Humanity, Terrorism, Terrorist War

With large questions of right and wrong, there is a division of labour. So, with the attack on three subway trains and a bus in London on July 7, 2005. Of what moral relevance, if any, was the fact that the British army had been engaged in the killing of greatly more of a people with whom the terrorists identified? Of what relevance, as a newspaper article asked a week later, was the fact that the British prime minister put his own people at risk in the service of a foreign power? So begins Ted Honderich's intelligent and thoughtful analysis in "Terrorism and Humanity". What Honderich says will doubtless cause a great deal of controversy too (his last book on this subject was initially banned in Germany on the grounds it was anti-Semitic, only to be re-published by a Jewish press). However, his views will also be acceptable to a great many Jews (he puts forward arguments to justify the founding of Israel and its secure perpetual existence). Looking in detail at the situation in Palestine, 9/11, the war in Iraq and the events of 7/7, Ted Honderich offers neither a sensationalist rant nor an academic treatise. Instead "Terrorism and Humanity" provides a thoughtful and perceptive exploration of the "biggest" issue facing the western world today.