Why did Britain come to play such a prominent role in the war on terror and why did the military instrument come to be the dominant theme in the British prosecution of what was an ideological and political struggle? This book is an analysis of Britain’s war against Al Qaeda and the phenomenon of international terrorism which marked a paradigm shift in the nature and conduct of war in the twenty-first century. At the heart of the book is an attempt to understand why Britain, which possessed a wealth of experience in the conduct of counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and small wars, developed a strategic and operational design to defeat the Islamist threat which proved to be deeply flawed. In addressing this question the book explores the complex intellectual, doctrinal and geopolitical challenge posed by Al Qaeda and international terrorism and how and why the British response took the form that it did. In conducting this analysis the book raises important questions about the assumptions and perceptions of those in government who led the UK into this conflict, the nature of the civil military relationship in Britain and how well it functioned, and finally the competence of its security forces in being able to deal with this threat both domestically and overseas.

Offers an examination of events of terrorism and provides a historical and contemporary context to this threat, and how we are dealing with it.

American Ally is the definitive account of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for the United States in the War on Terror. Drawing on his exclusive access to the key players at the White House and Downing Street, Con Coughlin explains what led Blair to risk his political career for a cause that he truly believed in. Just as Bob Woodward called on insiders to analyze George W. Bush in Bush at War, Coughlin now calls on his own experience and sources to offer a critical analysis and account of Tony Blair at war. Here is an in-depth, probing look at the man who has become America's first ally in the post-9/11 world. Tony Blair's staunch support for the United States since 9/11 has confirmed his position as one of the most important and controversial world leaders of the twenty-first century. In the aftermath of terrorist attacks in London and with Iraq in turmoil, the relationship between Britain and the United States will be critical in determining how future international crises are resolved. American Ally is an essential read for those wishing to make an informed opinion.

The war on terror has shaped and defined the first decade of the twenty-first century, yet analyses of Britain's involvement remain limited and fragmentary. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of these developments. It argues that New Labour's support for a militaristic campaign was driven by a desire to elevate Britain's influence on the world stage, and to assist the United States in a new imperialist project of global reordering. Ostensibly set within a political framework of promoting humanitarian values, the government’s conduct in the war on terror also proved to be largely counter-productive, eroding trust between the citizenry and the state, putting the armed forces under increasing strain and ultimately exacerbating the threat from radical Islamic terrorism. This book will be of interest to teachers and scholars of British foreign policy, international relations and security studies. It will also appeal to anyone interested in Britain’s role in the war on terror.

On 20 September 2001, in an address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American people, President George W Bush declared a 'war on terror'. The concept of the 'war on terror' has proven to be both an attractive and a potent rhetorical device. It has been adopted and elaborated upon by political leaders around the world, particularly in the context of military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. But use of the rhetoric has not been confined to the military context. The 'war on terror' is a domestic one, also, and the phrase has been used to account for broad criminal legislation, sweeping agency powers and potential human rights abuses throughout much of the world. This collection seeks both to draw on and to engage critically with the metaphor of war in the context of terrorism. It brings together a group of experts from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany who write about terrorism from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including international law and international relations, public and constitutional law, criminal law and criminology, legal theory, and psychology and law.

This book provides powerful insights into the dynamics, nature, and experiences of the terrors of counter-terrorism measures in the UK. Abbas links her analysis to wider concerns of nation construction and belonging; racial profiling and policing; the state of exception and pre-emptive counter-terrorism measures; community-based counter-terrorism measures; and restrictions to political engagement, freedom of speech and hate speech. What makes this work distinct is its advancement of an original framework - the Concentrationary Gothic - to delineate the racialised mechanisms of terror involved in the governance of Muslim populations in the ‘war on terror’ context. The book illuminates the various ways in which Muslims in Britain experience terror through racialised surveillance and policing strategies operating at state, group (inter- and intra-), and individual levels in diverse contexts such as the street, workplace, public transport and the home. Abbas situates these experiences within wider racial politics and theory, drawing connections to anti-Semitism, anti-blackness, anti-Irishness and whiteness, to provide a complex mapping of the ways in which racial terror has operated in both historical and contemporary contexts of colonialism, slavery, and the camp, and offering a unique point of analysis through the use of Gothic tropes of haunting, monstrosity and abjection. This vital work will be of interest to students and scholars across sociology, criminology, anthropology, terrorism studies, Islamic studies, and critical Muslim studies, researching race and racialisation, security, immigration, nationhood and citizenship.

Considers the principal members of Coalition of the Willing in Afghanistan &Iraq: the United States, Britain & Australia. Despite significant cultural, historical and political overlap, the War on Terror was nevertheless rendered possible in these contexts in distinct ways, drawing on different discourses, narratives of foreign policy, identity.