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A CT Reading List? [Open Thread]
Okay, you all know about the famous Abu Muqawama Counterinsurgency Reading List. But a reader wrote in asking whether or not we might consider posting a reading list on counter-terrorism. That sounds like a fun project, actually, for the readership. So for the next few days, leave your suggestions in the comments. Books, academic articles and journalistic articles are all welcome, as are other media -- movies, documentaries, etc.
By the way... I have no informed comment on the capture of Mullah Baradar other than to say that it might be hugely important -- not necessarily from the perspective of the QST's senior leadership but from the perspective of U.S.-Pakistani relations and the stance of Pakistan's military and security services toward the Taliban. Josh Foust, though, has the best instant analysis I have read thus far.
Arquilla and Ronfeldt --
Arquilla and Ronfeldt -- "Networks and Netwars; The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy," available online at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1382/
Marc Sageman, "Understanding Terror Networks"
Steve Coll, "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001"
Peter Bergen, "Holy War, Inc."
Bruce Hoffman, "Inside Terrorism"
Depends on how you want to
Depends on how you want to approach your subject. These all broadened my understanding of the field.
Terrorism and the Liberal State - Paul Wilkinson
Origins of Terrorism + A History of Terrorism - Walter Laqueur
Research on Terrorism - Andrew Silke (ed)
Analysing Terrorism and Counter-terrorism: A Communication Model - R.D. Crelinsten
Walking Away from Terrorism - John Horgan
Depends on how you want to
Depends on how you want to approach your subject. These all broadened my understanding of the field.
Terrorism and the Liberal State - Paul Wilkinson
Origins of Terrorism + A History of Terrorism - Walter Laqueur
Research on Terrorism - Andrew Silke (ed)
Analysing Terrorism and Counter-terrorism: A Communication Model - R.D. Crelinsten
Walking Away from Terrorism - John Horgan
"Brits", "Provos" and
"Brits", "Provos" and "Loyalists" by Peter Taylor are an excellent account of the Northern Ireland CT campaign for the general reader. And I can also recommend Peter Gurney's "Braver Men Walk Away" - the memoirs of a bomb disposal officer who was active during most of the campaign.
Three books - "Brits",
Three books - "Brits", "Provos" and "Loyalists", all by Peter Taylor, are a good account of the Northern Ireland CT campaign from different perspectives.
Second the recommendation for "Ghost Wars".
A short list with an
A short list with an Islamist terrorism slant:
Bruce Hoffman, Inside Terrorism
Marc Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks (not his next, disappointing book)
Jarret Brachman, Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice
Ibrahim, The Al Qaeda Reader
Qutb, Milestones
The Management of Savagery
Al-Zawahiri, Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner
Edwin Bakker, Jihadi Terrorists in Europe, Clingendael Security Paper No. 2
Neumann, Islamist Militant Mobilization in Europe (on the website of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence of King's College London)
Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam
Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower
Dutch Intel Service (AIVD), From Dawa to Jihad (you can find this and the next via google)
AIVD, The Radical Dawa in Transition: Islamic Neo-Radicalism in the Netherlands
David Cook, Understanding Jihad
Lawrence Freedman ‘Terrorism as a Strategy,' Government and Opposition
Gilles Keppel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam
Lorenzo Vidino, Al Qaeda in Europe
Pargeter, The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe
Wiktorowicz, Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West
Brynjar Lia, Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus’ab al-Suri
Peter Neumann and MLR Smith, The Strategy of Terrorism
Peter Neumann, Old and New Terrorism
Thomas Rid and Marc Hecker, War 2.0: Irregular Warfare in the Information Age
Tim Stevens and Peter Neumann, Countering Online Radicalisation: A Strategy for Action
Over-rated books on Islamist terrorism:
Olivier Roy, Globalized Islam
Faisal Devji, Landscapes of the Jihad
Sageman, Leaderless Jihad
I recall J. Bowyer Bell's
I recall J. Bowyer Bell's "Terror Out of Zion" (being reissued, I think) and Martin Dillon's "The Dirty War" as being good reads, albeit perhaps too colloquial for this crowd or list. Then again, if I'm going to be colloquial, I think Tom Clancy's "Patriot Games" perhaps merits mention.
