Weekend Buff: The Cell

The shocking truth of how we got America's "Age of Terror"

The Cell — Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It - by John Miller, Michael Stone, and Chris Mitchell (2002)

9/11 was the largest attack on our country, at least so far (time will tell as the FBI continues to warn the country about the open border).  One of the first and most dynamic books on the subject remains The Cell. 

This concise book by the team of reporters John Miller (later an NYPD Deputy Commissioner), Michael Stone, and Chris Mitchell relates the story of Islamic terrorism against the United States leading up to and including the September 11 attacks -- from the murder of Meir Kahane to the first World Trade Center truck bombing on through the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.

The authors use eyewitness interviews, quotes, and insider information to weave an informative and gripping story of the long journey to disaster, detailing failures and successes of American counter-terror operations and the masterminds behind the terror war on America.  Suffice it to say, the attack was not inevitable. 

Sources from the FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement relate previously unknown details of the fight to save America from the ideologues who wished to destroy it.   Detailing the acts and acolytes of terror masterminds such as Ramzi Yousef and Omar Abdel Rahman, the book relates fact after fact to paint the picture of a handful of operatives that were able to devastate the mighty United States.  What emerges is a straight-line link from the shooting of a radical Jewish leader in New York City through the 1994 Trade Center bombing to, ultimately, September 11th.

Miller, Stone, and Mitchell worked quickly to push out this well-researched and detailed account.  It was one of the first works to show the public the inner workings of the attacks and some of the bureaucratic failures that allowed it to happen.  The authors use their reporter’s skills to make the story very readable while still giving a clear picture of the inner workings of terror operations. 

They also personalize the story with tales of bravery and dedication from Americans on the front lines of the war on terror — before many in our government realized that we were already at war.  Men like Detective Louie Napoli, Detective Don Sadowy, and FBI Special Agent John O’Neill tried their best to save us from this threat that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans.  If only more of the bureaucrats in their agencies had listened.

(al Qaeda founder Usama bin Ladin, killed by Navy Seal Rob O’Neill in 2011)

John Miller would go on to lead the NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism units for a decade.  He has dedicated much of his life to keeping New Yorkers and all Americans safe from this pervasive threat.  But before all that he was an internationally respected journalist, breaking important stories and foretelling the threat that came home to us all on 9/11.  Not too many journalists have interviews with both John Gotti and Usama bin Laden on their resumes… (in fact, none but Miller do).

The Cell is a quick read at 335 pages, and you could easily read through it in a weekend – it goes very fast.  Yet for all that, it contains a remarkable amount of knowledge on this vast story.  You can pick it a hardcover edition for $20 on Amazon, or in a used edition for the usual extremely cheap amount.  It is well worth the time and is a reminder to all of us that this threat persists even though many in our government appear to ignore that fact.

(Paul adds: Full disclosure: I worked directly for John Miller at NYPD.  He was, and remains, one of the sharpest guys I’ve ever met, and has a memory like an elephant with a smartphone.  I couldn’t concur with Chris’s review more – read this book to understand that the “war on terror” is far from over. It’ll remind you how we never seem to learn from history — even recent history).

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