Book Description
In his acclaimed exposé, Osama's Revenge: The Next 9/11, terrorism expert Paul L. Williams revealed the likelihood of nuclear terrorism on American soil. Now in this chilling sequel Williams further explores the shocking dimensions of the international terrorist threat to Americans. Williams reveals persuasive evidence that al Qaeda has now established connections with the Sicilian Mafia, which is helping to finance terrorism through the sale of Number Four heroin, the present drug of choice in Europe and the United States. In addition, through its ties to the Chechen Mafia, the group responsible for the heinous attack on a Russian school, al Qaeda has managed to obtain nuclear weapons from poorly secured and carelessly guarded storehouses in Russia. Perhaps the most disturbing evidence uncovered by Williams is the relation of al Qaeda to an obscure Salvadoran street gang, which calls itself Mara Salvatrucha and has expanded exponentially. In exchange for big money, this violent group of anarchic thugs has smuggled weapons of mass destruction and sleeper agents across the Mexican border onto American soil, or what they refer to as the land of the "Great Satan."
No other book deals with the connection between international, extremist Islamic terrorism and organized crime—a connection that has made possible the establishment of a well-financed branch of al Qaeda in Latin America and the creation of terrorist cells in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Williams convincingly demonstrates that by means of this network Bin Laden is now in a position to execute his dream of an American Hiroshima, an apocalyptic act of mass murder within the borders of the United States. Though vigorously working to prevent such an attack, many military experts and security officials concede the probability of nuclear terrorism in America, perhaps in the immediate future.
Customer Reviews:
Setting the Record Straight.......2007-06-23
As a retired Special Forces Green Beret and a graduate student in Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies, I would like to make several corrections to Mr. Williams book.
1. On page 129 he writes, "In October 2000, Ali Mohamed, a former US Green Beret sergeant who plead guilty to..." Ali Mohamad was NOT a Green Beret.
2. On page 183 he discusses how Ali Mohamed's position as a supply sergeant afforded al Qaeda, "vivid proof of al Qaeda's amazing ability to stretch its tentacles into the very heart of military intelligence." The only thing that al Qaeda could have learned from Ali Mohamed,by virtue of his position as a supply sergeant, was supply-related only and could not have accessed any Special Forces intelligence in any way, shape, or form.
3. On page 184 he explains, "In 1989 Mohamed received an honorable discharge and began traveling back and forth to Afghanistan, where he provided training in special operations (the same training he received as a Green Beret) to recruits at al Qaeda training camps." I'm not sure what special operations training Mr. Williams is talking about here, because Ali Mohamed, as a supply clerk, never received any Special Forces training at all!
In order to qualify as a Special Forces Green Beret, one must successfully complete all required Special Forces training to include graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course (Q-Course). Upon successful completion of the Q-Course a Green Beret is awarded an 18 series identifier (e.g. 18A, 18D, 18E, 18C, 18B). Special Forces Warrant Officers are awarded the MOS 180A. Ali Mohamed never received any Special Forces training and did not graduate from the Q-Couse. Ali Mohamad was a "supply clerk" (later an instructor) who worked only in a support capacity.
These may seem like small points, but to those of us who have earned the Green Beret they are not.
Hostage Bob
CW2, SF, Ret.
De Oppresso Liber
Shocking and Very Informative.......2007-06-05
Every American should read this book. DO NOT count on learning the truth about the threat we are facing in this Country from the liberal media. They do not want you to know what we are facing, due to their hate for Bush and the Republicans.
EXCELLENT BOOK........
Another attack is coming: it may be terrible........2006-12-09
The Al Qaeda Connection is the sequel to Osama's Revenge, another excellent book.
Some of the reviews raise interesting questions, "Why hasn't a suitcase nuke been used?" Others show political tunnel vision or refusal to accept facts they do not like. Paul Williams presents facts, some frightening, that make the reader wonder about the sanity of our government leaders. He does a terrific job of showing the fundamentalist Islamic mindset and objectives: they want to convert us to Islam, or turn us into slaves, or kill us. Nothing less is acceptable.
Perhaps current events provide the answer to the "Why" question above. Williams references Homeland security sources (page 94) when he says al Qaeda obtained small nukes from Chechens and smuggled them into the U.S. Such small nukes would use a polonium-beryllium neutron source, the "nuclear trigger" to cause an atomic explosion. Polonium-210, the poison used to kill the former KGB agent in London, has a short shelf life. Neutron triggers would not functions after a year, thus the triggers have to be replaced. See my book (p.59) for details on this type of trigger, but suffice it to say a courier carrying small packets of foil rapped Po-210 could have caused the multiple contaminated sites if one or more of the packages leaked. [...]
