Al qaeda in yemen and the interrogator book

The al qaeda network today also comprises semiautonomous or self radicalized actors, who often have only peripheral or ephemeral ties to either the core cadre in pakistan or affiliated groups elsewhere. Thats something that ali soufan, former fbi interrogator and author of he black banners. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula the new york times. Ali soufan, who was the subject of a frontline documentary that aired. What does one ask an interrogator who has questioned dozens of members of al qaeda. Bruce riedel, daily beast far from the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan, the united states and al qaeda are fighting a clandestine war of drones and suicide bombers in an unforgiving corner of arabia.

Many of his friends and colleagues died in the twin towers, including john oneill, his mentor and former boss. Cia urged to build rapport with terrorists to extract. Following steve colls opening remarks, panelists assessed the alqaeda threat 10 years after the terrorists attacks of september 11, 2001. Cairo ap in a rare public apology, the militant leader of alqaedas branch in yemen has said that one of his fighters disobeyed orders. Far from the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan, the united states and alqaeda are fighting a clandestine war of drones and suicide bombers in an unforgiving corner of arabia. The inside story of 911 and the war against al qaeda agrees with. The reason is connected to the political and tribal situation in. Defeating al qaeda with pizza, cookies, and the koran. Most notably, he claimed in his testimony that his interrogation of abu. His wife only knew that he was in yemen working the cole. White house confirms killing of terrorist leader in yemen. Al qaeda guide to kidnapping july 29, 2014 a chapter from a book book published in 2004 by a qaeda operative, abdelaziz almuqrin of saudi arabia, in which he prescribes rules for how to carry out. Al qaeda will use direct action only as required to keep the perception of its existence alive in the united states and elsewhere. Awardwinning reporter and frontline correspondent ghaith.

Al qaeda in yemen and the interrogator extras frontline. The book is written from army reserve sergeant mackeys perspective and through his eyes we learn about some of the training interrogators go through and then their experience in afghanistan. The best books on yemen five books expert recommendations. Yemen, alqaeda, and the battle for arabia by johnsen, gregory d isbn. Alqaeda issued a statement in 1998 that it is their duty as holy warriors to kill all u. Abu musab alsuri, born mustafa bin abd alqadir setmariam nasar arabic. Al qaedas warfighting doctrine has one potential weakness.

A l qaeda sometimes spelled alqaida, arabic for the base, is a terrorist group founded by osama bin laden in the late 1980s to unite arabs who fought against the soviet invasion in afghanistan. Written by one of, if not the main, fbi interrogator of the alqaeda operatives, it tells the story of the fbis following of the alqaeda network from the 1990s until present day. The story of ali soufan, a key interrogator of terrorist suspects for the fbi, is a. Government crackdown against al qaeda cells began in 2001, escalating steadily until 14 january 2010, when yemen declared open war on al qaeda. Us interrogator in iraq says torture policy has led to deaths of thousands of american soldiers. Soufan is a lebaneseamerican former fbi agent who was involved in a number of. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is a group of yemenis who allied with a group of saudis. These individuals do not qualify for leadership in alqaeda according to historic paradigms because they were not companions of osama bin laden. All of the panelists agreed that while the threat from. In this second part of a twopart interview by government book talk blog editor michele bartram, col. The al qaeda manual the attached manual was located by the manchester england metropolitan police during a search of an al qaeda members home. In the interrogation of badawi, soufan learned that the skiff had been.

While in yemen investigating the september 11th attacks, soufan received. Counterinsurgency in afghanistan and pakistan, 20012011, describes the lessons learned after ten years of war in afghanistan. The techniques were the same as those used on our own people in the. Highly informative and compelling an important book for everyone who wants to understand the influence of bin laden and alqaeda on todays terrorist groups. Defeating al qaeda with pizza, cookies, and the koran mother. He has held spanish citizenship since the late 1980s following marriage to a spanish woman. A gripping account of how alqaeda in yemen rebounded from an initial defeat to once again threaten the united states.

Nader entessar a deep look at the inner workings, ideology, internal politics, and strategies of modern islamic terrorism. Shrouded as he was for a decade in an apparent cloak of anonymity and obscurity, osama bin laden was by no means an invisible man. Bergen examines al qaedas history and motives and americas. Breaking alqaeda in afghanistan new edition by mackey, chris, miller, greg isbn. Al qaeda will use misinformation more than action to control and shape u. In yemen, al qaeda is growing stronger, said soufan.

