Terrorism Today

Harmon's work is an original and comprehensive assessment and critique of the use by sub-state groups of terrorism as a political instrument to attain political power. The author is a professor at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, specializing in terrorism studies. This expertise is demonstrated in the book's encyclopedic coverage of terrorism. Harmon discusses terrorist groups' ideologies, psychologies, policies, strategies, tactics, and varieties of operations, which are illustrated in his survey of the globe's most significant terrorist insurgencies, such as the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the IRA in Northern Ireland, the Palestinian Hamas, the Lebanese Hizballah, and the insurgency in Colombia in which terrorism is combined with narcotrafficking. Harmon foresees greater technical sophistication in terrorist tactics and weaponry, such as the use of powerful, portable weapons that can shoot down airliners, wreck high-speed trains, or poison thousands of people in an urban environment. Another trend is the increasing link between terrorist and criminal groups, particularly narcotraffickers. The author concludes with a well-reasoned assessment of counter-terrorism, including a discussion of the relationship between political will and making concessions to terrorist demands.