Dirty Wars

by Jeremy Scahill

  19: “America Knows War. They Are War Masters.”

  191 first approached by the CIA: Author interview, Yusuf Mohamed Siad, June 2011.

  191 Lower Shabelle: Ken Menkhaus, “Governance without Government in Somalia: Spoilers, State Building, and the Politics of Coping,” International Security 31 (3) (winter 2006–2007): 74–106, 85, www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/isec.2007.31.3.74.

  191 trafficking operations: Bruno Schiemsky, Melvin E. Holt Jr., Harjit S. Kelley, and Joel Salek, “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1587 (2005),” UN Security Council, October 4, 2005, pp. 23–24.

  191 “They offered me money”: Author interview, Yusuf Mohamed Siad, June 2011. All quotations of Indha Adde come from the author’s interview, unless otherwise noted.

  192 five specific terrorists: US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI2425, from Ambassador William Bellamy, US Embassy Nairobi, “Somalia: A Strategy for Engagement,” June 2, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06NAIROBI2425.html. “Fazul [Abdullah Mohammed], [Saleh Ali Saleh] Nabhan, [Abu Talha] el-Sudani, [Ahmed] Abdi [Godane] and [Aden Hashi] Ayrow must be removed from the Somali equation.”

  192 “start an open war in Mogadishu”: US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI1484, from Ambassador William M. Bellamy, US Embassy Nairobi, “Ambassador to Yusuf: Alliance Against Terror Not Directed at TFG,” April 4, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/04/06NAIROBI1484.html.

  193 small, regional Islamic courts: Cedric Barnes and Harun Hassan, “The Rise and Fall of Mogadishu’s Islamic Courts,” Journal of Eastern African Studies 1 (2) (July 2007).

  193 twelve courts united: Author interview, Abdirahman “Aynte” Ali, June 2011.

  193 receiving shipments: Schiemsky et al., “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia,” p. 15. The Monitoring Group reported that “another State in the region provided support to the opposition and the Oromo National Liberation Front [a Somali nationalist guerrilla group operating along the border] in the form of arms. That State provided arm[s] to opposition allies including Sheik Yusuf Indohaadde...Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys...and other[s] for the purpose of countering support provided to the TFG by Ethiopia.” The country being reported was confirmed to be Eritrea by subsequent UN and other reports.

  193 supporting the CIA’s warlords: Schiemsky et al., “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia,” pp. 20–21.

  193 “whole mess started from that point”: Author interview, Ali Mohamed Gedi, June 2011.

  193 officially announcing: “Somali Warlords Battle Islamists,” BBC News, February 21, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4735614.stm.

  193 endorsed the US campaign: Mark Mazzetti, “Efforts by C.I.A. Fail in Somalia, Officials Charge,” New York Times, June 8, 2006.

  193 “work with responsible individuals”: Emily Wax and Karen DeYoung, “U.S. Secretly Backing Warlords in Somalia,” Washington Post, May 17, 2006.

  194 “suitcases filled with dollars”: Salim Lone, “Destabilizing the Horn,” Nation, January 22, 2007.

  194 “This war is easy”: Author interview, Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, June 2011. All quotations from Mohamed Afrah Qanyare are from the author’s interview, unless otherwise noted.

  194 “some of the most violent”: Wax and DeYoung, “U.S. Secretly Backing Warlords in Somalia.”

  194 “clandestine third-country”: Schiemsky et al., “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia,” p. 15.

  194 “rallying to the cause”: US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI1261, from Leslie Rowe, Deputy Chief of Mission US Embassy Nairobi, “Worst Combat in Five Years Put at USG Doorstep,” March 20, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/03/06NAIROBI1261.html.

  194 “thwarted counterterrorism efforts”: Mazzetti, “Efforts by C.I.A. Fail in Somalia, Officials Charge.”

  194 “join the jihad”: Mohamed Olad Hassan (AP), “Ethiopian Troops off to Somalia,” News24.com, November 11, 2006.

  194 “killing [of] prayer leaders”: Author interview, Abdirahman “Aynte” Ali, June 2011. Quotations of Aynte come from the author’s interview, unless otherwise noted.

  195 “end to the warlords’ ruthlessness”: Author interview, Sheikh Ahmed “Madobe” Mohammed Islam, June 2011.

  195 “promise of order and security”: International Crisis Group, “Somalia’s Islamists,” Africa Report No. 100, December 12, 2005.

  196 “We share no objectives”: Simon Robinson, “Somalia’s Islamic Leaders Deny a Link to Terror,” Time, June 6, 2006.

