IS JAKE TAPPER DOOMED?

THE CNN ANCHOR ON THE WAR ON TERROR, THREATS TO FREE SPEECH, AND THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

- interview by NICK GILLESPIE

CNN JOURNALIST JAKE Tapper’s latest book, Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War, tells the little-known story of an Al Qaeda operative who surrendered to Italian authorities in 2011 and claimed to have carried out attacks that killed American soldiers.

With no evidence to prove the murders happened, two assistant U.S. prosecutors traveled around the world to investigate his claims and build a case. The book shows how early counterterrorism decisions shaped the broader global war on terror.

Tapper is a longtime reporter and, since 2013, the host of The Lead with Jake Tapper; his other books range from political nonfiction to historical thrillers. In October, he spoke with Reason’s Nick Gillespie about Race Against Terror and why the story it tells still matters today. They also discussed threats to free speech, President Donald Trump, the shortcomings of legacy media outlets, and how the industry is adapting to a new era.

Reason: The new book takes us back 25 years almost, to 9/11, Afghanistan, and the beginning of what was called the global war on terror. What brought you back to this topic? You've already written about Afghanistan.

Tapper: I heard about it from one of the prosecutors randomly at a birthday party—at my son’s birthday party, in fact—and what was interesting to me about it was the detective story, the true crime story. He and his colleagues had to prove a criminal case that would be upheld in court against a terrorist for actions on the battlefield that took place in 2003 and an attempt to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria not long after that. And all of the sleuthing and the detective work that they all had to do—it was just this incredible story about all the stuff I love from police procedurals like CSI or Cold Case.