The Terrorist Trap, Second Edition

Jeffrey D. Simon

Description

A new edition of an important study of terrorism against the United States.

The bombings of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and of the World Trade Center in New York City have joined a long history of terrorists acts against the United States. In this newly updated edition of his book, Jeffrey Simon reaches back to the founding days of the Republic to tell a story that is both instructive and alarming. Simon uncovers the dynamics of a deadly conflict that affects all Americans. His in-depth interviews with terrorists and their victims, with reporters, government officials, and others bring to life a tale of presidents and terrorists, media and society, all entangled in a drama of international violence.

The Terrorist Trap traces the government response to terrorism from the days of Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates to William Jefferson Clinton's confrontation with homegrown terrorism. It explores the terrorist trap: the psychological, political, and social elements that make terrorism unlike any other conflict. With the end of the Cold War and the defeat of Saddam Hussein's army in the Gulf War, many believed that the threat of terrorism had been significantly reduced. But Simon shows how terrorism grows out of political, economic, and social grievances that can never be
fully resolved, as events in Israel and elsewhere continue to demonstrate. Living with terrorism will be an inescapable part of life in the twenty-first century. Simon calls on officials to move away from the useless rhetoric of defeating terrorism and to focus instead on achievable goals in combating this global problem.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Introduction to the Second Edition
Prologue

1. Welcome to Reality
2. The Endless Nature of Terrorism
3. The Threat Emerges
4. The Setting of the Terrorist Trap
5. Tough Talk on Terrorism
6. The Mother of All Hostage Takers
7. Media Players
8. Roots
9. Future Trends
10.Lessons Learned

Epilogue
Interviews
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index

Sujets

• Violence in Society
• HISTORY
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Histoire
• General officer
• History of the Americas
• General
• United States

