I Was Told to Come Alone

by Souad Mekhennet

  From 2002 to 2005, the Syrians imprisoned him: Much of the account of Shaker al-Abssi draws on reporting done by the author in collaboration with Michael Moss for the following articles: Souad Mekhennet and Michael Moss, “In Lebanon Camp, a New Face of Jihad Vows Attacks on U.S.,” New York Times, March 16, 2007; Michael Moss and Souad Mekhennet, “Jihad Leader in Lebanon May Be Alive,” New York Times, September 11, 2007.

  inspired by the 1979 siege of Mecca: Trofimov, Siege of Mecca, pp. 248–50.

  “Salafism” derives from the Arabic expression: While this definition of Salafism is appealing to many Muslims, especially conservative ones, and does not necessarily oppose a secular state or society, Salafists in the contemporary understanding of the term oppose any new interpretations of holy scripture as well as democracy as a form of government. However, not all contemporary Salafists are political; some try to practice Islam as “purely” as possible only for themselves. Others are political but refuse violence to achieve their aims or only legitimize it under specific circumstances. But there are also the “terrorist Salafists” or Jihadi-Salafists, who call for violence and revolution to fight unbelievers and establish a theocratic Islamic state. See Rashid Dar and Shadi Hamid, “Islamism, Salafism and Jihadism: A Primer,” Brookings, July 15, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/07/15/islamism-salafism-and-jihadism-a-primer/; Guido Steinberg, “Wer sind die Salafisten?” Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit, May 2012, https://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/aktuell/2012A28_sbg.pdf; Quintan Wiktoriowicz, “Anatomy of the Salafi Movement,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 29 (2006): 207–39, http://www.clagsborough.uk/anatomy_of_the_salafi_movement.pdf.

  imprisoned for plotting attacks in Jordan in 1994: Joby Warrick, Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (New York: Doubleday, 2015), pp. 55–56; “The Islamic State,” Mapping Militant Organizations, Stanford University, May 15, 2015, http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/1?highlight=zarqawi.

  Zarqawi also hated the Shia and saw them as rivals: Ibid.

  Colin Powell named him in the speech to the United Nations: “U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council,” February 5, 2003, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030205-1.html.

  Al Qaeda in Iraq set off bombs in three Amman hotels: Jonathan Finer and Naseer Mehdawi, “Bombings Kill over 50 at 3 Hotels in Jordan; Coordinated Attack in Amman Linked to Zarqawi’s Network,” Washington Post, November 10, 2005.

  Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, wrote that Zarqawi: Warrick, Black Flags, p. 201. See also letter from Atiyah Abd al-Rahman to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, late 2005, translation provided by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/atiyahs-letter-to-zarqawi-english-translation-2.

  the Askari mosque in Samarra: This is where the tenth and eleventh Shia imams are buried and where, according to some Shia, the twelfth imam went into hiding. Imranali Panjwani, “The Compartmentalisation of Holy Figures: A Case Study of the Heritage of the Samarran Shi‘i Imams,” World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization 1, no. 1 (2011): 15–26, http://idosi.org/wjihc/wjihc1(1)11/2.pdf.

  Zarqawi celebrated by starring in a video: Warrick, Black Flags, pp. 201–5.

  just in time to watch Zarqawi die: Ibid., p. 217.

  the 2002 assassination of the American diplomat Laurence Foley: Neil MacFarquhar, “Threats and Responses: Attack on US Diplomat; American Envoy Killed in Jordan,” New York Times, October 29, 2002.

  the country’s fifteen-year civil war: BBC News, Lebanon profile timeline, August 10, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14649284.

  One of the September 11 hijackers came from Lebanon: “Born on May 11, 1975, in Mazraa, Lebanon, Ziad Jarrah came from an affluent family and attended private, Christian schools.” Kean and Hamilton, 9/11 Commission Report, p. 163.

  planting bombs on German trains: “Lebanese Jailed for 12 Years for Germany Attack Plot,” Agence France-Presse, December 18, 2007.

  plotting to blow up the train tunnels connecting New York City and New Jersey: “Lebanon: 2-Year Sentence in Plot to Blow Up Hudson River Tunnels,” Associated Press, February 17, 2012.

