Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East: A Documentary Reader (Paperback), by Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin (Editors). Oxford University Press, USA (June 10, 2004).
Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin's Anti-American Terrorism in the Middle-East in a valuable reader with selections from and introductions to the major theorists of Islamist terrorism, including Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Khomeini, bin Laden and sundry Hamas and Hezbollah spokesmen. It shows that their deep-rooted ideology is not grounded in simple objections to recent American foreign policy in the Middle East but is a historically rooted view of the nature of Islam and its fundamental and necessary opposition to the Western world's commitment to individual freedom and constitutional democracy. Information

Middle East Conflict: Primary Sources Edition 1. (Middle East Conflict Reference Library) (Board book), by Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast and Ralph G. Zerbonia. U·X·L; 1 edition (November 11, 2005).
Despite the daily news coverage of chronic unrest in the Middle East, many students remain confused about this tangled and politically charged situation. UXL's Middle East Conflict Reference Library is designed to meet the pressing need for a lucid, comprehensive and objective overview of the people, events and documents that are key to understanding the region.  Information

Middle Eastern Terrorism: From Black September to September 11 (Hardcover), by Mark Ensalaco. University of Pennsylvania Press (December 2007).
Since the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's first airplane hijacking in September 1970, Middle Eastern terrorists have sacrificed innocent human lives in the name of ideology. From "Black September" to the Munich Olympics, to the embassy bombing in Beirut, to the devastating attacks of September 11, and beyond, terrorism has emerged as the most important security concern of our time. "Where did this come from?" Inspired by a student's question on the morning of September 11, 2001, Mark Ensalaco realized that among the many separate sources about terrorism no book offers a complete history. Ensalaco has written a thoroughly researched narrative account of the origin of Middle Eastern terrorism, addressing when and why terrorists started targeting Americans and American interests, and what led to the September 11 attacks. Ensalaco reveals the changing of motivations from secular Palestinian nationalism to militant Islam and demonstrates how competition among terrorists for resources and notoriety has driven them to increasingly extreme tactics. As he argues, terrorist attacks grew from spectacle to atrocity. Drawing on popular works and scholarly sources, Middle Eastern Terrorism tells this story in rich detail with great clarity and insight.   Information

Terrorism And Espionage in the Middle East: Deception, Displacement, And Denial (Hardcover), by H. H. A. Cooper and Lawrence J. Redlinger. Edwin Mellen Press (March 2006).  Information        

The Battle of Ideas in the War on Terror: Essays on U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East (Paperback), by Robert Satloff. Washington Institute for Near East Policy (November 1, 2004).
In this collection of essays -- including several written expressly for this volume -- Robert Satloff takes aim at the conventional wisdom concerning the post-9/11 "battle of ideas" and offers a bold, hopeful, and unapologetic vision for U.S. public diplomacy in the Middle East. The essays take a closer look at U.S. government efforts to reach out to Arabs and Muslims and recommends how--and how not--to wage a campaign for their "hearts and minds."  Information

The Islam/West Debate: Documents from a Global Debate on Terrorism, U.S. Policy, and the Middle East (Hardcover), by David Blankenhorn. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (September 28, 2005).
In 2002, sixty prominent American intellectuals released an open letter defending the use of military force against al-Qa'ida, sparking an impassioned international debate unlike any other, in which jihadists, journalists, liberal Muslims, and German pacifists engaged one another on the most pressing issues of our time: terrorism, U.S. policy, and Islam-West relations. This volume chronicles that debate and includes contributions from both sides of the political spectrum in America and the Middle East-and even from al-Qa'ida. Published in cooperation with the Institute for American Values.   Information

The New Iranian Leadership: Ahmadinejad, Terrorism, Nuclear Ambition, and the Middle East (Hardcover), by Yonah Alexander and Milton Hoenig. Praeger Security International General Interest-Cloth (December 30, 2007).
Since his election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has reversed the more moderate and pluralistic policies of his predecessor and projected himself onto the public scene with headline-grabbing speeches regarding Jews and the state of Israel, open defiance of the UN Security Council on the nuclear issue, and an apparent vision of his country becoming the dominant power in the Middle East. Iran's nuclear ambitions are in direct conflict with the wishes of the United States, the European Union, and many of the governments of the Middle East, leading to consequences that remain uncertain. Iran is a focus of attention in the most recent war in Lebanon, expanding its influence as a (the?) major supporter and supplier of Hezbollah. And Iran is cited in the most recent annual U.S. State Department report on terrorism as the country that is the "most active sponsor of terrorism." This book documents Ahmadinejad's background and rise to power. It explains the current structure of the Iranian revolutionary government--the competing centers of power and the major players. In separate sections it details the terrorist groups funded and armed by Iran, primarily Hezbollah and Hamas. And it provides a comprehensive picture of Iran's apparent aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons, as well as the related implications for regional and global security concerns. There is little reason to believe that Ahmadinejad will leave the scene anytime soon, or that Iran's behavior will change in the near term.  Information

The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda (Hardcover), by Yaroslav Trofimov. Doubleday (September 18, 2007).
Trofimov, a Wall Street Journal writer and observer of the Muslim world (Faith at War), tackles an incident unreported in the West: the violent takeover of Islam's holiest shrine by Muslim fundamentalists in 1979. Carrying out his investigations in one of the world's most closed societies, Trofimov has crafted a compelling historical narrative, blending messianic theology with righteous violence, and the Saudi state's sclerotic corruption with the complicity of the official religious institutions. Trofimov aptly points out endemic regional problems with enduring repercussions for fighting terror, but is hampered by his sensationalist style (The world was twelve months away from the tumultuous events that would cover the mosque's marble courtyard with blood, spilled guts and severed limbs). In 1979, the Saudi intelligence services apparently had no accurate blueprints of the Grand Mosque, and knew nothing of the underground labyrinth where many of the militants took shelter; they eventually received plans to the site from Osama bin Laden's older brother. Ringleader Juhayman and his followers have inspired al-Qaeda and countless other Islamic revivalist movements to ever greater acts of violence, even though they were mesmerized by their limited understanding of an obscurantist theology and were convinced that that one of their unassuming members was the Messiah. Casual readers will be well served by this introduction to Muslim fundamentalist terrorism.Information

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