The book, by Texas Representative Michael McCaul, titled Failures of Imagination: The Deadliest Threats to Our Homeland--and How to Thwart Them, follows his eight wildest terrorist attack imaginings in gory detail.
The book was released on Tuesday, and is written in a style similar to that of thriller author Tom Clancy.
In one of the more disturbing nightmare attacks that the representative dreamed up, a woman conducts a biological attack on a Disney themepark:
“Fatimah emerged from the women's restroom next to the ‘City Hall’ building in the Magic Kingdom's ‘Main Street, USA’ area at Disney World. She felt a bit better after having splashed some cold water on her face, but was still feeling faint. She fumbled in her purse and pulled out a handheld electric fan that sprayed water, which she used to spray the air all around her. Before she put it away, she made sure to turn around and spray the bathroom door handle,” he wrote.
“Fatimah joined the throngs of people making their way down the ‘Main Street.’ She was not going anywhere in particular. Her job was simply to make a few ambling circuits of the park, maybe wait in some lines for a few minutes, visit the restroom, and generally spend time in areas where she found a high concentration of people. All she had to do was breathe, cough when she felt like it, and remember to use her spraying fan.”
The book outlines in vivid detail exactly how this kind of attack should be conducted, in case terrorists need fresh ideas from a sitting intelligence expert who is deeply familiar with the nation’s weaknesses.
“She sprayed wherever she could, making use of the multiple refill cartridges she kept in her purse. She innocuously sprayed wherever crowds were thickest, whenever she lingered at food carts, and whenever she went through a doorway. The spray was refreshing, but it wasn't just water. It was a solution made from the serum Dr. Aziz had supplied, and it carried a deadly strain of smallpox.”
The fear-mongering tale has received great praise from several government officials.
"McCaul has captured the very real threats facing our homeland, the factors that have contributed to them, and, most important, what we should do about them," declared former acting CIA Director Michael Morell, according to the book’s description on Amazon.com.
"With its eight frightening (but very plausible) scenarios, 'Failures of Imagination' should be must reading for anyone responsible for or just concerned about American security in a turbulent time,” former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden stated on the website.
