The black banners
by Ali H. Soufan · first published 2011
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4HN commenters
2013–2019first – last mentioned
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A former FBI special agent offers an insider's account of how the September 11th attacks could have been prevented, as well as his role in the war on terror, including his highly effective interrogation efforts.
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Check out Ali Soufan's book (http://www.amazon.com/The-Black-Banners-Against-al-Qaeda/dp/...). I'll loan you my copy if you're in the Boston area. He has had quite an interesting career. According to the book and the New Yorker, it turns out that Soufan probably would…
on “NSA Coworker Remembers Edward Snowden: "A Genius Among Geniuses"” ↗…a trial without an unacceptably high risks to the people in the armed forces who would have had to capture him. If you wanted some insight on the complexities of operating within Yemen, I suggest The Black Banners by Ali Soufan. The subject of the book is the events leading up to 9/11 and Soufan was one of the FBI's top agents and strong critic enhanced interrogation. He invested the USS Cole bombing in Yemen and…
on “Rand Paul: Show Us the Drone Memos” ↗…without a full understanding of what you are asking of them. The complexities of planning a SOF operation that goes deep into a place like Yemen are quite involved. For more on this, I suggest the book The Black Banners by Ali Soufan. It possible (and even likely) that a capture operation for Anwar al-Awlaki was either impossible, or possible but likely to end in the death of al-Awlaki anyway.
on “Rand Paul: Show Us the Drone Memos” ↗…traditionally. Maybe they are simply leaning on financiers via other means, and preventing attacks by re-rerouting or intercepting cash. Remember: they are very explicitly not law enforcement. Read 'The Black Banners' by Ali Soufan of the FBI to get a good sense of how not-law-enforcement the CIA is.
on “Palantir’s User Manual for Cops” ↗…specific to the case(s) surrounding the original 'justification' for using torture, that say just the opposite. Edit: see Frontline (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secrets-politics-and...) or The Black Banners by Ali Soufan Edit 2: warning on the Frontline doc, it is almost vomit inducing to see the powers that be continue systemic torture when every shred of evidence (sometimes blocked or destroyed to continue…
on “Psychologists Shielded U.S. Torture Program, Report Finds” ↗…the Lines of Jihad - Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea - The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State - After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam - The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda If you're wanting a dive into Russia: - The Invention of Russia: From Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War - The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia's…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?” ↗