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"Dan Byman has written what will likely become the standard text on state-sponsored terrorism. Deadly Connections is an important book that not only fills a long-standing gap in the field of terrorism studies, but significantly advances our understanding of this particularly opaque and complex phenomenon."—Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside Terrorism and former Director of RAND Corporation, Washington, D.C.
Author Daniel Byman contends that thousands of people have died at the hands of terrorist groups who rely on state support for their activities. He says Iran and Libya are well known as sponsors of terrorism, while other countries, some with strong connections to the West, have enabled terrorist activity by turning a blind eye.
Byman's hard-hitting and articulate book is the first to analyze this phenomenon. Focusing primarily on sponsors from the Middle East and South Asia, Deadly Connections examines the different types of support that states provide, their motivations, and the impact of such sponsorship. The book also considers regimes that allow terrorists to raise money and recruit without providing active support. The experiences of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Libya are detailed here, alongside the histories of such radical groups as al-Qaida, Hizbullah, and Hamas. In conclusion, the book assesses the difficulties of forcing sponsors to cut ties with terrorist groups.
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