A New Understanding of Terrorism: Case Studies, Trajectories and Lessons LearnedM.R. Haberfeld, Agostino Hassell Terrorism is a complex phenomenon that cannot be understood through reading of a number of unrelated academic articles or a dry overview of the history of terrorism or the investigative techniques. For A New Understanding of Terrorism, the Editors have chosen a different paradigm. They have selected numerous case studies from actual events that illustrate various typologies of terrorist actions, be it from a separatist, nationalist, lone-wolf individual terrorist, religious fanatics or environmentalist orientation, and they present these cases within the context of following the trajectories of the terrorist activity, the terrorist act itself and, the response to the event from the relevant authorities. Some chapters concentrate on terrorist attacks that actually took place, others speculate about the possibilities of an attack occurring sometime in the future, such as the chapters on the Olympic Games, Aviation or Rail Security. When possibilities rather than a specific event are discussed, the authors of these chapters draw the attention of the reader towards the same direction—the reasoning, the actual event and the response that followed. The thorough analysis of the presented case studies and the applied counter-measures will, hopefully, if not curtail then possibly at least mitigate the operational and ideological strength of terrorist groups or individual actors. A New Understanding of Terrorism will enable the reader to make the connection between the emotional charge inherent in any terrorist activity, the cold-blooded tactics that lead to the terrorist event itself and the pragmatic and very straightforward, but at the same time very simplistically designed, strategic response that has to come from a synergy between academics, military and law enforcement brainstorming design in order to be more effective in the future. ABOUT THE EDITORS: Agostino von Hassell is the president of The Repton Group LLC, a New York City based consulting group that deals mostly with national security issues. He has written numerous political and historical articles and is the author of two major military histories, Warriors: The United States Marine Corps and Strike Force: Marine Corps Special Operations. In 2003, he published a pictorial portrait of the United States—In Honor of America. He has taught as an adjunct professor in the graduate program of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, teaching members of the New York City Police Department in subjects such as counter-terrorism and leadership. He is a life member of the United States Marine Corps Combat Correspondents, the National Defense Industry Association, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and the Authors’ Guild. |
Contents
1 | |
8 | |
9 | |
References | 22 |
A Review of the Response by Law Enforcement | 23 |
References | 36 |
Theodore Kaczynskiand Timothy McVeigh | 37 |
References | 55 |
References | 203 |
Olympic Security from a CounterTerrorist Perspective | 205 |
References | 217 |
The Aum Shinrikyo Case | 219 |
References | 230 |
13 2005 London Bombings | 233 |
References | 246 |
Russian CounterTerrorism Response to Beslan | 249 |
Biological Terrorism in the United States | 58 |
References | 83 |
Law Enforcement and EcoSabotage | 87 |
References | 97 |
7 September 11 Terrorist Attacks Against the United States and the Law Enforcement Response | 99 |
References | 138 |
8 Aviation Security in the Face of Tragedy | 143 |
References | 158 |
Case Studies in Terrorism | 159 |
References | 184 |
10 Rail Transport Security | 189 |
References | 269 |
Have We Learned This Lesson? | 271 |
References | 282 |
Khobar Towers and the Ambiguities of Terrorism in the 1990s | 283 |
References | 304 |
A Conventional Terrorist Attack Aided by Modern Technology | 308 |
References | 338 |
18 Conclusions A New Understanding of CounterTerroristism Response | 341 |
References | 349 |
351 | |