This very readable book starts at a trot and takes off from there. I didn't want to put it down. I even found the redacted sections amusing and bureaucratically idiotic. Mr Soufan writes about his first hand experience with Al-Qaeda. You find out how it evolved, where the cash came from, and why Islamic NGO's and charities are so suspect. You'll also get a quick and thorough summary of how Islamic extremism started and its interpretation of the Quran and regional history. Mr. Soufan presents both sides of the arguments, and (later) how Al-Qaeda recruits and trains their members.
He does get on a soapbox about the debate between "traditional" versus "extreme" interrogation methods. We get a first-hand look at how it evolved from classroom theory through "revising on the job" to "preferred method of amateurs" that fulfilled Al-Qaeda's propaganda about Americans.
If you have not read the 9/11 Commission report or just heard the 1-minute headline, then the last third is a concrete example of the paranoid compartmentalization that prevented the FBI and INS from arresting the conspirators or blocking their entry into the country.
I found myself, in turn, agreeing and arguing with Mr. Soufan about his opinions on Intelligence and security agencies in other countries. But it is encouraging to know that some competent and dedicated people exist everywhere - even if they're in the minority. I wish he'd spent a few more pages describing why Americans are the scapegoats (besides invading Saudi Arabia).
He does get on a soapbox about the debate between "traditional" versus "extreme" interrogation methods. We get a first-hand look at how it evolved from classroom theory through "revising on the job" to "preferred method of amateurs" that fulfilled Al-Qaeda's propaganda about Americans.
If you have not read the 9/11 Commission report or just heard the 1-minute headline, then the last third is a concrete example of the paranoid compartmentalization that prevented the FBI and INS from arresting the conspirators or blocking their entry into the country.
I found myself, in turn, agreeing and arguing with Mr. Soufan about his opinions on Intelligence and security agencies in other countries. But it is encouraging to know that some competent and dedicated people exist everywhere - even if they're in the minority. I wish he'd spent a few more pages describing why Americans are the scapegoats (besides invading Saudi Arabia).