The statement came about a week after initial reports that the united states believed it had killed qassim alrimi, the qaeda leader in yemen. Al qaeda in yemen and a rebroadcast of the interrogator. Frontline goes deep into yemen s radical heartland to investigate al qaeda s stronghold. As pakistan is rocked by new attacks, its nice to think america could focus on taking out al qaeda without tackling the taliban. In the black banners, ali soufan takes readers inside. Cia urged to build rapport with terrorists to extract intelligence. Bin laden, son of a billionaire saudi family, is reported to have. Even with the missing text, soufans story provides a new and important window on americas battle with alqaeda.

On 911, fbi agent ali soufan was in yemen, where his new yorkbased team had been investigating the deadly al qaeda attack a year earlier on the uss cole. He was ubiquitous and palpable, both in a physical and a cyberspectral form, to the extent that his death took on something of the feel of an exorcism. Inside the secret war against al qaeda mackey, chris, miller, greg on. The pseudonymous mackey was an interrogator at military prisons in afghanistan, tasked with sussing out the secrets of suspected taliban and alqaeda members. Al qaeda in yemen and a rebroadcast of the interrogator may 29 magazine. The next day, his headquarters ordered him to reinterrogate fahd alquso, a member of alqaeda in yemen. No single factor explains al qaedas problems since the september 11 th attacks, but i believe the most consequential reasons for this decline include its underestimation of the u. Yusif, dedicated to such topics as how to resist interrogation. Us interrogators sent to question alqaeda suspect the. The fbi interrogator who bluffed al qaeda detainees into giving up significant.

In an audiotape message, al qaedas leader in yemen claimed responsibility for the december attack that killed three u. Middle east and africa congressional research service summary after a more than a decade and a half of combating al qaeda aq in afghanistan and pakistan. Soufan opened the book again and told him to take his time. Alqaeda article about alqaeda by the free dictionary. He also obtained a confession from ali albahlul, an al qaeda propagandist and. Americas isis war is helping al qaeda the daily beast. Berger international centre for counterterrorism the hague william braniff start consortium, university of maryland cole bunzel incepr ton univ ersity daniel byman brookings institution and georgetown university jennifer cafarella. Ali soufan, one of the fbis secret weapons in its fight against al qaeda, talks about the tactics he used against osama bin ladens men in an interview with lara logan. Memorandum regarding interrogation of al qaeda operative. How yemen spawned the charlie hebdo attacks the guardian. One of the fbis former leading agents new book argues against torture as a. The manual was found in a computer file described as the military series related to the declaration of jihad. Since the death of osama bin laden, yemen has become the hottest front in the war against al qaeda.

Soufan and his team were preparing to fly back to new york when fbi headquarters ordered him and his partner to stay put. Soufan, who writes his book that he preferred bush over gore and. When soufan takes lhoussaine kherchtou, an al qaeda fixer, out for pizza. In a previous post, i argued that the organization of al qaeda declined even as the movement it championed remains robust. Cassidy, author of the new, critically acclaimed book, war, will, and warlords. Prior to hostilities, yemen had already come under pressure to act against alqaeda, since attacks on its two main allies, saudi arabia and the united states, were primarily conducted by militants based in yemen previous attacks linked to alqaeda in yemen include the 2000 bombing of the uss cole, the 2008 american embassy attack, and several other attacks against foreign tourists. Transcript for the frontline film the interrogator.

Us interrogators sent to question alqaeda suspect anas allibi, captured in libya, is wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of us embassies in africa. He and journalist miller take readers inside the prison cells and interrogation rooms, where interrogators choreograph elaborate mind games and fight epic battles of will with their often formidable captives. Al qaeda claims it directed florida naval base shooting. The first qaeda attack against americans came a year later, in yemen.

Our nation remains engaged in a global armed conflict with. How yemen spawned the charlie hebdo attacks the guardian briefing. Al qaeda in yemen and the interrogator season 2012. 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. 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. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The author was born in lebanon but moved with his family to the us when he was a child. He is alleged to have headed alqaeda operations in the persian gulf and the gulf states prior to his capture. Width in pixels px height in pixels px copied to your clipboard unable to copy. He and journalist miller take readers inside the prison cells and interrogation rooms, where interrogators choreograph elaborate mind games and fight epic battles of will with their often. Memorandum regarding interrogation of al qaeda operative author. The jihadi threat united states institute of peace. Why had al qaeda sent money out of yemen just before the cole bombing took place. The interrogators by chris mackey and greg miller is a first person account of army interrogators just after september 11.