About the Book
Despite the wake-up call of September 11, 2001, terrorism remains a dire threat to the security of all civilized nations, making it imperative for leaders to develop better national, regional, and global strategies to counter its many forms. Counterterrorism Strategies examines how six countries have combated terrorist groups from the 1970s to the present and draws lessons that are applicable to today’s threats. Some of this important new book’s case studies are the U.S. pursuit of al Qaeda, Italy’s efforts against the extreme left-wing Red Brigades and extreme right-wing New Order, Germany’s battles with the Red Army Faction, France’s struggles with separatist movements and international terrorist Carlos the Jackal, Egypt’s experience with Islamist terrorism, and Sri Lanka’s long confrontation with the Tamil Tigers.
Counterterrorism Strategies shows that there are no simple or complete solutions to the dangers posed by determined and elusive terrorists, but several of the countries detailed here have had significant successes. The contributors’ analyses of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of strategies used by these six countries offer a counterterrorism road map for the twenty-first century. This book is essential reading for policymakers, for counterterrorism scholars and professionals, and for members of the general public who are concerned about the direction of the international campaign against terrorism.
About the Author :
Editor and contributor YONAH ALEXANDER is a professor at, and the director of, the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies in Washington, D.C.; a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; and director of the Potomac Institute’s Center for Terrorism Studies in Arlington, Virginia.
Review :
." . . .a well-written and well-researched contribution to the ever-expanding corpus of books on counterterrorism. . . .Offers valuable insight into the practices of other states' intelligence bureaucracies."
""Counterterrorism Strategies" is another exemplary contribution by Yonah Alexander to the library on terrorism and counterterrorism. His approach--examining the successes and failures of six nations--provides a very useful way to organize material for policy makers, as well as students."
"A 'must' for any college-level military or social history holding."
"Among the legions of specialists fighting terrorism around the world Yonah Alexander and his co-authors in "Counterterrorism Strategies" stand apart from the crowd through their ability to understand what motivates this plague affecting the twenty-first century. If the international community is to successfully combat terrorism in whatever shape or form it may present itself--be it ethno-political, religious, or ultra-nationalistic--it is of paramount importance to understand the enemy and what triggers such violence. "Counterterrorism Strategies" helps us understand that, as well as what authorities around the world are doing to remain one step ahead in a very deadly game."
"Counterterrorism Strategies" is a must-read for specialists in the growing field of counterterrorism and homeland security as well as the general public. The six countries it examines are good examples of how much work still needs to be done to fully comprehend the true dimensions of the new global threat of terrorism. The book also emphasizes the need for more and deeper international cooperation in order to meet this complex challenge.
"For many years those of us charged with preventing terrorist acts, and investigating and defeating organizations that utilized terrorism to further their goals, have looked to Yonah Alexander for insightful analysis of the terrorist phenomena. In "Counterterrorism Strategies", he and his coauthors have produced an immensely readable and, more importantly, a very insightful review of successful strategies against terrorism in disparate locations."
"For the third time in less than a hundred years, the way of life that evolved out of the Enlightenment is threatened by a totalitarian movement whose goal it is to destroy all vestiges of that way of life. The first two movements operated through state actors that resorted to conventional warfare. The third, as Yonah Alexander notes, is 'an international terrorist network operating in some ninety countries [with the] stated objective of uniting all Muslims under one flag and establishing a unified government under the rule of the Caliphs.' But while this network s long-term objective resembles that of the Nazis and the Communists, its mode of operation is that of more localized movements that use terrorism in the effort to reach their goal. Professor Alexander and his co-authors have provided us with an excellent analysis of the new major worldwide threat, parallel localized terrorist endeavors, and the responses thereto."
"In the foreword to this extremely useful book, Jose Maria Aznar, the former President of Spain, states, 'We must and can fight effectively against terrorism.' Yonah Alexander has edited, and contributed to, a thorough review, of practice best and otherwise, in six countries: the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Egypt and Sri Lanka. He draws necessary conclusions and makes specific policy suggestions for ramping up the fight against global terrorism. Alexander is a peerless scholar, and this book should be read."
"No one person, entity, or country has an all-encompassing strategy for countering the evils of terrorism. The solution, therefore, is to assemble the collective wisdom of the countries most engaged in combating this threat. In this book, Yonah Alexander and the other authors offer insights and communicate lessons learned in fulfillment of the maxim that wise men learn by other men s mistakes; fools, by their own."
"Since 9/11 many people have been trying to figure out what to do about terrorism. Yonah Alexander is years ahead of most of them, and once again he has demonstrated his skill for devising strategies to deal with this danger. This is a must read for those who want to do something about terrorism."
"With "Counterterrorism Strategies", Yonah Alexander provides readers with a survey of the best and worst practices employed by a select group of six countries endeavoring to protect their citizens and combat the terrorist threat against them. His new book brings a much-needed comparison tothe world s hottest spots in the global effort to defeat terrorism. By highlighting historic forces, current political pressures, and the uncontrollable unknown of unintended consequences inevitable in the fog of this twenty-first-century conflict, Professor Alexander and his colleagues offer a succinct read for scholar and practitioner alike."
Learning from the experiences of other countries is a critical part of finding improved ways to combat terrorism. A valuable aid in that process is "Counterterrorism Strategies", which offers concise but comprehensive portraits of the counterterrorist perspectives and techniques of six nations that have faced a wide variety of terrorist challenges.
No one person, entity, or country has an all-encompassing strategy for countering the evils of terrorism. The solution, therefore, is to assemble the collective wisdom of the countries most engaged in combating this threat. In this book, Yonah Alexander and the other authors offer insights and communicate lessons learned in fulfillment of the maxim that wise men learn by other men s mistakes; fools, by their own.
Professor Yonah Alexander, a veritable institution in his own right with regard to studies on terrorism . . . has not only been studying terrorism for decades, but has analyzed the most effective ways of combating it. By presenting an analysis of the successes and failures of six nations in their battle against terrorism, he is offering us a useful tool to help us learn from one another, so that we might develop a philosophy that inspires a shared strategy against terrorism, a phenomenon that threatens us all equally.
The quality of the organization, research, and writing makes "Counterterrorism Strategies" invaluable for the critical and dynamic areas of criminal justice and international security policies. Editor Yonah Alexander has worked for many decades on international and comparative counterterrorism and is a giant without equal in the field of counterterrorism policy.
Yonah Alexander and company have created a work of immeasurable importance. "Counterterrorism Strategies" is unique in that it goes far beyond the commonplace recitations of current dangers by investigating counterterrorism problems and initiatives in six nations. The success and failures he distills for the reader are practical, rooted in experience, and battle tested. The clarity of analysis and presentation style combine to create a very useful volume that should be read by policymakers and tacticians alike.
Yonah Alexander and his team have provided counterterrorism strategies that are critical in the battle against future conventional and unconventional threats. The book is a sensible, coherent, and important contribution to our knowledge. It deserves to command serious attention by policymakers, the military, and the public in general.
"Yonah Alexander and company have created a work of immeasurable importance. COUNTERTERRORISM STRATEGIES is unique in that it goes far beyond the commonplace recitations of current dangers by investigating counterterrorism problems and initiatives in six nations. The success and failures he distills for the reader are practical, rooted in experience, and battle tested. The clarity of analysis and presentation style combine to create a very useful volume that should be read by policymakers and tacticians alike." --Peter Leitner, president of the Higgins Counterterrorism Research Center and professor at the National Center for Biodefense at George Mason University
