Description
This volume is a collection of articles that critically examine the efficacy, ethics, and impact of the War on Terror as it has evolved since 9/11.
During the decade and a half of the Global War on Terror (GWOT), numerous books have considered the political, psychosocial, and economic impacts of terrorism. However, there has been little systematic effort to examine the effectiveness of the GWOT in achieving its goals. Furthermore, there is virtually nothing that presents a comparative analysis of the GWOT by the people most directly affected by it—citizens and scholars from conflict zones in the Middle East. There is, therefore, great need for a book that analyzes the strategies, tactics, and outcomes of the GWOT and that also presents facts and ideas that are missing or underrepresented in the dominant public narratives. The contributions in this volume were chosen to specifically address this need. In doing so, it uniquely provides not only Western perspectives of the GWOT, but also importantly includes perspectives from the Middle East and those most directly affected by it, including contributions from scholars and policy makers. Overall, the contributions demonstrate how views differ based on geographical location, and how views have changed during the course of the still-evolving War on Terror.
The book will be of much interest to students and scholars of terrorism and counter-terrorism, foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR, as well as policy makers.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Charles Webel
Section I: Framing and Assessing the War on Terror
Section Overview
Mark Tomass
1. The Evil Scourge of Terrorism
Noam Chomsky
2. Realizing Hegemony? Symbolic Terrorism and the Roots of Conflict
Oliver P. Richmond
3. Trauma and the City: The Psychology of America’s Terrorism Trauma
Sarton Weinraub
Section II: Hearing from the Victims of Terror-Inflicted Regions
Section Overview
Mark Tomass
4. The Syrian Tragedy: The Role of the West, A Government Insider’s Account
Buthaina Shaaban
5. Iraq: A Victim of Terror and the War on Terror
Anwar Said al-Haidari
6. The Ideological Origins of ISIS: Fighting Terror with Facts and Common Sense
Mark Tomass
7. Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Pukhtuns of Afghanistan and Northwest Pakistan with Altruism, Public Health and Development, Not by Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Sher M. Khan
Section III: Calculating the Costs of the War on Terror
Section Overview
Mark Tomass
8. The Global War on Terrorism: How Ethical and Effective?
Charles Webel and John Arnaldi
9. Led Astray: Legal and Moral Blowback from The Global War on Terror
William Cohn
10. Terror from Above and Within: The Hidden Cultural and Political Costs of Lethal Drones
Laurie Calhoun
Section IV: Analyzing, Negotiating with, and Ending Terror Groups
Section Overview
Mark Tomass
11. A Dialogue on Why Western Youth are Attracted to ISIS
Scott Atran and Mark Tomass
12. Negotiating with the Taliban
Johan Galtung
13. A Tale of Two CTs: A Ground-level Counterinsurgency Perspective on Belgian Counter-Terrorism Measures
Casey Douglas Carr
14. The War on Terrorism What Does it Mean to Win?
Audrey Kurth Cronin
Conclusion
Charles Webel
