Dirty Wars
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In Yemen, Saber al Haidary and Nasser Arrabyee were great coordinators and friends. Mohammed Albasha was tremendously helpful and always went the extra mile to get us into the country. Thank you also to Ashwaq Arrabyee and Adnan Arrabyee. My friend Iona Craig is a fantastic journalist and an incredibly generous soul. She helped us in too many ways to list here. Adam Baron, Gregory Johnsen and Aaron Zelin offered crucial support and insight, as did Haykal Bafana. Sheikh Saleh bin Fareed offered us great hospitality and made sure we could document the story of the bombing of al Majalah. He is a graceful and classy man. The Awlaki family welcomed us into their home and shared their stories with us. I am in awe of their ability to forgive, to be patient and to never give up their quest for justice. Dr. Nasser Awlaki was very generous with his time and his family. Saleha and Abir Awlaki cooked us amazing food and dug deep into their family photo and video collection to help us tell the story of their family. Ammar Awlaki was incredibly helpful throughout our time in Yemen. Thank you also to Omar Awlaki for the delicious honey and for welcoming us into his home.
In Somalia, we were so fortunate to work with the great Bashiir Yusuf Osman, owner of the Peace Hotel. He is a fearless man and an incredible combination of fixer, security coordinator, host and friend. I will never forget the risks Bashiir took so that we could report on Somalia. I am also grateful to Abdirahman “Aynte” Ali and Mohamed Ibrahim “Fanah” Mohamed for their assistance, as well as Sadia Ali Aden and Mohamed Olad Hassan. In Kenya, Abdirizak Haji Atosh and Daud Yussuf offered great assistance. Many thanks also to Katharine Houreld and Clara Gutteridge for all of their help.
My brother K’naan Warsame has been a true inspiration for my work. His music was the soundtrack of this book. I listened to his songs late at night in Brooklyn as I typed away and also in the streets of Mogadishu and Sana’a. His soft-spoken words and searing poetry boom throughout the world. I am so honored to call him my friend. Special thanks also to the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, particularly Pardiss Kebriaei, Jameel Jaffer, Hina Shamsi and Vince Warren for dealing with my constant requests for documents and interviews.
I feel blessed to have such a great community of friends, colleagues and even adversaries—all of whom challenge me and enlighten me. David Riker, who made the Dirty Wars film with us, is one of the most sincere and deep people I have ever met. I have learned so much from him and admire him immensely. Brenda Coughlin has been a great ally and a dear friend for many years and is always willing to do whatever needs to be done, often taking up the most thankless tasks and going the extra mile. I worked with Jacqueline Soohen before I could even grow a beard. We spent years going in and out of Iraq together. She is a great journalist and is like a sister to me. Sharif and Kareem Kouddous are my brothers and have always been there for me, through thick and thin. Thanks also to my buddies Ali Gharib, Garrett Ordower, Hani Sabra and Dan Coughlin for always reminding me to not take life so seriously. Michael Ratner and Karen Ranucci have been so generous in their support and with their love for so many years. Thank you also to the great Michael Moore for giving me one of my first “real” jobs and for always supporting my work. Oliver Stone and John Cusack have offered support, encouragement and wisdom at key moments. My dear friend Naomi Klein has always been there for me through good times and bad. She and Avi Lewis are a great force for justice.
Anamaria Segura and Phil Tisne have brightened my life. Muchas gracias also to Jorge and Clemencia Segura for all of their love and support. Wallace Segura is a scholar among scholars. Emma Kelton-Lewis and Daniel Avery have been tremendously generous in their personal support, as have Claire and Rennie Alba. Thanks to my friend Glenn Greenwald for being who he is and for keeping me sane at a few key points over the last few years. Gratitude also to Chris Hayes, my friend and colleague, for all of his encouragement and support. To my sister Ana Nogueira for being a true friend for a long time and to my pals Mike Burke and Elizabeth Press, thank you.
