has anyone seen this book ?
Godfather.
Posts: 12,504
or heard of it ?
this is a cut and paste e-mail from a friend...I know I know but the brief is full of the kind of drama
the train thrives on.
Godfather.
Kinda long read, but most interesting.... scary,too....
ref: marcthiessen.com
As President George W. Bush's top speechwriter, Marc Thiessen was
provided unique access to the CIA program used in interrogating top
Al Qaeda terrorists, including the mastermind of the 9/11 attack,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM). Now, in his riveting new book, Courting
Disaster, Thiessen tells "How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack
Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack."
Here is an excerpt from "Courting Disaster" :
Just before dawn on March 1, 2003, two dozen heavily armed Pakistani
tactical assault forces move in and surround a safe house in
Rawalpindi. A few hours earlier they had received a text message
from an informant inside the house. It read: "I am with KSM."
Bursting in, they find the disheveled mastermind of the 9/11 attacks,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in his bedroom. He is taken into custody. In
the safe house, they find a treasure trove of computers, documents,
cell phones, and other valuable "pocket litter."
Once in custody, KSM is defiant. He refuses to answer questions,
informing his captors that he will tell them everything when he gets
to America and sees his lawyer. But KSM is not taken to America to
see a lawyer. Instead he is taken to a secret CIA "black site" in an
undisclosed location. Upon arrival, KSM finds himself in the complete
control of Americans. He does not know where he is, how long he will
be there, or what his fate will be. Despite his circumstances, KSM
still refuses to talk. He spews contempt at his interrogators,
telling them that Americans are weak, lack resilience, and are unable
to do what is necessary to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in
their goals. He has trained to resist interrogation. When he is
asked for information about future attacks, he tells his questioners
scornfully: "Soon, you will know."
It becomes clear he will not reveal the information using
traditional interrogation techniques. So he undergoes a series of
"enhanced interrogation techniques" approved for use only on the most
high-value detainees. The techniques include waterboarding. His
resistance is described by one senior American official as
"superhuman." Eventually, however, the techniques work, and KSM
becomes cooperative-for reasons that will be described later in this
book He begins telling his CIA de-briefers about active al Qaeda
plots to launch attacks against the United States and other Western
targets He holds classes for CIA officials, using a chalkboard to
draw a picture of al Qaeda's operating structure, financing,
communications, and logistics. He identifies al Qaeda travel routes
and safe havens, and helps intelligence officers make sense of
documents and computer records seized in terrorist raids.
He identifies voices in intercepted telephone calls, and helps
officials understand the meaning of coded terrorist communications.
He provides information that helps our intelligence community capture
other high-ranking terrorists, KSM's questioning, and that of other
captured terrorists, produces more than 6,000 intelligence reports,
which are shared across the intelligence community, as well as with
our allies across the world. In one of these reports, KSM describes
in detail the revisions he made to his failed 1994-1995 plan known as
the "Bojinka plot" to blow up a dozen airplanes carrying some 4,000
passengers over the Pacific Ocean. Years later, an observant CIA
officer notices that the activities of a cell being followed by
British authorities appear to match KSM's description of his plans
for a Bojinka-style attack. In an operation that involves
unprecedented intelligence cooperation between our countries, British
officials proceed to unravel the plot.
On the night of Aug.9, 2006 they launch a series of raids in a
northeast London suburb that lead to the arrest of two dozen al Qaeda
terrorist suspects. They find a USB thumb-drive in the pocket of one
of the men with security details for Heathrow airport, and
information on seven trans-Atlantic flights that were scheduled to
take off within hours of each other: United Airlines Flight 931 to San
Francisco departing at 2:15 p.m.; Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto
departing at 3:00 p.m.; Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing
at 3:15 p.m.; United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago departing at
3:40 p.m.; United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington departing at 4:20
p.m.; American Airlines Flight 131 to New York departing at 4:35 PM;
and American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 4:50 p.m.
They seize bomb-making equipment and hydrogen peroxide to make liquid
explosives. And they find the chilling martyrdom videos the suicide
bombers had prepared. Today, if you asked an average person on the
street what they know about the 2006 airlines plot, most would not be
able to tell you much.
Few Americans are aware of the fact that al Qaeda had planned to
mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope
and magnitude. And still fewer realize that the terrorists' true
intentions in this plot were uncovered thanks to critical information
obtained through the interrogation of the man who conceived it:
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. This is only one of the many attacks stopped
with the help of the CIA interrogation program established by the
Bush Administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. Editor's Note: For other foiled terrorist plots, see page 9
of Courting Disaster. In addition to helping break up these specific
terrorist cells and plots, CIA questioning provided our intelligence
community with an unparalleled body of information about al Qaeda
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 CIA custody.
