The Five Front War: The Better Way to Fight Global Jihad

by Daniel L. Byman

A comprehensive look at the War on Terror and the best way to a safer future

Scholar Daniel Byman offers a new approach to fighting the war on terrorism. He convincingly argues that two of the main solutions to terrorism offered by politicians-military intervention and the democratization of the Arab world-shouldn't even be our top priorities. Instead, he presents a fresh way to face intelligence and law enforcement challenges conduct counterinsurgency operations, undermine al-Qaeda's ideology, selectively push for reforms, and build key lasting alliances.

Daniel Byman (Washington, DC) directs the Security Studies Program and the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution and also served on the 9/11 Commission. He regularly writes about terrorism and the Middle East for the Washington Post, Slate, and other publications.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. Very clear analysis of the threat posed by al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The author recommends and explores five main strategies for combating the threat. Of course, I read this in Oct 2014 so it's outdated now, but the section on Iraq was relevant. Many of the predictions made by the author are now coming true, and it is good to read the history of the region with the current crisis in mind.

I was hoping this book would have analysis on how the US developed its counterterrorism strategy, but that is not part of the book.

I would like to see a revised version of this book to hear the author's thoughts on these issues today.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lays out in broad brushstrokes some of the options the US and other countries have for countering terrorism, esp. AQ. However he does not provide many useful details for how these strategies might be implemented. Okay CT overview text but not amazingly insightful.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, read it for my Terrorism seminar. However he fails to get into the specifics of his plan.