The Third Option

Miles McPherson, founder of The Rock Church in San Diego, presents “a discussion about race that we desperately need...a must read” (Bishop T.D. Jakes, Senior Pastor, The Potter’s House) and argues that we must learn to see people not by the color of their skin, but as God sees them—humans created in the image of God. Pastor Miles McPherson, senior pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, addresses racial division, a topic many have shied away from, for fear of asking the wrong question or saying the wrong thing. Some are oblivious to the impact racism has, while others pretend it doesn’t exist. Even the church has been affected by racial division, with Sunday now being the most segregated day of each week. Christians, who are called to love and honor their neighbors, have fallen into culture’s trap by siding with one group against another: us vs. them. Cops vs. protestors. Blacks vs. whites. Racists vs. the “woke.” The lure of choosing one option over another threatens God’s plan for unity among His people. Instead of going along with the culture, Pastor Miles directs us to choose the Third Option: honoring the priceless value of God’s image in every person we meet. He exposes common misconceptions that keep people from engaging with those of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and identifies the privileges and pitfalls that we all face. The Third Option challenges us to fully embrace God’s creativity and beauty, as expressed in the diversity of His people. By following the steps and praying the prayers outlined in his book, Pastor Miles teaches us how we can all become leaders in unifying our communities, our churches, and the nation.

Year by year, nation by nation, the United States has relinquished its ability to control events throughout the world. This abdication of global responsibility has created vast power vacuums. The challenge is unmistakably clear: do we control our own destiny and survival, or do others -- others who mean us no good. Our options in dealing with this dilemma are painfully few. At one end there is negotiation and diplomacy; at the other lies the unthinkable--war. Now Theodore Shackley opens up for thoughtful readers another way, a more flexible use of power--the Third Option. In this, one of the most important books of the coming decade, an outstanding intelligence officer and expert on counterinsurgency offers a long-range strategy for America. In broad strokes he pictures the challenge that faces us in the eighties; then he presents a detailed examination of how counterinsurgency can work to protect our interests in a volatile and rapidly changing world. He discusses the phases of insurgency: the cadre phase, using the El Salvador as a case study; the operational phase, using and the covert war phase, using Angola as a case study. Each of these case studies, a valuable lesson in how intelligence services actually operate, reveals how Soviet-backed insurgencies threaten the security of the free world. The challenges and dangers we face require us to view our national security in terms of the interrelationship of political, economic and military factors--if we intend to remain a great power. The message of this book is that we cannot limit our national security to a strictly military or diplomatic alternative. To achieve our foreign policy objectives and to help friendly nations resist subversion we must turn to the Third Option.

Introduction: The subterranean world of clandestine interventions -- The forms of covert action -- A ladder of clandestine escalation -- A shadowy foreign policy, 1947-1960 -- Murder most foul, 1960-1975 -- A new approach to covert action, 1975-2000 -- The third option in an age of terror, 2000-2020 -- Legal foundations -- Decision paths and accountability -- Drawing bright lines : ethics and covert action -- The third option reconsidered.

When Allan Chappel applies for a job at Inc.Ubator, a medical think tank, and is drawn into an international manhunt, he uncovers new innovations that provide more options for childbirth, threatening everything pro-life politicians stand for.

Between the traditional forty-plus-hour workweek and unemployment lies opportunity. If a rigid, corporate environment is consuming your life, but leaving the workforce is unrealistic, you have a third option! You can offer your skills and talents to companies on your own part-time schedule and create the work/life balance that's best for you. In The Third Option, Shannon Miles shares how she took a leap of faith to create a flexible career that gives meaning to both her work and her family, and she shows how you too can accomplish the same. Whether you want to be a contractor or freelancer-or change an existing position into a job that meets your needs as well as the company's-you can work part-time virtually at home or a few days a week on site and still make a living. More importantly, you can live and work on your own terms.

Outlines a breakthrough approach to conflict resolution and creative problem solving that draws on the techniques of thinkers from a broad range of disciplines to explain how to incorporate diverse viewpoints for win-win solutions.

The Third Choice provides a compelling introduction to Islam on the basis of its primary sources, the Quran and the life of Muhammad. Topics covered include the sharia; interpretation of the Quran; abrogation; women's rights (including female genital mutilation); lawful deception (taqiyya); Muhammad's responses to opposition; Islamic antisemitism; religious freedom; and prospects for reforming Islam. After this critical introduction of Islam, there follows an explanation and critique of Islam's policy for non-Muslims living under Islamic conditions. The doctrine of the three choices (conversion, the sword, or the dhimma pact of surrender to Islam) is explained, including an analysis of the meaning of tribute payments (jizya) made by non-Muslims (dhimmis) to their Muslim conquerors. Durie describes the impact of dhimmitude on the human rights of non-Muslims in Islamic contexts around the world today, in the light of global Islamic resurgence and advancing Islamization, including pressure being exerted through the United Nations for states to conform to sharia restrictions on freedom of speech. The worldview of dhimmitude, Durie argues, offers indispensable keys for understanding current trends in global politics, including the widening impact of sharia revival, deterioration of human rights in Islamic societies, jihad terrorism, recurring patterns of Western appeasement, interfaith dialogue initiatives, and the increasingly fraught relationship between migrant Muslim communities in the West and their host societies.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn introduces the young Mitch Ra pp on his first assignment, a mission of vengeance that made him a CIA superagent.Two decades after the Cold War, Islamic terrorism is on the rise, and CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield forms a new group of clandestine operatives—men who do not exist—to meet this burgeoning threat abroad before it reaches America’s shores. Stansfield’s protégée, Irene Kennedy, finds the ideal candidate in the wake of the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. Among the thousands grieving the victims is Mitch Rapp, a gifted college athlete, who wants only one thing: retribution. Six months of intense training prepare him to devastate the enemy with brutal efficiency, leaving a trail of bodies from Istanbul and across Europe, to Beirut. But there, the American assassin will need every ounce of skill and cunning to survive the war-ravaged city and its deadly terrorist factions.

On a busy Washington morning, amid the shuffle of tourists and the brisk rush of government officials, the stately calm of the White House is shattered in a hail of gunfire. A group of terrorists has descended on the Executive Mansion, and gained access by means of a violent massacre that has left dozens of innocent bystanders murdered. The president is evacuated to his underground bunker - but not before almost one hundred hostages are taken. While the politicians and the military leaders argue over how to negotiate with the terrorists, one man is sent to break through the barrage of panicked responses and political agendas surrounding the crisis. Mitch Rapp, the CIA's top counterterrorism agent, makes his way into the White House and soon discovers that the president is not as safe as Washington's power elite had thought. And, in a race against time, he makes a chilling discovery that could determine the fate of America - and realizes that the terrorist attack is only the beginning of a master scheme to undermine an entire nation. Look out for the new Vince Flynn novel, The Survivor, published in autumn 2015!

With a new CIA director and chaos and devastation looming in the Middle East, counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp is called into action.