Williams' book is a must read. Al Qaeda and other fanatical Islamic terrorist groups are determine to destroy the Great Satan, the U.S., and will not stop trying until they die. Negotiations only encourage them. If we do not heed warnings such as the one in this book, we are doomed to become subjects of a "peaceful Islamic Empire."
Can one or more nuclear weapons be smuggled into the U.S., hidden, and set off. Read The Rings of Allah--then answer the question for yourself.
Woof woof. Who is that howling?.......2006-06-23
Paul Williams has put out a book, with a big emphasis on sources and footnotes and a scholarly appearance. Professionally put together it seems. He warns that Osama has dozens of nukes within the United States already and that the "American Hiroshima" is coming soon.
As a 911 resident, I started this book with considerable expectations and concern, but ended it almost not even wanting to bother finishing it. But I did. In some ways I see it now as another internal USA partisan type of publication, and frankly I am distracted by a "Clinton bad/Bush good" type of writing as opposed to sticking to the big issue, evaluating the threat of terrorism. I marked in my copy dozens of notes of dubious claims that are generally founded on the basis of the conspiracist logic rather than the logic of a factual analyst.
Examples:
1. Author claims that TWA 800 flight was downed by the elusive terrorist Mughniah. I understand there are people who claim TWA 800 was shot down but NO SUCH proof has been put out, and in fact when the plane went down, the FBI took the case on as a criminal case but in the end found no evidence of a bomb and the case is definitely explained as a faulty wiring in the central fuel tank. Not a terrorist attack as Williams claims.
2. The author claims that radiological bombs (dirty nukes) pose a really serious threat. The reality is that they do not pose a disastrous threat, are slightly above conventional bombs. Radiological materials could cause fear, but the reality is that walking out of the radioactive zone is in all probability sufficient to survive. Whether as Williams claims, the "American economy would go into a tailspin" is simply not based on fact.
3. Author claims (my copy page 186) that an Islamist in Florida named Hamdi brought Osama a replacement battery for OBL cell phone in May 1998. And that in August the embassies were bombed in West Africa. Allright, but Mr. Williams goes on to claim that "Bin Laden would have been incapable of orchestrating this without Tarik Hamdi and the replacement battery." Hard to prove these sort of claims. But my two questions are:
a) How can someone be responsible for OBL bombs in Africa by buying OBL a replacement cell phone battery? You know, they do have cell phone batteries outside of the USA.
But more importantly;
b) how in the world can OBL not be able to get a battery for his darn cell phone while having at his disposal up to 20 nuclear bombs within the USA and a team of nuclear experts to maintain them? This is an absolute impossibility, this cell phone battery business.
4. "When will it happen?" Asks Mr. Williams about the nuke threat. He claims that Sept 11 was an important date because of a terrorist conviction in NYC. And that Aug 7 (embassy bombings) coincide with Bush1 decision to commit to Saudi. This sort of speculative pseudo-science analysis is merely rhetorical nonsense and is a simple distraction from the event of thousands of people being murdered by psychotic mass murderers.
5. Williams quotes Cheney as "proof," during the Bush 2004 campaign trail, oh, those precious truthtelling moments! Cheney speaking of nuclear threats coming up soon. "Cheney, on the campaign trail, warned that a nuclear attack by al Qaeda appears to be imminent." If I am not mistaken, most Americans see through this sort of politician rhetoric and know that the now long discredited Bush-Cheney ticket says all sorts of things to get what THEY want.
I have at least a dozen of other examples of these sort of issues. I dont want to spend more time on them. But in my view they totally deprive the book of legitemacy, in spite of many areas being informative and great writing. I just don't know whats true there, if I, of all dumb people, can find so many errors. I hoped to be able to use the book as a reference for my fact-soup, but that is not possible without to much salt.
This leaves the issue of nuclear threat altogether up in the air as the book can not properly address the issue. Sorry to say.
So anyway, I am filing it in my bookshelf on the right side of the middle uh, well, kinda right between the far right and the middle-right.
Still waiting for the good analytical book about a nuclear threat and terrorism. The last time "they" came to our neighborhood, it was not a nice day. Any recommendations for a book without a political slant and author creativity?
