Book Review: A Woman’s Place: US Counterterrorism Since 9/11

Based on the author’s doctoral dissertation, this volume is a pioneering and original analysis of the role of women as intelligence agents, partners, and targets in the US war on terrorism. It is the result of a discourse analysis of more than 500, mainly American, open-source policy and strategy documents, as well as nearly 40 primary source interviews the author conducted, including one with General David Petraeus, the former Director of the CIA and commander of the International Security Assistance Force and commander of US Forces – Afghanistan. As the author explains, she sought to ”….investigate how, where and why discourses and practices related to women became visible, and what implications these had” (p. 45).