As seen on 60 Minutes A New York Times bestselling, explosive memoir about the creation and implementation of the controversial enhanced interrogation techniques by the former Chief Operations Officer for the CIA’s Center for Counterterrorism. Former Chief of the CIA’s Center for Counterterrorism, Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr., reveals how, in the wake of 9/11, government-approved hard measures used on captured high-level al-Qa’ida operatives derailed terrorist threats to the US, contributed to the capture of Osama bin Laden, and saved countless American lives. That is, until initial support gave way to shortsighted political correctness, leaving those responsible for protecting our nation second-guessed, hamstrung, and investigated. In effect, the United States has chosen to willfully and unilaterally disarm itself in the war on terror. Rodriguez melds his fascinating life story with a reasoned, previously untold, and convincing case for hard measures. Fully disclosing explosive details of when and how they were used, and why these methods were necessary, he offers a rare insider’s look at an issue that seizes public attention and inspires vigorous debate. In Hard Measures, Rodriguez convincingly argues for the techniques used, and uncompromisingly details when these techniques were necessary, why they worked, and how, ultimately, they contributed to the capture of the world’s most-wanted terror operatives, including Usama bin Ladin. From law school student to CIA recruit to his role as America’s top spy, Rodriguez’s full story is one of utmost importance—a rare, insider’s look at an issue that demands attention. Above all, it’s a reasoned, imperative, and fully informed case for hard measures, and an explosive and gripping account of the real war on terror— where it’s been and where it’s headed. *** Terrorism has always been one of the toughest targets on which to collect intelligence. The secrets you want to steal frequently don’t reside in computer systems, which can be hacked, or safes, which can be broken into, but in the inner recesses of a handful of individuals’ minds. The cliché about intelligence work is that it is like working on a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle but not having the box top to show you what the finished picture should look like. If only it were that easy. In fact, it is more like working on a million-piece puzzle with no box top, and having millions more random pieces that look like they might fit, but actually are from different puzzles altogether. It fell to us to make sense of the countless fragments of information and to take action on the chunks of the puzzle, which represented a real and growing threat to the United States and our allies. —from Hard Measures