American Cipher
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they only found old men: Interviews with Gerald Sutton.
When they didn’t comply: Ben Evans, Serial podcast, Season 2, Episode 2 “The Golden Chicken,” December 2015.
wanted to re-create his identity: Interview with Sgt. Johnny Rice, March 2015.
“Hopefully he’s dead”: Ibid.
CHAPTER NINE: DIVERSIONS AND DECEPTIONS
forces had “fanned out”: Richard A. Oppel Jr., “U.S. Soldier May Be Held by Taliban, Military Fears,” New York Times, July 2, 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/world/asia/03soldier.html.
Sangeen was a known quantity: Bill Roggio, “Mullah Sangeen Zadran,” FDD’s Long War Journal, July 17, 2009, https://longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/07/mullah_sangeen_zadran.php.
the early hours of July 3: Bowe Bergdahl sworn statement, U.S. Army 15-6 Investigation, August 6, 2014, p. 171.
Furlong was privy: Interview with Michael Furlong, May 2016.
On the afternoon of July 4: WikiLeaks Afghan War Diary.
Five years later in Texas: Bowe Bergdahl sworn statement, U.S. Army 15-6 Investigation, August 6, 2014, pp. 236, 243, 343.
In reality, it was the kidnappers: Robert Young Pelton, “Finding Private Bowe Bergdahl,” Vice, July 21, 2014, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4w7q3d/finding-bergdahl-081.
Bergdahl was blindfolded: Bowe Bergdahl sworn statement, U.S. Army 15-6 Investigation, August 6, 2014, pp. 236.
doled out money: Multiple Geronimo soldiers and officers reported that money was paid for intelligence.
front-page New York Times story: Jane Perlez and Pir Zubair Shah, “Porous Pakistani Border Could Hinder U.S.,” New York Times, May 4, 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/world/asia/05fighter.html.
her superiors told her: Interview with Amber Dach, December 2017.
search for Bergdahl was over: Interview with Ron Wilson, March 2015.
Furlong spoke at Pentagon: Mazzetti, The Way of the Knife, p. 177.
Furlong knew he needed: Ibid., p. 196.
“Keep doing what”: Interviews with Robert Young Pelton, 2015–2018.
invited an ISAF colonel: Interview with ISAF staff officer.
this “intel ring”: It wasn’t spying, Furlong explained, but “atmospherics,” language he used to avoid running afoul of the law.
criteria for extrajudicial killing: Interview with Michael Furlong, May 2016. Criteria drafted by State Department legal adviser Harold Koh.
“brown people talking to brown people”: Ibid.
he worked against them: Interview with ISAF staff officer, May 2016.
series of apparent leaks: Mazzetti and Filkins, “Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants,” New York Times, March 14, 2010, https://nytimes.com/2010/03/15/world/asia/15contractors.html?pagewanted=all.
eliminate shadowy figures: David Ignatius, “When the CIA’s Intelligence-Gathering Isn’t Enough,” Washington Post, March 18, 2010
assume it was authorized: Interview with Michael Furlong, May 2016.
Under the cover of: Ibid.
an alphabet soup: “Defendant in Procurement Fraud Case Involving Services in Afghanistan Sentenced to 42 Months in Federal Prison,” United States Department of Justice, March 17, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/defendant-procurement-fraud-case-involving-services-afghanistan-sentenced-42-months.
the best thing to do: By December 2015, Furlong was working as an informal adviser to the Trump presidential campaign.
On July 13, Bergdahl’s captors: VillageDigital, “Taliban Video Shows Captive US Soldier Bowe Bergdahl,” YouTube video, 2:22, July 18, 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0snkYYCcb4.
ABC News cited military sources: Matthew Cole, “Exclusive: Missing U.S. Soldier May Be in Pakistan,” ABC News, July 20, 2009, https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/pfc-bowe-bergdahl-pakistan/story?id=8127636.
“You pay us”: Interview with Amber Dach, December 2017.
the ruse went on: The “language tactic” strategy described by the former officer has been corroborated by multiple Army and Pentagon sources with direct knowledge of the case.
CHAPTER TEN: NOT THE WORST NEWS
“the endless acronyms”: Interview with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, April 2012.
