On february 7, 2002 ten years ago to the day, tomorrow president george w. The document, which has since been described by the fbi as the. In response to al qaedas terrorist attacks in the united states on 11. The alqaeda of today is a vastly different entity from the alqaeda formed by osama bin laden towards the end of the afghan war against the soviets in 1988 alexander and swetnam, 2001. Jan 19, 2010 until the program was temporarily suspended in 2006, intelligence officials say, well over half of the information our government had about al qaeda how it operates, how it moves money, how it communicates, how it recruits operatives, how it picks targets, how it plans and carries out attacks came from the interrogation of terrorists in. Lawrence wrights chilling new book explores roots of. Department of defense spokesmen routinely state that guantanamo captives were trained using the manual. In enhanced interrogation, cia contractor james mitchell tells for the first time about his role interrogating al qaeda principals, many like ksm still jailed at guantanamo bay. This nonfiction book is a fastpaced psychological thriller. Jose rodriguez, the former head of the cias clandestine service, defends the enhanced interrogation techniques used on highlevel al qaeda. Al qaeda manual had its own description of torture techniques. James elmer mitchell born 1952 is an american psychologist and former member of the united states air force.
Inside the minds and motives of the islamic terrorists trying to destroy america, mitchell describes the day he was questioning khalid. Aug 31, 2016 few american writers understand the phenomenon of islambased terrorism better than writer lawrence wright, whose 2006 book. But these newly released drawings depict specific c. Explosive new book charges obama invites attack on u. Ghul obviously had access to al qaedas inner circle in pakistan and so was taken to a secret cia prison in eastern europe, where he was subjected to a. Interrogations and interrogation techniques the black vault. Inside the minds and motives of the islamic terrorists trying to. In losing these techniques, interrogators have lost the ability to create the uncertainty vital to getting terrorist information. Enhanced interrogation techniques or enhanced interrogation is an euphemism for the program of systematic torture of detainees by the central intelligence agency cia, the defense intelligence agency dia and various components of the u. Jul 19, 2004 in the interrogators, chris hogan, the senior interrogator at bagram air base and in kandahar, where al qaeda and taliban prisoners were first detained and questioned, lifts the curtain.
Jun 14, 2009 the most successful interrogation of an al qaeda operative by u. Soufan, an arabicspeaking fbi interrogator, dispels the myth that al qaeda terrorists are hardened to withstand traditional interrogation approaches. Jul, 2017 rodriguezs book will add to suspicion that the government of pakistan, washingtons supposed ally in combatting al qaeda and the taliban, is actually assisting the enemy. These standards were ordered for all detainees in 2006, alqaeda members included, following the supreme courts ruling in hamdan v. When i was covering alqaeda in the 10 years since 911, i never really came to terms with cia black sites, with extraordinary rendition, and in particular with enhanced interrogation techniques. Enhanced interrogation techniques project gutenberg self. Alexander, a critic of the harsh techniques employed by the military during the. Dec 02, 2008 how to break a terrorist is an insightful and entertaining account of the u.
Rodriguezs book will add to suspicion that the government of pakistan, washingtons supposed ally in combatting al qaeda and the taliban, is actually assisting the enemy. Apr 24, 2009 may 24 2007in a raid on an al qaeda safe house in iraq, u. Mitchell and jessen would go on to help interrogate al qaeda leaders abu zubaydah, uss cole bombing mastermind abd al rahim al nashiri, and, most notably, khalid sheikh mohammed. May 24, 2007 may 24in a recent raid on an al qaeda safe house in iraq, u. Enhanced interrogation inside the mind and motives of the islamic terrorists trying to destroy america by james e mitchel, phd.
Dec 10, 2014 al qaeda chapter describing alleged torture techniques. In the interrogators, chris hogan, the senior interrogator at bagram air base and in kandahar, where alqaeda and taliban prisoners were first detained and questioned, lifts the curtain. Ultimately, the book is an indictment of the governments failure to prevent the attack and. Defeating al qaeda with pizza, cookies, and the koran the story of ali soufan, a key interrogator of terrorist suspects for the fbi, is a firm rebuke to bushera torture policy and ongoing. A civilian contractor who had spent years training us military members to resist interrogation should they be captured, mitchell, aware of the urgent need to prevent impending catastrophic attacks, worked with the cia to implement enhanced interrogation techniques which included waterboarding. The best books on alqaeda five books expert recommendations. A book on the enhanced interrogation program that tortures the truth. The most successful interrogation of an alqaeda operative by u. In the black banners, ali soufan takes readers inside the. Matthew alexander led the interrogation team that tracked down alqaida leader abu musab alzarqawi in 2006. Harsh interrogation issues only make up a few pages.
