'' Unconquerable Nation: Knowing Our Enemy, Strengthening Ourselves'' () is a book written by Brian Michael Jenkins, one of the world's foremost authorities on terrorism. In it the author asserts that some of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

's recent approaches to

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

have been counterproductive. The book is based in part on objective research, particularly as it applies to knowing the enemy, and it also includes the personal reflections of Brian Michael Jenkins, who draws on 40 years of terrorism research. Jenkins currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President of the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

. The title Unconquerable Nation derives from a quote by the ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, who 25 centuries ago wrote, "Being unconquerable lies with yourself." ''Unconquerable Nation'' was published on August 22, 2006, by the RAND Corporation.

The jihadist enterprise

Jenkins describes

Islamism Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...

in terms of a worldwide "jihadist enterprise" directly at odds with the underpinnings of Western civilization. His book describes several strategic principles to guide the response of the West and particularly America: *conserving resources for a long war *waging an effective political warfare campaign *breaking the cycle of jihadism *maintaining international cooperation *pre-empting attempts by terrorists to launch attacks involving weapons of mass destruction *retaliating "in kind" against any state that provides WMD to a terrorist group * rebuilding Afghanistan *in Iraq, finding a way to reduce "insurgent, sectarian and predatory criminal violence to a level that permits social and political progress."

References

* * {{cite web , last=Lorraine , first=Nancy , title=Chickasaw Unconquered and Unconquerable (Book review) , publisher=MBR Bookwatch , year=2009 , url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-208693590.html, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151714/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-208693590.html, url-status=dead, archive-date=2015-09-24

External links

RAND page for the book
Books about counterterrorism Books about terrorism 2006 non-fiction books