Page 21 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Preface

Work on the Encyclopedia of Terrorism began authorities. I welcome all who visit the Encyclopedia
almost one year prior to the events of September 11, of Terrorism to digest the information within. Keep it
2001. At that time, there was the need for a thumb- nearby as you expand your knowledge of what is
through type of reference work that could be con- currently one of the world’s most important topics.
sulted on the subject of terrorism. Yes, it is certainly Many people helped make this project possible. At
true that for some time the Internet provided a veri- the beginning, there was Jerry Westby, senior acquisi-
table explosion of information, but how does the tions editor, Sage Publications, who cajoled and con-
neophyte judge accuracy? Until such time as cyber- vinced me to undertake this arduous, albeit rewarding,
space reliability improves, the encyclopedia will project. His advice and counsel will always be cher-
remain the reference of choice for the educated con- ished. And then there was Rolf A. Janke, vice presi-
sumer. Unfortunately, the aftermath of September 11 dent and publisher, Sage Publications. Rolf helped
further exacerbated the situation surrounding the me get through deadlines that seemed unattainable
accuracy of information pertaining to terrorism; the and work that appeared insurmountable. I wish every
rush to publish everything and anything purportedly author, as well as anyone else for that matter, such
related to terrorism only added to the confusion. unconditional support. The senior developmental
Bookstore shelves abound with questionable matter editor, Vince Burns, also provided much appreciated
related to terrorism, and cyberspace is full of prob- assistance.
lematic material. The need for a thumb-through type Others at Sage also require many thanks for their
of reference work remained. technical expertise. Diana E. Axelsen, senior books
Although not a textbook, and certainly not a mono- production editor, was invaluable in her coordination
graph, the encyclopedia provides detailed discussions efforts. Kate Peterson’s copyediting skills were
of the who, what, where, when, and why of terrorism, greatly appreciated, as were Nevair Kabakian’s proof-
including the September 11 attacks and their ramifi- reading and Mary Mortensen’s indexing.
cations. Providing a comprehensive, global coverage The Moschovitis Group under the careful guidance
of terrorism with more than 300 in-depth entries, of Valerie Tomaselli, president of the Publishing
readers have the wherewithal to understand the com- Division, and Christos J. P. Moschovitis, chairman
ponent parts of terrorism or develop a more exhaustive and CEO, worked tirelessly to contribute to the
study of a topic. The latter is made possible by cross- making of this encyclopedia. That said, however, it
references to related entries at the end of each entry, was Moschovitis’s executive editor for publishing,
as well as a detailed list of further readings. Hilary W. Poole, who was my right-hand person and
In addition to a variety of valuable appendixes, this shadowed my every thought about this project.
volume contains the most detailed list of terrorist Moschovitis’s associate editor, Sonja Matanovic, also
events ever assembled in one reference work. This provided significant assistance to the team. Editing
chronology is a handy guide for documenting attacks assistance was also provided by Carole Campbell.
within the United States and on its interests abroad. My great fortune continues with a splendid staff of
No longer will it be necessary to search for a date or contributing researchers and writers. The list is alpha-
place of an incident; it’s all here. The value of such betical for lack of a better of way of highlighting their
easy access should be clear to all, and it will be espe- equally significant contributions: Nancy Egan, Maria
cially valuable for researchers and law enforcement Kiriakova, Laura Jin Loo Lambert, Lisa Magloff, Rich

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