The Next Attack: The Failure of the War on Terror and a Strategy for Getting It Right

"A persuasive and utterly frightening picture of the current state of America's war on terror."--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times We are losing. Five years after the September 11 attacks, America finds its strategic position deteriorating in the global war on terror. In The Next Attack, former White House counterterrorism experts Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon show how the terrorist threat has evolved since 9/11 and how America has undermined its own goals, not only in the ill-considered invasion and occupation of Iraq but also through our failure to understand the jihadists' ideology. Our actions have confirmed Osama bin Laden's message in the eyes of disaffected Muslims in the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere, and in doing so, we are clearing the way for the next attack. Benjamin and Simon argue that America needs a far-reaching and creative new strategy in combating Islamic radicalism, one that recognizes the costs of over-militarizing the battle against terror while setting realistic priorities for homeland security. And in a new afterword, they show how the ideological conflict is deepening and spreading across an increasingly radicalized Muslim world. We ignore this warning at our peril.

About the Author :
Daniel Benjamin is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Steven Simon is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Both served on the National Security Council staff for five years, and together they are also the authors of the award-winning The Age of Sacred Terror.

Review :
"Carefully reasoned, highly convincing...a persuasive and utterly frightening picture of the current state of America's war on terror." --Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times "Written in clear and credible prose... anyone who cares about putting al Qaeda out of business should make time for this book." --Warren Bass of The Washington Post "The best argued and most thoroughly reported account of why..."we are losing" the war against the bin Laden progeny." --Frank Rich, The New York Times "For anyone who cares about the security of the West and its relationship with the Muslim world, The Next Attack is a book that must be read. Benjamin and Simon understand the terrorist threat as few others do, and their recommendations should influence leaders around the world." --Former President Bill Clinton "No matter how you feel about the war on Iraq, you should read this book on what we can do to fight our global struggle against terrorists and the jihadist ideology that fuels them. Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon authors describe the rise of Islamic radicalism and the requirements of homeland security with great intelligence and knowledge." --Walter Isaacson, author of Kissinger: A Biography and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life "Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon were right about Al Qaeda in their top-secret analyses in the 1990s. Their last book explained it clearly to the public. Now, in The Next Attack, they tell us that it's not over yet. This is an important contribution to a nation that is still all too vulnerable to another 9/11-like tragedy at the hands of the jihadists." --Richard A. Clarke, author of Against All Enemies "Before September 11, Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon warned clearly and convincingly that America had underestimated its enemies in al Qaeda. Few listened. Now they have issued a new and chilling portrait of the evolving threat, and they warn again that America does not understand its adversaries. This is an intelligent, important, and riveting book from two of the country's leading specialists on violent Islamic extremism." --Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars