In the wake of the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush drew a line in the sand, saying, “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.” Since 9/11, many counterterrorism partners have been both “with” and “against” the United States, helping it in some areas and hindering it in others. This has been especially true in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, where the terrorist groups that threaten America are most concentrated. Because so many aspects of U.S. counterterrorism strategy are dependent on international cooperation, the United States has little choice but to work with other countries. Making the most of these partnerships is fundamental to the success of the War on Terror. Yet what the United States can reasonably expect from its counterterrorism partners—and how to get more out of them—remain too little understood.

In With Us and Against Us, Stephen Tankel analyzes the factors that shape counterterrorism cooperation, examining the ways partner nations aid international efforts, as well as the ways they encumber and impede effective action. He considers the changing nature of counterterrorism, exploring how counterterrorism efforts after 9/11 critically differ both from those that existed beforehand and from traditional alliances. Focusing on U.S. partnerships with Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen against al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations, Tankel offers nuanced propositions about what the U.S. can expect from its counterterrorism partners depending on their political and security interests, threat perceptions, and their relationships with the United States and with the terrorists in question. With Us and Against Us offers a theoretically rich and policy-relevant toolkit for assessing and improving counterterrorism cooperation, devising strategies for mitigating risks, and getting the most out of difficult partnerships.

STEPHEN TANKEL is an associate professor in the School of International Service at American University and an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Dr. Tankel specializes in international security with a focus on terrorism, counterterrorism, and political and military affairs in South Asia. He has conducted field research in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, and the Balkans. Dr. Tankel is the author of numerous works, including With Us And Against Us: How America’s Partners Help and Hinder the War on Terror (forthcoming in spring 2018) and Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba (Oxford University Press, 2011). Dr. Tankel previously served as a Senior Advisor at the Department of Defense and frequently advises U.S. policymakers, practitioners, and members of the Intelligence Community. He received his PhD in War Studies from King’s College London, has an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BS from Cornell University.

ERIC SCHMITT is a senior correspondent for the New York Times who covers counterterrorism and national security issues. He is co-author of Counterstrike: the Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda. For more than two decades, he has covered military and national security affairs for the newspaper. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, he has made ten reporting trips to Iraq and five trips to Afghanistan to cover American military operations there. In the past several years, he has also reported on counter-terrorism operations in West Africa, Pakistan, the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Previously, Mr. Schmitt reported on demographic and national immigration issues for The Times and covered Congress for five years. During that time, he was one of the newspaper's main reporters assigned to the 2000 congressional elections as well as the House and Senate impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in 1999.