Terrorism: How the West Can Win

by Benjamin Netanyahu (editor)

Compiles statements from political leaders, scholars of Middle Eastern affairs, specialists on international terrorism, journalists, and foreign experts

Genres: Terrorism

254 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 31, 1986

About the author

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the ninth and current Prime Minister of Israel, serving since March 2009. Netanyahu also serves as the current Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.

Netanyahu is the first (and, to date, only) Israeli prime minister born after the State of Israel's foundation. Netanyahu joined the Israeli Defense Forces In 1967 where he served as a commander in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, taking part in many missions including the hostages rescue mission from the hijacked Sabena Flight 572 in 1972. He fought in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and achieved the rank of captain before being discharged. Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988, member of the Likud Party, and was Prime Minister from June 1996 to July 1999. Netanyahu was Foreign Minister (2002–2003) and Finance Minister (2003–August 2005) in Ariel Sharon's governments, but he departed over disagreements regarding the Gaza Disengagement Plan. He retook the Likud leadership on 20 December 2005. In the 2006 election, Likud did poorly, winning twelve seats. In December 2006, Netanyahu became the official Opposition Leader in the Knesset and Chairman of the Likud Party. In August 2007, he retained the Likud leadership by beating Moshe Feiglin in party elections. Following the 10 February 2009 parliamentary election, in which Likud placed second and right-wing parties won a majority, Netanyahu formed a coalition government. He is the brother of Israeli Special Forces commander Yonatan Netanyahu, who died during a hostage rescue mission, and Iddo Netanyahu, an Israeli author and playwright.

Reviews

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regardless of what one thinks of the arguments here (I agreed maybe 40%), this is a fascinating look into conservative and neoconservative views of terrorism in the 1980s. It is based on the proceedings of the Jonathan Institute's 1984 Conference on terrorism, which attracted seemingly all the big names of conservative thought as well as European and Israeli leaders and thinkers. The JOnathan Institute was named after Netanyahu's brother, who was the sole Israeli soldier to die in the Entebbe raid. This book expresses the deep moral outrage as well as the intellectual conceptions with which conservatives (and some liberals) in many countries approached terrorism. That makes it exceptionally useful for scholars of terrorism, thought, and politics. Plus, the essays are nice and short, which makes it a breeze to read.

Here's a list of some of the major themes that emerge in this book:

Terrorism as a struggle btw civilization and barbarism (they come close to saying this means East v West, but they don't quite say it. Still, this book is a bit clash of civilization-ish).

The legitimization problem: Terrorists use violence to gain publicity and a place at the political bargaining table. In short, there's a creep toward legitimizing them as just another political group (think the PLO). This book pushes hard against that trend, keeping them in the realm of criminality.

Root causes thinking: THis book totally rejects the idea that terrorism is an expression of social/political grievances, the denial of a formal political role/rights for a certain group, or that those are the root causes of terrorism. The writers in this volume see the root causes explanation as legitimizing terrorism by treating it as a means of resolving an injustice. They argue that terrorism is more often a first choice than a last resort and that terrorism emerges from radical ideology and the hunger for power, not out of root causes (huge difference with liberal ideas about terrorism here).

Terrorism as the Negation of Politics: You could see terrorism as the Clausewitzean continuation of politics by other means, but this book argues that terrorism negates politics in the sense of democratic political processes. Democracies are the main targets of terrorism bc they are more vulnerable and have a free press, but terrorists are inherently bypassing or seeking to destroy the peaceful, political means of achieving change. That makes them a huge threat to democracy.

Terrorists are Would-Be Tyrants: To the claim that "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter," this volume replies: no, terrorists are would-be tyrants. Their strategy is predicated on the denial of human rights and rejection of democratic processes and law, and when they take power they are almost always tyrannical, in large part because they have authoritarian or totalitarian ideologies. There are some exceptions (possibly Daniel Ortega), but I thought this was a compelling reframing of terrorism.

Terrorism is rooted in the revolutionary tradition: In this book, terrorism of the 70s and 80s springs from the revolutionary/totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century (Communism, Fascism, Maoism) applied by various contemporary leftist, nationalist, and Islamist groups. The key is that totalitarians argued that all things are political and within the writ of the state, that no one can be neutral, and terrorism makes essentially the same claim: there are no civilians, no one is innocent, everyone is a target. I thought this was a really interesting connection.

These are just a few of the many themes this book develops. I don't necessarily agree with them, but this book is a tremendous resource for scholars.

[Felix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was very dated already in the early 2000's when I read it. A lot of it is concerned with the Soviet Union and its support of terrorist organizations around the world - still an important subject for historians, but since this book is publicistic it provides little of use for the historian.

[Jorge Milberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book. To read it in the light of the current events in Gaza and Israel following the surprise terrorist attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel is opportune and enlightening. Netanyahu edited this book almost 40 years ago, yet it is very powerful in helping to read and understanding the situation at hand there. Netanyahu himself wrote several pages, in particular a brilliant piece at the end of the book, but the book is a compilation of work written by more than 40 people of great knowledge and or responsibility on the subject. The book also helps to understand the massive response of the Israeli government through its specialized forces, and te depth and scope of the response, including the fact that to-date it has resulted in the death of close to 25,000 mostly innocent people (including women, children, elderly and sick).

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Netanyahu edits this book as well as being a primary contributer. The book takes a hard look at terrorism and what can be done to deal with it. He takes a very hard line with it, and makes some very insightful statements as to the definition of terrorism. When the US first declared the "War on Terror" in the post 9/11 world many people asked themselves, "How do you make war on an idea?" Netanyahu actually answers that question quite well. I will not give spoilers, suffice to say, if you can find this book and have the interest, it is a fantastic piece.