Inside Terrorism
Bruce Hoffman
Language: English
Pages: 456
ISBN: 0231126999
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Bruce Hoffman's Inside Terrorism has remained a seminal work for understanding the historical evolution of terrorism and the terrorist mindset. In this revised edition of the classic text, Hoffman analyzes the new adversaries, motivations, and tactics of global terrorism that have emerged in recent years, focusing specifically on how al Qaeda has changed since 9/11; the reasons behind its resiliency, resonance, and longevity; and its successful use of the Internet and videotapes to build public support and gain new recruits. Hoffman broadens the discussion by evaluating the potential repercussions of the Iraqi insurgency, the use of suicide bombers, terrorist exploitation of new communications media, and the likelihood of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear terrorist strike.
Closer to home, Hoffman reconsiders the Timothy McVeigh case and the threats posed by American Christian white supremacists and abortion opponents as well as those posed by militant environmentalists and animal rights activists. He argues that the attacks on the World Trade Center fundamentally transformed the West's view of the terrorist threat. More relevant and necessary than ever, Inside Terrorism continues to be the definitive work on the history and future of global terrorism.
My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me
Political Violence: Belief, Behavior, and Legitimation
Icons of War and Terror: Media Images in an Age of International Risk (Media, War and Security)
A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love
Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command
Jamieson, Alison. The Heart Attacked: Terrorism and Conflict in the Italian State. London: Marion Boyars, 1989. ——. Terrorism. Hove, East Sussex: Wayland, 1991. Janke, Peter. Guerrilla and Terrorist Organisations: A World Directory and Bibliography . New York: Macmillan, 1983. Janofsky, Michael. “For Aryan Congress Stridency and Scrutiny.” New York Times, July 23, 1995. ——. “One Man’s Journey from Academia to Extremism.” New York Times, July 5, 1995. Jarbawi, Ali and Roger Heacock. “The
United States and Canada met at the Aryan Nations headquarters in Idaho in 1983 to plot the forcible overthrow of the federal government and the creation of a separate Aryan nation within the United States. The indictment stated that they planned to “carry out assassinations of federal officials, politicians and Jews, as well as bombings and polluting of municipal water supplies [emphasis added].”116 Any doubts of their seriousness of purpose were dispelled when police and federal agents raided a
element in the group’s collective beliefs was that “not one drop of superfluous blood” should be shed in pursuit of aims, however noble or utilitarian they might be.11 Even having selected their targets with great care and the utmost deliberation, group members still harbored profound regrets about taking the life of a fellow human being. Their unswerving adherence to this principle is perhaps best illustrated by the failed attempt on the life of Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich made by a successor
managed to kill Hamas’s master bomb maker, Yahya Ayyash. Ayyash, whose expertise had earned him the sobriquet “the Engineer” (bestowed by no less a personage than Israeli prime minister Rabin), is credited with having first proposed that Hamas engage in suicide bombing.123 He also reputedly built the bombs that were used in the 1994 Afula and Hadera attacks. Altogether, he was believed to have been responsible for the deaths of 130 Israelis and injuries to nearly 500 others.124 Rather than ending
9/11 in the New Yorker, Nasra Hassan observed that none of the 250 or so suicide bombers and their handlers that she interviewed conformed to the typical suicidal personality. “None of them were uneducated, desperately poor, simple-minded, or depressed. Many were middle class and, unless they were fugitives, held paying jobs.” They included, in fact, the sons of two millionaires.201 Suicide tactics have been adopted by a growing number of terrorist organizations around the world because they are
