Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Hoffman represents one side in a continuous debate about al Qaeda. He argues that al Qaeda is a coherent terrorist group, a group with politics and an ideology, willing to commit acts of terror to achieve its goals. Hoffman would say that it is al Qaeda and groups like it that present the most serious threat to the United States today.
Let’s start with the Bruce Hoffman book.
The Hoffman is a terrific introduction to the issue of terrorism. It is a foundational book for anyone who wants to understand terrorism and the War on Terror.
How does he define terrorism?
Well, this is a problem. The UN cannot decide on a definition for terrorism and there are probably ten definitions, of which Hoffman discusses a variety. He brings together all the theories in a coherent narrative. I want to encourage people to read this book for themselves, but, for example, he describes the difference between an insurgency during a conventional war and a terror attack. He is writing on a fairly theoretical plane, but he does give examples. He looks at al Qaeda especially, and he sets the stage for thinking about terrorism with new definitions and ways of thinking about it.
He talks about the difference between religious and political terrorism and says that religious terrorism is far more dangerous and the terrorists are more likely to use extreme violence because there are not as many curbs on what they can do if God has commanded it.
Hoffman represents one side in a continuous debate about al Qaeda. He argues that al Qaeda is a coherent terrorist group, a group with politics and an ideology, willing to commit acts of terror to achieve its goals. Hoffman would say that it is al Qaeda and groups like it that present the most serious threat to the United States today.
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Mary Habeck is Associate Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University and an expert in terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, strategic and security issues and American defence policy. Habeck has held appointments at the National Security Council, served as Associate Professor of History at Yale University, coordinated the Yale Russian Archive Project to facilitate access to documents in the former Soviet archives and is the recipient of the 2001-02 Morse Fellowship. She has a PhD in history from Yale. She has contributed to The Journal of Military History, The International History Review, The Journal of Modern History and others. She says the US contributed to insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan by failing to peel off those with local grievances and treating all insurgents as al Qaeda-linked terrorists.
