Dirty Wars

by Jeremy Scahill

  70 track down Ammerman: Ibid.

  70 worked the Awlaki case: Herridge, The Next Wave, p. 91.

  70 “We did not find a link”: Ibid.

  70 “no explanation”: Ibid., p. 93.

  70 “WARRANT HAD BEEN REMOVED”: TECS II “Incident Log” entry, October 10, 2002.

  70 not actually removed until: Herridge, The Next Wave, p. 96.

  70 “thanks for their [patience]”: TECS II “Incident Log” entry, October 10, 2002, p. 2, obtained by Paul Sperry, www.sperryfiles.com/images/1-5.jpg.

  70 “I got an apology”: Anwar al Awlaki, “Spilling out the Beans; Al Awlaki Revealing His Side of the Story,” Inspire 9 (winter 2012), released May 2012.

  70 another charismatic preacher: Susan Schmidt, “Imam from Va. Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided al-Qaeda,” Washington Post, February 27, 2008.

  71 lead lecturer: Jerry Markon, “Muslim Lecturer Sentenced to Life,” Washington Post, July 14, 2005.

  71 cancer gene research: Milton Viorst, “The Education of Ali al-Timimi,” Atlantic Monthly, June 2006.

  71 “anthrax plots”: Mary Beth Sheridan, “Hardball Tactics in an Era of Threats,” Washington Post, September 3, 2006.

  71 one of the lead investigators: Herridge, The Next Wave, p. 84.

  71 “I don’t think anyone wants me talking”: Ibid., p. 217.

  71 “trying to cultivate”: Ibid., p. 216.

  71 “even talked to the guy”: Author interview, Edward MacMahon, July 2012.

  71 trying to set him up: Scott Shane and Souad Mekhennet, “Imam’s Path from Condemning Terror to Preaching Jihad,” New York Times, May 8, 2010.

  71 ultimately convicted: Eric Lichtblau, “Scholar Is Given Life Sentence in ‘Virginia Jihad’ Case,” New York Times, July 14, 2005.

  72 wearing a wire: Herridge, The Next Wave, p. 85.

  72 “authority for this request”: Author copy of filing.

  72 “a national security issue”: Author interview, Edward MacMahon, July 2012.

  72 “had Awlaki released”: Herridge, The Next Wave, p. 85.

  72 “pounced on the tips”: Sheridan, “Hardball Tactics in an Era of Threats.”

  72 “Is there any connection”: Press release from Representative Frank Wolf, “Wolf Asks FBI Why Aulaqi Was Released from Custody in 2002,” May 24, 2010, http://wolf.house.gov/press-releases/wolf-asks-fbi-why-aulaqi-was-released-from-custody-in-2002/.

  73 “pages of blankness”: Herridge, The Next Wave, p. 206.

  73 government witnesses: Jerry Markon, “Views of Va. Muslim Leader Differ as Terror Trial Opens,” Washington Post, April 5, 2005.

  73 “How did Aulaqi end up”: Wolf, “Wolf Asks FBI Why Aulaqi Was Released from Custody in 2002.”

  74 “plan to attempt a recruitment”: Author interview, former senior FBI counterterrorism agent, July 2012.

  74 “how he got out”: Ragavan, “The Imam’s Very Curious Story.”

  6: “We’re in a New Kind of War”

  75 “godfather of terror”: Philip Smucker and Howard LaFranchi, “Anti-US Strike Shakes Yemen; Three US Aid Workers Slain in a Hospital,” Christian Science Monitor, December 31, 2002.

  75 meeting with tribal officials: Ibid.

  75 multiple mobile phones: Seymour M. Hersh, “Manhunt: The Bush Administration’s New Strategy in the War Against Terrorism,” New Yorker, December 23, 2002.

  75 “compound under surveillance”: Michael DeLong, with Noah Lukeman, Inside CentCom: The Unvarnished Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2004), p. 70.

  75 MQ-1 Predator drone: Hersh, “Manhunt.”

  75 live video feed: Dina Temple-Raston, The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in the Age of Terror (New York: PublicAffairs, 2007), p. 196.

  75 “high-speed Predator chase”: DeLong, Inside CentCom, p. 70.

  75 driving off in a convoy: Temple-Raston, The Jihad Next Door, p. 195.

  75 “We’re right over here”: Ibid., p. 196.

  76 “We didn’t want publicity”: DeLong, Inside CentCom, pp. 70–71.

  76 twenty-five yards: Ibid., p. 71.