  196 sometime in 2003: Abdirahman “Aynte” Ali, “The Anatomy of al Shabaab,” unpublished paper, June 2010, www.radiodaljir.com/audio/docs/TheAnatomyOfAlShabaab.pdf.

  196 explosives expert, financing: Clint Watts, Jacob Shapiro, and Vahid Brown, “Al-Qaida’s (Mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa,” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, July 2, 2007, Appendix B: Cast of Characters from the Horn of Africa, pp. 131–132, www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/al-qaidasmisadventures-in-the-horn-of-africa.

  197 1972 or 1974: Profile of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, United Nations Security Council al-Qaida Sanctions List, accessed August 14, 2012, www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sc10755.doc.htm. Fazul reportedly possessed other documents stating that his date of birth was in 1976 and 1971. Fazul was removed from the sanctions list on August 12, 2012.

  197 Fazul grew up: Watts, Shapiro, and Brown, “Al-Qaida’s (Mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa,” pp. 89–90.

  197 “got confirmed”: Ibid., p. 93. The authors cite a letter sent from Fazul to his brother Omar in 1991.

  197 first mission: United States of America v. Usama bin Laden et al., S(9) 98 Cr. 1023, Indictment, p. 16.

  197 Fazul claimed: Watts, Shapiro, and Brown, “Al-Qaida’s (Mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa,” p. 94.

  198 renting the house: Ibid., p. 96.

  198 relocated his family: Ibid., pp. 94–95.

  198 learned it from CNN: Ibid., p. 95.

  198 resulted in raids: Ibid.

  198 operate out of Liberia: Ibid., p. 97.

  198 regularly travel to Somalia: Ibid., p. 98.

  199 contracted Mohamed Dheere: Ibid., p. 99; Desmond Butler, “Threats and Responses: Terrorism; Three-Year Hunt Fails to Net Qaeda Suspect in Africa,” New York Times, June 14, 2003.

  199 Internet café, “Fazul was too smart”: Sean D. Naylor, “Years of Detective Work Led to al-Qaida Target,” Army Times, November 21, 2011.

  199 intercepted communications: Watts, Shapiro, and Brown, “Al-Qaida’s (Mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa,” p. 99.

  199 “most wanted fugitives”: International Crisis Group, “Counterterrorism in Somalia: Losing Hearts and Minds?” Africa Report No. 95, July 11, 2005, p. 9.

  200 “the special group”: International Crisis Group, “Somalia’s Islamists,” Africa Report No. 100, December 12, 2005, p. 11.

  200 Italian cemetery: Ali, “The Anatomy of al Shabaab,” p. 28.

  200 “headline-grabbing assassinations”: Ibid.

  201 video teleconferences: Naylor, “Years of Detective Work Led to al-Qaida Target.”

  201 took control of Mogadishu: “Islamic Militia Claims Mogadishu,” CNN.com, June 5, 2006.

  201 “wonderful piece of news”: Transcript, “Islamic Militia Takes Control of Somali Capital,” NewsHour, PBS, June 6, 2006.

  202 “establish a friendly relationship”: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, letter to governments and international organizations, “The Union of Islamic Courts in Mogadishu Break the Silence,” June 6, 2006, www.hiiraan.com/news/2006/jun/somali_news6_7.aspx.

  202 “invite an investigative team”: US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI2640, from Ambassador William Bellamy, US Embassy Nairobi, “Islamist Advances, Prospects for Dialogue, but Still No Admission of the Al Qaida Presence,” June 15, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06NAIROBI2640.html. The cable includes the text of a letter sent from Sheikh Sharif on June 14.

  202
“litmus test”: Ibid.

  202 “moderate”: See US diplomatic cable 07NAIROBI5403, from Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, US Embassy Nairobi, “Somalia—Sheikh Sharif and the Future Role of Islamic Courts Moderates,” January 1, 2007, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/01/07NAIROBI5403.html.

  202 “contemplate killing Sharif”: Jon Lee Anderson, “The Most Failed State,” New Yorker, December 14, 2009.

  202 “onto everybody’s radar screen”: Author interview, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, March 2011. All quotations of Gartenstein-Ross are from the author’s interview.

  202 “There is instability in Somalia”: Transcript, “President’s Remarks to the Travel Pool at Laredo Border Patrol Sector Headquarters,” June 6, 2006.

  203 insane maze of roadblocks: Mohammed Olad Hassan, “Life Under Somalia’s Islamists,” BBC.news.co.uk, July 11, 2006.

  203 ports and the airport: “Mogadishu’s Port Reopened,” AlJazeera.com, August 23, 2006.

