Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat Responding to the Challenge [Hardcover]

Alan M. Dershowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2002

The greatest danger facing the world today, says Alan M. Dershowitz, comes from religiously inspired, state-sponsored terrorist groups that seek to develop weapons of mass destruction for use against civilian targets. In this analysis, Dershowitz argues passionately and persuasively that global terrorism is a phenomenon largely of our own making and that we must and can take steps to reduce the frequency and severity of terrorist acts. Analyzing acts of terrorism and our reaction to them, Dershowitz explains that terrorism is successful when the international community gives in to the demands of terrorists - or even tries to understand and eliminate the "root causes" of terrorism. He discusses extreme approaches to wiping out international terrorism that would work if we were not constrained by legal, moral and humanitarian considerations. Then, given that we do operate under such constraints, he offers a series of proposals that would effectively reduce the frequency and severity of international terrorism by striking a balance between security and liberty.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Against the backdrop of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, the renowned criminal defense and civil liberties attorney argues forcefully that the attacks of September 11 were largely of our own doing the international community, Dershowitz says, repeatedly rewards terrorists with appeasement and legitimization, refusing to take the necessary steps to curtail attacks. While the broad scope of this argument is inadequately supported, as it draws evidence almost exclusively from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Dershowitz, like many others, views September 11 as a turning point and aptly advocates such measures as national identification cards, increased border security, improved coordination among federal agencies and refusal to give an ear to terrorists' demands. More controversially, he devotes a full chapter to the use of torture against terrorists to obtain information about imminent attacks. While eloquently arguing in its favor under very controlled circumstances, this frightening suggestion from a civil libertarian will be seen by many as a great leap backward for democracy and a dangerous precedent for the international community. Even with his proposed "torture warrant," there would inevitably be room for abuse, with lasting detrimental effects on both the victim as well as the U.S. justice system. Despite the "never again" hand-wringing, these penetrating arguments force readers to consider how we got to September 11, how far we are willing to pursue terrorists and how much freedom we are willing to give up for our security.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

You can love him or hate him, but Dershowitz (Harvard Law Sch.) is always worth reading. In this bracing work, he gently upbraids those who chalked up the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington to the supposed "root causes" of terrorism-namely, repression and desperation arising from poverty-while also chiding those he thinks are insufficiently committed to civil liberties. Dershowitz points out that the dispossessed in general "do not resort to the willful targeting of vulnerable civilians." Rather, militants resort to such tactics because the international community, and sometimes even the U.S. government, have rewarded them; terrorism will persist as long as it works. Dershowitz points out the scorched-earth tactics that could be used by authoritarian governments to defeat terrorism: torture, massive retaliation, complete control of citizens' movements. He concludes that nations bound by moral concerns can still respond effectively, reconciling forceful strategy with a regard for civil liberties that would include legal checks on the government use of military trials, wire tapping, and other antiterrorist tactics. Strongly recommended.
James R. Holmes, Ph.D. candidate, Fletcher Sch. of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts Univ., Medford, MA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300097662
• ISBN-13: 978-0300097665
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ is a Brooklyn native who has been called 'the nation's most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer' and one of its 'most distinguished defenders of individual rights,' 'the best-known criminal lawyer in the world,' 'the top lawyer of last resort,' and 'America's most public Jewish defender.' He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Dershowitz, a graduate of Brooklyn College and Yale Law School, joined the Harvard Law School faculty at age 25 after clerking for Judge David Bazelon and Justice Arthur Goldberg. While he is known for defending clients such as Anatoly Sharansky, Claus von B'low, O.J. Simpson, Michael Milken and Mike Tyson, he continues to represent numerous indigent defendants and takes half of his cases pro bono. Dershowitz is the author of 20 works of fiction and non-fiction, including 6 bestsellers. His writing has been praised by Truman Capote, Saul Bellow, David Mamet, William Styron, Aharon Appelfeld, A.B. Yehoshua and Elie Wiesel. More than a million of his books have been sold worldwide, in numerous languages, and more than a million people have heard him lecture around the world. His most recent nonfiction titles are The Case For Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can be Resolved (August 2005, Wiley); Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights (November 2004, Basic Books), The Case for Israel (September 2003, Wiley), America Declares Independence, Why Terrorism Works, Shouting Fire, Letters to a Young Lawyer, Supreme Injustice, and The Genesis of Justice. His novels include The Advocate's Devil and Just Revenge. Dershowitz is also the author of The Vanishing American Jew, The Abuse Excuse, Reasonable Doubts, Chutzpah (a #1 bestseller), Reversal of Fortune (which was made into an Academy Award-winning film), Sexual McCarthyism and The Best Defense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly Frightening--Oh So Important, January 27, 2003

By 

Laura (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat Responding to the Challenge (Hardcover)

In "Why Terrorism Works", Alan Dershowitz writes a compelling and very frightening recent history of terrorism. Some of the individual acts were shocking--for example, in the recent past, European governments would use terrorist attacks to justify letting other terrorists out of prison (and the governments tended to have a soft spot for terrorists to begin with). So, when one such government held some terrorists for hijacking, they helped other terrorists stage another false hijacking, and as a result, the government released all the prisoners, like some kind of reward.

