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Terrorist Recognition Handbook

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Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities is a non-fiction book about counterterrorism strategies, written by U.S. Navy retired cryptology analyst Malcolm Nance. The book is intended to help law enforcement and intelligence officials with the professional practice of behavior analysis and criminal psychology of anticipating potential terrorists before they commit criminal acts. Nance draws from the field of traditional criminal analysis to posit that detecting domestic criminals is similar to determining which individuals are likely to commit acts of terrorism. The book provides resources for the law enforcement official including descriptions of devices used for possible bombs, a database of terrorist networks, and a list of references used. Nance gives the reader background on Al-Qaeda tactics, clandestine cell systems and sleeper agents, and terrorist communication methods.

Terrorist Recognition Handbook
First edition
AuthorMalcolm Nance
Original titleTerrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectCounterterrorism
GenreWarfare
PublisherThe Lyons Press
Publication date
2003
Media typePaperback
Pages439
ISBN978-1466554573
OCLC777603223
Preceded byAn End to al-Qaeda 
Followed byThe Terrorists of Iraq 
WebsiteOfficial website
[1][2][3]

Terrorist Recognition Handbook received two separate book reviews in the academic journal Perspectives on Terrorism.[2][3] The journal placed the book on its "Top 150 Books on Terrorism and Counterterrorism".[2] Its second review of the book wrote that the Terrorist Recognition Handbook "provides a comprehensive and detailed treatment of terrorism and counter-terrorism."[3] A review published by RSA Conference called it "required reading", and "a must-read for anyone tasked with or interested in anti-terrorism activities."[4] Midwest Book Review rated it "highly recommended for those in charge of security and community library military collections."[5]

Background edit

 
Malcolm Nance, author of Terrorist Recognition Handbook

Malcolm Nance is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer in naval cryptology.[6][7][8] He garnered expertise within the fields of intelligence and counterterrorism.[9][10][11] He served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, from 1981 to 2001.[12][13] Nance was an interpreter for Russian, and began working in the intelligence field through research into the history of the Soviet Union and its spying agency the KGB.[14] He devoted years of research to analyzing Middle East terrorism and sovereign nations with ties to Russia.[14] He graduated from New York's Excelsior College with a degree in Arabic.[15] Nance took part in combat operations which occurred after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, was involved with the 1986 United States bombing of Libya, served on USS Wainwright during Operation Praying Mantis and participated in the sinking of Iranian missile boat Joshan, served on USS Tripoli during the Gulf War, and assisted during a Banja Luka, Bosnia air strike.[12]

After retiring from military service, Nance founded a consulting company based in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. where he provided advising services to United States Special Operations Command.[12] During the September 11 attacks, Nance personally witnessed American Airlines Flight 77 crash into The Pentagon and he assisted in rescue operations at the impact site.[12][13] He created a training center called the Advanced Terrorism, Abduction and Hostage Survival School.[13] Nance manages a think tank analyzing counterterrorism called "Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies", consisting of Central Intelligence Agency and military intelligence officers with direct prior field experience.[13][11] Nance is a member of the board of directors for the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.[12] Nance's books on counter-terrorism include: The Terrorists of Iraq,[16] An End to al-Qaeda,[17] The Plot to Hack America,[18] Defeating ISIS,[19] and Hacking ISIS.[20]

Summary edit

The book serves as a manual for counter-terrorism and law enforcement officials to prevent terrorist attacks.[4] It is organized into six sections, covering topics including the motivations and methods of terrorists, warning signs of terrorism, intelligence collection management strategies, post-attack mitigation measures, and weapons used by terrorists, including weapons of mass destruction.[2][3][4] Appendix resources include indexes of explosive materials and terrorist groups.[3]

Nance discusses suicide bombers, noting that it is crucial to understand their extremist religious views in order to anticipate their attacks. Nance also covers the modus operandi of terrorist cells which are a key component of terror operations. His analysis includes the different types of cells, as well as their common tactics, communication and recruitment methods.[4]

The book provides background on worldwide extremism ideologies and the operations of al-Qaeda across the world. It explains how al-Qaeda categorizes their targets as "Near Enemies" or "Far Enemies". The former group includes federal bureaucracies in India, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. The latter includes Israel, Europe, Australia, and the United States.[4]

Nance emphasizes the splintered nature of al-Qaeda, which operates as a collective of smaller groups inspired by Osama bin Laden, with the Internet serving as a central organizing hub. He observes that where al-Qaeda had previously functioned as a set of terrorist entities, it shaped its operations to become more business-like, serving to disseminate information, motivate members, and provide economic funding for terrorist operations.[2][3][4]

Release and reception edit

The book was first published in 2003.[2] Its third edition was published in 2013 by CRC Press.[21][22] An e-book edition was released the same year.[23] CRC Press published another release of the third edition of the book, both in print and e-book formats.[24][25]

