Human Factors in Effective Counter-Terrorism

Human Factors in Effective Counter-Terrorism

Author: Richard Warnes

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-02-29

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1003858368

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This book seeks to provide a comparative assessment of the significance of ‘human factors’ in effective counter-terrorism. The phrase ‘human factors’ is used to describe personal relationships, individual capabilities, effective leadership, technical interface, organisational culture and the community engagement necessary to effectively minimise, counter and control the threat of terrorism. Unlike many works in the field, this book is constructed around the input of ‘experienced knowledge’ from over 170 semi-structured interviews of specialist military, policing, intelligence and security practitioners - those actors actually involved in countering terrorism. These practitioners come from seven countries – the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Israel, Turkey and the United States – all of which have suffered over the years from different types of terrorist threat and responded with a mixture of counter-terrorist measures. Where military practitioners also discussed overseas counter-insurgency measures, that material has been included, since terrorism forms a key aspect of such wider insurgencies. The resulting interview data was analysed through a variant of ‘Grounded Theory’ to identify key emerging themes and issues, both positive and negative, relevant to ‘human factors’ in the individual countries and more generically. This book incorporates the informed operational experiences and insights of the interviewees while seeking to provide examples of successful counter-terrorist measures at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. This book will be of much interest to students of counter-terrorism, defence studies and security studies in general.


The World Information War

The World Information War

Author: Timothy Clack

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-05-10

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1000385639

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This book outlines the threats from information warfare faced by the West and analyses the ways it can defend itself. Existing on a spectrum from communication to indoctrination, information can be used to undermine trust, amplify emotional resonance, and reformulate identities. The West is currently experiencing an information war, and major setbacks have included: ‘fake news’; disinformation campaigns; the manipulation of users of social media; the dissonance of hybrid warfare; and even accusations of ‘state capture’. Nevertheless, the West has begun to comprehend the reality of what is happening, and it is now in a position defend itself. In this volume, scholars, information practitioners, and military professionals define this new war and analyse its shape, scope, and direction. Collectively, they indicate how media policies, including social media, represent a form of information strategy, how information has become the ‘centre of gravity’ of operations, and why the further exploitation of data (by scale and content) by adversaries can be anticipated. For the West, being first with the truth, being skilled in cyber defence, and demonstrating virtuosity in information management are central to resilience and success. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, information warfare, propaganda studies, cyber-security, and International Relations.


Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism

Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-08-26

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0309167922

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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.


Psychology of Terrorism

Psychology of Terrorism

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13:

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In compiling this annotated bibliography on the psychology of terrorism, the author has defined terrorism as "acts of violence intentionally perpetrated on civilian noncombatants with the goal of furthering some ideological, religious or political objective." The principal focus is on nonstate actors. The task was to identify and analyze the scientific and professional social science literature pertaining to the psychological and/or behavioral dimensions of terrorist behavior (not on victimization or effects). The objectives were to explore what questions pertaining to terrorist groups and behavior had been asked by social science researchers; to identify the main findings from that research; and attempt to distill and summarize them within a framework of operationally relevant questions. To identify the relevant social science literature, the author began by searching a series of major academic databases using a systematic, iterative keyword strategy, mapping, where possible, onto existing subject headings. The focus was on locating professional social science literature published in major books or in peer-reviewed journals. Searches were conducted of the following databases October 2003: Sociofile/Sociological Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts (CJ Abstracts), Criminal Justice Periodical Index (CJPI), National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts (NCJRS), PsycInfo, Medline, and Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). Three types of annotations were provided for works in this bibliography: Author's Abstract -- this is the abstract of the work as provided (and often published) by the author; Editor's Annotation -- this is an annotation written by the editor of this bibliography; and Key Quote Summary -- this is an annotation composed of "key quotes" from the original work, edited to provide a cogent overview of its main points.


Making the Nation Safer

Making the Nation Safer

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780309084802

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This report describes many ways in which science and engineering can contribute to making the nation safer against the threat of catastrophic terrorism. The report identifies key actions that can be undertaken now, based on knowledge and technologies in hand, and, equally important, describes key opportunities for reducing current and future risks through longer-term research and development activities.