“greatest concern about Bowe”: Interview with Glenn Ferrell, September 2016.
a Ketchum firefighter: “Zaney’s River Street Coffee House,” Sun Valley Magazine, http://sunvalleymag.com/business/zaneys-river-street-coffee-house [inactive].
phone calls from Oprah Winfrey: Interview with Nicki Chopski, April 2015.
included two retired Navy admirals: Author interview with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, April 2012.
Director Jim Spinelli: Plum TV, Hailey, Idaho, July 2009.
another smaller vigil: Susan Page, “Comfort for Our Only POW’s Kin,” MidWeek, August 12, 2009, http://archives.midweek.com/content/columns/susanspage_article/comfort_for_our_only_pows_kin.
the Taliban can save us: PoliticsNewsPolitics, “Fox News Military Pundit Calls Bowe Bergdahl ‘A Liar,’” YouTube, July 19, 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL9P6W9vt6E.
“Perhaps Mr. Peters”: Leo Shane, “Vets in Congress Disgusted by Analyst’s Comments on Missing Soldier,” Stars and Stripes, July 22, 2009, https://stripes.com/blogs/stripes-central/stripes-central-1.8040/vets-in-congress-disgusted-by-analyst-s-comments-on-missing-soldier-1.8257.
Peters found himself: Ralph Peters email, April 2012.
intelligence gatherers bearing cash: Interview with senior Pentagon official, September 2015.
commentator Michelle Malkin: Michelle Malkin, “Exclusive: The Story You Haven’t Yet Heard about Bowe Bergdahl’s Desertion,” MichelleMalkin.com, June 3, 2014, http://michellemalkin.com/2014/06/03/exclusive-the-story-you-havent-yet-heard-about-bowe-bergdahls-desertion.
“It rejected Bowe Bergdahl”: Interview with David Sedney, January 2018.
was “a jihadi”: Interview with journalist who spoke to Gen. Flynn.
“One wonders, if he had been”: Interview with Ahmed Rashid, March 2015.
JSOC was a bigger: Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, “‘Top Secret America’: A Look at the Military’s Joint Special Operations Command,” Washington Post, September 2, 2011.
To go into Pakistan: Ibid.
the “10–50 dance”: Robert Chesney, “Military-Intelligence Convergence and the Law of the Title 10/Title 50 Debate,” University of Texas Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 212, October 17, 2011.
Objective Cat Stevens: Interview with former Army officer, July 2015.
“never the primary purpose”: This statement from Sedney—“It was never the primary purpose or one of the top two or three purposes of any operation that took place”—has been corroborated by multiple U.S. intelligence and defense officials, including Amber Dach.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE PAKISTAN PARADOX
“America needs Pakistan”: Husain Haqqani, Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, The United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding (New York: PublicAffairs, 2013), p. 8.
three thousand Pakistanis descended: Ibid.
the terminology changed: Waleed Ziad, “How the Holy Warriors Learned to Hate,” New York Times, June 18, 2004, http://nytimes.com/2004/06/18/opinion/how-the-holy-warriors-learned-to-hate.html?_r=0.
By the early 1950s: Haqqani, Magnificent Delusions, p. 70.
American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie: “Jazz Strategy: Dizzy, Foreign Policy, and Government in 1956,” Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture 4, no. 1 (Spring 2005), http://americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/spring_2005/gac.htm.
Gillespie was appalled: Penny M. Von Eschen, Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), p. 33.
“an unruly horse by the tail”: Haqqani, Magnificent Delusions, p. 87.
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br /> When Iran’s Ayatollah: John Kifner, “Khomeini Accuses U.S. and Israel of Attempt to Take Over Mosques,” New York Times, November 25, 1979, https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/25/archives/khomeini-accuses-us-and-israel-of-attempt-to-take-over-mosques.html.
burned the American Embassy: ABC News, “For Diplomats, Pakistan Post Is No Party,” Nightline, May 24, 2018, http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=128457&page=1.
Muslim world’s first atomic bomb: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, p. 169.
New York Times reporter: David Rohde, “U.S. Will Celebrate Pakistan as a ‘Major Non-NATO Ally,’” New York Times, March 19, 2004, http://nytimes.com/2004/03/19/world/us-will-celebrate-pakistan-as-a-major-non-nato-ally.html?rref=collection%2525252Fbyline%2525252Fdavid-rohde.
Assistance from Germany, the U.K.: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, p. 32.
Pakistani military was not content: “How Much Did the U.S. Give Pakistan?” Fox Business, March 26, 2015, http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/05/11/did-pakistan.html.
