Author Archives: james_forest@uml.edu

Perspectives on Terrorism, Vol. 7 no. 6

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In this issue of Perspectives on Terrorism we are pleased to present four articles on a variety of timely topics. First, Sarah Marsden offers a comparative analysis of several hundred Arab and Western media sources, highlighting their different conceptualisations of what constitutes ‘success’ and ‘failure’ in the ‘War on Terror’. Second, Iromi Dharmawardhane evaluates several aspects of the post-conflict initiatives in Sri Lanka, and offers recommendations to address shortcomings and persistent challenges. Third, an international team of scholars led by Mark Woodward challenge the perception that the Sufi tradition in Islam has always been tolerant and non-violent while the Salafist tradition is the one consistently associated with intolerance and violence. Finally, Kathleen Deloughery draws from several incident databases to explain how and why simultaneous terrorist attacks are more likely to be successful and cause more fatalities

This issue of the journal also introduces a new Policy Notes section, in which we will publish relatively short pieces containing informed analysis and policy recommendations on a variety of important topics. Josh Meservey inaugurates this section with a timely analysis of Somalia’s safe havens and their critical importance to al-Shabaab. This is followed by a review of international counterterrorism assistance to the Horn of Africa, authored by three senior analysts at the Centre on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation.

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Recent Cybersecurity Resources

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For those studying cybersecurity threats and responses, here are few new recommended resources.

1)   A terrific expose by David Berlind, of Programmable Web, on new API vulnerabilities as demonstrated by the recent hacking of social posting and scheduling service Buffer.
http://blog.programmableweb.com/2013/11/04/why-the-attack-on-buffer-was-a-serious-wake-up-call-for-the-web/

2)   A new Inspector General report revealing that the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, including the National Security Agency, have no way of sharing current alerts about computer breaches with each other or industry.
http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2014/OIG_14-02_Oct13.pdf

3)   The US-CERT current activity report
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity

 

Perspectives on Terrorism, vol. 7 no. 5

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New issue of our internationally-acclaimed scholarly journal Perspectives on Terrorism is now available here.

Contents include:

Jeffrey M Bale, Denying the Link between Islamist Ideology and Jihadist Terrorism: “Political Correctness” and the Undermining of Counterterrorism

Benjamin S. Eveslage, Clarifying Boko Haram’s Transnational Intentions, Using Content Analysis of Public Statements in 2012

Alexandra Lewis, Unpacking Terrorism, Revolution and Insurgency in Yemen: Real and Imagined Threats to Regional Security

Paul Kamolnick, The Egyptian Islamic Group’s Critique of Al-Qaeda’s Interpretation of Jihad

Ely Karmon, Hamas in Dire Straits

Book Reviews, Literature Search Resources, and much more . . .

 

Video and Book: The Terrorist’s Dilemma

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Here’s a great 90 minute video of Jake Shapiro, Bruce Hoffman and Will McCants speaking at an event announcing the release of Jake’s new book, The Terrorist’s Dilemma: Managing Violent Covert Organizations,

http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/the_terrorists_dilemma

His book systematically examines the structural differences between terrorist groups, discusses the core managerial challenges these groups face, and illustrates how the organizations are affected by their political goals and operational environments.  Shapiro provides a historically-informed explanation for why some groups have little hierarchy, while others resemble miniature firms.  Looking at groups in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, he highlights how consistent and widespread the terrorist’s dilemma — balancing the desire to maintain control with the need for secrecy — has been since the 1880s. A good read for anyone interested in a higher-level study of terrorist organizations.