The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War against al-Qaeda

THE BLACK BANNERS Reveals Not Everything Is Black-and-White

I've made it a point to never pen a review immediately after finishing a book. I do this because, as a critic, I don't want to feel as if I'm unintentionally overrating or underrating any author's effort. I try to let the work sink in a bit, to have it seep through all the corners of my brain, to soak it across all my consciousness. I do this in hopes that I'll give a more cogent, a more salient, and a more respectful analysis of the work. The longer I allowed Ali Soufen's "The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda" to float around in my head, the more frustrated I grew . frustrated with the tale . frustrated with the participants . and even frustrated a bit with the author.

For starters, it's a tremendous and personal work. Clocking in at just over 600 pages, it's a wealth of history about al-Qaida and the terrorist organization's various major (and a few minor) players. And, as Mr. Soufen repeatedly suggests to those around him, "it all starts back in 1979 when ." He provides outstanding context for the background, and he allows the story to build reasonably from there. Consequently, the book is a comprehensive accounting of names, dates, and places, and, no doubt, it's penned by one committed and impressive mind that have synthesized a vast canvass of data into the effective conclusions that our narrator does. In his bid to tell the definitive insider's story of 9/11, Mr. Soufen clearly is the best-educated, best-prepared, and best-suited to enlighten all of us with where the mindset of such an act began, and the first half of his book goes to great pains to bring the reader up-to-speed on how a few decades of history climaxed with that seminal moment: the destruction of the two World Trade Center towers.

For the reader, it's an at times frustrating experience in all of its 600 pages. This isn't intended as a slight toward Mr. Soufen - I think the very nature of exploring these events and the people who caused them strays into territory where some may fear to tread - but there may have been a better person to tell this story so that so much of it didn't appear so personal to him. Immersing oneself inside the story, by its very nature, brings the narrator to life, and that drags all the good, the bad, and the ugly into the spotlight and places it alongside the bad guys here. Whether he intended it this way or not, Soufen became the focus (for this reader, anyway) at key points in the narrative; as the story went on, I found myself mildly less-and-less interested in the war and more drawn to the narrator, in not a good way.

For example, Soufen almost lovingly (and dangerously) narrates the backstory of al-Qaida's leadership, exploring the men's history, hopes, and dreams, underscoring to the reader that, perhaps at some point in their past, they were not different from you or I . and, well, yes, I suppose that's true except for that whole little 'jihad to bring down Western civilization,' that is. In his bid to extract information as a lead interrogator, Soufen laughs with them; he cries with them; and he even prays with them . so long as it will get them one step closer to sharing intel and a confession to aid the United States in stopping al-Qaida's mission of destruction. And, just maybe, therein rests the only real problem I had with the book: Ali Soufen and his 'band of Untouchables' can do no wrong here. Indeed, Soufen's own actions take on almost mythic proportions as he al

8 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended - you must check it out!

If you're wondering how we could've prevented the attacks, then read this book.

4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Exceeded my expectations

This book is an excellent read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent personal microcosm of the war on terror

This is a highly personal account of one FBI agent/interrogator's intense involvement in the war on terror. It not only gives a lot of inside detail on Al Qaeda's conspiracies and the attempts to thwart them, but also gives a lot of interesting personal background on many of the terrorists interrogated and often "turned" by the author. The author is an Arab American Moslem of Lebanese background, which in my opinion gives him additional insights. The second half of the book shows how the introduction of torture by the CIA and its contractors was actually counterproductive in getting good intelligence out of captives and probably delayed the final attack on Bin Laden by several years. This half of the book has many annoying redactions by CIA censors who obviously would have preferred if word of their vicious incompetence didn't get out at all. Not withstanding reader irritation, I think the author was right to go ahead and publish with the redactions rather than fight the censors for years and end up with a highly sanitized account if anything at all.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An eye opener!

An easy fast read that shows the real inside story of how our inteligance agencies did not cooperate and it cost us in the long tun.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Recommended and Disconcerting

Unquestionable expertise, detailed reporting, great insights and comprehensive review of Al Queda operations, but terrible indictment of CIA and Washington political hacks.

Souifan's book is documentation of incompetence and immorality at highest levels of government without accountability. The too many redactions by the censor of the text is even more upsetting. This is an important book, but one I would rather never have to read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Absolutely a must read!!!