ADTS
Ex Since the list is about
Ex
Since the list is about counter-terrorism, I recommend (in some order of importance):
Books
Beckwith, DELTA FORCE
Waller, THE COMMANDOS
Geraghty, INSIDE THE SAS
Bowden, KILLING PABLO
McRaven, SPEC OPS (for Chapter 9 on Entebbe)
Haney, INSIDE DELTA FORCE (useful, but take with grain of salt)
There are also the recent group of former Delta operator books out there from Boykin, to Blaber, to "Fury", plus a lot of CIA Special Activities memoirs now---haven't read them, so can't comment on them.
For a fun movie:
THE FINAL OPTION (a/k/a WHO DARES WINS in U.K.)---a play on Operation NIMROD (SAS takedown of Iran's London Embassy in 1980), but this time with anti-nuke/radical leftists seizing the US Embassy in London during a big dinner party demanding the US shoot a nuke at Holy Loch Sub Base n Scotland. A real picture of its time (1982)---worth it alone for seeing the haircut of the US Ranger on exchange to the SAS.
The Men, the Mission, and
The Men, the Mission, and Me-Pete Blaber
-A leadership book more than anything but some very good take aways.
Three Cups of Tea-Greg Mortenson
-Excellent read on the value of education. Not the sole key to a CT battle, but a definitely pillar.
Navy SEALs w/ Charlie
Navy SEALs w/ Charlie Sheen
the Delta Force w/ Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin
the Rock w/ Sean Connery and Nick Cage
and pretty much all of Charles Bronson's movies.
anything by bob baer would
anything by bob baer would be helpful, i think (haven't read his novel, though).
here's Charles Bronson in
here's Charles Bronson in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of-57Ivfwz8
. . . . . Don't forget all
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Don't forget all the Rambo movies!
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"the Human Factor" by
"the Human Factor" by Ishmael JONES
http://www.ishmaeljones.com/
"Chosen Soldiers" by Dick
"Chosen Soldiers" by Dick Couch
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl/9780307394798.html
"Securing the City" by Chris Dickey
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Securing-the-City/Christopher-Dickey/9...
http://www.matthewacole.com/p
http://www.matthewacole.com/pdfs/Blowback-GQ.pdf
(that's about the screwed up Milan rendition)
Take your pick Some one must
Take your pick
Some one must have a large book budget....rest of us can wait for google to catch up........
Not really COIN, but a friend says it is a good read
I definitely second Ryan's
I definitely second Ryan's recommendation of Lawrence Wright's, "The Looming Tower." His whole reading list looked really good.
As a New Yorker, I was also interested by the book, "Securing the City," by Christopher Dickey, which is about the NYPD's Counter Terrorism efforts. It should be a good read for anyone interested in domestic Counter Terrorism.
The movie, "The Siege," is also an good portrayal of possible American responses to Islamic terrorism. Lawrence Wright actually wrote the screenplay.
National Geographic also had a great documentary about Guantanamo. Here's the link to the program: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4085/Overview
you in America, Zak. we
you in America, Zak. we don't read Mexican here. them books better have English equivalents.
http://billywaugh.net/
http://billywaugh.net/
"Hunting the Jackal"
Aprenda a hablar
Aprenda a hablar espanol..........Nina grunt.
Los titulos son el mismo.
