9/11

[ZenHalfTimeCrock]

Senior Republican. Seems very fucking angry and convinced certain people in the intelligence agencies ignored evidence of plot.

If I remember rightly, it was the FBI and the CIA not sharing vital information that resulted in the failure to avert 9/11.

There is some excellent and reputable writing about this:

Ali Soufan The Black Banners (just make sure you get the unredacted edition of his book).

Soufan was an FBI interrogator. And a Muslim (which presumably sticks in the throat of US Islamaphobes like Pam Geller, Robert Spencer et al.).

It’s why he was so effective at his job. He was able to get al-Qaeda suspects to cough up information by gaining their confidence rather than through waterboarding. The latter tactic does not usually give rise to actionable intelligence because those being tortured will simply say whatever they think their torturers want to hear so as not to prolong their agony.

Ali Soufan - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Lawrence Wright’s book The Looming Tower covers the same ground and is meant to be a classic.

I haven’t read it because I watched the excellent miniseries instead:

The Looming Tower (miniseries) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Soufan is a character in it. Again, it serves as a corrective to series like Homeland (admittedly a guilty pleasure), and movies like American Sniper where Muslims are always the bad guys.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

If I remember rightly, it was the FBI and the CIA not sharing vital information that resulted in the failure to avert 9/11.

There is some excellent and reputable writing about this:

Ali Soufan The Black Banners (just make sure you get the unredacted edition of his book).

Soufan was an FBI interrogator. And a Muslim (which presumably sticks in the throat of US Islamaphobes like Pam Geller, Robert Spencer et al.).

It’s why he was so effective at his job. He was able to get al-Qaeda suspects to cough up information by gaining their confidence rather than through waterboarding. The latter tactic does not usually give rise to actionable intelligence because those being tortured will simply say whatever they think their torturers want to hear so as not to prolong their agony.

Ali Soufan - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Lawrence Wright’s book The Looming Tower covers the same ground and is meant to be a classic.

I haven’t read it because I watched the excellent miniseries instead:

The Looming Tower (miniseries) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Soufan is a character in it. Again, it serves as a corrective to series like Homeland (admittedly a guilty pleasure), and movies like American Sniper where Muslims are always the bad guys.

That series is brilliant. I may have to give it a third watch.

The series is fairly true to Lawrence Wright’s book but there is so much more detail and backstory in the book that isn’t covered in the series.

The book has several chapters that serve as a kind of biography of Bin Laden and the origin story of various connected terror networks. This isn’t really covered in the series but really help contextualise it.

It’s a long and very serious read but it is absolutely gripping.

I read it in lockdown when I had a bit more time on my hands!

 

[PinkFinal]

 

[smevchenko]

Can only see the miniseries on Amazon or Apple TV, but looks like you have to purchase the programme. Any other streaming services have it?