Imam Samudra's Justification for Bali Bombing 1

The primary objective of this article is to provide a map of Imam Samudra's thinking behind Bali bombing I as written in his book Aku Melawan Teroris to those who are not able to read the book in its original Indonesian language with an assumption that counterideological effort cannot be executed effectively without understanding the ideas held by terrorism perpetrators. To add value, the article also offers a comparative study between Samudra's thinking and Al Qaeda's ideology. It then points out and provides brief alternative viewpoints to Samudra's thinking. The article ends with some policy recommendations pertaining to counterideological work.     

原子弹轰炸日本秘闻

众所周知,人类历史上真正将核武器用于战争只有一次,那就是二战末期美国对日本进行的原子弹轰炸.1945年8月6日和9日,随着两朵蘑菇云在日本广岛、长崎腾起,威力巨大的原子弹加速了日本法西斯的最后灭亡,同时也宣告了人类核时代的到来.然而在原子弹投掷前后,却有许多鲜为人知的逸事秘闻.     

Without Effort to Overthrow Saddam, Bombing Strikes Are Counterproductive

Ahmad Chalabi is president of the executive council of the main Iraqi opposition coalition to Saddam's rule, the Iraqi National Congress. His comments here are adapted from a conversation with NPQ editor Nathan Gardels in London on December 17.     

Suicidality and Suicide Bombing Revisited: A Rejoinder to Merari

Ariel Merari purports to demonstrate a tendency on the part of suicide bombers to be motivated by depression and suicidal tendencies. However, he misconstrues the present authors' critique of his work and misinterprets their research. By clarifying both issues, this article seeks to substantiate three claims: (1) Merari's sampling procedure precludes generalization; (2) interviewer and contextual effects probably bias his findings; (3) evidence challenges his inferences.     

斩断伸向中小学女生的魔爪

近年来,中、小学女生遭受来自教师性侵害的案件频发,并呈增加的趋势,产生这种现象的原因主要有:学生本人自我保护的意识缺乏,家长责任意识的弱化,学校疏于对教师的教育和管理。因此,提高进入教师队伍的“门槛”,强化家长责任意识,加强对教师的教育与管理,清除教师中的败类是防止此类犯罪发生、蔓延的必要措施。     

乡镇体制变迁的思考--"后税费时代"乡镇体制与农村政策体系重建

上世纪50年代从乡镇政权体制向人民公社体制的转变,主要是出于国家工业化从农村获取资金的需要;建国以来的乡镇政权体制的变迁是以农村的微观经济组织和其他微观社会组织的变化为基础的;目前乡镇政府已经失去为国家现代化筹集资金的功能,也不能满足农村经济和社会发展的需要,所以改革势在必行;明确新的职能,建立提供高效服务的体制,改善乡镇党委的领导,应是近期乡镇改革的方向;完善乡镇治理结构,实行金融优先的微观组织再造,理顺农村土地产权关系,完善农村现代制度体系,修改<土地承包法>,还土地权益于民,建立以土地产权收益为财政基础的村民自治,等等,是目前农村改革的几个着力点.     

Beyond Horror: Terrorist Atrocity and the Search for Understanding-- The Case of the Shankill Bombing

The old order has broken up. We have reached the end of a postwar world whose premises were based on terror, but whose conditions had become familiar, and even comforting, over the years. The waters we are now entering are unchartered and perhaps treacherous, and we are not likely to steer safely through them unless we have the courage to question the old assumptions which once seemed eternal and have now become so threadbare.     

Radicalization and Subversion: Al Qaeda and the 7 July 2005 Bombings and the 2006 Airline Bombing Plot

This article analyzes the suicide bomb attacks on four London transportation targets on 7 July 2005 and the plot to bomb simultaneously at least seven American and Canadian passenger airliners as they departed from London's Heathrow Airport. American, British, and Pakistani authorities thwarted this planned attack in August 2006. Both incidents are among the most important Al Qaeda operations in recent years. Initially, they were dismissed by the authorities, pundits, and the media alike as the work of amateur terrorists—untrained “bunches of guys” acting entirely on their own with no links to Al Qaeda. Subsequent evidence, however, has come to light, which reveals clear links to senior Al Qaeda commanders operating in Pakistan's lawless frontier border area with Afghanistan.     

The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition: climate change as a development issue

After the Working Group on Climate Change and Development recognised the challenge that climate change poses to development, a number of environmental and aid, trade and development organisations formed a new politically active coalition, Stop Climate Chaos (SCC), to demand that stronger climate laws be adopted in the UK. The coalition now frames the issue of climate change as a ‘global climate justice’ one, emphasising the severity of the issue for people in poor countries, who will suffer the worst consequences, but have contributed least to it. The extent to which SCC member organisations address climate change as a global justice issue is explored through a content analysis of their websites, and a survey of participants in the SCC I-Count march, London, 3 November 2006. There is certainly evidence that environmental organisations are ‘facing South’, just as aid, trade and development organisations are ‘turning green’.