Ghost Wars

by Steve Coll

  Massoud, Ahmed Shah. Letter Submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Events in Afghanistan. October 8, 1998.

  Mueller, Robert S. Joint Inquiry Committee. September 26, 2002; October 17, 2002.

  Pillar, Paul. Joint Inquiry Committee. October 8, 2002.

  Powell, Colin. Senate Appropriations Committee: Foreign Operations Subcommittee Hearing on Afghanistan. May 15, 2001.

  Raphel, Robin. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Current Events in South Asia. February 4, 1994.

  –.Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Afghanistan. June 6, 1996.

  Rolince, Michael. Joint Inquiry Committee. September 24, 2002.

  Rubin, Barnett. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Events in Afghanistan. October 8, 1998.

  –.Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on the Crisis in Afghanistan. April 14, 1999.

  Santos, Charles. House International Relations Committee Hearing on al Qaeda and the Global Reach of Terrorism. October 3, 2001.

  Scowcroft, Brent. Joint Inquiry Committee. September 19, 2002.

  Tenet, George. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on the Nomination of George Tenet as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. June 14, 1995.

  –. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. February 5, 1997.

  –. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on the Nomination of George Tenet as Director of Central Intelligence. May 6, 1997.

  –. Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing on Counterterrorism. May 13, 1997.

  –. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. January 28, 1998.

  –. Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. February 2, 1999.

  –. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. February 2, 2000.

  –. Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. February 3, 2000.

  –. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. February 7, 2001.

  –. Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. March 8, 2001.

  –. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats. February 6, 2002.

  –. Joint Inquiry Committee. October 17, 2002.

  Tomsen, Peter. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Afghanistan. July 20, 2000.

  –. House Committee on International Relations Hearing on the Future of Afghanistan. November 7, 2001.

  Watson, Dale. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on the Report of the National Commission on Terrorism. June 15, 2000.

  –. Joint Inquiry Committee. September 26, 2002.

  White, Mary Jo. Joint Inquiry Committee. October 8, 2002.

  Wolfowitz, Paul. Joint Inquiry Committee. September 19, 2002.

  Zinni, Anthony. Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Afghanistan. February 29, 2000.

  CONGRESSIONAL REPORT

  Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, “Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001,” final report prepared December 2002, redacted and released August 2003.

  COMMISSION REPORT

  “The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States,” released July 2004. Also, interim staff statements no. 1-17.

  SPEECHES

  Al-Faisal, Turki, Prince. “Special Address at Georgetown University.” February 3, 2002, Washington, D.C.

  Berger, Samuel. “Remarks to the National Academy of Sciences.” January 22, 1999, Washington, D.C.

  Clinton, Bill. “Remarks to Staff of the CIA and Intelligence Community.” July 14, 1995, McLean, Virginia.

  –. “On the Work Force Investment Act of 1998.” August 7, 1998, Washington, D.C.

  –.“Remarks to the National Academy of Sciences.” January 22, 1999,Washington, D.C.

  –. “Speech at Georgetown University.” November 7, 2001, Washington, D.C.

  –. “Speech at Labour Party Conference.” October 3, 2002, Blackpool, England.

  –.“Remarks to Democratic Leadership Council at New York University.” December 6, 2002, New York, New York.

  Clinton, Hillary. “Remarks to United Nations Economic and Social Council.” December 10, 1997, New York, New York.

  Inderfurth, Karl F. “Statement by Karl Inderfurth.” July 19, 1999, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

  Simons, Thomas W., Jr. “The Evolving American Approach to World Affairs and the Emerging Pakistan-U.S. Relationship: Works in Progress.” (Speech presented to Association of Retired Ambassadors.) September 22, 1996, Islamabad, Pakistan.

  –. “Regional Stability in South Asia: U.S. Views.” (Speech presented to United Service Institution.) November 27, 1996, New Delhi, India.

  –. “Pakistan-U.S. Relations: A Personal Perspective.” (Speech presented to English Speaking Union of Karachi.) June 3, 1998, Karachi, Pakistan.

