The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda

By Jerrold M. Post; Reviewed by Mayer Nudell, CSC

***** The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda. By Jerrold M. Post, published by Palgrave Macmillan, www.palgrave.com (Web); 320 pages; $27.95.

The ancient axiom dictates that knowing one’s enemy is an important prerequisite to defeating it. While terrorism may be impossible to vanquish completely, knowing why people choose this tactic is necessary in order to deal with it. Jerrold Post, a long-time and knowledgeable observer and analyst of terrorism and terrorists, provides critical insight to that end in The Mind of the Terrorist.

Drawing upon his extensive experience, Post provides a psychological bridge from the past into the present, examining the motivations of terrorists over the past 40 years. Using interviews with and statements of the terrorists themselves, Post shows that contrary to a widespread belief, most terrorists are not “abnormal.” Rather, many have developed “hatred [that] has been bred in the bone,” which has been exploited for political reasons by terrorist leaders. Post gives readers a comprehensive look at the psychology of terrorism that helps to explain present-day events.

The Mind of the Terrorist would be valuable reading if it stopped there. But Post goes on to suggest five elements for “an integrated strategic information operations program” designed to reverse over time the mind-set that fosters terrorism. These elements are “inhibiting potential terrorists from joining terrorist groups in the first place; producing dissension within the group; facilitating [a person’s] exit from the group; reducing support for the group and its leaders; [and] insulating the target audience, the public, from the intended goals of the terrorist to terrorize.”

These elements serve as the foundation of a “strategic psychological operations program that must be conducted over decades” to reduce terrorism from the current national and international preoccupation we have allowed it to be to the relatively minor irritant that it can become. In the book’s final chapter, Post explains how this might be accomplished.
The Mind of the Terrorist is important reading for everyone involved in dealing with terrorism, from government officials to corporate security professionals and other executives.

Reviewer: Mayer Nudell, CSC (Certified Security and Safety Consultant), is an independent consultant on crisis management and contingency planning.