Hard Measures How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives

The New York Timesbestselling memoir about the creation and implementation of the controversial Enhanced Interrogation Techniques by the former Chief Operations Officer for the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. Puerto Rican-born Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr., served the United States for twenty-five years as an undercover officer before bringing his wealth of field knowledge to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. In his riveting and fascinating life story, Rodriguez discloses the undercover operations and tactics implemented during the George W. Bush presidencyapproved by the highest levels of the U.S. government, certified as legal by the Department of Justice, and supported by bipartisan leadership of congressional intelligence oversight committees. But as the shock of 9/11 faded, the tools needed to successfully fight terrorism were banished, and the men and women who volunteered to battle al-Qaeda found themselves second-guessed, hamstrung, and investigatedincluding Rodriguez himself. In Hard Measures, Rodriguez convincingly argues for the techniques used, explaining 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 Osama bin Ladin. From law school student to CIA recruit to his role as America's top spy, Rodriguez's full story is 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 a gripping account of the real war on terrorwhere it's been and where it's headed.

Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr., joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1976 and served with the Agency for thirty-one years. At the time of his retirement he was the Director of the National Clandestine Service for the CIA, responsible for the coordination of clandestine human operations for the intelligence community. As a former Director of the Counterterrorism Center, he led the worldwide intelligence collection programs and covert action operations against international terrorist organizations following the ouster of terrorists from Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.

Bill Harlow is the former chief spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency. He was the coauthor of former CIA director George Tenet’s #1 New York Times bestseller At the Center of the Storm, published in 2007. He is a retired Naval Officer who served in top spokesman jobs at the White House, Pentagon, and CIA.