Christopher C. Harmon - A Citizens Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism

A CITIZENS GUIDE TO TERRORISM AND COUNTERTERRORISM

This Citizens Guide addresses the public policy issues of terrorism and counterterrorism in the United States after bin Ladens death. Written for the thinking citizen and student alike, this succinct and up-to-date book takes a grand strategy approach toward terrorism and uses examples and issues drawn from present-day perpetrators and actors.

Christopher Harmon, a veteran academic of military theory who has also instructed U.S. and foreign military officers, organizes his book into three main sections. He first introduces the problem of Americas continued vulnerability to terrorist attack by reviewing the long line of recent attacks and attempts against the United States, focusing specifically on New York City. , Harmon sketches the prospects for further action, steering clear of simple partisanship and instead listing recommendations with pros and cons, and also including factual stories of how individual citizens have made a difference in the national effort against terrorism. The final pages list further reading resources.

This slim book will contribute to our understanding of the problems surrounding terrorism and counterterrorismand the approaches the United States may take to meet themin the early 21st century.

Christopher C. Harmon is Horner Chair of Military Theory at Marine Corps University.

CITIZEN GUIDES TO POLITICS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Morgan Marietta and Bert Rockman, Series Editors

Each book in this series is framed around a significant but not well-understood subject that is integral to citizensboth students and the general publicfull understanding of politics and participation in public affairs. In accessible language, these titles provide readers with the tools for understanding the root issues in political life. Individual volumes are brief and engaging, written in short, readable chapters without extensive citations or footnoting. Together they are part of an essential library to equip us all for fuller engagement with the issues of our times.

Titles in the series:

A Citizens Guide to American Ideology: Conservatism and Liberalism in Contemporary Politics

Morgan Marietta

A Citizens Guide to the Constitution and the Supreme Court: Constitutional Conflict in American Politics

Morgan Marietta

A Citizens Guide to American Foreign Policy: Tragic Choices and the Limits of Rationality

David Patrick Houghton

A Citizens Guide to Federal Deficits and Debt: The Politics of Taxing, Spending, and Borrowing

William E. Hudson

A Citizens Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Christopher C. Harmon

A CITIZENS GUIDE TO TERRORISM AND COUNTERTERRORISM

Christopher C. Harmon

First published 2014

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2014 Taylor & Francis

The right of Christopher C. Harmon to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Harmon, Christopher C.

A citizens guide to terrorism and counterterrorism / Christopher C. Harmon. First edition.

pages cm (Citizen guides to politics and public affairs)

1. TerrorismUnited States. 2. TerrorismUnited StatesPrevention. 3. Security, NationalUnited States. I. Title.

HV6432.H3776 2013

363.325dc23

2013027918

ISBN: 978-0-415-70941-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-70942-2 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-88409-7 (ebk)

The reality of contemporary terrorismno longer unique events, no longer unexpected except for the exact time and placepresents grave threats to the security and ideals of a free society. Coming to grips with those threats is the purpose of this volume in the Citizens Guide series. Like each of our books, it is written for a general audience of citizens and students, addressing pressing problems with clear explanations. For this topic we turned to Christopher C. Harmon, a distinguished scholar at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Dr. Harmon holds the Major General Matthew C. Horner Chair in Military Theory and has written or edited previous books on understanding and combating modern terror, including the popular textbook Terrorism Today (now in its second edition). He has devoted his career to teaching the strategy and tactics of counterterrorism to military officers, civil servants, and diplomats, and he has been a pioneer in the study of how terrorist groups end. In this volume, Harmon addresses in clear and uncompromising language the most pressing questions many Americans have in the post-9/11 world of shocking violence from unfamiliar quarters: Who is this enemy? Why are they doing this? Is it likely to continue? And perhaps most importantly: What can be done about it?

Harmon addresses not only the nature of terrorism, but also the ongoing American grand strategy against ita grand strategy that has far more than military elements. His book is about counterterrorism as much as terrorism itself. In order to see what must be done, we must understand terrors motivations and goals; we must comprehend the beliefs that inspire it and the world it wishes to create. This is the case because terrorism is not merely violence for the cameras, but violence for the political purposes promoted by that display. Harmon allows us to understand the nature of terrorist movementsguided by beliefs about the current world and visions of a future onerather than seeing only random or incomprehensible acts. With that understanding we can see the true nature of the challenges we face and the possible roads ahead. With that hope we present this Citizens Guide to Terrorism and Counterterrorism.

Morgan Marietta and Bert Rockman

Series Editors

Three decades as public servant and graduate school professor have allowed me steady professional interaction with Americans about problems of terrorism and counterterrorism. It was sometimes difficult in years past for all of us to agree to the need to forcefully and consistently resist this modern scourge: terrorism. But its nature has been more apparentand more lethal and uglysince September 11, 2001. Our hardest challenges now are to understand terrorism well, including its newest forms, and to make our ongoing campaign against Al Qaeda, its allies, and its future variants a long-term success.

John Malkovich is an example of a citizen who sees the nature of terrorism clearly. When he directed his intriguing movie