THE LOOMING TOWER Identification Items and Review Questions
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Survey of Terrorist Groups and Their Means of Financing
SURVEY OF TERRORIST GROUPS AND THEIR MEANS OF FINANCING HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM AND ILLICIT FINANCE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 Printed for the use of the Committee on Financial Services Serial No. 115–116 ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 31–576 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 VerDate Mar 15 2010 14:03 Dec 06, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 G:\GPO PRINTING\DOCS\115TH HEARINGS - 2ND SESSION 2018\2018-09-07 TIF TERRO mcarroll on FSR431 with DISTILLER HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES JEB HENSARLING, Texas, Chairman PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina, MAXINE WATERS, California, Ranking Vice Chairman Member PETER T. KING, New York CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York EDWARD R. ROYCE, California NYDIA M. VELA´ ZQUEZ, New York FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma BRAD SHERMAN, California STEVAN PEARCE, New Mexico GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York BILL POSEY, Florida MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts SEAN P. DUFFY, Wisconsin DAVID SCOTT, Georgia STEVE STIVERS, Ohio AL GREEN, Texas RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri DENNIS A. ROSS, Florida GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin ROBERT PITTENGER, North Carolina KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota ANN WAGNER, Missouri ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado ANDY BARR, Kentucky JAMES A. HIMES, Connecticut KEITH J. ROTHFUS, Pennsylvania BILL FOSTER, Illinois LUKE MESSER, Indiana DANIEL T. KILDEE, Michigan SCOTT TIPTON, Colorado JOHN K. DELANEY, Maryland ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona BRUCE POLIQUIN, Maine JOYCE BEATTY, Ohio MIA LOVE, Utah DENNY HECK, Washington FRENCH HILL, Arkansas JUAN VARGAS, California TOM EMMER, Minnesota JOSH GOTTHEIMER, New Jersey LEE M. -
True and False Confessions: the Efficacy of Torture and Brutal
Chapter 7 True and False Confessions The Efficacy of Torture and Brutal Interrogations Central to the debate on the use of “enhanced” interrogation techniques is the question of whether those techniques are effective in gaining intelligence. If the techniques are the only way to get actionable intelligence that prevents terrorist attacks, their use presents a moral dilemma for some. On the other hand, if brutality does not produce useful intelligence — that is, it is not better at getting information than other methods — the debate is moot. This chapter focuses on the effectiveness of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation technique program. There are far fewer people who defend brutal interrogations by the military. Most of the military’s mistreatment of captives was not authorized in detail at high levels, and some was entirely unauthorized. Many military captives were either foot soldiers or were entirely innocent, and had no valuable intelligence to reveal. Many of the perpetrators of abuse in the military were young interrogators with limited training and experience, or were not interrogators at all. The officials who authorized the CIA’s interrogation program have consistently maintained that it produced useful intelligence, led to the capture of terrorist suspects, disrupted terrorist attacks, and saved American lives. Vice President Dick Cheney, in a 2009 speech, stated that the enhanced interrogation of captives “prevented the violent death of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people.” President George W. Bush similarly stated in his memoirs that “[t]he CIA interrogation program saved lives,” and “helped break up plots to attack military and diplomatic facilities abroad, Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf in London, and multiple targets in the United States.” John Brennan, President Obama’s recent nominee for CIA director, said, of the CIA’s program in a televised interview in 2007, “[t]here [has] been a lot of information that has come out from these interrogation procedures. -
America's Illicit Affair with Torture
AMERICA’S ILLICIT AFFAIR WITH TORTURE David Luban1 Keynote address to the National Consortium of Torture Treatment ProGrams Washington, D.C., February 13, 2013 I am deeply honored to address this Group. The work you do is incredibly important, sometimes disheartening, and often heartbreaking. Your clients and patients have been alone and terrified on the dark side of the moon. You help them return to the company of humankind on Earth. To the outside world, your work is largely unknown and unsung. Before saying anything else, I want to salute you for what you do and offer you my profound thanks. I venture to guess that all the people you treat, or almost all, come from outside the United States. Many of them fled to America seekinG asylum. In the familiar words of the law, they had a “well-founded fear of persecution”—well- founded because their own Governments had tortured them. They sought refuge in the United States because here at last they would be safe from torture. Largely, they were right—although this morninG I will suGGest that if we peer inside American prisons, and understand that mental torture is as real as physical torture, they are not as riGht as they hoped. But it is certainly true that the most obvious forms of political torture and repression are foreign to the United States. After all, our constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishments, and our Supreme Court has declared that coercive law enforcement practices that “shock the conscience” are unconstitutional. Our State Department monitors other countries for torture. -