  76 DNA samples: Temple-Raston, The Jihad Next Door, p. 196.

  76 US citizen: Dana Priest, “U.S. Citizen Among Those Killed In Yemen Predator Missile Strike,” Washington Post, November 8, 2002.

  76 unindicted co-conspirator: James Risen and Marc Santora, “Threats and Responses: The Terror Network; Slain in Yemen Tied by U.S. to Buffalo Cell,” New York Times, November 10, 2002.

  76 “card-carrying member”: Matthew Purdy and Lowell Bergman, “Where the Trail Led: Between Evidence and Suspicion; Unclear Danger: Inside the Lackawanna Terror Case,” New York Times, October 12, 2003. The other six men all pled guilty to terrorism-related charges and served time in federal prison. They have since been released. See Mary Friona and Claudine Ewing (WGRZ-TV), “Lackawanna Six: Ten Years Later,” wgrz.com, September 14, 2012.

  76 “international killers”: Greg Miller and Josh Meyer, “U.S. Drops Bomb in Yemen, Kills Six al-Qaida Operatives,” Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2002.

  76 “out of business”: Transcript, “DoD News Briefing—Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers,” November 4, 2002.

  77 “high-tech resources”: Mark Hosenball and Evan Thomas, “The Opening Shot; in a Show of Superpower Might, the CIA Kills a Qaeda Operative in Yemen and His American Ally,” Newsweek, November 18, 2002.

  77 “successful tactical operation”: Transcript, CNN International, November 5, 2002.

  77 “highly pissed”: Hosenball and Thomas, “The Opening Shot.”

  77 “major problems”: DeLong, Inside CentCom, p. 71.

  77 “it is so difficult”: Philip Smucker, “The Intrigue Behind the Drone Strike; Yemen Official Says US Lacks Discretion as Anti-terror Partner,” Christian Science Monitor, November 12, 2002.

  77 truck bomb: DeLong, Inside CentCom, pp. 70–71.

  77 “I hope so”: Hosenball and Thomas, “The Opening Shot.”

  77 “deliberate killing”: Amnesty International, “Yemen/USA: Government Must Not Sanction Extra-judicial Executions,” November 8, 2002.

  78 “constitutional questions”: Transcript, Fox News Sunday, Fox, November 10, 2002.

  78 “Assassination as a norm”: Dana Priest, “CIA Killed U.S. Citizen in Yemen Missile Strike; Action’s Legality, Effectiveness Questioned,” Washington Post, November 8, 2002.

  78 outside of Afghanistan: Chris Woods, “‘OK, fine. Shoot him.’ Four Words That Heralded a Decade of Secret US Drone Killings,” Bureau of Investigation Journalism, November 3, 2012.

  78 “rules of engagement”: Miller and Meyer, “U.S. Drops Bomb in Yemen.”

  78 “best way”: Transcript of President Bush’s prepared remarks radio address, November 16, 2002.

  78 upgrading and expanding: Robert Schlesinger, “In Djibouti, US Special Forces Develop Base amid Secrecy,” Boston Globe, December 12, 2002. “The base has been transformed since the first US soldiers arrived, taking over a former French installation that was in advanced disrepair. Many of the old buildings were razed, replaced with a growing number of tents and hard buildings. Hesko barriers—wire and canvas structures filled with dirt—line roads, some of which are paved, many of which are bumpy gravel. The base has two gyms and the old French pool is close to being renovated. Where midday meals were once the military’s pre-packaged Meals Ready to Eat, four hot meals are now served daily.”

  78 “where the action is”: Ibid.

  79 “we can speak about”: Ibid.

  79 fully operational: Agence France-Presse, “US Anti-Terror Chief Meets President of Troubled Yemen,” December 22, 2002.

  79 more than four hundred soldiers: Transcript, “Joint Task Force Horn of Africa Briefing,” January 10, 2003.

  79 “we’re relentless”: Mark Fineman, “New Phase of War on Terror Moves to E. Africa; American Military Presence Is Beefed Up as Navy Vessel Becomes a Mobile Forward Base,” Los Angeles Times, December
21, 2002.

  79 Christmas decorations: Ibid.

  79 “If they stumble”: Ibid.

  79 met with President Saleh: “US Anti-Terror Chief Meets President of Troubled Yemen.”

  79 “coordination”: Ibid.

  79 “hunting for Qaeda members”: Patrick E. Tyler, “Yemen, an Uneasy Ally, Proves Adept at Playing Off Old Rivals,” New York Times, December 19, 2002.

  79 “Needless to say”: Transcript, “Secretary Rumsfeld Town Hall Meeting at Camp Lemonier [sic], Djibouti,” December 11, 2002.

