Investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson‘s new book, “The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism,” claims the FBI has, under the guise of engaging in counter-terrorism since 9/11, “built a network of more than 15,000 informants who infiltrate Muslim communities to create and facilitate fake terrorist plots for the bureau to foil and publicize as victories in the ‘War on Terror'” (CAIR). CBS News recently aired a segment called “FBI sting operations: Fair or entrapment?,” which also provided coverage of “The Terror Factory.”

The idea of the FBI entrapping American citizens in terror plots is well-documented.  In March 2012, the Guardian ran a story about Craig Monteilh, an ex-FBI informant, who says the “hunt for terrorists” is all fixed and explains how he pretended to be a radical Muslim in order to root out potential threats.  In September 2011, the Guardian ran another story on Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old US citizen and physics graduate who lived at home with his parents in Ashland, near Boston. Ferdaus was also an alleged target of an FBI sting.

These are just a few of the many FBI entrapment stories that have leaked to the press. It’s also worth nothing the FBI is also apparently entrapping non-Muslims. Read more at Rolling Stone.

Reviews of “The Terror Factory:”

“Compelling, shocking, and gritty with intrigue.”
–Publishers Weekly

“A real eye-opener that questions how well the country’s security is being protected.”
–Kirkus Book Reviews

“This is investigative reporting at its best. This is a story that the major media has been afraid to look at, much less commit the resources to report it out. Now Trevor Aaronson has done it. For the first time a documented investigation into the domestic terrorism program is available to the general public. And the story this dogged reporter tells has been garnering growing attention. Is it possible that we have in fact created the very threat we fear? Are we in danger of destroying the fabric of our freedom in our panic to preserve it? Read Aaronson’s groundbreaking report and make up your own mind.”
–Lowell Bergman, Pulitzer Prize-winning Professor of Investigative Reporting

“Aaronson explains just how misguided and often deceptive FBI terrorism sting operations have become. In case after case, he demonstrates how the money being spent is more about producing theater than about federal agents arresting suspected terrorists.”
–James J. Wedick, former FBI Supervisory Agent

“This is the kind of journalism that should prompt Congressional hearings. The Terror Factory offers a rare combination of meticulous data-driven reporting with personal narratives about the lives ruined – and careers made – by the FBI’s rampant use of informants. Aaronson is an expert guide through a hidden counter-terrorism network of con men, and through the changes in technology and the FBI itself that paved the way for this new era of law enforcement. The Terror Factory is a damning exposé of how the government’s front line against terrorism has become a network of snitches at the end of their ropes, and FBI agents desperate to thwart a terrorist plot even if it means creating one.”
–Will Potter, Green is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege

“A disturbing window into America’s war on terror. In story after story, Aaronson reveals in detail how the FBI and its informants are creating crime rather than solving it. This is an important piece of journalism.”
–Alexandra Natapoff, author of Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice