1 comments about Jerusalem or Death: Palestinian Terrorism (Terrorist Dossiers).

1. Samuel Katz' rendition of history from 1896 forward is superb. The book contains many photographs which belie the insistence of Arab nations that Palestinians were peaceful and driven from their land. Photographs of the Arab revolt in 1936 show quite the opposite.
   
   Jewish farmers were unarmed and isolated, and remained unprotected by British troops then occupying the land, ostensibly with the authority of the League of Nations and for the construction of a Jewish Homeland, but in fact, to the detriment of the Jewish people.
   
   Attacks came quickly and for the most part at night, when hundreds of Jews were slaughtered in their beds. Torture and rape were commonplace, as was sheer butchery of Jews by Arabs.
   
   Beginning in chapter 2, Katz focuses on the War of Independence, in which Israel barely won its survival, and some 481,000 Arabs fled the land of Israel for what they mistakenly believed would be a short sojourn while Arab nations destroyed the nascent Jewish state.
   
   The fedayeen came to be known in English as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, but in Arabic as Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini, better known as Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement--though I remain dubious of the terminology for such a group.
   
   Founded in the 1950s by Arafat and Khalil Wazir, Fatah launched its first terrorist raid on January 1, 1965; terrorists laid a faulty bomb aimed at cutting off Israel's water supply, but failure did not deter them.
   
   After the Six Day War in 1967, Fatah took up terror in earnest to keep pace with rival terror groups such as the PLFP founded by George Habash, a prominent Christian who nevertheless promoted Islamic jihad ideology. Similarly, Abu Iyad's Black September group massacred 11 Israeli athletes in Munich in September 1972. In 1973, Black September, on orders from Arafat himself, executed two American diplomats in Khartoum, Sudan.
   
   Katz covers such terrorist figures as Abu Abbas, who commanded the PLFP members that seized the Achille Lauro while it cruised the Mediterranean, shot Leon Klinghoffer, 69, point blank, and threw the body of the wheelchair-bound Jewish New Yorker into the sea; he had been traveling with his wife to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary.
   
   Also discussed is Fathi Shaqaqi, who founded Palestinian Islamic Jihad in about 1979, helped plan the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat, was one of several inventors and promoters of the suicide bomb--and was assassinated on October 26, 1995 in Malta. He was succeeded by Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, who with Fathi's brother Khalil Shaqaqi served as an executive of Sami Al-Arian's World and Islam Studeies Enterprise in Tampa, Florida, according to Steve Emerson's Jihad in America (p. 112).
   
   While Katz hits the nail on the head concerning all terrorist groups, he again misses the mark on points of ancient and medieval history, however. He accepts without question a false claim that Palestinians descend from Philistines; in fact, the Philistines were utterly vanquished and disappeared. Moreover, Arab family names in Israel (at least, of the majority) tell of their origins in the Mughrab, Egypt, Sudan, Arabia, Yemen and Iraq--not in Israel, ancient or modern.
   
   Moreover, Katz once again glosses over the bloody beginnings of the Islamic faith, and accepts without question the strictly modern claim that Mohammed slept in Jerusalem. In fact, Mohammed never visited the holy Jewish city, where mosques did not "spring up," but were built on vanquished Jewish holy sites and the ruins of churches.
   
   In short, read Katz to learn about terror, not for his take on ancient or medieval history.
   
   --Alyssa A. Lappen

5 comments about Waiting for Peace: How Israelis Live with Terrorism.

1. I was truly touched after reading Waiting For Peace: How Israelis Live With Terrorism. This is powerful book that presents an eye opening view of Israel and the people. Each interview is real, heartfelt and amazing. Anyone interested in a different perspective of Israel not portrayed in the media should read Waiting For Peace: How Israelis Live With Terrorism.
   
   I went to the website, www.waitingforpeace.com. It will give the reader a small glimpse into the book.



2. Wow....The authors's radiated deep devotion and courage to accurately portray what life is like in Israel after generations of unrest. Heart-felt and engaging life stories from young adults to seniors fill every page with bittersweet and solomn moments that can never be erased. This is a must read for young people as well as the more mature to get a reality check on what is truly going on in Israel.



