Second Wave: Inside Al Qaeda's Post-9/11 Attack Plan and America's Secret Effort to Stop It

A deadlier sequel to 9/11—and the race inside the CIA, FBI, and pentagon to stop it

In 2003, US intelligence uncovered evidence that al Qaeda had acquired nuclear materials, plotting to smuggle them into American ports. The “Second Wave” threat triggered one of the most urgent and secretive manhunts in US history.

With the cinematic intensity of Zero Dark Thirty and the investigative depth of The Looming Tower, Michael Lebowitz captures post-9/11 chaos and drama: agents risking everything to prevent another catastrophe, families torn apart, and the ethical fault lines still dividing US intelligence.

Readers meet Pakistani-American industrialist Saifullah Paracha, whose import- export business concealed ties to al Qaeda; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, architect of 9/11; Majid Khan, a Baltimore gas-station clerk turned jihadist who mapped US targets; an FBI interrogator who broke suspects faster than any waterboard; and an Orthodox Jewish garment importer whose betrayal helped avert disaster. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Lebowitz’s account reveals a global pursuit that tested America’s moral limits and asks: Are we as prepared today as we were then?

About the Author :
Mike Lebowitz is one of America’s few war-crimes prosecutors with front-line counterterrorism experience. A former senior attorney at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, he spent nearly a decade prosecuting cases at Guantanamo Bay, including the 9/11, USS Cole, and top Al Qaeda commander trials. A US Army combat veteran and former Pathfinder unit paratrooper officer, Lebowitz also served as a senior legal advisor to US Army Cyber Command. He has been featured or quoted by the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Associated Press, and the Atlantic. He lives in Washington, DC.

Review :
“Drawn from secret case files and bristling with riveting detail, Second Wave is an extraordinary account of al-Qaeda’s terrifying plot to smuggle explosives—and possibly a weapon of mass destruction—into a busy American seaport. . . . [A]n unforgettable journey as US officials try to piece together the plan for a 9/11 ‘sequel’ against a backdrop of CIA black sites and Guantanamo Bay’s notorious Camp 5 prison. The book’s chilling finale is a warning to Americans about coming dangers. . . .”
—Joby Warrick, author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

“A fascinating book written by an expert participant in the pursuit and prosecution of the masterminds of the 9/11 attack and potential follow-on attacks. . . . What is most chilling is his description of the convergence of the visceral hatred of hard-core terrorists and the banality of useful idiots who enabled the successful 9/11 attacks and the planning for the second wave. . . . Lebowitz not only warns that, twenty-five years after the original attack, we need to remain vigilant, but he also warns that the price we pay today for adequate security pales in comparison to the butcher’s bill we will certainly pay if we allow history to repeat itself.” 
—Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, US Army (Ret.); former commander of US Army Cyber Command and US Army Intelligence and Security Command

“Every American needs to read this book to understand the complex dark world of counterterrorism. Lebowitz shines a spotlight into the secret corners of sleeper agents, hostile intelligence agencies, spies, and terrorists plotting to detonate dirty bombs on US soil. Is the threat still viable? Read this book and draw your own conclusions.” 
—Fred Burton, former counterterrorism special agent and New York Times best-selling author

“A hidden chapter of the War on Terror that reads like a thriller but is chillingly real. Second Wave is gripping, revelatory, and urgently relevant, exposing how close America came to a catastrophic follow-up to 9/11 and why we must remain vigilant in the never-ending struggle against terrorism.” 
—Michael P. Scharf, former Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law (2013-2024) and President of the American Branch of the International Law Association 

“Leaving nothing out from the heroics and hubris, Lebowitz’s unparalleled combination of access, participation, insight, and story-telling skill will leave readers with a better understanding of how the United States government both succeeded and failed to meet the high ideals and expectations of its hallowed Constitution and those who swore an oath to support and defend it. . . . Lebowitz’s work is also a telling indictment of how national security priorities can shift so abruptly between administrations as to leave a country weaker and less secure. We should be grateful for the author’s dogged efforts to bring this story to light ‘to ourselves and our posterity.’” 
—Daniel Maurer, Associate Professor of Law, Ohio Northern University, author of Crisis, Agency, and Law in US Civil-Military Relations, Lieutenant Colonel (U.S. Army, retired) 

“Some books inform you. This one will shake you. . . . Michael Lebowitz spent years as a prosecutor inside the War on Terror—in the courtroom, in Guantanamo, in the classified files no one was supposed to see. What he found was a post-9/11 nuclear plot so dangerous that the US government fought for years to keep it secret. Second Wave is one of the most important untold stories of our generation: meticulously researched, impossible to put down, and overdue by twenty years. If you only read one book about the War on Terror, make it this one.” 
—Dr. Tony Brooks, US Army Ranger, author of Leave No Man Behind

“Through years of intensive research and dogged determination, Lebowitz has produced a study that reminds us of the extreme dangers our nation has faced, and the lengths to which our government has gone to keep them secret.”
—Clay Mountcastle, Phd; Director, Virginia War Memorial