Terrorist Rehabilitation: The U.S. Experience in Iraq

by Rohan Gunaratna, Rohan Gunaratna

Because terrorists are made, not born, it is critically important to world peace that detainees and inmates influenced by violent ideology are deradicalized and rehabilitated back into society. Exploring the challenges in this formidable endeavor, Terrorist The U.S. Experience in Iraq demonstrates through the actual experiences of military personnel, defense contractors, and Iraqi nationals that deradicalization and rehabilitation programs can succeed and have the capability to positively impact thousands of would-be terrorists globally if utilized to their full capacity. Custodial and community rehabilitation of terrorists and extremists is a new frontier in the fight against terrorism. This forward-thinking It is essential that we shift the focus from solely detainment and imprisonment to addressing the ideological mindset during prolonged incarceration. It is possible to effect an ideological transformation in detainees that qualifies them to be reclassified as no longer posing a security threat. This volume demonstrates that with the proper program and encouragement, a detainee’s misunderstanding or extremist ideology can be replaced with the principles of moderation, toleration, and coexistence.

454 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2011

About the author

Rohan Gunaratna is the head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. By its size, ICPVTR is one of the largest counter terrorism research and training centres in the world.

Reviews

[James Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, detailed book. Took a few chapters for me to get into it, but worth a read. Wonder how many so-called "prisoners" the author interviewed are now with ISIS? I say so-called because it seems many of them were locked up just because someone turned them in, even though they did nothing wrong.

Anyway, it's an in-depth, first-person account read for anyone interested in how the US ran all those camps and prisons back during GW's time. The author was actually in the camps and had access to the prisoners. I would have preferred the book to be a bit less dry and technical, and have the author tell more personal stories she witnessed; a little more "feeling", I suppose. But then again, I'm not an author.

One day while I was reading the book, I was carrying it with me to work, and a co-worker saw it and said "Terrorist rehabilitation? What kind of liberal bullshit is that? I wold kill them all, thats what I wuld do!" He being an outspoken Christian, I said "Well, that's not a very Christian thing to do! What would Jesus do?" Without skipping a beat, he replied "I'll tell you what Jesus would do; he'd put a bullet in the head of every terrorst!" Well, there you go. Rambo Jesus.

[Superp7000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing look inside what really goes on in the bases of Iraq military dentention centers as well as overall activities on the base. Dives deep into the Religious Enlightment Program to get bad guys back on track and teach them the truth. Great at describing the relationships developed and estranged between civilian/military/contractor/detainee/ etc. Great book that goes into great depth of some of the reasons why people on the edge get roped into terrorism and proof that rehabilitation does work. In the long run it saves more American lives than simply putting a bullet through their head. Loved reading it!