Daniel Pearl was abducted: “Reporter Daniel Pearl Is Dead, Killed by His Captors in Pakistan,” Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2002, http://wsj.com/articles/SB1014311357552611480.
they had two ultimatums: Frank Pellegrini, “Daniel Pearl: 1963–2002,” Time, February 21, 2002, http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,212284,00.html.
complicit in the Pearl atrocity: Jere Van Dyk, Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011), p. 165.
“become America’s slave”: Steve Coll, Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan (New York: Penguin Press, 2018), p. 289.
Negroponte spoke frankly: “Pakistan’s FATA Challenge,” U.S. Department of State, 2001–2009, https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/d/2008/105041.htmm [ianctive].
militias, terror groups, and Taliban: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, p. 161.
Fifty-eight people were killed: Coll, Directorate S, p. 312.
“We’re going to stop playing”: Bob Woodward, Obama’s Wars (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), p. 5.
Pakistani court acquitted him: Mehreen Zahra-Malik, “Militant Leader Hafiz Saeed Is Released by Pakistani Court,” New York Times, November 23, 2017, http://nytimes.com/2017/11/23/world/asia/hafiz-saeed-pakistan-militant.html.
“Make no mistake”: “Obama’s Remarks on Iraq and Afghanistan,” New York Times, July 15, 2008, http://nytimes.com/2008/07/15/us/politics/15text-obama.html.
Obama read intelligence reports: Coll, Directorate S, p. 293.
“No administration in my entire career”: Robert Michael Gates, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War (New York: Vintage Books, 2015), p. 476.
Mullen led the diplomatic charge: Coll, Directorate S, p. 326.
sooner go to war with India: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, p. 64.
earned his master’s degree: Karin Brulliard and Karen De Young, “U.S. Courts Pakistan’s Top General, with Little Result,” Washington Post, January 1, 2011, http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/31/AR2010123103993.html.
Pasha even vowed: Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper, “C.I.A. Pakistan Campaign Is Working, Director Says,” New York Times, February 26, 2009, http://nytimes.com/2009/02/26/washington/26intel.html.
Obama ramped up: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, p. 54.
launch its drones from Shamsi Airfield: Ibid.
temporary nuclear winter: TheRealNews, “73 Years After Atomic Bombing of Japan: Nuclear Threat More Immediate Than Ever,” YouTube, August 6, 2018. Analysis by Peter Kuznick, professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NsRD60W92c.
only Muslim nuclear arsenal: White House, “White Paper of the Interagency Policy Group’s Report on U.S. Policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Homeland Security Digital Library, Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, March 27, 2009, http://hsdl.org/?abstract&did=38004.
Taliban gunmen stopped a bus: Blaine Harden, “South Koreans Held by Taliban Arrive in Seoul, Offer Apologies,” Washington Post, September 2, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/01/AR2007090101376.html.
the Korean government in Seoul: Massoud Ansari, “Taliban Use Hostage Cash to Fund UK Blitz,” Telegraph, October 14, 2007, http://telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1566163/Taliban-use-hostage-cash-to-fund-UK-blitz.html.
Jere Van Dyk, a CBS: Jere Van Dyk, The Trade (New York: Hachette, 2017).
“felt like Icarus”: “Kidnapped by the Taliban, Sean Langan Kept Sane by Dreaming of Kissing His Sons Goodnight,” Evening Standard, April 13, 2012, http://standard.co.uk/news/kidnapped-by-the-taliban-sean-langan-kept-sane-by-dreaming-of-kissing-his-sons-goodnight-6869415.html.
he ignored his gut: Jeff Baker, “How ‘Captive’ Author Jere Van Dyk Discovered Himself While at the Taliban’s Mercy,” OregonLive.com, July 9, 2010, http://oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2010/07/how_captive_author_jere_van_dy.html.
Tory politicians and: Anand Gopal, “The Most Deadly US Foe in Afghanistan,” Christian Science Monitor, June 1, 2009, http://m.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2009/0601/p10s01-wosc.html.
had paid £150,000 each: Jerome Starkey and Dipesh Gadher, “C4 pays £150,000 to Free Kidnapped Film Maker from Terror Camp,” The Times, June 29, 2008.
final dose of irony: “Taliban Commander: Afghan Officials Are Helping Kill Americans,” Axis of Logic, July 31, 2008, http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_27831.shtml.
