While the American public is aware of the CIA's use of highly controversial enhanced interrogation techniques, few know the man who, in the wake of September 11, led all U.S. counterterrorism operations and oversaw the use of those procedures-procedures that obtained vital and timely intelligence and helped safeguard the nation from future attacks.

Puerto Rican-born Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr., served the United States for twenty-five years as an undercover officer before bringing his wealth of field knowledge to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center; now, in this riveting account and fascinating life story, one of America's top undercover operatives reveals how hard measures have derailed terrorist activity targeting the U.S., and saved countless American lives. Fully disclosed here for the first time are the undercover operations and tactics implemented during the George W. Bush presidency-which were approved by the highest levels of the U.S. government, certified as legal by the Department of Justice, and supported by bipartisan leadership of congressional intelligence oversight committees.

But as the shock of 9/11 faded, the support that the intelligence community enjoyed and deserved gave way to shortsighted and potentially dangerous political correctness. One by one, the tools needed to successfully fight terrorism were banished, and the men and women who volunteered to carry out our nation's orders in combating al-Qa'ida found themselves second-guessed, hamstrung, and investigated- including Rodriguez himself. In effect, the United States has chosen to willfully and unilaterally disarm itself in the war on terror. In Hard Measures, Rodriguez convincingly argues for the techniques used, and uncompromisingly details when these techniques were necessary, why they worked, and how, ultimately, they contributed to the capture of the world's most-wanted terror operatives, including Usama bin Ladin. From law school student to CIA recruit to his role as America's top spy, Rodriguez's full story is one of utmost importance-a rare, insider's look at an issue that demands attention. Above all, it's a reasoned, imperative, and fully informed case for hard measures, and an explosive and gripping account of the real war on terror- where it's been and where it's headed.

***

Terrorism has always been one of the toughest targets on which to collect intelligence. The secrets you want to steal frequently don't reside in computer systems, which can be hacked, or safes, which can be broken into, but in the inner recesses of a handful of individuals' minds.

The cliché about intelligence work is that it is like working on a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle but not having the box top to show you what the finished picture should look like. If only it were that easy. In fact, it is more like working on a million-piece puzzle with no box top, and having millions more random pieces that look like they might fit, but actually are from different puzzles altogether.

It fell to us to make sense of the countless fragments of information and to take action on the chunks of the puzzle, which represented a real and growing threat to the United States and our allies.

-from Hard Measures

An explosive memoir about the creation and implementation of the controversial Enhanced Interrogation Techniques by the former Chief Operations Officer for the CIA's Counterterrorism Center.

It Worked for Me is filled with vivid experiences and lessons learned that have shaped the legendary public service career of the four-star general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. At its heart are Powell's Thirteen Rules—notes he gathered over the years and that now form the basis of his leadership presentations given throughout the world. Powell's short but sweet rules—among them, Get mad, then get over it and Share credit—are illustrated by revealing personal stories that introduce and expand upon his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and, above all, respect for others. In work and in life, Powell writes, it's about how we touch and are touched by the people we meet. It's all about the people.

A natural storyteller, Powell offers warm and engaging parables with wise advice on succeeding in the workplace and beyond. Trust your people, he counsels as he delegates presidential briefing responsibilities to two junior State Department desk officers. Do your best—someone is watching, he advises those just starting out, recalling his own teenage summer job mopping floors in a soda-bottling factory.

Powell combines the insights he has gained serving in the top ranks of the military and in four presidential administrations with the lessons he's learned from his immigrant-family upbringing in the Bronx, his training in the ROTC, and his growth as an Army officer. The result is a powerful portrait of a leader who is reflective, self-effacing, and grateful for the contributions of everyone he works with.

Colin Powell's It Worked for Me is bound to inspire, move, and surprise readers. Thoughtful and revealing, it is a brilliant and original blueprint for leadership.

The gripping account of the decade-long hunt for the world's most wanted man.

It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America. The book became a New York Times bestseller and the essential portrait of the most formidable terrorist enterprise of our time. Now, in Manhunt, Bergen picks up the thread with this taut yet panoramic account of the pursuit and killing of bin Laden.

Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.

Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called the Kuwaiti--who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.

Bergen takes us inside the Situation Room, where President Obama considers the COAs (courses of action) presented by his war council and receives conflicting advice from his top advisors before deciding to risk the raid that would change history--and then inside the Joint Special Operations Command, whose secret warriors, the SEALs, would execute Operation Neptune Spear. From the moment two Black Hawks take off from Afghanistan until bin Laden utters his last words, Manhunt reads like a thriller.

Based on exhaustive research and unprecedented access to White House officials, CIA analysts, Pakistani intelligence, and the military, this is the definitive account of ten years in pursuit of bin Laden and of the twilight of al-Qaeda.