Former CIA Director George Tenet has declared: "I know that this
program has saved lives. I know we've disrupted plots. I know this
program alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central
Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency put together
have been able to tell us." Former CIA Director Mike Hayden has said:
"The facts of the case are that the use of these techniques against
these terrorists made us safer. It really did work." Even Barack
Obama's Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, has
acknowledged: "High-value information came from interrogations in
which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of
the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country."
Leon Panetta, Obama's CIA Director, has said: "Important information
was gathered from these detainees. It provided information that was
acted upon." And John Brennan, Obama's Homeland Security Advisor,
when asked in an interview if enhanced-interrogation techniques were
necessary to keep America safe, replied :"Would the U.S. be
handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these
types of detention and debriefing activities? I would say yes."
On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491,
closing the CIA program and directing that, henceforth, all
interrogations by U.S personnel must follow the techniques contained
in the Army Field Manual. The morning of the announcement, Mike
Hayden was still in his post as CIA Director, He called White House
Counsel Greg Craig and told him bluntly: "You didn't ask, but this
is the CIA officially nonconcurring.
The president went ahead anyway, overruling the objections of the
agency. A few months later, on April 16, 2009, President Obama
ordered the release of four Justice Department memos that described
in detail the techniques used to interrogate KSM and other high-value
terrorists. This time, not just Hayden (who was now retired) but
five CIA directors -- including Obama's own director, Leon Panetta --
objected.
George Tenet called to urge against the memos' release. So did
Porter Goss. So did John Deutch. Hayden says: "You had CIA
directors in a continuous unbroken stream to 1995 calling saying,
'Don't do this.'" In addition to objections from the men who led the
agency for a collective 14 years, the President also heard objections
from the agency's covert field operatives. A few weeks earlier,
Panetta had arranged for the eight top officials of the Clandestine
Service to meet with the President. It was highly unusual for these
clandestine officers to visit the Oval Office, and they used the
opportunity to warn the President that releasing the memos would put
agency operatives at risk. The President reportedly listened
respectfully -- and then ignored their advice. With these actions,
Barack Obama arguably did more damage to America's national security
in his first 100 days of office than any President in American
history.
this is a cut and paste e-mail from a friend...I know I know but the brief is full of the kind of drama
the train thrives on.
Godfather.
Kinda long read, but most interesting.... scary,too....
ref: marcthiessen.com
As President George W. Bush's top speechwriter, Marc Thiessen was
provided unique access to the CIA program used in interrogating top
Al Qaeda terrorists, including the mastermind of the 9/11 attack,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM). Now, in his riveting new book, Courting
Disaster, Thiessen tells "How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack
Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack."
Here is an excerpt from "Courting Disaster" :
Just before dawn on March 1, 2003, two dozen heavily armed Pakistani
tactical assault forces move in and surround a safe house in
Rawalpindi. A few hours earlier they had received a text message
from an informant inside the house. It read: "I am with KSM."
Bursting in, they find the disheveled mastermind of the 9/11 attacks,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in his bedroom. He is taken into custody. In
the safe house, they find a treasure trove of computers, documents,
cell phones, and other valuable "pocket litter."
Once in custody, KSM is defiant. He refuses to answer questions,
informing his captors that he will tell them everything when he gets
to America and sees his lawyer. But KSM is not taken to America to
see a lawyer. Instead he is taken to a secret CIA "black site" in an
undisclosed location. Upon arrival, KSM finds himself in the complete
control of Americans. He does not know where he is, how long he will
be there, or what his fate will be. Despite his circumstances, KSM
still refuses to talk. He spews contempt at his interrogators,
telling them that Americans are weak, lack resilience, and are unable
to do what is necessary to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in
their goals. He has trained to resist interrogation. When he is
asked for information about future attacks, he tells his questioners
scornfully: "Soon, you will know."
It becomes clear he will not reveal the information using
traditional interrogation techniques. So he undergoes a series of
"enhanced interrogation techniques" approved for use only on the most
high-value detainees. The techniques include waterboarding. His
resistance is described by one senior American official as
"superhuman." Eventually, however, the techniques work, and KSM
becomes cooperative-for reasons that will be described later in this
book He begins telling his CIA de-briefers about active al Qaeda
plots to launch attacks against the United States and other Western
targets He holds classes for CIA officials, using a chalkboard to
draw a picture of al Qaeda's operating structure, financing,
communications, and logistics. He identifies al Qaeda travel routes
and safe havens, and helps intelligence officers make sense of
documents and computer records seized in terrorist raids.