Enhanced interrogation techniques or enhanced interrogation is a euphemism for the program of systematic torture of detainees by the central intelligence agency cia, the defense intelligence agency dia and various components of the u. Bush, vice president dick cheney, general david petraeus, cia, general hayden, khalid sheikh mohammed, japanese pows, spirit warriors, japanese culture, kamikaze pilots. The evolution, or as burton 2006 has termed it devolution, of alqaeda, is partially linked to its terrorist acts, and, in particular, the counter. Bush signed a brief memorandum titled humane treatment of taliban and al qaeda detainees. Popular interrogation books meet your next favorite book. In the black banners, ali soufan takes readers inside. Enhanced interrogation techniques or enhanced interrogation is a euphemism for the. The bush administration believes that interrogators are acting lawfully, gaining useful information to help win the war against al qaeda and will continue to press detainees for leads. The cia responds to the senate intelligence committees study of its detention and interrogation program, is being published next week by the u. Given bin al shibhs high rank in al qaeda, it would be extremely surprising if he werent interrogated using such procedures. A book on the enhanced interrogation program that tortures. In the interrogators, chris hogan, the senior interrogator at bagram air base and in kandahar, where al qaeda and taliban prisoners were first detained and questioned, lifts the curtain. The inside story of 911 and the war against alqaeda, former fbi agent and interrogator ali soufan says that the government missed key opportunities to prevent.
The following excerpts are from a document found by the police in manchester, england, during a search of an al qaeda members home. Mitchell and jessen would go on to help interrogate alqaeda leaders abu zubaydah, uss cole bombing mastermind abd alrahim alnashiri, and, most notably, khalid sheikh mohammed. Oct 16, 2019 the author concludes that this program was successful in playing a role in blocking another catastrophic attack with the interrogation techniques used against al qaedas terrorists needing. May, 2004 these techniques were authorized by a set of secret rules for the interrogation of highlevel qaeda prisoners, none known to be housed in iraq, that were endorsed by the justice department and the. Al qaeda al qaeda training manual inside the terror. The military states that the handbook instructs members of al qaeda how to lie to captors during interrogation, and falsely claim they are being tortured.
Feb 14, 2011 matthew alexander led the interrogation team that tracked down al qaida leader abu musab al zarqawi in 2006. Memorandum regarding interrogation of al qaeda operative author. Mar 20, 2008 bin al shibh does not appear to have been waterboarded. The document, which has since been described by the fbi as the al qaeda training manual, was found in a computer file described as the military series related to the declaration of jihad. Oct 28, 2011 in the black banners, fbi agent ali h. They were also demonstrating training in al qaeda resistance methods to the approaches set out in fm 3452. May 16, 2012 the book, as you know, covers the history of al qaeda, from its roots in 1979 through to the death of osama bin laden. Defeating al qaeda with pizza, cookies, and the koran. Osama bin laden was not caught because of torture but in. Al qaedas first big successful attack against america was the 1998 bombings of two u. Alqaeda and the road to 911 by lawrence wright paperback. Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures refers to the while there has never been an accurate tally of the number of detainees subjected to these methods, the cia has admitted to waterboarding individuals implicated in the september 11 attacks, notably abu zubaydah, khalid shaikh mohammed, and mohammed al qahtani. In addition to being exciting to read, the book makes a political statement on torture and. Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures refers to the while there has never been an accurate tally of the number of detainees subjected to these methods, the cia has admitted to waterboarding individuals implicated in the september 11 attacks, notably abu zubaydah, khalid shaikh mohammed, and mohammed alqahtani debates arose over whether enhanced interrogation.
