Embassy of the United States

Security Affairs

Terrorists & Terrorism Archive

CYBERDETERRENCE AND CYBERWAR.
RAND Corporation. Martin C. Libick. October 8, 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 240 pages

The protection of cyberspace, the information medium, has become a vital national interest because of its importance both to the economy and to military power. An attacker may tamper with networks to steal information for the money or to disrupt operations. Future wars are likely to be carried out, in part or perhaps entirely, in cyberspace, says the report.

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

WHAT MOTIVATES THE SUICIDE BOMBERS? Yale Global. Riaz Hassan. September 3, 2009.
Full Text [HTML format, various paging]

Suicide bombing attacks have become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of their lethality and ability to cause mayhem and fear. Though depressing, the almost daily news reports of deaths caused by suicide attacks rarely explain what motivates the attackers.

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

UNDERSTANDING WHY TERRORIST OPERATIONS SUCCEED OR FAIL.
RAND Corporation. Brian A. Jackson and David A. Frelinger. August 10, 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 41 pages]

The paper argues that the success or failure of terrorist operations can be best understood by thinking about the match or mismatch between key sets of characteristics of the group, its plans, and the security measures facing them.

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

AA09247
Treverton, Gregory, et al. FILM PIRACY, ORGANIZED CRIME, AND TERRORISM (Rand Corporation, March 2009, 182 pp.)
Link to Full Text

According to this Rand report released earlier this year, the enormous profits to be made from film piracy have attracted the attention of organized crime worldwide, and to a more limited degree, terrorist groups. Although the researchers found no evidence that terrorists are widely involved with film piracy, they did uncover three cases where film piracy supported terror groups. Criminal penalties for counterfeiting and piracy are relatively light and prosecutions sparce, yet the profits from these crimes can exceed that of drug trafficking. The danger, the authors say, is that more terrorist groups will tap into counterfeiting and piracy to underwrite their operations.

NARCO-TERRORISM IN PERU: THE RETURN OF SHINING PATH.
Heritage Foundation.
James M. Roberts and Edwar Enrique Escalante. June 9, 2009. Full Text [PDF format, 3 pages]

Peru is a good friend of the United States and needs U.S. help to defeat this new challenge in dealing with drug related terrorism, according to the report. Consequently, President Obama should direct the establishment of a U.S.-Peru partnership. Congress should provide emergency funding for this partnership and also help Peru by approving pending U.S. free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama, which, along with the recently approved agreement with Peru, will strengthen U.S. ties to--and the economy of--the Andean region. The U.S. and Peruvian governments should not underestimate the problems posed by the re-emergence of Shining Path, concludes the report.

[Note: contains copyright material.]

BEYOND BULLETS: STRATEGIES FOR COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM.
Center for a New American Security. Alice e. Hunt et al. June 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 127 pages]

To counter the threat from violent Islamist extremism more effectively, the Center for a New American Security launched a strategy development process modeled after President Eisenhower’s Project Solarium. The editors asked five experts to recast the effort to defeat al-Qaeda in sustainable terms consistent with American values. The result is a series of essays, produced in this report, that recommend a rich array of counterterrorism tools and strategies for the new administration.

[Note: contains copyright material.]

AA09203
Fosson, Adam CONFLUENCE OF EVIL: THE SMUGGLING-TERRORISM NEXUS (HSToday, vol. 5, no. 12, December 2008, pp. 24-29)
Full Text [HTML format]

There is a growing connection between counterfeit consumer items, tobacco smuggling, narcotics trafficking and foreign terrorist organizations. This is because terrorism takes a large investment and these illegal operations provide sources of cash. The sustainability of these income sources is also crucial to jihadists because they perceive their jihad as a long-term fight. The merging of terrorist organizations and groups that carry out illegal activities makes them even more dangerous as each gains more skill sets and improves their capabilities. In order to stay ahead of both groups, American initiatives must evolve and expand to collect and share information both internally and abroad.

COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 2008.
U.S. Department of State. April 30, 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 351 pages]
Full Text [HTML format with chapter links]

U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation. This is the report.

2008 REPORT ON TERRORISM.
U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. April 30, 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 78 pages]

Approximately 11,800 terrorist attacks against noncombatants occurred in various countries during 2008, resulting in over 54,000 deaths, injuries and kidnappings. Compared to 2007, attacks decreased by 2,700, or 18 percent, in 2008 while deaths due to terrorism decreased by 6,700, or 30 percent. As was the case last year, the largest number of reported terrorist attacks occurred in the Near East, but unlike previous years, South Asia had the greater number of fatalities. These two regions were also the locations for 75 percent of the 235 high-casualty attacks (those that killed 10 or more people) in 2008.

AA09138
Slavicek, David Jan DECONSTRUCTING THE SHARIATIC JUSTIFICATION OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 31, no. 6, June 2008, pp. 553-571)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Suicide terrorist bombings have been studied widely by terrorism and law enforcement experts trying to discern the reasons and factors behind these kinds of political violence, especially in religious terms. Discerning the reasons, it is commonly believed, will lead to more effective intelligence and counterterrorism measures. None of the studies, though, have been sufficient in explaining the Islamic justification for these types of bombings. New research by the author, of the Swiss Federal Office of Police in Bern indicates that there are four arguments. Two of them indicate that Shari’a law prohibits suicide, but two other arguments stem from the analogy of the medieval combat tactic of a lone individual throwing himself into the ranks of the enemy and killing as many possible before being killed. Slavicek does say that the religious justification is neither inherent to Islamic tradition nor culture, but rather a product of strategic cultural framing to legitimize suicide terrorism in Middle Eastern conflicts.

GLOBAL SECURITY ENGAGEMENT: A NEW MODEL FOR COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION.
National Research Council. March 2009.
Full Text [HTML format with links to PDF files]

The report urges White House to lead the reformulation of U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) programs to focus on combating international terrorism and other current threats. The government’s first CTR programs were created in 1991 to eliminate the former Soviet Union’s nuclear, chemical, and other weapons and prevent their proliferation. Originally designed to deal with immediate post-Cold War challenges, the programs must be expanded to other regions and fundamentally redesigned as an active tool of foreign policy that can address contemporary threats from groups that are that are agile, networked, and adaptable.

[Note: contains copyright material.]

AA09084
Schmidle, Nicholas THE SAHARAN CONUNDRUM (New York Times Magazine, February 15, 2009, pp. 34-39)
Full Text [HTML format]

The national-security strategy that dominated President George W. Bush's tenure after Sept. 11 was two-pronged; first, to identify and eliminate existing terrorist networks, and second, was to prevent new networks from flourishing by promoting open, democratic societies that, the thinking went, would be less susceptible to Al Qaeda's message. In 2002, the State Department started the Pan-Sahel Initiative, a counterterrorism program that involved working with local militaries in Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania. In 2005, the program, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Pentagon, expanded under a new name to Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. U.S. military advisors remain in some of these countries to train local forces and to prevent bin Laden and his allies from expanding into the region. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is continuing the recalibration of counterterrorism; the war against al-Qaeda will undoubtedly continue, but a more nuanced analysis of al-Qaeda has led to alternative approaches to combating terrorism and a reconsideration of how the strategy that guided the war on terror in its early years should be put into effect.

THE SERPENT IN OUR GARDEN: AL-QA’IDA AND THE LONG WAR.
Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. Colonel Brian M. Drinkwine. January 26, 2009.
Full Text [HTML format with link to PDF file, 83 pages]

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 caused Americans to realize that our sense of invincibility had been shattered. The paper discusses al-Qa’ida and Salafi-Jihadists and recommends new approaches to fighting terrorism. The author explores al-Qa’ida’s organization, leaders, doctrine, and their radical ideologies and includes recommendations to assist future planners in the development of a grand national strategy.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA09062
WORDS OF WAR (Asia Pacific Defense Forum, vol. 33, no. 3, Third Quarter 2008, pp. 8-13)
Full Text [PDF format; 68 pages]

The latest development in the efforts by terrorist groups to gain publicity and influence has been to turn to publishing companies; a prime example is the Indonesian radical group Jemaah Islamiyah, which has infiltrated the Islamic publishing industry in Indonesia. The article notes that it may be tempting to crack down on the publishing industry, however it may be wiser to leave it alone. The publishers may be disseminating a radical message, but they could also play a positive role by channeling the group’s energies through the printed word rather than acts of violence. Other publishers run a booming business by producing lighter material more appealing to the general population. Material from the books is freely photocopied, as the publishers care more about getting the message out than about their intellectual property rights.

