Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them by John Mueller

"Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them" by John Mueller is an intense critique of the terrorism industry in the US. It challenges the idea that terrorism poses a massive threat and argues that media, politicians, and policymakers vested interests in keeping the terror threat level high, both for monetary and power reasons.

Taking an excerpt from the book "He didn't create the situation of fear, he simply exploited it." Mueller supports this with data from the 90s where although its proven crime was at a significant decline, fear in the US was still on the rise. One thing I loved reading was that there was a politician who went against the strategies of both political parties and instead did the right thing, instead of pointlessly fear-mongering Senator John McCain publicly dismissed the constant fear of terrorism:

"They’re wrong. . . . Get on the damn elevator! Fly on the damn plane! Calculate the odds of being harmed by a terrorist! It’s still about as likely as being swept out to sea by a tidal wave! Suck it up, for crying out loud. You’re almost certainly going to be okay. And in the unlikely event you’re not, do you want to spend your days cowering behind plastic sheets and duct tape? That’s not a life worth living, is it?"

A central theme in this book is the political advantage that compels officials to overreact to any sign of terrorist activity. For example. the ideology that "you can't not do anything." This notion leads to responses being based on appeasing the public demands for safety and decisive actions instead of making a decision proportional to the threat. With the help of a plethora of data, Mueller proves that dying via a terrorist incident is astronomically smaller than nearly all other risks, comparing it with deaths by car accident as the main selling point.

The term Devil du jour is introduced and used frequently throughout the book. This is used for people deemed to be the "next Hitler" by politicians and professionals in the terrorism industry. It involves shifting the public's focus to different threats over time, each presented as imminent and dire. For example, after the Cold War, the focus shifted from the Soviet Union to Islamic terrorists post-9/11. These Devil du jour each presented "justification" for increased defence spending, enhanced surveillance, and other security measures, regardless of the actual risk they pose. Mueller explains this also allows people to get more emotionally involved when there is one person to blame. This is explained through the kidnappings in Iran of American nationals with Jimmy Carter in office then again with Osama Bin Laden with both Bush Sr and Bush Jr.

"Virtually all communist rebellions were confusingly associated with indigenous ones, and never really did determine whether some countries were communist at all." This phrase underlines all that is wrong with how terrorism is dealt with and how some things are pointlessly villainized. This book is not just a critique but also a call to action to prioritize creating a more measured and evidence-based response to threats, where we can encourage a life without constant fear and instead with reasoned vigilance.

Highly suggest reading this if you are interested in the US foreign conflict as it goes through a brief history of all major "terrorist" situations starting from Pearl Harbour. It was a fascinating read.