Counterterrorist Tales
Why hasn’t al-Qaida attacked us at home since September 11? Explanations range from the paranoid and bizarre (9/11 was a CIA plot) to the nervous and suspicious (sleeper cells are just biding their time, waiting to conduct another spectacular attack). In his new book, Crush the Cell, Michael Sheehan, the NYPD’s former deputy commissioner for counterterrorism, provides insight based on nearly 30 years of experience dealing with such threats. As Sheehan sees it, the absence of subsequent attacks results from the vigilance of our security and intelligence agencies, which are no longer asleep at the switch, and from al-Qaida’s lack of sophistication and depth. Contrary to popular belief, al-Qaida operatives are mostly “bunglers” who tend to succeed only when no one is paying attention. Al-Qaida, Sheehan informs us, is not robust enough to sustain a series of attacks over time to achieve strategic effects.