  Lebanese authorities had limited access to this camp: From http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/lebanon: “The Nahr al-Bared camp was set up by the Red Cross in 1949 to care for refugees from northern Palestine. UNRWA has been taking care of the camp and its inhabitants since 1950. According to a 38-year-old agreement, the Palestinians in the Lebanese camps control their own affairs, and the Lebanese Army is forbidden from entering the camps.” “Background: Palestinian Refugee Camp Nahr al-Bared,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, May 21, 2007.

  semiautonomous ministates within Lebanon: “The Cairo Agreement of 1969 put the camps under control of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and banned Lebanese security forces from entering. Although the Lebanese government withdrew from the Cairo Agreement in the late 1980s and theoretically reclaimed its rule over the camps, the state has refrained from exercising its authority. Politically, the camps have been ruled by popular committees, while security committees have been serving as an internal police force. When in 2006 Fatah al-Islam trickled into Nahr al-Bared, however, the camp only had a weak popular committee and no functioning security committee. The Palestinian parties were divided, and consequently failed to push the well-armed Islamist group out of the camp, effectively allowing it to take over,” https://electronicintifada.net/content/lebanon-tightens-control-over-palestinian-refugee-camps/8632.

  two commuter buses had been bombed in Lebanon: Iman Azzi, “Routine Commute Turns Deadly as Bombers Target Civilians,” Daily Star (Lebanon), February 14, 2007.

  6: THE LOST BOYS OF ZARQA

  In Zarqa, Jordan: Much of the account of Zarqa draws on reporting done by the author in collaboration with Michael Moss for the following articles: Souad Mekhennet and Michael Moss, “In Jihadist Haven, a Goal: To Kill and Die in Iraq,” New York Times, May 4, 2007; Michael Moss and Souad Mekhennet, “The Guidebook for Taking a Life,” New York Times, June 10, 2007.

  7: THE VALUE OF A LIFE

  cost as many as three hundred thousand Algerian lives: Helen Chapin Metz, Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1994), p. 34.

  formed the Armed Islamic Group: Ibid., pp. 37–38.

  kidnapping, smuggling, and human trafficking: Christopher S. Chivvis and Andrew Liepman, “North Africa’s Menace: AQIM’s Evolution and the U.S. Policy Response,” RAND Corporation, 2013.

  an Al Qaeda franchise: Souad Mekhennet, Michael Moss, Eric Schmitt, Elaine Sciolino, and Margot Williams, “Ragtag Insurgency Gains a Lifeline from Al Qaeda,” New York Times, July 1, 2008; Camille Tawil, “New Strategies in al-Qaeda’s Battle for Algeria,” Terrorism Monitor, Jamestown Foundation, July 27, 2009, https://jamestown.org/program/new-strategies-in-al-qaedas-battle-for-algeria/.

  changing its name to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: “In a statement dated 13 September 2006, Droukdel announced the official alliance of GSPC with Al-Qaida (QDe.004) and pledged allegiance to Usama bin Laden (deceased). In a statement dated 24 January 2007, he announced that as a consequence of its merging with Al-Qaida, and after consulting Usama bin Laden, GSPC changed its name to the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. In a July 2008 interview with the New York Times, Droukdel again claimed responsibility for having GSPC officially join Al-Qaida and acknowledged the role played by Ahmad Fadil Nazal al-Khalayleh a.k.a. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (deceased) in the first phases of the merging process,” United Nations Security Council Subsidiary Organs, “Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing: Abdelmalek Droukdel,” https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267.

  the area around Naciria: Naciria is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, east of Algiers.

  decided to publish the interview transcript as well: “An Interview with Abdelmalek Droukdal,” New York Times, July 1, 2008.r />
  8: GUNS AND ROSES

  the first part of Rohde’s account: David Rohde, “Held by the Taliban: Part One: 7 Months, 10 Days in Captivity,” New York Times, October 17, 2009. See also “Times Reporter Escapes Taliban After 7 Months,” New York Times, June 21, 2009, and David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill, A Rope and a Prayer: A Kidnapping from Two Sides (New York: Viking, 2010).

  said he was a journalist: “Among them was Kareem Khan, a 50-year-old from Machikhel, North Waziristan, who works as a journalist with an Arab TV channel.” Andrew Buncombe and Issam Ahmed, “Protests Grow as Civilian Toll of Obama’s Drone War on Terrorism Is Laid Bare,” Independent, March 3, 2012. See also “Kareem Khan,” Reprieve, http://www.reprieve.org.uk/case-study/kareem-khan.

  he had lost his son and his brother in a drone strike: “Pakistani Tribesman to Sue CIA Over Drone Strike Deaths,” Agence France-Presse, November 29, 2010.

  attacking the Pakistani border region with drones since 2004: “The Bush Years: Pakistan Strikes 2004–2009.” Bureau of Investigative Journalism, August 10, 2011, https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/08/10/the-bush-years-2004-2009/#B1.

  the name of the CIA station chief in Pakistan: Declan Walsh, “CIA Chief in Pakistan Leaves after Drone Trial Blows His Cover,” Guardian, December 17, 2010.

