One of the standout points in Jihad is: of the 360 people who have been prosecuted for jihadist terrorism offenses since 9/11, an overwhelming 80% were US persons- meaning that they were either citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States at the time.

Indeed, as Bergen shows, Americans like Anwar al-Awlaki, Adam Gadahn, Omar Hammami, and David Headley have had prominent roles in foreign terrorist organizations.

leave the reader with a harrowing appreciation of the banality of evil and an unnerving sense of missteps made by the authorities" and "Mr. Bergen's detailed accounts of terror plots (both executed, foiled or failed) make for chilling reading.

One is a riveting thoroughly-researched account of the evolving state of the threat as a growing number of American citizens join the ranks of foreign terrorist movements .

"[4] Zach Dorfman, of the Los Angeles Times, believes that "Bergen takes a generally skeptical view of the growth of the post-9/11 national security state and of the fear-mongering about Islam that has increasingly transfixed the darker crannies of American politics.

Al-Shawaf also credits Bergen for not overstating the threat posed by jihadist terrorism while simultaneously "recognizing the potential of secular Muslims .

[who] are particularly well-positioned to allay ordinary Americans' sometimes indiscriminate suspicion of Islam's adherents, as well as provide their (numerically few) alienated coreligionists with a model [for rejecting radicalization].

"[8] Jason Burke at Literary Review believes that Bergen's work "is a rigorous, balanced, clear-eyed and perceptive overview of violent Islamic extremism in the USA.