Act Of Terror

"Is terrorism crime or war? Can there be a 'war against terrorism'? In this fully updated edition, Charles Townshend unravels the questions at the heart of the problem of terrorism - its causes, methods, effects, and limitations - suggesting that it must be understood as a political strategy whose threat can be rationally grasped and answered"--Publisher's description.

No one knows who may be the next threat in this “action-packed” thriller by the New York Times-bestselling author of National Security (Publishers Weekly). From coast to coast, our nation is witnessing a new wave of terror. Suicide bombers incite blind panic and paralyzing fear. A flight attendant tries to crash an airliner. A police officer opens fire on fans in a stadium. And at CIA headquarters, a Deputy Director goes on a murderous rampage. The perpetrators appear to be American—but they are covert agents in a vast network of terror, selected and trained for one purpose only: the complete annihilation of America. Special Agent Jericho Quinn has seen the warning signs. As a classified “instrument” of the CIA reporting directly to the president, Quinn knows that these random acts of violence pose a clear and present danger. But Quinn may not be able to stop it. The search for terrorists has escalated into an all-out witch hunt. And somehow, Quinn's name is on the list… “Quinn is most definitely one of the best characters in the thriller realm.”—Suspense Magazine

The Oklahoma City bombing, intentional crashing of airliners on September 11, 2001, and anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001 have made Americans acutely aware of the impacts of terrorism. These events and continued threats of terrorism have raised questions about the impact on the psychological health of the nation and how well the public health infrastructure is able to meet the psychological needs that will likely result. Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism highlights some of the critical issues in responding to the psychological needs that result from terrorism and provides possible options for intervention. The committee offers an example for a public health strategy that may serve as a base from which plans to prevent and respond to the psychological consequences of a variety of terrorism events can be formulated. The report includes recommendations for the training and education of service providers, ensuring appropriate guidelines for the protection of service providers, and developing public health surveillance for preevent, event, and postevent factors related to psychological consequences.

`A massive apartheid thriller centred on a plot to blow up none other than the State President outside the gates of Cape Town Castle. . . Brink at his robust and imaginative best' - Adam Low, Daily Telegraph. A profound novel set in South Africa that combines compelling action with an intellectual confrontation of the author's poitically volatile home country. A brave masterpiece from Booker Prize shortlisted, award-winning author André Brink.

Terrorism has become one of the major threats facing both states and the international community, in particular after the terrorist attacks in the United States, Madrid and London, which revealed a whole new scale and dimension of the phenomenon. An effective response is absolutely necessary; this response, however, cannot undermine democracy, human rights, the rule of law or the supreme values inherent to these principles.There is no universally agreed definition of "terrorism", nor is there an international Jurisdiction before which the perpetrators of terrorist crimes can be brought to account. The European Court of Human Rights is the first international Jurisdiction to deal with such a phenomenon. For many decades and through more than four hundred cases, it has elaborated a clear, integrated and articulated body of case law on responses to terrorism from a human rights and rule of law perspective. Thus, this is a handbook on counter-terrorism with a special focus on due respect for human rights and rule of law.This book compiles the doctrine laid down by the European Court of Human Rights in this field with a view to facilitating the task of adjudicators, legal officers, lawyers, international IGOs, NGOs, policy makers, researchers, victims and all those committed to fighting this scourge. The book presents a careful analysis of this body of case law and the general principles applicable to the fight against terrorism resulting from each particular case. It also includes a compendium of the main cases dealt with by the Strasbourg Court in this field and will prove to be a most useful guiding tool in the sensitive area of counter-terrorism and human rights.

This book examines the attempts by the international community and the United Nations to define and criminalise terrorism. In doing so, it explores the difficult legal, ethical and philosophical questions involved in deciding when political violence is, or is not, permissible.

Vulnerabilities abound in U.S. society. The openness and efficiency of our key infrastructures â€" transportation, information and telecommunications systems, health systems, the electric power grid, emergency response units, food and water supplies, and others â€" make them susceptible to terrorist attacks. Making the Nation Safer discusses technical approaches to mitigating these vulnerabilities. A broad range of topics are covered in this book, including: Nuclear and radiological threats, such as improvised nuclear devices and "dirty bombs;" Bioterrorism, medical research, agricultural systems and public health; Toxic chemicals and explosive materials; Information technology, such as communications systems, data management, cyber attacks, and identification and authentication systems; Energy systems, such as the electrical power grid and oil and natural gas systems; Transportation systems; Cities and fixed infrastructures, such as buildings, emergency operations centers, and tunnels; The response of people to terrorism, such as how quality of life and morale of the population can be a target of terrorists and how people respond to terrorist attacks; and Linked infrastructures, i.e. the vulnerabilities that result from the interdependencies of key systems. In each of these areas, there are recommendations on how to immediately apply existing knowledge and technology to make the nation safer and on starting research and development programs that could produce innovations that will strengthen key systems and protect us against future threats. The book also discusses issues affecting the government's ability to carry out the necessary science and engineering programs and the important role of industry, universities, and states, counties, and cities in homeland security efforts. A long term commitment to homeland security is necessary to make the nation safer, and this book lays out a roadmap of how science and engineering can assist in countering terrorism.

In September 11 Kent Roach provides a critical examination of the consequences of September 11 for law, democracy, sovereignty, and security. He assesses a broad range of anti-terrorism measures including the Anti-terrorism Act, the smart border agreement, Canadian participation in the war in Afghanistan, changes to refugee policy, the 2001 Security Budget, and the proposed Public Safety Act. Roach evaluates both the opposition of many civil society groups to the Anti-terrorism Act and the government's defence of the law as necessary to prevent terrorism and consistent with human rights. He warns that exceptions to legal principles made to fight terrorism may spread to attempts to combat other crimes and suggests that Canadian law may not provide adequate protection against invasions of privacy or discriminatory profiling of people as potential terrorists. With reference to controversial comments about September 11 made by Prime Minister Chretien and others and the debate about "anti-Americanism," Roach examines whether September 11 has chilled Canadian democracy. He also examines the challenge September 11 presents for Canadian sovereignty on key components of foreign, military, and immigration policy and the possibility that Canadian Forces participated in violations of international law in Afghanistan. With specific reference to the threat of nuclear and biological terrorism and aviation safety, Roach argues that more emphasis on administrative and technological measures and less emphasis on criminal sanctions and military force may better protect Canadians from both terrorism and other threats to their security.