What if your own government deliberately creates terrorists? What if their short-term aims – deposing regimes that no longer serve Western interests, justifying invasions of sovereign nations, and expanding the security state at home – have long-term consequences for us all? What if most of the horrific bombings, stabbings and vehicle attacks of recent years are connected – indirectly and sometimes directly – to British, French and American intelligence? These and other hard-hitting questions are posed by T. J. Coles in this disturbing survey of secret political manoeuvrings and covert manipulation. Welcome to the world of manufactured terrorism...

Backed by a wealth of documentation, including court records, parliamentary inquiries and little-known but official publications, the author exposes the role of the deep state in brutal acts of terror. Exploring Operation Gladio, Northern Irish terror and, predominantly, Islamic jihad, he argues that intelligence agencies, the military and governments employ six key methods to manufacture terrorism:
1/ Blowback: attacking other countries and provoking violent responses.
2/ Proxies: creating terrorists (including al-Qaeda) and using them against enemies.
3/ Provocateurs: provoking individuals from minorities into committing terrorist acts.
4/ Green-lighting: allowing terrorists to commit attacks in order to justify specific policies.
5/ False-flags: committing terrorism and blaming it on designated enemies.
6/ Simulations: holding drills and exercises as covers for apparent terrorist acts.

Contrary to claims that terrorism is caused by people who simply ‘hate our way of life’ – and in contrast to the simplistic narrative of conspiracy websites and talk-shows – Coles argues that each case of terrorism needs to be evaluated separately. Manufacturing Terrorism presents a complex picture that distinguishes between cases of blowback, proxies, false-flags, simulations, etc. It offers an indispensable briefing to help readers make sense of our chaotic and dangerous world.

‘Manufacturing Terrorism is as terrifying as it is compelling. T. J. Coles argues that most terrorist attacks would never happen in the first place if not for overzealous, misguided and just plain malevolent intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the West. He’s right. And he has the research and documentation to back it up. This book should be required reading, not just in colleges and universities, but in every organization in the international intelligence and law enforcement communities.’ – John Kiriakou, former CIA counterterrorism officer and former senior investigator, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

T. J. COLES is a postdoctoral researcher at Plymouth University’s Cognition Institute, working on issues relating to blindness and visual impairment. His thesis The Knotweed Factor can be read online.

A columnist with Axis of Logic, Coles has written about politics and human rights for Counterpunch, Newsweek, the New Statesman and Truthout. His books include The Great Brexit Swindle, President Trump, Inc. and Fire and Fury.