An Extraordinary Officer: The Exception to the Rule
Ali Soufan is a naturalized American citizen who recently published a memoir of his stint working for the FBI. He describes his experience interrogating members of al-Qaeda in order to obtain actionable intelligence on subsequent operations. He also details some of the more serious problems caused by "enhanced" interrogation methods and the practice of rendering suspects to despotic regimes. Soufan's memoir is a must-read for anyone looking for sinister activity on the part of the American intelligence community. The fact that Soufan found refuge in the private sector is a testament to the bitter in-fighting he encountered while working for the Bureau.
Soufan is not a typical Hoover boy. he does not fit the mold of the corn-fed fundamentalist Christian zealot that people think of when they think of the FBI. He did not grow up in the rabidly anti-Communist environment of the American bosom. He did not spend time kowtowing to the American flag each day as a young child. His wealth of experience made him an exceptional FBI officer.
J. Edgar Hoover once remarked that he refused to read the Washington Post because it reminded him of the Daily Worker. This gives you an idea of the closed nature of the mind at the top of the organization back in the day. When he was alive, people lived in fear of his ruthless methods. A visit from the FBI to the workplace often resulted in dismissal. Visits to neighbors could precipitate isolation of an entire family from a community. The Bureau used mere suspicion as a weapon against free thought and free association. The Bureau worked with local police forces to sow the seeds of internacine conflict among dissident groups. Ward Churchill documents some of their tactics in his book on the Bureau, Agents of Repression.
Soufan contrasts sharply with W. Cleon Skousen who fits the mold of the Hoover boy to a tee. The latter served as the inspiration for Glenn Beck and his brand of conspiracy crusading. It is refreshing to see that the Bureau has opened its ranks to a more cosmopolitan breed of recruits such as Soufan. It goes to show that reform is possible in the most unlikely places.
Do you have any experience with the tactics of the FBI?
Soufan is not a typical Hoover boy. he does not fit the mold of the corn-fed fundamentalist Christian zealot that people think of when they think of the FBI. He did not grow up in the rabidly anti-Communist environment of the American bosom. He did not spend time kowtowing to the American flag each day as a young child. His wealth of experience made him an exceptional FBI officer.
J. Edgar Hoover once remarked that he refused to read the Washington Post because it reminded him of the Daily Worker. This gives you an idea of the closed nature of the mind at the top of the organization back in the day. When he was alive, people lived in fear of his ruthless methods. A visit from the FBI to the workplace often resulted in dismissal. Visits to neighbors could precipitate isolation of an entire family from a community. The Bureau used mere suspicion as a weapon against free thought and free association. The Bureau worked with local police forces to sow the seeds of internacine conflict among dissident groups. Ward Churchill documents some of their tactics in his book on the Bureau, Agents of Repression.
Soufan contrasts sharply with W. Cleon Skousen who fits the mold of the Hoover boy to a tee. The latter served as the inspiration for Glenn Beck and his brand of conspiracy crusading. It is refreshing to see that the Bureau has opened its ranks to a more cosmopolitan breed of recruits such as Soufan. It goes to show that reform is possible in the most unlikely places.
Do you have any experience with the tactics of the FBI?