The Control Factor: Our Struggle to See the True Threat [Paperback]

Bill Siegel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0761858229 | ISBN-13: 978-0761858225

For those who believe America is worth defending, The Control Factor explores the psychological maneuvers, fantasies, and entanglements we engage in to avoid clearly seeing the Islamic threat that confronts us. The prerequisite for developing necessary strategies to ensure our survival is taking responsibility for our perceptions and actions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

…A remarkable book explaining in poignant fashion why we are unable to marshal the necessary emotional resources to compete against the challenge of radical Islam. For anyone interested in the civilizational struggle we find ourselves in, this book is essential reading.
(Herbert I. London, president, Hudson Institute)

…Brilliantly exposes and analyzes the true factors at work that have led the American body politic to engage in massive self-deception, refusing to recognize the extent of the threat of radical Islam. Siegel dissects and articulates the true reasons why we have, wittingly and unwittingly, turned a blind eye to the magnitude of the three different "levels" of threat posed by Islamism as described here. I consider this book so critically important that it holds a key to our survival as a free society. Siegel pierces the façade of political correctness that has blinded us to the dangers we face and warns us of what awaits if we fail to act.
(Steven Emerson, Executive Director, The Investigative Project on Terrorism, and author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Amongst Us, Executive Director, The Investigative Project on Terrorism, and author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Amongst Us.)

Willful blindness, today's refusal to come to grips with the Islamist threat to the West, is America's most profound national security vulnerability. Supremacist Islam's campaign has targeted the United States by violent jihad, a softer and more insidious march through our institutions, and lawfare salvos fired in American courts and international tribunals. Desperate to avoid offense to Islamist activists and their allies, we surrender to the politically correct narrative that the vital measures taken in our own defense are the cause of our peril. The Control Factor powerfully unfolds this process of self-delusion and the struggle to remove the scales we've placed over our eyes. Survival of the West's freedom culture — our commitment to critical inquiry based ordered liberty and human reason — hangs in the balance.
(Andrew C. McCarthy, bestselling author of Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad and The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the West Sabotage America)

About the Author

Bill Siegel is a lawyer and a former executive at various public and private companies. He is a producer of several documentary films and assists numerous non-profit organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Hamilton Books (January 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761858229
• ISBN-13: 978-0761858225
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #719,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A new way of looking at the West's failure to comprehend radical Islam April 28, 2012

By Ryan Mauro

Format:Paperback

America needs an "inner jihad" in order to cope with the jihad being waged against us. That's the thought-provoking message of The Control Factor by Bill Siegel, a new book that analyzes the psychological impulses driving the West's misreading and denials of the jihadist threat.

Siegel argues that there's a psychological process, which he calls the "Control Factor," that copes with anxiety and insecurity from a lack of control. This is born into us and is not a reflection of one's nationality, personal strength or intelligence. Other circumstances fostering insecurity, such as America's economic condition, make the Control Factor more powerful.

This is a unique take on the problem. The downplaying of the Islamist threat is often condescendingly chalked up to a willful denial of reality by those who are weak or unintelligent. The Control Factor adds depth by identifying this psychological process so readers can see how it has been in motion since 9/11.

Insecurity is a major driving force behind human action and controlling behavior. It is, at least to a degree, why there are micromanaging bosses, strict parents and obsessive relationships. It is part of why there are so many Islamic preachers demanding punishment for those who criticize their religion. Insecurity and the resulting drive to control is something that is all around us and foreign policy formulation is no exception.

Radical Islam activates the Control Factor in a mighty way because it stimulates a feeling that we lack control from multiple angles. Its beliefs and methods are new to most Americans. It exposes vulnerabilities in things in which we previously found security, like our borders, military, Constitution and morals.... For most, a true understanding of radical Islam requires an admission of one's own lack of foresight and knowledge. The Control Factor kicks into high gear.

When the Control Factor is activated, we review the past problems we've faced and solved. We find the closest match and utilize its accompanying solutions. Eventually, we recognize that we picked the wrong one and move onto the next closest match. There will be a lot of failure before we recognize that we are facing something we don't have a template for.

