Publisher's Synopsis
As recent events such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have shown, terrorism is a global scourge. An ever-present reality, it can have devastating effects on governments, societies, businesses and individuals. This reference book should be of interest to students, researchers, journalists and policymakers by providing a survey of this rapidly growing problem. This title contains over 300 entries, organized into an accessible A-to-Z format, detailing the events, people, organizations and places that have figured prominently in international terrorism. Each entry is placed within its appropriate historical context to help readers understand the wide-ranging motivations behind terrorist actions. Also included in this volume is a chronology of terrorist events and day-by-day coverage of the first months' response from around the world to September 11, 2001. Entries include aerial hijacking, Usama bin Laden, Carlos the Jackal, cyber-terrorism, nuclear terrorism, Oklahoma City bombing, Sarin gas attacks, Umabomber and the USS Cole.