First, what constitutes terrorism? What is new about the 'new' terrorism? Why is the Muslim world the most potent breeding ground of this new terrorism? To what extent is religion itself a factor? Is there a clash of civilizations between the Muslim world and the largely Christian or post-Christian West? Is America at fault? Israel? Did European nations turn a blind eye to terrorists and their sympathizers in their midst? To what extent are poverty and oppression the causes of terrorism? What is the likelihood that terrorists will obtain weapons of mass destruction -chemical, biological, or nuclear? Why was the United States unprepared for 9/11? Why the intelligence failure? Are Islamic terrorists the only terrorists we need to fear? What about other terrorists from the right of the left, eco-terrorists or anti-globalization terrorists? And finally, what is the best defence against terrorism?

Author Biography

Walter Laqueur holds the Kissinger Chair for International Security Studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The author of a score of books, including Terrorism (1977) and The Age of Terrorism (1987), he has taught in many universities around the world, including Brandeis, Chicago, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Tel Aviv.