How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq è un libro segnatato da Democracy now (ripreso poi da BoingBoing) e scritto da Matthew Alexander, pseudonimo sotto cui si firma un ex “addetto” agli interrogatori dell’esercito statunitense, e dallo studioso di storia militare John Bruning per raccontare la caccia e l’eliminazione di Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. Definita una “stranger-than-fiction story of the intelligence operation”, la vicenda, uscita all’inizio di questo mese per Free Press di Simon & Schuster, viene presentata in questi termini dal Time:

It’s a claustrophobic read. Alexander didn’t do anything for months but eat, sleep and interrogate prisoners. Many of the book’s scenes take place in interview booths—Alexander, his partner, an interpreter and the bad guy. It’s often gripping, as the participants volley back and forth with verbal attacks, strategies and approaches, making for a surprisingly cerebral war book. That tight focus does, however, leave large gaps. Alexander scarcely discusses the theories behind his interrogation strategy, its derivation or whether the U.S. military continues to use it. Such things are forgotten as the book winds down into a tense one-on-one with the man who can potentially hand over al-Zarqawi, but a fuller epilogue could have broadened the story beyond this single set of circumstances.

Oltre all’intervista di Democracy now, qui si può ascoltare l’mp3 con l’intervista ad Alexander messa online da Antiwar Radio.