In the past thirty-five years, counterterrorist units have been deployed to deal with airplane, ship, train, and bus hijackings. They have rescued hostages in various types of buildings and have dealt with barricaded bank robbers, prison rioters, and assorted dangerous criminals. Thousands have been rescued and millions have been safer because terrorists were aware that elite antiterrorist units were poised to take action should they take hostages. Following the September 11th attack on the World Trade Centre, the mission of many anti-terrorist units has expanded. Some units now track terrorists to their lairs in other countries and strike them there. Despite the significant and growing role of these units, little is known about the way they operate. The selection, training, structure and principles of maintaining such units, together with basic theories of asymmetric warfare are the subject of Thompson’s latest work. In a practical, step-by-step guide he analyses the necessary organisation of such elite teams, the arming and equipping of units, and methods for a variety of missions from hostage rescue and high-level dignitary protection to securing foreign embassies and counter-WMD strikes. Open the pages of this book and enter the world of the counterterrorist operator.