  7: special plans

  81 “gravest error”: Barton Gellman and Thomas E. Ricks, “US Concludes bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Flight; Failure to Send Troops in Pursuit Termed Major Error,” Washington Post, April 17, 2002.

  81 “deep background”: Richard Sale, “Embarrassed Rumsfeld Fired CIA Official,” United Press International, July 28, 2004.

  81 “assigned to another position”: Bob Woodward and Dan Eggen, “Aug. Memo Focused on Attacks in U.S. Lack of Fresh Information Frustrated Bush,” Washington Post, May 19, 2002.

  81 Rumsfeld who had Black fired: Sale, “Embarrassed Rumsfeld Fired CIA Official.”

  81 Black was replaced: Joby Warrick and Walter Pincus, “Station Chief Made Appeal to Destroy CIA Tapes; Lawyer Says Top Official Had Implicit Approval,” Washington Post, January 16, 2008.

  81 zealous promoter: Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., with Bill Harlow, Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives (New York: Threshold Editions, 2012), Preface, p. xiii. “I am certain, beyond any doubt, that these techniques, approved at the highest levels of the U.S. government... shielded the people of the United States from harm and led to the capture and killing of Usama bin Ladin.”

  81 visiting the Agency: Dana Priest and Walter Pincus, “Some Iraq Analysts Felt Pressure from Cheney Visits,” Washington Post, June 5, 2003.

  81 significant push-back: Bryan Burrough, Evgenia Peretz, David Rose, and David Wise, “The Path to War,” Vanity Fair, November 2004, p. 228.

  81 “no credible information”: January 2003 CIA report, “Iraqi Support for Terrorism,” excerpted in “Report of an Inquiry into the Alternative Analysis of the Issue of an Iraq-al Qaeda Relationship,” by Senator Carl Levin, October 21, 2004.

  82 “contradict the CIA’s own analyses”: Robert Dreyfuss, “The Pentagon Muzzles the CIA,” American Prospect, November 21, 2002.

  82 “It’s [Feith’s] shop”: Transcript, “Department of Defense Press Briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Gen. Richard B. Myers, Chairman, JCS,” October 24, 2002.

  82 “helping us sift”: Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, “Pentagon Sets Up Intelligence Unit,” New York Times, October 24, 2002.

  82 justification for an invasion of Iraq: Seymour M. Hersh, “Selective Intelligence: Donald Rumsfeld Has His Own Special Sources—Are They Really Reliable?” New Yorker, May 12, 2003.

  82 “do it a lot better”: Author interview, Colonel Lawrence B. Wilkerson (Ret.), May 2011.

  82 Libby, made repeated trips: Julian Borger, “The Spies Who Pushed for War,” Guardian, July 17, 2003.

  82 Newt Gingrich: Ibid.

  82 William Luti: Franklin Foer and Spencer Ackerman, “The Radical; What Dick Cheney Really Believes,” New Republic, November 20, 2003.

  83 taken a year to produce: Michael Isikoff and David Corn, Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007), p. 6.

  83 commandeer a conference room: Ibid., pp. 3–4.

  83 “hell-bent”: Rodriguez, Hard Measures, p. 125.

  83 “unprecedented”: Ray McGovern, “Cheney Chicanery,” CommonDreams.org, July 29, 2003.

  83 “‘alternative’ assessment”: Senator Carl Levin, “Report of an Inquiry into the Alternative Analysis of the Issue of an Iraq–al Qaeda Relationship,” October 21, 2004, p. 10.

  83 Feith edited his reports: Ibid., pp. 16–24.

  83 “conveyed a perception”: Ibid., p. 23.

  83 “deprived of the opportunity”: Ibid., p. 24.

  84 “unusual”: Ibid., p. 14.

  84 discredited intelligence: Ibid., p. 15.

  84 CIA attempts to discredit”: Ibid.

  84 “questionable intelligence reports”: Ibid., p. 16.

  84 “operational relationship”: Stephen F. Hayes, “Case Closed: The U.S. Government’s Secret Memo Detailing Cooperation Between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden,” Weekly Standard 9 (11), November 24, 2003.

  8: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape

  85 Some of the FBI personnel were disgusted: Ali Soufan, “My Tortured Decision,” New York Times, April 22, 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/opinion/23soufan.html.

  85 detained more than 3,000: James Risen and David Johnston, “Bush Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. to Kill Terrorists,” New York Times, December 15, 2002.

