The War on Terror www.theatlantic.com/waronterror
The International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism, Herzliyah Interdisciplinary Center: www.ict.org.il.
The first of these sites comes from an Israeli university-in-the-making; it offers a wealth of links, short profiles, and on-line articles. Not surprisingly, the perspective is a conservative Israeli one, but that does not detract from the value of much of the material here. Its databases on terrorist attacks are searchable and seem to cover a wide range of organizations, including those outside the Middle East.
The Atlantic, under the editorial leadership of the irascible but able Michael Kelly, has produced some of the more interesting writing on Islamic terrorism, including articles by Bernard Lewis, Peter Bergen, and Reuel Marc Gerecht. Some of the other pieces on this site do not hold up so well, but this is serious journalism of a consistently high order, well worth a visit.
Related
Reviews recent US public opinion poll evidence on relations with USSR and security issues, finding a cautious attitude, stressing verification and other means of testing Soviet 'good faith'. Americans believe that (1) Gorbachev seeks "to change... the very character of the Soviet Union" (2) the nuclear threat from a (hypothetical) terrorist group or Third World power is greater than that from the USSR (3) today's greatest challenges (including pollution, terrorism, over-population and trade) "are no longer East-West in nature but global".
Fears of a "digital Pearl Harbor" -- a cyberattack against critical infrastructure -- have so preoccupied Western governments that they have neglected to recognize that terrorists actually use the Internet as a tool for organizing, recruiting, and fundraising. Their online activities offer a window onto their methods, ideas, and plans.
The United States has put legions of spokespersons on the airwaves at home and abroad in a campaign to "win the hearts and minds" of the Muslim world. So far, however, the world's superpower is losing the propaganda war to a terrorist in hiding. This is not surprising, given the virulent anti-Western messages that repressive Middle Eastern regimes spread through state-run media. Washington should focus instead on bringing freedom of the press to those countries where oppression breeds terrorism.
