Please join us for a book talk with Dr. Robert Pape, University of Chicago,

“CUTTING THE FUSE: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It”
 
About the Book:
The fraught years of the War on Terror have taught us one lesson: the most deadly terrorist attacks are committed by people willing to die. Apart from being more lethal than the ordinary kind, suicide terrorism is much more difficult to predict—and across the globe, it is on the rise. Cutting the Fuse takes a hard, in-depth look at this disturbing trend and explains what fuels it and how we can stop it.

Drawing on a wealth of new evidence, Robert A. Pape and James K. Feldman make clear the causal link between American military occupation and suicide attacks, refuting the assumption that suicide terrorism is driven primarily by religious fanaticism. They also tackle the problem of homegrown terrorism, explaining the causes of this rare phenomenon. And they outline new counterterrorism strategies that rely less on ground troops and more on empowering local groups augmented by off-shore military support.

The fight against terrorism has led to two wars, thousands of military casualties, uncounted civilian deaths, and the loss of trillions of dollars as well as unquantifiable damage to America’s reputation in the world. And yet, we have made almost no progress in stopping terrorism. Clearly the time has come to give serious consideration to new, sustainable solutions to this grave threat—solutions provided by Cutting the Fuse.

About the Author:
Dr. Robert Pape specializes in international security affairs. His publications include the books Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (Random House, 2005) and Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War (Cornell, 1996); Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It (University of Chicago Press, September, 2010) and articles “Why Economic Sanctions Do Not Work” (International Security, 1997), “The Determinants of International Moral Action” (International Organization, 1999), “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” (American Political Science Review, August 2003), and “The True Worth of Air Power” (Foreign Affairs, March/April 2004). He is director of the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism, His current work focuses on the origins of suicide terrorism and the logic of soft balancing in a unipolar world. His commentary on international security policy has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as well as on ABC, the BBC and NPR.