Highlighting the changing nature of conflict, this book examines the menace of global terrorism in terms of how nations have responded to the growing threat. Issues considered include how a small group of terrorists can force disproportionately large deployments and how nations hover between retaliatory insufficiency and retaliatory overkill. The argument is presented that the terrorist attacks on 9-11 may have been premature acts that were intended to take place after 2004 and the planned pan-Islamic consolidation in central Asia, a consolidation that would have curtailed the retaliatory possibilities of the United States. This landmark study offers a fresh perspective on how global terrorism will impact the world community and innovative suggestions for redefining terrorism in a framework that will be more successful in mobilising the international community.