A Copy Should be Placed by Every US Front Door!.......2006-06-01
When you finish this book you will be depressed as hell and then you will realize that you ought to spend every waking moment enjoying life. Paul Williams writes well about the end of the world as we now know it and he gives great footnotes and a wonderful index for those who are into checking and rechecking.
Sadly you realize how very off the mark our government is and if you haven't thought the southern border ought to be closed up tight as can be, you will after you read about the "visitors" we have already let in. It will also hit you that somehow or other the media has not been doing its job. The information in this book is available to all and yet we rarely hear even the slightest mention of what we glean from this book.
Best story we all know is about the Muslim FBI agent who refused not just once but twice to tape record a muslim terrorist because in his words, "Muslims don't record muslims." Did the agent get fired? Did he get moved to the Department of Agriculture? No, he was sent off to be one of our FBI agents in Saudi Arabia of all places!
Please make the time to read this book. It doesn't have a political slant to it: instead it simply presents the truth about things we just must know and frankly no one comes out very well overall. But the truth is here at last.
One of the most moviing lines in the sadly unfinished HBO series "Carnivale" makes it clear that with the development of the atomic bomb, we in the human race traded wonder for reason. Reason as we have watched over the last fifty years is leading us towards doomsday and Paul Williams shows us how.
Book Description
This book comprehensively covers the debatable issues regarding the post-September 11th wave of terrorism, the multiple roots of this deadly new form of international violence, and the leading ideas being considered as means for the “war on global terrorism” to be won. Informed and informative interpretations, written by the world's most authoritative scholars especially for this book, present a balanced and accessible set of essays and chapters describing the new international terrain that has emerged in the wake of 9-11. A three-part organization breaks the subject of global terrorism into three categories of analysis, and demonstrates to readers that how terrorism is defined will shape the conclusions that are reached about its causes and remedies. For analyzing present and future acts of terrorism, creating awareness of the obstacles to accurately understanding it, and consideration of the strategies for containing the destructiveness of this deadly phenomena.
Customer Reviews:
Best Terrorism Book.......2006-09-15
I rarely give five stars to anything, but this is quite possibly the best terrorism book ever, at least in terms of the sample of readings. Twenty-one chapters in all, the contributors all being well-known scholars in the political science field mainly. The textbook is very scholarly, divided into three parts, corresponding to the purposes of science: description, explanation, and prescription. Each part is excellent, and the book is well-balanced. Part I (description/characteristics)is a little heavy on the theoretical side, especially where there is some repetitive use of the phrase "post-modern" and exploration of historical side roads, but doesn't devolve into a bunch of navel-gazing over definitions and typologies like so many other books do. One could actually "use" the stuff in Part I, either for further theory development or other grounded purposes. Part II (explanation/causes) is probably what most readers would turn to first. It's nothing more than a collection of writings by all the luminaries in the field: Crenshaw, Wilkinson, Rubenstein, Laqueur, Howell, Juergensmeyer, Lewis, and Gurr. One couldn't ask for a better lineup, and although some of the articles have been previously published, a lot of them look like they were updated and revised for this book. Selection bias is always a possibility with books of this kind, and to be sure, the book is overall critical of mindless understanding approaches to counterterrorism, but not overly concessionistic. Military solutions are discussed, and lesser-known authors like Howell write about darwinistic solutions like letting failed states collapse on their own. However, Part III has counterweighting articles like Falk and Johnson's excellent discussions of why the war on terrorism is a moral war against "evil" (in the non-metaphysical sense). The third part of the book isn't about strategy or grand strategy, as one might expect, but is about tactics and counter-tactics, representing, in short, as good of a primer as any, on the political science approaches to counterterrorism option selection. I highly recommend this little book be read by anyone who wants to quickly become an erudite scholar of terrorism. It's highly educative.
Book Description
"For my money, John Robb, a former Air Force officer and tech guru, is the futurists' futurist."
—Slate
War in the twenty-first century will be very different from what we've come to expect. Terrorism and guerrilla warfare are rapidly evolving to allow nonstate networks to challenge the structure and order of nation-states. It is a change on par with the rise of the Internet and China, and will dramatically change how you and your kids will view security.
In Brave New War, the counterterrorism expert John Robb reveals how the same technology that has enabled globalization also allows terrorists and criminals to join forces against larger adversaries with relative ease and to carry out small, inexpensive actions—like sabotaging an oil pipeline—that will generate a huge return. He shows how taking steps to combat the shutdown of the world's oil, high-tech, and financial markets could cost us the thing we've come to value the most—worldwide economic and cultural integration—and the crucial steps we must take now to safeguard our systems and ourselves against this new method of warfare.