  U.S. officials were blaming Pakistan’s military intelligence agency: Alex Rodriguez, “CIA Identity Breach Stirs Mistrust with Pakistan,” Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2010; see also Sabrina Toppa, “Pakistan Edges Closer to Charging CIA Over Drone Strikes,” Time, April 16, 2015.

  9: MUKHABARAT

  As the car entered the parking lot: Much of the account of the author’s experiences in Egypt draws on recollections from the author and her colleague Nicholas Kulish, and the following article: Souad Mekhennet and Nicholas Kulish, “2 Detained Reporters Saw Police’s Methods,” New York Times, February 4, 2011.

  would come to be known as the “Arab Spring”: Joshua Keating, “Who First Used the Term Arab Spring?” Foreign Policy, November 4, 2011, http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/11/04/who-first-used-the-term-arab-spring/.

  “These people are spies!”: Souad Mekhennet and Nicholas Kulish, “Blood on the Nile: An Encounter with Egypt’s Secret Police at the Height of the Crisis,” New York Times, February 6, 2011.

  10: THIS IS NOT AN ARAB SPRING

  “people know him as the rapper Deso Dogg”: Much of the account of Denis Cuspert (aka Deso Dogg, Abu Maleek, and later Abu Talha) draws on reporting done by the author in collaboration with Anthony Faiola for the following articles: Souad Mekhennet, “German Officials Alarmed by Ex-Rapper’s New Message: Jihad,” New York Times, September 1, 2011; Anthony Faiola and Souad Mekhennet, “Battle with the Islamic State for the Minds of Young Muslims,” Washington Post, December 19, 2014; and Anthony Faiola and Souad Mekhennet, “From Hip-Hop to Jihad, How the Islamic State Became a Magnet for Converts,” Washington Post, May 6, 2015.

  “Deso” being short for “Devil’s Son”: Sarah Kaplan, “‘Jihad Is a Lot of Fun,’ Deso Dogg, a German Rapper Turned Islamic State Pitchman Said. Now He’s Reportedly Dead from U.S. Air Strike,” Washington Post, October 30, 2015.

  a stint in juvenile detention: Cuspert was convicted for property crime and bodily harm, unauthorized possession of weapons, and narcotics-related offenses. He spent terms in prison more than once. According to the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Berlin), he used the “street credibility” gained in prison for his later rap music career. See Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport Berlin, “Denis Cuspert—eine jihadistische Karriere,” September 2014, pp. 8–9, http://www.berlin.de/sen/inneres/verfassungsschutz/publikationen/lage-und-wahlanalysen/lageanalyse_denis_cuspert.pdf.

  shot and killed two American airmen in Frankfurt: Souad Mekhennet, “Frankfurt Attack Mystifies Suspect’s Family,” New York Times, March 8, 2011; Jack Ewing, “Man Charged in Germany in Killing of U.S. Airmen,” New York Times, July 7, 2011.

  le féminisme bourguibien: Samar El-Masri, “Tunisian Women at a Crossroads: Cooptation or Autonomy?” Middle East Policy 22, no. 2 (Summer 2015), http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/tunisian-women-crossroads-cooptation-or-autonomy.

  including many jihadists: Haim Malka and Margo Balboni, “Violence in Tunisia: Analyzing Terrorism and Political Violence after the Revolution,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, June 2016, http://foreignfighters.csis.org/tunisia/violence-in-tunisia.html.

  11: THREATS

  the first Jewish ambassador in the Arab world: Julia Duin, “Bahrain Protests Have Complicated Job for Houda Nonoo, First Jewish Ambassador from an Arab Nation,” Washington Post Magazine, May 26, 2012; “Bahrain Profile—Timeline,” BBC News, September 1, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14541322.

  could also be mercurial: Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, “The Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry,” November 23, 2011 (final revision of December 10, 2011), pp. 72–73, http://www.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf.

  “was concerned for their safety”: Ibid.