Press Release
IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Foggett +1-646-233-1704 [email protected] PRESS RELEASE 2020 GLOBAL SECURITY FORUM REPORT: “A NEW WORLD (DIS)ORDER? MANAGING SECURITY CHALLENGES IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX LANDSCAPE” Leading experts and practitioners from around the world gathered virtually to address the evolution of global security challenges compounded by geopolitical dynamics and the COVID-19 pandemic. LINK TO REPORT (New York, NY – January 14, 2021) The 2020 Global Security Forum (GSF) took place (virtually) from 16-19 November, 2020. Through a series of interactive sessions, the 2020 event addressed the topic, “A New World (Dis)order? Managing Security Challenges in an Increasingly Complex Landscape.” The event underscored the need for the international community to work together to address contemporary security challenges, with governments marshalling the innovation of the private sector, civil society and harnessing the fortitude and compassion of their citizens. Key themes raised over the four-day event included: a strategic assessment of national, regional, and international security challenges; changes in the production and consumption of information; the impact of disinformation; and popular responses to such threats and narratives. 2020’s complex geopolitical landscape The 2020 Global Security Forum commenced with a fireside chat with Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien, United States National Security Advisor. Reflecting on America’s leadership and the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Ambassador O’Brien assured “a very professional transition from the National Security Council” with the incoming Biden Administration. A discussion with H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, touched upon the long-standing partnership between Qatar and the United States, among other regional and international matters. -
“THE REPORT” Viewer Information and Discussion Guide
“THE REPORT” Viewer Information and Discussion Guide PAGE 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 2 CHARACTER DETAILS Daniel J. Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 3 Dianne Feinstein ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ page 4 Denis McDonough ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 5 John Owen Brennan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 6 James Elmer Mitchell ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 7 Martin Heinrich --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 7 George Tenet ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 8 Sheldon Whitehouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 9 John A. Rizzo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
Ali Soufan (Former FBI Special Agent) 7.5.12
Ali Soufan (Former FBI Special Agent) 7.5.12 Q: I had asked you about the assertion that, not that you disagreed with that point of view as expressed by Rodriguez and those others, but at how the facts were at odds with the truth, I believe. How so? A: There’s nothing new, if you read what the proponents of enhanced interrogation techniques are saying, there’s nothing new. It’s the same story, being repeated again and again. Q: Nothing ‘new,’ I’m sorry, you said… A: There’s nothing new, nothing new whatsoever. Not with Mr. Rodriguez, not before him with some other people who also wrote books and had allegedly access to one side of the story. People who are talking about these kind of things, really, were never there, never saw what’s happening, never saw what’s going on. And I like to talk only about the Abu Zubaydah situation because… for two reasons: number one is Abu Zubaydah’s case has been used as the case study of success. Number two, it was a case that I was involved in, before I got PNG’ed (made persona non grata, ie expelled) from the program. So that’s why I don’t talk about what happened with KSM or what happened… you know, I let the facts talk about themselves with all the declassified documents from the CIA, from the FBI, from DoJ, from the military. The facts are there. But I talk about Abu Zubaydah because I was there. And there were claims that the identity of KSM came because of waterboarding. -
Countering Violent Extremism the Counter Narrative Study
! COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM THE COUNTER NARRATIVE STUDY “Countering the Narratives of Violent Extremism FOREWORD The Achilles’ heel of our strategy against terrorism and violent extremism has been the failure to counter the narratives that groups use to recruit. As long as groups attract a steady stream of new members, the terrorism and violence will continue. This is why the strategy known as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) is so important, and must be used as a counterterrorism tool alongside military, intelligence, and law enforcement operations. Through our partnership with the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies (QIASS), we offer critical guidance to those wishing to counter the narratives of violence and extremism. “Countering Violent Extremism: The Counter-Narrative Study” is the result of a year- long research project conducted by our team of former top law enforcement, intelligence, and counterterrorism officials. We traveled around the world, from Malaysia to Kenya to Norway to Northern Ireland to the United States, studying extremist and terrorist groups and interviewing their members, as well as those in government and other important stakeholders responsible for tackling the problem. As you will see from our “Findings,” we’ve put together some essential lessons. One of the most important takeaways is understanding the pattern(s) behind group recruitment. Terrorist and extremist groups first prey on local grievances—exploiting feelings of anger, humiliation, resentment, or lack of purpose. They then incorporate, into their violent pronouncements, conspiratorial messages that blame those they are targeting. Self-proclaimed religious groups use distorted religious edicts in their narratives. Recruiters achieve success by providing both answers and a sense of purpose to vulnerable individuals. -
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
BOOK REVIEWS for the utility of digital expression made are far broader and go The Looming Tower: is thorough and has signifi cant to the heart of the university Al-Qaeda and the road merit. In seizing the power of system—online or off. Despite to 9/11 images as well as words, it is likely the tenuous link to the topic by Lawrence Wright that mechanisms such as ‘kinetic of his book, this chapter was text’ have the potential to convey particularly satisfying, with a Allen Lane meaning more effectively, and structured, convincing argument. London, 2006 restore a sense of ‘stuff’ to the Lanham probably overestimates 480pp, £20 ‘fl uff’ of communication. the potential for online courses to ISBN 9780713999730 Lanham overestimates the solve the problems raised, but his flexibility of such modes of criticisms are valid. expression, however, failing to One of the most compelling acknowledge limitations such critiques is of the assumption in awrence Wright’s background as lack of uniformity, restricted many universities that the faculty Lis a unique mix of journalism, accessibility and larger space should be employed full-time in academia and screenwriting. He requirements. It is telling that the the sequestered environment of a was one of the co-writers of the website Lanham directs readers learning institution and that the movie The Siege and he draws to, in order to see animations of administration exists to protect on this eclectic background certain fi gures that are featured in the faculty from the real world. to produce an engaging, well the book, is in the form that the This attitude is deeply frustrating researched and analytical book. -
2018.12.03 Bonner Soufan Complaint Final for Filing 4
Case 1:18-cv-11256 Document 1 Filed 12/03/18 Page 1 of 19 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X : : RAYMOND BONNER and ALEX GIBNEY, Case No. 18-cv-11256 : Plaintiffs, : : -against- : : COMPLAINT CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, : : Defendant. : : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X INTRODUCTION 1. This complaint for declaratory relief arises out of actions taken by defendant Central Intelligence Agency (“CIA”) that have effectively gagged the speech of former Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Special Agent Ali Soufan in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The gag imposed upon Mr. Soufan is part of a well-documented effort by the CIA to mislead the American public about the supposedly valuable effects of torture, an effort that has included deceptive and untruthful statements made by the CIA to Executive and Legislative Branch leaders. On information and belief, the CIA has silenced Mr. Soufan because his speech would further refute the CIA’s false public narrative about the efficacy of torture. 2. In 2011, Mr. Soufan published a personal account of his service as a top FBI interrogator in search of information about al-Qaeda before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Soufan’s original manuscript discussed, among other things, his role in the FBI’s interrogation of a high-value detainee named Zayn Al-Abidin Muhammed Husayn, more commonly known as Abu Zubaydah. Soufan was the FBI’s lead interrogator of Zubaydah while he was being held at Case 1:18-cv-11256 Document 1 Filed 12/03/18 Page 2 of 19 a secret CIA black site. -
Bill Clinton Bibliography - 2002 Thru 2020*