THE LESSONS OF MUMBAI.
RAND Corporation. Angel Rabasa et al. January 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 30 pages]

The Mumbai terrorist attacks in India suggest the possibility of an escalating terrorist campaign in South Asia and the rise of a strategic terrorist culture, according to the study. It identifies the operational and tactical features of the attack, evaluates the response of Indian security forces, and analyzes the implications for India, Pakistan and the United States.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA09034
Rosenthal, Justine A. FOR-PROFIT TERRORISM: THE RISE OF ARMED ENTREPRENEURS (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 31, no. 6, May 2008, pp. 481-498)
Full text available from your nearest American Library

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN.
United Nations Security Council. Web posted December 23, 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 18 pages]

The report focuses on grave violations perpetrated against children in Afghanistan and identifies parties to the conflict, both State and non-State actors, who commit grave abuses against children. In particular, the report highlights the fact that children have been recruited and utilized by State and non-State armed groups and that non-State armed groups such as the Taliban continue to train and use children as suicide bombers. The report sheds light on the detention of children accused of association with armed groups by the Government of Afghanistan, and international military forces in violation of Afghan law and international best practice.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

TERRORISM IN INDIA AND THE GLOBAL JIHAD.
Brookings Institute. November 30, 2008.
Full Text [HTML format, various paging]

The attacks on multiple targets in downtown Mumbai in late November 2008 is only the latest in a long series of horrific terrorist operations in India. Terrorism in India is a complex phenomenon with numerous perpetrators. The most dangerous terrorist menace comes from groups with intimate connections to the global jihadist network centered around Usama bin Laden and al Qaeda and its allies in the Pakistani jihadist culture, according to the author.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA08454
Piper, Paul NETS OF TERROR: TERRORIST ACTIVITY ON THE INTERNET (Searcher, vol. 16, no. 10, November/December 2008, pp. 28-38)
Full Text [HTML format]

The author, a reference librarian at Western Washington University, provides a detailed overview of the presence and activity of terrorist groups on the Internet. He notes that rogue groups are drawn to the Internet because it is easy and inexpensive to communicate and disseminate information instantaneously and in an uncensored fashion worldwide. Terrorist groups use the Internet for a variety of purposes, chiefly for public announcements, data mining, recruitment, fundraising, information sharing, logistics and training. Terrorist websites, chat rooms, bulletin boards and forums are very unstable, with continually changing URLs, due to the cat-and-mouse game with authorities and private watchdog groups. The author describes and gives the website URLs of the many organizations keeping track of terrorist groups, as well as a complete listing of terrorist groups by country, with the most recently known web URLs. He believes that the terrorist presence on the Internet is still in a beginning phase, aimed mostly at staking out territory, but may eventually lead to cyberterrorism.

THE MONEY TRAIL: FINDING, FOLLOWING, AND FREEZING TERRORIST FINANCE.
Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson. November 2008.
Full Text [HTML format, with links to PDF files]

The U.S. and international efforts to combat the financing of terrorism are an underappreciated and little-understood aspect of the global counterterrorism campaign. But since terrorist attacks are often inexpensive to mount, the September 11 attacks were staged for less than $500,000, why should governments devote so much attention to tracking and severing the money trail for terrorism? The authors explore the critical role that money plays in the success of terrorist organizations, and why countering financial flows must be an integral part of the U.S. government's counterterrorism strategy.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

STRATEGIC COUNTERTERRORISM.
Brookings Institution. Daniel Benjamin. Web posted October 27, 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 21 pages]

Terrorism is a real and urgent threat to the American people and interests, according to the author. It is a threat that could become far more dangerous if terrorists acquire nuclear or biological weapons. An effective counterterrorism policy must go beyond uncompromising efforts to thwart those who seek to harm the U.S. today. To achieve a long-term objective, the policies need to embed counterterrorism in an overarching national security strategy designed to restore American leadership and respect in the world.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: UNDERSTANDING COSTS, CULTURES, AND CONFLICTS.
Strategic Studies Institute. Donovan C. Chau. Web posted August 27, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 81 pages]

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has never been the centerpiece of United States foreign and defense policy. However, the current struggle between the U.S. and its allies against terrorist groups and individuals motivated by Islamic extremism thrusts SSA forward as a front in the global conflict. By comparing views in Washington, DC, with perspectives from SSA, Chau assesses that a fundamental and dangerous misunderstanding of SSA may be leading U.S. policy astray. The author suggests urgently educating a future generation of analysts, officers, and policymakers on SSA--whose interest must match their knowledge and understanding.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

TERRORISM AND SECURITY ISSUES FACING THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR.
Congressional Research Service, RL32189, Library of Congress. Claudia Copeland. Web posted August 15, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 21 pages]

Damage to or destruction of the nation’s water supply and water quality infrastructure by terrorist attack or natural disaster could disrupt the delivery of vital human services in this country, threatening public health and the environment, or possibly causing loss of life. Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, federal dam operators and local water and wastewater utilities have been under heightened security conditions and are evaluating security plans and measures.

SUITS AGAINST TERRORIST STATES BY VICTIMS OF TERRORISM.
Congressional Research Service, RL31258, Library of Congress. Jennifer K. Elsea. Web posted August 10, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 80 pages]

In 1996 Congress amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to allow U.S. victims of terrorism to sue designated State sponsors of terrorism for their terrorist acts. The courts have handed down large judgments against the terrorist State defendants, generally in default, and successive Administrations have intervened to block the judicial attachment of frozen assets to satisfy judgments. The report provides background on the doctrine of State immunity and the FSIA.

AA08284
Jones, Sidney BRIEFING FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT: THE TERRORIST THREAT IN INDONESIA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 618, no. 1, July 2008, pp. 69-78)
Full text available from your nearest American Library

Jones, advisor to the International Crisis Group’s Asia program, asserts that counterterrorism capacity in Southeast Asia is improving, reducing the likelihood of a major attack on Western targets in the near term. However, jihadi ideology has taken root in Indonesia, and while the region's largest terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah, appears to be more interested in rebuilding than mounting operations, its members still constitute an important recruitment pool for other groups. Most Indonesian jihadis appear to be more focused on local than foreign targets, but that focus can aid recruitment and facilitate alliances with other organizations. The author argues that while the Iraq insurgency has not attracted Southeast Asian participation, the resurgence of the Taliban on the Afghan-Pakistan border could. Moreover, the United States, under the next president, could help develop better information sharing between South and Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia may not be the "second front" that many feared after the first Bali bombs, but the terrorism threat in the region has not gone away.

AA08286
Stenersen, Anne THE INTERNET: A VIRTUAL TRAINING CAMP? (Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 20, no. 2, April 2008, pp. 215-233)
Full text available from your nearest American Library

While it is widely believed that terrorist groups are using the Internet as a virtual training camp, evidence suggests that it is really a resource bank maintained and accessed largely by self-radicalized sympathizers, according to Anne Stenersen, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment's Terrorism Research Group. The Internet appears to be used by terrorists largely the same way most individuals use it for sending e-mail, finding and sharing information, meeting and discussing issues with like-minded people, she writes. Paramilitary literature has been a part of the Internet for considerably longer than terrorists have been using it, she argues. One exception to the more common pattern was the al-Qaida strategist Abu Mus'ab al-Suri in his 1600-page book The Global Islamic Resistance Call (2005) that argues for using the Internet as a kind of Internet terrorism university. However, recent research indicates that the Internet is primarily used as a library where training manuals and handbooks can be easily accessed, and to provide an interactive environment where people can discuss training-related issues. There is evidence, she says, that there are some online "trainers" who largely answer questions and try to explain technical issues found in common paramilitary training literature.

BOMBERS, BANK ACCOUNTS, & BLEEDOUT.
Combating Terrorism Center, West Point. Peter Bergen et al. August 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 126 pages]

The report analyzes alQa`ida in Iraq’s (AQI) operations from spring 2006 to summer 2007 and is being issued with a trove of documents captured by coalition forces near Sinjar, Iraq. The documents include almost 600 AQI personnel records for foreign fighters crossing into Iraq, AQI contracts for suicide bombers, AQI contracts for fighters leaving Iraq, narratives written by alQa`ida’s Syrian smugglers, and AQI financial records. The CTC also acquired demographic information on all Third Country Nationals (TCNs) in detention at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Saudi Arabia contributed the highest number of foreign fighters to alQa`ida’s fight in Iraq between August 2006 and August 2007, followed by Libya.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

A LOOK AT TERRORIST BEHAVIOR: HOW THEY PREPARE, WHEN THEY STRIKE.
National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. Brent Smith. Web posted July 31, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 5 pages]

There is very little information available on terrorists’ behavioral patterns. Research has shown that traditional criminals are spontaneous, but terrorists seem to go to great lengths preparing for their attacks and may commit other crimes while doing so. The study finds that most terrorists live close to their selected targets, and they engage in a great deal of preparation, some over the course of months or even years, that have the potential of coming to the attention of local law enforcement.

TRANSNATIONAL THREATS UPDATE.
Center for Strategic & International Studies. June 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 6 pages]

The update includes the Intellectual Feud over al Qaeda, Venezuela Identified as Hezbollah Sponsor, Suspected Syrian Arms Dealer Extradited to the United States, Sydney Police Chief in International Drug Ring, and Pirates Continue Siege on Oilfields in Niger Delta, among others.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA08252
Simon, Jeffrey D. THE FORGOTTEN TERRORISTS: LESSONS FROM THE HISTORY OF TERRORISM (Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 20, no. 2, April 2008, pp. 195-214)
Full text available from your nearest American Library

Noted scholar Jeffrey Simon presents an intriguing analysis of the Galleanists, a group of Italian terrorists who were active in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. The Galleanists introduced tactics, techniques and a strategy that is still being used widely today by terrorists around the world. Simon notes that, in many ways, the group was similar to al-Qaeda, with a charismatic leader and several autonomous cells operating throughout the U.S. This group, he argues, was a significant part of what has been called the First Wave of modern terrorism. The wave theory of terrorism was first presented by David Rapoport in explaining the context and nature of modern terrorism. The Galleanists used the news media to promote their agenda and to find new supporters, Simon says. The group also published its own newspaper and delivered it through the mail. He notes that by studying the Galleanists' history provides some vital insight into the issue of balancing the protection of civil liberties with the need to take tough measures against terrorists.