Here's the current leaders'
Here's the current leaders' reading list from COL Kurilla, commander of the Ranger Regiment. Some CT, some COIN, some other:
1. Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Lawrence Wright)
2. Afghanistan: The Bear Trap (Mohammed Youssef)
3. Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (Ahmed Rashid)
4. Decent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. (Ahmed Rashid)
5. Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan (Antonio Giustozzi)
6. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. (Stephen Coll)
7. Afghanistan: A short History of its People and Politics (Martin Ewans)
8. The Great Game: Struggle for Empire in Central Asia. (Peter Hopkirk)
9. The Story of the Malakand Field Force. (Winston Churchill)
10. God’s Terrorists: The Wahabbi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad (Charles Allen)
11. Afghanistan (Louis Dupree)
12. Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (Ahmed Rashid)
13. Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror (Mary Habeck)
14. The Bear went over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan (Lester Grau)
15. Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military (Hussein Haqqani)
16. The Idea of Pakistan (Stephen Cohen)
17. Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism (Hassan Abbas)
18. Empires of the Silk Road. (Christopher Beckwith)
19. Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyz. (Dilip Hiro)
20. Islam: A short History (Karen Armstrong)
21. Shi’ism (Heinz Halm)
22. The Places in Between (Rory Stewart.)
FICTION:
23. The Afghan Campaign (Stephen Pressfield)
24. The Warlord’s Son (Dan Fesperman)
25. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Charles Bronson movies is a
Charles Bronson movies is a must for any serious CT list.
Parler du
Parler du francais......petite fille grunt.
Apprendre a parler du francais......
Sorry, grunt.....this is for
Sorry, grunt.....this is for you.....it is already listed.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Savage-War-of-Peace/Alistair-Horne/e/...
Tintin -- I'd be impressed
Tintin -- I'd be impressed with any junior leader who'd read even three or four of those books. If he's getting into the teens, I'd recommend more PT.
Not so much CT as a considerations of how a liberal democracy can and should respond to terror:
Terror and Consent, Philip Bobbitt
Guess I better get on
Guess I better get on subject......CT.
Some really good suggestions
Some really good suggestions made, guys. But some of you have forgotten this is an attempt to build a Terrorism/Counter-terrorism reading list. Not an insurgency one.
I think a thread on the definition of terrorism, or maybe a roundup of the various and numerous definitions should have been offered first. Or even a discussion on whether terrorism is a tactic or a strategy in itself.
Nevertheless, here are some additions.
Stefan Aust - The Baader-Meinhof Komplex.
Robert Pape - Dying to Win.
Here is a fun CT web
Here is a fun CT
web site
you did not say it needed to be a book.....lists all the bio's on the groups, has a printable CT calendar, and maps.
and for you grunt, it is in english.....sorry about the oversight, but I was off subject anyway...Zak is humbled
As a uni student studying a
As a uni student studying a degree in CT ( yes there is such a thing) I'm tempted just to post the reading list, shame its so very out of date. So from my own shelf and library hunts....
I second most of Passerby and Ryan's lists. Burke book Al Qaeda The True story of radical Islam is a well thumbed book on the shelf.
I'd add -
Books
Hoffman, Bruce, ‘Holy Terror’, The Implications of Terrorism Motivated by a Religious Imperative, Santa Monica CA RAND Corporation 1993
Richardson, Louise (Ed), “The Roots of Terrorism”, New York, NY, Routledge 2006
Robb, John, Brave New War: The New Terrorism and the End of Globalisation, New York NY, 2007
Articles/papers
Esposito, John L and Mogahed, Dalia, “Battle for Muslim Hearts and Minds: The Road Not (Yet) Taken”, Middle East Policy, 14:1 (Spring 2007) 27-41
Campbell, Kurt M and Weitz, Richard, “Non-Military Strategies for Countering Islamic Terrorism: Lessons Learned from Past Counter Insurgencies”, The Princeton Project Papers, The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University (2006) 1-38
Fandl, Kevin J, “Terrorism, Development and Trade: Winning the War on Terror Without the War”, American University International Law Review, Issue 587 (2003-2004) 587-631
Hoffman, Bruce and McCormick, Gordon, “Terrorism, Signalling and suicide Attack”, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 27; 1 (2004):243-281
Atran, Scott, “Genesis of Suicide Terrorism”, Science Review, 299 no. 5612, (2003):1534-1539
Atran, Scott, “The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism”, The Washington Quarterly, 29:2, (2006): 127-147
Gordon McCormick's name
Gordon McCormick's name reminds me that he has a piece on terrorist groups in the Annual Review of Political Science.
