U.S. Representative Michael McCaul has a unique place in the U.S. Congress. The Texas Republican has served in Congress since 2004 in a variety of roles but more recently as the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security. This position has allowed McCaul to be privy to some of the most intimate details regarding U.S. security and potential terrorist threats.
So, of course, he is writing a book about them. While some would be concerned about the potential security risks the book may represent, McCaul believes the book will actually have a positive impact on national security.
“The greatest threat to America’s homeland is a failure to imagine the worst-case scenarios,” McCaul said when interviewing about his book. Titled “Failures of Imagination: The Deadliest Threats to Our Homeland” McCaul intends to use the book as a discussion of possible terrorist attacks and ways they could be stopped and prevented. He has said that the book will be an action-oriented thriller with a story, meaning it is not simply an account of his time as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security.
Acting under the guise of fiction and speculation, McCaul will be able to discuss more freely information that is based off of actual information that everyday Americans would not have the necessary security clearance to access. This also prevents McCaul from coming under risk of revealing state secrets, a crime akin to treason punishable by prison.
The book will be published by Crown Forum on January 12, 2016 according to the publisher. Hopefully, the book will accomplish McCaul’s goal of pushing citizens to think about national security risks and the ways they might be able to help keep their country safe from foreign threats.