Customer Reviews:
A parsimonious Examination.......2007-10-15
I purchased Brave New War expecting a fresh view, or at least an adequate review, of the contemporary security issues challenging states within the world. Unfortunately, Robb's book adds nothing that cannot be gleaming from current events and occasional sessions reading the newspaper. His argument is outlined within the preface, that globalisation has empower non-state actors by allowing them to gain technological symmetry with modern states and that their attacks require minimal financial resources for spectacular financial impacts upon national and global economies. Unfortunately, this argument is repeated verbatim on nearly every page. The book also makes sweeping generalisations and claims, which include the assertion that traditional interstate warfare is over. There are better sources of information available for both the seasoned and occasional reader elsewhere.
Some good points but I wonder about the prescience.......2007-09-18
Futurist John Robb sees us going through a period in which increasingly things will get very local with people and organizations hiring private security companies to protect them. He sees a breakdown in global trade because of terrorist activities (both oil and security will become so expensive that a lot of trade will lose its value). Nation states will lose much of their power and legitimacy because of defective centralized command organizations (much the way communist economic systems failed) and because their great armies will be ineffective, even irrelevant, in combating the decentralized "swarm intelligence" of the Internet-like terrorist structures.
We can see in the fiascos of the Bush administration with the great George W. as "I'm the Decider" and Dick Cheney and his neocon cronies as Designers, that the view from the top, when it becomes superimposed upon the real world, can lead to disaster. Quite simply the "intelligence" at the top is no match for the independent intelligence spread out among the populace. There is more wisdom in the Internet than in the all the heads in Washington.
However I have departures from Robb's text that I would like to present. First of all he keeps talking about how the terrorists are winning. What are they winning? They kill people and destroy wealth, but what do they gain? Bin Laden may be a hero in the many parts of the Muslim world, but he has gained nothing but that celebrity. The terrorists are creating no wealth. They get their finances through donations, illegal activities, such as dope smuggling, and kidnappings for ransom and the like. Legalize street drugs and stop paying ransoms and where will the bulk of their financing come from? Counterfeiting designer jeans? Stipends from Saudi princes? Currently they are enjoying international notoriety and support partly because of the overreaction of the US. A lot of money goes into homeland security. Little if any of it goes to Al Qaeda. Bush has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the Iraqi sand, and some of that no doubt is benefitting Al Qaeda, but wiser leaders will come to power in the Western democracies in the future and will not aid the growth of Al Qaeda as Bush and Tony Blair have done.
Robb sees the nation state as at a disadvantage vis-a-vis guerilla organizations. He relies on ideas from Israeli military strategist Martin van Creveld to come to this conclusion (see especially page 28). But guerilla organizations only have an advantage in their homeland against outsiders. Imagine the Vietcong or Al Qaeda conducting a guerilla war while hiding out in the United States. They would not have the support of the populace and without that support a guerilla army is lost.
Robb states that the Bush administration invaded Iraq "to transform the political landscape of the Middle East." (p. 34) This is an after-the-fact justification since the stated reason (WMDs and Al Qaeda connections) was revealed as a lie, and the underlying reason (control of oil--remember Iraqi oil was going to pay for all this) was found not to work. Bush actually invaded Iraq in order to run for a second term as an "at war" president. Being at war also allowed him to greatly increase the power of the executive branch of government. As Commander-in-Chief he pretty much had his way with Congress and the American press, which is the reason he is still strutting around like a peacock.
Robb sees Baloch tribesmen as gaining "returns on investment (ROIs) of at least 1,000 to 1" in their "systems sabotage" attacks in Pakistan. (p. 84) But to use such terminology is a bit silly and is part of where I think Robb goes wrong in his overall analysis. The "return on investment" that the Baloch terrorists or any terrorist organization gets from blowing things up is little or nothing. However, by showing that they can and will sabotage structures and kill people, they may get financial support from those who want the Pakistani government overthrown. That's the way the economics of terrorism work. You don't--to repeat myself--create wealth by destroying wealth, unless you get the contract for rebuilding! Take away the financial support that terrorists are getting and squelch their criminal enterprises and they are out of business.
On page 100 Robb makes a similar point using the term "rates of return" instead of ROI. He's talking about Nigerian guerillas blowing up Shell Oil facilities and finds that "the rates of return on these attacks are phenomenal." The only return they are going to get is if somebody pays them to stop or they are able to take over the government or the facilities. The (inadvertent, I presume) glorification of terrorists by the Bush administration and the press no doubt gains them some support from somewhere (Iran and Saudi Arabia?).
