The War of All The People: The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism PDF
Preview The War of All The People: The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism
The War of all The PeoPle Also from Potomac Books Axis of Unity: Venezuela, Iran & the Threat to America —Sean Goforth The War of all The PeoPle The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism Jon B. Perdue FoREwoRd by STEphEN JohNSoN Potomac Books Washington, D.C. Copyright © 2012 by Jon B. Perdue Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Perdue, Jon B., 1967– The war of all the people : the nexus of latin american radicalism and Middle eastern terrorism / Jon B. Perdue ; foreword by Stephen Johnson. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59797-704-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-59797-803-3 (electronic) 1. radicalism—latin america. 2. latin america—Politics and government—1980– I. Title. hN110.5.Z9r365 2012 303.48’4--dc23 2012016051 Printed in the United States of america on acid-free paper that meets the american National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard. Potomac Books 22841 Quicksilver Drive Dulles, Virginia 20166 first edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my father, who taught me that effort, though not equal to talent, can still be its master This page intentionally left blank Contents foreword by Stephen Johnson ix Preface xiii Introduction 1 Part I. A Brief History of Terrorist Collaboration 1 assessing the enemy 15 2 Checking the record 19 3 The Wolf at the Door 42 Part II. Joining the Two extremes 4 revolution Makes Strange Bedfellows 59 5 The Transformation of Neo-Nazi Ideology 67 6 The Third Position 85 Part III. Step-by-Step Subversion 7 Slow-Motion revolution 97 8 Managing the Media 117 9 Managing the Masses 133 10 Managing the Military 140 11 Managing the Militias 152 12 exporting the revolution 163 viii CoNTeNTS Part IV. Gauging the Threat 13 The Threat to america’s “Soft Underbelly” 185 14 a Potential failed State Next Door 203 15 Venezuela: State Sponsor of Terrorism 209 16 The emerging Threats 214 Notes 223 Selected Bibliography 253 Index 255 about the author 263 Foreword The threats we face today are quite real. Suicide bombings in Pakistan, kidnappings in Colombia, and foiled terror plots more ambitious than the attacks of September 11, 2001, are evidence enough. Yet until they reach our shores, these threats remain largely in the mind of the beholder. What an analyst makes of them depends on connecting dots between the attitudes of states, the activities of suspected support networks, and the psychologies of individual actors. often a good bit of interpreta- tion is needed to bring relationships into focus to be able to predict how hostile intentions may result in a strike. There are plenty of ways for strategists and policymakers to go wrong. Con- centrating on vulnerabilities leads to a mind-set of constantly trying to fill gaps. frankly, there are too many weaknesses for that to be practical. Trend spotting is popular because experience teaches us that criminals and terrorists tend to be copy- cats. Yet that can lead in the wrong direction when dealing with creative adversaries. Predicting intentions through message and document analysis is useful up to a point, except that it is hard to know how seriously adversaries take their own words or whether they use them as cover for ulterior motives. Six years ago, Jorge Verstrynge’s guide to asymmetrical warfare, Peripheral Warfare and Revolutionary Islam: Origins, Rules and Ethics of Asymmetric Warfare, gained attention when it was distributed as a little booklet to members of Venezuela’s armed forces. Was it a battle plan or a diversion to make neighbors nervous? Then there is media reporting, which tends to market titillating information to a sensation-hungry public. often decision makers are forced to react to these media bursts, adding to the distortion that comes from paying too much attention to the ix
The list of books you might like