AA08255
Thomas, Dylan WINNING OR LOSING? (Economist, July 17, 2008)
Full Text [html format]

Is the United States winning or losing the war against al-Qaeda? There is no clear-cut answer, says the author, which notes that “part of the problem lies in al-Qaeda’s diffuse nature.  Its core members may number only hundreds, but it has connections of all kinds to militant groups with thousands or even tens of thousands of fighters.  Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization, a militant network and a subculture of rebellion all at the same time.” The Internet, Thomas says, helps bind together jihadist groups.  But the most immediate global threat, he says, “comes from the ungoverned, undergoverned and ungovernable areas of the Muslim world.”  These include the Afghan-Pakistani border, parts of Iraq, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, and parts of Indonesia and the Philippines.

HUMAN RIGHTS, TERRORISM AND COUNTER-TERRORISM.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Web posted July 5, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 76 pages]

The study aims to strengthen understanding of the complex and multifaceted relationship between human rights and terrorism. It identifies some of the critical human rights issues raised in the context of terrorism and highlights the relevant human rights principles and standards which must be respected at all times and in particular in the context of counter-terrorism. It is addressed to State authorities, national and international non- governmental organizations (NGOs), national human rights institutions, legal practitioners and individuals concerned with ensuring the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of terrorism and counter- terrorism.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

THE COST OF IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND OTHER GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR OPERATIONS SINCE 9/11.
Congressional Research Service, RL33110, Library of Congress. Amy Belasco. Web posted June 29, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 64 pages]

With enactment of the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R.2764/P.L. 110-161) on December 26, 2007, Congress has approved a total of about $700 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The $700 billion total covers all war-related appropriations from FY2001 through part of FY2008. The report estimates that Iraq will receive about $524 billion (75%), OEF about $141 billion (20%), and enhanced base security about $28 billion (4%), with about $5 billion that cannot allocate (1%).

AA08231
Peters, Katherine M. FOLLOWING THE MONEY (Government Executive, vol. 40, no. 6, June 2008, pp. 28-38)
Full Text [html format]

The author believes that understanding how terrorists finance their operations is key to predicting and thwarting attacks. Recently declassified documents captured in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion in 2001 showed that al Qaeda members were under pressure to not waste the organization's money. Al Qaeda tended to rely on an informal system of money movers and bulk cash couriers. The first executive order President Bush issued following the attacks directed the Treasury Department to designate and freeze the assets of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Since then, tracking terrorist financing has been a central component of the administration's efforts to combat terrorism, involving law enforcement and intelligence agencies, international partners and the private sector. Critics of this effort question its utility, noting that terrorist organizations spend relatively little to mount their attacks. Such criticism misses the broader context in which terrorism thrives -– the training, travel and operational support that terrorists require to be successful, and the costs of security and protecting safe havens from which terrorists can plan and organize their operations.

AA08236
Rapoport, David C. BEFORE THE BOMBS THERE WERE THE MOBS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCES WITH TERROR (Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 20, no. 2, 2008, pp. 167-194)
Full text available from your nearest American Library

Terrorism did not begin with explosives in the American experience, but with mobs. Rarely studied today, but well within the context of terrorism studies are early experiences with terrorist groups that inhabited the United States, says Rapoport, professor emeritus at UCLA who began teaching courses in terrorism in 1970. He examines the role of mob terrorism with the Sons of Liberty from the American Revolution and the Ku Klux Klan, which emerged after the American Civil War and still exists in a much lesser form today. While most modern terrorist groups have known few if any successes, the mob terrorists of early American history enjoyed greater results. In the case of the Sons of Liberty, it became a means for launching the American Revolution, though the group had no international dimension, it flourished largely in seaport cities and in the separate colonies. Throughout its short life it remained an informal network of autonomous societies. The Klan, however, largely functioned in the American South, though its reach today is more widespread, but is considerably less of a threat. The Klan has never achieved its goals, but it has at times threatened a significant portion of the South. The two American cases have not been compared, though largely because in one context it is hard to imagine the Sons of Liberty as terrorists, Rapoport suggests. Nevertheless, he draws on the need in terrorism studies today to fully examine the successes and failures of modern terrorist groups, and using the mob examples as a basis for these comparative studies.

AA08199
Wright, Lawrence THE REBELLION WITHIN: AN AL-QAIDA MASTERMIND QUESTIONS TERRORISM (New Yorker, June 2, 2008, pp. 9-16)
Full Text [html format]

The author profiles Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, known as “Dr. Fadl,” a one-time friend and mentor to Ayman al-Zawahiri and co-founder of Al-Jihad, an Egyptian terror cell that would become a key component of al-Qaida. Al-Sharif, formerly a key player in shaping religious justification for terrorist tactics, issued a 2007 manifesto repudiating al-Qaida’s corruption of the concepts of jihad and takfir, their practice of targeting innocents, and their use of suicide attacks. It sparked new debate among extremists at a time when al-Qaida is facing diminishing popularity in former strongholds. Zawahiri’s strong response to Dr. Fadl’s criticism is telling, argues the author, as is the growing number of former extremists turning away from violent tactics; he notes that, while al-Qaida may remain a security threat, its ideological appeal is diminishing.

AA08195
Bergen, Peter; Cruikshank, Paul THE UNRAVELING: THE JIHADIST REVOLT AGAINST BIN LADEN (New Republic, June 11, 2008, pp. 9-16)
Full Text [html format]

The authors profile a growing number of former al-Qaida members and sympathizers who have publicly come out against the ideology and tactics advocated by Osama bin Laden and his organization, including former al-Qaida ally Noman Bentoman; Sheikh Salman Al Oudah, a theologian named by bin Laden as an influence; and Sayyid Imam Al Sharif, a former mentor of bin Laden’s deputy and co-founder of al-Qaida’s ideological wing, who has come to view the organization as “immoral.” The authors note that this does not mean that these clerics and former militants have switched to liberal forms of Islam or fallen in love with the U.S., but their turnaround will have an impact in the Muslim world and may have positive implications for U.S. security concerns.

AA08193
Peters, Katherine FOLLOWING THE MONEY (Government Executive, vol. 40, no. 6, June 2008, pp. 28-38)
Full Text [html format]

The author believes that understanding how terrorists finance their operations is key to predicting and thwarting attacks. The USA PATRIOT Act was enacted after Sept. 11 to ensure that, among other reasons, combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering was given adequate focus by U.S. financial institutions. Initially, the focus of enforcement efforts was on charities and money-services businesses; the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, an inter-governmental body founded in 1989 by the G7, developed policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Working with the U.S. Treasury Department, the task force made recommendations for standards for all member countries to upgrade their laws and boost enforcement, intelligence efforts and information-sharing, and employed a blacklist to compel noncompliant governments to bring about change. Peters further describes the high-yield damage done by terrorist attacks, considered the work of al-Qaeda and its financial backers, and the manner in which terrorist organizations rely on money laundering to conceal their activities.

AA08176
Abrahms, Max WHAT TERRORISTS REALLY WANT: TERRORIST MOTIVES AND COUNTERTERRORISM STRATEGY (International Security, vol. 32, no. 4, Spring 2008, pp. 78-105)
Full text available from your nearest American Library

The author, with the political science department at the University of California at Los Angeles, argues that no question is more fundamental for devising an effective counterterrorism strategy than motives for terrorist groups; we cannot expect to make terrorism unprofitable without knowing the incentive structure of its practitioners. The strategic model -- the dominant paradigm in terrorism studies -- posits that terrorists are political utility maximizers. According to this view, which has widespread currency in the policy community, individuals resort to terrorism when the expected gains outweigh the expected benefits of alternative forms of protest. The most common strategies in fighting terrorism are a strict no-concessions policy, appeasement, or democracy promotion. Despite its policy relevance, the strategic model has not been tested; this is the first study to assess its empirical validity. The actual record of terrorist behavior does not conform to the strategic model’s premise that terrorist are rational actors primarily motivated to achieving political ends; the evidence is that terrorists use terrorism primarily to develop strong affective ties with fellow terrorists. The author believes that a major shift in terrorism studies and approaches to fighting terrorism are needed.

WARS OF IDEAS AND THE WAR OF IDEAS.
Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. Antulio J. Echevarria, II. June 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 63 pages]

The author discusses several types of wars of ideas in an effort to achieve a better understanding of what wars of ideas are. The report notes that, since ideas are interpreted subjectively, it is not likely that opposing parties will “win” each other over by means of an idea campaign alone. Hence, physical events, whether intended or incidental, typically play determining roles in the ways wars of ideas unfold, and how or whether they end. Simply, a war of ideas is a clash of visions, concepts, and images, and especially the interpretation of them. Even though the physical violence might be minimal, they are genuine wars because they serve a political, socio-cultural, or economic purpose, and they involve hostile intentions or hostile acts.

PIRACY AND TERRORISM AT SEA: A RISING CHALLENGE FOR U.S. SECURITY.
RAND Corporation. Web posted June 8, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 3 pages]

Acts of piracy and terrorism at sea are on the rise, but there is little evidence to support concerns from some governments and international organizations that pirates and terrorists are collaborating with one another, according to the report. Piracy is aimed at financial gain while the goal of terrorism is political. Although both piracy and terrorism are increasing, piracy is growing much faster and remains far more common than seaborne terrorism.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

THE EVOLUTION OF TERRORISM AS A GLOBAL TEST OF WILLS: A PERSONAL ASSESSMENT AND PERSPECTIVE.
Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. Stephen Sloan. May 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 29 pages]

The report notes that the political leadership at all levels must convey to the public that terrorism is a protracted and often non-territorial form of violent conflict. It suggests that the necessary policies to resolve terrorism must be developed with the will to combat terrorism by both the public and governments. There needs to be recognition that there are real limits in regards to what the United States can do either unilaterally or multilaterally in countering the terrorists, who justify terrorism through their misinterpretation of the basic precepts of a great religion.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA08155
Byman, Daniel IRAN, TERRORISM, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 31, no. 3, 2008, pp. 169-181)
Full Text [pdf format, 13 pages]

Terrorism expert Byman notes from recent research that, despite Iran's very real support for terrorism for more than 25 years and its possession of chemical weapons for more than 15 years, the Tehran regime has not transferred any unconventional weapons to terrorists. First, to do so, it offers Iran no tactical advantages. Byman also notes that terrorists traditionally tend to go with what works and not with weapons that are overly complex or sophisticated. He notes that in recent years Iran has become more cautious in backing terrorist groups. Finally, Iran's leaders know that a significant escalation in support for terrorism would incur U.S. wrath and international condemnation, Byman says. He argues that the U.S. should maintain pressure on Iran to prevent it from transferring unconventional weapons systems to rogue organizations, encourage Iran to sever ties with al-Qaida, and make detection of weapons of mass destruction a top intelligence priority.