 

 

It Worked for Me is filled with vivid experiences and lessons learned that have shaped the legendary public service career of the four-star general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. At its heart are Powell's Thirteen Rules—notes he gathered over the years and that now form the basis of his leadership presentations given throughout the world. Powell's short but sweet rules—among them, Get mad, then get over it and Share credit—are illustrated by revealing personal stories that introduce and expand upon his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and, above all, respect for others. In work and in life, Powell writes, it's about how we touch and are touched by the people we meet. It's all about the people.

A natural storyteller, Powell offers warm and engaging parables with wise advice on succeeding in the workplace and beyond. Trust your people, he counsels as he delegates presidential briefing responsibilities to two junior State Department desk officers. Do your best—someone is watching, he advises those just starting out, recalling his own teenage summer job mopping floors in a soda-bottling factory.

Powell combines the insights he has gained serving in the top ranks of the military and in four presidential administrations with the lessons he's learned from his immigrant-family upbringing in the Bronx, his training in the ROTC, and his growth as an Army officer. The result is a powerful portrait of a leader who is reflective, self-effacing, and grateful for the contributions of everyone he works with.

Colin Powell's It Worked for Me is bound to inspire, move, and surprise readers. Thoughtful and revealing, it is a brilliant and original blueprint for leadership.

 

 

The gripping account of the decade-long hunt for the world's most wanted man.

It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America. The book became a New York Times bestseller and the essential portrait of the most formidable terrorist enterprise of our time. Now, in Manhunt, Bergen picks up the thread with this taut yet panoramic account of the pursuit and killing of bin Laden.

Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.

Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called the Kuwaiti--who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.

Bergen takes us inside the Situation Room, where President Obama considers the COAs (courses of action) presented by his war council and receives conflicting advice from his top advisors before deciding to risk the raid that would change history--and then inside the Joint Special Operations Command, whose secret warriors, the SEALs, would execute Operation Neptune Spear. From the moment two Black Hawks take off from Afghanistan until bin Laden utters his last words, Manhunt reads like a thriller.

Based on exhaustive research and unprecedented access to White House officials, CIA analysts, Pakistani intelligence, and the military, this is the definitive account of ten years in pursuit of bin Laden and of the twilight of al-Qaeda.


From the Hardcover edition.The gripping account of the decade-long hunt for the world's most wanted man.

It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America. The book became a New York Times bestseller and the essential portrait of the most formidable terrorist enterprise of our time. Now, in Manhunt, Bergen picks up the thread with this taut yet panoramic account of the pursuit and killing of bin Laden.

Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.

Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called the Kuwaiti--who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.

Bergen takes us inside the Situation Room, where President Obama considers the COAs (courses of action) presented by his war council and receives conflicting advice from his top advisors before deciding to risk the raid that would change history--and then inside the Joint Special Operations Command, whose secret warriors, the SEALs, would execute Operation Neptune Spear. From the moment two Black Hawks take off from Afghanistan until bin Laden utters his last words, Manhunt reads like a thriller.

Based on exhaustive research and unprecedented access to White House officials, CIA analysts, Pakistani intelligence, and the military, this is the definitive account of ten years in pursuit of bin Laden and of the twilight of al-Qaeda.


From the Hardcover edition.

The bestselling authors return with a blistering exposÉ of how America is being ripped off by friends and enemies alike—with the help of our own ruling elites.

Our jobs go to China. Foreign aid goes to our enemies. Pakistan uses our money to fund terrorists who attack us. Saudi Arabia, which our soldiers have defended with their lives, funds 90 percent of the world's Islamic fundamentalism. The UN is awash in corruption; its bureaucrats steal the money we give it with total impunity. Fifteen hundred brave American soldiers have died defending the regime in Afghanistan—rated the second-most corrupt in the world! Meanwhile, European bankers and bureaucrats are taking over our economy and preempting our sovereignty.

How do they get away with it? By hiring our own political leaders, as soon as they leave office, to lobby for them to rip us off. Former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, for example, sits on the board of an American affiliate of a Chinese company that has been denied the right to operate in the United States because it steals our technology. Former House Republican Appropriations Committee chairman Bob Livingstone represented Libya until just before Gaddafi fell. And we have a president who willingly obliges countries that poach on our sovereignty, refusing to stand up for our interests and our jobs as they confiscate half the royalties from our offshore energy, subject our elected leaders to criminal prosecution if they go to war without UN approval, and tell us what kind of land-use policies we should pursue.

In Screwed!, bestselling authors Dick Morris and Eileen McGann lay bare the unvarnished facts as never before and suggest real, immediate, and specific steps to stop those who undermine our interests and take away our jobs. In the same vein as their previous crusading books—Catastrophe, Fleeced, and Outrage—Morris and McGann have documented, in great depth and detail, exactly how the United States is getting screwed, and how to stop it. They dig up the facts, name names, point fingers, and suggest concrete solutions—independent of partisan politics.

