Overview

Chasing Ghosts exposes the ill-founded paranoia that has allowed the national security state to both feed at the public trough and undermine America's civil liberties tradition. Since 2001, the United States has created or reorganised more than two counter-terrorism organizations for every terrorist arrest or apprehension it has made of people plotting to do damage within the country. Central to this massive enterprise is 'ghost-chasing,' as less than one alarm in 10,000 is an actual threat - the rest all point to ghosts.Authors John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart contend that the ghost chase occupying American law enforcement and fueling federal spending persists because the public has been lead to believe that the terrorism threat is significant. The chance that an American will be killed by a terrorist domestically in any given year is about one in four million (under present conditions). Yet despite this statistically low risk and the extraordinary amount of resources put towards combating threats, Americans still worry and the government still spends billions. Until the true threat of domestic terrorism is understood, the country cannot begin to confront whether our pursuit of 'ghosts' is worth the cost.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Mueller ,  Mark Stewart
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 16.30cm , Height: 3.20cm , Length: 23.70cm
Weight:   0.660kg
ISBN:  

9780190237318

ISBN 10:   0190237317
Pages:   408
Publication Date:   December 2016
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

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Reviews

Does civilization face an existential threat of terrorism? Politicians and security bureaucrats have a vested interest in answering 'yes,' while blowing off the costs (in money, opportunities, and lives) of responding to their exaggerated and sometimes hallucinated threats. This evidence-based expose of the counterterrorism industry is witty and eye-opening, and offers a sound basis for intelligent policy and for our conception of the world we live in. -Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style In their provocative and well-informed book, Mueller and Stewart evaluate the policies and the politics of counterterrorism. Chasing Ghosts challenges the fundamental premises on which the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework is built, finding that the overall terrorism threat is limited, that many would-be terrorists are incompetent amateurs, and that much of the spending on counterterrorism is wasted. -Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution This terrific book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. War on Terror. Mueller and Stewart show that America's national security elites were so spooked by the events of 9/11 that they started seeing imaginary terrorists everywhere. To deal with these ghosts, the Bush and Obama administrations spent huge amounts of money and unnecessarily grew the national security state to the point where it is now a potential threat to our civil liberties. When future historians look back someday at this period, Chasing Ghosts will stand out as a rare example of measured thinking about a threat that has been inflated to absurd proportions. -John J. Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago This book comes as more and more evidence is emerging that the real 'terror' on our streets is being created by those who have been charged with eradicating it! -Lowell Bergman, Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of California, Berkeley

Does civilization face an existential threat of terrorism? Politicians and security bureaucrats have a vested interest in answering 'yes, ' while blowing off the costs (in money, opportunities, and lives) of responding to their exaggerated and sometimes hallucinated threats. This evidence-based expose of the counterterrorism industry is witty and eye-opening, and offers a sound basis for intelligent policy and for our conception of the world we live in. -Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style In their provocative and well-informed book, Mueller and Stewart evaluate the policies and the politics of counterterrorism. Chasing Ghosts challenges the fundamental premises on which the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework is built, finding that the overall terrorism threat is limited, that many would-be terrorists are incompetent amateurs, and that much of the spending on counterterrorism is wasted. -Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution This terrific book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. War on Terror. Mueller and Stewart show that America's national security elites were so spooked by the events of 9/11 that they started seeing imaginary terrorists everywhere. To deal with these ghosts, the Bush and Obama administrations spent huge amounts of money and unnecessarily grew the national security state to the point where it is now a potential threat to our civil liberties. When future historians look back someday at this period, Chasing Ghosts will stand out as a rare example of measured thinking about a threat that has been inflated to absurd proportions. -John J. Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago This book comes as more and more evidence is emerging that the real 'terror' on our streets is being created by those who have been charged with eradicating it! -Lowell Bergman, Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of California, Berkeley Does civilization face an existential threat of terrorism? Politicians and security bureaucrats have a vested interest in answering 'yes, ' while blowing off the costs (in money, opportunities, and lives) of responding to their exaggerated and sometimes hallucinated threats. This evidence-based expose of the counterterrorism industry is witty and eye-opening, and offers a sound basis for intelligent policy and for our conception of the world we live in. -Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style In their provocative and well-informed book, Mueller and Stewart evaluate the policies and the politics of counterterrorism. Chasing Ghosts challenges the fundamental premises on which the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework is built, finding that the overall terrorism threat is limited, that many would-be terrorists are incompetent amateurs, and that much of the spending on counterterrorism is wasted. -Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution This terrific book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. War on Terror. Mueller and Stewart show that America's national security elites were so spooked by the events of 9/11 that they started seeing imaginary terrorists everywhere. To deal with these ghosts, the Bush and Obama administrations spent huge amounts of money and unnecessarily grew the national security state to the point where it is now a potential threat to our civil liberties. When future historians look back someday at this period, Chasing Ghosts will stand out as a rare example of measured thinking about a threat that has been inflated to absurd proportions. -John J. Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago This book comes as more and more evidence is emerging that the real 'terror' on our streets is being created by those who have been charged with eradicating it! -Lowell Bergman, Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of California, Berkeley