AA08159
Ross, Michael L. BLOOD BARRELS: WHY OIL WEALTH FUELS CONFLICT (Foreign Affairs, vol. 87, no. 3, May/June 2008, pp. 2-8)
Full Text (EbscoHost; password required)

Oil-rich countries increasingly account for global instability, as rising energy prices provide autocratic and corrupt governments greater wealth, insulates them from international opprobrium of human-rights abuses, and gives would-be insurgencies incentive to enter into conflict. The author argues in support of adapting new international mechanisms to reverse the “oil curse.” Citing the success of the cooperation between national governments, international organizations and NGOs in addressing Africa’s “conflict diamonds” in the 1990s, the author advocates putting pressure on consumers to purchase energy from responsible governments; demanding greater transparency from producers; and urging energy companies to experiment with providing more development and infrastructure projects to poorer producing nations to ensure that all citizens benefit from their nation’s energy largesse.

VIOLENT ISLAMIST EXTREMISM, THE INTERNET, AND THE HOMEGROWN TERRORIST THREAT.
United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. May 8, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 24 pages]

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, under the leadership of Chairman Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), continued its investigation into the threat of domestic radicalization and homegrown terrorism inspired by violent Islamist ideology. This staff report examines how violent Islamist terrorist groups like al-Qaeda are using the Internet to enlist followers into the global violent Islamist terrorist movement and to increase support for the movement, ranging from ideological support, to fundraising, and ultimately to planning and executing terrorist attacks.

ISLAM IN AFRICA.
Congressional Research Service, RL22873, Library of Congress. Hussein D. Hassan. Web posted May 12, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 5 pages]

The attacks on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001 and the rise of militant transnational Islamism have prompted both the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress to reassess foreign policy in Africa and Africa’s Muslim populations. Some experts have noted that Africa’s failing and failed states may serve as a breeding ground for terrorists. In response to terrorist threats, the United States, in partnership with countries across Africa, has developed a range of strategies to help regional governments face the challenge of terror.

RETHINKING COUNTERINSURGENCY.
RAND Corporation. John Mackinlay and Alison Al-Baddawy. Web posted May 7, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 81 pages]

During the decolonization in Asia and Africa, the United Kingdom proficiently defeated insurgent activities. However, these uprisings were much less complex than the modern jihadist insurgency. The modern jihadist insurgency is noted for its complex and global nature. Unlike past insurgent forms, the jihadist movement espouses larger thematic goals, like overthrowing the global order. It makes far better use of communications technology and propaganda to reach the minds and hearts of global audiences. Despite great technological and military advances, British and U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) operations have been slow to respond and adapt to the rise of the global jihadist insurgency. Operational failures in Iraq and Afghanistan have highlighted the need for the West to rethink and retool its current COIN strategy.

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

AA08113
Roth, Kenneth AFTER GUANTANAMO: THE CASE AGAINST PREVENTIVE DETENTION (Foreign Affairs, vol. 87, no. 3, May/June 2008, pp. 9-16)
Full Text [html format]

The author, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and a former Federal prosecutor, argues that the U.S. criminal justice system has the necessary tools needed to try and convict the most dangerous terrorists currently interned at Guantanamo Bay, itself a dangerously counterproductive form of “preventive detention”, which British experience with the IRA shows can alienate would-be supporters and spur recruiting efforts. Existing conspiracy laws can cover terrorist acts, says the author, and procedures to introduce secret evidence in trials can be adapted. By treating the terrorists as criminals they are, argues the author, the United States would go a long way toward diminishing their mystique, reaffirm the strength and fairness of American justice, and rally international support against terrorism.

COMBATING TERRORISM: STATE DEPARTMENT'S ANTI-TERRORISM PROGRAM NEEDS IMPROVED GUIDANCE.
Government Accountability Office, GAO-08-336, Report to HR Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Web posted March 31, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 40 pages]

The State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) provides policy guidance for the Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA). But GAO found that these offices do not systematically align ATA assistance with U.S. assessments of foreign partner counterterrorism needs nor to they consistently use country-specific needs assessments and program reviews to plan assistance. GAO suggests that Congress reconsider the requirement that State prepare an annual report on U.S. counterterrorism assistance and that State review its ATA program guidance, its use of needs assessments, and measures for assessing the ATA program.

THE AL-QAEDA MEDIA NEXUS: THE VIRTUAL NETWORK BEHIND THE GLOBAL MESSAGE.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: RFE/RL Special Report. Daniel Kimmage. Web posted April 14, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 28 pages]

This brief study surveys a representative sample of Arabic language jihadist* media from July 2007 and attempts to answer two questions: What does the structure of jihadist media tell us about the relationship between Al-Qaeda central and the movements that affiliate themselves with it? And what can the priorities of jihadist media tell us about the operational priorities of Al-Qaeda and affiliated movements?

IRAN, TERRORISM, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
Brookings Institution and Georgetown University’s Center for Peace and Security Studies. Daniel Byman. Web posted March 19, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 13 pages]

This article reviews Iran’s past and current use of terrorism and assesses why U.S. attempts to halt Iran’s efforts have met with little success. It argues that Iran is not likely transfer chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons to terrorist groups for several reasons including what it describes as increased Iranian caution in its backing of terrorists in recent years and fear by Iran of the reaction of the United States and other nations to any major escalation in its support for terrorism. The article concludes by offering recommendations for decreasing Iran’s support for terrorism.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

AA08100
Pluchinsky, Dennis A. GLOBAL JIHADIST RECIDIVISM: A RED FLAG (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 31, no. 3, 2008, pp. 182-200)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Pluchinsky, a research analyst in Washington, raises an important issue about terrorists and the likelihood that, once released from custody by authorities, they will return to terrorism. Research in this area has been nearly completely lacking because most governments have been unable to effectively track the whereabouts of terrorists once released from custody, though in a few instances there have been reports by authorities that former terrorists were captured conducting new terrorist activities. Pluchinsky argues that, given the sharp rise in transnational terrorism across multiple national boundaries, terrorist recidivism has the potential to become a major counterterrorism problem over the next several decades. "It is a manpower issue that has the potential to periodically refuel the global jihadist movement," he writes. There are clearly valid presumptions, preliminary indicators and anecdotal evidence that suggest that global jihadist recidivism needs to be further examined, and tracking systems developed.

LEFT OF BOOM: THE STRUGGLE TO DEFEAT ROADSIDE BOMBS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
Washington Post Special Report. Rick Atkinson. March 10, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 32 pages]

Staff writer Rick Atkinson describes the effort by the U.S. military to combat the improvised explosive devices used by insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2002 until Summer 2007. The series is drawn from more than 140 interviews over the past six months with military and congressional officials, contractors, scientists and defense analysts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Washington and elsewhere.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

CRITICAL QUESTIONS: TENSION IN THE ANDES.
Center for Strategic and International Studies. Peter DeShazo. March 5, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 1 page]

Relations between Colombia and Ecuador have taken a serious downturn in the aftermath of Colombia’s March 1 military operation against members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerilla organization in a remote area that involved a cross-border incursion into Ecuador. The author responds as part of CSIS’s “critical questions” series.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

COMBATTING ENEMIES ONLINE: STATE-SPONSORED AND TERRORIST USE OF THE INTERNET.
Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2105. James J. Carafano and Richard Weitz. February 8, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 9 pages]

Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, security experts were concerned about the vulnerability of U.S. computer systems and associated infrastructure. Less attention has been paid to state sponsors of illicit computer activity, increasingly being used to plan and conduct espionage and to use the Internet for propaganda and recruiting purposes. This paper argues that “a concerted national effort” and, by implication, an international effort, is needed to better understand and deal with this problem.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

AA08076
Magouirk, Justin; Atran, Scott; Sageman, Marc CONNECTING TERRORIST NETWORKS (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 31, no. 1, 2008, pp. 1-16)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Terrorism, a defining phenomenon of the current times, is a varied class of political violence that can be characterized with multiple ideological motivations, varied tactics, and varying levels of lethality, according to the authors. They have recently completed research from the Global Transnational Terrorism Project, but plan an additional study later in 2008. Clearly in their research, they have revealed that terrorism is not monolithic as is often characterized by the news media and policymakers. The research also demonstrates two important components to terrorism -– the groups are global and they target the "far enemy" not of local origin. These characteristics are important for policymakers, who are confronted with a challenge often poorly understood. The research also indicates that madrassahs, or religious schools, have little to do in general with the creation of terrorists. One interesting aspect of the research is that kinship plays a vital role in binding terrorist groups that are often decentralized and that networks are increasingly family-oriented.

