This paper examines the book, "The Ultimate
Terrorists", by Jessica Stern, former National Security Council staffer, which
explains with chilling lucidity why it is becoming more likely that terrorist threats will materialize into a major terrorist incident featuring a weapon of mass
destruction (WMD). It looks at how, after September 11, 2001, the book has taken on a deeper meaning since it was written in 1999, when America held onto the idea that terrorist activity was something that took place on foreign shores. It discusses how Stern's book details in advance many of the factors in play which created the 9/11 tragedy and how
terrorists have shifted their perspective from activity that gains power for their political or religious party to choosing targets just for the purpose of making a statement.