The Black Banners Declassified

Book “The Black Banners Declassified” by Ali Soufan — March 25, 2021

Book formats

  • Paperback No offers

Book short specifications

Author
Pages
640
Publisher
Penguin
Language
english
Release date
March 25, 2021
ISBN
978-0-14-199713-1
GTIN
9780141997131
Weight, g
448

About

A new, fully uncensored edition of the definitive insider's account of the War on Terror

'A former FBI agent's memoir on the War on Terror is declassified after 9 years' Time

'One of the most valuable and detailed accounts of its subject to appear in the past decade' Economist

The ultimate insider's account of the battle against terrorism, Ali Soufan's revelatory account of his history-making decade as the FBI's lead investigator into al-Qaeda shaped our understanding of counter-terror operations — and led to hard questions being asked of American and British leaders.

When The Black Banners was first published in 2011, significant portions of the text were redacted. After a CIA review those restrictions have been lifted, and the result is this explosive new edition, The Black Banners (Declassified). Alongside a new foreword by Soufan, the declassified documents uncover shocking details on the use of torture on terror suspects, how these 'enhanced interrogation techniques' failed to secure reliable intelligence, and in fact actively derailed the fight against al-Qaeda. By contrast we see Soufan at work using empathy and intelligent questioning — not force or violence — to extract some of the most important confessions in the war.

Taking us from the interrogation rooms where Soufan would share food and films with the suspects so he could bond with them, to the hideouts of bin Laden, Ali Soufan reveals with intimate, first-hand knowledge the unbelievable truth about America's security agencies, 9/11, and the global 'War on Terror'.

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