Enemies Near and Far

Enemies Near and Far PDF Author: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231551266
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Although the United States has prioritized its fight against militant groups for two decades, the transnational jihadist movement has proved surprisingly resilient and adaptable. Many analysts and practitioners have underestimated these militant organizations, viewing them as unsophisticated or unchanging despite the ongoing evolution of their tactics and strategies. In Enemies Near and Far, two internationally recognized experts use newly available documents from al-Qaeda and ISIS to explain how jihadist groups think, grow, and adapt. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Thomas Joscelyn recast militant groups as learning organizations, detailing their embrace of strategic, tactical, and technological innovation. Drawing on theories of organizational learning, they provide a sweeping account of these groups’ experimentation over time. Gartenstein-Ross and Joscelyn shed light on militant groups’ most effective strategic and tactical moves, including attacks targeting aircraft and the use of the internet to inspire and direct lone attackers, and they examine jihadists’ ability to shift their strategy based on political context. While militant groups’ initial efforts to upgrade their capabilities often fail, these attempts should generally be understood not as failures but as experiments in service of a learning process—a process that continues until these groups achieve a breakthrough. Providing unprecedented historical and strategic perspective on how jihadist groups learn and evolve, Enemies Near and Far also explores how to anticipate future threats, analyzing how militants are likely to deploy a range of emerging technologies.

Enemies Near and Far

Enemies Near and Far PDF Author: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231551266
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although the United States has prioritized its fight against militant groups for two decades, the transnational jihadist movement has proved surprisingly resilient and adaptable. Many analysts and practitioners have underestimated these militant organizations, viewing them as unsophisticated or unchanging despite the ongoing evolution of their tactics and strategies. In Enemies Near and Far, two internationally recognized experts use newly available documents from al-Qaeda and ISIS to explain how jihadist groups think, grow, and adapt. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Thomas Joscelyn recast militant groups as learning organizations, detailing their embrace of strategic, tactical, and technological innovation. Drawing on theories of organizational learning, they provide a sweeping account of these groups’ experimentation over time. Gartenstein-Ross and Joscelyn shed light on militant groups’ most effective strategic and tactical moves, including attacks targeting aircraft and the use of the internet to inspire and direct lone attackers, and they examine jihadists’ ability to shift their strategy based on political context. While militant groups’ initial efforts to upgrade their capabilities often fail, these attempts should generally be understood not as failures but as experiments in service of a learning process—a process that continues until these groups achieve a breakthrough. Providing unprecedented historical and strategic perspective on how jihadist groups learn and evolve, Enemies Near and Far also explores how to anticipate future threats, analyzing how militants are likely to deploy a range of emerging technologies.

Special Warfare

Special Warfare PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military art and science
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description


Enemy of the State

Enemy of the State PDF Author: Vince Flynn
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476783543
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
“In the world of black-op thrillers, Mitch Rapp continues to be among the best of the best” (Booklist, starred review), and he returns in the #1 New York Times bestselling series alone and targeted by a country that is supposed to be one of America’s closest allies. After 9/11, the United States made one of the most secretive and dangerous deals in its history—the evidence against the powerful Saudis who coordinated the attack would be buried and in return, King Faisal would promise to keep the oil flowing and deal with the conspirators in his midst. But when the king’s own nephew is discovered funding ISIS, the furious President gives Rapp his next mission: he must find out more about the high-level Saudis involved in the scheme and kill them. The catch? Rapp will get no support from the United States. Forced to make a decision that will change his life forever, Rapp quits the CIA and assembles a group of independent contractors to help him complete the mission. They’ve barely begun unraveling the connections between the Saudi government and ISIS when the brilliant new head of the intelligence directorate discovers their efforts. With Rapp getting too close, he threatens to go public with the details of the post-9/11 agreement between the two countries. Facing an international incident that could end his political career, the President orders America’s intelligence agencies to join the Saudis’ effort to hunt the former CIA man down. Rapp, supported only by a team of mercenaries with dubious allegiances, finds himself at the center of the most elaborate manhunt in history. With white-knuckled twists and turns leading to “an explosive climax” (Publishers Weekly), Enemy of the State is an unputdownable thrill ride that will keep you guessing until the final page.

