hearts and minds of the terrorists' pool of potential recruits will be essential to cutting off the supply of suicide bombers. This book therefore addresses not only the question of how intelligence organizations can improve their efficacy in pre-empting terrorist outrages, but also the wider issue of removing the forces that sustain global terrorism as a scourge of the twenty-first century. The general public in the target countries and recruiting grounds must also be persuaded that—despite their rhetoric—the terrorists are not engaged in a holy war. Intelligence services of various countries need to find convincing evidence to prove this point. But it is up to governments, civil society, and the media in different parts of the world to work together if the evidence unearthed by national intelligence services is to be accepted by the general public. Unless the emotional or quasi-religious appeal of the global terrorists can be removed, the simple arrest of bin Laden and his close associates—or even the destruction of Al Qaeda as an organization--will not be sufficient to prevent others from rising to replace them.

"This is essential reading for policy makers, intelligence professionals, and academics. It emphasizes the need to 'think outside the box' to counter religious martyrdom using global communications." —Brian Stewart, former Secretary to the British Joint Intelligence Committee

"This book offers rich information and better understanding of how democratic states should defend themselves and at the same time not give up their main principles, and about changes needed in intelligence communities facing this challenge." —Major-General Jacob Amidror, former head of Research and Assessment Division, Israeli Defense Force

The Fighting 69th: One Remarkable National Guard Unit's Journey from Ground Zero to Baghdad

by Sean Michael Flynn

From the publisher:
Flynn (Land of Radioactive Midnight) draws on his experience as a company commander with the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard—the Fighting 69th of Civil War, WWI and WWII fame—for this riveting account of the unit's service following 9/11.

Considered the worst unit in the National Guard, at the turn of the 21st century, according to Flynn, the 69th was under-trained, under-resourced, and under-led. Activated on 9/11, its soldiers were the first to arrive at ground zero, and then guarded New York City's bridges and tunnels and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

In 2004, after retraining, the unit was flagged Task Force Wolfhound and certified for overseas deployment, but was barely functional in the field. In Iraq, the 69th provided route security along a six-mile stretch known as 'The Most Dangerous Road in the World,' the main highway between the airport and downtown Baghdad. Learning on the job, the 69th effectively neutralized the roadside bomb threat that has caused a high percentage of the war's casualties, but paid a heavy price in its own killed and injured. Drawing on combat journals, operations orders and interviews with survivors, Flynn fashions a tale equal to the making of the new, contemporary heroes of the Fighting 69th who, against all odds, restored a previously distinguished unit to its former glory.

9/11 and the War on Terror

by David Holloway

From the publisher:
This series of textbooks focuses on key events in American history from the perspective of several different disciplines, offering the student a range of disciplinary perspectives on one particular historical event. Books in the series will be unique in focusing on one particular event from a range of viewpoints.

This multidisciplinary book discusses representation of 9/11 and the war on terror in the US. David Holloway argues that in the post-9/11 period, when many Americans felt remote from centres of political decision-making and power, culture and media provided the principal sites in which Americans, and others in the West, debated the meanings of contemporary events. Holloway argues that one common facet of US culture after 9/11 was its diagnosis of failure in key political institutions, amounting at times to a palpable sense of crisis in the values and mechanisms of the Republic - one important source of this being the contemporary observation that both 9/11 and the war on terror were products of American empire.

The book includes:

* separate chapters on key historical and political explanations and contexts;

* individual chapters on mass media, cinema, literature, and visual art/photography;

* a timeline, short synoptic biographies of key figures, and an annotated bibliography of recommended further reading

Responses to Cyber Terrorism

Edited by Center of Excellence - Defence Against Terrorism

From the publisher:
The one issue touched on repeatedly by the contributors of this publication is the difficulty of arriving at a definition of cyber terrorism. A NATO Office of Security document cautiously defines it as “a cyber attack using or exploiting computer or communication networks to cause sufficient destruction or disruption to generate fear or to intimidate a society into an ideological goal.” But the cyber world is surely remote from what is recognized as terrorism: the bloody attacks and ethnic conflicts, or, more precisely, the politically-motivated “intention to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government …” (UN report, Freedom from Fear, 2005). It is hard to think of an instance when computer code has physically harmed anyone. Yet a number of contributors show that exactly such events, potentially on a huge scale, can be expected. For example attacks on critical infrastructure, in particular on SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems which control physical processes in places like chemical factories, dams and power stations. A part of the publication examines cyber terrorism in the proper sense of the term and how to respond in terms of technology, awareness, and legal/political measures. However, there is also the related question of responding to the terrorist presence on the Internet (so-called ‘terrorist contents’). Here the Internet is not a weapon, but an important tool for terrorists’ communications (coordination, training, recruiting), and information gathering on the targets of planned attacks.

