The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda by Ali H. Soufan
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The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda by Ali H. Soufan
On September 12, 2001, FBI special agent Ali H. Soufan was handed a secret file. Had he received it months earlier -- when it was requested -- the attacks on New York and Washington could have been prevented. During his time on the front lines, Soufan helped thwart plots around the world and gained many of the most important confessions in the war on terror -- without laying so much as a hand on a terrorist. These interrogations have never been reported in their entirety, or in context, and never by anyone with firsthand knowledge.
This revelatory account of America's successes and failures against al-Qaeda is essential to an understanding of the terrorist group, and the ingenious structure of the book allows the author, in his own words, "to take the reader with me as I learned things." We see what happens in hideouts and interrogation rooms. We have a ringside seat at Osama bin Laden's personal celebration of the 9/11 attacks. Most important, we watch Soufan at work, using guile and knowledge to gain crucial evidence without ever resorting to morally compromising enhanced interrogation techniques. These riveting operational details show us not only how terrorists think and act but also how they can be beaten and brought to justice.
The book ends with the death of bin Laden at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALs, an incident that underscores a crucial aspect of the narrative. U.S. intelligence agencies found bin Laden by tracking a courier whose importance was established through the use of traditional investigative techniques, the sort that Soufan employs so brilliantly. By contrast, even after being waterboarded 183 times, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, was still lying about the true identity of the courier. The lesson to be learned is that torture not only undermines the values we hold as Americans, it also produces false and dangerous information.
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK
W.W. Norton, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 2011
On September 12, 2001, FBI special agent Ali H. Soufan was handed a secret file. Had he received it months earlier -- when it was requested -- the attacks on New York and Washington could have been prevented. During his time on the front lines, Soufan helped thwart plots around the world and gained many of the most important confessions in the war on terror -- without laying so much as a hand on a terrorist. These interrogations have never been reported in their entirety, or in context, and never by anyone with firsthand knowledge.
This revelatory account of America's successes and failures against al-Qaeda is essential to an understanding of the terrorist group, and the ingenious structure of the book allows the author, in his own words, "to take the reader with me as I learned things." We see what happens in hideouts and interrogation rooms. We have a ringside seat at Osama bin Laden's personal celebration of the 9/11 attacks. Most important, we watch Soufan at work, using guile and knowledge to gain crucial evidence without ever resorting to morally compromising enhanced interrogation techniques. These riveting operational details show us not only how terrorists think and act but also how they can be beaten and brought to justice.
The book ends with the death of bin Laden at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALs, an incident that underscores a crucial aspect of the narrative. U.S. intelligence agencies found bin Laden by tracking a courier whose importance was established through the use of traditional investigative techniques, the sort that Soufan employs so brilliantly. By contrast, even after being waterboarded 183 times, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, was still lying about the true identity of the courier. The lesson to be learned is that torture not only undermines the values we hold as Americans, it also produces false and dangerous information.
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK
W.W. Norton, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 2011
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