  Tenet, George. “Remarks at Swearing-in Ceremony by Vice President Gore.” July 31, 1997, Washington, D.C.

  –. “Speech at the University of Oklahoma.” September 12, 1997, Norman, Oklahoma.

  –. “Acceptance of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.” November 6, 1997, New York, New York.

  –. “Does America Need the CIA?” November 19, 1997, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

  –. “Remarks at Intelligence Community Awards Ceremony.” December 11, 1997, McLean, Virginia.

  –.“Remarks to CIA Employees on Strategic Direction.“May 5, 1998, McLean, Virginia.

  –.“Oscar Iden Lecture at Georgetown University.” October 18, 1999,Washington,D.C.

  SELECTED U.S. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

  “Afghan Policy-U.S. Strategy.” State Department Cable, September 26, 1991.

  “Afghanistan Settlement-Analysis and Policy Recommendations.” State Department Cable, June 1997.

  “Afghanistan: The Revolution After Four Years.” CIA, Directorate of Intelligence, July 1982. Released July 1999 by the National Security Archive.

  “Afghanistan: Trends for 1992.” State Department Cable, December 16, 1991.

  “Afghanistan-U.S. Interests and U.S. Aid.” State Department Memorandum, December 18, 1992.

  “Biography of Mohammed Omar.” CIA fact sheet, December 21, 1998.

  “Central Asia, Afghanistan and U.S. Policy.” State Department Memorandum, February 2, 1993.

  “The Costs of Soviet Involvement in Afghanistan.” CIA, Office of Soviet Analysis, February 1987. Released 2000.

  “Démarche to Pakistan on Hekmatyar and Sayyaf Gulf Statements.” State Department Action Memorandum, January 28, 1991. Released April 6, 2000.

  “Executive Order 12947.” Federal Register, January 25, 1995.

  “Implications of a Continued Stalemate in Afghanistan.” State Department Cable, February 5, 1993.

  “Memorandum of Conversation Between HRH Prince Turki and Senator Bill Bradley.” Memorandum, April 13, 1980.

  “Ramzi Ahmed Yousef: A New Generation of Sunni Islamic Terrorists.” FBI assessment, 1995.

  “Report of the Accountability Review Boards: Bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on August 7, 1998.” Released January 8, 1999.

  “SE Tomsen Meeting with Shura of Commanders Oct. 6.” State Department Cable, October 10, 1990.

  “The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: Five Years After.” CIA, Director
ate of Intelligence, May 1985.

  “Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance.” State Department Action Memorandum, April 19 1989. Released March 23, 2000.

  “Terrorism, the Future, and U.S. Foreign Policy.” Congressional Research Service, September 13, 2001.

  “Terrorist Attack on USS Cole: Background and Issues for Congress.” Congressional Research Service, January 30, 2001.

  “To SecState WashDC Priority, Dissent Channel.” State Department Cable, June 21, 1989.

  “Usama bin Laden: Islamic Extremist Financier.” CIA Assessment, 1996.

  “U.S. Policy on Counterterrorism.” Presidential Directive-39, June 21, 1995.

  “USSR: Withdrawal from Afghanistan.” Director of Central Intelligence, Special National Intelligence Estimate, March 1988.

  DOCUMENT SETS

  The Cold War International History Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center. “Toward an International History of the War in Afghanistan, 1979-1989.” Comp. Christian F. Ostermann and Mircea Munteanu. Conference in association with The Asia Program and The Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center, The George Washington Cold War Group at The George Washington University, and the National Security Archive. Washington, D.C.: April 29-30, 2002.

  –. “Excerpt from a report of 40th Army HQ.”

  –. Gromov, Boris. “Limited Contingent.” Progress, Moscow, 1994.

  –. Likhovskii, A. A. “The Tragedy and Valor of the Afghani.” GPI “Iskon,” Moscow, 1995.

  –. Lyakhovski, Aleksandr A. “New Russian Evidence on the Crisis and War in Afghanistan.” Working paper no. 41.

  –. Mitrokhin, Vasiliy. “The KGB in Afghanistan.” English ed., working paper no. 40.

