In a New York Times op-ed on April 22, 2009, Ali Soufan, the FBI interrogator of al Qaeda operations chief Abu Zubaydah, wrote: “One of the worst consequences of the use of these harsh [enhanced interrogation] techniques was that it reintroduced the so-called Chinese wall between the C.I.A. and F.B.I., similar to the communications obstacles that prevented us from working together to stop the 9/11 attacks. Because the bureau would not employ these problematic techniques, our agents who knew the most about the terrorists could have no part in the investigation. An F.B.I. colleague of mine who knew more about [9/11 mastermind] Khalid Shaikh Mohammed than anyone in the government was not allowed to speak to him.”
– Ali Soufan, “My Tortured Decision,” The New York Times, April 22, 2009