Power and Water in the Middle East: The Hidden Politics of the Palestinian-Israeli Water Conflict

by Mark Zeitoun

From the publisher:
Power and Water in the Middle East provides a powerful new perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli water conflict. Adopting a new approach to understanding water conflict - hydro-hegemony- the author shows the conflict to be much more deeply entrenched than previously thought and reveals how existing tactics to control water are leading away from peace and towards continued domination and a squandering of this vital resource.

Exisiting theories tend to play down the negative effects of non-violent water conflicts, and what is often presented as co-operation between countries hides a deep imbalance and underlying state of conflict between them. Mark Zeitoun's important work shows how the new analytical framework of hydro-hegemony may be used to expose the hidden dynamics of water conflicts around the world and how, in particular, it yields critical insights into the Middle East water situation.

Combining extensive technical knowledge with personal experience in the field, the author offers important new findings that will interest researchers, professionals and policy makers involved with the politics of the Middle East and with water conflict more generally.

Mark Zeitoun is a water engineer with more than a decade of experience in conflict and post conflict zones, including the Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Chad and the Republic of Congo. He is with the Centre of Environmental Policy and Governance at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader

by Kasra Naji

From the publisher:
As Iran's nuclear program accelerates, all eyes are on the blacksmith's son who could have his finger on the trigger. Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What drives him? To whom, if anyone, does he answer?

Internationally acclaimed Iranian journalist Kasra Naji has spent years interviewing Ahmadinejad's friends, family, and colleagues to tell for the first time the true story of how he came to power. What emerges in this riveting account, featuring never before published color photographs, is a picture of a man who is much more of a force to be reckoned with than the caricatures offered up so far suggest.

While Naji documents Ahmadinejad's often strange behavior, he also shows him to be full of complex contradictions: a man gripped by apocalyptic beliefs, yet capable of switching spiritual allegiance in the quest for power. A man tough enough to fight street battles in the name of Ayatollah Khomeini, crude enough to invite the German chancellor to join him in an anti-Jewish alliance, yet sophisticated enough to win the support of the all-powerful Revolutionary Guard. Kasra Naji takes us inside the shadowy council chambers of Tehran, and shows us the plots, passions, and personalities that will influence Ahmadinejad's next move, while the world waits with bated breath.

"An excellent biography, one that is lively and informative, and at the same time sets the President in his international and domestic contexts. In so doing, Naji provides a most informative portrait of Iran today, and of the many, conflicting, forces that are at play within it." -- Fred Halliday, author of 100 Myths about the Middle East

A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East

by Lawrence Freedman

From the publisher:
It is in the Middle East that the U.S. has been made to confront its attitudes on the use of force, the role of allies, and international law. The history of the U.S. in the Middle East, then, becomes an especially revealing mirror on America's view of its role in the wider world.

In this wise, objective, and illuminating history, Lawrence Freedman shows how three key events in 1978–79 helped establish the foundations for U.S. involvement in the Middle East that would last for thirty years, without offering any straightforward or bloodless exit options: the Camp David summit leading to the Israel-Egypt Treaty; the Iranian Islamic revolution leading to the Shah's departure followed by the hostage crisis; and the socialist revolution in Afghanistan, resulting in the doomed Soviet intervention.

Freedman makes clear how America's strategic choices in those and subsequent crises led us to where we are today. A Choice of Enemies is essential reading for anyone concerned with the complex politics of the region or with the future of American foreign policy.

Sir Lawrence Freedman is professor of war studies at King's College, London. In 2001 he was appointed head of the School of Social Sciences and Public Policy at King's and then in 2003 vice principal for research. Before joining King's he held research appointments at Nuffield College, Oxford, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He is the author of several books of history, including Kennedy's Wars.

SURVIVING THE UNTHINKABLE: What Your Family Needs to Know (and Do) to Survive a Terrorist Attack

by Nicholas Maniatis

From the publisher:
Islamo-Fascist terrorism presents a very real and grave danger to Western culture in general, and to families of the United States in particular. Terrorist groups like al-Qaeda are actively attempting to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including biological, chemical, and nuclear devices. It is only a matter of time before these weapons (or widespread conventional attacks through suicide bombings), are used to attack the American homeland once again.

