This handbook comprises essays by leading scholars and practitioners on the topic of U.S. counterterrorism and irregular warfare campaigns and operations around the globe. Terrorist groups have evolved substantially since 9/11, with the Islamic State often described as a pseudo-state, a terrorist group, and insurgency all at the same time. While researchers', analysts', and policymakers’ understanding of terrorism has grown immensely over the past two decades, similar advancements in the understanding of counterterrorism lag. As such, this handbook explains why it is necessary to take a broader view of counterterrorism which can, and often does, include irregular warfare. The volume is divided into three thematic sections: Part I examines modern terrorism in the Islamic world and gives an overview of the major terrorist groups from the past three decades; Part II provides a wide variety of case studies of counterterrorism and irregular warfare operations, spanning from the 1980s to the irregular warfare campaign against the Islamic State in northern Syria in 2018; Part III examines the government instruments used to combat terrorism and wage irregular warfare, such as drones, Theater Special Operations Commands, and Theater Commands. The handbook fills a gap in the traditional counterterrorism literature by its inclusion of irregular warfare and by providing analyses from academic experts as well as practitioners. It will be of much interest to students of counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, U.S. national security, military affairs, and International Relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-US-Counterterrorism-and-Irregular-Warfare-Operations/Sheehan-Marquardt-Collins/p/book/9780367758363, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Liam Collins Part I: The Threat and Regional Security Issues 1. The Evolution of Islamist Terrorism in the 20th Century James J.F. Forest 2. The Ideology Behind Al-Qaida and the Islamic State Daniel Rudder and Chris Heffelfinger 3. The Evolution of Al-Qaida: 1988 to Present Day Seth G. Jones 4. The History of the Islamic State: From Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Brian Fishman 5. Contemporary Conflict and Political Violence in the Levant Benedetta Berti 6. Jihadi Militancy and Houthi Insurgency in Yemen Elisabeth Kendall 7. The Roots of Terrorism in North and West Africa: AQIM and Boko Haram Alice Hunt Friend 8. Al-Shabaab and the Horn of Africa Ken Menkhaus 9. The History of Terrorism in Southeast Asia Peter Chalk 10. The Taliban and the Modern History of Afghanistan Rob Johnson 11. The Modern History of Iran and the Birth of the Shia Proxy Model Alex Vatanka 12. Terrorism, Insurgency, and Criminal Insurgency in Latin America Román D. Ortiz Part II: Operational Case Studies 13. El Salvador: Operations and Planning Assistance Training Teams and a Minimalist Approach to Counterinsurgency Cecil E. Bailey 14. Plan Colombia and the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group Kevin M. Higgins 15. The Story of the U.S. Role in the Killing of Pablo Escobar Mark Bowden 16. The Iran-Contra Affair and the Afghan Task Force: Lessons in Covert Action Jack Devine and Amanda Mattingly 17. The Horse Soldiers: Lessons from Expeditionary Unconventional Warfare Mark E. Mitchell 18. Special Operations Forces and Afghan Local Police Programs Donald C. Bolduc and Chris Hensley 19. U.S. Civilian Architecture for Stabilization and Counterinsurgency in Northern Afghanistan (2012-2013) Keith Mines 20. Dismantling Al-Qaida in Iraq Liam Collins 21. Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines: Lessons in Special Warfare David S. Maxwell 22. Operation Serval: A Swift Intervention with a Small Footprint in Mali Michael A. Sheehan and Pascale C. Siegel 23. U.S. Counterterrorism Policy in Yemen from 2010-2020 Luke Hartig 24. Defeating the Islamic State: Special Operations Forces in Syria Anthony Messenger, Nick Lewis-Walls, Mike Parker, Bert Pedrigi and David P. Kearns Part III: Government Instruments in Countering Terrorism and Waging Irregular Warfare 25. The Joint Terrorism Task Force: Investigating to Disrupt and Prosecute Terrorists Ali Soufan 26. Creating the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau Michael A. Sheehan 27. The Inside Story of How the NYPD’s Intelligence Division Adapted in the Wake of 9/11 David Cohen 28. Lessons Learned from Four High Casualty Terrorist Attacks in the United States Since 9/11 Paul Cruickshank 29. Social Media Recruitment of Americans: A Case Study from the Islamic State Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens and Seamus Hughes 30. Countering Extremist Organizations in the Information Domain Joseph Mroszcyzk and Max Abrahms 31. Theater Special Operations Commands: The Combat Employment of U.S. Special Operations Forces Charles T. Cleveland and Liam Collins 32. Theater Command in Afghanistan: Taking Charge of the ‘Other War’ in 2003-2005 David W. Barno 33. America’s Drone Wars Outside of Conventional War Zones Peter Bergen and A.G. Sims 34. The United Kingdom’s Approach to Counterterrorism Robin Simcox and Hannah Stuart Conclusion Hy Rothstein