Alan Dershowitz describes how, although identifying and treating "root causes" of terrorism (poverty, hunger, etc.) may sound like a fine short-term answer, they will actually encourage terrorism--this being what the terrorists want. There have been many peoples throughout history deserving of attention who have not resorted to terrorism, Dershowitz argues.

Dershowitz instead advocates resorting to "barbaric" punishments--like torture, which, by the way, has is still being used in countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Terrorism has been rewarded so long (case in point, the Palestine Liberation Organization, which reached its goal of being recognized by the United Nations through the threat of terrorism) that now only serious measures could prevent it from being used further.

This book, although upsetting at times in its horrid description of terrorist acts and their "punishments" (often, the perpetrator is simply released to their home country and given a hero's welcome) is timely, informative, and very detailed. I would recommend all to read it, just to get more of an understanding of the challenges we face in the war against terrorism, and the possible solutions.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book - Disturbing Facts, September 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat Responding to the Challenge (Hardcover)

Rarely have I read a book that demonstrated such a disturbing trend - a trend in which terrorism is rewarded with incentives and practically forced into further terrorist actions. Dershowitz follows the apparent (and for terrorism, the appearance of success equates to actual success) causal relationship between terrorist attacks on innocent civilians and the subsequent recognition and advancement of the groups' cause. Because of this, terrorism has been encouraged by not only the lack of deterrence and the lack of a tough stand on terrorism, but also by the effective promotion of it through the advancement of terrorist groups' causes - such as inviting Arafat to speak at the United Nations after numerous plane hijackings and the ordered murder of American diplomats.

As disturbing as the fact that nearly all terrorists captured outside the Middle East were released in a matter of weeks or months (of the 204 terrorists captured between 1968-1975 outside the Middle East, only 3 remained in prison by 1975), is the assertion that for much of the history of modern international terrorism, the policies of our European allies and the United Nations have only served to further increase terrorism. The arguments not only make sense, they're backed by the historical facts.

The root cause of terrorism is its success, and this book takes a good look at how/why it has succeeded (and in some instances failed) thus far and how a moral society should respond to terrorism.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sobering Debate, November 7, 2004

By 

Wesley Mullins (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat Responding to the Challenge (Hardcover)

Why is there terrorism in the world today? Alan Dershowitz speculates the reason can be found in the world's reaction to terrorism in the past. He claims the appeasing nature of the European nations when faced with the terrorist acts of Yassir Arafat's PLO (and other Palestinian groups) from 1968 to 2000 convinced the Islamic extremists that terrorism indeed achieved its desired results and is therefore a popular device used today.

Dershowitz details the history of terrorism, going back to ancient times, but he focuses primarily on the terrorism began by Palestinians in 1968 (and continuing to this day). With the exception of the United States and Israel, each country victimized by Arafat's terroristic acts eventually caved to him, met his demands and eventually recognized his cause. Countries like Germany, France and Italy are Dershowitz's favorite targets, as he contends the leaders of those countries acted exclusively with self interest, failing to consider the incentive they were giving to the terrorists to commit harsher and more creative crimes in the future. Dershowitz asks why would terrorists stop terrorizing when not only were they not punished for their crimes, but they were also rewarded with exposure and support. We all know about the Olympic killings in Munich, but how many people know that Germany released three of the murderers involved shortly after their arrest?

According to Dershowitz, the actions of European countries from 1968-2000 made the September 11th attacks inevitable. They received no penalty for similar crimes in the past (and actually received incentive), so why not do it?

Even though Dershowitz is not usually a fan of the politics of George W. Bush (see his book on the election of 2000), he sees the overwhelming response by Bush after 9/11 as the proper action for any nation victimized by terrorism. Whereas Dershowitz believes the European nations encourage future terrorist acts with their actions, Bush's effort to strike back with sever and precise force is the right thing to do.

Dershowitz goes on to discuss scenarios in which torture would be morally acceptable when fighting terrorism. Many people will ask if this is the same Alan Dershowitz who has made a career out of being one of the top civil liberties attorneys in the world. Yes, it is. Even though he puts a deep importance on civil liberties, he also believes the safety of the world takes precedence. Dershowitz has spent years developing his theories on when the safety of the masses trumps the liberties of some. Most of his counterparts prefer to bury their heads in the sand on this issue, unable to face the reality that sometimes liberty must be sacrificed for the betterment of society.

Dershowitz keeps coming back to two important events. First, he uses a quote by George W. Bush after the beheading of Daniel Pearl in which Bush says terrorists must understand that these types of acts only hurt their cause. Dershowitz shows how terrorists have not believed that in the past when their crimes were directed at most of the world (excluding the USA and Israel).

Dershowitz's second favorite event to discuss is the pre-9/11 incarceration of Zacharias Massaoui and civil liberty laws that tied the hands of the authorities who had him in custody. He claims this is a close real world example of the "ticking time bomb" scenario many philosophers and leaders have debated for centuries: what tactics are you willing to take to get information from someone who knows of a catastrophic event but will not discuss it?

Dershowitz's solutions point to a man who truly is concerned with protecting the constitutional rights of the individual and abiding by the laws of the Geneva Convention, but who is also concerned with avoiding the naive policies of most civil libertarians who would rather protect the rights of one man than to save the lives of thousands. Even those who disagree with him on certain issues will see a debate master at work. Rarely are arguments more focused, more passionate, better researched or more convincing. A must read for anyone interested in understanding global terrorism.