Analysis of How to Defeat Terrorism without Terrorizing Ourselves by Michael A Sheehan - Book Report/Review Example

Crush the Cell Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism without terrorizing ourselves, by Michael A. Sheehan was published by the Crown Publishing Group in 2008. In this book he argues against a focus only on al Qaeda and excluding other groups like Hezbollah. While pointing out the differences between the various fundamentalist Islamic groups, he says that to him the key to an appropriate approach lies in recognizing these differences and the threats posed by them. One would expect the author, who has worked as a counterterrorism professional under both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, to draw on his experiences and advocate wide ranging efforts and draconian domestic policies to locate and capture Osama bin Laden. On the contrary his recommendations on this subject are contrary to the conventional views of the past years on this subject. According to Michael Sheehan, all our efforts till now have been knee-jerk reactions that have proved to be self-defeating. Sheehan also outlines the history of al-Qaeda as also of other groups such as Hezbollah, the clinic bombers and the McVeigh militia types. Here he writes that it is very unlikely that Hezbollah will cooperate with al-Qaeda because of the religious differences between them. According to him religious differences are of fundamental significance to al-Qaeda. Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism without Terrorizing ourselves is an important book that is contrary to the present U.S. terrorism policies. The author considered as one of the most authoritative voices on counterterrorism, demolishes the very foundations of the principles that were formulated to counter terrorism since 9/11 attacks. Michael Sheehan has two messages in the book. First, that we have wasted billions of dollars on wrong security measures, second, that it of utmost importance that we know the next move of the terrorist groups. Sheehan argues in the book that the U.S. Government has failed to alleviate the risk of terrorism and has wasted billions of dollars on security. It has only succeeded in undermining civil liberties. The author recommends the abolition of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as he believes that the government was more effective in countering terrorism threats before this agency was constituted. While arguing for the abolition he also offers his own plans for the improvement in the ways of how intelligence can be collected and how information should be shared. According to Sheehan any defense strategy has limited value or usefulness as we live in a society which is open and where it is not possible to fully protect all the countless places that can be targets of terrorism. Sheehan demonstrates in the book why fortresses put up for defense do not work, but that offensive operational intelligence works. He advocates a measured response and well-conceived offensive measures to counter the terrorist threat. Sheehan here says there are a number of terrorist cells in the U.S. with the minds of its members brimming with schemes of destruction and chaos. The members of these cells seem to be motivated by immense ideological hatred and not as many people believe, by contempt for freedom, disenfranchisement or economic envy. Sheehan believes that they are ideological fanatics often coming from privileged backgrounds. According to Sheehan al-Qaeda is nothing more than a small group of sincere, dedicated fanatics which can cause severe harm, and an occasional 9/11, but is definitely not a massive threat. Sheehan emphasizes on ways to destroy individual operating cells of the organization. The goal should be to "crush the cell", to destroy individual terrorist operative units instead of fighting wars in Iraq or spend billions on protective measures. Here the author writes, “Rather than adopting a bunker mentality, we must address the issue of terrorism at its source. Ideally, we should work toward changing the dynamic that drives a young man to kill for the sake of a radical cause, but changing that equation will take at least a generation. ……. Hence, the immediate and paramount goal of U.S. counterterrorism policy should be to detect and dismantle terrorist cells before they can attack” (Sheehan, 2008). As far as operations are concerned, the author believes that the old fashioned ways of gathering intelligence through informers and infiltrators have been overlooked by the authorities. He also recommends ways such as electronic spying and intelligence being made accessible to authorities who are in need of such information. Here he suggests, “We do this by methodically strangling the terrorists’ organizations around the globe, primarily through intelligence operations — not through large-scale warfare or massive social programs. Undercover agents, informant networks, and phone and e-mail intercepts are the most effective weapons we have” (Sheehan, 2008) The counterterrorism solutions such as random searches, wiretaps, etc., may not strike the right note and some of the steps suggested in his plan are quite questionable. It may lead to expansion of government powers that may prove to be dangerous. Again the question also arises whether by crushing terrorist cells one can eliminate terrorism completely. More such cells can arise wherever there are places or groups that recruit and nurture fresh cells. However, Crush the Cell is an authoritative counter work to the hysteria that followed 9/11 attacks. The book is very informative replete with anecdotes and written in a style that is accessible and appealing to the general reader. It also has enough technical information to be of use to soldiers and counterspies. His personal experience gained from working in senior positions in the State Department, New York’s Police Department and Special Forces Operations and his original way of thinking makes the book unique giving us an insight into matters, which till now no other writer has tried to analyze. The book may prove to be a useful book for policy makers in the years to come. In conclusion it can be said Michael Sheehan has proposed a sensible approach to combat terrorism and this has come at the right time. His experience in various positions enables him to make an insightful analysis of what happened, what strategies worked and what did not and our as well as the terrorists’ weaknesses. He also focuses on the possible dangers and comes to the conclusion that the key to terrorism lies in using intelligence to infiltrate terrorist cell and crushing them. References 1. Sheehan Michael (2008), Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism without terrorizing ourselves, Crown Publishers. Read More