  –. Politburo records provided by Anatoly Chenyaev and translated by the Gorbachev Foundation.

  –. “Special National Intelligence Estimate on Pakistan.” November 12, 1982.

  The National Security Archive. “The September 11th Sourcebooks: National Security Archive Online Readers on Terrorism, Intelligence and the Next War.”

  –. Volume I: Terrorism and U.S. Policy. Jeffrey Richelson and Michael L. Evans, eds. September 21, 2001.

  –. “The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan: Russian Documents and Memoirs.” Volume II: Afghanistan: Lessons from the Last War. John Prados and Svetlana Savranskaya, eds. October 9, 2001.

  –. Volume IV: The Once and Future King?: From the Secret Files of King Zahir’s Reign in Afghanistan, 1970-1973. William Burr, ed. October 26, 2001.

  –. Volume VII: The Taliban File. Sajit Gandhi, ed. September 11, 2003.

  COURT DOCUMENTS

  United States of America v. Ibrahim A. el-Gabrowny et al., S(2) 93 Cr. 181 (S.D. New York, 1993).

  United States of America v. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef et al., S 93 Cr. 180 (S.D. New York, 1993).

  United States of America v. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef et al., S(10) 93 Cr. 180 (S.D. New York, 1995).

  United States of America v. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef et al., S(12) 93 Cr. 180 (S.D. New York, February 1996).

  United States of America v. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef et al., S(12) 93 Cr. 180 (S.D. New York, August 1996).

  United States of America v. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef et al., S(12) 93 Cr. 180 (S.D. New York, August 1997).

  United States of America v. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef et al., S(12) 93 Cr. 180 (S.D. New York, October 1997).

  United States of America v. Usama bin Laden et al., S 98 Cr. 539 (S.D. New York, 1998).

  United States of America v. Ali Mohamed, S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D. New York, 2000).

  United States of America v. Usama bin Laden et al., S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D. New York, February 5, 2001).

  United States of America v. Usama bin Laden et al., S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D. New York, February 6, 2001).

  NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND BROADCAST NEWS

  Newspapers: Aerospace Daily, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Arab News, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Boston Herald, Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Telegraph, Defense Daily, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent (London), Los Angeles Times, The Muslim (Islamabad), New York Daily News, The New York Times, The News (Islamabad), Newsday (New York), Platt’s Oilgram News, The Seattle Times, The Toronto Star, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times.

  Magazines: Air Force Magazine, Asiaweek, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Business Week, The Economist, Financial Times, Fortune, Le Monde Diplomatique, Le Nouvel Observateur, National Journal, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Nida’ul Islam, Popular Science, Time.

  News Agencies: AAP Newsfeed, Agence France Presse, Associated Press, Bulletin Broadfaxing Network, Federal News Service, Intelligence Newsletter, MBC, Reuters, United Press International.

  Broadcast News: ABC News, ABC’s Nightline, al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Fox News, The News Hour With Jim Lehrer, Orbit, PBS’s Frontline.

  FILMS, TELEVISION, AND VIDEOTAPES

  Afghan Warrior: The Life and Death of Abdul Haq, Touch Productions, London, 2003.

  Ahmed Badeeb 2002 Interview with Orbit Television, supplied to the author by Badeeb, translated by The Language Doctors, Inc. See note 1, chapter 4.

  Ahmed Shah Massoud with Abdul Haq and Peter Tomsen, June 24, 2001, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, informal video and transcript of meeting.

  Ahmed Shah Massoud with Otilie English, April 27, 2001, Khoja Bahuddin, Afghanistan, informal video of meeting.

  Hunting bin Laden, produced and directed by Martin Smith, aired as an episode of Frontline, Public Broadcasting System, March 21, 2000.

