Understanding Terrorism in America: From the Klan to al Qaeda

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 seemed to initiate the United States into the full horrors of international terrorism. Yet America is no stranger to terrorism. Since 1950 there have been around three thousand terrorist attacks, ranging from the Ku Klux Klan’s campaign of terror against the civil rights movement, through the waves of attacks by the neo-nazi Aryan resistance, to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network. Christopher Hewitt’s comprehensive book surveys the characteristics and causes of terrorism, and governmental responses to it. He also examines the organizational structure of terrorist networks, how they are financed, and their ideological agendas. Groups covered include: Islamic fundamentalists, white and black racists, black nationalists, revolutionary communists, neo-Nazis, militant Jewish groups, anti-abortionists and emigre groups. This book is essential reading for students of American politics and terrorism. It also provides a highly readable account for interested readers wishing to know more about a topic which has recently become tragically relevant to world affairs.