The bestselling authors return with a blistering exposÉ of how America is being ripped off by friends and enemies alike—with the help of our own ruling elites.

Our jobs go to China. Foreign aid goes to our enemies. Pakistan uses our money to fund terrorists who attack us. Saudi Arabia, which our soldiers have defended with their lives, funds 90 percent of the world's Islamic fundamentalism. The UN is awash in corruption; its bureaucrats steal the money we give it with total impunity. Fifteen hundred brave American soldiers have died defending the regime in Afghanistan—rated the second-most corrupt in the world! Meanwhile, European bankers and bureaucrats are taking over our economy and preempting our sovereignty.

How do they get away with it? By hiring our own political leaders, as soon as they leave office, to lobby for them to rip us off. Former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, for example, sits on the board of an American affiliate of a Chinese company that has been denied the right to operate in the United States because it steals our technology. Former House Republican Appropriations Committee chairman Bob Livingstone represented Libya until just before Gaddafi fell. And we have a president who willingly obliges countries that poach on our sovereignty, refusing to stand up for our interests and our jobs as they confiscate half the royalties from our offshore energy, subject our elected leaders to criminal prosecution if they go to war without UN approval, and tell us what kind of land-use policies we should pursue.

In Screwed!, bestselling authors Dick Morris and Eileen McGann lay bare the unvarnished facts as never before and suggest real, immediate, and specific steps to stop those who undermine our interests and take away our jobs. In the same vein as their previous crusading books—Catastrophe, Fleeced, and Outrage—Morris and McGann have documented, in great depth and detail, exactly how the United States is getting screwed, and how to stop it. They dig up the facts, name names, point fingers, and suggest concrete solutions—independent of partisan politics.

The bestselling authors return with a blistering exposÉ of how America is being ripped off by friends and enemies alike—with the help of our own ruling elites.

Our jobs go to China. Foreign aid goes to our enemies. Pakistan uses our money to fund terrorists who attack us. Saudi Arabia, which our soldiers have defended with their lives, funds 90 percent of the world's Islamic fundamentalism. The UN is awash in corruption; its bureaucrats steal the money we give it with total impunity. Fifteen hundred brave American soldiers have died defending the regime in Afghanistan—rated the second-most corrupt in the world! Meanwhile, European bankers and bureaucrats are taking over our economy and preempting our sovereignty.

How do they get away with it? By hiring our own political leaders, as soon as they leave office, to lobby for them to rip us off. Former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, for example, sits on the board of an American affiliate of a Chinese company that has been denied the right to operate in the United States because it steals our technology. Former House Republican Appropriations Committee chairman Bob Livingstone represented Libya until just before Gaddafi fell. And we have a president who willingly obliges countries that poach on our sovereignty, refusing to stand up for our interests and our jobs as they confiscate half the royalties from our offshore energy, subject our elected leaders to criminal prosecution if they go to war without UN approval, and tell us what kind of land-use policies we should pursue.

In Screwed!, bestselling authors Dick Morris and Eileen McGann lay bare the unvarnished facts as never before and suggest real, immediate, and specific steps to stop those who undermine our interests and take away our jobs. In the same vein as their previous crusading books—Catastrophe, Fleeced, and Outrage—Morris and McGann have documented, in great depth and detail, exactly how the United States is getting screwed, and how to stop it. They dig up the facts, name names, point fingers, and suggest concrete solutions—independent of partisan politics.

A legendary CIA spy and counterterrorism expert tells the spellbinding story of his high-risk, action-packed career while illustrating the growing importance of America's intelligence officers and their secret missions

For a crucial period, Henry Crumpton led the CIA's global covert operations against America's terrorist enemies, including al Qaeda. In the days after 9/11, the CIA tasked Crumpton to organize and lead the Afghanistan campaign. With Crumpton's strategic initiative and bold leadership, from the battlefield to the Oval Office, U.S. and Afghan allies routed al Qaeda and the Taliban in less than ninety days after the Twin Towers fell. At the height of combat against the Taliban in late 2001, there were fewer than five hundred Americans on the ground in Afghanistan, a dynamic blend of CIA and Special Forces. The campaign changed the way America wages war. This book will change the way America views the CIA.

The Art of Intelligence draws from the full arc of Crumpton's espionage and covert action exploits to explain what America's spies do and why their service is more valuable than ever. From his early years in Africa, where he recruited and ran sources, from loathsome criminals to heroic warriors; to his liaison assignment at the FBI, the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, the development of the UAV Predator program, and the Afghanistan war; to his later work running all CIA clandestine operations inside the United States, he employs enthralling storytelling to teach important lessons about national security, but also about duty, honor, and love of country.

No book like The Art of Intelligence has ever been written-not with Crumpton's unique perspective, in a time when America faced such grave and uncertain risk. It is an epic, sure to be a classic in the annals of espionage and war.