Black Banners (Declassified) - How Torture Derailed The War On Terror After 9/11

In the fight against al-Qaeda, former FBI special agent Ali H. Soufan became a legend on the basis of his deft questioning of prisoners, which often short-circuited al-Qaeda plots in the pipeline. Physical or mental violence played no part in this success. He never laid a hand on the suspected terrorists.

Other U.S. intelligence agencies took orders directly from the Oval Office, using other methods. Terrorists who had already given Soufan crucial intelligence were subsequently water-boarded repeatedly. The CIA's decision to employ "enhanced interrogation techniques" backfired, says Soufan. It made the job of defending the United States more difficult and dangerous.

The original edition of this book was heavily redacted by the CIA, preventing the public from reading Soufan's full story. Now Soufan's extraordinary account can be set forth in its entirety for the first time.