Despite what I see as errors in Robb's conception and conclusions, I still think this is a very good book that makes some important points. For example Robb predicts that "the knee-jerk solution [to terrorist attacks] will be to centralize security in the hands of the nation-state." But he sees this as "a wrong-headed approach. It will bring us to the brink of a police state for very little benefit." (p. 156) Another good point is from page 158 where Robb states that "preemptive war followed by aggressive nation-building" as a reaction to terrorism and extremism is "wrong." He calls this "the Bush doctrine" which has obviously failed, as he points out on page 160. He notes that Iraq and Afghanistan since the invasions by the United States have "become havens and sources of even more instability than they were before we invaded."
An important title.......2007-09-12
For those interested in where the world will most likely be heading in the next twenty years, this book is a must read. Robb paints a compelling portrait of what he terms "global guerrillas," those motivated, for whatever reason, to wear down the state by targeting its critical infrastructure. Learning how these groups operate and how globalization is empowering them is enough to make this book well worth your time. Robb puts forward a solid study of these non-state actors, which, for me at least, elucidated a large portion of the current chaos in Iraq.
Where this book stumbles is in the latter portions, when Robb is iterating what must be done to effectively counter global guerrilla groups. His ideas are indeed challenging, and ultimately my critique is more with his articulation of these ideas. However, while it does not seem that he specifically set out to draw up a blueprint, I still think more examples and stronger analogies would have helped his case.
In summation, I enjoyed this book immensely. It brought new ideas forward that got me thinking about recent world events in a new light. It challenges the reader to rethink current strategy and how the world can best counter the threats being posed to it from increasingly powerful non-state actors.
OK, but not great.......2007-07-18
Robb's done some excellent analysis on his blog, which I am a frequent visitor. I looked forward to this book in which expands on many of the points previous hit upon in the blog.
He did a good job of describing some of the tactical changes in warfare and how small loosely linked groups are all working towards a common outcome; that of creating an on-going state of chaos which eventually weakens and undermines the state. While his prose is good in this regard, he did not make the case that this is some type of 'Brave New War'. Rather it smells like typical guerrilla warfare with better tools (telecommunications).
Ultimately, it is on this point that the book loses its energy. After putting forth a framework for open source insurgency, Robb takes scenario after scenario and forces his explanation into this narrow framework. In several cases it is apparent he is fitting square pegs into round holes. The book loses some credibility in these cases.
I liked it though, and found it well worth the money. However, Brave New War does not go into the category of grand strategic thinking. Rather, it is a solid look at some of the emerging tactics of what others have called World War IV.
.
Great Read - Highly Recommend........2007-07-16
John Robb presents us with an excellent synthesis of future security trends in a highly readable book. When I finished I felt compelled to wrestle with the ideas myself. I wanted to read more, jot down ideas and engage in the conversation. To me, that is what a great book can do.
Readers of John Robb's Global Guerrillas blog will recognize many of the themes that here he weaves into a more thoughtful and polished presentation. I would have liked to have seen more of his thinking on what structures will emerge on the 'blue force' side in reaction to the rise of the global guerrilla. However, the picture of the trends he presents is an excellent start.
Some claim Robb's vision is dark. His ideas are absolutely unflinching and in an era where change is accelerating an unflinching look is what we need. If you follow current security trends Robb's work is invaluable to gaining perspective on where things are headed. I recommend the book.
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Transnational Threats: Smuggling and Trafficking in Arms, Drugs, and Human Life
Manufacturer: Praeger Security International General Interest-Cloth
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Book Description
This collection of essays demonstrates how the security of Americans is potentially threatened by individuals and governments engaged in the illicit trade in arms, drugs, and human beings in distant parts of the globe. More than just a threat to Americans, the essays underscore that these activities are often detrimental to U.S. interests around the world due to the destabilizing impact that each activity can have on a nation or region. More revealing is how terrorists benefit from this illegal trade, generating critical sources of funding used for everything from recruiting to procurement of weapons and explosives of all types to extend and expand the scope of their struggle. The scope of this work is truly global. Fourteen essays touch on prevailing problems from the Balkans to Southeast Asia and the Pacific; from Africa to the Caribbean, and more. In each essay, the authors explore a problem that not only has direct regional repercussions, but larger international ones as well. The essays present problems that result from these illegal activities as a global epidemic, not simply regionalized problems.
