Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"By infiltrating them as an FBI agent, Mike German learned firsthand how terrorist groups work, and he brought their members to justice without violating the law or the Constitution. He now lays bare the fundamental errors made by the U.S. government after 9/11, showing how it has exaggerated the nature of the terrorist threat, reduced the effectiveness of the West's response, undermined our core ethical values, and so increased future vulnerability. Written with the clarity of an airport thriller and the insight conferred by both operational experience and deep study, Thinking Like a Terrorist is a brilliant and necessary book that we cannot afford to ignore." - David Rose, contributing editor, Vanity Fair, and author of Guantanamo: The War on Human Rights "Riveting, informative, and insightful. Only someone who 'was a terrorist' could achieve this as well as warn of dangers to our way of life." - Steve Salmieri, former chief, FBI Undercover Sensitive Operations Unit "German's brilliant and heroic strategy to overcome terrorism may surprise all but the true patriots among us.... A timely and superbly conceived book, written by a champion of justice, that everyone should read and take to heart." - Stephen R. Band, former chief, FBI Behavioral Science Unit" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

As the fifth full year of America’s global war on terrorism continues, statistics concerning terrorist attacks show a disturbing trend: from a twenty-one-year high in 2003, attacks tripled in 2004 and then doubled in 2005. And as the incidence of terrorist attacks increased, so has the number of terrorists. While the primary leaders of the Taliban, al Qaeda, and al Qaeda in Iraq remain at large, a 2006 Department of Defense study reportedly identified thirty new al Qaeda–affiliated terrorist groups that have been created since September 11, 2001. We may not have metrics that measure our success in the war on terrorism, but these realities certainly illuminate our failures.

In Thinking Like a Terrorist, former FBI counterterrorism agent Mike German contends that the overarching problem is a fundamental failure to understand the terrorists—namely, what they want and how they intend to get it. When our counterterrorism policies are driven by misunderstanding and misperception, we shouldn’t be surprised at the results. Today’s terrorists have a real plan—a blueprint that has brought them victory in the past—that they are executing to perfection; moreover, their plan is published and available to anyone who bothers to read it. Once the terrorists’ plan is understood, we can develop and implement more effective counterterrorism strategies.

A former undercover agent who infiltrated neo-Nazi terrorist groups in the United States, German explains the terrorist’s point of view and discusses ways to counter the terrorism threat. Based on his unusual experience in the field, Thinking Like a Terrorist provides unique insights into why terrorism is such a persistent and difficult problem and why the U.S. approach to counterterrorism isn’t working.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; 1 edition (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597970255
• ISBN-13: 978-1597970259
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #735,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be Required Reading, February 27, 2007

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a book that needs to be read by anyone interested in the terrorist world in which the United States finds itself. The author is an ex-FBI agent who was assigned to join terrorists organizations in the US to report on their activities.

His analysis of the current situation is that our Government and particularily its intelligence agencies have not understood the way that terrorists think, what it is that they are really after, how they are really organized and much more.

I unfortunately don't know enough about the situation to know if everything he says is true. However, there are a few things that come through strongly.

1. Our government has clearly misunderstood what's been happening.

2. The terrorists are not stupid, and clearly believe in what they are doing.

3. We may be playing deliberately into their desired goals.

4. Going against the rules of our own constitution in terms of wiretaps, holding people without trial, ignoring the due process of law, torture, illegal prisons in foreign countries, in short the whole Patriot's Act will do us more harm than good. As Franklin is rumored to have said: 'Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.'

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wow!, February 21, 2007

By	Shepherd (Top of the World, USA) - See all my reviews

What a fantastic thesis on the number one issue facing the United States today. A very well written book presenting a viewpoint that does not get played in mass media probably because it is not emotional or contentious enough for them. The points made are logical with plenty of history and real life experiences to back them up. After reading it I now need a five week conversation with the author to take his thoughts and run them through some scenarios to see how a terrorist would handle them. Hopefully, his next book will take his recommended strategy and discuss ways to execute it. Now that I know how a terrorist thinks I will analyze terrorist events with a new mindset.
Thank you Mike German.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book., October 17, 2007

By	Malcolm E. Guidry (White Plains, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Considering 9/11 and current events regarding Al-Qaeda, this book should be on everyone's nightstand.

Mr. German has written a very enlightening and informative book on not just how to get into the mind of a terrorist but also to understand their motivations. Though he discusses primarily the KKK and the IRA, he does mention Al-Qaeda occassionally. In essence, all terrorist groups are motivated by the pursuit of legitimacy, regardless of if this means losing every physical battle with auhtorities. As he says in the book, when they lose, they win. For terrorists it is not about military victory; it is about legitimacy.

This book has helped make it very clear to me that the USA is losing its battle against Al-Qaeda in the same way it lost against the Viet Cong, in the same way the French lost against the Algerians and in the same way the British lost against the IRA; by not understanding how terrorists think and what motivates them and by treating their actions (regarding Al-Qaeda) as military acts and not the criminal acts they truly are.

I truly hope many in our government at all levels read this book.