AA08061
Krueger, Alan WHAT MAKES A TERRORIST (The American, November/December 2007)
Full Text

Public policymakers have been grappling for decades trying to understand what it takes to make a terrorist so that effective anti-terrorism and counterterrorism measures can be developed and implemented. One of the most popular explanations is that terrorism is caused by economic deprivation and a lack of education, which creates the growth media for extremism that leads to terrorism. Princeton economics professor Alan Krueger has recently completed research that indicates that neither economic deprivation nor a lack of education are serious contributing factors. Krueger's research indicates that consistent with the work on international terrorist incidents, countries with fewer civil liberties and political rights were more likely to be the birthplaces of foreign terrorists. Geographic distance is also a factor. Most terrorists come from nearby nations, he says. Krueger says that the evidence suggests that terrorists care about influencing political outcomes, and are often motivated by geopolitical grievances.

AA08046
Freeman, Michael DEMOCRACY, AL QAEDA, AND THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM: A STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF U.S. POLICY (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 31, no. 1, 2008, pp. 40-59)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

New research indicates that the widespread belief that the power of democracy can defeat terrorism in its many forms is misplaced. Professor Freeman of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School argues that promoting democracy does little to change perceptions when a nation is also occupied by a foreign army. The belief that promoting democracy will stop the spread of terrorism is based on the idea that terrorism is caused by or encouraged by a lack of democracy and political participation by citizens in a particular nation. But people suffering from the frustrations and humiliations that result from growing economic, social, political and military failures, and without the means to peacefully resolve them, will in time turn to terrorism as an alternative form of protest, Freeman says. And the promotion of democracy in many Middle Eastern countries is often perceived as a threat to Islamic identity and culture, and is unlikely to change economic grievances. And, many in the Middle East also believe that democracy is unlikely to provide a more legitimate government than one based on religious law, Freeman says.

AA08049
Stohl, Rachel QUESTIONABLE REWARD: ARMS SALES AND THE WAR ON TERRORISM (Arms Control Today, vol. 38, no. 1, February 2008, pp. 17-23)
Full Text

Stohl, a senior analyst at the private, Washington-based Center for Defense Information, investigates how various forms of U.S. military security assistance is being used to solidifying partners in the global war against terrorism. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, she examines the pattern of arms sales and military training and aid given to 25 nations in every part of the world (except the Americas) which are either front-line states in counterterrorism efforts or face significant terrorist threat in their region. Her article includes two helpful sidebars: one addressing U.S. weapons export policy and another comparing changes in U.S. military assistance and arms sales from fiscal years 1997-2001 to FY 2002-2006. The author suggests that it would be best if the United States abided by long-standing export laws to ensure that arms exports don’t “undermine security and stability, weaken democracy, support military coups, escalate arms races, exacerbate ongoing conflicts, or cause arms buildups in unstable regions or are used to commit human rights abuses.” This might entail scaling back military aid to close allies such as Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, she said, in an effort to promote human rights improvements.

LATIN AMERICA: TERRORISM ISSUES.
Mark P. Sullivan. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Updated January 9, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 6 pages]

U.S. attention to terrorism in Latin America intensified in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, with an increase in bilateral and regional cooperation. In its April 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department highlighted threats in Colombia, Peru, and the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay … In May 2007, for the second year in a row, the Department of State, pursuant to Arms Export Control Act, included Venezuela on the annual list of countries not cooperating on antiterrorism efforts.

FEDERAL BUILDING AND FIRE SAFETY INVESTIGATION OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER: ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS—SUPPLEMENT (DECEMBER 14, 2007).
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). December 14, 2007.
Full Text [html format, various pagings]

The release of the Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers in October 2005 generated many questions about NIST’s findings and the technical basis for them. The complexity and length of the report made understanding it a challenge. Consequently, NIST prepared this report with simplified answers to the most frequently asked questions.

NORTH KOREA: TERRORISM LIST REMOVAL?
Larry Niksch and Raphael Perl. Congressional Research Service (CRS), Library of Congress. Updated December 11, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 22 pages]

The issue of North Korea’s inclusion on the U.S. terrorism-supporting countries list had been questioned in 2000 and 2003. In late 2006 and early 2007, the Bush Administration offered to remove North Korea from the list if it agreed to end its nuclear programs. However, “if the Administration removes North Korea from the terrorism list, it is required under law to notify Congress 45 days prior to removal. For Congress to prevent removal, it would have to pass legislation (not resolutions) that would be subject to a presidential veto. The Administration has stated that it will adhere to the requirement of providing Congress with a 45-day notice.”

This report provides additional background information on the negotiations to remove North Korea from the terrorism list.

THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM: A RELIGIOUS WAR?
Laurence A. Dobrot. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. November 29, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 25 pages]

Many question whether the U.S. strategy on the Global War on Terrorism is working and whether the U.S. understands an enemy motivated by radical revolutionary religious ideology. “The author reviews the pertinent cultural history and background of Islam and then posits three root causes of this conflict: the lack of wealth-sharing in Islamic countries, resentment of Western exploitation of Islamic countries, and a U.S. credibility gap within the Islamic community.” The author concludes that the U.S. is not achieving its long-term strategic objectives and recommends a new strategy that focuses on the root causes of Islamic hostility.

THE VICTIMS OF TERRORISM: AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR INFLUENCE AND GROWING ROLE IN POLICY, LEGISLATION, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
Bruce Hoffman and Anna-Britt Kasupski. Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy, RAND Corporation. Web posted November 19, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 66 pages]

This paper concentrates on the organized groups of families and friends of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack who have become powerful voices in counterterrorism policy and legislation. This paper addresses the number and diversity of these groups, the disparity in their missions and services, and their strategies for achieving these missions.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

AA08033
Newman, Edward WEAK STATES, STATE FAILURE, AND TERRORISM (Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 19, no. 4, Fall 2007, pp. 463-488)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Policymakers and scholars have been making the common assertion for a number of years that weak or failed states are the incubators of terrorism. The author, professor of political science and international studies at the University of Birmingham, notes, however, that terrorist groups have come from and operated within countries which have strong, stable governments. Weak and failed states may offer terrorist groups a tactical advantage, but the economic and logistical opportunities of stronger states gives these same groups strategic advantages, he notes. What weak and failed states offer is "an enabling environment," but are not incubators, Newman says. Such a condition, his research indicates, is not a sufficient explanation upon which to make significant policy decisions. State-building as a counterterrorism policy is effective where those governments are also actively engaged in anti-terrorism and counterterrorism efforts. Helping weak or failed states recover and grow is more an issue of improving regional development than one of counterterrorism, he writes.

COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM: LESSONS FROM THE ABRAHAMIC FAITHS. Dina Kraft, Daniel Levitas, Stephen Tankel, and Thalia Tzanetti. Policy Research Report, EastWest Institute. Web posted October 19, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 92 pages]

Since 9/11, many religious leaders, civil society organizations, and government agencies have focused on countering extremist violence committed in the name of religion. However, the authors point out that this violence has been prevalent long before the 9/11. This report is intended to increase understanding of extremist recruitments and their pathways to violence. The report also contains recommendations to policymakers, civil society, faith leaders, and the media.

TERRORISM 2002-2005. Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Justice. Web posted November 7, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 73 pages]

This report provides an overview of terrorist incidents and preventions in the U.S. and its territories during 2002 through 2005. The report does not include incidents classified under criminal rather than terrorist investigations. The report discusses major investigations overseas and identifies significant events to U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

TERRORISM RISK MODELING FOR INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION. Henry H. Willis, Tom LaTourrette, Terrence K. Kelly, Scot Hickey, and Samuel Neill. Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy, RAND Corporation. Web posted October 30, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 95 pages]

The Department of Homeland Security adopted a more focused approach to assess current and future terrorist threats. DHS is moving to a risk analysis and risk-based resource allocation approach “to manage the greatest risk instead of attempting to protect everything.” DHS asked RAND to compare terrorism risks across different urban areas and to assess risks within metropolitan areas. This report presents the results of the study.

THE MILITARY STRATEGY OF GLOBAL JIHAD. Sarah E. Zabel. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. Web posted October 25, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 24 pages]

According to the author, America entered the Global War on Terrorism with little understanding of the enemy. The author describes Al-Qaeda as a “splinter faction of militant Islamism intent on establishing its vision of strict Islamic rule in the Muslim world through armed action.” Jihadis have written copiously on their military strategy, and this paper uses those writings to explain their strategy to neutralize the superpowers.

AL-QA’IDA’S (MIS)ADVENTURES IN THE HORN OF AFRICA. Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, U.S. Military Academy. October 2007.
Full Text in English and Arabic [pdf format by chapters, various pagings]

This report is based on documents released by the Department of Defense's Harmony Database. It provides an analysis of al-Qa'ida's operations in the Horn of Africa between 1992 and 1994. This report includes brief summaries of each of the released documents with full-text translations in English.

A COOPERATIVE STRATEGY FOR 21ST CENTURY SEAPOWER. U.S. Martine Corps, U.S. Department of the Navy, and U.S. Coast Guard. Web posted October 17, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 20 pages]

The Navy, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard have come together to create a unified, maritime strategy that integrates U.S. seapower with the seapower of our allies. This report describes how this coordinated effort will be employed around the world to protect our way of life and to prevent war.