Book Description
When is a crime not a crime? Is espionage "spying" when national security is at stake? Do governments participate in arms trafficking when supplying revolutionaries the means to overthrow a despot? In a departure from past research, Martin and Romano explore multinational crime from a criminological perspective. Proceeding from an interactionist as well as a socio-cultural conflict theory, the authors argue that multinational crime is not random violence. Instead, they contend that these offenses are organized and systematic, cutting across national boundaries by involving a minimum of two countries. The starting block for more rigorous study of multinational systemic crime, this unusual volume emphasizes the value of studying organizations involved in these crimes, as well as the regional and global settings in which they operate. Chapter 1 relates multinational crime to the other major forms of crime studied by criminology and criminal justice. The following two chapters describe four types of multinational crime--drug trafficking, terrorism, espionage, and arms trafficking. Chapter 4 reviews the interrelationship of such crimes to the international scene; the role of values, interests, and power; and the part of "national security" interests in limiting information access. The authors then identify several problems in theory construction and policy development. The last chapter includes a description of three significant global regions: the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Andean region of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Multinational Crime responds to a world paralyzed, held hostage by the perpetration of these horrific offenses. Professionals and students in the areas of criminology, political science, sociology, foreign policy, international relations, foreign affairs, and policy studies are sure to find this volume intense and vital reading. "For those interested in a compact, well-written treatise on the subjects of terrorism, espionage, and drugs and arms trafficking and their interrelationships, this book will prove invaluable. . . .Starting from issues related to definitional and perspective problems, the authors set forth a paradigm that challenges many of the accepted approaches to studying multinational criminal activity. . . .Of particular interest is the expanding role played by governments, and the point at which their actions become criminal, as when they compound criminality by overlooking one criminal act in order to stop another crime. . . .This book should draw the attention of both practitioners and scholars, as well as policy-makers, for the authors raise a number of compelling arguments for a new approach to a better understanding of the threat of multinational crime." --Criminal Justice International "I congratulate you both [John M. Martin and Anne T. Romano] on an invaluable contribution to the study of multinational crime, and the conceptual views you express in its pages--which I fully support. These views are having a profound effect on the shaping of our operational policy." --Colonel A. D. Couperin, International Data Evaluation Program
Customer Reviews:
Academia Abducted by Flying Sources.......2005-05-10
Asia Times
May 10, 2005
Academia Abducted by Flying Sources
Terrorism and Violence in Southeast Asia, Transnational Challenges
to States and Regional Stability edited by Paul J Smith
Reviewed by Allen Quicke
The threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia is dire, we are frequently assured,
and as the title of this book implies. Various al-Qaeda-franchised terrorist
groups in the region are helping al-Qaeda wage global jihad, as well as
working together to create a caliphate that will stretch across Southeast Asia from
the Philippines to southern Thailand.
So we should be mightily relieved that the region's two terrorist kingpins
are now behind bars. First Hambali (real name, Riduan Isamuddin) was caught in
Thailand in August 2003. Hambali was a kingpin all right. He was al-Qaeda's
go-between among the region's terrorist groups. He masterminded the Bali bombing
and is linked to just about every other terrorist incident in Southeast Asia.
His last plot, foiled by his capture, according to one of the contributors to
this book [p 114], was to bomb the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in
Bangkok.
Then Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (or Bashir, in this book's style), "spiritual leader"
of the biggest and scariest of the Southeast Asian terrorist outfits, Jemaah
Islamiya (JI), after much pussyfooting by the weak-willed Indonesian
government and pressure from the United States, was finally tried and jailed in March.
We slept easier, though with a few nagging doubts. Ba'asyir received only 30
months in jail (see Indonesia's trial by terror, March 12). The sentence was
light, the judges said, because "the case against him was weak". Weak? How
could it be weak? This is the man variously accused of being (like Hambali) the
mastermind of the Bali bombings, or the mentor of those who did the deed that
killed 202 people, mostly Australians, and of being (somehow) behind countless
other acts of terrorism in Indonesia. And the Americans had Hambali, Ba'asyir's
link to al-Qaeda, under interrogation for a year and a half before Ba'asyir's
trial.
The US was extremely displeased by the lightness of the sentence. The only
problem was, Washington had refused to produce Hambali, who would have been the
smoking gun in the case against Ba'asyir. So who is this Hambali, we wondered
as our sleep became disturbed again. Why won't the Americans produce this
prize catch? Is he what they claim he is? Does he really exist? How real is this
"terrorist threat"? The newspapers aren't answering these questions - they
aren't even asking them. All they are doing is assuring us there is a dire threat.