The Far Enemy

The Far Enemy PDF Author: Fawaz A. Gerges
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521519357
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
This edition shows that not only have the jihadists split ranks, but those who previously supported al Qaeda are condemning its tactics.

The Places That Scare You

The Places That Scare You PDF Author: Pema Chödrön
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1590304497
Category : Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
From the bestselling author of "When Things Fall Apart" comes a book that reveals that the secret to cultivating a compassionate heart and an enlightened mind lies in facing what we are most afraid of.

Heart

Heart PDF Author: Vessantara
Publisher: Windhorse Publications
ISBN: 1907314237
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Explore the potential of your heart, and discover a warmer, more loving you. Cultivating more warmth, more kindness, more happiness is possible for all of us. Through the loving-kindness meditation, this useful combination of practical instruction and encouraging lessons can show where working with positive emotions can lead us.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism

Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism PDF Author: Gary Gach
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781592572779
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Enlightenment has never been easier than with this updated guide to Buddhism.432 pp.

Buddhism

Buddhism PDF Author: Dalai Lama
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1614293929
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Now in Paperback! Explore with the Dalai Lama the common ground underlying the diverse traditions of Buddhism. Buddhism is practiced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from Tibetan caves to Tokyo temples to redwood retreats. To an outside viewer, it might be hard to see what they all have in common. In Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out with clarity the convergences and the divergences between the two major strains of Buddhism—the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the Pali traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Especially deep consideration is given to the foundational Indian traditions and their respective treatment of such central tenets as the four noble truths the practice of meditation the meaning of nirvana enlightenment. The authors seek harmony and greater understanding among Buddhist traditions worldwide, illuminating the rich benefits of respectful dialogue and the many ways that Buddhists of all stripes share a common heritage and common goals.

Strategic Culture and Violent Non-State Actors

Strategic Culture and Violent Non-State Actors PDF Author: Edward D. Last
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000163725
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This book applies strategic culture concepts to violent non-state actors (VNSAs) in a comparative analysis. In recent years, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has become notorious for kidnapping Western hostages in north-western Africa and for its role in the short-lived Islamist takeover of Mali. The group, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, rebranded itself as an Al-Qaida franchise in 2007, leading to speculation of a change from its Algeria-centric agenda to an anti-Western one. This study compares and contrasts the ideas and behaviour of these two groups, using a strategic-cultural approach, and finds that, despite some commonalities, AQIM has a distinct strategic culture from Al-Qaida central, thereby debunking the notion of Al-Qaida as a monolithic movement. This is the first comparative analysis of violent non-state actors to employ a strategic-cultural approach and the first such study on AQIM. While strategic culture has traditionally been applied to states, this work adds to the emerging literature applying such approaches to non-state armed groups, and employs a novel conception of strategic culture consisting of narratives and practices. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic culture, political violence, Middle Eastern politics and Security Studies in general.

Jihad and Dawah

Jihad and Dawah PDF Author: Samina Yasmeen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 1849049750
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
This book provides a detailed account of the emergence and metamorphoses of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its political arm, Jamat ud Dawah, since the early 1990s. Linking the group's narratives to the process of Islamization in Pakistan and divergent views on the country's Islamic identity, it is the first systematic analysis of how the organization, globally reviled as the perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai Bombings, has developed its conception of da'wah (proselytizing) and jihad in response to regional and global developments. Samina Yasmeen makes extensive use of Urdu materials (pamphlets, books, ephemera) by Markaz Da'wah wal Irshad, the parent organization of LeT, to examine the 'insider's vision' of the dominant threats to Pakistan and the Muslim ummah, as well as strategies for countering these threats. She argues that while adopting an oppositional narrative vis-à-vis India and the West, LeT has increasingly turned its attention to da'wah narratives within Pakistan engaging with broader spectrums of society. Women have increasingly been assigned significant agency in this narrative, and JuD's activism in education and social welfare has helped it acquire social capital. This, in turn, prompts a re-imagining of the movement's relationship with the Pakistani military.