Customer Reviews

Unconquerable Nation: Knowing Our Enemy, Strengthening Ourselves

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Mr. Jenkins seems to be very well qualified to write about this subject, since the study of terrorism has been his career at the Rand Corporation for many years. I like that he doesn't appear to support either political party; there's no finger pointing. Yet, he clearly states and explains what a big mistake it was to take out Saddam Hussein. First he tells us what and who we should be fighting. Instead of just merely saying that these 'folks' are very evil and should be eradicated, he explains what motivates them. We learn that our enemy has been brainwashed to believe that God wants them to kill or at least create havoc for all infidels (the West, their sympathizers and other nonbelievers in their militant brand of Islam). Jenkins doesn't have an opinion about whether or not we should now leave Iraq. Fighting this enemy won't be over whether we quickly leave Iraq or annihilate the entire country of Iraq or something in between these two scenarios. That's because our enemy is all over the world and won't be deterred by anything we do just in Iraq. We need to change the murderous thinking of our enemy. Sort of doing some reverse brainwashing. We need to work on breaking down their recruiting machine while also trying to physically destroy them and their supporters wherever in the world we discover them. The author accepts that 'winning' this war will take many years. The author has many suggestions how to go about doing this. We need to fight this war from many different directions. In the mean time, we need to get used to occasional horrible events happening. He doesn't think that our enemy (the Jihadists as he calls them) will try anything too horrific on us. If they launch nuclear weapons on us, then they know that we would return the favor by wiping out entire regions of the world where they reside; which will be counterproductive even to our death loving Jihadists. I personally am not so sure of this. I believe that our world may not survive if our enemy gets too far along with their weaponry. Nonetheless, I think the author's book should especially be read by our current and would be future national leaders. Also, those that plan to vote in our next Presidential election, or others that want to actively, in any way they choose, help the non-Jihadists win this war, should read this book. Our nation's future existence, as we know it, might depend upon following the approaches suggested in this book to eventually defeat the Jihadists and their way of thinking.

The author (Brian Jenkins) writes, not only with authority, (but then who doesn't these days?), but also in a way that makes this debacle and it's potential solutions, (and ongoing difficulties), crystal clear to even a neophyte.

I've read other of his works and this is, easily, not only his best but one that can also be read and understood quite clearly though the reader may be neither in the terrorism industry, (and it is, so deal with that reality), nor particularly interested in this field beyond mere daily survival and continuing ability to go about one's business relatively undisturbed.

The book deserves a wider audience if only for its thoroughness, readability and pinpoint clarity about what has become an ever too real part of our daily lives.

I've never written a review before... this author is truly talented in his ability to create understanding and a sense of personal efficacy, rather than consternation, where once concern and mystification may have resided.

Kudos.

In a glutted marketplace, discerning readers will scrutinize each new book about terrorism by asking why this specific volume has been written and what unique contribution it makes, as stated by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Sadly, Jenkins's book fails to offer satisfactory answers to these questions. This is unfortunate because he is an experienced student of terrorism who over the years has made important contributions to the field.

The first chapter sheds light on the volume's disjointed feel, explaining that the book is a collection of the briefings, memoranda, and essays that Jenkins, senior advisor to the president of the RAND Corporation, has written since 9-11. "Reviewing my own work," Jenkins states, "I find that certain basic themes recur." But the ten themes he lists are largely unrelated and do not comprise a coherent idea or theory.

Jenkins does manage to organize the book loosely around the idea of how the United States can be an "unconquerable nation" in its battle against terrorism (the term is taken from a saying of Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, who argued that "being unconquerable lies with yourself"). Jenkins' main prescriptions are inner resolve or "stoicism in the face of threats," preservation of such American values as the prohibition of torture, and smarter, more effective counterterrorism.

Although Jenkins's argumentation is overly sparse (the reader is frequently forced to take his word on assertions that are made without supporting evidence), his writing is lucid, and he makes many intelligent points. One of his more interesting observations involves the current threat "feedback loop" wherein analysts trumpet America's vulnerabilities in testimony and reports, and in turn, terrorists--who "do not live on another planet"--incorporate these vulnerabilities into strategic discussions. "When our intelligence in turn learns what terrorists are talking about," Jenkins observes, "the feedback loop is completed, seeming to confirm our own worst fears."

