The Terrorists of Iraq

The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014 is a non-fiction book about the Iraqi insurgency, written by U.S. Navy retired cryptology analyst Malcolm Nance. It was published by CRC Press in 2014. The book discusses the terrorist evolution of the Iraqi insurgency which led to the formation of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Nance cites the 2003 Iraq war by the Bush Administration for causing regional instability. He criticizes Coalition Provisional Authority leader Paul Bremer. The book emphasizes lessons the U.S. neglected to learn from the Vietnam War, the Iraqi revolt against the British, and the South Lebanon conflict. Nance writes in favor of the Iran nuclear deal framework by the Obama Administration, saying it is in the interests of all parties involved.

The Terrorists of Iraq
The Terrorists of Iraq
AuthorMalcolm Nance
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectTerrorism
GenreWarfare
PublisherCRC Press
Publication date
2014
Media typePaperback
Pages404
ISBN978-1498706896
OCLC935554212
Preceded byAn End to al-Qaeda 
Followed byDefeating ISIS 
WebsiteOfficial website
[1][2]

A review of the book in the journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression recommended the work, writing The Terrorists of Iraq, "offers enormous precious experience and empirical data which make it attractive to policy-makers".[1] The Times of Israel published a book review which was praiseworthy of the author's expertise, writing, "For those that want to truly understand the Iraq conflict and its surrounding issues, Nance is eminently qualified and this book is uniquely superb."[2]

Christopher Hitchens wrote for Vanity Fair, "The Terrorists of Iraq, is a highly potent analysis...of the jihadist threat".[3] Ben Rothke placed the book among "The Best Information Security Books of 2015", in a post for The Security Reading Room.[4] Spencer Ackerman said Nance's books The Terrorists of Iraq and Defeating ISIS reflected the caliber of his expertise in the subject matter.[5]

Background
Malcolm Nance, author of The Terrorists of Iraq

Malcolm Nance is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer in naval cryptology.[6][7][8] He garnered expertise within the fields of intelligence and counterterrorism.[9][10][11] He served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, from 1981–2001.[12][13] Nance was an interpreter for Russian, and began working in the intelligence field through research into the history of the Soviet Union and its spying agency the KGB.[14] He devoted years of research to analyzing Middle East terrorism and sovereign nations with ties to Russia.[14] He graduated from New York's Excelsior College with a degree in Arabic.[15] Nance took part in combat operations which occurred after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, was involved with the 1986 United States bombing of Libya, served on the USS Wainwright during Operation Praying Mantis and participated in the sinking of Iranian missile boat Joshan, served on the USS Tripoli during the Gulf War, and assisted during a Banja Luka, Bosnia air strike.[12]

After retiring from military service, Nance founded a consulting company based in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. where he provided advising services to United States Special Operations Command.[12] During the September 11 attacks, Nance personally witnessed American Airlines Flight 77 crash into The Pentagon and he assisted in rescue operations at the impact site.[12][13] He created a training center called the Advanced Terrorism, Abduction and Hostage Survival School.[13] Nance manages a think tank analyzing counterterrorism called "Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies", consisting of Central Intelligence Agency and military intelligence officers with direct prior field experience.[13][11] Nance is a member of the board of directors for the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.[12] Nance's books on counter-terrorism include: An End to al-Qaeda,[16] Terrorist Recognition Handbook,[17] The Plot to Hack America,[18] Defeating ISIS,[19] and Hacking ISIS.[20]

Summary
Terrorism
By ideology
Religious
Special-interest / Single-issue
Related topics
Structure
  • Methods
  • Tactics
Terrorist groups
Adherents
State terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
Response to terrorism

The Terrorists of Iraq traces terrorist roots of the insurgency within Iraq which yielded the development of the later terrorist group known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Although the book was written before the New York Times 2014 front page story detailing the actual existence of WMD in Iraq, Nance faults the decision to begin the 2003 Iraq war by the Bush Administration as the impetus for subsequent chaos within the region. He notes the Iraq war was supported by a false premise, and asserts that subsequent chaos in the country was exacerbated by mismanagement from individuals including Paul Bremer, provisional leader of the country while the war was still ongoing.[2][21]

Nance asserts that the United States did not adequately learn from the past mistakes of the Vietnam War and the 1920 uprising by the people of Iraq against the United Kingdom forces. He notes these events could have imparted valuable pointers to the Bush Administration such as the notion that terrorism tactics used by insurgency operations including guerrilla warfare were difficult to defeat effectively, even in the face of overwhelming U.S. military forces.[2][21] Nance recounts lessons learned from the Lebanon war with Israel in 1992, particularly how the subsequent occupation of Lebanon by Israel could have provided the U.S. with significant ways to improve their strategy in the Iraqi invasion in 2003. Nance compares the two occupation force strategies, and argues each left their occupiers with many deaths and few tangible results.[2][21]

The book discusses the Obama Administration Iranian nuclear development limitations agreement. Nance argues that it is a promising endeavor and in the best interests of Iran, as it opens the door for them to acquire the Western products they desire.[2][21] Nance analyzes the diplomatic and military strategies available to the U.S. to deal with the Iran nuclear situation. He warns that war with Iran in order to potentially limit their nuclear capabilities would lead to financial ruin in America, retaliatory strikes against Israel, increased oil prices, conflict by Iran with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and closure of shipping lanes for oil. Nance acknowledges Iran's significant contributions to terrorism around the world, but argues that a peaceful resolution to the nuclear issue is a worthwhile endeavor.[2][21]