Among the journalists and writers I have learned from, consulted or compared notes with during the course of this project are Spencer Ackerman, Marc Ambinder, D. B. Grady, Barry Eisler, Noah Shachtman, Matthew Cole, Matthieu Aikins, Anand Gopal, Azmat Zahra Khan, Michelle Shepherd, Gareth Porter, Jeffrey Kaye, Jason Leopold, Kevin Gosztola, Adam Serwer, James Gordon Meek, Jake Tapper, Eli Lake, Ryan Grim, Michael Hastings, Josh Rogin, Charlie Savage, Jim Risen, Marcy Wheeler, Alyona Minkovski, Medea Benjamin, Jodie Evans, Kade Ellis, Nick Turse, Tom Engelhardt, Willie Geist, Justin Elliott, Rachel Maddow, Solly Granatstein, Aram Roston, Amy Davidson, Arun Gupta, Christian Parenti, Jane Mayer, Sy Hersh, Josh Gerstein, Micah Zenko, Declan Walsh, J. M. Berger, Sean Naylor, Joshua Hersh, Casey Coombs, Jonathan Larsen, Diane Shamis, Jamil Smith and Jeff Stein. Thank you all for doing what you do.
I also want to acknowledge some of the people I have had the pleasure of dialoguing with over the years (many of them on Twitter first and real life later). I have learned from all of them, sometimes through our disagreements, and they all have my respect. Among them, Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy at the Special Operations Forces Situation Report, Rob Dubois, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Jeff Emanuel, Rob Caruso, Dan Trombly, Joshua Foust, Clint Watts, Matthew Hoh, Andrew Exum, Nada Bakos, Will McCants, Mosharraff Zaidi, Huma and Saba Imtiaz, Omar Waraich, Andy Carvin, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Blake Hounshell, Sebastian Junger, Timothy Carney, Peter Bergen and Chris Albon. Thank you also to David Massoni, whose Thistle Hill Tavern provided me many meals while writing this book.
As of this writing, Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye remains locked up in a prison in Sana’a, in part due to the intervention of the White House. He should be set free.
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AC1, Abbottabad Compound 1
ACCMs, Alternative Compartmentalized Control Measures
AFOs, Advance Force Operations
AFRICOM, US Africa Command
AIAI, Al Itihaad al Islamiya
AMISOM, African Union Mission in Somalia
ANSF, Afghan National Security Forces
AOR, Area of Responsibility
AQAP, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
AQI, al Qaeda in Iraq
AQN ExOrd, Al Qaeda Network Execute Order
ASWJ, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama
AUMF, Authorization for Use of Military Force
BIF, Battlefield Interrogation Facility
CAG, Combat Applications Group (also known as Delta Force)
CCR, Center for Constitutional Rights
CENTCOM, Central Command
CFR, Council on Foreign Relations
CID, Army Criminal Investigations Division
CINC, commander in chief
CJTF 180, Combined Joint Task Force 180
CJTF–HOA, Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa
COIN, counterinsurgency
CONOP, Concept of Operations
CSF, Central Security Forces
CSSW, Charitable Society for Social Welfare
CT, counterterrorism
CTC, Counterterrorism Center
CTTL, Continuous Clandestine Tagging Tracking and Locating
DDTC, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls
DEVGRU, Naval Warfare Development Group (also known as Seal Team 6)
DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
DoD, Department of Defense
E.K.I.A., Enemy Killed in Action
EC, Electronic Communications
EOD, Explosive Ordnance Disposal
FOG, Field Operations Group
FOUO, For Official Use Only
GRS, Global Response Staff
GST, Greystone
GTMO, or Gitmo, Guantánamo Bay
GWOT, Global War on Terror (or Terrorism)
HIG, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin
HUMINT, human intelligence
HVT, High Value Target
IC, Intelligence Community
ICG, International Crisis Group
ICRC, International Commit
tee of the Red Cross
ICU, Islamic Courts Union
IDPs, Internally Displaced Persons
INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service
IONA, Islamic Organization of North America
ISAF, International Security Assistance Force
ISI, Inter-Services Intelligence
ISR, Intelligence, Surveillance Reconnaissance
IWGCA, Interagency Working Group for Covert Action
JAG, Judge Advocate General
JIMAS, Association to Revive the Way of the Messenger
JPEL, Joint Prioritized Effects List
JPRA, Joint Personnel Recovery Agency
JSOC, Joint Special Operations Command
JUWTF, Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force
KIA, killed in action
LeT, Lashkar-e-Taiba
LIMDIS, limited distribution