Ali Soufan is an incredible story teller and an advocate for the truth. A true patriot, he tells the story without pulling punches. I am embarrassed and saddened on how our own U.S. Government chose to handle the intelligence and insights that we were provided prior to 9/11... though I'm not surprised. In the early 1980's, I had the opportunity to be "around" our intelligence communities. They were brash and full-of-themselves them, obviously in the late 90's/early 2000's this continued. Ali Soufan is a warrior and a true credit to the storied history of the FBI.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Every American should read this

If you are tired of hearing pundits and "security experts" talk about al Qaeda and so called "enhanced interrogations" and would rather read the story of a man who investigated some of the biggest terrorist attacks of the past 20 years, read this book. Ali Soufan is the man and pulls no punches when discussing his disdain for certain members of the intelligence community (US or otherwise), but also doesn't hesitate to praise deserving agents. The CIA hates him and redacted huge chunks of the book, but by leaving the black bars in he exposes their ridiculousness (my favorite are the sections where they clearly only redacted personal pronouns as if that would prevent the reader from realizing that Soufan was there). He also makes a convincing case that doing research and out-witting suspects is far more effective than what all rational people agree is torture.

I short, if you are at all interested in the world we live in, recent history and how decisions made over the last 20 years will continue to impact our future, read this book. It's well worth your time.

No Way

9/11 Was an inside job wake up people. The taliban help a press conference 10 days after 9/11 and said they are ready for the trial for usama bin laden if the united can provide evidence. And guess what we didnt because their is none. Look it up it was on CNN. 9/11 Isnt even mentioned on his FBI poster Wake up

0 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

A must read

Ali Soufan is a true American hero. I was introduced to him by his interview in The Rachel Maddow Show. If you were going to read only one book about the war on terror, this is it. He was thorughly objective and methodical in posing a number of critical theses in understanding pre- and post-9/11 zeitgeist. To make his case, he contains feelings and emotions but when he shares them he brings into his angst and powerlessness over the enemies within. As neocons attemp to rewrite history and go on book tours and talk shows to claim that current succeses should be attributed to torture, this book will counter that over and over.

Should hold almost anyone's attention beginning to end

The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda by Ali Soufan is a gripping non -fiction account of the "war on terror" by one the the F.B.I.'s most qualified experts on the subject. Ali Soufan is an F.B.I. interrogator born in Lebanon who moved to the United States as a child. Soufan's incidental- and comical- arrival into the ranks of the F.B.I. arose from a bet he made with one of his frat buddies at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. A friend suggest Soufan try out for the F.B.I. given his fluency in both English and Arabic. His friends laughed at the idea, one friend even joking that the Bureau would immediately throw away the application. In true frat-boy fashion Ali accepted the challenge and miraculously two years later Soufan was handpicked by top directors to work for the National Security Division. Soufan was among the first in the F.B.I. to call attention to what was at that time a fringe extremist group "al-Qaeda". His reports on Osama Bin Laden predicted Bin Laden's influence on the middle east and his impact on the United States. His vast knowledge of the Qur'an and middle eastern culture combined with his perfect English and American upbringing gave him a unique edge in his field. He interviewed the United State's top al-Qaeda captives and was the interrogator that implicated Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the mastermind behind 9/11. Soufan is renowned in the Bureau for his ability to outwit terrorist. Having convinced an al-Qaeda operative that he already knew who was behind 9/11 Soufan was able to get the prisoner to talk about the attacks as if he wasn't telling the F.B.I. anything they didn't already know. Soufan's unique aptitude for his work and multi-perspective nature gives the book an heir of inarguable credibility. He writes his accounts in plain yet very intelligent language and in a sort of narrative form that really brings you into the interrogation room. Soufan left the Bureau in 2005 after condemning the CIA from withholding information from his division that he believes he could have used to prevent 9/11. Soufan writes with an obvious integrity that really grabs the reader. It was hands down the most entertaining work of non-fiction I've ever read.

Everyone should read this!

I picked this book up and never put it down. Ali Soufan is a true American Hero. Thank you for your service.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best behind the curtain look at 9/11

Great and easy read. Sometimes there is a little too much detail on names but it supports the facts. Redacted material is a little frustrating, but again adds fact. Ali Soufan is an interesting character and good story teller. Can't wait for the movie!

You wouldn't let New Zealanders buy this book due to copyright you said

You wouldn't let New Zealanders buy this book due to copyright you said

I desperately tried to buy this book but after contacting sales you banned the book from being sold in New Zealand. I suspected there was more to this than copyright given the fortress American mindset which is closing in around this country.
Let other countries beneifit from reading this e-book please!!!

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Awesome

Thanks Ali for being a Warrior if Light

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