Table of Contents

Part I: The Threat.

1. We Americans Remain Vulnerable to Terrorist Attack

2. The Nature of the Enemy Today. Part II: The Strategy.

3. Components of our Grand Strategy: Diplomacy, Intelligence, Economics, Law & Law-making, the Military.

4. The Current Published Counterterrorism Strategy.

Part III: The Future.

5. What Needs to be Done.

6. What Citizens Can Do.

7. How Other Terrorist Groups Have Been Defeated. Additional Resources.

About the Author

Christopher C. Harmon has been teaching, publishing, and advancing studies of terrorism and counterterrorism for three decades. This is his sixth book in the fi eld. Here he covers the moral, political, tactical, and strategic problems that citizens most want to know about. Dr. Harmon holds the Bren Chair of Great Power Competition, Marine Corps University, Virginia.

Reviews

Praise for A Citizen’s Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Second EditionDr. Harmon has done it again. Having endorsed the first edition—which was so valuable to our citizenry—I can guarantee readers will find this new edition to have the very best qualities of a book on public affairs. We begin with a current and deeply informed account of terrorism today, inside America and beyond our borders. Then we see a rich description of America’s national strategy for fighting back, assessment of how it is going, and suggestions about what citizens can do to help.--Ambassador J. D. Crouch II, former Deputy National Security Advisor to the PresidentIn a time when even the most basic of facts are disputed, understanding today’s terrorism seems an impossible task. Fortunately, this revised edition of Chris Harmon’s A Citizen’s Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism is as helpful as it is comprehensive. A masterful and heartfelt call for citizens everywhere to be better informed about the perennial threat of violent extremism.--John Horgan, Georgia State University and editor of the journal Terrorism and Political ViolenceThis timely book from brilliant teacher-scholar Christopher Harmon offers a lot: a concise overview of the terrorist threat to the U.S., a detailed analysis of our counterterrorism strategy, a useful explanation of how terrorist groups have been defeated, and important recommendations for what needs to be done, and by whom (including citizens), to confront the threat of terrorism more successfully. Overall engaging, accessible and useful to a wide audience, this is highly recommended reading.
--James Forest, University of Massachusetts Lowell and co-editor of the journal Perspectives on Terrorism

Praise for A Citizen’s Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Second EditionThis timely book from brilliant teacher-scholar Christopher C.Harmon offers a lot: a concise overview of the terrorist threat to the U.S., a detailed analysis of our counterterrorism strategy, a useful explanation of how terrorist groups have been defeated, and important recommendations for what needs to be done, and by whom (including citizens), to confront the threat of terrorism more successfully. Overall engaging, accessible and useful to a wide audience, this is highly recommended reading.-- James Forest, University of Massachusetts Lowell and co-editor of the journal Perspectives on Terrorism.Dr. Harmon has done it again. Having endorsed the first edition--which was so valuable to our citizenry--I can guarantee readers will find this new edition to have the very best qualities of a book on public affairs. We begin with a current and deeply informed account of terrorism today, inside America and beyond our borders. Then we see a rich description of America’s national strategy for fighting back, assessment of how it is going, and suggestions about what citizens can do to help." Ambassador J. D. Crouch II, former Deputy National Security Advisor to the PresidentIn a time when even the most basic of facts are disputed, understanding today’s terrorism seems an impossible task. Fortunately, this revised edition of Chris Harmon’s A Citizen’s Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism is as helpful as it is comprehensive. A masterful and heartfelt call for citizens everywhere to be better informed about the perennial threat of violent extremism.--John Horgan, Georgia State University and editor of the journal Terrorism and Political Violence