EDITOR’S NOTE: 9/11 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE

Three years after the terrorist attacks on the United States and the declaration of war on terrorism by the U.S. government, the enigma of al-Qaeda remains all-pervasive. This edition marks Jamestown’s unique contribution to the third anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist assaults. The article on an “undefined war,” aside from providing coverage on the terrorist hotspots around the world, aptly captures the amorphous nature of this conflict and the adverse consequences that may flow from this. The report on Guantanamo Bay analyses an institution that may come to be regarded as the lasting legacy of this conflict. The article on European perspectives places the origins of the so-called “European” approach in the on-going disputes between European security services and their political masters over the nature and scope of the war. Finally a former CIA officer offers a timely critique of the 9/11 Commission’s report.