Bill Clinton Bibliography - 2002 thru 2020* Books African American Journalists Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream by Wayne Dawkins PN4882.5 .D38 2003 African American Women Cotton Field of Dreams: A Memoir by Janis Kearney F415.3.K43 K43 2004 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna Brazile E185.96 .B829 2018 African Americans--Biography Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream by Bertie Bowman E185.97 .B78 A3 2008 African Americans--Civil Rights Brown Versus Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution KF4155 .B758 2003 A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution by David Nichols E836 .N53 2007 Winning While Losing: Civil Rights, the Conservative Movement, and the Presidency From Nixon to Obama edited by Kenneth Osgood and Derrick White E185.615 .W547 2013 African Americans--Politics and Government Bill Clinton and Black America by DeWayne Wickham E886.2 .W53 2002 Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton from Hope to Harlem by Janis Kearney E886.2 .K43 2006 African Americans--Social Conditions The Mark of Criminality: Rhetoric, Race, and Gangsta Rap in the War-on-crime Era * This is a non-annotated continuation of Allan Metz’s, Bill Clinton: A Bibliography. 1 by Bryan McCann ML3531 .M3 2019 Air Force One (Presidential Aircraft) Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency by Von Hardesty TL723 .H37 2003 Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes by Kenneth Walsh TL723 .W35 -
Hizbullah, Al-Qaeda, and IS. Robert Andrew Hodges
Ideological Foundations of Jihadist Organizations: Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, and IS. Robert Andrew Hodges Thesis submitted to the faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Political Science Bettina Koch Ilja Luciak Yannis Stivachtis June 27, 2017 Blacksburg, Virginia Keyword: Jihadist organization, ideology, religion, socio-political, Hizbullah, al- Qaeda, ISIS Copyright 2017, Robert Andrew Hodges Ideological Foundations of Jihadist Organizations: Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, and IS. Robert Andrew Hodges ABSTRACT This thesis explores the ideological foundations of three jihadist organizations, Hizbullah, al- Qaeda, and Islamic State (IS). All three are categorized as international terrorist organizations but their goals differ. Hizbullah seeks to alter the government within Lebanon, al-Qaeda seeks to eliminate Western influences in Muslim inhabited territories, and IS seeks to create a caliphate within a large portion of the Middle East. The similarities and differences of these three organizations will be illuminated through this examination. The primary focus of the examination focuses on their religious teachings and discourse, as this is a critical aspect of their ideologies. Through this examination, the differences in discourse coinciding with the differing goals of each organization is presented. The discourse of each organization facilitates their goals, recruitment of fighters, and explanation of their actions. Self/other identification is a commonality of all three ideologies but the identification of the other is different according to each organizations goals. This thesis will highlight this aspect and allow for further discussion of the three organizations in future research. The conclusion will allow for discussion as to who gains and maintains power and whether religion is a base or merely a tool for this power. -
Sayyid Qutb's Ties to Extremists
Sayyid Qutb’s Ties to Extremists www.counterextremism.com | @FightExtremism Sayyid Qutb’s Ties to Extremists Key Points Qutb was a chief ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt who was also widely popular on the Egyptian street. The Egyptian government executed him in 1966 for promoting the overthrow of the state. Qutb popularized the concepts of takfir— excommunication of Muslim apostates—and jahiliyya— the deplorable state of ignorance prior to the revelation of the Quran that has enveloped the secular Muslim community as well as non-Muslims. Qutb wrote that only the creation of an Islamic state ruled by sharia (Islamic law) could end the state of jahiliyya. Qutb is widely considered the progenitor of the modern jihadist movement as his writings directly inspired the Muslim Brotherhood and notorious extremists who passed through the organization, including Osama bin Laden of al-Qaeda, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi of ISIS, and the founders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 1 2 Often referred to as the father of modern Islamism, Egyptian author Sayyid Qutb was a lead theologian of the Muslim Brotherhood in the mid-20th century. Qutb’s hardline interpretations of the Quran and his excoriation of the failures of Western society inspired the modern jihadist movement and led the Egyptian government to execute him in 1966. His influence can be seen in violent groups such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban, and among such notable extremists such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Terrorism expert Paul Berman at one point dubbed Qutb “the intellectual hero of every one of the groups that eventually went into Al Qaeda, their Karl Marx (to put it that way), their guide.”1 Qutb’s writings helped inform the Islamist ideology known as Qutbism, which advocates violent jihad—including the killing of secular Muslims—in order to implement sharia (Islamic law).