Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism Book

"Masterful.... Blind Spot is an excellent reminder of the value of unbiased scholarship in an environment of poisonous political partisanship." (The New Republic)

In this revelatory new account, national security expert Timothy Naftali relates the full story of America's decades-long attempt to fight terrorism. On September 11, 2001, a long history of failures and missteps came to a head, with tragic results. But, explains Naftali, it didn't have to be so. Blind Spot traces the long history of American efforts to thwart terrorism, from World War II to the Munich Games hostage-taking to the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. In riveting detail, based on original research and interviews with the key participants, Naftali describes why our early successes in counterterrorism did not translate into success against Osama bin Laden later in the 1990s, and why, until 9/11, the domestic threat of terrorism was the largest blind spot in United States national security.

"Blind Spot is that rare phenomenon: a great work of original research on a subject of great importance that is also lucidly written." (Wall Street Journal)

"An engaging and impressively comprehensive history of American counterterrorism.... [It] should become essential reading as we chart our way forward." (Commentary)