“In the real world, it doesn’t happen”

A senior FBI investigator, who spent years tracking Osama bin Laden and interrogating members of al-Qaeda, calls the “ticking time bomb” scenario “a bit of a red herring” and notes that the best way to elevate two-bit terrorists into legendary martyrs is to torture them. He also talks about what makes an Al-Qaeda worker bee break down crying (it isn’t the prospect of torture).