He identifies voices in intercepted telephone calls, and helps
officials understand the meaning of coded terrorist communications.
He provides information that helps our intelligence community capture
other high-ranking terrorists, KSM's questioning, and that of other
captured terrorists, produces more than 6,000 intelligence reports,
which are shared across the intelligence community, as well as with
our allies across the world. In one of these reports, KSM describes
in detail the revisions he made to his failed 1994-1995 plan known as
the "Bojinka plot" to blow up a dozen airplanes carrying some 4,000
passengers over the Pacific Ocean. Years later, an observant CIA
officer notices that the activities of a cell being followed by
British authorities appear to match KSM's description of his plans
for a Bojinka-style attack. In an operation that involves
unprecedented intelligence cooperation between our countries, British
officials proceed to unravel the plot.
On the night of Aug.9, 2006 they launch a series of raids in a
northeast London suburb that lead to the arrest of two dozen al Qaeda
terrorist suspects. They find a USB thumb-drive in the pocket of one
of the men with security details for Heathrow airport, and
information on seven trans-Atlantic flights that were scheduled to
take off within hours of each other: United Airlines Flight 931 to San
Francisco departing at 2:15 p.m.; Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto
departing at 3:00 p.m.; Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing
at 3:15 p.m.; United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago departing at
3:40 p.m.; United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington departing at 4:20
p.m.; American Airlines Flight 131 to New York departing at 4:35 PM;
and American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 4:50 p.m.
They seize bomb-making equipment and hydrogen peroxide to make liquid
explosives. And they find the chilling martyrdom videos the suicide
bombers had prepared. Today, if you asked an average person on the
street what they know about the 2006 airlines plot, most would not be
able to tell you much.
Few Americans are aware of the fact that al Qaeda had planned to
mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope
and magnitude. And still fewer realize that the terrorists' true
intentions in this plot were uncovered thanks to critical information
obtained through the interrogation of the man who conceived it:
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. This is only one of the many attacks stopped
with the help of the CIA interrogation program established by the
Bush Administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. Editor's Note: For other foiled terrorist plots, see page 9
of Courting Disaster. In addition to helping break up these specific
terrorist cells and plots, CIA questioning provided our intelligence
community with an unparalleled body of information about al Qaeda
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 CIA custody.
Former CIA Director George Tenet has declared: "I know that this
program has saved lives. I know we've disrupted plots. I know this
program alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central
Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency put together
have been able to tell us." Former CIA Director Mike Hayden has said:
"The facts of the case are that the use of these techniques against
these terrorists made us safer. It really did work." Even Barack
Obama's Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, has
acknowledged: "High-value information came from interrogations in
which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of
the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country."
Leon Panetta, Obama's CIA Director, has said: "Important information
was gathered from these detainees. It provided information that was
acted upon." And John Brennan, Obama's Homeland Security Advisor,
when asked in an interview if enhanced-interrogation techniques were
necessary to keep America safe, replied :"Would the U.S. be
handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these
types of detention and debriefing activities? I would say yes."
On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491,
closing the CIA program and directing that, henceforth, all
interrogations by U.S personnel must follow the techniques contained
in the Army Field Manual. The morning of the announcement, Mike
Hayden was still in his post as CIA Director, He called White House
Counsel Greg Craig and told him bluntly: "You didn't ask, but this
is the CIA officially nonconcurring.
The president went ahead anyway, overruling the objections of the
agency. A few months later, on April 16, 2009, President Obama
ordered the release of four Justice Department memos that described
in detail the techniques used to interrogate KSM and other high-value
terrorists. This time, not just Hayden (who was now retired) but
five CIA directors -- including Obama's own director, Leon Panetta --
objected.
George Tenet called to urge against the memos' release. So did
Porter Goss. So did John Deutch. Hayden says: "You had CIA
directors in a continuous unbroken stream to 1995 calling saying,
'Don't do this.'" In addition to objections from the men who led the
agency for a collective 14 years, the President also heard objections
from the agency's covert field operatives. A few weeks earlier,
Panetta had arranged for the eight top officials of the Clandestine
Service to meet with the President. It was highly unusual for these
clandestine officers to visit the Oval Office, and they used the
opportunity to warn the President that releasing the memos would put
agency operatives at risk. The President reportedly listened
respectfully -- and then ignored their advice. With these actions,
Barack Obama arguably did more damage to America's national security
in his first 100 days of office than any President in American
history.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
"With our thoughts we make the world"
Gandhi.....?
Godfather.
What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?
Okay then. WWJD?
"With our thoughts we make the world"