The Interrogators: Inside the Secret War Against Al Qaeda

by Greg Miller and Chris Mackey

Book Overview

More than 3,000 prisoners in the war on terrorism have been captured, held, and interrogated in Afghanistan alone. But no one knows what transpired in those interactions between prisoner and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316871125
• ISBN13: 9780316871129
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 484 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

a truthful look at early interrogation in Afghanistan

The Interrogators by Chris Mackey and Greg Miller is a first person account of Army interrogators just after September 11. The book is written from Army Reserve Sergeant Mackey's perspective and through his eyes we learn about some of the training interrogators go through and then their experience in Afghanistan. Mackey discusses the various interrogation methods used by the Army and how strictly they stayed to the Geneva Conventions even though President Bush declared the Conventions did not apply. Mackey served his year in Afghanistan from the start of that war and he notes in the book what was not permissible when they began the war was acceptable when his war ended and he notes in the epilogue how he views the slippery slope from the mild forms of interrogation his unit engaged in could become Abu Grahib years later. The methods Mackey viewed as the last resort became the starting point for the interrogators who came after. The Interrogators is not simply a narrative of Mackey's career. It focuses as much or more so on the other interrogators in the unit and the men and women Mackey led in interrogation. He discusses technique and what sort of resistance they faced from prisoners and how advanced some of the resistance techniques were. This is an engrossing book and at times I wondered if he should be sharing all of this, but I imagine most of the reading public will not be interrogated by the Army and even knowing the game that is being run does not make one immune to it. Either way, The Interrogators is an excellent book about Army interrogation and while it cannot dispel the image of the brutal interrogation tactics Iraq has been known for, it does show a different side of interrogation...not a kinder, softer side, but one which has respect for the law and for the Geneva Conventions. It also shows the stress and the exhaustion interrogators put themselves through. Worth reading? Absolutely. -Joe Sherry

This is a Great Book

This book was my favorite book of all time. It reads like a novel--not bland or dry. Yet it provides so much insight into real world events. If you're looking for on-the-ground details, it gives them. If you're looking for a touch of political/foreign policy discussion, it gives it. The bottom line is that this book gives it all. The author is great and writes easy to read stuff without a bias. This is a great book. Read it and you won't be disappointed.

The Kid, the Colonel and the Bearded Ladies

This book is a bit MASH and Three Kings. That The Interrogators is destined for the big screen is a testament to two things: its easy read, and its fantasy over substance. I do not doubt SFC Mackey's experiences. I do not question the authenticity of events. Greg Miller does a great job with Mackey, by creating a work that does less to get a reader lost in jargon and more to keep the reader involved. The story moves fluidly, and does a good job of keeping the reader entertained. Mackey really captures the spirit of reserve soldiers, especially at the beginning of the second Gulf War: gung-ho, but not as well-equipped or prepared as they should have been. [I will add that I do not disparage the efforts of the reserve soldiers. The lack of preparedness and equipment was/is based on national fiscal policies unrelated to the willingness of reservists/guardsmen to contribute to national security policy] When I read this book, almost four years after the US' "War on Terror" started, I found myself thinking of the people who remain doing the work of the Mackeys today. The men and women of the US military who continue the interrogations may not face the same sense of urgency as they did in the early days of the mission, but they face the same hurdles, adversaries and bureaucracy. Chris Mackey gives a thoughtful and entertaining look behind the curtain of an endless and nebulous "war" our government is waging. If you don't believe for an instant that a kid, a colonel and some bearded ladies are being interrogated behind a curtain by people that don't subscribe to a Fox News mentality, then you may need to draw back your curtain.

The New Handbook on How to Interrogate Terrorists

As an Army Military Intelligence officer, interrogator, and Iraq War veteran, THE INTERROGATORS is a must-read for anyone wanting to know what it was like literally facing terrorists and then breaking them down mentally to reveal their own secrets in an effort to save lives. Chris Mackey's detailed firsthand account of interrogations of Taliban fighters and Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom is riveting. He sheds light on the shadowy world of Human Intelligence collection, formerly known as interrogation, and doesn't hesitate to go into detail of how interrogations are done, and how prisoners are broken to cooperate without even being touched, much less tortured. As one who knows firsthand how sensitive the tactics, techniques and procedures of interrogation are, I found it very surprising that the Pentagon approved so much of what is written in this book. Mackey's scathing rebuke of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq only highlights the morality of his position against using torture. Mackey explains why torture is counterproductive, and would not have been ordered by interrogators in Iraq, as has been revealed in recent Army investigations. Mackey brings the reader into the interrogation "booth" to face the terrorists, and shows how his small and overworked band of intelligence professionals spend countless hours attempting to twist their emotions inside and out, even to the brink of insanity and exhaustion, to get them to talk. Mackey deserves the gratitude of every freedom-loving person for his selfless sacrifice to face these monsters and make the world a little safer for the rest of us.

Explores the shadowy world of interrogation in our own time

"Chris Mackey" is the pseudonym of a senior US Army Intelligence interrogator during the first year of the war in Afghanistan, He relates in great detail his own experiences in confronting captured Afghans and Arabs and trying to discover their true stories, innocent farmers and hardened terrorists alike. Mackey's own intelligence and strong moral sense stand out in his tale, asking hard questions of himself, his comrades, and his country. When we are faced with the certainty that some small number of American soldiers mistreated prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is important to realize, as Mackey shows, that this was not the standard that most of the interrogators operated by. Chris Mackey provides us with an intimate day-to-day portrait of what went on in this particular battlefield of the war against terrorism, a battlefield that sometimes yielded small victories because of the skill and dedication of these soldiers enduring long hours and difficult conditions. And he gives us a picture of how men and women react to those conditions, some growing, some eroding. Most importantly, Mackey shines a light on to difficult questions of morality, not giving absolute answers, but forcing us to think about them in a new light. Anyone who wishes to understand the challenges facing us in this shadow world should read this book.