MLE, Military Liaison Elements
NBC, nuclear, biological, chemical
NGO, nongovernmental organization
NSA, National Security Agency
NSC, National Security Council
NSDD, National Security Decision Directive
NSPD, National Security Presidential Directive
NSS, National Security Service
OLC, Office of Legal Counsel
OSS, Office of Strategic Services
PAK, Pakistan
PET, Danish Intelligence Service
PETN, pentaerythritol tetranitrate
PNAC, Project for the New American Century
PSO, Political Security Organization
QRF, Quick Reaction Force
RAO, Regional Affairs Office
RPGs, rocket-propelled grenades
SAD, Special Activities Division of the CIA
SAP, Special Access Program
SAS, Special Air Service
SCUD, tactical ballistic missile
SEALs, Sea, Air, Land teams of the US Navy
SECDEF, or SecDef, or Secdef, secretary of defense
SELECT, an elite division of Blackwater
SERE, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape
SMU, Special Mission Unit
SO/LIC, Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict
SOC(FWD)-PAK, Special Operations Command-Forward Pakistan
SOC(FWD)-Yemen, Special Operations Command-Forward Yemen
SOCOM, Special Operations Command
SOF, Special Operations Forces
SOG, Studies and Observation Group
SOP, standard operating procedure
SSB, Strategic Support Branch
TADS, Terrorist Attack Disruption Strikes
TCCC, Tom Clancy Combat Concepts
TECS II, Treasury Enforcement Communications System
TF, Task Force
TFG, Transitional Federal Government
UAE, United Arab Emirates
USAID, US Agency for International Development
USG, US government
USSOCOM, US Special Operations Command
WFO, Washington Field Office
WMD, weapons of mass destruction
NOTES
Prologue
1 they gathered for a barbecue: Author interviews, Awlaki family members, January and August 2012. Details of the boy and the scene come from these interviews.
1 “You are a gentle boy”: Author interview, Saleha al Awlaki, September 2012.
1: “There Was Concern...That We Not Create An American Hit List”
3 10:10 a.m.: Joint Inquiry Briefing by Staff on US Government Counterterrorism Organizations (Before September 11, 2001) and on the Evolution of the Terrorist Threat and U.S. Response: 1986–2001, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, June 11, 2002. All details of the briefing come from the transcript, unless otherwise noted.
3 loya jirga: Joe Havely, “The loya jirga: A Very Afghan Gathering,” CNN.com, June 11, 2002.
4 the attic, elevator, narrow staircase, counterespionage: “Tower Report Under Wraps in the Attic,” New York Times, February 27, 1989.
4 most experienced: Clarke describes his White House and counterterrorism credentials during the congressional briefing.
4 more covert action: According to the 9/11 Commission Report, in 1998 Clarke “drew up what he called ‘Political-Military Plan Delenda,’” which laid out a plan to “immediately eliminate any significant threat to Americans” from the “Bin Ladin network.” The plan had diplomatic and financial components but also advocated “covert action to disrupt terrorist activities, but above all to capture Bin Ladin and his deputies and bring them to trial,” as well as “follow-on military action.” National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (Philip Zelikow, Executive Director; Bonnie D. Jenkins, Counsel; Ernest R. May, Senior Advisor), The 9/11 Commission Report (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004), p. 120.
5 “splattering mud back on the Agency”: Joint Inquiry Briefing by Staff on US Government Counterterrorism Organizations (Before September 11, 2001) and on the Evolution of the Terrorist Threat and U.S. Response: 1986–2001, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, June 11, 2002 (testimony of Richard Clarke). All statements made by Richard Clarke come from the briefing, unless otherwise noted.
5 “political assassinations”: Executive Order No. 11905, Fed. Reg. 7703, 7733 (1976).
5 “engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination”: Executive Order No. 12036, Fed. Reg. 3674, 3688, 3689 (1978).
5 Muammar el Qaddafi: Seymour M. Hersh, “Target Qaddafi,” New York Times Magazine, February 22, 1987.
5 Saddam Hussein’s palaces: “The United States Navy in ‘Desert Shield’/‘Desert Storm’; V: ‘Thunder and Lightning’—The War with Iraq,” May 15, 1991, accessed August 5, 2012, www.history.navy.mil/wars/dstorm/ds5.htm. “TLAMs were used against chemical and nuclear weapons facilities, surface-to-air missile sites, command and control centers and Saddam’s presidential palace.”