The consequences of a WMD attack on U.S. soil are catastrophic: in addition to the many thousands (or tens or hundreds of thousands) that will die, many more will be injured and displaced from their homes. A large-scale attack has the possibility of crippling our economy and changing forever our way of life. The aftermath of such an attack would overwhelm the ability of federal and state authorities to respond effectively in a timely fashion. As Hurricane Katrina aptly demonstrated, government at all levels is woefully unable to coordinate relief efforts in the aftermath of widespread disasters-even though, as with Katrina, we had days of advance warning. There will be no advance warning when al-Qaeda strikes us again.

In Surviving the Unthinkable: What Your Family Needs to Know (and Do) to Survive a Terrorist Attack, Nicholas Maniatis explains what everyone needs to know and do to prepare for and survive the next terrorist attack. Maniatis, a former Acting Deputy-Assistant Federal Security Director with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, draws upon his expertise and experience and sets forth in a clear and easy-to-understand format the steps families must take now to prepare adequately for the future. Maniatis devotes separate chapters to each of the different types of WMD terrorists might use on the U.S., as well as conventional weapons, and describes what these attacks will probably look like. Finally, he offers a no-bones-about-it description of who the enemy is, how and why they live among us even now, why they want to kill us, and what we need to do as a people to help defeat the worldwide threat of Islamo-facism.

Surviving the Unthinkable: What Your Family Needs to Know (and Do) to Survive a Terrorist Attack is based upon numerous government and scholarly sources, reports, and personal experience. No American family can afford to leave this book unread. Are you prepared?

About the Author: Nicholas Maniatis is a fourteen-year veteran of the U.S. Army and a former Acting Deputy-Assistant Federal Security Director with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As an officer in the United States Army, Captain Maniatis has actively served in the War on Terror, including a tour in Iraq. He is a graduate of Valley Forge Military Academy and College and Towson University. He lives with his wife and children in Baltimore, Maryland.

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

Weapons of Mass Persuasion: Strategic Communication to Combat Violent Extremism

by Steven R. Corman, Angela Trethewey and H.L. Goodall Jr. (editors)

From the publisher:
Complementing and extending scholarship in three areas-terrorism; the media, mediated representations, and propaganda in contemporary culture and the political and diplomatic environment post-9/11, this book articulates the role of human communication in the "war of ideas." Drawing on contemporary research from a variety of disciplines, this book offers analyses and recommendations for people to make use of informed, inspired, and ethical communication to counter ideological support for terrorism and to promote more effective public diplomacy.

This is the first book to apply human communication concepts and theories-and to offer potential solutions-to the communication problems encountered by nations, communities, and individuals, and in doing so moves beyond critiques of failed U.S. communication campaigns and strategies in the "war on terror."

"A virtual dissection of America's troubled 'information strategy' since 9/11. [This book is] full of trenchant analysis that explains what went wrong, yet replete with practical recommendations for repairing damaged credibility and focusing on the right 'story.' Mandatory reading for all who conduct public diplomacy, those who study it, and those who feel its pervasive effects." - John Arquilla, Director, Information Operations Center, United States Naval Postgraduate School

"... Beyond the incisive analysis of America's strategic communication challenges and the hard-hitting policy recommendations for crafting an effective way forward, the authors open the terrorism studies discipline to a virtually untapped literature, that of communication theory. This book is a must-read for practitioners, scholars, and students of global politics and counterterrorism." - Jarret Brachman, Director of Research, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy

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

Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves

by Michael A. Sheehan

From the publisher:
Written by a man who is arguably the country’s most authoritative voice on counterterrorism, Crush the Cell demolishes, with simple logic, the edifice of false “terror punditry” that has been laid, brick by brick, since 9/11. A veteran of special ops, international diplomacy, and bruising clashes with federal law enforcement agencies, Michael Sheehan delivers in this book a two-part message: First, that we’ve wasted–and are continuing to waste–billions of dollars on the wrong protective measures, and second, that knowing the bad guys’ next move is paramount.