Could it be their case is as weak as the one against Ba'asyir?
To ease our troubled minds, we turn to this book. Here are 12 distinguished
academics and experts, each with their own chapter, assessing the terrorist
threat to the region. Here, we think, we will be sure to find the evidence and
the answers to our questions: these people, after all, have made a career out of
studying the issue.
It's hard evidence we are looking for, so we go straight to the copious notes
at the end of each chapter: we want to go to the sources. The first thing we
notice is that the study of terrorism in Southeast Asia has become a veritable
industry. There are chairs, departments, faculties, entire organizations
devoted to the subject. There is an untold number of academic papers, studies,
government white papers, and reports by law enforcement agencies. Well, we'll
leave the governments' and interrogators' reports aside for the moment - we're
not sure we trust them. Still, we're encouraged. It looks like we're about to
learn everything we ever wanted to know about terrorism in Southeast Asia.
Then a niggling disappointment. The various writers frequently cite each
other as sources. Professor Carlyle A Thayer cites Peter Chalk who cites Professor
Zachary Abuza; all are contributors to this book. Are we about to go around
in circles, we wonder? And just about all the contributors cite Rohan
Gunaratna. Well, that's not surprising: Gunaratna is the dean of al-Qaeda studies; he's
the authority cited by everyone from Asia Times Online to the mainstream
media to academics; he is the MOTHERLODE! And of course he has his chapter in this
book, so we turn to him first, but not before we notice that an awful lot of
newspapers and magazines are also cited as sources, and we remind ourselves
that they are part of our problem, not the solution.
Gunaratna's chapter is titled "Understanding al-Qaeda and its Network in
Southeast Asia". His contention is that with the loss of Afghanistan and the
pressures on it in Pakistan, al-Qaeda has been forced to decentralize, though its
strategic, tactical and ideological direction "is still intact" (source cited:
Gunaratna). "By decentralizing ... al-Qaeda has successfully networked with
disparate groups and in some cases co-opted their leaders. This was particularly
the case in Southeast Asia" (no source cited). And threat there is indeed:
apart from "suicide terrorism coupled with conventional attacks ... the group is
also considering revisiting the maritime and the chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) scenarios ..." (no source cited). And if that were
not enough, "some existing and emerging groups will seek to match it
[al-Qaeda] or even exceed it ...".
Turning to Jemaah Islamiya, Gunaratna tells us that "al-Qaeda has penetrated
[JI]" and the two groups "have divided their responsibilities, personnel,
infrastructure, and areas of operation into territorial organizations called
mantiqis". But he does not tell us where he gets this information. We're expected
to take his word for it. (Elsewhere in this book Peter Chalk mentions the same
information and at least lets us know it's from a Singapore government white
paper: the thought occurs that perhaps Gunaratna had a hand in writing that
white paper, but we won't follow that up just now; we've had enough of vicious
circles). Then the caliphate predictably rears its ugly head: "In addition to
emphasizing the importance of participating in a global jihad, it [al-Qaeda]
created a mission and a vision for the Islamists to build a caliphate ...
comprising Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Mindanao" (no source
cited).
Gunaratna reveals some damning evidence against Abu Bakar Ba'asyir: "Recent
recoveries from Afghanistan include documents with extensive references to
al-Qaeda's [!] spiritual leader in Southeast Asia, Abu Bakar Bashir, Hambali, and
other directing figures of the al-Qaeda network in the region." Strange that
the judges at Ba'asyir's trial seems not to have made much of this timely
"recovery". Come to think of it, why was Gunaratna himself not called as a witness?
He could well and truly have nailed Ba'asyir.
Disheartened, we get to the notes at the end of Gunaratna's chapter. Compared
to the other chapters, there are very few notes, and only two main sources
are cited: one is the illustrious author of Inside al-Qaeda, Gunaratna himself;
the other is "Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, debriefing, Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), US Department of Justice, August 6, 2002" (Ibid, ibid, ibid).
Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, a Kuwaiti-born Canadian and JI member, was captured
in Oman in March 2002. He is alleged to have been one of the key planners in
a major plot uncovered in Singapore that was to involve coordinated bombing of
US warships at the Changi Naval Base, the Ministry of Defense, a shuttle bus,
the British and American high commissions, the US and Israeli embassies, and
American business premises. During his euphemistically termed "debriefing", he
apparently sang loud and clear to his FBI interrogators, and Gunaratna was
allowed access to the transcripts of the interrogation.
