I recently finished reading Terrorist Hunter: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman Who Went Undercover to Infiltrate the Radical Islamic Groups Operating in America, a fascinating, originally anonymous book published in 2003 by a Jewish Iraqi exile who ended up working to fight terrorism in the US. Shortly after the book was published, the author was shown to be Rita Katz, founder of the SITE Institute (whose website is apparently no longer). Though Katz, like SEAL Team 6 founder Richard Marcinko, has a rather elevated view of herself and her capabilities, her book is an intriguing look at both the worlds of counter-terrorism and terrorist thought. (Unfortunately, I don’t have the book in front of me at the moment to quote from, but the passages about what Saudi children are taught to think about Jews and Israel is particularly chilling, because it is coming directly from textbooks.)
In the above linked piece, Katz lays out some of her reasons for writing the book, which are quoted below. The New Yorker also had a great piece on her in 2006.
From National Review:
Lopez: What do you hope people come away from the book with?
Katz: Although my book is a story, my story, and not a textbook on terrorism per se, I wrote it mainly to deliver two important messages through this story. One is to reveal the gravity and the extent of Islamic fundamentalism in America. Even now, after 9/11, many believe that radicalism is something that is prevalent only in the Middle East or in Afghanistan. From what I’d learned by attending mosques, conferences, and rallies, fundamentalism is a major problem right here, in our own backyards. I give numerous examples in my book of statements that I had recorded, some of which are blood chilling, and of others that openly call for jihad. I wanted my book to demonstrate that and to explain how we have to fight this phenomenon in order to be able to eradicate terrorism. The other point I make in Terrorist Hunter is that although many in the American public believe that now, after 9/11, government agencies all work together as one to fight terrorism, unfortunately, this is not the case. I give several examples in Terrorist Hunter of how certain government agencies fight amongst themselves, how they hide information from others, how they try to take over investigations, how they even deliberately slow down terrorism investigations. All this is happening now, almost two years after 9/11. I wanted the American public to know that, because knowing about it is the necessary first step toward fixing what is wrong.
[…]
Lopez: What would you consider our most important successes in the war on terror?
Katz: One important achievement is the freezing of assets of terrorist financiers and shutting down large sources of money to terrorist organizations. Without proper funding, terrorist attacks cannot take place. Another significant blow to al Qaeda and to the global network of terrorists that had evolved out of that organization was, at least to some extent, the war in Afghanistan. It had destroyed several of al Qaeda’s training camps and hampered its ability to train new recruits. The war made it more difficult for al Qaeda to orchestrate a major, sophisticated attack in the scope of 9/11. But the success in Afghanistan resulted in only a temporary setback for the terrorists. It didn’t crush them completely, but rather scattered them around the globe. This results in the large number of attacks we have seen recently on “soft targets” such as in Bali, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya. As for the apprehension of major al Qaeda leaders, such as Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, Abu Zubayda, and Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, while indisputably important, it will never suffice as a single measure, not even when Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri are caught or killed. For every such operative, ten other volunteers are already standing in line to join al Qaeda. The war has to be more comprehensive and to target the causes, the financing, and the education for jihad. And that is why I think that our most important achievement thus far is the profound change in the general perception of the global threat of Islamic fundamentalism to America and the West. What used to be considered a nuisance before 9/11 is now properly deemed a major threat to the free world. That conceptual change is demonstrated in various ways. One example is the enactment of the Patriot Act, that may assist government agencies in the war on terror. Another is the increased collaboration with other countries, such as Germany and Britain, in that war. And thirdly, the government had finally realized that there is no distinction between terrorist organizations. I give, for instance, several examples in the book of how al Qaeda, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad all work together and share operatives, training, and financing. Now that our government had understood that, it has declared war on terrorism rather than on a specific organization. This conceptual change is the first and most important step in comprehending the threat and being able to learn how to combat it.
