The Terrorist Legacy

Why al Qaeda is winning its war against the West—and America has been playing right into its hands In the decade since 9/11, the United States has grown weaker: It has been bogged down by costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has spent billions of dollars on security to protect air travel and other transport, as well as the homeland more generally. Much of this money has been channeled into efforts that are inefficient by design and highly bureaucratic, a lack of coordination between and among the government and an array of contractors making it difficult to evaluate the return on the enormous investment that we have made in national security. Meanwhile, public morale has been sapped by measures ranging from color-coded terror alerts to full-body hand searches. Now counterterrorism expert Daveed Gartenstein-Ross details the strategic missteps the U.S. has made in the fight against al Qaeda, a group that U.S. planners never really took the time to understand. For this reason, America's responses to the terrorist threat have often unwittingly helped al Qaeda achieve its goals. Gartenstein-Ross's book explains what the country must do now to stem the bleeding. Explains in detail al Qaeda's strategy to sap and undermine the American economy, and shows how the United States played into the terrorist group's hands by expanding the battlefield and setting up an expensive homeland security bureaucracy that has difficulty dealing with a nimble, adaptive foe Outlines how al Qaeda's economic plans have evolved toward an ultimate "strategy of a thousand cuts," which involves smaller yet more frequent attacks against Western societies Shows how the domestic politicization of terrorism has weakened the United States, skewing its priorities and causing it to misallocate counterterrorism resources Offers a practical plan for building domestic resiliency against terrorist attacks, and escaping the mistakes that have undermined America's war against its jihadist foes Clearly written and powerfully argued by a prominent counterterrorism expert, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what al Qaeda is really after and how the United States can thwart its goals—or help unwittingly to achieve them.

Why al Qaeda is winning its war against the West—and America has been playing right into its hands In the decade since 9/11, the United States has grown weaker: It has been bogged down by costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has spent billions of dollars on security to protect air travel and other transport, as well as the homeland more generally. Much of this money has been channeled into efforts that are inefficient by design and highly bureaucratic, a lack of coordination between and among the government and an array of contractors making it difficult to evaluate the return on the enormous investment that we have made in national security. Meanwhile, public morale has been sapped by measures ranging from color-coded terror alerts to full-body hand searches. Now counterterrorism expert Daveed Gartenstein-Ross details the strategic missteps the U.S. has made in the fight against al Qaeda, a group that U.S. planners never really took the time to understand. For this reason, America's responses to the terrorist threat have often unwittingly helped al Qaeda achieve its goals. Gartenstein-Ross's book explains what the country must do now to stem the bleeding. Explains in detail al Qaeda's strategy to sap and undermine the American economy, and shows how the United States played into the terrorist group's hands by expanding the battlefield and setting up an expensive homeland security bureaucracy that has difficulty dealing with a nimble, adaptive foe Outlines how al Qaeda's economic plans have evolved toward an ultimate "strategy of a thousand cuts," which involves smaller yet more frequent attacks against Western societies Shows how the domestic politicization of terrorism has weakened the United States, skewing its priorities and causing it to misallocate counterterrorism resources Offers a practical plan for building domestic resiliency against terrorist attacks, and escaping the mistakes that have undermined America's war against its jihadist foes Clearly written and powerfully argued by a prominent counterterrorism expert.

A decade after 9/11, it is increasingly difficult to deny that terror has prevailed - not as a specific enemy, but as a way of life. This book examines the social, cultural, and political drivers of the war on terror through the framework of a 'political moral panic'.

The Terrorist Legacy Sam Ellington set goals to rescue children from refugee camps in Africa and return them to countries of their origins as teachers with a message of peace. The agenda of a new generation of religious fanatics, who use suicide as the ultimate weapon, and those who are forced to defend against it forms the story line. The Mediterranean was off limits to an armed, mega yacht with classified nuclear capabilities. However, when George and Kathryn team with Sam Ellington and Greg Simeon, an Israeli arms dealer, to build a campus in Ashdod, Israel, the Diversion is the preferred method of transportation. One yacht works for a hijacking, two make it a conspiracy, and America’s Mediterranean fleet is drawn into the confrontation. The America administration’s opportunity to contain Iran’s nuclear agenda conflicts with the rescue of George and Kathryn’s daughter, Melissa. History’s faint memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are replaced with a reality of a world in which a nuclear agenda predicts a final confrontation between Islam and all other conviction. While the rest of the world focused on the aftermath, Islam continues to march across Africa. The Foundation for Peace restructures its curriculum, Sam relinquishes the reigns and two lives, separated by protocol and reunited by tragedy, take new direction. Nicholas and Melissa find they share a common goal and The Foundation for Peace becomes the sword to fulfill Sam’s dream. Patrick Roelle Sr. Mr. Pat

