Tom's guest this morning is Scott Shane, a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun who has covered national security for the New York Times since 2004. His latest book is about how a Muslim cleric named Anwar al-Awlaki, evolved from a moderate imam who denounced the 9/11 attacks, into one of the most celebrated and influential figures in the cause of violent jihad. In 2009, he helped plan an unsuccessful attack on a plane headed for Detroit. He was influential to the perpetrators of attacks at Ft. Hood in Texas, and at the Boston Marathon. By 2010, the US government considered only Osama bin Laden to be more powerful and influential than Awlaki as fomenter of violence against Americans. The effort to locate and kill him was dubbed, “Objective Troy.”
Scott Shane’s fascinating and assiduously reported book tells the story of that operation, and elucidates the complexities and geo-political ramifications of that mission to American foreign policy in the Middle East, and to the essential moral fundaments of our democracy. It’s a great read. It’s called Objective Troy: A Terrorist, a President, and the Rise of the Drone. Scott Shane will be speaking about the book tonight at the Enoch Pratt library at 6:30.
Shane also had a conversation with Dan Rodricks on Midday a couple of weeks ago.