Nance's work received a book review from Midwest Book Review, which wrote: "Terrorist Recognition Handbook offers an examination of common and uncommon terrorist tactics – and how to identify an attack before it happens."[5] The review concluded, "Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities is highly recommended for those in charge of security and community library military collections."[5]

Terrorist Recognition Handbook received two separate book reviews in the academic journal Perspectives on Terrorism.[2][3] The journal placed the book on its "Top 150 Books on Terrorism and Counterterrorism".[2] Joshua Sinai wrote for Perspectives on Terrorism, "Written by a 20-year veteran of the U.S. intelligence community, this book provides an assessment of terrorists' motivations and methods, including a listing of pre-incident indicators of potential terrorist activity, and the methodologies required to organize such information into actionable intelligence for effective response measures."[2] Sinai wrote of the resources contained within the monograph, "The information is explained through numerous illustrations, including explanations of the types of conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction that might be used by terrorists."[2] In his second review of the book for Perspectives on Terrorism, Sinai wrote that the book, "provides a comprehensive and detailed treatment of terrorism and counter-terrorism."[3]

Ben Rothke reviewed the book for RSA Conference, and called it "required reading".[4] Rothke praised the author's expertise and writing style, "Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities, is unique in that author Malcolm Nance is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. intelligence community and writes from a first hand-perspective, but with the organization and methodology of writers such as Pipes and Emerson. Those combined traits make the book extraordinarily valuable and perhaps the definitive text on terrorist recognition."[4] Rothke's review concluded, "The Terrorist Recognition Handbook is a must-read for anyone tasked with or interested in anti-terrorism activities. One would hope that every TSA and Homeland Security manager and employee get a copy of this monumental reference."[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Govern, Kevin H.; Ave Maria School of Law (April 13, 2009), Renda-Tanali, Irmak; McGee, Sibel (eds.), "Book Review: Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities, by Malcolm Nance", Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 6 (1), doi:10.2202/1547-7355.1571, ISSN 1547-7355, OCLC 4957793059, S2CID 144240026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sinai, Joshua (2012), "Book Review: Terrorism Bookshelf: Top 150 Books on Terrorism and Counterterrorism", Perspectives on Terrorism, 6 (2), Terrorism Research Initiative and the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies, ISSN 2334-3745, archived from the original on May 28, 2017, retrieved June 10, 2017
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Sinai, Joshua (2014), "Book Review: 'Counterterrorism Bookshelf' – 23 Books on Terrorism & Counter-terrorism Related Subjects", Perspectives on Terrorism, 8 (1), Terrorism Research Initiative and the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies, ISSN 2334-3745, retrieved June 10, 2017
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rothke, Ben (December 28, 2009), "Required reading: The Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities", RSA Conference, EMC Corporation, retrieved June 10, 2017
  5. ^ a b c "Book Review: The Military Shelf – Terrorist Recognition Handbook", Internet Bookwatch, 18 (7), July 2008, retrieved June 10, 2017 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Wolcott, James (March 21, 2017), "5 essential Twitter feeds for keeping up with Trump and Russia", Vanity Fair, retrieved June 7, 2017
  7. ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (May 21, 2017), "Barbara Lee brings John Dean, Malcolm Nance to town hall meeting", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved June 7, 2017
  8. ^ Concha, Joe (February 18, 2017), "Maher: Russian election influence is worst political scandal in US history", The Hill, retrieved June 7, 2017
  9. ^ Devega, Chauncey (March 14, 2017), "Intelligence expert Malcolm Nance on Trump scandal: 'As close to Benedict Arnold as we're ever going to get'", Salon, retrieved June 7, 2017
  10. ^ Donahue, Joe (January 5, 2017), "Counterterrorism Expert Malcolm Nance", WAMC, archived from the original on May 29, 2017, retrieved June 7, 2017
  11. ^ a b Hobson, Jeremy (October 12, 2016), "How Hackable Is The Election?", Here and Now, WBUR, retrieved June 7, 2017
  12. ^ a b c d e Lamb, Brian (April 28, 2017), "Q&A with Malcolm Nance", C-SPAN (video), retrieved June 7, 2017
  13. ^ a b c d Jones, Layla A. (March 10, 2017), "Philly native is media expert on intelligence", The Philadelphia Tribune, retrieved June 7, 2017
  14. ^ a b Lipkin, Michael (October 10, 2016), "The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election", New York Journal of Books, retrieved June 7, 2017
  15. ^ "Malcolm Nance to present fall 2016 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science". Iowa State University. August 23, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2014), The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1498706896
  17. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2010), An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0312592493
  18. ^ Nance, Malcolm (October 10, 2016), The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election, Skyhorse Publishing, p. 216, ISBN 978-1510723320
  19. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2016), Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510711846
  20. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2017), Hacking ISIS: How to Destroy the Cyber Jihad, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510718920
  21. ^ OCLC 856196239
  22. ^ Nance, Malcolm (2013), Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities, Third Edition, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1466554573
  23. ^ OCLC 857769665
  24. ^ OCLC 777603223
  25. ^ OCLC 869789587

Further reading edit

External links edit

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