  203 felt safer: Xan Rice, “Mogadishu’s Miracle: Peace in the World’s Most Lawless City,” Guardian, June 25, 2006.

  203 US officials acknowledged: US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI3441, from Economic Counselor John F. Hoover, US Embassy Nairobi, “Horn of Africa, State-USAID Humanitarian Cable Update Number 8,” August 8, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/06NAIROBI3441.html.

  203 “some semblance of order”: Author interview, Ismail Mahmoud Hurre, June 2011.

  203 “rally with Ethiopia”: Memorandum from “Ennifar” (likely Azouz Ennifar, Deputy Special Representative for UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea), “Meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,” June 26, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/wiki/US_encouraged_Ethiopian_invasion_of_Somalia:_UN_meeting_memo_with_Jenday_Frazer,_Secretary_of_State_for_African_Affairs,_2006.

  204 training its notorious Agazi: Michael R. Gordon and Mark Mazzetti, “U.S. Ethiopian Campaign Routed Islamic Militants in Somalia,” International Herald Tribune, February 23, 2007.

  204 began setting up shop: Thomas P. M. Barnett, “The Americans Have Landed,” Esquire, June 27, 2007, www.esquire.com/features/africacommand0707.

  204 Task Force 88: Michael R. Gordon and Mark Mazzetti, “U.S. Used Base in Ethiopia to Hunt al Qaeda,” New York Times, February 23, 2007.

  204 ratchet up its rhetoric: See Stephanie McCrummen, “Interview with Meles Zenawi,” WashingtonPost.com, December 14, 2006.

  204 went on national radio: Author interview, Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, June 2011.

  204 “reconnaissance missions”: US Diplomatic cable 06ADDISABABA1904 from Vicki Huddleston, Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy Addis Ababa, “Corrected Copy—Ethiopia: GOE Says No Incursion in Somalia,” July 12, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/07/06ADDISABABA1904.html.

  205 “Shabab was a sideline organization”: Author interview, Malcolm Nance, May 2011. Quotations of Malcolm Nance come from the author’s interview.

  205 “We warn all the nations”: Osama bin Laden, transcript of audio recording, July 2, 2006, translation from The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), accessed December 2010, www.memri.org/report/en/print1872.htm.

  206 privately warned their superiors: US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI2618, from Ambassador William Bellamy, US Embassy Nairobi, “Jowhar Falls,” June 14, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06NAIROBI2618.html. “The UN has reports that an Ethiopian brigade positioned along the Somali border has been reinforced with armor and helicopters, sparking fears about an Ethiopian incursion to Somalia. Such a move could lead to greatly expanded conflict and could ultimately cause the TFIs to fail. In this light, we advise a high-level call to Ethiopia to dissuade movement of troops into Somalia...squadron of armor and MI-24 Hind B helicopters.”

  206 “Jihad in Allah’s way”: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, “Islamists Declare Jihad (Holy War) on Neighboring Ethiopia Following the Fall of Key Town to Ethiopian-back[ed] Somali Government Forces,” October 10, 2006, video and transcription from Reuters.

  206 “executive order” written in Arabic: US diplomatic cable 06ADDISABABA3212, from Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy Addis Ababa, “Somali Prime Minister Gedi Highlights Foreign Extremist Support for ICU,” December 6, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/12/06ADDISABABA3212.html.

  207 John Abizaid: US diplomatic cable 06ADDISABABA3240, from Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy Addis Ababa, “Ethiopia: Meles Alters Stance on Military Action,” December 8, 2006, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/12/06ADDISABABA3240.html; Xan Rice and Suzanne Goldenberg, “How US Forged an Alliance with Ethiopia over Invasion,” Guardian, January 12, 2007.

  207 “chance of a lifetime”: Alex Perry, “Somalia on the Edge,” Time, November 29, 2007.

  207 “They are terrorists”: David Gollust, “US Says al-Qaida Elements Running Somali Islamic Movement,” Voice of America, December 14, 2006.

  207 “Growing Al-Qaeda Menace”: Julie Hollar, “Rediscovering Somalia; Press Downplays U.S. Role in Renewed Crisis,” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, March 1, 2008, http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/rediscovering-somalia/.

  207 “a safe haven”: Ibid.

  207 “here in East Africa”: Transcript, Newsroom, CNN, January 6, 2007.

  207 “hard and fast views”: Karen DeYoung, “U.S. Sees Growing Threats in Somalia,” Washington Post, December 18, 2006.

  207 “idiotic”: Ibid.

  207 “making a bad bet”: Ibid.