Somewhere in America, Sheehan maintains, are a number of terrorist cells, their members’ heads filled with schemes of mayhem and destruction. Motivated not, as some believe, by feelings of disenfranchisement, disdain for freedom, or economic envy but by a compelling ideological hatred, these individuals plot not just terror but paralyzing terror–the kind that can shut down a country.

Unwittingly aiding and abetting them are many (but not all) “terror experts” and members of the media who, for reasons that are partly self- serving, rate the bad guys’ capabilities far higher than they are, playing into terrorists’ hands with their hype. Spurred by the pundits’ inflated assessments, legislation follows that drains billions from taxpayers’ pockets and pours money into a bloated Washington bureaucracy championing needless programs.

Here, Sheehan shows why defensive fortresses don’t work, but offensive operational intelligence does. He also peels back the mystery surrounding terrorist cells, portraying them as, typically, a group of bumblers searching for a charismatic leader who has what it takes to conduct a complex symphony of violence. Sharing time in the narrative spotlight are not just agents of al Qaeda, but also frighteningly destructive lone wolves, cults, and radical movements.

In his career, Sheehan has operated in the mountain jungles of Central America, the back alleys of Mogadishu, and the teeming streets of New York City–but he has also participated at the highest levels of policy making at the White House, the State Department, and the United Nations. It’s his time protecting America’s most populous city as its counterterrorism czar, however, that yields this book’s most fascinating insights. As Sheehan reveals thwarted threats to New York’s bridges, subways, and landmarks, and recounts extraordinary simulations staged to gauge terrorists’ true abilities, we gain perhaps the clearest picture yet of what modern terror-fighting is all about.

Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman's Story of Survival Inside an Iranian Prison

by Marina Nemat

From the publisher:
What would you give up to protect your loved ones? Your life?

In her heartbreaking, triumphant, and elegantly written memoir, Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat tells the heart-pounding story of her life as a young girl in Iran during the early days of Ayatollah Khomeini's brutal Islamic Revolution.

In January 1982, Marina Nemat, then just sixteen years old, was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death for political crimes. Until then, her life in Tehran had centered around school, summer parties at the lake, and her crush on Andre, the young man she had met at church. But when math and history were subordinated to the study of the Koran and political propaganda, Marina protested. Her teacher replied, "If you don't like it, leave." She did, and, to her surprise, other students followed.

Soon she was arrested with hundreds of other youths who had dared to speak out, and they were taken to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Two guards interrogated her. One beat her into unconsciousness; the other, Ali, fell in love with her.

Sentenced to death for refusing to give up the names of her friends, she was minutes from being executed when Ali, using his family connections to Ayatollah Khomeini, plucked her from the firing squad and had her sentence reduced to life in prison. But he exacted a shocking price for saving her life -- with a dizzying combination of terror and tenderness, he asked her to marry him and abandon her Christian faith for Islam. If she didn't, he would see to it that her family was harmed. She spent the next two years as a prisoner of the state, and of the man who held her life, and her family's lives, in his hands.

Lyrical, passionate, and suffusedthroughout with grace and sensitivity, Marina Nemat's memoir is like no other. Her search for emotional redemption envelops her jailers, her husband and his family, and the country of her birth -- each of whom she grants the greatest gift of all: forgiveness.

The Operators: Inside the World's Special Forces

by Mike Ryan

From the publisher:
Never before have the techniques and operations of special forces around the world been revealed in such fascinating detail.

Journalist and soldier Mike Ryan's access to restricted information is at the heart of this extraordinary look into the world of special forces and their tactics, training, and protocols. Ryan's web of military contacts in the U.S. and Europe allows him to tell the full stories of famous special forces units (like the SAS, Delta Force, and the French Foreign Legion), to discuss their role today on an ever-changing battlefield, and to ponder their increasing use as political enforcers. Soldiers from all over the world talk candidly about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and operations in the Balkans, Somalia, and Sierra Leone. Every entry on a unit, tactic, or weapon is backed up with photographs of it in action, as well as testimony from operators in the field and a full analysis of its combat effectiveness. 240 color photographs.

Mike Ryan's two books, Baghdad or Bust and Special Operations in Iraq, are among the most reliable accounts of the Iraq War. He lives in London, England.

