Flashpoints in the War on Terrorism

The future security environment has been forecast in terms of nation-state clashes over natural resources, modernization, and culture. Yet America's security interests are more directly affected by the intractable tension between Muslims and non-Muslims within six specific regions: the Fertile Crescent, Balkans, Post-Soviet Region, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. These clashes have led to extreme violence and fuel terrorism not only within those regions, but globally. The National Intelligence Council forecasts within the next 15 years "weak governments, lagging economies, religious extremism, and youth bulges will align to create a perfect storm for internal conflict in certain regions." Flashpoints in the War on Terrorism illuminates the root causes of these crises and offers policy recommendations to prevent the coming storm. Countering grass-roots extremism is necessary to ameliorate conflict. However, foreign jihadists are ready to fight anywhere they believe Muslim lands are under attack. Thus it is important to understand the relationship between internal and external actors and domestic and foreign interests. To be successful, the United States must secure lasting peace and economic development in these regional flashpoints, which are primarily characterized in religious terms. By bringing together experts on each region, this book traces the historical roots of these conflicts, the impact of colonial powers imposing artificial boundaries on populations, how modernization transformed these conflicts by making them more deadly, and their link to the ideology of Political Islamic terrorism. Ultimately, Flashpoints in the War on Terrorism prioritizes US foreign policy challenges by identifying critical hot spots that stoke the fire of international terrorism.