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 07 décembre 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253028266
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE TERRORIST TRAP
AMERICA’S EXPERIENCE WITH TERRORISM
SECOND EDITION
______________ Jeffrey D. Simon
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Bloomington and Indianapolis
To my sister, Ellen Sandor, and in memory of our parents, and in memory of Martha Haruko Asakura and Richard D. Schmitt
This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail [e-mail]
© 2001 by Jeffrey D. Simon All rights reserved. First edition 1994
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simon, Jeffrey D. (Jeffrey David), date
   The terrorist trap : America’s experience with terrorism / Jeffrey D. Simon.—2nd ed.          p. cm.       Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-253-33983-9 (cloth : alk. paper)—
ISBN 0-253-21477-7 (paper : alk. paper)
1. Terrorism—United States. I. Title.
HV6432 .S55 2001
363.3′2′0973—dc21
2001039180
1 2 3 4 5 06 05 04 03 02 01
Contents
Introduction to the Second Edition
Prologue
  1. Welcome to Reality
  2. The Endless Nature of Terrorism
  3. The Threat Emerges
  4. The Setting of the Terrorist Trap
  5. Tough Talk on Terrorism
  6. The Mother of All Hostage Takers
  7. Media Players
  8. Roots
  9. Future Trends
10. Lessons Learned
Epilogue
Interviews
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
Illustrations follow pages 59 and 294
Preface to the Second Edition
As the second edition of The Terrorist Trap was about to go to press, America was rocked by a wave of terrorist attacks unprecedented in history. On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and then used in a suicide mission that established a new threshold for terrorist violence. Two of the jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon, and one, aborted in its mission, into a field near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Preliminary estimates in the days following the catastrophe put the death toll at more than 5,000 people.
Television viewers around the world watched in horror as one plane struck the south tower of the World Trade Center after the north tower had earlier been hit. Then, when the burning jet fuel weakened the steel support columns, each of the 110-floor twin towers collapsed. All the hijacked planes were originally bound for California from eastern cities; at the beginning of their cross-country flights, they were loaded with fuel. Among those killed were hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and other rescue workers who had rushed into the buildings after the plane crashes.
Although details are still emerging as this preface is being written less than a week after the tragedy, investigators have already linked the hijackers to Saudi-exile terrorist Osama bin Ladin, who is discussed in the introduction to this book. In a clearly coordinated assault, teams of four to five hijackers, several of whom were pilots, seized the planes, armed with box cutters and small knives. All four planes crashed within a period of ninety minutes.
While this assault upon America was shocking, it should not have been surprising. As the reader will discover in the following pages, terrorism is an endless conflict. Terrorists will continue to find new and more devastating ways to perpetrate their violence. The terrorists who wreaked havoc upon America in September 2001 employed a tactic that had been used only once before (Palestinian extremists hijacked four planes on the same day in Europe and the Middle East in September 1970) and turned it into a new and more frightening one: suicide attacks from the air. I noted in the first edition of this book and again in the introduction to the second edition that one of the future trends in terrorism would indeed be suicide attacks from the air, although I suggested it was likely to be in planes packed with explosives. The terrorists in this case did not even need explosives, as the burning jet fuel from the crashes was sufficient to bring down a world landmark.
Reflecting the anger and shock of the nation, President George W. Bush called the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon “acts of war” and vowed to “do generations a favor by coming together and whipping terrorism, hunting it down, binding it, and holding them accountable.” * The reader will see, however, that previous U.S. presidents issued similar statements, only to be frustrated in their efforts to defeat terrorism. In the struggle against this global threat, the advantage unfortunately lies with the terrorists since they only need to commit one spectacular act to reverse all perceptions of counterterrorist progress. What separates terrorism from all other types of conflict is the ability of a single major incident—whether a bombing, an embassy seizure, or a suicide attack—to throw an entire nation into crisis and to create repercussions far beyond the original event.
The recent attacks demonstrated another theme discussed in this book; namely, the deep psychological impact that terrorism can have upon a nation. For the surviving victims of terrorist incidents and the families of those killed by terrorists, the emotional scars will last a lifetime. The heart-wrenching cellular phone calls that some of the passengers on the doomed jets made to loved ones will haunt those relatives forever. The public also feels the emotional impact of terrorism, as each new incident heightens the fear of being the next victim. It may take a long time before people feel safe again about boarding an airplane. And in this age of extensive media coverage of terrorist events, we all vicariously live through the pain and suffering of the victims and their families. It was therefore not surprising to find an overwhelming expression of public grief and sorrow over the tragedy.
Terrorism can also have a profound effect upon presidents since they bear the ultimate responsibility for determining how this country will deal with the terrorist threat. The reader will see how U.S. presidents since the early days of the republic have had to make difficult choices when faced with terrorist crises. In some cases their actions became the defining moment of their presidencies. President Bush is likely to find the same is true in his case as he shapes America’s response to the worst terrorist assault in history.
The image of this country’s military and financial centers being struck with such devastating force by terrorists, and the loss of so many innocent lives, will be etched in the minds of all Americans for many years to come. How much this country will be permanently changed as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon remains to be seen. Clearly, Americans have experienced the horrors of terrorism at home in ways they never could have imagined before. If, however, the result of the suicide attacks upon America is that we begin to live our lives in constant fear of terrorism and take measures that erode our basic democratic values, then the terrorists would have achieved a major victory.
Jeffrey D. Simon Santa Monica, California September 2001
* Katharine Q. Seelye and Elisabeth Bumiller, “Bush Labels Aerial Terrorist Attacks ‘Acts of War’” New York Times , September 13, 2001, p. A16; Elisabeth Bumiller and Jane Perlez, “Bush and Top Aides Proclaim Policy of ‘Ending’ States That Back Terror; An Arrest Shuts New York Airports,” New York Times , September 14, 2001, p. A1.
Introduction to the Second Edition
When The Terrorist Trap was first published in 1994, America was still recovering from the shock of the World Trade Center bombing the previous year. Islamic extremists in New York City had dispelled the myth that the United States could remain safe from terrorism at home. Then, in 1995, a second major bombing within U.S. borders occurred. This time the target was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Terrorists appeared to be extending their battleground from urban centers to the heartland of the country. But when it was discovered that the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City bombing were homegrown American extremists, the public was again shocked. They were learning that terrorists can come from all types of backgrounds and have different motivations for their attacks; and that, no matter what precautions a government may take, there can never be perfect security against this age-old form of violence.
There have been many developments in the world of terrorism since the first edition of this book was published. On the international front, a wealthy Saudi exile, Osama bin Ladin, emerged as one of the most dangerous terrorists, coordinating and financing a