The Ploy
The inside story of how the interrogators of Task Force 145 cracked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s inner circle—without resorting to torture—and hunted down al-Qaeda’s man in Iraq
May 2007
In This Issue
Mark Bowden, "The Ploy"; Nadya Labi, "The Kingdom in the Closet"; David Samuels, "Let's Die Together"; Gershom Gorenberg, "The Minister for National Fears"; Andrew Bacevich on military activism; Caitlin Flanagan on abortion; Marc Ambinder on Hillary's husband; Michael Hirschorn hails reality TV; Virginia Postrel sees fashion as art; and much more.
Features
The Kingdom in the Closet
Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is “easier to be gay than straight” in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet
The Minister for National Fears
With the collapse of the center in Israeli politics, and the growing menace of Iran, Avigdor Lieberman’s extremist views may suddenly become mainstream.
Let’s Die Together
Why is anonymous group suicide so popular in Japan?
Humor
This is the 15th in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine’s 150th anniversary. For the full text of these articles, visit www.theatlantic.com/ideastour.
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Warrior Politics
Why we should worry about the military's increased political assertiveness
Calendar
Immigrants on parade; Scottish pride; Korea's transgendered pop stars
Primary Sources
Presidential tea leaves; open-market elves; the fine art of sword-swallowing
Breaking Away
Serious trouble is brewing in Iraq’s one quiet corner: the Kurdish north.
Iran in Iraq
The Atlantic recently asked a group of foreign-policy authorities about Iran's role in the Iraq conflict
Running Mate
What role will Hillary’s husband play in the campaign?
When the Buck Stops
The age of the dollar has been great for America—but it may end soon.
Books
Stalin’s Gift
Stalin on the Eastern Front
The Sanguine Sex
Abortion and the bloodiness of being female
New Fiction
Acceptance, by Susan Coll
One Fraught Englishman
The turbulent life of Kingsley Amis
Travels With Their Aunts
Freeloading aesthetes and the women who kept them
Cover to Cover
A guide to additional releases: the history of the car bomb; Ralph Ellison; the annals of impotence; and more
The Skeleton Coast
A safari by air over Namibia’s haunting sands [Web only: "Above Namibia ." A narrated photo essay.]
The Supermarket of the Future
An exciting new Italian bazaar makes Whole Foods look like the A&P—and it’s coming to America.
Dress Sense
Why fashion deserves its place in art museums [Web only: Slideshow: "Museums in Fashion."]
Group Therapy
New programs ease the frustration of working with others online.
The Case for Reality TV
What the snobs don’t understand
Word Fugitives
Mockingbird blu; technological no-how
Also in this issue
Poetry
Acceptance Speech
[with audio]