AA07370
Pressman, Jeremy RETHINKING TRANSNATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM: BEYOND A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK (Washington Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 4, Autumn 2007, pp. 63-73)
Full text [pdf format, 11 pages]

A weakness noted by scholars who specialize in terrorism studies indicates that there continues to be considerable confusion between the differences found in transnational terrorist groups like al-Qaida and others like Hezbollah, whose objectives are largely national in scope. The author, Professor at the University of Connecticut, notes in this recent analysis that when policymakers have talked about terrorist organizations other than al-Qaida, they tend to blur the line between those groups that largely confine their activities to within national boundaries and those with global or strategic objectives. The significance for policymakers is that actions such as sanctions or deterrence which may work well against a national terrorist group, may have little or no impact on transnational groups. "The distinction between national and transnational terrorist groups largely stems from a fundamental difference in geographic scope: transnational terrorist objectives are not tied to a single state," he writes. Relying on the wrong counterterrorism policies could do more than thwart success, it could exacerbate the threat.

SHARING THE DRAGON'S TEETH: TERRORIST GROUPS AND THE EXCHANGE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES. Kim Cragin, Peter Chalk, Sara A. Daly, and Brian A. Jackson. RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment Program, RAND Corporation. Web posted June 19, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 138 pages]

The authors examined case studies of eleven terrorist groups that revealed vulnerabilities in their technology exchange processes. The terrorist groups examined operate in three areas—Mindanao, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and southwest Columbia. The authors reached eight conclusions that relate to (1) improving threat assessments; (2) disrupting innovation processes, and (3) affecting terrorists groups’ cost-benefit analysis.

AA07340
Richardson, Louise. TERRORIST RIVALS: BEYOND THE STATE-CENTRIC MODEL (Harvard International Review, vol. 29, no. 1, Spring 2007, pp. 66-69)
Full text [html format]

There is currently no country to rival the U.S. as a world power. However, terrorism threatens the U.S. because this country has failed to recognize the nature of its adversaries and transform its military might effectively against these adversaries. Military might is not the most effective weapon against terrorism. Instead, Louise Richardson, of Harvard University, outlines six more effective weapons against terrorist enemies, including, development of an achievable goal, commitment to American principles, acquisition of enemy intelligence, separation of terrorists from their communities, willingness to engage others in counterterrorism, and commitment to patience.

TERRORIST THREATS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA: A NET ASSESSMENT. Oriana Scherr and Christopher Griffin. National Security Outlook, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Web posted July 30, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 8 pages]

“The struggle against Islamist extremism has been dubbed the ‘Long War’ by America’s military leadership, but there is no agreed-upon model to forecast the development of this conflict.” This paper examines the “net assessment” concept as a framework for understanding the Long War and its development.

THE UNCERTAIN COST OF THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR. Anthony H. Cordesman and Ionut C. Popescu. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Web posted August 8, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 20 pages]

The economic cost of the Iraqi war is less important than the human cost. Thus far, roughly 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed and many times more have been wounded. Over 2 million Iraqis have been forced to leave Iraq and an additional 2 million have been displaced within Iraq. The war has also reduced 8 million citizens to dire poverty. It has resulted in the death of over 3,700 Coalition forces and has wounded more than 27,000.

The economic costs of the war in Iraq and the global war on terror could reach $758 billion by the end of FY08 according to Congressional Research Service (CRS) estimates. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected the cost of the war for the 2008-2017 period using two scenarios. The first case assumes a rapid drawdown of troops. The cost for this strategy ranges from $481 to $603 billion. The second scenario assumes a gradual drawdown with a resulting cost between $924 and $1,010 billion.

RADICALIZATION IN THE WEST: THE HOMEGROWN THREAT. Mitchell D. Silber and Arvin Bhatt. NYPD Intelligence Division, New York Police Department (NYPD), New York City. Web posted August 15, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 90 pages]

This study looks at how a terrorist’s “intention forms, hardens and leads to an attack or attempted attack using real world case studies.” Many of the past terrorist attacks against cities in Europe, Canada, Australia and the U.S. have been planned by local residents/citizens. Understanding this trend and process is vital for developing counter-strategies. This report assists policymakers and law enforcement officials by providing a thorough understanding of a domestic terrorism threat.

AA07324
Rogan, Hanna. ABU REUTER AND THE E-JIHAD: VIRTUAL BATTLEFRONTS FROM IRAQ TO THE HORN OF AFRICA (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, vol. 8, no. 2, Summer/Fall 2007, pp. 89-96)
Full text [pdf format, 8 pages]

Terrorists have built a pervasive media presence in print, satellite broadcasts, and the Internet. In her survey of “global jihadist” propaganda, the author, a visiting fellow at the Terrorism Research Center and a member of the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, concludes that in addition to traditional wartime roles of legitimating its actions and intimidating its foes, terrorist media is geared primarily to followers and potential recruits, facilitating operational command and control as well as inspiring individuals from a “virtual community” to stage attacks of their own. While its overall effectiveness is debatable, the author stresses the need for continued close monitoring to inform future counterterrorism policies.

AA07304
Kilcullen, David J. SUBVERSION AND COUNTERSUBVERSION IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERRORISM IN EUROPE (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 30, no. 8, August 2007, pp. 647-666)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author, a former Australian Army officer and currently a counterinsurgency advisor with the multinational force in Iraq, examines in this article how Europe fits into the campaign against terrorism. Europe has found itself both as a source and a target for terrorist activity. Kilcullen says that Europe faces, as a primary threat, terrorist-linked subversion with two key objectives –- to manipulate and exploit immigrant communities. Noteworthy in Kilcullen's analysis is that counterterrorism analysis focused on the nature of Islam in Europe is a dead-end, offering no value to how best to arrest the trend. The threats facing western nations requires terrorism analysts to re-think existing paradigms of warfare, intelligence, law enforcement, terrorism and insurgency, Kilcullen says. He notes that Europe has become a transit area for extremists, a source of intellectual capital, exploitable grievances, and a legislative safe haven, in addition to becoming part of the battleground in terrorists' international campaign.

AA07287
Rossmiller, Shannen. MY CYBER COUNTER-JIHAD (Middle East Quarterly, Vol. 14, no. 3, Summer 2007)
Full text [html format]

On Sept. 11, the author was a small-town municipal judge in Montana and mother of three with no knowledge of Arabic or expertise in the Middle East. But the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and news reports about terrorists and associates using web sites and chat rooms to carry out operations and recruit converts galvanized her to explore the Internet. Soon she would begin studying Arabic online and navigating through a world of what she describes as jihadi websites. Rossmiller improved her Arabic and used an online translation service to make contacts and create a false identity. She fed tips to the FBI that helped their investigations. One of them contributed to the arrest of an American Army National Guard specialist from Washington State who was posing as a Muslim convert and offering information about weaknesses of his tank unit on the eve of its departure for Iraq. The author’s identity was compromised during the man’s military hearing, making her vulnerable to death threats and leaving her with a bullet-ridden car. While now employing security protection, Rossmiller’s online sleuthing continues prompting the now-retired judge to warn that her experience with the terrorists use of web technology suggests that “Western governments lag behind in Internet cyber-warfare with al-Qaida.”

AA07269
A WORLDWIDE WEB OF TERROR (Economist, vol. 384, no. 8537, July 14, 2007, pp. 28-30)
Full text [html format]

After the fall of the Taliban and its eviction from Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda reconstituted itself in cyberspace, “the ultimate ungoverned territory,” setting up virtual schools for ideological and military training and active propaganda arms. Internet communication enables terrorists to adopt a highly decentralized structure and to disseminate widely both military instruction and propaganda: “The hand-held video camera has become as important a tool of insurgency as the AK-47 or the RPG rocket launcher.” However, the anonymity of the Internet can also work against jihadists, as police and intelligence agents can infiltrate their Web sites. The article recommends “a systematic campaign of counter-propaganda, not least in support of friendly Muslim governments and moderate Muslims, to try to reclaim the ground ceded to the jihadists.”

CORRELATES OF PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR TERRORISM IN THE MUSLIM WORLD. Ethan Bueno do Mesquita. Working Paper, U.S. Institute of Peace. May 17, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 52 pages]

“This report examines the correlates of individual-level support for terrorism in fourteen Muslim countries. It identifies a variety of factors that are correlated with support for terrorism. These factors can be divided into a several categories: attitudes toward Islam, attitudes toward the United States, attitudes toward politics and economics in the home countries, and demographic factors.

It finds that support for terrorism is positively correlated with anti-Americanism, the belief that Islam should play a significant role in politics, the belief that the United States poses a threat to Islam, and, surprisingly, the perception of free expression. Moreover, education, perceived state of the economy, and support for democracy are not found to have any significant relationship to support for terrorism.”

AA07244
De Nevers, Renee NATO'S INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ROLE IN THE TERRORIST ERA (International Security, Vol. 31, No. 4, Spring 2007, pp. 34-66)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

While the United States has cobbled together various coalitions in its pursuit of the war on terrorism, NATO, as a formal institution, has played a limited military role. While contributing to defense, and mounting military missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and elsewhere, NATO has not come up with a consistent extra-territorial strategy against terrorism, in part due to limited military capabilities. In addition, the U.S. strategy has shown a preference for cobbling together ad-hoc alliances quickly, rather than mobilizing the NATO as a whole. While NATO has expanded defensive tactics in the Mediterranean, intelligence sharing tends to be bilateral. In addition, NATO's effectiveness in the field is limited by national constraints on troop activity and a shortage of armed personnel. The author concludes the United States is unlikely to abandon NATO, which it regards as its most valuable political alliance. However, the success or failure of NATO forces in Afghanistan may define its military usefulness in the war against terror.

