The black banners : the inside story of 9/11 and the war against al-Qaeda / Ali H. Soufan with Daniel Freedman ; [map by Adrian Kitzinger]

Includes bibliographical references.

The early years. -- The Fatwa and the bet ; Osama Air ; The Northern group -- Declaration of war. The al-Qaeda switchboard ; Operation Challenge and the Manchester Manual ; "You'll be singing like a canary" ; Millennium plot -- USS Cole. A naval destroyer in Yemen? ; The Hall of Death ; "We're stubborn, but we're not crazy" ; The human polygraph machine ; "What is al-Qaeda doing in Malaysia?" ; Bin Laden's errand boy -- The attack that changed the world. The Binalshibh riddle ; "What dots?" ; The Father of Death -- A new world order. Bin Laden's escape ; DocEx ; Black magic -- The first high-value detainee. Abu Zubaydah ; The contractors take over ; "We don't do that" -- Successes and failures. Guantánamo Bay ; 45 minutes ; The Crystal Ball memo -- Final missions. Leaving the FBI ; Undercover.

A former FBI special agent offers an insider's account of how the September 11th attacks could have been prevented, as well as his role in the war on terror, including his highly effective interrogation efforts.