"A great introduction to Israeli counterterrorism."
Thomas E. Ricks, Foreign Policy "Meticulously researched...a fascinating account of Israel's techniques for recruiting informants in hostile territory and its evolving efforts to make its interrogation practices conform to the strictures of international law."
Wall Street Journal "An admirably even-handed book."
The Economist "A definitive work on Israel's war against Palestinian terrorism. Packed with statistics and excellent ... Read moredocumentation, it will certainly be an important reference for years to come."
Moment "For a democracy, some ways of defeating terrorism can be a Pyrrhic victory. Byman shows us what Israel did against terrorists that failed, what worked, and what was counter-productive. We can learn from Israel's experience. We do not have to repeat their mistakes... if we know what they were."
Richard A. Clarke, author of Against All Enemies and Cyber War "Daniel Byman has produced a vitally important, invaluable history and analysis of Israeli counterterrorism policy and practice. His research and judgments are balanced, nuanced, grounded in evidence and highly credible. He shatters the easy myths about Israeli brilliance and bungling against its terrorist adversaries and leads us to an understanding of why it remains so important for Israel to discover a path forward that will integrate its counterterrorism tactics into a wider strategy that can produce, as the author puts it, 'peace within its borders and with its neighbors.'"
Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladens "On a topic that excites great passion, Dan Byman has written a cool, lucid, and balanced work. This is, and for years to come will remain, the best book explaining the Israeli experience, its successes and its failures, to all democracies facing terrorist threats."
Eliot A. Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, SAIS, Johns Hopkins "Israel has been fighting terrorism from its first days as a state more than six decades ago. In this first in-depth, comprehensive history and analysis of Israel's counter-terrorism strategy Dan Byman has done an extraordinary job of marshalling the facts and presenting a compelling critique. Anyone with an interest in combating the scourge of terrorism or understanding Israel's unique approach to the challenge will find this book an insightful, thought-provoking guide and a fascinating read."
Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director of the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel "Byman has produced a meticulously researched and well-written book that both informs and engages the reader. The hope is that his painstaking and clear-eyed historical analysis of the theory and practice of Israeli counterterrorism, illuminating unnecessary setbacks as well as improbable successes, will help open space for a more efficacious and salutary integration of counterterrorism and policy."
Survival "[A] comprehensive account of the effectiveness of Israel's counterterrorism campaigns since the country became independent.... This book is enriched by [Byman's] research visits to Israel and meetings with leading Israeli security officials cited throughout the volume."
ashington Times "Recommended not only as an introductory text to readers new to the subject, but also as a reference book for experts. The quality of the research makes it a valuable research."
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