  Acknowledgments

  This book belongs first to my sources. During the course of my research, scores of people-Americans, Afghans, Pakistanis, Saudis-agreed to sit for long and sometimes repeated interviews about sensitive subjects, without any guarantees about how I would handle the material. Many of them are listed by name in the notes. I am deeply grateful for their time and trust. I also accept full responsibility for any errors of fact and interpretation in what I have written; those who helped me should not be blamed. Unfortunately, some of the people to whom I owe the most cannot be named here. They know who they are; they have my sincere and lasting thanks.

  More than any individual, Len Downie, the executive editor of The Washington Post, my partner and friend for the last five years, granted this book its life. His sincere, unflagging support and encouragement of the project, despite the varied burdens it placed on him, made all the difference.

  Many others at the Post, my professional home since 1985, contributed greatly to the book. Bo Jones supported the project and much else. Don Graham provided a helpful manuscript reading, among many other things. Cyndy Zeiss kept me in order and on time. David Hoffman and Phil Bennett took time they did not possess to read early drafts and provided crucial encouragement, support, edits, and suggestions. Brigit Roeber and the entire research department helped in many ways. Walter Pincus and Bob Woodward offered important documents from their personal archives. Barton Gellman, Dana Priest, Tom Ricks, and Glenn Kessler blazed journalistic paths that I followed, and also contributed ideas and practical assistance. Michael Keegan and Dick Furno made the book’s maps possible. Mike Abramowitz, Joann Armao, Bob Barnes, Milton Coleman, Jackson Diehl, Jill Dutt, Doug Feaver, David Finkel, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Deb Heard, Fred Hiatt, Steve Hills, Anne Hull, Bob Kaiser, Kevin Merida, Larry Roberts, Gene Robinson, Chris Schroeder, Maralee Schwartz, Liz Spayd, and Matt Vita offered friendship and humor through a relentlessly paced period of news. They and other reporters and editors too many to list have made the Post not only a great newspaper but a creative and exciting place to work. In important ways, this book belongs to the newsroom.

  One of my purposes in this project was to provide Afghans with reliable, transparent access to hidden strands of their own history. Especially when I worked as a correspondent in the region between 1989 and 1992, I was aided, befriended, and protected in extraordinary ways by many Afghans. In particular I would like to reme
mber here my late friend, communistera minder, driver, and translator, Najibullah, who was killed in a rocket attack on Kabul in 1992. In Afghanistan this more recent time around, my colleague Pam Constable, her Kabul housemates, and the exceptional translator Dr. Najib offered hospitality and crucial reporting help in the capital and Kandahar. In Pakistan, Karl Vick and Kamran Khan were invaluable. I am grateful as well to Maleeha Lodhi for her friendship and cheerful arguments. Asad Hayuddin helped arrange important meetings in Washington and Islamabad. David Long and Nat Kern made helpful introductions in Saudi Arabia. None of these people should be held responsible for my writings or interpretations in this book.

  One of the greatest research challenges I faced was to connect recollections from interviews (inevitably selective) with authenticating, contemporaneous documents. I am grateful to Robert Gates for directing me to his unedited manuscript, held at Harvard University. Peter Tomsen generously shared declassified State Department cables from his vast personal archive on Afghanistan. Otilie English provided a very helpful taped interview with Ahmed Shah Massoud from early 2001. Karl Inderfurth provided important travel calendars and other documents that added precision to my account of U.S. diplomatic history in Afghanistan between 1997 and 2000. Bill Harlow, Mark Mansfield, and Jenny in the CIA’s office of public affairs helpfully directed me to open source material. Other sources consulted diaries, calendars, official histories, archives, and other government documents to ensure that my narrative was as accurate and complete as possible. I am grateful to all of them. Excerpts from classified documents published by the congressional Joint Inquiry Committee on the September 11 attacks provided important insight about the 1998-2001 period. The Age of Sacred Terror, by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, former White House counterterrorism officials, also offered helpful inside documentation about those years. Finally, Christian Ostermann and his colleagues at the Cold War International History Project collected and, where necessary, translated an enormously valuable archive of Soviet and American documents about Afghanistan from the 1980s, adding to the earlier good work by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. The National Security Archive worked its declassification magic again during 2003 and added useful new material about U.S. policy toward the Taliban.