The Terrorism Industry
Edward Herman and Gerry O’Sullivan,
Pantheon Books, New York, 1989, $15.95.
Since the revelation of the activities of Forum World Features in the mid 1970s, it has become apparent that Western intelligence services have used ‘research institutes’ and ‘study centres’ with impressive and neutral-sounding titles to put over their world view and create public antipathy towards the enemy of the day. Despite the significance of this component in parapolitics, it has not previously been the subject of a detailed study.
The Terrorism Industry is in many ways a continuation of Herman’s previous books on the media and disinformation, the excellent Rise and Fall of the Bulgarian Connection and The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda. The opening section of the book takes the statistical approach adopted in The Real Terror Network, to prove that state terrorism, particularly in Latin America, has led to far more deaths than anti-state terrorism; and that even within anti-state terrorism, it is right-wing not left-wing violence that has created the greatest number of victims.
Having described terrorism as a phenomenon, the authors turn their attention to the ‘experts’ and institutes that shape media coverage of the subject. The experts covered are Yonah Alexander, Ray Cline, Brian Jenkins, Robert Kupperman, Walter Lacquer, Michael Ledeen, Ariel Merari, Robert Moss, Claire Sterling, Maurice Tugwell and Paul Wilkinson. British propaganda institutes dealt with include the Institute for the Study of Conflict (Crozier), the Institute for the Study of Terrorism (Becker/Chalfont), Control Risks Janke/Goss/Clutterbuck) and the Research Foundation for the Study of Terrorism (Wilkinson). Non-UK groups include the Centre for Conflict Studies and Mackenzie Institute in Canada (Charters/Tugwell), the Jonathan Institute and Jaffee Centre in Israel; and in America, the Georgetown CSIS, Heritage Foundation, American Security Council (Singlaub/Stilwell), the International Security Council (Moonies), the Nathan Hale Institute and Rand Corporation. It also covers transnational groups such as the Pinay Circle. This list should convince you that this book is a mine of information: essential reading for those interested in covert propaganda or terrorism.
David Teacher
The Terrorism Industry is stocked in the UK by Compendium Books in London, at 12.95 plus postage.