AA07240
Thony, Jean-Francois; Png, Cheong-Ann FATF SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND UN RESOLUTIONS ON THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM (Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 14, no. 2, 2007, pp. 150-169)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The authors use an IMF study to discuss the design of the new international legal framework for combating the finance of terrorism. They report on the status of and obstacles to implementation of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Special Recommendations and UN Security Council Resolutions on the financing of terrorism. They particularly focus on the areas which countries are having difficulties in complying fully with the requirements. Notable unresolved obstacles include the difficulty of applying international law instruments to non-state actors, and the need for ensuring persons affected by these measures have adequate legal recourses. Despite some countries’ slow progress in implementation, the authors say that some tangible results have been achieved -- not so much in terms of terrorist funds being confiscated, but with regard to the ability of terrorists and terrorist organizations to take advantage of the international financial system to channel funds for their operations. The proof of this, they note, is in their increased use of traditional methods of cash-couriers to physically move funds across borders.

COUNTERING THE TERRORIST MENTALITY. International Information Programs, Department of State. May, 2007
Full text

This edition of eJournal USA, "Countering the Terrorist Mentality," provides a look at the complex, global problem of terrorism. Several of the world’s leading scholars in this field, including Walter Laqueur, Bruce Hoffman, Jerrold Post, David Kilcullen, Mohammed Hafez, and Mia Bloom, examine the motivations of those who carry out terrorist attacks and the techniques terrorist organizations like al-Qaida use to recruit and motivate them.

AA07226
Riedel, Bruce AL QAEDA STRIKES BACK (Foreign Affairs, vol. 86, no. 3, May-June 2007)
Full text

The author, a CIA veteran and now at the Brookings Institution, views U.S. intervention in Iraq as contributing to al Qaeda's expansion, enabling it to become more dangerous than ever. Al Qaeda's strategy is to draw the U.S. into demoralizing, costly wars, possibly even encouraging a U.S. invasion of Iran, thus encouraging more adherents to its terrorist goals. Al Qaeda has expanded its operations from Pakistan and Afghanistan to a base in Iraq and is moving to expand in failed and failing states in the Middle East and Africa, exploiting Sunni-Shiite divisions and hatred of the West. Its decentralized structure allows it to survive the deaths of individual leaders. Al Qaeda has new reach in Europe and is poised to threaten the United States directly again. Riedel writes that the U.S. needs a grand strategy to defeat al Qaeda, not only by targeting its leaders but also by addressing the issues that give the group a following in the Muslim world: the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Kashmir conflict, brutal governments, and poverty.

AA07225
Parker, Tom FIGHTING AN ANTAEAN ENEMY: HOW DEMOCRATIC STATES UNINTENTIONALLY SUSTAIN THE TERRORIST MOVEMENTS THEY OPPOSE (Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 19, no. 2, Summer 2007, pp. 155-179)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Adopting and maintaining a measured response to terrorist attacks and threats is the greatest challenge facing democratic states, says the author, a professor at Brown University. Research shows that states adopting repressive counterterrorism policies ultimately foster the growth of more resilient and aggressive terrorist organizations, and not the opposite effect. Parker has taken the research of Carlos Marighela -– who has argued that one of the principal goals of the urban guerrilla is to force the state into an uncontrolled spasm of overreaction to undermine its legitimacy -– and developed an analysis of five democratic states and their responses to terrorist organizations. In all of the cases, the trend seems to support Parker's conclusion that aggressive and repressive counterterrorist measures hurt the state more than it helped. Parker concludes that democracies should focus on the criminal element and treat terrorism as a law-enforcement problem. In every response by the state, he says, the key is moderation in the response, and denying political opportunity is the best strategy of control.

AA07223
Allison, Graham THE WILL TO PREVENT: GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION (Harvard International Review, vol. 28, no. 3, Fall 2006, pp. 50-55)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Harvard University’s Graham Allison assesses the threat of nuclear terrorism. He examines five questions: who (could be planning a nuclear terrorist attack; what (weapons could be used); where (could weapons be acquired); could terrorists launch a nuclear attack and deliver a nuclear weapon to its target? While the possibility of nuclear terrorism becomes an increasing reality, there has been a concurrent erosion of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. For global safety’s sake, the international community must act to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons or the materials from which such weapons could be made.

AA07205
Coll, Steven THE UNTHINKABLE: CAN THE UNITED STATES BE MADE SAFE FROM NUCLEAR TERRORISM? (New Yorker, vol. 83, no. 3, March 12, 2007, pp. 48-57)
Full text

Coll tackles the subject of how to make the U.S. safer from nuclear terrorism using advanced detection and surveillance technologies. In an effort to create a layered defense, he says the U.S. government has disbursed 1,500 radiation detectors to key ports around the world and border crossings as well some as to some airports and truck stops, and on some Coast Guard ships and trains. Additional radiation sensing detectors are being distributed monthly. The author quotes a Pentagon report saying that it would take between 100,000 and 400,000 detectors to provide greater protection in the U.S. and overseas, which could cost more than $10 billion. The Bush administration is also spending $400 million annually on radiation-detector research. This comes against the backdrop of al-Qaeda efforts to recruit nuclear scientists and explosive experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s compilation of data showing that there has been more than three dozen black market smuggling incidents involving radioactive isotopes that could be used to produce a radiological nuclear dispersal device, otherwise known as a “dirty bomb.” Officials are talking about comprehensive global nuclear detection architecture as a solution to looming threats. He warns about potential weak points in Russia, where international organized crime networks still thrive, as well as in smaller nations to its south. Pakistan poses a problem, he says, as may India, which has large amounts of fissile material as well as violent terrorists.

AA07210
Schwartz, Benjamin AMERICA’S STRUGGLE AGAINST THE WAHHABI/NEO-SALAFI MOVEMENT (Orbis, vol. 51, no. 1, Winter 2007, pp. 107-128)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author argues that U.S. policymakers are neglecting a key underlying cultural dynamic in the war on terrorism, the Wahhabi/neo-Salafi branches of Islam, widespread in Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally. The ruling House of Saud’s goal to make Saudi Arabia the center of Islam has been supported by Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi and neo-Salafi Sunni Muslims who, while having many doctrinal differences, share a desire to “purge” the faith of what they see as “impure innovations” and “apostates.” Their control of Muslim holy sites, combined with Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth, have spread a radical version of Islam around the world, with groups such as al-Qaeda anointing themselves as executors of an extremist vision of jihad. The author argues that Washington must develop a greater understanding of the religious subtleties and motivations inherent in the Wahhabi and neo-Salafist brands of Islam, as well as the related issue of the area’s complex tribal politics in order to forestall a more dangerous future for policy in the region.

AA07187
Talmadge, Caitlin. DETERRING A NUCLEAR 9/11
(Washington Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 2, Spring 2007, pp. 21-34)
Full text [pdf format, 14 pages]

In discussing the sobering prospect of whether the U.S. can deter a nuclear terrorist threat, the author reviews some aspects of deterrence theory, and cites the concerns of many analysts that deterrence by punishment is irrelevant to dealing with terrorists since they “lack a return address at which to direct retaliation.” Talmadge points out that it is virtually impossible for terrorists to create their own nuclear material -- plutonium production requires sophisticated, expensive reactors, as well as reprocessing facilities, and enriching uranium requires relatively large buildings and advanced technologies. Thus, both paths to nuclear material require considerable resources, making it “extremely implausible that a terrorist group would be able to construct a thermonuclear (hydrogen) or boosted implosion (tritium and deuterium) bomb on its own without state assistance.” The key is nuclear forensics, which would allow the tracing, or attribution, of materials to their source, thus providing a “return address.” Talmadge argues that if the U.S. develops a credible nuclear attribution capability, countries that wish to protect themselves are less likely to provide assistance to terrorists.

AA07186
Sedgwick, Mark. INSPIRATION AND THE ORIGINS OF GLOBAL WAVES OF TERRORISM
(Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 30, no. 2, 2007, pp. 97-112)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Determining the causes of terrorism have vexed policymakers for the past 40 years almost as much as determining what terrorism is. For most scholars, the pursuit of causality has dominated their careers and has proven equally unsatisfying. Professor Sedgwick has expanded on the initial work of David Rapoport's theory of the Four Waves of Modern Terrorism, which defines terrorism's four historical periods as global waves supported, in part, by significant events such as World Wars I and II. He argues that the single most important cause of terrorism is found in how future terrorists come to the conclusion that a terrorist strategy stands a good chance of succeeding. The decision to act depends on the capability of a strategy, which to an extent helps explain why terrorist movements at least since the 19th century have almost always failed. Too Sedgwick also examines the impact played by global events and concludes that extraordinary events have no direct impact on terrorism, as such, but have an enormous indirect ideological impact giving rise to the mindset that terrorism is the only available course of action. While Sedgwick contributes to the understanding of motivations and of historical periods, he skirts the evolving theory that terrorism ultimately is about the acquisition of power regardless of the cost in human suffering.

AA07183
Johnson, Thomas; Mason, M. Chris. UNDERSTANDING THE TALIBAN AND INSURGENCY IN AFGHANISTAN
(Orbis, vol. 51, no. 1, Winter 2007, pp. 71-89)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The authors, a research professor from the Naval Postgraduate School and a former Foreign Service officer serving as a fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, provide insight into the complex cultural, religious, and political underpinnings of the resurgent Taliban and urge policymakers to stop furthering the Taliban’s “game plan” by continuing Vietnam-style “kill/capture” counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. The Taliban are dominated by Pashtuns from the southeastern Ghilzhai region, who have a longstanding rivalry encouraged by neighboring Pakistan with their Durrani neighbors, long seen as the country’s “ruling class.” Their traditionally orthodox Deobandi brand of Islam has been reinforced by the influence of Wahhabism imported from Saudi Arabia since the 1980s and channeled through the region’s longstanding tradition of charismatic religious leaders, such as Mullah Omar. U.S. ignorance of local language and customs, combined with the importation of Iraq-style insurgent tactics, such as suicide bombing, threaten to worsen an already fragile situation, unless the U.S. and its allies redouble efforts to improve their forces’ cultural awareness, increase local security to allow development projects to operate, and force Pakistan to shut down militants operating along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Country Reports on Terrorism: 2006.
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State. Web posted April 30, 2007.
Full Text: [By Chapters. html format, var. pagings]

“The report covers developments in countries in which acts of terrorism occurred, countries that are state sponsors of terrorism, and countries determined by the Secretary to be of particular interest in the global war on terror.” This report also reviews major developments in bilateral and multilateral counterterrorism cooperation. It provides information on terrorist groups, umbrella groups, and groups financed by state sponsors. Lastly, it reports on terrorist organizations on the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list.