The Conduct of War in the 21st Century

The Conduct of War in the 21st Century

Author: Rob Johnson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-03-02

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1000347060

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This book examines the key dimensions of 21st century war, and shows that orthodox thinking about war, particularly what it is and how it is fought, needs to be updated. Accelerating societal, economic, political and technological change affects how we prepare, equip and organise for war, as well as how we conduct war – both in its low-tech and high-tech forms, and whether it is with high intensity or low intensity. The volume examines changes in warfare by investigating the key features of the conduct of war during the first decades of the 21st century. Conceptually centred around the terms ‘kinetic’, ‘connected’ and ‘synthetic’, the analysis delves into a wide range of topics. The contributions discuss hybrid warfare, cyber and influence activities, machine learning and artificial intelligence, the use of armed drones and air power, the implications of the counterinsurgency experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, as well as the consequences for law(fare) and decision making. This work will be of much interest to students of military and strategic studies, security studies and International Relations. Chapters 1, 2, 5, and 19 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.


Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups

Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups

Author: Mark S. Hamm

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1437929591

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This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Examines terrorists¿ involvement in a variety of crimes ranging from motor vehicle violations, immigration fraud, and mfg. illegal firearms to counterfeiting, armed bank robbery, and smuggling weapons of mass destruction. There are 3 parts: (1) Compares the criminality of internat. jihad groups with domestic right-wing groups. (2) Six case studies of crimes includes trial transcripts, official reports, previous scholarship, and interviews with law enforce. officials and former terrorists are used to explore skills that made crimes possible; or events and lack of skill that the prevented crimes. Includes brief bio. of the terrorists along with descriptions of their org., strategies, and plots. (3) Analysis of the themes in closing arguments of the transcripts in Part 2. Illus.


The Mind of the Terrorist

The Mind of the Terrorist

Author: Jerrold M. Post

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2007-12-10

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0230608590

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In contrast to the widely held assumption that terrorists as crazed fanatics, Jerrold Post demonstrates they are psychologically "normal" and that "hatred has been bred in the bone". He reveals the powerful motivations that drive these ordinary people to such extraordinary evil by exploring the different types of terrorists, from national-separatists like the Irish Republican Army to social revolutionary terrorists like the Shining Path, as well as religious extremists like al-Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo. In The Mind of the Terrorist, Post uses his expertise to explain how the terrorist mind works and how this information can help us to combat terrorism more effectively.


Ethics in Counter-Terrorism

Ethics in Counter-Terrorism

Author: Magdalena Badde-Revue

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-04-10

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 9004357815

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European armed forces have frequently had to participate in counter-terrorist operations while abroad. For many, however, counter-terrorist operations in their home country are a relatively new phenomenon. Armed and uniformed soldiers can now be seen doing work which is, in some respects, comparable to that of the civilian security forces. What are the ethical implications of this phenomenon? To what extent does it change the relationship between the soldier and the democratic state? Do emerging technologies encroach on democratic freedoms? Does the phenomenon re-define the relationship between the police and the military? Under what conditions can soldiers be trained to achieve victory by force of arms, be used effectively in crowded city centres? Conversely, do we also risk over-militarising our police?


Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists

Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-09-26

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 0309134447

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All U.S. agencies with counterterrorism programs that collect or "mine" personal data-such as phone records or Web sites visited-should be required to evaluate the programs' effectiveness, lawfulness, and impacts on privacy. A framework is offered that agencies can use to evaluate such information-based programs, both classified and unclassified. The book urges Congress to re-examine existing privacy law to assess how privacy can be protected in current and future programs and recommends that any individuals harmed by violations of privacy be given a meaningful form of redress. Two specific technologies are examined: data mining and behavioral surveillance. Regarding data mining, the book concludes that although these methods have been useful in the private sector for spotting consumer fraud, they are less helpful for counterterrorism because so little is known about what patterns indicate terrorist activity. Regarding behavioral surveillance in a counterterrorist context, the book concludes that although research and development on certain aspects of this topic are warranted, there is no scientific consensus on whether these techniques are ready for operational use at all in counterterrorism.