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Against
All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror
by Richard A. Clarke
Few political memoirs have made such a dramatic entrance as
that by Richard A. Clarke. During the week of the initial publication
of Against All Enemies, Clarke was featured on 60 Minutes, testified
before the 9/11 commission, and touched off a raging controversy
over how the presidential administration handled the threat
of terrorism and the post-9/11 geopolitical landscape. Clarke,
a veteran Washington insider who had advised presidents Reagan,
George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush, dissects each
man's approach to terrorism but levels the harshest criticism
at the latter Bush and his advisors who, Clarke asserts, failed
to take terrorism and Al-Qaeda seriously. |
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Ghost
Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden,
from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
by Steve Coll
Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan,
and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution
of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the years before the September
11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again,
off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet
war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and
intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban.
He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing
field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani, and
U.S. agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions.
At the same time, the book, though opinionated, is not solely
a critique of the agency. Coll balances accounts of CIA failures
with the success stories, like the capture of Mir Amal Kasi.
Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan
from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records
of White House meetings and to formerly classified material,
and his command of Saudi, Pakistani, and Afghani politics is
impressive. |
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Inside
9-11: What Really Happened
by Der Spiegel Magazine
The editors of Der Spiegel magazine have put together a comprehensive
account of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The book is divided
into several sections, including a chronology of the events
of September 11 and background on the terrorists especially
the years they spent in Hamburg, Germany. This well-researched
effort is a chilling yet compelling study of the terrorists,
their victims, and the loved ones left behind. The appendixes
provide much reference material, including excerpts from the
terrorists' manual, a list of the known terrorists, timetables
for each of the hijacked planes, Mohamed Atta's will, and a
transcript of part of the infamous Osama bin Laden videotape.
Even with the large number of contributors, the quality of writing
and editing is consistently high throughout. |
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The Terrorist's Achilles Heel:
An Alternative Blow to Terrorism
By Sigmund Aas
Its been three years since the gruesome terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington D.C., and even more since the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya
and Tanzania in 1998. Some experts claim Al Qaeda is now stronger than ever -
others say it has been weakened by the Afghanistan and Iraq campaign. However,
they all agree that Al Qaeda exists and pose serious mortal threat. Taking into
consideration that this organisation has been able to withstand a war from a
super power and its allies, including their fighting capabilities ranging from
military might, economic coercion and considerable diplomatic weight, perhaps it
is time to consider a shift in strategy?
The public's demand for the use of brute force against the terrorists behind the
September 11th attacks is easy to comprehend. The immediate feelings of shock,
infamy, anger and sorrow were soon released by a blossoming wave of patriotism
and national solidarity, and perhaps most importantly, the quest for retribution.
Americans wanted to hit them as hard as they had been hit, in a full scale open
war. However, I do firmly believe it is possible to combine the fight against
terrorism using military might with a different kind of campaign: A social war
against terrorism. And here is the fine point of it:
In order to win the war against terrorism, one must understand it - its motives,
foundations and organisations. One must understand the basis on which Al Qaeda
is dependent - the Arab community and the Muslim world. There are over one
billion Muslims in the world, in which less than 1% take up arms to attack the
west in the name of religion. Most of them are not willing to fight, and
probably does not want to fight. It is extremely vital to make the distinction
between a radical terrorist and a moderate, average Muslim. One is the enemy -
trained, deadly, and a legitimate target of war. The other is a potential friend
or foe depending on how you play your cards.
Al Qaeda is highly dependent on the Muslim world to be able to operate. It
receives its funding from private donations and businesses in the middle east,
new terrorists trainees are recruited from the masses, and Al Qaeda operatives
hides among the civilian population. So what drives young Muslims to take the
step from being moderate Muslims to be Al Qaeda operatives? What motivates them?
Like any other national and ethnic group, Arabs feel a certain unity and shared
feeling of identity, despite being spread across several countries and facing
severe challenges in co-operation. When an Arab country is invaded however, some
might feel that as an attack by the west upon the Arabs, regardless of the west'
actual motives. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, and the
attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, the US military experienced a wave
of eager, patriotic volunteers. The attacks were seen as serious attacks by an
outsider on the American community and nation. If patriotism had been a
motivation before, it certainly didn't become any less of a motivating force now.
This same effect can be seen in the middle east. For as much as Franklin D.
Roosevelt wanted to join world war II, he needed support from his population, -
the average man in the street - like Bin Laden needs the support of the moderate
Muslims to wage his war on the US. The invasion of Iraq, and the campaign in
Afghanistan has infuriated young Muslims to fight against what they see as
aggression by the west. Consequently, the war in Iraq may have removed a
terrorist ally, but it made recruitment easier for Al Qaeda. For Al Qaeda knows
very well how to take advantage of these waves of new volunteers. Much of their
recruiting takes place in Pakistan, the neighbouring country to Afghanistan.
Religious schools in Pakistan - Madrasses - teaches youth the Quaran by heart
from an early age - but also intolerance and hatred towards the west. It is
taught that America is the great Satan. After their graduation from these
schools, many of the young Muslims cross the border into Afghanistan and go to
Al Qaeda or Taliban service.
When America's business in Iraq and Afghanistan almost exclusively included the
use of brute military force - it underlined and gave credit to what the
madrasses teach - that USA is a brutal and ruthless enemy which targets all
Muslims. And here we are at the heart of the theory. Instead of merely battling
the extremists, the radicals and the terrorists with military force, why not
take away their ability to recruit new members? Why not go into Pakistan and
show a good side of America, the personal freedom, tolerance and liberty that
America is originally about. Why not build schools there, help the citizens get
access to clean water, and spread good-will? That will signal to the area that
Americans are not at all quite different from them, and that they are certainly
not the Satan the madrasses teach them they are.
This strategy has an nearly infinite number of positive consequences. 1) Al
Qaeda will lose its foundation for recruiting new members, 2) Al Qaeda will lose
the support of the local population which enables it to hide, along with its
funding 3) we will improve the living standard of the Pakistanis and Afghans in
the area, 4) we will avoid a lengthy, costly, and bloody war because this
strategy will have good long-term effects, and 5) this approach will most likely
be cheaper than a lengthy military campaign. This is a long term psychological
strategy - it will not make the west safe of terrorism immediately. Thus, it
needs to be combined with the security measures already in place.
The long term effects of this strategy would be a population in the Pakistan and
Afghanistan area with a much more favourable opinion of the US and the west, --
a population which will turn against the terrorists among them and turn them in.
A population which will no longer regard the west as its enemy, but rather as a
friend. We would truly strike terrorism at the Achilles heel.
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Articles
of Interest
Bush and the Assassination
of JFK by Paul Kangas
ANNALS
OF DEMOCRACY : COUNTING VOTES by Ronnie Dugger (Nov
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Computerized
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Burnham,
The New York Times (July
29, 1985) plus emphasis, links and comments
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Sigmund Aas
The
Terrorist's Achilles Heel: An Alternative Blow to Terrorism
(June 24, 2004)
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