Standard - VolII, no. 3
Interview of Max Woosley (Holy War author reveals all (well, some). Ok, a little!) 
Q: Do you feel like a prophet, after the WTC and Pentagon
attacks? I imagine it was hard to take, seeing it actually happen when you'd
been so deeply involved in the research. Where were you when it happened?
A: I was at work and received word that an airplane had
struck one of the WTC buildings. Since I work in a vault without TV, I
thought it must be some hapless single-engine piper or something. When I
received word that a second aircraft hit, I knew it was terror. People
around me immediately started saying how close the attacks paralleled my
book. I was not pleased at all and said to one of them, "Don't you
get it? Probably ten thousand people are dead or are going to die.
Whether there are parallels or not is not the point." I'm certainly
no prophet and don't feel like one.
Q: I understand Tom Clancy got contacted by Washington, D.C.
after publication of The Hunt For Red October because of all the specific (and
supposedly secret) info contained in his book. Unless it would violate
security, has anyone contacted you about your book or any info in it?
A: I have not been contacted by any authority. I have
contacted President Bush, Jeb Bush, and even sent a letter to Governor Davis of
California. I did receive an email from one of Jeb Bush's aides. He
thanked me for the information and assured me that Mr. Bush had forwarded the
material to the national level. Still nothing from Washington.
Q: What specifically got you interested in terrorists and
writing about them originally?
A: A discussion at work upset me. Several people were
discussing (this was in 1997) that terrorists could never mount a large-scale
attack here in America. I told them they were wrong and in the ensuing
discussion, got the idea to write Holy War.
Q: How did you do your research into militant Islam (or
should I say Muslim?) warriors and their cells? Were you able to conduct all
your research from the U.S., or did you travel to Muslim countries for some of
it? Can you tell us something about the avenues you used to do your research?
A: While a member of the USAF, I traveled inside the Soviet
Union as an inspector. I found out that there were a large number of
Muslims in that country. I did a little research via word-of-mouth inside the
Soviet Union but the bulk of my research was done at the local library. I
also called the local Muslim Mosque and received a lot of information.
They were most helpful.
Q: I think it might be scary, doing this type of research.
Have you ever been put into a situation that seemed threatening to you?
A: I have not been put into any situation that was even
remotely 'scary'. I do take certain
precautions to protect my family.
Q: What are your thoughts about the cause of terrorism,
i.e., did your research indicate it was caused by poverty and hopelessness
primarily (terrorists in general), or as a vendetta against Israel and Jews
(Muslim terrorists specifically), or a combination of those and other causes?
Is religion always involved with terrorists?
A: Religion is not always involved with terrorists. I
wrote an article "Politics or Religion" before the September 11
debacle. Basically, it says that sometimes it is impossible to separate
the two. Terror is extremely broad. To localize a bit, terror by
foreign nationals against
America is generally caused by our foreign policy.
While I believe that America is the greatest nation, by far, in the world, we
do not always wear white hats. I do believe that as a nation we always
strive to "do the right thing." I am proud to be an
American. Osama bin Laden has been vocal about why he hates us. Our
stand with Israel and our apparent non-concern with Muslim concerns is Osama's
rallying cry. The Quran does not sanction terror!
Q: Are terrorists always "led" by wealthy people?
Which do you believe came first, if so--that a previously wealthy person was
attacted to a cause that already existed, or that being a terrorist enables
some individuals with good brains and business sense an outlet and motive to
acquire wealth, to feed the organization?
A: Terrorists are not always led by the wealthy. One shift
has occurred in recent years. Terrorist groups were largely funded by
states. Now these groups are being funded by individuals. Honey,
diamonds, and sadly, drugs on the streets of America are funding
terrorists. To be clear, large sums of money are not needed. When
Ahmed Ressam testified at his trial (this is the guy that tried to blow up LAX)
he stated that he was only given fifteen thousand dollars. Most of that
went to living expenses such as hotels and food.
Q: In the same vein (and I'm assuming you did believe this,
not just happened on it for a story line), what things made you decide an
attack on U.S. soil was highly probable? And why by Muslim terrorists?
A: The last decade has seen an increase in terrorist attacks
against US sites outside the country. USS Cole and the embassies are a
couple of examples. The LA Times carried an article about the trial of
Ressam. In it they state Ressam, "testified in detail about how he
and other jihadists in bin Laden-financed camps in Afghanistan were taught how
to attack electrical power grids, airports, railroads, large
corporations, hotels and military installations during millennium assaults.
They also were taught how to track down and assassinate political figures, he
said." While this article appeared in July 2001, it mirrors what I
believed in 1997 and 1998 while writing Holy War. We are an open society
and are easy targets. My protagonist
agonizes over this point on page 68 of Holy War. "We're in trouble, big
trouble. America is too open a society to prevent this type of attack. We're
too trusting, too faithful, and if you think about it, too honest.
America is complacent. We should have been working to
prevent this from happening. A well-planned series of attacks by a small group
of foreign nationals, with the help of American sympathizers, and backed by all
the money necessary is capable of causing major damage to the American people
as well as to America's resources. Why hasn't the FBI reacted already? And
better yet, why didn't America's considerable intelligence resources know of
the impending jihad and stop it before it began?" Muslim terrorists
were an easy pick since they are the most well-trained and have the most hatred
for America.
Q: And, did your research indicate a high probability of
such a U.S. attack in the near future? If so, can you say how and what caused
you to come to that conclusion? Did your story line grow out of that
probability?
A: Osama bin Laden had been threatening a Holy War or
Jihad against America for some time. I believed that in 1998 he
developed, or was developing, a plan to attack the American homeland.