  After six Bahraini protesters were killed: Ibid., pp. 228–32.

  The crown prince waited all night: Ibid., p. 80.

  The chances for a fruitful dialogue vanished: The commission concluded, “If HRH the Crown Prince’s initiative to hold a national dialogue at the time had been accepted, it could have paved the way for significant constitutional and political reform in Bahrain.” Ibid., p. 169.

  Bill Keller announced that he would step down: Jeremy W. Peters, “Abramson Named Executive Editor at The Times,” New York Times, June 2, 2011. Keller announced his resignation in June 2011 and stepped down in September.

  blindfolded, threatened, and tortured with electric shocks: Page 292 of “The Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry” describes the findings of torture: “1213. The medical experts noted that 33 detainees had significant physical marks or symptoms, which the detainees alleged had been caused by mistreatment. The experts identified 19 different methods of mistreatment. The most common were beatings, forced standing for prolonged periods, use of excessively tight handcuffs, exposure to extreme temperatures, head traumas and the use of electric shocks. The experts concluded that physical findings on 32 detainees were highly consistent with mistreatment and traumatic events. The experts also concluded that 15 detainees had significant psychological symptoms or impairments as a result of the alleged mistreatment. Of these 15 detainees, 13 required follow-up treatment. The experts also concluded that the physical findings on 34 detainees were highly consistent with beatings and blunt trauma. In addition, the physical findings on 19 detainees were highly consistent with and even virtually diagnostic of injuries caused by firearms. The physical findings on 22 detainees were highly consistent with the use of painful handcuffs, while the physical findings on 20 other detainees were highly consistent with exposure to extreme temperatures. The experts also found in a number of cases that scars on different parts of the body were consistent with a sound bomb injury as described by the detainee, but these scars were non-specific (i.e., could be produced by different causes). Three cases were highly consistent with cigarette burn scars on different parts of the body.”

  who said they’d been attacked by protesters: See page 373 of “The Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry”: “1525. The Commission found sufficient evidence to establish that some expatriates, in particular South Asian workers, were the targets of attacks during the events of February/March 2011. The Commission finds that four expatriates were killed by mob attacks during the events and many were injured. 1526. Pakistanis, in particular, were the target of attacks owing to their membership of some of them in the BDF and police force. Various neighbourhoods where expatriates live in Bahrain were the subject of sporadic attacks. The attacks on expatriates created an environment of fear, resulting in many of them leaving their homes and living in shelters. Other foreign nationals relayed to the Commission
that they feared leaving their homes, attending services at their places of worship, or going to work. This caused many foreign nationals economic loss because they were fearful of returning to work and opening their businesses. The attacks on South Asian expatriates also resulted in hundreds of Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Indians fleeing the country.”

  on a scholarship from the crown prince’s office: Souad Mekhennet, “Bahrain Women Take Pride in Vital Protest Role,” New York Times, December 20, 2011.

  thirty-five people had died: “The Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry,” p. 219.

  “They do shout it on the streets”: “SPIEGEL Interview with the King of Bahrain ‘Arab Spring? That’s the Business of Other Countries,’” Spiegel Online, February 13, 2012, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-the-king-of-bahrain-arab-spring-that-s-the-business-of-other-countries-a-814915.html. Interview conducted by Alexander Smoltczyk and Souad Mekhennet.

  the government had made “mistakes”: “Interview with Bahrain’s Prime Minster: The Opposition ‘Are Terrorizing the Rest of This Country,’” Spiegel Online, April 27, 2012, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-bahraini-prime-minister-prince-khalifa-bin-salman-al-khalifa-a-830045.html. Interview conducted by Souad Mekhennet in Bahrain.

  “accusing Martin Luther King of being a racist”: Kelly McEvers, “Iraq’s Chalabi Advises Protesters Abroad,” NPR, April 11, 2011, http://www.npr.org/2011/04/11/135324059/iraqs-chalabi-advises-protesters-abroad.

  “No, I will not stand against the victims’ reaction”: “Interview with Bahraini Opposition Activist: Regime Using Formula One Race to ‘Trick the World,’” Spiegel Online, April 20, 2012, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-bahraini-human-rights-activist-zainab-al-khawaja-a-828407.html. Interview conducted by Souad Mekhennet.

  “another story ran that drew the family’s ire: Frank Gardner, “Bahrain Activist Khawaja to Continue Hunger Strike,” BBC News, May 1, 2012, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17908449.