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Military historian Caleb Carr’s groundbreaking work anticipated America’s current debates on preemptive military action against terrorist sponsor states, reorganization of the American intelligence system, and the treatment of terrorists as soldiers in supranational armies rather than as criminals. Carr’s authoritative exploration demonstrates that the practice of terrorism, employed by national armies as well as extremists since the days of ancient Rome, is ultimately self-defeating. Far from prompting submission, it stiffens enemy resolve and never leads to long-lasting success.
Controversial on its initial publication in 2002, The Lessons of Terror has been repeatedly validated by subsequent events. Carr’s analysis of individual terrorist acts, and particularly of the history of the Middle East conflict, is fundamental to a deep understanding of the roots of terrorism as well as the steps and reforms that must be taken if the continuing threat of terrorist behavior is to be met effectively today and, finally, eradicated tomorrow.
- Sales Rank: #348220 in Books
- Published on: 2003-03-11
- Released on: 2003-03-11
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.00" h x .65" w x 5.20" l, .54 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 302 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Novelist and military historian Carr (The Alienist, etc.) penned this brief history of terrorism as a corrective to the widespread perception spread by ill-informed journalists and politicians that the September 11 attacks were unique and unprecedented. Carr argues from the start that terrorism must be viewed in terms of "military history, rather than political science or sociology," and that the refusal to label terrorists as soldiers, rather than criminals, is a mistake. Underlying Carr's argument is the view that a repugnant bloodthirstiness arises when one civilization, no matter how advanced, encounters another. Accordingly, as Western civilization spread throughout the 17th and 18th centuries via imperialism, and Europe's seemingly more disciplined armies encountered strange peoples such as the Aztecs, Native Americans and south Asian Indians the wholesale slaughter of noncombatants became commonplace. No liberal, Carr zooms in on the history of the U.S. and looks at how terror tactics are fundamental to U.S. military efforts. Such tactics, he shows, were first established in the Civil War, culminated with the firebombing of Germany and Japan during WWII, and reappeared later during the Vietnam War. He traces the manner in which politicians and intellectuals have sought to justify and then curtail attacks on civilians throughout history. Only occasionally dry or repetitive, this often fascinating, accessible tome skillfully contends that the terrorizing of civilians has a long and controversial history but, as an inferior method, is prone to failure; it is rooted as much in human nature as it is in the need for military expediency. (On-sale: Jan. 29)
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
To ignore history is to repeat past mistakes. History professors proffer that piece of wisdom as the primary reason for studying history. Carr, author of the best-selling historical novels The Alienist (1994) and The Angel of Darkness (1997) and also a military historian, certainly supports that maxim in this beautifully articulated but sobering history of terrorism. Without a doubt, Carr's book needs to be read by as wide an audience as possible. Looking as far back as ancient Rome and bringing his analysis up to the present, he does not so much suggest as insist that terrorism is nothing new and that it is not a political or sociological issue. Terrorism, he argues, is as old as warfare itself, and, indeed, it is warfare, the kind of warfare "deliberately waged against civilians" to break the enemy's will. Further, Carr presents convincing evidence that terrorism has never succeeded in its purpose and that it cannot be fought successfully by repaying in kind or by refusing to recognize its military nature--we must see terrorists as the soldiers they really are. Why pay such close attention to correctly defining terrorism? Because "there have never been two more vital and powerful forces at work in the world than international capitalist democracy and fundamental Islam, nor two forces more capable of physical and cultural destruction." Jolted into reading this book? Good. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
“The Lessons of Terror is so earnest, so well informed and so outrageous...that almost any reader will find something to love and something that will make you want to throw the book across the room. It is, in short, pure Carr.”—Newsweek
“After the deadly attacks against the United States, many Americans now may view Carr’s earlier arguments as prescient and his approach as the only one that has a chance of working. The Lessons of Terror is fascinating to read and provocative in the best sense of the word.” —The Christian Science Monitor
“A provocative history of warfare against civilians from Roman times to the present.”—Time
“It crosses political boundaries. It offends and provokes, refreshes and energizes.”—Chicago Sun-Times
Most helpful customer reviews
74 of 82 people found the following review helpful.
reminds me of thirty years past
By C. Kollars
This book begins by defining "international terrorism" (also called "destructive war" or "punitive war") as "warfare deliberately waged against civilians with the purpose of destroying their will to support either leaders or policies that the agents of such violence find objectionable." This book only makes sense if one temporarily accepts that definition. Although such a definition of the word "terrorism" at first seems quite removed from the events of 9/11, the author shows how that event fits into his definition. The book's principal thesis is that such violence is always spectacularly counter productive in the long run.
An important corollary is that terrorists should be treated as war opponents not as criminals, and their actions should be treated as acts of war not crimes. Rather than treating them on a par with smugglers drug traffickers or political mafiosi, we should treat them as (organized highly trained hugely destructive) paramilitaries.
In describing the development of and changes to war against civilians, the book romps through more than two millenia of military history. The necessarily rather sketchy stories in this brief book provide a fascinating and accessible broad brush introduction to military history.
My chief complaint with the book --especially the first part-- is that it it doesn't provide sufficient detailed arguments to support its thesis, perhaps because it so quickly covers so much ground. A reader with a good background in military history might receive the messages differently; what I found to be simply good stories might be a sort of shorthand that would bring forth the memory of many more details from the knowledgeable and provide much more support for the thesis.