ADTS
EBDM: one of the quants AM
EBDM: one of the quants AM should probably be reading.
http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/Bueno_De_Mesquita_TerrorismPolViol.pdf
ADTS
A few odds and ends, all on
A few odds and ends, all on the decidedly academic side:
Efraim Benmelech, Claude Berrebi, and Esteban F. Klor "The Economic Cost of Harboring Terrorism http://www.nber.org/papers/w15465
Eli Berman's 'Radical Religions and Violent' http://www.radicalreligiousandviolent.com/
Berman and David Laitin's "Hard Targets: Theory and Evidence on Suicide Attacks" http://econ.ucsd.edu/~elib/Hardtargets.pdf
The next two are a set, first the original article, then a debate in the same journal offering a range of perspective-
Max Abrahms. "What Terrorists Really Want: Terrorist Motives and Counterterrorism Strategy." International Security 32, no. 4 (Spring 2008): 78-105.
Chenoweth, Miller, McClellan, Frisch, Staniland, and Abrahms "What Makes Terrorists Tick" http://web.mit.edu/pstan/www/TerroristsTick.pdf
We should probably breakdown
We should probably breakdown the reading list into subject areas.
1. Th Definition Debate: as it relates to how one decides to respond, etc
2. Different models of CT (usually just 2 are mentioned - war and criminal justice - but there are more
3. History and Case-studies (Ireland, Canada, Israel, Sri Lanka, etc.)
That will make it easier for someone to digest the reading list.
@David Sutton: I read Richardson many years after I began studying CT and found it a refreshing introduction to the subject of terrorism. If only it had been published when I had first started my research in the field! I also remember thinking the bibliography would have proved useful. If I come across my copy, I will post some of the sources I found most useful here...
How did I forget! Western
How did I forget!
Western Responses To Terrorism - Alex Schmid & R.D. Crelinsten (eds.)
A bit dated, but, as I recall, it provides a nice structure for how to think about the topic of T/CT as well as many republished articles.
I'd second Lawrence Wright's
I'd second Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower and Steve Coll's Ghost Wars.
A few more for consideration that don't appear to have been mentioned previously.
Crenshaw, M. ""Explaining Suicide Terrorism: A Review Essay"." Security Studies 16 (2007): 133-62.
Crenshaw, M. Terrorism in Context. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.
Drake, C J M. Terrorists' Target Selection. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998.
Gambetta, Diego. Making Sense of Suicide Missions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Geifman, A. Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917: Princeton Univ Pr, 1995.
Khosrokhavar, Farhad. Suicide Bombers : Allah's New Martyrs. London: Pluto, 2005.
O'Neill, Sean, and Daniel McGrory. The Suicide Factory : Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque. London: Harper Perennial, 2006.
Pedahzur, Ami. Suicide Terrorism. Cambridge: Polity, 2005.
Weimann, Gabriel. Terror on the Internet : The New Arena, the New Challenges. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace ; Bristol : University Presses Marketing, 2006.
I definitely have to
I definitely have to recommend "Brave New War" by John Robb. Sure, it isn't all correct. Put it shows an extensive list of weaknesses we demonstrate that can be attacked.
P.S.
Abu Muqawama, have you updated your link to King's of War yet? I'm pretty sure your current link takes you to their old page. So please update the link.
The best resource on this
The best resource on this subject is the START Center at U Maryland. Check out their collection of syllabi for terrorism classes (http://www.start.umd.edu/start/education/syllabi/?page=1&recCount=10&ins...).
