The following is a transcript of notes taken at the interrogation of Al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah. It was released by the C.I.A. at the request of Vice President Dick Cheney in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation techniques approved by the president.
1. Ha! Is this waterboard supposed to Read More
This is a story about how the internet works. Late at night a few days ago I did a a somewhat nasty item about Valerie Plame Wilson’s reported $2.5 million advance for a book telling what she’d done in the CIA. Within a few hours, I got a very thoughtful response from Steve— Read More
Valerie (Plame) (Wilson)—who can be sure which name to parenthesize?—is said to be getting $2.5 million for a memoir of her life as a CIA analyst, demonstrating that the leaking of her name is the best thing that ever happened to her career.
Much as I hope this case will take down the Read More
On Tuesday, Jan. 3, New York Times reporter James Risen’s book, State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, arrived in bookstores.
Usually when a reporter’s book hits the shelves, it’s an occasion to congratulate him for his coverage, and his paper for printing the stories on which the book Read More
My Life in CIA: A Chronicle of 1973, by Harry Mathews. Dalkey Archive Press, 203 pages, $13.95.
A few weeks ago, the arts section of The New York Times turned its solemn eye on literary fiction. On Monday, the fine novelist and short-story writer Steve Stern got conscripted as the surely reluctant poster boy for Read More