The thing I liked most about the book is the very wide variety of blunt iconoclastic opinions that the author expresses: Karl von Clausewitz' book "On War" principally shows his admiration for the methods of Napoleon. Islam is notable for the ongoing internal contradiction between its pacifistic compassionate thread and its warlike aggressive thread. The behavior of the colonists during the American revolution was horrific, and was seen as such both by outsiders and by some residents. The African slave trade could not have happened without the locals' high level of intertribal warfare and their common custom of capturing and selling defeated civilians. And many many more.
The ideas in this books don't fit neatly into an existing category. It surprised me to find these two themes joined: treat terrorism militarily, and limit war's destructiveness by not using dirty methods even against a dirty enemy. While I don't necessarily agree with the ideas in this book, I found their presentation lively and provocative, and the prima facie case for them reasonable. Although this book is out of the mainstream of current thought, it's not on the lunatic fringe. It's not just controversial, it's a "mind stretcher."
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
A well-argued thesis
By Don Munsil
Carr argues, simply, that the tactics of terror never work. Where he gets controversial is identifying certain tactics used by the US in wars past as "terrorism." Whether you agree with that designation, his argument that targetting civilians always backfires is well-laid-out and persuasively argued.
The trouble, of course, is that I'm not a military historian and have no way of knowing if his argument is valid. If one argues that terrorism is *never* successful, all it takes to invalidate that argument is a single example of a successful terror attack. I have no idea if there are examples that are not mentioned in the book, but it seems to me that Carr is on somewhat shaky ground when he says that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ultimately self-defeating.
He may be right -- there may have been ways to use the A-Bomb that would have been even more effective and not killed so many civilians, but it is hard to deny that the bombs had the desired effect -- Japan surrendered immediately. I would have liked him to go into this, and a few other examples, further. I still fail to see how, pragmatically speaking, the A-bomb attacks on Japan "failed to work." I understand completely the moral argument, that the attacks were morally repugnant, and probably unnecessary, but Carr argues in other parts of the book that one doesn't need to argue against terror on a moral basis -- that it simply doesn't ever work, and that's that.
Still, a completely thought-provoking book that caused me to re-evaluate my thinking on many issues. I don't know that it will change my mind, but it certainly is food for thought, and a good read.
44 of 52 people found the following review helpful.
Timely Book Uses History to Dissect the Future of Security
By Wayne A. Smith
This is a timely book that is well written in the main. It is somewhat marred by the author's absolutism in arguing his main thesis that warfare against civilians (terrorism) is always a losing strategy for the perpetrators. His secondary thesis is that surgical, preemptive strikes have been consistently the most effective way of eliminating terrorist threats (all the more interesting since Carr wrote this book before the Iraq War).
Caleb Carr looks at history from Roman times to the current Arab-Israeli conflict to argue that terrorism always loses. Terrorism, or attacks on civilians, differs from guerilla warfare in that guerillas use their irregular forces and tactics to target opposing/occupying military personnel and targets. Terrorists just kill and maim wantonly, under the mistaken belief that carnage and death will force change or lead the terrorists to their goals. The historic evidence is otherwise. Terrorism almost always hardens the hearts and steels the minds of both targets and local populations against the perpetrators and frequently begets terrorism as a response.
Carr's examples are many. The Romans struck not the military might of the German tribes across the Rhine, but the villages and peoples thereof. German tribes became ferocious opponents and were the ones who ended up sacking Rome. Michael Collins was on his way to winning independence for all of Ireland. His turn to terrorism stiffened British resolve (leading one British prime minister to state he would not conclude a deal with the IRA because he "would not shake hands with murder.") and undercut his local support. Palestinian terrorism has not shaken the resolve of Israel; it has produced hard line Israeli governments less likely to negotiate Palestinian autonomy or statehood. These are a few of the historic examples Carr cites in support of his argument.
While I think he is generally right, he mars his well argued position by stating that warring against civilians and non-military targets always loses. Certainly the American Indian experience shows that wars of annihilation can sometimes (obviously) reduce an opponent to absolute subjugation for the long-term. And while Rome was sacked by the descendants of tribesman who sufferings were legion along the Rhine, several hundred years elapsed from then until Rome's fall. Also, General Sherman's romp through Georgia is referred to several times, but America healed fairly well and fairly quickly after the Civil War.
Nevertheless, the author's failed attempt to prove his observation correct in every case does not mar this book's demonstration that his thesis stands up well in most cases. On the contrary, the evidence marshaled by Carr is persuasive and the conclusion convincing.
Carr also shows what has worked historically in dealing with perpetrators of terrorism. Preemptive war, surgical strikes, leadership strikes have all proven the most consistently successful means to deal with history's bad actors. The reason is simple. Responding to terrorism with terrorism creates nations of opponents among people who generally want to live in peace and are probably suffering under their terrorist leader, warlord, or ruthless tyrant and would like nothing more than to see that person removed. As Jefferson showed in dismantling the Barbary pirates (at least as a threat against American interests) and President Bush has just shown against Saddam, the surgical strike first articulated by Frederick the Great removes the problem by attacking leadership and military interests without killing so many civilians that a nation of revenge seekers is created.
Failing to act preemptively begets larger threats over time. The suffering nation is perceived as weak (terrorists and tyrants look to prey on the weak) and the threat grows. The recent evidence of this progression can be seen in the mid to late 1990's as American embassies, interests, and the USS Cole were progressively attacked by Islamic terrorists who came to believe that America's only response to such outrages would be a few cruise missiles thrown against desert encampments. As unseemly as preemptive war seems to Americans, it is certainly better than the alternative of massive casualties inflicted upon us by those who come to believe they can act with impunity because we are not willing to persecute these threats until they are eliminated.
This is an interesting and persuasive book that should be read by every member of Congress as well as all that want to know how to best protect America in this age of terrorism.
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