There were many indicators such as the attacks against American holdings
overseas and the USS Cole incident. I believe that the lack of American
response led Osama bin Laden to believe that Americans were cowards. I
believe President Clinton's weak response by attacking an empty or nearly empty
training site by cruise missiles was the second worst thing he could have
done. Doing nothing was the worst and President Clintion did that on
other occasions. So, I believed that Osama thought he was strong and we
were weak. He felt 'right' in his beliefs that Americans were corrupt,
that they were evil, and that attacks were justified.
Q: Was your book intended as a real warning? If so, what
made you decide to use fiction to put forth that warning?
A: I wrote Holy War to 'prove' the possibility of attacks
against America's homeland. And that they would be easy to make by a small
force. I used fiction, hoping that I could get it published before the
attacks began. I hoped that many Americans would find the reading enjoyable and
therefore gain some attention for my fears. Hindsight tells us that if
Americans had kept their eyes open and notified authorities about suspicious
events, we could have
prevented SOME of the September 11 (if not all)
attacks. One point, before September 11th Americans refused to have their
'freedoms' infringed upon, such as delays in airports for security
purposes. Now, we are welcoming them.
Q: Again, did you primarily research Muslim terrorists, or
terrorists in general?
A: I only researched Muslim terrorists since I believed they
were the most logical choice.
Q: I doubt any Muslim terrorist groups would have female
members--does this seem, from your research, to hold true of all nationalities
of terrorists?
A: This is certainly not true of all terrorist groups.
Many have female members.
Q: I'm showing my ignorance here--are the Muslims and the
IRA primarily the only terrorist networks--at least the only well organized
ones?
A: This is not true. There are many groups of
terrorists. Until September 11th one of the most visible was a
group in Columbia.
Q: Does it seem logical to you, given your extensive
terrorist research, that something like the
Anthrax letters would be the handiwork of a Muslim terrorist
cell?
A: I don't believe the Anthrax is the work of Muslim
terrorists, although it could very well be. Anthrax is a poor weapon for
terrorists because it is too difficult to spread. However, if terrorists
simply want to sow terror then Anthrax letters are one viable method.
Q: I'm sorry, I haven't read Holy War (yet! :>) ). Does
it contain anything similar to recent events--i.e., attacks through airplanes,
biological weapons, etc.? If not, what types of attacks does it cover (and
don't give away the ending, please--I do want to read it)?
A: There are MANY parallels to Holy War. My
terrorists shot down aircraft on takeoff, used chemical and biological weapons,
and flew an aircraft toward the White House and diverted to attack the
Pentagon.
Q: What is your sci-fi book To Live Again about? Does it
follow a similar theme, within a sci-fi framework?
A: My SF novel has nothing to do with
terrorists. A scientist invents matter transportation then plots to store
her 'image' on a computer so that the computer can recreate her if she dies.
Interestingly however, my second, unpublished novel, Double for my Sins, and my
third, also
unpublished, Womack's Dust, contain terrorists.
Q: Was To Live Again the first book you had published?
A: Yes, To Live Again was my first written and first published
novel.
Q: How did you get that first book published? Did you have
an agent? (Many booksellers are frustrated authors, and it is always
interesting to them about how an author gets that first book published.)
A: Getting published was not easy. In fact it was most
difficult. I spent seven years just finding an agent. Hundreds of
letters to agencies were rejected and not one even asked for material to
review. Most said they were too busy or were not taking on new
clients. Many of the agencies I wrote about my work even advertised they
were looking for new authors
or that they were friendly to them. Still
nothing. Finally, my wife (smart lady that she is) told me I should try
the internet. So I did and within two months, I had an agent. Two years
later I was finally published.
Q: Did you publish articles before writing To Live Again, or
the other way around? In other words, the progression of your career as an
author apart from research and writing on your job.
A: I have written seven novels, two have been
published. I wrote my articles after my success with To Live Again,
trying to garner some attention for my second published work, Holy War.
Q: Tell us how you decided you wanted to be an author. Was
it a natural outgrowth of your work, or did you get into your work because you
are a good writer?
A: I was encouraged for years to write. Family,
friends, and coworkers all told me I should write because I told an interesting
story. The clincher for me was when my supervisor told me that of all the
people he had had work for him through the years, my work was the most succinct
and effective in relaying the information he needed. Theodore Kleiser
told me he never had to ask questions about a report from me, but almost always
did for others.
Afterward, I seriously considered writing.
Q: Can you give us some info about future books you have
planned? Are you working on one now? If so, when is it to be published?
A: My promotional work for Holy War is consuming me right
now. To be honest, I am itching to get back to writing. I have two
novels I'd like to write. One is Kirlian Shadows, a book about an advanced photographic technique that
'captures' identities on film and No Stars without Night about a team of
doctors 'growing' replacement bodies for themselves.
Q: What do you personally enjoy reading?
A: I have always been an avid reader. The
average American reads only 1,000 books in a lifetime. I passed that
number somewhere in the fourth grade! I read everything from suspense to
science fiction. Amazon.com really likes me, I spend lots of money
there. I haven't ever read a Romance novel and probably never will, but
all the rest are fair game.
Q: Without being too nosy, what personal info about yourself
would you like to give us, so we can get to "know" you as a person as
well as an author?
A: I am a fifty-year-old male with ten children. They
range in age from 30 to identical twin boys who are almost three. I am
married to a very intelligent lady who helped me in researching Holy War and
provided some sound advice about one of my FBI characters. I work for the
Department of Justice as a researcher (strange enough) but long to write
full-time. My hobbies are racquetball, table tennis, golf, and fishing
when I get the time.
Thank you, Max.
Interview by Shirley Bryant.
