CHECK IT OUT

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, numerous recently published works about

terrorism provide a lens through which a glimmer of insight might come.

There’s provocative analysis of violent backlash to CIA actions in

“Blowback.” Using the term the CIA uses to describe unintended

consequences of its actions as his title, East Asia scholar John Chalmers

probes implications of American global expansion and the repercussions of

Cold War victory in this astute volume.

Other background about America’s link with Afghanistan is in “Unholy

Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism.” In his

penetrating work, Middle East correspondent John Cooley examines U.S.

foreign policies that facilitated the arming of some 35,000 militant

extremists. With ample evidence, he implicates guerrilla leader Osama bin

Laden -- who graces the cover of his book -- in terrorist activities of

the ‘90s.

Bin Laden also is a central figure in Richard Labeviere’s “Dollars for

Terror: The U.S. and Islam,” in which the Swiss journalist examines how

radical fundamentalism spreads its influence. Two levels of infiltration

are at work, Labeviere augurs: above board dealings with legitimate banks

and investment firms, as well as clandestine activities involving drug

dealing, weapons smuggling and money laundering.

Such stealth tactics have been used for centuries to achieve political

goals, points out Walter Laqueur in “The New Terrorism.” Their

consequences “in the age of high technology . . . may be well beyond our

imagination,” he foretells.

With eerie premonition, Laqueur describes the essentials of effective

terrorism: careful planning, an ability to improvise, small units of

operation, the anonymity of large urban areas and ready sources of money.

In his survey of modern fanaticism, he presents an analysis of terrorist

motives that go far beyond the seizing of political power.

While recognizing that senseless violence cannot be eliminated,

Harvard professor Philip Heymann offers strategies to combat it in

“Terrorism and America.” Drawing on lessons learned from the Oklahoma

City and 1993 World Trade Center bombings, he details steps to minimize

danger while preserving citizens’ liberty and the nation’s unity.

Other suggestions for combating divisive factionalism from which

terrorism stems are in Benjamin Barber’s “Jihad vs. McWorld.” The

antidote involves working tirelessly to revive nongovernmental,

nonbusiness “civic spaces” -- community schools, libraries and churches

-- where unbiased civility can thrive, Barber says. In the best of all

“McWorlds,” global capitalism can unite the planet through a harmonious

platform of information, entertainment and commerce, he contends.

That’s hardly the world reflected in “Reaping the Whirlwind,” in which

Michael Griffin examines the origins and beliefs of the Taliban movement.

Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid further analyzes the movement’s rise in

a land few Americans have visited in “Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and

Fundamentalism in Central Asia.”

If the past can inform the future, much might be learned about

combating violence with “No Heroes.” In this memoir about how the FBI

actually dealt with some of the most deadly mass destruction of past

decades, retired agent Danny O. Coulson and Elaine Shannon reveals how

many murderous extremists have been brought to justice.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Steven Short. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by

accessing the catalog at o7 https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.

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