3. WFP is not an easy read but one that evokes strong emotions. Reading the stories of terror survivors and their families fills me with awe at their strength and faith. These people and families are not so different from you and me and yet the unthinkable has happened to them. Some how they carry on with courage and it inspires me.



4. A breath of fresh air to read about realities of Israeli life without the bias and sensationalism of the press. What an amazing story of hope and courage, determination and strength. The authors have done a magnificent job portraying the Israeli mindset and keeping the reader engrossed.



5. Waiting for Peace is a real eye-opener. These real-live vignettes paint a very honest and heartfelt picture of what it must be like for the "everyday-person" to live in Isreal today.
   
   This book is as informative as it is enjoyable, and yes, heart-wrenching.
   
   Buy it -- you won't be disappointed !

1 comments about Weapons of Mass Persuasion: Strategic Communication to Combat Violent Extremism (Frontiers in Political Communication).

1. Corman, Trethewey and Goodall have assembled a first rate collection of nine short essays which examine the need for a US counterterrorism strategic communication policy. Unlike many edited volumes, the nine chapters (which include seven chapters in which one or more of the editors are co-authors) are very well integrated. The authors identify the failed assumptions and communication strategies that have characterized the Bush administration and follow up the critiques with case studies which demonstrate the consequences of these misunderstandings. Throughout they make the case for understanding the multiple audiences that must be considered in the contemporary global environment and the implications of not doing so. Finally, they conclude with suggestions for the incorporation of contemporary communication theory and offer a sensible approach for rethinking the current US approach to strategic communication practice. A must read for policy makers and scholars interested in terrorism, counterterrorism and the contested global audience.

5 comments about The New American Empire.

1. Among the many books written on the Iraq war and the Bush administration's fixation with militarism, this book by economist Tremblay is one of the most readable and most informative.
   
   The fact that George W. Bush was planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime change' in that country, even before he took power in January 2001, should make people pause and think. So should the Neocon blueprint for a complete American take-over of the Middle East ("Rebuilding America's Defenses"), drafted in Sept. 2001, by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and Lewis Libby.
   
   Now that Iraq is a mess, that thousands and thousands of people have been killed, and hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted, the American people are entitled to know the real reasons why the Bush administration launched an illegal war of aggression against Iraq, with no provocation but with a lot of bad faith. All the official reasons have been proven false. After reading this book, one knows the real reasons behind one of the most foolish enterprises ever undertaken by a U.S. government abroad. I have learned a lot also from prof.
   Tremblay's new blog: http://www.TheNewAmericanEmpire.com/blog.
   
   The truth shall set you free!



2. People who want a condensed introduction on how the Bush administration walked into a quagmire in Iraq should read "The New American Empire". I don't agree with all of Tremblay's arguments, but in my opinion he hits the nail on the head when he identifies the real reasons why Bush II invaded Iraq, i.e oil, Israel, military bases and domestic politics. By the way, the same scenario seems to be repeating itself with Iran, with the same deception about the real reasons for intimidating Iran.
   
   So, even if you do not agree with everything the author has to say, this book is worth a ton of newspapers articles or hours of TV reporting. The chapters on `Oil' and on the `History of Empires' are worth buying this book.



3. As an amateur student of American foreign policy, I am appalled by the wave of anti-americanism it has generated over the last few years. The policy of systematically meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in the Middle East, has been most counter-productive.
   
   There is no doubt that unbridled interventionism, often done illegally and under murky influences, is the root cause of why there is so much anti-americanism around the world. And case in point is the gratuitous violence imposed on some Muslim countries, i.e. Iraq and Palestine. This is creating tons of resentment all over the Muslim world, turning many to hatred and some to terrorism.
   
   Tremblay's book offers a way out of this circular dilemma: Apply to the Muslim world the same treatment given to the Communist world with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. As he puts it (p. 152-53), the Helsinki Accords, signed by 33 Eastern and Western European countries, the United States, and Canada, played a fundamental role in opening up the communist bloc to liberty, freedom and reforms. I doubt that bombs would have brought the same result.
   