Release and reception

The book was published in 2014 by CRC Press, in a revised edition in hardcover format.[22] CRC Press published an e-book edition the same year.[23] The book was published in 2007 by BookSurge Publishing in a paperback format under the slightly revised title, The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency.[24][25][26] CRC Press released another edition in print and e-book format in 2015.[22][27] Another print edition was published in 2015 by Taylor & Francis.[28]

The book was required reading by Tufts University in a 2015 college-level course, "Iraq: A State in Flux".[29] Christopher Hitchens wrote in an article for Vanity Fair, "The Terrorists of Iraq, is a highly potent analysis both of the jihadist threat in Mesopotamia and of the ways in which we have made its life easier."[3] The Guardian national security reporter Spencer Ackerman said, "If you’ve read books like The Terrorists of Iraq and Defeating ISIS, you know Malcolm's expertise."[5] ShadowProof journalist Matt Duss called The Terrorists of Iraq, "a detailed description of the various factions and movements ... fighting U.S. forces in Iraq."[30]

A review of the book in the academic journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression by Chi Zang, recommended the work as a resource for those researching the subject matter including individuals drafting legislation to address the issues involved and academics.[1] The review in Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression concluded, "This book is easy to read, vivid, and offers enormous precious experience and empirical data which make it attractive to policy-makers, scholars, and students."[1]

The Times of Israel published a book review of The Terrorists of Iraq, by contributor Ben Rothke.[2] Rothke wrote that The Terrorists of Iraq, "provides a deep understanding of the subject."[2] The reviewer highly recommended the book, and wrote highly of the author's expertise in the subject matter, "For those that want to truly understand the Iraq conflict and its surrounding issues, Nance is eminently qualified and this book is uniquely superb."[2] Rothke concluded, "There is no better book than The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014 on the subject."[2] Rothke placed the book among "The Best Information Security Books of 2015", in a post for The Security Reading Room.[4] Rothke also wrote a favorable review of the book on the site.[31]

See also

References
  1. Zang, Chi (2016), "Book Reviews: The terrorists of Iraq: inside the strategy and tactics of the Iraq insurgency 2003–2014", Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 8 (3): 227–228, doi:10.1080/19434472.2016.1181667
  2. Rothke, Ben (May 18, 2015), "Book Review: The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014", The Times of Israel, retrieved June 9, 2017
  3. Hitchens, Christopher (August 2008), "Terror Tactics: Believe Me, It's Torture", Vanity Fair, retrieved June 9, 2017
  4. Rothke, Ben (December 23, 2015), "The Best Information Security Books of 2015", The Security Reading Room, RSA Conference, retrieved June 9, 2017, the book is required reading to understand the monstrosity of events going on in Iraq.
  5. Bisley, Alexander (April 27, 2017), "Q&A: Malcolm Nance on U.S. security and ISIS, a future 'ghost caliphate'", Maclean's, retrieved June 8, 2017
  6. Wolcott, James (March 21, 2017), "5 essential Twitter feeds for keeping up with Trump and Russia", Vanity Fair, retrieved June 7, 2017
  7. Cabanatuan, Michael (May 21, 2017), "Barbara Lee brings John Dean, Malcolm Nance to town hall meeting", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved June 7, 2017
  8. Concha, Joe (February 18, 2017), "Maher: Russian election influence is worst political scandal in US history", The Hill, retrieved June 7, 2017
  9. Devega, Chauncey (March 14, 2017), "Intelligence expert Malcolm Nance on Trump scandal: 'As close to Benedict Arnold as we're ever going to get'", Salon, retrieved June 7, 2017
  10. Donahue, Joe (January 5, 2017), "Counterterrorism Expert Malcolm Nance", WAMC, retrieved June 7, 2017
  11. Hobson, Jeremy (October 12, 2016), "How Hackable Is The Election?", Here and Now, WBUR, retrieved June 7, 2017
  12. Lamb, Brian (April 28, 2017), "Q&A with Malcolm Nance", C-SPAN (video), retrieved June 7, 2017
  13. Jones, Layla A. (March 10, 2017), "Philly native is media expert on intelligence", The Philadelphia Tribune, retrieved June 7, 2017
  14. Lipkin, Michael (October 10, 2016), "The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election", New York Journal of Books, retrieved June 7, 2017
  15. "Malcolm Nance to present fall 2016 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science". Iowa State University. August 23, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  16. Nance, Malcolm (2010), An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0312592493
  17. Nance, Malcolm (2013), Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1466554573
  18. Nance, Malcolm (October 10, 2016), The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election, Skyhorse Publishing, p. 216, ISBN 978-1510723320
  19. Nance, Malcolm (2016), Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510711846
  20. Nance, Malcolm (2017), Hacking ISIS: How to Destroy the Cyber Jihad, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510718920
  21. Nance, Malcolm (2014), The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014, Second Edition, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1498706896
  22. OCLC 935554212
  23. OCLC 899156949
  24. OCLC 182540377
  25. National Security Archive (November 15, 2007), "Malcolm Nance; Chief of Training; US Navy SERE; (1997–2001)", Torturing Democracy, George Washington University, retrieved June 9, 2017
  26. Gardinier, Lisa (2009), "The Iraq War: The First Five Years in Publications" (PDF), The Center for the Study of Global Change, Indiana University, archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2009
  27. OCLC 970345665
  28. OCLC 884809230
  29. "Iraq: A State in Flux" (PDF), EXP-0062-F Fall 2015, Tufts University, 2015, retrieved June 9, 2017
  30. Duss, Matt (May 23, 2010), "FDL Book Salon: Malcolm Nance, An End to al-Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor", ShadowProof, FDL Media Group, retrieved June 9, 2017
  31. Rothke, Ben (May 18, 2015), The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014, EMC Corporation, RSA Conference, retrieved June 9, 2017

Further reading
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