5 Desert Fox: William M. Arkin, “The Difference Was in the Details,” Washington Post, January 17, 1999.
6 cruise missile attacks: James Bennet, “U.S. Cruise Missiles Strike Sudan and Afghan Targets Tied to Terrorist Network,” New York Times, August 21, 1998.
6 pharmaceutical factory: James Astill, “Strike One,” Guardian, October 1, 2001.
6 case-by-case basis: Clarke says, “[The administration and the Justice Department] did not want to throw out the ban on assassination in a way that threw the baby out with the bathwater.”
6 trigger was seldom pulled: As Clarke put it, “CIA would ask for an authority. They would rapidly get it. We would wait. Nothing would happen.”
6 “were held to the most restricted form of notification”: Representative Pelosi is speaking during the joint briefing.
7 key players: “Statement of Principles,” Project for the New American Century, June 3, 1997. Elliott Abrams, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and I. Lewis Libby were signatories to PNAC’s letter.
7 “decade of defense neglect”: “Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century,” Project for the New American Century, September 2000, p. 4.
7 “provided a blueprint”: Ibid., Introduction, p. ii.
7 key authors: David Armstrong, “Dick Cheney’s Song of America; Drafting a Plan for Global Dominance,” Harper’s, October 2002.
7 “potential competitors”: Patrick E. Tyler, “U.S. Strategy Plan Calls for Insuring No Rivals Develop,” New York Times, March 8, 1992.
8 more powerful forces, toned down: Jim Lobe, “Cold War ‘Intellectuals’ Re-enlist for War on Iraq, Arabs,” Inter Press Service News Agency, November 17, 2001.
8 “All must be easier to deploy”: Prepared address of George W. Bush, “A Period of Consequences,” The Citadel, Charleston, SC, September 23, 1999.
8 “Ardent supporters”: Lobe, “Cold War ‘Intellectuals.’”
8 “issue
of the regime of Saddam Hussein”: “Rebuilding America’s Defenses,” p. 14.
9 “undo the Clinton signature”: Donald Rumsfeld, fax to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, “Subject: International Criminal Court,” February 23, 2001, http://rumsfeld.com/library.
9 “‘the crazies are back’”: Transcript, “‘The Crazies Are Back’: Bush Sr.’s Briefer Discusses How Wolfowitz and Allies Falsely Led the U.S. to War,” Democracy Now!, September 17, 2003.
9 Rumsfeld hired Cheney: Charlie Savage, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy (New York: Bay Back Books, 2008), p. 9.
9 Congress condemned: Ibid., pp. 25–26.
9 overrode an attempt: Richard L. Madden, “House and Senate Override Veto by Nixon on Curb of War Powers; Backers of Bill Win Three-Year Fight,” New York Times, November 7, 1973.
9 “consult with Congress”: Joint Resolution Concerning the War Powers of Congress and the President, Pub. L. No. 93-148, Sec. 3–4 (1973).
10 “low point”: Bob Woodward, “Cheney Upholds Power of the Presidency; Vice President Praises Bush as Strong, Decisive Leader Who Has Helped Restore Office,” Washington Post, January 20, 2005.
10 domestic spying operations: Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, Final Report; Book III: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, Senate Rep. No. 94-755 (1976).
10 Salvador Allende: Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, Staff Report, Covert Action in Chile, 1963–1973 (1975).
10 stymied the probe: Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (The Church Committee), United States Senate website, accessed October 5, 2012, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/investigations/ChurchCommittee.htm.
10 compel the FBI, rebuffed: Adam Liptak, “Cheney’s To-Do Lists, Then and Now,” New York Times, February 11, 2007.
10 congressional committees: Overview of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Responsibilities and Activities, SSCI website, accessed October 5, 2012, www.intelligence.senate.gov/about.html; “The CIA and Congress: The Creation of the HPSCI,” CIA website, accessed October 5, 2012, www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2011-featured-story-archive/cia-and-congress-hpsci.html.