Siegel writes that one result of the Control Factor is the defining of the conflict as one against "terrorism." Terrorism is something we can psychologically cope with because it's been a problem for a long time and there are existing methodologies to deal with it. We're in control. An ideological struggle is vague, unpredictable and requires quick adaptations. High-stakes improvisation has to happen and mistakes are inevitable.

Our tendency to blame ourselves for the enemy's rage is not just about wanting to be liked or falsely assuming everyone thinks like us, he explains. It also comes from a desire to control the enemy's image of us. If we're responsible, we're in control. This results in a "compulsion to demonstrate how good we are."

America needs an "inner jihad," Siegel proposes, that permits us to come to terms with the three levels of jihad against us: Violent Jihad, Civilization Jihad and International Institutional Jihad. Think Al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Organization of Islamic Conference, respectively.

The first part of the "inner jihad" is to admit that "we do not yet know how to fight this war within the context of our own values, morals and laws." This is the toughest step to take because it leads to more insecurity and therefore enhances the attractiveness of ideas that reassure us that we're in control. This step requires an admission of the disadvantages that the West has in this conflict.

Americans need to learn about the enemy. Ignorance contributes to insecurity. The ability to cope with the reality increases as we feel less ignorant. As America becomes more educated on the topic, the better it can handle the Control Factor that leads to the misunderstandings and denials. Once the enemy is understood, the burden of responsibility must be placed on the aggressor, not the victim.

Siegel suggests that "mirroring" should be used as part of this struggle. This entails responding to the enemy's behavior in somewhat similar fashion. Basically, Siegel is proposing a tit-for-tat strategy. If Iran and Pakistan support the Taliban, we should support their own internal enemies. If they cross Afghanistan's borders to kill U.S. soldiers, we should cross Afghanistan's borders to destroy their terrorist training camps and bomb factories.

He also offers a good example over rhetoric. The Islamists lash out over cartoons depicting Mohammed and criticisms of their beliefs while assembling "Death to America" rallies and publishing anti-American cartoons. Our reaction is to ignore the rallies and vocally share the outrage over the Mohammed cartoons and desecration of Korans.

Siegel suggests that supporting Muslim reformists is a strategy worthtrying and can serve as a "positive counterbalance" to the Control Factor. He is less optimistic about their chances than I am and is critical of terms like "radical Islam" and "Islamists," but nonetheless we both recognize supporting Muslim reformists as an important part of moving forward.

ne idea he has for them is "reverse abrogation." It is often taught that when there is a contradiction in Islamic doctrine, the verse that came later is the authoritative one. Perhaps, Siegel opines, Muslim reformists should teach that Mohammed's time in Mecca, which was more peaceful, takes precedent over his time in Medina. Dr. Tawfik Hamid has some additional ideas here and here, as do the Muslim authors of The Illusion of an Islamic State.

Bill Siegel's book, The Control Factor, stands out because he doesn't just try to substantively refute the pervasive misconceptions about radical Islam. That's been done before. He identifies the psychological process behind them and how to handle it-with America's own "Inner Jihad." Read more ›

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OUR POTENTIAL SELF-DESTRUCTION March 1, 2012

By Crews Fan

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

THE CONTROL FACTOR convincingly and completely explains how an active form of denial (the "control factor") is leading America to be blind to the threat of radical Islam to our nation and our allies and our survival. It also provides a pathway for what the author calls "Inner Jihad," the set of actions that lead us out of denial and galvanize needed action.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vulnerability Exposed. February 29, 2012

By JPV2012

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

`The Control Factor' is an enthralling look on how we as Americans are burying our head in the sand. Its straightforward logic depicts self-deception and political correctness. The book should have a readers warning: This book will make you think! It's an easy read for those with unpolluted common sense.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully done and enlightening August 28, 2012

By john okas

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bill Siegel's THE CONTROL FACTOR exposes our complicity in Islam's pathological, multi-level threat to the West. The belief that there is some act of compliance, cover-up, appeasement or bribery which will elicit a response in kind from the other side is comforting because it makes us feel we can control or modify our enemy's violence, However, it blinds us to the truth that we are suffering from cultural low self-esteem and are deeply locked in co-dependent, enabling behavior patterns with an opponent sworn to kill us. Our compulsive tolerance for the intolerable is described in clear, concise, easy-to-read, well-researched prose. This exposure of the slippery slope on which we tread is the first step to recovery.