In the first chapter of Origins of Terrorism, entitled "The Logic of Terrorism," Martha Crenshaw approaches the subject of terrorism with one fundamental viewpoint: that terrorism is a direct result of strategic choice. She theorizes that terrorism is merely the "willful choice made by an organization for political and strategic reasons, rather than an unintended outcome of psychological or social factors." What this means is that terrorist activities are planned, calculated actions that will somehow benefit the organization or cause. This theory dismisses the notion of terrorism being made up of completely random, violent acts indiscriminately executed on the masses as a result of cultural or political issues that happen to be in the favor of an opposing group.

Contrary to that notion is Crenshaw's belief that terrorists themselves are actually relatively intelligent beings capable of rational thought. It is exactly this capacity for cognitive reasoning that allows...