You should also look at the searchable annotated bibliography created by Dr. James Forest, my old colleague at West Point. It needs updating, but there are only so many hours in the day (http://www.teachingterror.com/bibliography/).
Icehockey is the only sport
Icehockey is the only sport that assumes that the judges are corrupt.
Terror and Conset by Philip
Terror and Conset by Philip Bobbitt
Brian - the uni student in
Brian - the uni student in me cries thank you, that's a great resource. Shame I only have a few classes left!
The Dancer Upstairs by
The Dancer Upstairs by Nicholas Shakespeare and the movie by the same name directed by John Malkovich. It's a fictionalized adaptation of the true story about the capture of the leader of the Shining Path in Peru in the early 90's. Interesting depiction of the use of terror by the Shining Path with a standard depiction of the tension between the military and law enforcement efforts opposing it. Don't hold the love story subplot against the story, because it is based on fact and necessary/useful to the overall exposition of the story.
I will skip over those
I will skip over those listed already.
Perfect Soldiers - Terry McDermott
Inside the Jihad - Omar Nasiri
How Terrorist Groups End - Seth Jones
Insurgency and Terrorism - Bard O'Neill
Striking Back - Aaron Klein
Terror in the Name of God - Jessica Stern
Triple Cross - Peter Lance
The Islamist - Ed Husain
Return of the Ayatollah - Mohamed Heikal
The Age of Sacred Terror - Daniel Benjamin & Steven Simon
Inside Al Qaeda - Rohan Gunaratna
Masterminds of Terror - Yosri Fouda
The Secret History of al Qaeda - Abdel Bari Atwan
See No Evil - Robert Baer
Hizbullah - Naim Qassem
"Oh, the Places You'll Go"
"Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss
(Tactics and Situational Awareness for CT Operators)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3_R2eCiazk
Given the probable assassins
Given the probable assassins of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, we should probably add
"Israel's Secret Wars"
"Every Spy a Prince"
"Gideon's Spies"
"By Way of Deception" (I know, I know regarding this last one)
ADTS
"Duet in Beirut,"
"Duet in Beirut," apparently:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/assassins-of-hamas-official-...
ADTS
Securing the City - by
Securing the City - by Christopher Dickey
John Robb's blog
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/
The DEA has been at battle
The DEA has been at battle with FARC and other terrorist groups world wide for years....
Before Munchen ever happened and the US started doing CT.....
The work has had a lot of different names and continues today as the Merida Initiative...
Hard to find books on the history as the unspoken word is a badge of honor for the people in the current battle. Not to mention it would end their involvement and the cash flow to business supporting it.
For historical perspective,
For historical perspective, here is our reading list as of 1980 at the Navy's COIN course at Coronado
Bell, J. Bowyer: (3 books) Transnational Terror, A Time for Terror, and Assassin
Clutterbuck: Living with Terrorism
Demaris: Brothers in Blood
Dobson and Payne: (2 books) The Carlos Complex and The Terrorists, Their Weapons, Leaders and Tactics
Groussard: The Blood of Israel
Jenkins: The Five Stages of Urban Guerrilla Warfare: Challenge of the 70's
Laqueur: The Terrorism Reader
Parry: Terrorism from Robespierre to Arafat
Skeptic: Issue No 11, Jan/Feb 1976
Smith: Carlos: Portrait of a Terrorist
Sobel, Political Terrorism Vol 2, 1974-1978
We used three video tapes
Battle of Algiers (the movie)
Jenkins (Terror as theater theme)
Afghanistan, featuring Gunnery Sergeant Robert H. I. Silver, USMCR
Our Teaching Model
Roger Darling: Revolution Examined Anew
Tom Grassey: Some Perspectives on Revolution
David V. J. Bell: Resistance and Revolution
My personal list, so far, for continued research and work on 9-11
Coll, both Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladens
Rashid
Wright
Miles Kara
www.oredigger61.org
I like Charles Bronson, the
I like Charles Bronson, the first CT operator.
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