1. Roots of Terrorism? 2. Origins of Islamic Terrorism 3. Jihad 4. Suicide 5. Israel and the Palestinians 6. Intelligence Failure 7. The Far Right 8. Anti-Americanism 9. Battlefields of the Future: 1. India and Central Asia 10. Battlefields of the Future: 2. The International Brigade Conclusion: War Against the West
Walter Laqueur holds the Kissinger Chair for International Security Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is the author of a score of books, including Terrorism,The Age of Terrorism, and The New Terrorism.
"This is both an essential resource to understanding terrorism, as
well as a capstone to Laqueur's distinguished career...He also
clearly establishes both the continuity of terrorism as a
phenomenon and the important differences between the anarchists and
radicals of the European intelligentsia of the 19th century, the
nationalist liberation movements of the mid-20th century, and the
more recent radical religious terror groups. Laqueur is also to be
commended for the extensive bibliography at the end." -Parameters,
Summer 2004
"The post-September 11 surge in publications offering the latest
wisdom on terrorism has been a mixed bag, but here [is one] of the
best...Laqueur is a veteran terrorism-watcher. Here he does not
reprise his earlier histories. Instead, he provides a hard analysis
of the development of Islamic militancy, tracing it back to the
Muslim Brotherhood of the 1970s and following it through radical
campaigns in Egypt, the develpment of al Qaeda, and so on to
September 11." -Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, Volume 82,
No. 5
"...the attack [the suicide mission of two British men of Pakistani
heritage in April 2003] is emblematic of a number of the themes of
Walter Laqueur's excellent new book...Laqueur has interesting
things to say about the "intelligence failure" surrounding Sept. 11
that go beyond the normal boilerplate complaints that the FBI and
CIA underestimated the importance of al Qaeda." -Peter Bergen,
Washington Post
"In this excellent review of terrorism, Dr. Laqueur dispels the
conventional belief that poverty and oppression lie at the roots of
the Islamist terrorism threatening America and the West. He argues
that the Islamists aim at nothing less than the destruction of
Western civilization and that they will acquire weapons of mass
destruction. Given these stakes, the book is a must read for all
Americans concerned with our nation's security in the 21st
century."--Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, III Chairman, National
Commisssion on Terrorism Chairman & CEO, Marsh Crisis
Consulting
"A Sobering analysis of geopolitics and current events....[by] a
longtime, and prescient, student of terrorist movements through
history."-Kirkus
"A long-term student of terrorism, Walter Laqueur has now
succinctly and clearly shown how the Islamist Terrorst movement
resembles its predecessors and how it differs from them. His
analysis of the ideaology of the present-day terrorists explains
why they have no qualms about engaging in mass murder, rather than
the pinpointed assassinations pracitced by their predecessors. As
Laqueur points out, the present-day terrorists are fanatics
commited to the destruction of a social order built on individual
freedom and democracy." --Richard Schifter, former U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State
"(Laqueur) is at his strongest in relating the history of terrorism
and how the motivations underlying such violence have
changed."--Publishers Weekly
"Walter Laqueur - a deeply learned polyglot historian, whose
expertise ranges from 19th-century Germany to 20th-century Egypt -
has for decades stood out as one of the very few sober and
intelligent voices in this undistinguished crowd. His latest book,
'No End to War,' which surveys trends in terrorism throughout the
world but which concentrates on Islamist terrorism, is bolstered by
his characteristic strengths. Mr. Laqueur's wide-ranging intellect
demolishes many of the shibboleths that plague discussions of
terrorism generally and Islamist terrorism specifically.
Throughout, Mr. Laqueur's analysis is clear-eyed and unsentimental.
Only a scholar with Mr. Laqueur's wide historical perspective can
assess what, exactly, is new - and newly threatening - in
contemporary terrorism. There is a bright spot in his analysis. Mr.
Laqueur hardly views the Arab world as static. Eventually, he says,
modernity will transform it. But until it's complete, that process
will exacerbate the very forces most antagonistic to the West. The
greatest national-security question ever to face the United States
may well be: Will that transformation occur before religious
fanatics acquire biological and nuclear weapons? If Mr. Laqueur's
analysis is right, the West is in a race for its life." --Benjamin
Schwartz, New York Times, June 14, 2003
"...a number of the themes of Walter Laqueur's excellent new book:
the transnational character of 21st-century terrorism; the
widespread use of suicide as a terrorist tool; the lack of scruple
about civilian casualties that characterizes religiously inspired
terrorists; and the insufficiency of poverty as an explanation for
what causes terrorism. For those who see some ticker tape victory
parade following the "the war on terrorism," he points out that
"terrorism is relatively cheap and will be with us as long as
anyone can envision, even if not always at the same frequency and
intensity." Moreover, the terrorists' "aim is no longer to conduct
propaganda but to effect maximum destruction." ..."in the
forty-nine countries currently designated by the United Nations as
the least developed, hardly any terrorist activity occurs." Laqueur
has interesting things to say about the "intelligence failure"
surrounding Sept. 11 that go beyond the normal boilerplate
complaints that the FBI and CIA underestimated the importance of al
Qaeda. Laqueur also assigns blame for much of the country's former
complacency to the American media, which had drastically cut back
on foreign coverage in the decade before Sept. 11. And, of course,
the greatest worry remains that "it is only a question of time
until radiological, chemical, or biological weapons will be used
more or less systematically by terrorist groups." Then we will have
truly entered "the age of catastrophic terrorism." --Peter Bergen,
The Washington Post, August 19, 2003
"
*Blurb from reviewer*
"The post-September 11 surge in publications offering the latest
wisdom on terrorism has been a mixed bag, but here [is one] of the
best." —Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs
*Blurb from reviewer*
"A sobering analysis of geopolitics and current events.... [by] a
longtime, and prescient, student of terrorist movements through
history." —Kirkus Reviews
*Kirkus Reviews*
"Mr. Laqueur's wide-ranging intellect demolishes many of the
shibboleths that plague discussions of terrorism generally and
Islamist terrorism specifically. Throughout, Mr. Laqueur's analysis
is clear-eyed and unsentimental. Only a scholar with Mr. Laqueur's
wide historical perspective can assess what, exactly, is new—and
newly threatening—in contemporary terrorism." —Benjamin Schwartz,
New York Times
*New York Times*
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