  85 “It is not going right”: Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Stephen Cambone, “Subject: Intel,” May 5, 2002, rumsfeld.com.

  86 “Defense Department task”: Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Stephen Cambone, General Myers copied, “Subject: Finding Terrorists,” May 31, 2002, rumsfeld.com.

  86 rescue, resisting: “About the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency,” United States Joint Forces Command, accessed September 5, 2012, www.jpra.mil/site_public/about/about.htm.

  86 “totalitarian evil nation”: Transcript, documentary film, Torturing Democracy, an interview with Malcolm Nance, produced by Sherry Jones, co-produced by Carey Murphy and Washington Media Associates, in association with the National Security Archive (interview November 15, 2008).

  86 During training: Documents provided in confidence to the author, as well as interviews with SERE participants and former instructors, November 2009 and January 2012; see also Jane Mayer, “The Experiment: The Military Trains People to Withstand Interrogation—Are Those Methods Being Misused at Guantanamo?” New Yorker, July 11, 2005.

  86 “enemy torture methods”: Author interview, Malcolm Nance, May 2011. All information and statements attributed to Malcolm Nance are from the author’s interview.

  86 regimes and terror groups: Ibid.

  86 running the interrogation, not harsh enough: Marc Ambinder and D. B. Grady, The Command: Deep Inside the President’s Secret Army (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2012, Kindle edition). “By October 2002, an internal JSOC assessment of interrogations at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, and [Gitmo] found that the resistance techniques of enemy combatants ‘outmatched’ the interrogation techniques of US forces. Higher [HQ] was not satisfied with the results, and JSOC picked up the rope.”

  86 “From the beginning”: Colonel Steven Kleinman, prepared testimony for the Senate Armed Services Hearing, “The Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody,” September 25, 2008. The following quotes from Kleinman are from his prepared testimony.

  87 reverse-engineered: Senate Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in US Custody, S. Prt. 110-54, Executive Summary at xiv, November 20, 2008.

  87 “flagrantly violated the laws of war”: Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz, “Prepared Statement: Senate Armed Services Committee ‘Military Commissions,’” December 12, 2001.

  87 “exploitation”: Senate Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees, p. 6.

  88 “neither reliable nor accurate”: JPRA memorandum to Pentagon’s Office of the General Counsel, “Operational Issues Pertaining to the Use of Physical/Psychological Coercion in Interrogation: An Overview,” July 2002, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/pdf/JPRA-Memo_042409.pdf.

  88 “detainee resistance”: Senate Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees, Executive Summary, at xiv.

  88 “exploitation plan”: Ibid.

  88 receiving training: Joby Warrick and Peter Finn, “Harsh Tactics Readied Before Their Approval,” Washington Post, April 22, 2009.

  88 “effects of waterboarding,” “list of SERE techniques,” Ri
chard Shiffrin: Senate Armed Services Committee Report, Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees, Executive Summary, at xiv.

  88 “mind-control experiments”: Mark Mazzetti, “Ex-Pentagon Lawyers Face Inquiry on Interrogation Role,” New York Times, June 17, 2008.

  88 same information: Senate Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees, p. 31.

  88 National Security Council: Peter Finn and Joby Warrick, “2002 Document Referred to Extreme Duress as ‘Torture,’ Warned of Techniques’ Unreliability,” Washington Post, April 25, 2009.

  89 “even death”: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, Office of the Assistant Attorney General, “Memo for Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President; Re: Standards for Conduct for Interrogation under 18 USC, sections 2340-2340 A,” August 1, 2002.

  89 legal justification: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, Office of the Assistant Attorney General, “Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency,” August 1, 2002.

  89 “deniability”: Transcript, “Hard Measures,” interview by Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes, CBS, April 29, 2012.

  89 specific interrogation techniques: Joby Warrick and Dan Egan, “Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002,” Washington Post, December 9, 2007.

  89 never briefed: Paul Kane, “Pelosi Denies Knowing Interrogation Techniques Were Used,” Capitol Briefing (blog), Washington Post, April 23 2009, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/04/pelosi_denies_knowing_interrog.html. However, under continued public pressure, Pelosi further admitted that later, after she had left the Intelligence Committee, an aide informed her of their use; see Deirdre Walsh, “Source: Aide told Pelosi Waterboarding Had Been Used,” CNN.com, May 12, 2009.

  89 claimed otherwise: Warrick and Egan, “Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002.”

  89 Some were snatched: International Committee of the Red Cross, “ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen ‘High Value Detainees’ in CIA Custody,” February 2007. The following descriptions of inhumane treatment in US custody are from the Red Cross report.