Coulter Insults Hundreds of Combat Veterans

by: Matthew Alexander

Sun May 03, 2009 at 15:17:35 PM EDT

(This is a piece by Matthew Alexander, the Air Force interrogator responsible obtaining the information that led to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi without resorting to torture or "enhanced interrogation." Alexander's book, "How to Break a Terrorist," was released in 2008 and he has since written for and appeared on major media outlets around the country. - promoted by Brandon Friedman)

On Hannity on April 30th, Ann Coulter criticized me for speaking out against torture, mocking my service and stating "I did not know the Air Force had interrogators."

This is an insult to hundreds of Air Force combat veterans who were trained as interrogators by the U.S. Army as reported in an official release by the Air Force News Service in 2005.

In addition, one of the most experienced interrogators in the U.S. military with experience conducting interrogations dating back to Panama is Colonel Steve Kleinman, an Air Force Reservist.

It is one thing to disagree with my personal opinion about torture, but quite disrespectful to mock the service of hundreds of combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan based on their service in the Air Force. Ann, however, has never conducted an interrogation (or served in combat) so I fail to see why Sean Hannity invited her to comment as an expert on interrogations.

For the record, there were three Air Force interrogators who played a key role in the killing of Zarqawi, and all five Air Force interrogators in my group were awarded Bronze Star Medals for their achievements in Iraq. Yes, the Air Force has interrogators.

Matthew Alexander

Matthew Alexander :: Coulter Insults Hundreds of Combat Veterans

Tags: insult, hannity, Air Force, interrogators, Ann Coulter, Iraq, Zarqawi, (All Tags)

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Coulter Insults Hundreds of Combat Veterans | 7 comments

News to me too... (0.00 / 0)

I didn't watch much of the Coulter spot you posted, but I agree that if she disparaged your service, that was beyond simple free speech. But in my 30 years of active duty, some in Intel, I wasn't aware that the USAF had a significant interrogation presence either. I think if you asked the man-on-the-street, he would attribute nominal interrogation duties to the Army, CIA, Spec. Ops., and the like, but not the fly-boys. New lessons-learned every day.

by: E. Redding @ Sun May 03, 2009 at 15:51:24 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Air Force Interrogators (0.00 / 0)

The Air Force traditionally trains intelligence officers to be strategic debriefers, who have similar skills to interrogators. But given the Army's need for interrogators, they turned to the Air Force starting in 2005 for help (in addition to the other services).

by: Matthew Alexander @ Sun May 03, 2009 at 22:02:50 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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In Any Conflict (0.00 / 0)

Or occupation, the DoD and CiC turn to all the services for either the intellect or special individual sills needed or just warm bodies to fill the voids.

During 'Nam the same thing happened as it did during Korea.

Many of the Navy personal In-Country 'Nam were doing a wide variety of things one would think were covered by Army or Marine, besides riding rivers and coastline or in country support.

'Hearts and Minds, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." -- President Lyndon Johnson

by: jimstaro @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 05:52:03 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

AF Col.Steven K O'Hern retired....... (0.00 / 0)

I placed the link to this on my facebook page, one of the lady friends, who works with the military, came back with this:

Steven K. O'Hern's book: The retired AF COL was director of the Strategic Counterintelligence Directorate of the Multi-National Force in Baghdad, Iraq, from April to September 2005

"Intelligence Wars: Lessons from Baghdad"

Description:
Since the first heady months of the war in Iraq when President Bush celebrated aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln under a "mission accomplished" sign, US forces have been bogged down in a frustrating war of attrition against a largely unseen insurgency that attacks with ambushes and roadside bombs. In this revealing insider's look at the US intelligence community's efforts to fight the insurgency, author Steven K. O'Hern, who served in Iraq in 2005 as a senior intelligence officer, offers a critical assessment of our intelligence failures and suggests ways of improving our ability to fight an often elusive enemy.
O'Hern criticizes America's military leaders for being enamored with high-technology solutions for all situations, including intelligence operations. Essentially, we are still relying on an intelligence system that was designed to beat the Soviet army........More at the book link

'Hearts and Minds, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." -- President Lyndon Johnson

by: jimstaro @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 07:01:41 AM CDT

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Thank you MajorMatthew (0.00 / 0)

And thanks for taking the time to post this. I'm still finishing "The Unforgiving Minute" by Craig Mullaney, But "How to Break a Terrorist" is next up on my reading list.

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama

by: Chris LeJeune @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 10:39:19 AM CDT

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Glad to see that you (0.00 / 0)

are back Major Matthew. You're contributions to this site are quite informative and I always learn something new from them. I'll have to find time to read "How to Break a Terrorist" as soon as finals are over.

by: FredUSMC @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 14:58:46 PM CDT

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I presume ... (0.00 / 0)

she did it in her usual snarky way, but I wouldn't give the ignorant creature the satisfaction of being upset about a comment like that. (You also don't help out those of us who didn't see it in terms of sharing the quotes that mocked your service -- you say "mocking my service and stating....")

by: Fxston @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 16:00:55 PM CDT

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Coulter Insults Hundreds of Combat Veterans | 7 comments

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