Two months after the September 11 attacks , Alter wrote an article for '' Newsweek '' called " Time to think about torture " which became one of his best-known articles . In the column , he suggested that the U.S. might need to " rethink ... old assumptions about law enforcement " . Stating that " some torture clearly works " , he suggested the nation should " keep an open mind about certain measures to fight terrorism , like court-sanctioned psychological interrogation " , and consider transferring some prisoners to other countries with less stringent rules on torture . While Alter did not advocate physical torture , he later wrote in his book " Between the Lines " that he regretted writing the article . Alter was a fierce critic of President George W. Bush , emphasizing what he considered Bush 's lack of accountability and his position on embryonic stem cell research . Alter , a cancer survivor , has written about his own bout with lymphoma and experience with an autologous adult stem cell transplant . Despite calling Bush 's tone " destructive to American interests , " Alter supported Bush 's invasion of Iraq , writing in February 2003 , " Osama Bin Laden hit us on 9/11 because he thought we were soft and would not respond . Weakness now would further embolden Saddam Hussein . " On NBC 's '' Today Show '' , Alter was the correspondent for several stories about the effect of the Iraq War on returning veterans . '' The Defining Moment , '' which was reviewed respectfully , surprised some critics with its analysis which concluded that the United States had come very close to dictatorship before Franklin D. Roosevelt became president , painting him as the savior of American democracy and capitalism . During an interview with '' 60 Minutes '' on November 14 , 2008 , then-President-elect Barack Obama said he had recently been reading '' The Defining Moment '' and hoped to apply some of Roosevelt 's strategies that were outlined in the book into his own administration
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Jonathan Alter