"Peter Levenda's extensive investigative work--begun in 1979 and published as Unholy Alliance, and continued through his recent ground-breaking revelations in Ratline of an Indonesian route in the Nazi escape of war criminals and their network is in-depth researched in The Hitler Legacy of the impact and influence of the Nazi underground on terrorism and global security past and present"--

The book shows how September 11 provided an opportunity for the Bush administration to push through hard-right domestic and foreign policies, many of which were being contested and blocked in Congress pre-September 11. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Americans responded to the deadly terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, with an outpouring of patriotism, though all were not united in their expression. A war-based patriotism inspired millions of Americans to wave the flag and support a brutal War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, while many other Americans demanded an empathic patriotism that would bear witness to the death and suffering surrounding the attack. Twenty years later, the war still simmers, and both forms of patriotism continue to shape historical understandings of 9/11's legacy and the political life of the nation. John Bodnar's compelling history shifts the focus on America's War on Terror from the battlefield to the arena of political and cultural conflict, revealing how fierce debates over the war are inseparable from debates about the meaning of patriotism itself. Bodnar probes how honor, brutality, trauma, and suffering have become highly contested in commemorations, congressional correspondence, films, soldier memoirs, and works of art. He concludes that Americans continue to be deeply divided over the War on Terror and how to define the terms of their allegiance--a fissure that has deepened as American politics has become dangerously polarized over the first two decades of this new century.

This book provides a multifaceted array of answers to the question, In the ten years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, how has America responded? In a series of essays, RAND authors lend a farsighted perspective to the national dialogue on 9/11's legacy. The essays assess the military, political, fiscal, social, cultural, psychological, and even moral implications of U.S. policymaking since 9/11. Part One of the book addresses the lessons learned from America's accomplishments and mistakes in its responses to the 9/11 attacks and the ongoing terrorist threat. Part Two explores reactions to the extreme ideologies of the terrorists and to the fears they have generated. Part Three presents the dilemmas of asymmetrical warfare and suggests ways to resolve them. Part Four cautions against sacrificing a long-term strategy by imposing short-term solutions, particularly with respect to air passenger security and counterterrorism intelligence. Finally, Part Five looks at the effects of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. public health system, at the potential role of compensation policy for losses incurred by terrorism, and at the possible long-term effects of terrorism and counterterrorism on American values, laws, and society.--Publisher description.

Are terrorists insane, and what role - if any - does religion play in terrorism? Why did fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists come from Saudi Arabia? Why does the Shia Iranian government have such hostility towards America, and how did that contribute to the radicalization of some Sunni Muslims citizens? How did the Taliban come to power in Afghanistan and what role did that play in 9/11? What role did Egypt play in terrorism? Why did the United States invade Iraq and what might the fallout of that invasion be with respect to terrorism? Is this a problem without a cause or what role did the United States play in fomenting anger and resentment in the Middle East towards America? "The Aftermath of Intention: The American Legacy in the Middle East" explores the US involvement in the Middle East from the end of WWI until the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It reviews US foreign policy in the Middle East in five key countries: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Egypt. The premise is that US intervention and involvement may have had good intentions, but it had unintended consequences. These unintended consequences created a collective resentment in the Middle East. However, this resentment was not enough to cause terrorism in a few; US policy may have been necessary to create resentment, but not sufficient to cause terrorism. Something else was needed.Part one describes the aftermath of fall of the Ottoman Empire and the interwar years between WWI and WWII. Part Two describes how in five specific countries (Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Egypt) the US became an influential actor after WWII. As an influential actor, US policies and actions had an impact on the people in the Middle East. Part Three talks about the aftermath of the US involvement in these five countries and how this involvement created a collective resentment towards the United States. Using concepts from psychology, criminology and sociology, as well as reviewing the statements and writings from terrorists themselves, an explanation is offered about how this collective resentment created an atmosphere for some people to feel the need to act and retaliate against what they viewed as injustices. About the author: Paul Heroux previously lived and worked in Saudi Arabia and has traveled throughout other countries in the Middle East. Paul has been published over 300 times and writes for the Huffington Post. During the Iran deal, he was a regular contributor on RT International. Paul holds a Master's in International Relations from the London School of Economics, a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University's School of Government, a Master's in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor's in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Southern California. He wrote this over five years while he was 28 to 33 years old. Paul, now 40, is currently a State Representative from Attleboro, Massachusetts. www.PaulHeroux.org