Hard Measures

How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9-11 Saved American Lives

By: Jose A. Rodriguez Jr.

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From a top-level operative in the counterterrorism unit of the CIA comes an explosive memoir about the behind-the-scenes fight against Al Qaeda after September 11.

Since the death of Osama Bin Laden, interest in counterterrorism is at an all-time high. Most people don’t know that Bin Laden’s death was the culmination of years of covert operations and tactics largely overseen by Jose Rodriguez from 2001 to late 2007 and built on by his successors.

Like a real-life Jack Bauer from television’s 24, Rodriguez’s sometimes controversial tenure as Chief of the Agency’s Counterterrorism Center involved CIA officers capturing and detaining key senior Al Qaeda operatives and implementing Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, tools which were an integral part of the War on Terror but are no longer available to those fighting America's fiercest foes.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Columbia, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez shares his unlikely journey from law school student to CIA recruit and finally, at the end of a 31-year career, to being America’s top spy. Rodriguez sparked controversy and a three-year investigation by his decision to order the destruction of videotapes showing CIA officers conducting harsh, but what he describes as “legal, necessary, and effective interrogation[s]”.

Riveting and timely, Hard Measures also examines how the current political climate and resulting policies have negatively impacted the CIA’s efficiency - even taking away the mechanisms that made feats like the successful Bin Laden operation possible.

©2012 Jose A. Rodriguez Jr (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Jose Rodriguez guided some of the CIA's greatest counterterror victories, and his story is one of courage, commitment, and decisiveness. In this book, he provides concrete details about the value of the Agency's interrogation program of terrorists - a program which thwarted terrorist attacks and has made America safer." (General Michael V. Hayden, USAF [Ret.] Former Director of Central Intelligence)

Not politically slanted as I expected

If you could sum up Hard Measures in three words, what would they be?

First hand account

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The author explained the process so precisely & gave the reader the best understanding of the motives and logic behind the decisions that are used within the intel community to keep our citizens safe. I trust now, even less than I ever have, the media for taking the work of these individuals so far out of context. The sad thing is, so much has been revealed as a result of the fact that the CIA had to defend themselves that we may less safe as a nation than before this issue was raised.

What does Sean Pratt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

That the folks within the Intel Community are humans too!

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

How blatantly un-American our Liberal media has become.

Any additional comments?

Very definately worth the time to read/listen!

Thank You

Thank you for your service, you are a true HERO.
It's truly a sad chapter in our history when Americans should be rallying to support our government officials for protecting our way of life, instead choose to condemn those who provide our freedoms.
People want to enjoy their filet mignon,then turn around and protest with PETA!

Good discussion on rendition and interrogation

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I don't have the credentials to layout this argument.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The discussion on what exactly waterboarding is, how it was used, what information came from it's use and the fact that we do it to all of our own special forces people as part of their training.

Which character – as performed by Sean Pratt – was your favorite?

Jose

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Rendition often resulted in prisoners being returned to us in less than satisfactory condition so we found it necessary to interrogate our prisoners ourselves.

Any additional comments?

The funny part is, when the interrogation practices the CIA uses were demonstrated on CIA agents for the Obama administration their reaction was " is that really all you guys do?"

That's a story that needed to be told!

Written by a person who led the interrogation of some of the worst terrorists....and he justifies the treatment those killers deserve!

fantastic

amazing book. informative, god bless the cia and armed forces fighting terror all over the world.

the truth

great story about how politician hang people trying to the right thing out to dry.

One of the best books on the war on terror!

This is by far the magnum opus of terrorism history books. You can't get any more direct than from the man who ran the Counter-Terrorism Center for the CIA. Most of the books I read (or listen to) are pretty good. But this book is great, in fact, it's perfect. I was very sad to hear it end.

It's because of men like Jose Rodriguez, that I am able to sit inside the US and write this review. Thank you to such a great American hero.

In addition to this book, I highly recommend Marc Thiessen's Courting Disaster book.

Great insight - fascinating reading

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely a must read for all American patriots. This is a great account on what went on with with the non-existant "tourture" and the men and women who protect this country every day.

What other book might you compare Hard Measures to and why?

It is the real "Mitch Rapp" book.

What does Sean Pratt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent recount of the history.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I listened to the book in one day.

Any additional comments?

It is comforting that there are still man and women who serve and protect the people not the politicians who spinn facts to support thier own needs.

paid the penalty for a tough decision

He essentially destroyed Ali Soufan and other fakers who wrote books to try and remain in the government after the hiring boom after 03-04. He also corroborated enough of John Rizzo's book to seem believable.

Most of the things in there are factual, but until it is all released in about 50 years, we will never know All of it, just broad strokes from his account.

The ending is kind of his justification for writing the book, as most of these retirees do, they bought a house somewhere and are having a tough time getting a job on the outside. It's not a politically motivated book, but there are some valid points where he calls out Clinton, Bush, and Obama as well as Senators like Pelosi and McCain.

Important Background from Someone Who was There

This book is an excellent account. I learned a lot about the CIA's actions to fight and disrupt Al Qaeda after 9/11. I've had misgivings about the interrogation program and "enhanced interrogation techniques," but I'm so glad to hear an account from someone who was involved in counter-terrorism at the time. It confirms my suspicion that media reports on top-secret programs do not always tell the whole story. I still wonder about the moral acceptability of the interrogation techniques, but this book helps to explain exactly how they were done and what effect they had.

The last part of the book is mostly about the bureaucratic infighting and investigations that followed the press accounts of the interrogations and so-called "black sites" and the investigation of the author's decision to destroy video tapes of interrogations. Overall, this last part of the book was more tedious. It has some value for understanding how long-running investigations and uncertainty can cloud someone's life and make it difficult to move forward. On the other hand, that point could have been made more succinctly.

Finally, the performance by Sean Pratt was excellent. Reading speed was good, and there were virtually no examples of emphasizing the wrong word, which makes it difficult to follow some other audio book performances.