   Former President Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the Helsinki Accords opened the door to reforms that would not have taken place otherwise. Why can we not adopt a similar approach with the Muslim world, instead of jumping all the time on the war wagon? This is a well-written and well-researched book. It is highly recommended.



4. This is a very informative book and a must read for anyone interested in understanding why the Bush administration is so prone to launching wars in the oil-rich Middle East region. The author, a renowned economist, is very knowledgeable about the economics and domestic politics that support such warmongering efforts. He identifies the pro-Israel Neocon movement and its alliance with the lunatics of the religious Right as important forces in the push toward involving the U.S. in wars abroad. The military-industrial complex and the strategic importance of Middle East oil are represented by Vice President Dick Cheney in the Bush administration, and are also prime movers of war.
   
   Probably the most original part of this book is its chronology of empires and how Western civilization started its ascendency after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This chapter (chap. 16) is worth buying the book in itself. The author's style is direct and pulls no punches. An excellent book.



5. Dr. Tremblay is right on target with his assessment of the direction the U.S. is heading, along with his critiques of the politicians we have in this country. It is amazing that more people don't "see through" the false facades these people present to the public, and that so many people believe the lies doled out to unsuspecting voters! I would recommend this book as a very timely read....particularly in view of the upcoming 2008 Presidential Elections

No comments about Legal Responses to Terrorism.

No comments about North Korea: Geographic Perspectives.

1 comments about Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism (Stanford Security Studies).

1. This is a fantastic book, balanced, well written and insightful. The editor argues that we need to strike the right balance between the need to maintain security and protecting human rights. We not only need to stop terrorist attacks but also pre-empt terrorist organizations from recruiting more suicide bombers. This requires more than the effective use of force and intelligence. We need to prove our culture is genuinely superior, and this can only be achieved by respecting the rights of individuals. One of the chapters by a former senior Israeli intelligence officer is also amazingly insightful in explaining why Western Intelligence agencies all failed over the Iraq WMD issue prior to the invasion of Iraq. Most highly recommended.

2 comments about Statistical Methods in Counterterrorism: Game Theory, Modeling, Syndromic Surveillance, and Biometric Authentication.

1. The book has a compelling usage. How can we use statistics to find advance warning of terrorists and their intents? The book does have fascinating examples of data mining techniques. The problem is that with only one exception, they are highly speculative. Few of these can give a definitive indicator. Very subjective. The efficacy might be questioned.
   
   The exception is where the book deals with biometrics. Here, there is within reason, an objective test of whether a person passes a biometric test or not. In other words, is a person indeed this person whose biometric data has been earlier recorded. This has use, in cases where we might validate that a person has been prescreened, and can thus now perhaps bypass some current tests. The problem in the context of terrorism, is when a terrorist has not been diagnosed as such. Then all the biometric tests can do is say that a person has a valid id, for example. Given this, terrorist groups can be expected to recruit new people and sleepers, in part to nullify any biometric tests.
   
   The book is a commendable effort to tackle a dangerous and ongoing problem. But readers should be cautioned not to put too much store in its methods.



2. After the 9/11 terrorist attack using commercial airplanes to crash into the pentagon and the world trade center buildings, statisticians among other found their way into developing tools to deal with the such problems. This book is an edited volume of of statistical researchers effort at solving some specific problems addressing potential terrorist attacks and finding ways to prevent future occurrences. Of the topics included are 1. game theory and risk taking, 2. biometric authentication (a pattern recognition technique for matching signatures, 3. matching faces for identification of terriorists using fake identification, 4. and DNA among other things.
   
   Many well known statisticians from RAND, the Naval Postgraduate School, the National Institute of Science and Technology, Los Alamos National Laboratory and some academic institutions present papers on a variety of topics including game theory, biometric authentification, aggregated algorithms, syndromic surveillance, pattern recognition, simulation studies and other counterterrorism approaches.
   
   This book is the first of its kind and it really shows how statistics can play a major role as analytic tools for counterterrorism.

No comments about Humanism and Terror: The Communist Problem.

No comments about Tourism, Development and Terrorism in Bali (Voices in Development Management).