Terrorism Handbook for Operational Responders

by Armando Bevelacqua and Richard Stilp

From the publisher:
This essential handbook provides straight-forward guidance on critical emergency response skills required to cope with terrorism incidents. Newly revised for the third edition, it highlights what is required to establish and implement tactical goals during such events, including new equipment and strategies that can enhance a responder’s effectiveness, as well as an emphasis on ODP requirements such NIMS response objectives and complete training in CBRNE response. A one-stop reference, this easy to understand and factual book is a practical companion for any responder involved in terrorist event in their state, region, city or neighborhood, and serves as an excellent training tool for operational response.

The Trial of Saddam Hussein

by Dr. Abdul-Haq Al-Ani

From the publisher:
Intended as the trial of the century, a vindication of the US assault on Iraq, and an historical turning point in the application of international law, the trial of Saddam Hussein soon descended into chaos and disrepute. This book shows it was not an emergent Iraqi democracy bringing a former dictator to justice, but an American-micro-managed show trial.

An Iraqi-born, British-trained barrister called to the Bar in 1996, Abdul-Haq al-Ani coordinated Saddam Husseins defense from London. He has lived in Scandinavia and Britain for the past twenty years. He joined the Baath party while in his teens, but left it in disappointment a few years later.

A Manual for American Servicemen in the Arab Middle East: Using Cultural Understanding to Defeat Adversaries and Win the Peace

by William D. Wunderle

From the publisher:
The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has sent U.S. diplomats and troops around the world. In the current security environment, understanding foreign cultures is crucial to defeating adversaries and working with allies. Lt. Col. William D. Wunderle explains how U.S. soldiers and commanders can look at military interventions—from preparation to execution—through the lens of cultural awareness, while always minding post-conflict stability operations. He also suggests much-needed changes to the traditional intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) and the military decision-making process (MDMP). Fascinating, concise, and timely, this is a must-read for military personnel, the intelligence community, and anyone seeking to grasp the motivations and decision-making styles of people all over the globe.

William D. Wunderle is a Political Military Planner for the Joint Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (J5) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He lives in Woodbridge, VA.

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman

by Mary Tillman

From the publisher:
On April 22, 2004, Lieutenant David Uthlaut received orders from Khost, Afghanistan, that his platoon was to leave the town of Magarah and "have boots on the ground before dark" in Manah, a small village on the border of Pakistan. It was an order the young lieutenant protested vehemently, but the commanders at the Tactical Command Center disregarded his objections. Uthlaut split his platoon into two serials, with serial one traveling northwest to Manah and serial two towing a broken Humvee north toward the Khost highway. By nightfall, Uthlaut and his radio operator were seriously wounded, and an Afghan militia soldier and a U.S. soldier were dead. The American soldier was my son, Pat Tillman.

The Tillman family was originally informed that Pat, who had given up a professional football career to serve his country, had been shot in the head while getting out of a vehicle. At his memorial service twelve days later, they were told that he was killed while running up a hill in pursuit of the enemy. He was awarded a Silver Star for his courageous actions. A month and two days after his death, the family learned that Pat had been shot three times in the head by his own troops in a "friendly fire" incident. Seven months after Pat’s death, the Tillmans requested an investigation.

Boots on the Ground by Dusk is a chronicle of their efforts to ascertain the true circumstances of Pat’s death and the reasons why the Army gave the family and the public a false story. Woven into the account are valuable and respectful memories of Pat Tillman as a son, brother, husband, friend, and teammate, in the hope that the reader will better comprehend what is really lost when our sons and daughters are killed or maimed in war.

In the course of three and a half years, there have been six investigations, several inquiries, and two Congressional hearings. The Tillmans are still awaiting an outcome.

American Heroes: In the Fight Against Radical Islam

by Oliver North and Chuck Holton

From the publisher:
What is a Hero? New York Times best-selling author Oliver North says, “Real heroes are selfless. Those who serve America in harm’s way in the war against radical Islam have that quality in abundance. And so do their families and loved ones at home. Yet, they rarely get the attention or coverage they deserve."

“Despite the way they are presented by too many in the press and politics, the men and women in uniform today are overwhelmingly good. I never cease to be amazed at the self-discipline of these brave young Americans. They can endure the adrenaline-pumping violence of an enemy engagement, and then, just minutes later, help school children get safely to their classes . . . No nation—ours included—has ever had a military force better than the one we have today. I’m proud of them. You should be too.”

In American Heroes, North addresses issues of defense against global terrorism, Jihad, and radical Islam from his firsthand perspective as a decorated military officer and national security advisor and current Middle East war correspondent. This patriotic book also pulls in new reports and exclusive full-color photographs from War Stories, the award-winning FOX News Channel series hosted by North.

