Book Review: "The Next Attack: The Failure of the War on Terror and a Strategy for Getting It Right" by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon

Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, both former Clinton-era National Security staffers, have penned a truly engrossing look at the post-7/7 security landscape with this release. It is a clear-headed and fair evaluation of where the West stands in relation to the war on terror, and their focus is first, on the severity of the threat as it stands in the fall of 2005, and second, on the missteps that the Bush administration in particular has taken in the areas of homeland security and Iraq.

This book is scholarly and extremely well-researched while accessible to the layperson at the same time. All of the sections are valuable, from the first one where the Madrid attackers are profiled to the second when the Bush team's entry into office and their response to 9/11 is evaluated. Most important, though, is the third and final section, which I think should be essential reading for all policymakers and interested observers of international security.

The way the authors advocate a shift in foreign policy is riveting. They explain the dangers of a singular focus on establishing democracy in the Middle East, and point to the Turkey-EU model as a way that the US should entice instutional reform. Benjamin and Simon also suggest that the democratic "domino effect" in the Middle East based on what has happened in Iraq is overstated, and those limited developments might have happened regardless of the toppling of Saddam.

Moreover, their recounting of the bureaucratic intertia which accompanied the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the "silo" mentality of the CIA and FBI, and the inability of intel agencies to properly respond to the realities of terrorism is thorough without being alarmist.

Most concerning, however, is Chapter 11, titled "Faith and War". Here, the authors allege that the driving force behind Bush's staunch support of Israel is tied to the belief in some evangelical circles that the Rapture (the second coming of Jesus and his battle with the Antichrist) and Armageddon can only happen if the original Temple is re-established in East Jerusalem. While I am not a theologist or a conspiracy theorist, and I have a fair bit in common with those who have an active belief in Jesus, this really gave me pause.

In fact, the whole book gave me pause.

I have been a fervent admirer and defender of the Bush administration ever since 9/11, but this book has really forced me to question how strongly that effort should be supported. So much of what passes for informed comment of the Administration these days is "BUSH LIED! THOUSANDS DIED!" and the like. This is a much more sophisticated critique - reasoned and non-partisan. (I must mention, however, that the book fails to mention that Clinton chose not to kill Bin Laden in 1998, and I think it should have.)

All that being said, I would recommend that if you are going to pick this up, wait for the paperback. The attacks in Jordan and especially the recent moves by Sharon deserve treatment by the authors, especially in light of their final chapter on the relationship between evangelicals and Israel (see recent commentary on Israel here and here). I am very much looking forward to seeing how they consider those developments.

Overall, I think this book is required reading and so I give it a stellar 9.5 out of 10. I'll be going back to it over and over again.