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The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam’s War Against America
Date: Oct. 1, 2002
Author: Daniel Benjamin and Steve Simon
Institution: N/A
Bibliographic Entry: Benjamin, Daniel, and Steve Simon (2002). The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam’s War Against America. Random House: New York.
Electronic Link: http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780812969849
Key Words: counterterrorism, jihadists, al-Qaeda, nuclear, biological, chemical, Islam, intelligence
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions:
The authors of The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam’s War Against America, Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon began leading America’s counterterrorism efforts at the time when Islamic radicals or jihadists entered the global scene. Benjamin and Simon were serving as key White House officials when the storm of terrorism hit in 2001, helping to coordinate the government's intelligence, military, and diplomatic actions. In their book and in everyday life, the authors seek to discover and analyze the terrorists’ mindsets and understand their objectives in the sense of the divine. They also emphasize the radicals’ real hatred of the West and their cultural and religious goals behind the violence and bloodshed. Throughout the book, Simon and Benjamin relate the major activities and conspiracies of such radicals groups in the past decade, as well their bombing successes and misses around the world. The authors also choose to present the history of the radical Islamic movement that led to the eventual rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, offering evidence for why the terrorists succeeded in 9/11 and why Americans were found so unprepared. The Age of Sacred Terror also encourages the reader to realize that radical Islam and its corresponding terrorist groups will continue to remain America’s most dangerous threat in this new age. The book concludes by giving concrete recommendations for the nation in order to understand and succeed against an enemy who will not hesitate to attack when they have the resources. This book is recommended for any American citizen seeking to gain understanding on this subject and is also being taught in many university courses.
Name
of Researcher: Tara
Stockberger
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date: July 20, 2007