Does civilization face an existential threat of terrorism? Politicians and security bureaucrats have a vested interest in answering 'yes, ' while blowing off the costs (in money, opportunities, and lives) of responding to their exaggerated and sometimes hallucinated threats. This evidence-based expose of the counterterrorism industry is witty and eye-opening, and offers a sound basis for intelligent policy and for our conception of the world we live in. -Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style In their provocative and well-informed book, Mueller and Stewart evaluate the policies and the politics of counterterrorism. Chasing Ghosts challenges the fundamental premises on which the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework is built, finding that the overall terrorism threat is limited, that many would-be terrorists are incompetent amateurs, and that much of the spending on counterterrorism is wasted. -Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution This terrific book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. War on Terror. Mueller and Stewart show that America's national security elites were so spooked by the events of 9/11 that they started seeing imaginary terrorists everywhere. To deal with these ghosts, the Bush and Obama administrations spent huge amounts of money and unnecessarily grew the national security state to the point where it is now a potential threat to our civil liberties. When future historians look back someday at this period, Chasing Ghosts will stand out as a rare example of measured thinking about a threat that has been inflated to absurd proportions. -John J. Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago This book comes as more and more evidence is emerging that the real 'terror' on our streets is being created by those who have been charged with eradicating it! -Lowell Bergman, Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of California, Berkeley Does civilization face an existential threat of terrorism? Politicians and security bureaucrats have a vested interest in answering 'yes, ' while blowing off the costs (in money, opportunities, and lives) of responding to their exaggerated and sometimes hallucinated threats. This evidence-based expose of the counterterrorism industry is witty and eye-opening, and offers a sound basis for intelligent policy and for our conception of the world we live in. -Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style In their provocative and well-informed book, Mueller and Stewart evaluate the policies and the politics of counterterrorism. Chasing Ghosts challenges the fundamental premises on which the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework is built, finding that the overall terrorism threat is limited, that many would-be terrorists are incompetent amateurs, and that much of the spending on counterterrorism is wasted. -Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution This terrific book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. War on Terror. Mueller and Stewart show that America's national security elites were so spooked by the events of 9/11 that they started seeing imaginary terrorists everywhere. To deal with these ghosts, the Bush and Obama administrations spent huge amounts of money and unnecessarily grew the national security state to the point where it is now a potential threat to our civil liberties. When future historians look back someday at this period, Chasing Ghosts will stand out as a rare example of measured thinking about a threat that has been inflated to absurd proportions. -John J. Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago This book comes as more and more evidence is emerging that the real 'terror' on our streets is being created by those who have been charged with eradicating it! -Lowell Bergman, Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of California, Berkeley

Does civilization face an existential threat of terrorism? Politicians and security bureaucrats have a vested interest in answering 'yes, ' while blowing off the costs (in money, opportunities, and lives) of responding to their exaggerated and sometimes hallucinated threats. This evidence-based expose of the counterterrorism industry is witty and eye-opening, and offers a sound basis for intelligent policy and for our conception of the world we live in. -Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style In their provocative and well-informed book, Mueller and Stewart evaluate the policies and the politics of counterterrorism. Chasing Ghosts challenges the fundamental premises on which the post-9/11 counterterrorism framework is built, finding that the overall terrorism threat is limited, that many would-be terrorists are incompetent amateurs, and that much of the spending on counterterrorism is wasted. -Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution This terrific book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. War on Terror. Mueller and Stewart show that America's national security elites were so spooked by the events of 9/11 that they started seeing imaginary terrorists everywhere. To deal with these ghosts, the Bush and Obama administrations spent huge amounts of money and unnecessarily grew the national security state to the point where it is now a potential threat to our civil liberties. When future historians look back someday at this period, Chasing Ghosts will stand out as a rare example of measured thinking about a threat that has been inflated to absurd proportions. -John J. Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago This book comes as more and more evidence is emerging that the real 'terror' on our streets is being created by those who have been charged with eradicating it! -Lowell Bergman, Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of California, Berkeley

Author Information

John Mueller is a political scientist at Ohio State University and the Cato Institute. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 18 books and hundreds of scholarly and popular articles. His research areas include international relations, security studies, risk analysis, public opinion, foreign policy, terrorism and counterterrorism, and dance history.Mark G. Stewart is Professor of Civil Engineering at The University of Newcastle, Australia. He has more than 25 years of experience in probabilistic risk and vulnerability assessment of infrastructure and security systems. His expertise in risk assessment is applied to a wide range of threats and hazards most notably terrorism and climate change. Along with Mueller, he is the co-author of Terror, Security, and Money (OUP).

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