Tapestry of Terror: A Portrait of Middle East Terrorism, 1994-1999

The recent terrorist outrages perpetrated against the United States demonstrate the need for a new and rigorous study of modern terrorism. In Tapestry of Terror, Richard J. Chasdi offers fresh insight into the complexities of state-sponsored and nonstate terrorism. Building on the research methods and findings discussed in his previous work, Serenade of Suffering, which covers Middle East terrorism in the period 1968 to 1993, Chasdi presents a detailed statistical and quantitative analysis of four Middle East terrorist systems: in Algeria, Turkey, Egypt, and Israel. He pinpoints the socioeconomic conditions that breed and sustain terrorism, the political factors that ignite terrorist attacks, and those individuals or groups most frequently targeted by terrorists. Tapestry of Terror charts the increasing frequency and intensity of intrastate terrorism in the 1990s; the growing threat posed to Western nations by international terrorism; and the counter-terrorist stratagems and policy decisions needed -- now more than ever -- to defend against highly coordinated, immensely destructive assaults.