Ambitious in scope, American Heroes details the earliest terrorism faced by the United States in the 1800s at the hands of the Barbary Pirates, the major terrorist group developments of the 1970s and 80s, and, most vividly, the post-9/11 Iraq War era. Most inspiringly, North’s up-close field notes highlight the core values of today’s American soldier in relation to the fight at hand: courage, commitment, compassion, and faith.

Thank God for freedom. Thank God for American heroes.

"Oliver North has spent his life among America’s heroes. This book with its moving words and powerful images will inspire patriots, reassure the faint of heart, and infuriate our nation’s adversaries. These are our heroes, they deserve to have their story told, and no one is better to tell it than Col. North, because when it comes to heroes, it takes one to know one. This book is a treasure." - Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and New York Times bestselling author of Real Change

After Bush: The Case for Continuity in American Foreign Policy

by Timothy J. Lynch, Robert S. Singh

From the publisher:
Towards the end of his second term, it appears George W. Bush's foreign policy has won few admirers, with pundits and politicians eagerly and opportunistically bashing the tenets of the Bush Doctrine. This provocative account dares to counter the dogma of Bush's Beltway detractors and his ideological enemies, boldly arguing that Bush's policy deservedly belongs within the mainstream of the American foreign policy tradition. Though the shifting tide of public opinion has led many to anticipate that his successor will repudiate the actions of the past eight years, authors Timothy Lynch and Robert S. Singh suggest that there will-and should-be continuity in US foreign policy from his Presidency to those who follow. Providing a positive audit of the war on terror (which they contend should be understood as a Second Cold War) they charge that the Bush Doctrine has been consistent with past foreign policies-from Republican and Democratic presidencies-and that the key elements of Bush's grand strategy will rightly continue to shape America's approach in the future. Above all, they predict that his successors will pursue the war against Islamist terror with similar dedication.

"The common sense view - shared by the chattering classes around the world - is that Bush has failed, that the war on terror has been a disaster, and that the United States should return with all speed to the multilateral system is so unnecessarily abandoned some time during 2001. Here is a book that frontally challenges all these cosy assumptions. The world and the United States have changed for ever - it insists - and the sooner the rest of us get used to the fact the better. A provocative, trenchantly argued study that leaves the reader with few places to hide." - Professor Michael Cox, The London School of Economics

"Lynch and Singh make a compelling case that the Bush doctrine will outlast the current American president, and they assemble considerable evidence to show that fundamental components of the doctrine are consistent with foreign policy tradition. The authors skillfully depersonalize the debate about American foreign policy in order to move beyond the current obsession with George W. Bush." - Robert J. Lieber, Professor of Government and International Affairs, Georgetown University

Camelia: Save Yourself by Telling the Truth-a Memoir of Iran

by Camelia Entekhabifard

From the publisher:
"A courageous book by a gifted journalist that peels back the many layers of repression faced by journalists in Iran. Entekhabifard has written an affecting, emotionally rich memoir that is a must-read for anyone concerned with the current Iranian predicament, women's rights, or the plight of journalists in authoritarian states."- Afshin Molavi

Camelia Entekhabifard was six years old in 1979 when the shah of Iran was overthrown by revolutionary supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Despite the terrors and deprivation of the long Iran/Iraq war, and the constant threat of the religious police patrolling their neighborhood, the Entekhabifards chose to stay in Tehran, incredibly surviving two decades of violent change, though some family members were disappeared by the Ayatollah's military forces.

By the age of sixteen, Camelia was a nationally celebrated poet, and at eighteen she was one of the youngest reformist journalists in Tehran. Just eight years later she was imprisoned, held in solitary confinement, and charged with breaching national security and challenging the authority of the Islamic regime.

After months of solitary confinement and daily interrogation, Camelia confesses to crimes she did not commit, and comes to believe that she is in love with her brutal interrogator. Thus unfolds a dramatic account of this morally ambivalent and emotionally troubling relationship. Once outside of prison, Camelia must struggle anew for her freedom, and find her way out of the compromising secrets she shares with this dangerous and powerful man.

Camelia is both a story of growing up in post-revolutionary Tehran and a haunting reminder of the consequences of speaking the truth in a repressive society.

Camelia Entekhabifard, a journalist and native of Tehran, currently lives in New York City and spends part of her time reporting from Afghanistan.