The Confrontation: Winning the War Against Future Jihad

by Walid Phares

In Future Jihad, terrorism and Middle East expert Walid Phares gave a definitive account of the historical and cultural forces that led to September 11 and the rise of radical Islam. In The War of Ideas, he revealed the conflict of ideologies that underlie the War on Terror. Now, in The Confrontation, he identifies the clashes to come and provides a blueprint for defeating the forces of jihad. Moving from the ravaged villages of the Sudan to London's Muslim neighborhoods to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, he illuminates the vast and complex world of the global jihadist movement. He offers a multi-pronged strategy, global in scope, and calls on the world's diverse local and international institutions to come together and coordinate their efforts. Pointing the way forward, this book shows how we might reclaim a world that is safe for freedom and democratic societies.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2008

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a Lebanese scholar, this book argues that for the West to confront the jihadist threat, Westerners should support moderate Middle Easterners who seek freedom. While this idea is defensible, he does not discuss how to effectively promote freedom in the Middle East without provoking chaos. He is also very concerned about how Middle Eastern intellectual leaders have influenced Americans to oppose this project. However, he never discusses the challenges or how to address them. He also spends too much time self-aggrandizing.