Other interesting passages include an analysis of President George W. Bush's failure to mobilize the American citizenry to play a role in homeland security after 9-11, a counter-intuitive defense of the pervasive official press conferences about possible terrorist threats, and an explanation of advantages that could be gained by persuading detainees to publicly turn against Al-Qaeda. Yet such smart arguments should have been presented in shorter form: The book's desultory feel will disappoint all but the most dedicated readers.

the book was new like promised and arrived on time. Requiring me to do a minimum number of words is not the way to get me to review my purchase.

If you want a good metaphor for the War on Terror, look no further than this scene from "Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll. Alice is racing with the Queen of Hearts:

"In our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else - if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."

"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

We've been running as fast as we can to defeat global terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001, but are we getting anywhere? What's taking so long?

Brian Jenkins, one of the nation's premier experts on terrorism, addresses this frustrating problem in his book, "Unconquerable Nation." A former Special Forces officer, Jenkins pioneered the modern study of terrorism starting way back in 1972. Lately, he's been serving as a senior advisor to the President of the RAND Corporation. (His most recent book on nuclear terrorism was endorsed by leaders on both sides of the political spectrum.)

The United States is definitely capable of defeating terrorism, says Jenkins, but only if we approach the problem in a more sophisticated way.

First of all, he says, we must acknowledge that terrorism is not an existential threat to the United States in the same way that Soviet nuclear weapons clearly were. Secondly, we must realize that our greatest strength is our historical commitment to a free, open and democratic society. Abandoning our values in pursuit of more "security" is exactly the wrong thing to do, he says. In fact, the stark contrast between jihadist values and American values is one of our greatest weapons -- if we use it effectively. Thirdly, we must understand -- and then harness -- the principles of political warfare. Here's a brief summary:

Defeating terrorism is about winning "HUMAN terrain," not "physical terrain." We can't win by seizing a hilltop or bridge -- this isn't World War II or Belgium in 1917. Rather, we must use political warfare to defeat violent jihadism at its very core -- to demonstrate its moral bankruptcy to the very people who might be attracted to it. Winning through political warfare requires:

-- Understanding the cultural, religious and political forces that give rise to jihadism in places like Pakistan and Iraq.
-- Short-circuiting the jihadist recruiting networks at every opportunity.
-- Using more sophisticated methods to undercut jihadist propaganda.
-- Engaging both local and international allies more effectively.
-- Turning disaffected enemy fighters to our side whenever possible.
-- Highlighting the terrible truth about jihadism at every possible opportunity.

The jihadists have no real political agenda or plan, explains Jenkins. They offer little more than superficial idealism, misery and death.

Of course, political warfare walks hand-in-hand with military warfare, says Jenkins. They must complement each other, but all too often that hasn't been the case. The use of torture in places like Gitmo and Abu Ghraib only strengthens the enemy, he says, adding to their propaganda power and recruiting success. Similarly, the invasion of Iraq diverted much-needed resources away from the Afghan theater and provided yet another "I told you so" message for Al Qaeda leaders to broadcast worldwide.

As of this writing (May 2009), the resurgent Taliban are battling the Pakistani Army in the Swat Valley, displacing a million local residents. Several massive bombs went off in Iraq last week, killing dozens of civilians. And most Americans seem too afraid to move Gitmo prisoners from our base in Cuba to a SuperMax facility stateside. (Our nation of 300 million is afraid of a few bearded bad guys in a jail? Say what?)

Political warfare may very well be the key to winning this stubborn conflict -- if we have the patience and wisdom to follow advice from people like Brian Jenkins. Let's hope our leaders are listening.

Brian Michael Jenkins is perhaps the number one US expert on terrorism and thus writes with almost peerless authority. Those who have studied the terrorism literature will know that he was the one who coined the much quoted phrase "terrorists want a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead" back in 1975 (he revised this opinion later).

Jenkins is also a good writer. This book reads easily and shouldn't be too hard to get through or too boring for anyone, I imagine. I recommend Unconquerable Nation without reservations as perhaps the best summary of the threat from terrorism at the present date.