Al qaeda chapter describing alleged torture techniques. Former clandestine service head jose rodriguez defends enhanced interrogation techniques and questions the drone strike policy. He added that the interrogation techniques of khalid sheikh mohammed produced false and misleading information, including saying the courier no longer worked for al qaeda. Cia veteran jose rodriguez defends waterboarding in new book. Few american writers understand the phenomenon of islambased terrorism better than writer lawrence wright, whose 2006 book. Jose rodriguez suggests in his book that depriving abu zubaydah of sleep. Dec 12, 2014 8 books to help you understand the cia torture report. The handbook, which was seized in 2000 in the manchester, england home of anas al liby, a student at the time. Memorandum regarding interrogation of al qaeda operative. Lawrence wrights chilling new book explores roots of terrorism.
Nov 28, 2016 in his gripping new memoir, enhanced interrogation. The handbook, which was seized in 2000 in the manchester, england home of anas al liby. Judge says 911 defense lawyer can call cia tactics. Hes the special agent who came in from the cold and waded straight into the debate over the use of harsh interrogation techniques. Armed forces at black sites around the world, including bagram, guantanamo bay, and abu ghraib, authorized by officials of the george w. Newser by withholding and ultimately destroying videotapes of the interrogation of alqaeda detainees, the cia willfully obstructed the 911 commission, its top two members charge in todays. The enhanced interrogation techniques the cia used on.
However, cia director general michael hayden recently admitted to congress that around thirty detainees had been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. The cia and enhanced interrogation techniques in the. Excia chief defends waterboarding of al qaeda leader. Soufan gives a firstperson account of the success of interrogation without enhanced techniques. How to interrogate terrorists treating terrorists with. Excia chief defends waterboarding of al qaeda leader cbs news. How to break a terrorist is an insightful and entertaining account of the u. Osama bin laden was not caught because of torture but in spite of it.
Since the abu ghraib scandal broke, the military has made public nearly every record of its internal interrogation debates, providing al qaida analysts with an encyclopedia of u. Very few dissidents could last the full thirty seconds, and a refusal to comply was taken as equal proof of dissidence. Waterboarding and other torture techniques impeded the hunt for bin laden, claims an interrogation expert. Jun 26, 2012 in the book, hard measures, due to be published on monday, april 30, the former chief of cia clandestine operations jose rodriguez defends the use of interrogation practices including waterboarding, which involves pouring water on a subjects face, which is covered with a cloth, to simulate drowning. After mitchell said no, ruiz played a video of mitchell doing a podcast to publicize his book, enhanced interrogation. Details the use of gruesome torture techniques used by the cia and. The interrogator would say something and you had to respond quickly, without once repeating yourself or using the personal pronoun. However, the washington post reported in 2009 that not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of abu zubaidas tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials who closely followed. During his cia interrogation, abu zubaydah began to offer many names of supposed terrorist and allegations of various al qaeda plots. Which they are claiming had a lot to do with tracking down bin laden. Soldiers specially trained in the art of interrogation went facetoface with the enemy. Until the program was temporarily suspended in 2006, intelligence officials say, well over half of the information our government had about al qaeda how it operates, how it moves money, how it communicates, how it recruits operatives, how it picks targets, how it plans and carries out attacks came from the interrogation of terrorists in. In the book, hard measures, due to be published on monday, april 30, the former chief of cia clandestine operations jose rodriguez defends the use of interrogation practices including waterboarding, which involves pouring water on a subjects face, which is.
Rizzo described this technique being used on al qaeda operative abu zubaydah in his recent book, company man. Sep, 2011 citing his interrogation of al qaeda facilitator abu zubaydah in 2002, he wrote, there was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on abu zubaydah that. Mitchell has repeatedly argued that the interrogation techniques, including those the trainees used on mr. All it took to soften up abu jandal, who had been closer to osama bin laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugarfree cookies. An interrogation program worked out on the fly the new. Mitchells book begins during an enhanced interrogation and then jumps. Iraq, lessons from world war ii, al qaeda torture techniques, waterboarding, president george w. The inside story of 911 and the war against alqaeda, former fbi agent and interrogator ali soufan says. Finding bin laden more agatha christie than 24 cnn. The controversial interrogation technique known as water boarding, in which a suspect has water poured over his mouth and nose to stimulate a drowning. The worst of all was to be faced with the interrogation technique of thirty seconds. Initially they used a menu of coercive techniques of their own design based on their sere background.