Interrogating the enemy in Iraq

December 2, 12:08 PMIndependent ExaminerBrian Trent

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A book on interrogating, by an interrogator

Matthew Alexander (not his real name for security reasons) was an interrogations team leader assigned to a Special Operations task force in Iraq. His team captured terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom he calls “one of the most notorious mass murderers of our generation.”

Zarqawi is a leading figure in Al-Qaeda. After the deposing of Saddam Hussein, he saw fit to turn Iraq into the new battle ground/breeding ground for chaos, violence, and terrorism. He masterminded a strategic series of suicide bombings in order to shatter the fragile new order and push Iraq deeper and deeper into civil war.

Alexander’s team successfully hunted this man down. They interrogated Iraqis, sifted through information, and found their quarry.

So how does Alexander feel about using torture to achieve his ends? What does he think of the Geneva Convention in our new age of fighting extremists?

Here’s a hint: Alexander is the co-author of the book “How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq.”

He writes:

"I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there to fight were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraiband Guantanamo. Our policy of torture was directly and swiftly recruiting fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The large majority of suicide bombings in Iraq are still carried out by these foreigners. They are also involved in most of the attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse."

This, from an interrogator ('gator, as he often refers to the job) who was successful at apprehending a truly dangerous man. And he adds,

"Such outrages are inconsistent with American principles. And then there's the pragmatic side: Torture and abuse cost American lives."

Alexander's latest interview is here.