What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat

An informed view on extremism, especially among ordinary citizens like you and me, is key to make this world a safer and better place for us and our future generations.Louise Richardson, now an expert in terrorism, grew up in rural Ireland in the 1960s “with a passionate hatred of England”.In “What Terrorists Want”, a primer on the subject, Dr. Richardson started the discussion with a reminiscence about her adolescence when many of her friends joined the IRA. She herself also attended meetings and discussions, but didn’t join the terrorist group at the end, as she “had concluded that killing people was not the right way to advance the cause of reuniting Ireland.”“Those who did join were like me in almost every respect. They were young idealists wanting to do their part for their country as their forebears had (or as they thought their forebears had). They were motivated by a desire to right wrongs and to do their best for a noble cause. They knew that they were likely to suffer personally from their decisions. They justified the use of force on the grounds that it was the only way to make progress toward the legitimate goals they sought,” she wrote.Throughout years of research at Trinity College and Harvard, she dug out documents and other evidence about terrorist groups and their activities. She also interviewed people who were and ARE from those groups.Dr. Richardson’s background and painstaking research render this book a very compelling read. She said our “complicit society”, where economic and political inequality is pervasive, could be a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists. That was when I felt this book is a must-read for all of us. Also, interaction with a subject is the first step toward dispelling the fear of it.

This is an excellent book. Even though it was written in 2006. The theory was correct then. The theory is correct now. As you read the comments, some of them quite emotional especially regarding Robert Steel's comments, keep in mind all of this was too were written ten years ago. Now, fast forward to 2016. Dr. Richardson points have been proven. If you want additional understanding, read Scott Atran's "Talking to the Enemy" -- he's been on the ground and in harms way doing his research. War ain't what it used to be. Read Col TX Hammes, USMC, "The Sling and The Stone. This is the gouge on 4th generation warfare. All of these references track together to describe, explain, predict and prescribe alternatives to the "bomb them into the stone age" paradigm.

Without passion, Louise Richardson presents a factual and in-depth study of what makes terrorists and terrorism exist. Unlike a great many pundits who think they know what terrorism is, this author speaks with authority.First of all, she contends that you cannot have a war on terror. To her, it is a war on a tactic, a fear that is a war on an emotion. She insists that you cannot wage a war on either. As long as anyone can commit a terrorist act, it debunks any contention that such a war is being won.The author declares that terrorists seek three essential elements to their acts: revenge, renown, and reaction. In the destruction of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA, they achieved all three. Richardson explains that all terrorists and their organizations seek revenge for a humiliation or defeats real, imagined, and unknown to us. By declaring a "War on Terrorism and al-Qaeda we provided them with renown. By pursuing a war in Afghanistan and Iraq and by giving them Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo we gave them a reaction beyond their wildest dreams. "by using the extreme language of conviction that bin Laden uses, by declaring war, even a crusade, against him in response to his war against us, we are mirroring his actions. We are playing into his hands...elevating his stature...permitting him to set the terms of our interactions."For terrorism to succeed, terrorists require personal dissatisfaction, an enabling society and legitimizing ideology. Their personal dissatisfaction comes from our support of Israel beating them time and again with US built weapons, killing of their civilians, and occupation of their lands. According to Richardson, being the only superpower and having the most influence in the world, also incurs their enmity. The author claims that terrorism are always acts of weaker or inferior forces upon a larger, stronger one. An enabling society is one that provides sanctuary to them, and sees them as heroes. In fact, they cannot succeed without this key ingredient. Their belief that they are doing the right thing or God's will, is the ideology.The author does provide a blueprint for defeating or disabling terrorism in a way we have overlooked so far. Talks with terrorists directly or through intermediaries provides us with something we have lacked so far--information about the opposition. We must deny terrorists the support of an enabling society by gaining that society's trust and belief in our cause. She claims that in a democracy it is especially important to maintain our own liberties. Declaring American citizens as enemy combatants, spying by Americans on Americans, creating a Patriot Act, calling unsupportive Americans traitors, plays right into the terrorists' hands, and gives them a victory. She makes it clear that such restrictions do not provide addtional security, and that such temporary security measures tend to become permanent.Richardson never comes across as a terrorist sympathizer or a neo con zealot. Her arguments are based on in-depth research, interviews and a voluminous collection of data. She has evaluated our actions against her extensive knowledge of the topic. Our actions provided sufficient reason for critiquing our response to terrorism. The reader can only come to the conclusion that the Bush administration has tried to douse the fire of terrorism with kerosene.After reading this it may make you wish that someone had consulted her on 9/12 or earlier. She would have provided in-depth answers that would have been more profound than, "They hate us because they hate our freedoms." There's one more thing Richardson makes clear: we must learn that democracy cannot be imposed from without, and elections do not constitute democracy--a lesson this administration has obviously failed to learn.

