The Battle of Algiers

"We have to start from scratch. The only information we have concerns the organizations structure. Lets start from there. Its a pyramid organization made up of a series of sections. These sections, in turn, are made up of triangles. At the apex is the Executive Bureau. The military head of the Executive Bureau finds a competent person and names him section head: No. 1. No. 1 finds two others: Nos. 2 and 3. This makes up the first triangle. Now Nos. 2 and 3 each select two men: Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7. The reason for these geometrics is that each organization member knows only three other members. The one who chose him and the two he himself chose. Contact is made only in writing. Thats why we dont know our adversaries. Because, in point of fact, they dont know each other."

"We need to have the Kasbah at our disposal. We have to sift through it and interrogate everyone. And thats where we find ourselves hindered by a conspiracy of laws and regulations that continue to operate as if Algiers were a holiday resort and not a battleground. Weve requested a carte blanche, but thats very difficult to obtain. Therefore, its necessary to find an excuse to legitimize our intervention and make it possible. Its necessary to create this for ourselves, this excuse. Unless our adversaries think of it themselves, which seems to be what theyre doing."

"The word "torture" doesnt appear in our orders. Weve always spoken of interrogation as the only valid method in a police operation directed against unknown enemies. As for the NLF, they request that their members, in the event of capture, should maintain silence for twenty-four hours, and then they may talk. So, the organization has already had the time it needs to render any information useless. What type of interrogation should we choose, the one the courts use for a murder case, that drags on for months?"

"[distributing the bomb baskets to female FLN fighters] Air France, Rue Mauritania. The café, Rue Michelet. The milk bar, Rue dIsly. The bomb timers are short. Theyll be set outside the Casbah. Taleb is waiting for you at the fish market. But then you must hurry. You only have 30 minutes to place them. Good luck. Good luck. God be with you."

"We arent madmen or sadists, gentlemen. Those who call us Fascists today, forget the contribution that many of us made to the Resistance. Those who call us Nazis, dont know that among us there are survivors of Dachau and Buchenwald. We are soldiers and our only duty is to win."

"Should we remain in Algeria? If you answer "yes," then you must accept all the necessary consequences."

"So we now average 4.2 attacks a day. We must distinguish between attacks on individuals and bombings. As usual, the problem involves first, the adversary, and second, the means to destroy him. There are 400,000 Arabs in Algiers. Are they all our enemies? We know theyre not. But a small minority holds sway by means of terror and violence. We must deal with this minority in order to isolate and destroy it. Its a dangerous enemy that works in the open and underground, using tried-and-true revolutionary methods as well as original tactics."

"To know them is to eliminate them. Consequently, the purely military aspect of the problem is secondary. More important is the policing aspect. I know you dislike that word. But its the only one that describes the work at hand."

"Its a faceless enemy, unrecognizable, blending in with hundreds of others. It is everywhere. In cafés, in the alleys of the Casbah, or in the very streets of the European quarter."

"The basis of our job is intelligence. The method interrogation. Conducted in such a way as to ensure we always get an answer. In our situation, humane consideration can only lead to despair and confusion. Im sure all units will understand and act accordingly. Unfortunately, success doesnt depend only on us."

"Any of you ever suffer from tapeworm? Its a worm that can grow infinitely. You can destroy its thousands of segments, but as long as the head remains, it rebuilds and proliferates. The FLN is similarly organized. The head is the Executive Bureau. Several persons. As long as theyre not eliminated, were back to zero."

"Like rabbits in a cage. Just as I hoped."