“a New York–based”: David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill, A Rope and a Prayer: The Story of a Kidnapping (New York: Penguin Books, 2011), p. 3.
bandits on the road: Ibid., p. 2.
body language visibly relax: Interview with David Rohde, December 2017.
“Don’t get captured again”: Ibid., p. 101.
That was $5 million more: Harden, Washington Post.
On June 19: David Rohde, “A Rope and a Prayer,” New York Times, October 21, 2009, https://nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/asia/22hostage.html.
the once-isolated infection: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, pp. 53, 140.
assassination of Benazir Bhutto: Joby Warrick, “CIA Places Blame for Bhutto Assassination,” Washington Post, January 18, 2008, http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011703252.html.
a ski-lift operator: Rashid, p. 141.
Musharraf had been lavished: Rashid, p. 138.
largest internal displacement of refugees: Declan Walsh, “Pakistani Civilians Flee Swat Valley as Major Ground Offensive Draws Closer,” Guardian, May 10, 2009, http://theguardian.com/world/2009/may/10/pakistan-taliban-swat-valley.
“The military was ruthless”: Ghulam Qadir Khan Daur, Cheegha: The Call from Waziristan, the Last Outpost (Sweden: Wisehouse Imprint, 2014) p. 38.
vague and evasive: Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, p. 151.
CHAPTER TWELVE: FIXING INTEL
Bergdahl’s second public: U.S. v. SGT Robert B. Bergdahl, Defense Motion to Suppress Alleged Statements from Captivity, July 17, 2017, p. 3.
Throughout his captivity, Bergdahl’s captors filmed at least eighteen propaganda videos, nine of which were sent to U.S. military and government entities. Others were used for internal Haqqani and Taliban propaganda. In July and August 2014, Bergdahl told government debriefers how his captors scripted the videos: They removed his restraints, ordered him to wash up, change into fresh clothes, and read from scripts or repeat messages told to him by a man with a British accent who arrived at his holding locations with recording equipment. The man ordered him to appear natural and unrehearsed. When Bergdahl refused or his performance was insufficient, guards beat him and threatened him with firearms.
Further data and information on propaganda videos can be found in the unclassified report: “US Army Soldier Hostage Detention in A
fghanistan and Pakistan; 30 June 2009–31 May 2014; Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Debriefing Analysis Product; Executive Summary,” October 23, 2014, Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Blitzer asked Hoh: The Situation Room, “Interview with Matthew Hoh,” Real Clear Politics, November 10, 2009, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/11/10/interview_with_matthew_hoh_99115.html.
“not mind a prisoner exchange”: “Taliban Seize U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan,” CBS News, July 2, 2009.
Haqqani delivered their first: Edward M. Reeder, Jr., Five Star Global Security, https://www.fivestarglobalsecurity.com/edward-m-reeder-jr/.
Reeder passed the messages: Robinson, One Hundred Victories, p. 19; interview with Linda Robinson, March 2015.
he sent a short video clip: Karen DeYoung, “Letter Gives Glimpse of Al-Qaeda’s Leadership,” Washington Post, October 2, 2006, http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100101083.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq.
Langley issued orders: Robert Baer, “A Dagger to the CIA,” GQ, February 26, 2010, http://gq.com/story/dagger-to-the-cia.
baked him a cake: A fuller description of the Camp Chapman attack and al-Balawi’s life can be found in Joby Warrick, The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIA (New York: Vintage Books, 2012).
Balawi stepped out: Theodore Weaver, “Camp Chapman Anniversary,” Inglorious Amateurs, http://ingloriousamateurs.com/blogs/cables/camp-chapman-anniversary.
by Al Jazeera and on YouTube: Bill Roggio, “CIA Suicide Bomber Appears on Tape with Leader of Pakistani Taliban,” FDD’s Long War Journal, January 9, 2010, http://longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/01/cia_suicide_bomber_a.php.
The wise men: Stephen Farrell, “Video Links Taliban in Pakistan to C.I.A. Attack,” New York Times, January 9, 2010, http://nytimes.com/2010/01/10/world/middleeast/10balawi.html?pagewanted=all.
In early February a secret report: “Foreign Intelligence Service and Haqqani Network Involvement in the December 30, 2009 Suicide Attack on FOB Chapman,” Defense Intelligence Agency Information Report 20100114, https://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/hqn9.pdf.