Good product

Explains everything with relevant support material, including comparisons with earliest Groups,Religions,Sects,etc with more recent, and current examples including IRA, Red Brigade,Tamil Tigers, and inevitably ,Al Quaida,Hamas, and Isil. I Wish I had read this book sooner. It makes it easier to understand why the mindset of so many Western Politicians needs to change if we have any wish or hope to live together in harmony.

An excellent book by someone who has studied terrorism since long before 9/11.Starting with a deep understanding of how terrorist groups form and why people join them, she works her way to advice on crafting policy (For example, rather than determining whether a given policy is hard on terrorism or soft on terrorism, she recommends asking "Is it effective? And at what cost?") culminating with a list of six "rules for combatting terrorism".A must read for anyone who wants to advocate for change!

Brilliant book ahead of its time

This book should be read by all Prime Ministers, Presidents and heads of security services and armed forces. If Tony Blair and President Bush had read this book they might have had the good sense not to invade Iraq.Louise Richardson grew up in the Republic of Ireland and so learned two versions of history: the Irish version and the British version. She was a professor of government at Harvard at the time of writing this book and is currently Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.She defines Terrorism, discusses the history and causes of Terrorism and why perfectly normal people become suicide terrorists. Terrorism begins with a sense of grievance for which terrorists seek revenge. Suicide bombers seek renown. Terrorist organisations want to gain a reaction from their victims. These are the three R’s of terrorism: Revenge, Renown and Reaction. It is thus counter-productive to declare war on a terrorist group because that is the reaction they want – it raises their status to that of a nation-state rather than a criminal gang.Richardson gives six rules for countering terrorism:1. Have an achievable goal (It is not possible to eliminate terrorism completely)2. Live by your principles (Don’t give up liberal, democratic principles; e.g. don’t imprison people without trial)3. Know your enemy (Good intelligence is vital – as we now know from the Chilcot Report)4. Separate the terrorists from their communities5. Engage others in countering terrorists (The USA prefers to make its own mistakes rather than learn from the experience of other countries)6. Have patience and keep perspective (terrorist groups can last much longer than the interval between democratic elections)The book has been extensively researched and is thoroughly referenced. It is written from the perspective of the United States but Richardson’s advice is easily transferable to other countries. It was first published in 2006, so it focusses on 9/11, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and predates the appearance of so-called Islamic State. However, Richardson’s understanding of terrorism and her six principles seem to apply equally well to our attempts to deal with IS.It would be good to have a revised and up-to-date edition but, as it stands, it should be read by everyone involved in counter-terrorism.

Para encontrar la respuesta se debe de entender la pregunta. Este libro me ha ayudado llegar a unas conclusiones dificiles pero validas.

This book succeeds in presenting terrorists as human beings and usual people with interests and motivations. This is important because we often think that only lunatics could possibly want to reach political goals through terrorist action. Understanding terroristsdoes not mean justifying their actions, however.What I had liked to see more in this book is an inclusion of political theory to contextualise the concrete findings. Sometimes the book jumps from one point to another without making the connection explicit, but overall the read is very enjoyable and easily digestable.

As somebody who is interested in global security, this book sets a profound foundation for the historical context of terrorism, and a lucid insight into the current and future trends of terrorism. This is truly a book to reference!In addition, the service and delivery of the book by Wordery was absolutely impeccable.