Thanks for your good opinion Ernest. I may try to download Unholy Alliance to my new E-Book.
Posted on 02/14/2011 8:00:02 AM PST by MindBender26
As President George W. Bush's top speech writer, 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, his riveting new book, "Courting Disaster,"
How the CIA Kept America Safe (Regnery), has been published.
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 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 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 p.m;
* 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 al Qaeda had planned to mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope and magnitude. And still fewer realize 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 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, over- ruling 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.
Pass on now!!! Don't wait until after the next 911
*****************************Excerpt Review**********************************
You should read this book.,
This review is from: Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack (Hardcover) This is a very powerful book. It left me with a profound gratitude for all the President Bush and our government did to combat terrorism and protect this country in the aftermath of September 11th. It also left me deeply saddened that we had gotten to a point in this country where this book could even be written. So much of what has been declassified and discontinued should never have been taken off the table in our fight against terrorism - but it was; and Thiessen does his best to set the record straight on what has happened and where we are headed.
Thiessen has compiled a meticulously researched defense of the interrogation policies of the Bush administration, and the subsequent changes that the Obama administration has put into place. As a speech writer for Bush, Thieseen has first hand knowledge and a unique view on many of the events he describes in the book. I understand that the subject of this book is highly political, highly emotional, and very personal to many people. I'm not going to take a large amount of space to try and lay out all of the arguments in the book. I'll simply say this for myself - I do not believe that what the U.S. has done over the past 8 years is torture. I do not believe that the U.S. has lost its moral standing in the world. I do believe that what did was necessary, appropriate, and that it saved American lives. Lastly, I do believe that some of what the Obama administration is doing today is making this country less safe.
I give this book five stars. Regardless of your political leanings, you owe it to yourself to read this book, and read it with an open mind. Look at the facts and make up your own decisions. But whatever you decide, take a moment to be thankful that we have not suffered another major terrorist attack on US soil since September 11th - and ask yourself - why not?
President Bush himself summed it up best during a 2007 speech:
In this new war, the enemy conspires in secret - and often the only source of information on what the terrorists are planning is the terrorists themselves. So we established a program at the Central Intelligence Agency to question key terrorist leaders and the operatives captured in the war on terror. This program has produced critical intelligence that has helped us stop a number of attacks - including a plot to strike the U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, a plot to hijack a passenger plane and fly it into the Library Tower in Los Angeles, California, [and] a plot to fly passenger planes into Heathrow Airport and buildings into downtown London. Despite the record of success, and despite the fact that our professionals use lawful techniques, the CIA program has come under renewed criticism in recent weeks. Those who oppose this vital tool in the war on terror need to answer a simple question: Which of the attacks I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped?
There are people in positions of power who support this outsider with more knowledge than this.
After 9/11, the dims and their media were all upset that it didn’t happen while clinton was president. On the surface one would think, what the hell.
The dims in power and their media have a special anger toward the Constitution and saw an opportunity go away because George Bush was president on 9/11. Thinking about that makes me very thankful. So obama gets in office and starts the process of undoing everything that GW Bush put in place to protect this country. The people in power now have no loyalty to this country, their loyalty is to their party. The dims would love to be in power when a 9/11 type attack happens, because they could then put a crisis to their best use. The people in power have no emotional connection to this country or it’s people. So it would be easy for them to exploit a crisis situation in order to grab even more power.
I don’t know how anyone can support him knowing this information.
The great majority are “Useful Idiots” and don’t know yet. When they finally realize how much they’ve been used and abused, they’ll be more than irate.
Thank you for this.
Even if he dropped dead from natural causes ten minutes ago, it would not solve anything. We still have a treaonous media, judiciary, legislature, and the America-hating population that voted for him.
Cannot be done. Get a grip on reality and help with the possible.
Thanks for posting the link to David Horowitz’ “UNHOLY ALLIANCE”
The RED/GREEN Alliance is the great menace to our Republic, and to Western Civilization.
A must read!
Thanks for your good opinion Ernest. I may try to download Unholy Alliance to my new E-Book.
Chilling to the bone. MUST READ.
God bless Pres. Bush for the years of safety and peaceful sleep due to his resolute and aggressive prevention of further damage and destruction here, and God bless the CIA. We were so blessed, and so many of us knew it.
Lord, help us .. protect us, save us .. in the face of the purposeful weakening of the greatest country on the face of the earth by this cold-blooded, anti-American, radical zealot and pretender.
Chilling to the bone. MUST READ.
God bless Pres. Bush for the years of safety and peaceful sleep due to his resolute and aggressive prevention of further damage and destruction here, and God bless the CIA. We were so blessed, and so many of us knew it.
Lord, help us .. protect us, save us .. in the face of the purposeful weakening of the greatest country on the face of the earth by this cold-blooded, anti-American, radical zealot and pretender.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to get a copy.
No surprise. All that could have been known about his agenda to plunder, destroy, and turn this nation over to her enemies could have been known prior to 11/4/08. It is the strong delusion that continues to keep people from seeing his intent.
How about one on the Soros Effect?
It’s Not Easy Being God: the Real George Soros
http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Easy-Being-God/dp/0615414737/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
A very quick intro to what this beast is.
Price is right.
Karma. I want Karma delivered upon Obama, NOW.
I dispise that cretin with a passion. I want him to PAY for his crimes against this country. I want him to pay, and pay and pay and never STOP paying. When he one day leaves this life I hope it is to an eternity of hell his ‘spirit’ is sent to.
Get this usurper out. The sooner the better. Today would be fantastic.
“I don’t know how anyone can support him knowing this information.”
That’s what I have trouble with: people voting for him! He told everybody of his Communist intentions months before the election that put him where he could inflict damage on our country for four long years. His Jeremiah Wright attitude was public. Everybody knew he was a groomed American destroyer.
There’s a lot of blindness out there. Heads in the sand. America at the Mall.
Thanks E.. I might purchase the book.
“he needs to be removed NOW not 2012
Cannot be done. Get a grip on reality and help with the possible. “
I have a firm grip on reality. I fully expect Obama to remain in office. That doesn’t change my assertion that he NEEDS to be removed from office.
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