AA07139
Hafez, Mohammed M. MARTYRDOM MYTHOLOGY IN IRAQ: How JIHADISTS FRAME SUICIDE TERRORISM IN VIDEOS AND BIOGRAPHIES
(Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 19, no. 1, Spring 2007, pp. 95-115)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author, an instructor of political science at the University of Missouri, describes the methods that the insurgents in Iraq use to attract recruits from across the Islamic world for suicide terrorism. Hafez writes that the jihadi leaders know what resonates with the wider Muslim public, and have effectively exploited three themes -- humiliation of Muslims at the hands of foreigners, impotence of Arab governments in the face of hegemonic powers, and redemption through faithful sacrifice. In this article, the author explores how Islamic extremists have developed the martyrdom mythology, in order to break down recruits’ resistance to committing murder and mayhem, and to make themselves appear as moral agents even when they are acting in immoral ways. Just as soldiers are trained to overcome their inhibitions against killing others in the service of their country, terrorists frame their violent deeds as moral acts in the service of their people, nation, or God. Understanding how violent militants are able to lower resistance to killing and injuring civilians is an important step to combating terrorism.

AA07116
Schmid, Alex P. TERRORISM & ENERGY SECURITY: TARGETING OIL & OTHER ENERGY SOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
(MIPT Insight, Spring 2007, pp. 1-8)
Full text [pdf format, 8 pages]

In this report prepared exclusively for the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), Schmid, an MIPT Senior Fellow and former U.N. counterterrorism officer, discusses the challenges of global energy security. He notes the vulnerability of energy infrastructure, and their attractiveness as targets of “small deed / large consequence” attacks. Schmid argues that a comprehensive strategy will not only have to address the issue of disruption of energy flows, but it will also have to come to grips with the way our communication systems and financial systems react to terrorist challenges.This is the first of a series by MIPT Senior Fellows.

AA07093
Wolfendale, Jessica. TERRORISM, SECURITY, AND THE THREAT OF COUNTERTERRORISM
(Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 30, no. 1, January 2007, pp. 753-770)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author, research fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne, argues that governments using the threat of terrorism to curtail civil liberties are having a considerable negative impact by making the counterterrorism measures more feared than the terrorist threat. Wolfendale studied counterterrorism legislation enacted in the U.S., Britain and Australia as the basis of her research. She says her research reveals that these governments have used the need to counter the threat of terrorism as justification for significant infringements of civil liberties. The problem is that, despite these claims, there has been little clear explanation by these governments of how and why terrorism threatens lives, values and freedom to such a degree in requiring such strong legislative measures. "Counterterrorism rhetoric claims that radical measures are needed to protect the individual and the nation from the threat of terrorism. Yet ... the threat posed by terrorism to individuals and to states is far less than the threat posed by many other events and is not sufficient to justify the radical curtailment of civil liberties," she concludes. This is an important contribution to the continuing debate about the perils of pushing aside civil liberties in pursuit of terrorism regardless of the costs to society and the nation.

THE ISLAMIC TRADITIONS OF WAHHABISM AND SALAFIYYA.
Christopher M. Blanchard. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Updated January 17, 2007.
Full text [pdf format, 6 pages]

Discussions of Islamic puritanical movements known as Wahhabism and Salafiyya have called attention to these religions which some believe promote hatred and violence specifically targeting the U.S. and its allies. “This report provides a background on Wahhabism and its relationship to active terrorist groups; it also summarizes recent charges against Wahhabism and responses, including the findings of the final report of the 9/11 Commission and relevant legislation in the 110th Congress.”This report will be updated as needed.

THE TERRORISM INDEX.
Foreign Policy/Center for American Progress. February 13, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 9 pages]

The Terrorism Index is a “comprehensive, nonpartisan effort to mine the highest echelons of the nation’s foreign-policy establishment for its assessment of how the United States is fighting the Global War on Terror.” More than 80 percent of the participants of this study have served in the U.S. government. The results of the most recent Terrorism Index are:

• “American’s foreign-policy community continues to have deep reservations about our policies and priorities in the war. . .”
• 81 percent see a more dangerous world for Americans
• 75 percent say we are losing the war on terror
• 70 percent believe there is no clear plan to protect the U.S. from terrorism
• 80 percent of the participants expect a terrorist attack within the next ten years

BRITISH COUNTER-TERRORISM AFTER THE JULY 2005 ATTACKS: ADAPTING COMMUNITY-POLICING TO THE FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
Jytte Klausen. Briefing, U.S. Institute of Peace. Web posted February 15, 2007.
Full Text

British security officials announced that Britain is now al-Qaeda’s “number one” target. Over 1,000 people have been arrested since September 11, 2001, with 23 convictions. British authorities have developed a new model for counter-terrorism which emphasizes community-policing principles and partnerships with Muslim groups. These principles, it is hoped, will facilitate information sharing, build trust in cases of arrests and operations, and mitigate the negative impacts of enforcement. 

AA07075
Jonsson, Michael; Cornell, Svante. COUNTERING TERRORIST FINANCING: LESSONS FROM EUROPE (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, vol. 8, no. 1, Winter/Spring 2007, pp. 69-78)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The authors examine the efforts to counter terrorist financing techniques used in the 1970s by the Irish Republican Army and the Basque separatist ETA, and analyze how those methods could be used to track and freeze al-Qaeda assets. Today’s terrorists raise comparable amounts, but their sources are mainly private donations from the Arab world and elsewhere that are hard to track, unlike the IRA and ETA’s practice of criminal activities, legitimate business networks, and “fundraising” among the Irish diaspora and Basques living in France and Spain. The low cost to execute a terrorist attack, combined with self-financing of home-grown cells make extensive new financial regulations needlessly burdensome at best and dangerously counterproductive at worst. The lessons of countering the IRA and ETA, say the authors, illustrate the need for a full range of policies, including increased intelligence cooperation, diplomatic pressure on countries where al-Qaeda raises funds, and stepped-up public relations efforts to undercut the terrorists as more effective options.

AA07076
Piazza, James A. ROOTED IN POVERTY?: TERRORISM, POOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND SOCIAL CLEAVAGES
(Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 18, no. 1, Spring 2006, pp. 159-177)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author, professor of political science at the University of North Carolina, analyzes existing studies and reports that have been developed to determine what are the root causes of terrorism, in an effort to help determine if poverty, poor economic development and deprivation are significant causes. He notes that policymakers across the political spectrum regularly cite material want and terrorist activity as the presumed link, and considerable policy decisions are based on those assumptions. Piazza's extensive research establishes that there is no significant relationship between poor economic development and terrorism. His findings indicate that such variables as population, ethno-religious diversity, increased state repression and the structure of party politics play a role in the evolution of terrorism for a specific nation or region. Piazza also found that the lack of formal education played no significant role in aiding the creation of future terrorists. "Poor and poorly-educated Palestinians were no more likely to either support or participate in suicide terrorist attacks than were more affluent and better-educated Palestinians," Piazza said.

AA07034
Forman, Marcy M.
COMBATING TERRORIST FINANCING AND OTHER FINANCIAL CRIMES THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS (Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 9, no. 1, 2006, pp. 112-118)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Forman, an official at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Investigations, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), endorses sharing identified vulnerabilities and information with trusted private sector partners as a first line of defense against financial crimes. She says partnerships between the public and private sector represent one of the strongest means to combat money-laundering schemes by terrorists and other criminal organizations and to block the material support needed to fuel their operations. Two case studies are presented which demonstrate how ICE’s outreach and partnership program -- known as “Cornerstone” -- has successfully partnered with US financial, trade, manufacturing and transportation sectors to eliminate systemic vulnerabilities that could be exploited by terrorist and other criminal organizations. All nations must recognize that any criminal act, whether driven by profit or ideology, threatens national economic security and integrity, and produces consequences that transcend all borders, she writes. Therefore, she concludes, law enforcement must initiate private/public partnerships to leverage defenses and maximize effectiveness.

AA07041
Benard, Cheryl TOY SOLDIERS: THE YOUTH FACTOR IN THE WAR ON TERROR
(Current History, vol. 106, no. 696, January 2007, pp. 27-30)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author points out that, beneath the War on Terror, the Iraqi insurgency, the Palestinian intifada, and other conflicts in the Middle East, lies the psychological exploitation of region’s burgeoning youth population. Turning to contemporary study of adolescent psychology and neurological research, the author argues that terrorist recruiters take advantage of tendencies of not-yet-mature young men toward thrill-seeking and risk-taking, overestimation of ability, and underestimation of obstacles and consequences which make them ideal candidates to participate in terrorist attacks. While political, ideological, and cultural factors also play a role in individual’s choice to become a terrorist, the author argues for consideration of these psychological considerations in any potential solution.