The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam - Hardcover

9780470503904: The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
A U.S. senator and Pulitzer Prizewinner, both experts on Southeast Asia, offer a bold new approach to address radical Islam and fight global terror

The next front in the war on terror is in Southeast Asia, warn Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO) and Lewis Simons, both leading experts on the region. The U.S. has bankrupted its policies in dealing with the Islamic world. As Fundamentalist Islam gains traction in Southeast Asia, backed by Saudi money, the U.S. must act swiftly to re-establish its credibility there and help defuse global terrorism. Bond and Simons present a bold plan to accomplish this key goal by substituting smart power (civilians in sneakers and sandals) for force (soldiers in combat boots) in Indonesia and the other nations of Southeast Asia, home to the world's greatest concentration of Muslims.

  • Introduces a critical new ""smart power"" approach to combat global terror
  • Written by two experts on Southeast Asia with extensive contacts in Washington and overseas
  • Tackles a crucial challenge to U.S. foreign policy and President Obama's administration
  • Examines a wide range of views and people, from Osama bin Laden-trained armed terrorists to radical clerics to western-trained officials who plead for Americans to come to their countries to teach, start small businesses, and improve health care

The Next Front offers exactly the kind of fresh, out-of-the-box thinking the United States needs to rebuild its credibility and transcend its foreign policy failures.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap:

If you think the next front in the fight against global terrorism is in Pakistan or Afghanistan, this book will startle you. Four-term U.S. Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond and veteran foreign correspondent Lewis M. Simons reveal that the next front is taking shape right now in a part of the world most Americans haven't thought about since the Vietnam war: Southeast Asia.

Bond and Simons demonstrate compellingly that by beginning in Southeast Asia the Obama administration can reverse the devastating effects of failed policies throughout the Islamic community. The key is a new "smart power" approach, one that combines the "soft" tools of diplomatic, economic, and personal outreach with the fallback "hard" option of military force.

Southeast Asia is home to one of the greatest concentrations of Muslims on Earth. More Muslims live in Indonesia alone than in the entire Middle East. Historically, they have been religious moderates. But today, Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism are on the rise, fueled by the United States' intimate alliance with Israel, its invasion of Iraq, the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, and the Guantanamo Bay imprisonments. These have provoked outrage and provided seemingly irrefutable evidence of America's universal disregard for Muslims.

While this picture is bleak, the central theme of The Next Front is that it is not too late for the United States to turn the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism in Southeast Asia.

Americans rarely pay serious attention to other nations until they suddenly perceive them to be a threat. Then they find themselves woefully lacking in information and understanding. Hoping to avoid that recurring flaw, Bond and Simons invite readers to travel with them through Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, meeting people at all levels of society. Drawing on their decades of experience, they speak with—and, more importantly, listen to—presidents and prime ministers, soldiers and policemen, teachers, mothers, lawyers, clergymen, and terrorists. Their stories provide exceptional insights into the politics and economies of their countries as well as their personal concerns, motivations, hopes, and fears. With unremitting candor, they reveal complex and often conflicting feelings about America that range from admiration and affection to resentment and hostility. If the United States is to regain respect around the world and stem the tide of religious extremism in Southeast Asia, it must listen to these people and weigh the value of what they seek from us. Americans in sandals and sneakers today will eliminate the need for Americans in combat boots tomorrow.

From the Back Cover:
Advance praise for the next front

"The Next Front is an eye-opener. Senator Kit Bond and Lew Simons reawaken us to Southeast Asia. Here's the way to mutual respect between America and Islam."
—Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball and NBC's The Chris Matthews Show

"The Next Front is important reading for anyone interested in America's relations with the world's Muslims. Bond and Simons demonstrate that a piece of the solution lies with the huge Islamic population of Southeast Asia, a vital region we have largely ignored since the end of the Vietnam War."
—Sen. John McCain

"Kit Bond and Lew Simons masterfully articulate the importance of incorporating Southeast Asia and its Islamic majority into a new twenty-first-century style of diplomatic engagement. Required reading for today's policymakers and anyone who is concerned about the spread of religious extremism."
—Sen. John Kerry, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

"Rare insights that could only be offered by these two individuals—one a United States senator and the other a Pulitzer Prize winner, both of whom have fastidiously worked to build bridges between the people of Southeast Asia and the United States."
—Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), ranking member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

"Bond and Simons have cornered the elusive enemy we all face. It is mutual ignorance. . . . The Next Front presents a bold, new, outside-the-box way of thinking for Americans to achieve understanding and peace with Muslims throughout the world."
—Greg Mortenson, author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller, Three Cups of Tea

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherTrade Paper Press
  • Publication date2009
  • ISBN 10 0470503904
  • ISBN 13 9780470503904
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages288
  • Rating

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Bond, Christopher S.; Lewis Simmons
Published by Wiley (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Signed Quantity: 1
Seller:
Sequitur Books
(Boonsboro, MD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Signed by co-author, Lewis Simmons on title page. Hardcover and dust jacket. Good binding and cover. Clean, unmarked pages. Ships daily. Signed. Seller Inventory # 1407140074

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 10.94
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Bond, Christopher S.; Simons, Lewis M.
Published by Trade Paper Press (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GreatBookPrices
(Columbia, MD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6052316-n

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 21.64
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Bond, Christopher S.; Simons, Lewis M.
Published by Trade Paper Press (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Lucky's Textbooks
(Dallas, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580220367

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 20.30
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Bond, Christopher S.
Published by Trade Paper Press (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0470503904

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.63
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Bond, Christopher S./ Simons, Lewis M.
Published by John Wiley & Sons Inc (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Revaluation Books
(Exeter, United Kingdom)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Brand New. 1st edition. 288 pages. 9.30x6.30x1.10 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # x-0470503904

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 34.05
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 12.62
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Bond, Christopher S., Simons, Lewis M.
Published by Wiley (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks158754

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 59.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Bond, Christopher S.; Simons, Lewis M.
Published by Trade Paper Press (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GreatBookPricesUK
(Castle Donington, DERBY, United Kingdom)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6052316-n

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 43.12
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 18.93
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Bond, Christopher S.; Simons, Lewis M.
Published by Trade Paper Press (2009)
ISBN 10: 0470503904 ISBN 13: 9780470503904
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.9. Seller Inventory # Q-0470503904

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 61.17
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.13
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds