On 11 September 2001, the world shifted into hyper-terrorism. Stricken at its very core, the United States immediately prepared a counterattack on the stateless, landless enemy. Working with some of the top experts at the French Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, François Heisbourg provides some of the keys to help us understand the underlying causes of the attacks and to assess their consequences:
- What motivates the organisers and what are the means at their disposal?
- The successive stages of the counterattack can be expected to last several years. How will they unfold?
- After the attack and counterattack, how will the map of the world be redrawn?
- How will our own economic, political and social life evolve, faced with the formidable choice between freedom and security?

François Heisbourg, an internationally renowned specialist in international and defence issues, is the director of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS) and president of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). His extensive experience in government and industry has enabled him to reflect on the issues at hand, while simultaneously playing an active role.
The collective and individual expertise contributed by FRS members in strategic and defence matters is unequalled in France.