  208 across the Somali border: Jeffrey Gettleman, “Ethiopian Warplanes Attack Somalia,” New York Times, December 24, 2006.

  208 40,000–50,000 troops: David Axe, “Wikileaked Cable Confirms U.S.’ Secret Somalia Op,” Danger Room (blog), Wired.com, December 2, 2010, www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/wikileaked-cable-confirms-u-s-secret-somalia-op/; Scott Baldauf, “In Somalia, Foreign Intervention Won’t Resolve Al Shabab Threat,” Christian Science Monitor, September 2, 2010. Axe reports that “some 50,000 Ethiopian troops” participated in the invasion; the Christian Science Monitor reports 40,000.

  208 “attack Addis Ababa”: Xan Rice, “Somali Hardliner Calls for Foreign Jihadists,” Guardian, December 23, 2006.

  208 “The warlord era”: Stephanie McCrummen, “Somali Islamic Fighters Flee Toward Kenya,” Washington Post, January 2, 2007.

  208 demonstrations broke out: Reuters, “Anti-Ethiopian Protests Rock Mogadishu,” Toronto Star, January 6, 2007.

  20: Prison Break

  210 escaped, maximum security prison: Mark Trevelyan (Reuters), “Jailbreak in Yemen Stirs Concern Abroad; Inside Job Seen in Qaeda Escape,” Boston Globe, February 10, 2006.

  210 later boasted: Wuhayshi later recounted the escape in an article for an Arabic-language publication, which was later translated by Gregory D. Johnsen. See Nasir al-Wuhayshi, “The New Leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen Relates the Details of the Escape of al-Qaeda Members from an Intelligence Prison,” al-Ghad, June 25, 2007.

  210 “serious problem”: Barbara Starr, “Yemen Prison Break Raises Alarms at Sea,” CNN.com, February 7, 2006.

  210 “Saleh knows how to play the game”: Author interview, former US counterterrorism official, January 2011. All statements and quotations attributed to the former US counterterrorism official are from the author’s interview.

  210 “They play it for survival”: Author interview, Dr. Emile Nakhleh, January 2010.

  211 “an inside job”: Sam Kimball, “Whose Side Is Yemen On?” Foreign Policy, August 29, 2012.

  211 “would seem impossible”: Ibid.

  212 major expansion of Camp Lemonnier: Joseph Giordono, “U.S. Military Plans to Expand Camp Lemonier in Djibouti; Lease to Provide for More Housing and Security,” Stars and Stripes, July 9, 2006.

  212 “Some teams use the base”: Ibid.

  212 President Bush’s top aide: US diplomatic cable 07SANAA1989, from Ambassador Stephen Seche, US Embassy Sana’a, “
Townsend-Saleh Meeting Provides Opening for Additional CT Cooperation,” October 30, 2007, released by WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/10/07SANAA1989.html. Details of Saleh’s meeting with Townsend come from this cable.

  212 “Despite the Somalia UN arms embargo”: “Security Council Committee on Somalia and Eritrea Issues List of Individuals Identified Pursuant to Paragraph 8 of Resolution 1844 (2008),” Department of Public Information, UN Security Council, April 12, 2010, www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/sc9904.doc.htm.

  213 “way over their heads”: Author interview, former US military official, February 2012.

  213 “put a great deal of pressure”: Yemen: Confronting al-Qaeda, Preventing State Failure, Hearing Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 111th Cong. 53 (2010) (prepared testimony of Gregory D. Johnsen).

  213 hardened jihadist: Gregory D. Johnsen, The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al-Qaeda, and America’s War in Arabia (New York: W. W. Norton, 2012), p. 163.

  214 “become more strident”: Gregory D. Johnsen, “Al-Qaeda in Yemen Reorganizes Under Nasir al-Wahayshi,” Terrorism Focus 5 (11) (March 18, 2008), www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4796.

  21: Hot Pursuit

  215 first basement-level recruit: “Robert M. Gates; Secretary of Defense,” accessed September 10, 2012, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/gates-bio.html.

  215 “was close to many figures”: Lawrence E. Walsh, “Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters; Volume I: Investigations and Prosecutions,” August 4, 1993, p. 223.

  215 US-fueled war in Afghanistan: Yaroslav Trofimov, “Soviets’ Afghan Ordeal Vexed Gates on Troop-Surge,” Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2009.

  216 “direct action authorities”: Committee on Armed Services, Afghanistan, S. Hrg. 110-269 (2007) (testimony of Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute).

  216 “pushing hard”: Sean D. Naylor, “Spec Ops Raids into Pakistan Halted,” Army Times, September 26, 2008.