How does the author add a sense of realism to the novel, The Icarus Agenda?

Ludlum carefully researches the backgrounds of his novels, a practice evident in The Icarus Agenda by the use of Arabic words and phrases and the geographical details of the coast of Oman. Such background detail gives his adventure story a tone of authenticity. Ludlum further enhances the credibility by taking one of the novel's important themes — terrorism — from the headlines of the 1980s.