So there we have it. This is as close to a real source as we are going to
get.
It's time to take stock. We have a book written by various authorities in the
field, most of whom cite Rohan Gunaratna; Gunaratna cites as his source
interrogation transcripts that the US government has allowed him to see. So it
would seem, judging by this book at least, that these warnings of dire threats to
Southeast Asia from al-Qaeda-linked international terrorism are based on
sources of information that turn out to be the US government and its allies
themselves. And that's a knockout blow. We already know what the governments want us
to think. We are trying to find out the truth.
The threat is taken as a given by the writers of this book, and on this
unquestioned assumption towering academic edifices are built. Time after time, the
familiar claims about Ba'asyir, Hambali and al-Qaeda's involvement in the
region are trotted out as if it were all blindingly self-evident. The trouble is,
the ultimate source of the information is Washington. The rest is a vicious
circle, with academics and experts writing books like this one, and the media
swallowing everything whole and citing the academics who cite the media and each
other.
The rubble and bodies on Bali spoke for themselves, but that was almost three
years ago. Not a lot happened before or since then - apart from the foiling
of many alleged plots. Could it be that international, Islamist terrorism has
been stamped out in Southeast Asia by its super-efficient governments, courts,
intelligence agencies and law enforcers, with help, of course, from
Washington? We doubt it, but nor do we think the threat is as dire as we are being told.
Various governments and agencies have a clear vested interest in such a
threat being seen to exist. They have been abetted in this by the mainstream
Western media, which have been wearing dunce's caps since September 11, 2001. The
PhDs should go and join them in the corner.
Book Description
"As the media has zeroed in on the individual victims, heroes, and perpetrators of 9/11, followed the fighting in Afghanistan, and chronicled the 'war against terrorism' at home, there has been a crying need for a short, sober book like this one . . . [to] provide a broader context. It shows that 9/11 was not unexpected, if unpredicted."
—J. Garry Clifford, Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut
The nature and goals of terrorist organizations have changed profoundly since the Cold War standoff among the U.S., Soviet, and Chinese superpowers gave way to the current "polyplex" global system, in which the old rules of international engagement have been shattered by a new struggle for power among established states, non-state actors, and emerging nations. In this confusing state of global disorder, terrorist organizations that are privately funded and highly flexible have become capable of carrying out incredibly destructive attacks anywhere in the world in support of a wide array of political, religious, and ethnic causes.
This groundbreaking book examines the evolution of terrorism in the context of the new global disorder. Richard M. Pearlstein categorizes three generations of terrorist organizations and shows how each arose in response to the global conditions of its time. Focusing extensively on today's transnational (i.e., privately funded and internationally operating) terrorist organizations, he devotes thorough attention to the two most virulent types: ethnoterrorism and radical Islamic terrorism. He also discusses the terrorist race for weapons of mass destruction and the types of attacks, including cyberterrorism, that are likely to occur in coming years. Pearlstein concludes with a thought-provoking assessment of the many efforts to combat transnational terrorism in the post-September 11 period.
Customer Reviews:
Balancing Fact and Theory .......2004-11-23
Richard Pearlstein's book makes the concepts of the "transnationality" of terrorism, and the "gray areas" of the "New World Disorder" in which non-state groups operate and thrive, accessible to a non-specialist readership and gives them a coherent overview of contemporary terrorism and other forms of political violence. Pearlstein's book strikes a balance between providing an overall theoretical structure with providing factual content about groups, events, and specific problem areas, such as weapons of mass destruction and terrorism directed at international businesses. His writing is clear and readable. It is informative and helpful not only as a textbook for undergraduate students but also for more literate members of the general public. A book like this has been long overdue!
Average customer rating:
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Global Financial Crime: Terrorism, Money Laundering, and Off Shore Centres (Global Finance Series.)
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
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Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
In declaring the war against terrorism President George W. Bush also declared war on the financing of terrorism. The call to arms has been complemented by a concerted effort world-wide to track down and freeze the assets of suspected terrorists and financial institutions have risen to these challenges over the last year contributing their expertise gathered mostly through techniques to combat money laundering. In this book bankers, regulators and academics pose a variety of questions from their individual perspectives: To what extent are new laws really new? What can financial institutions realistically contribute to the suppression of terrorist financing? Can individual rights be protected in these circumstances? These questions are analysed by experts who come up with some thought provoking answers.
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- The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
- The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else
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