How to Lose the War on Terror - Softcover

Perry, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185065963X ISBN 13: 9781850659631

Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2010

Synopsis

It has long been an article of faith that the United States does not talk to terrorists that to engage in dialogue with groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood would be tacitly to acknowledge their status as legitimate political actors. Not so, argues Middle East expert Mark Perry. In the absence of dialogue, we have lumped these groups together with Al Qaeda as part of a monolithic enemy defined by a visceral hatred of American values. In reality, while they hold deep grievances about specific US policies, they are ultimately far more defined by their opposition to the deliberately anti-political Salafist ideology of Al Qaeda. Drawing on extensive interviews with Washington insiders, Perry describes fruitful covert meetings between members of the US armed forces and leaders of the Iraqi insurgency to demonstrate that talking to terrorists may be best way to end terrorism controversial wisdom we ignore at our peril.

About this title

Review:

'In this book, Mark Perry allows us to hear different voices and different language from those whom we have all too easily written off as murderers and terrorists. Perry understands the basic truth that too many of us have forgotten -- and that is there is not one truth, but many.' --Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker

'Very few westerners understand the Middle East and its politics as well as Mark Perry, and the reason for his insights lie in this book: unlike most diplomats, journalists and academics, he derives his knowledge of organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Sunni national resistance in Iraq not from second hand sources but close personal contact. Not only has he talked to those generally labelled and dismissed as terrorists, he offers here a clear definition of when such groups are worth talking to, in the sense that doing so may create real opportunities for peace, and when (as in the case of Al Qaeda) they clearly aren t. Beautifully written, this is both a gripping narrative and a piece of compelling advocacy, casting new light on some of the historic catastrophes of the present and recent past.' --David Rose, Vanity Fair

From the Author:

Mark Perry is the author of seven books, including A Fire In Zion: the Israeli-Palestinian Search for Peace. He is a director of Conflicts Forum, which conducted the 2005 meetings between the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood.

About this edition

• Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 185065963X
• ISBN 13: 9781850659631
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256