Reign of Terror

by Spencer Ackerman

  impersonated an American Muslim group: Spencer Ackerman, “Russia Is Exploiting American White Supremacy Over and Over Again,” Daily Beast, October 9, 2018. Kevin Poulsen, Ben Collins, and Spencer Ackerman, “Russia Used Facebook Events to Organize Anti-Immigrant Rallies on U.S. Soil,” Daily Beast, September 13, 2017. Kevin Poulsen, Spencer Ackeman, and Ben Collins, “Russians Impersonated Real American Muslims to Stir Up Chaos on Facebook and Instagram,” Daily Beast, September 27, 2017.

  Tens of millions of American accounts: Mueller Report, 26.

  consigliere Roger Stone: Roger Stone, “Dear Hillary: DNC Hack Solved, So Stop Blaming Russia,” Breitbart, August 5, 2016.

  Downer reported the conversation: Sharon LaFraniere, Mark Mazetti, and Matt Apuzzo, “How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talks of Political Dirt,” New York Times, December 30, 2017.

  When Page wondered: Department of Justice Inspector General, “A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election,” 404.

  A veteran of the office: Spencer Ackerman, “ ‘The FBI Is Trumpland’: Anti-Clinton Atmosphere Spurred Leaking, Sources Say,” Guardian, November 4, 2016. Matt Apuzzo, Michael S. Schmidt, Adam Goldman, and William S. Rashbaum, “FBI’s Email Disclosure Broke a Pattern Followed Even This Summer,” New York Times, November 1, 2016. Wayne Barrett, “Meet Donald Trump’s Top FBI Fanboy,” Daily Beast, November 3, 2016.

  Comey loudly drove: Mark Landler and Eric Lichtblau, “FBI Director James Comey Recommends No Charges for Hillary Clinton on Email,” New York Times, July 5, 2016.

  issued a stronger warning: Greg Miller, Ellen Nakashima, and Adam Entous, “Obama’s Secret Struggle to Punish Russia for Putin’s Election Assault,” Washington Post, June 23, 2017. Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima, and Greg Miller, “Secret CIA Assessment Says Russia Was Trying to Help Trump Win White House,” Washington Post, December 9, 2016.

  “Islam is a political ideology”: Ismat Sarah Mangla, “ ‘Islam Is a ‘Malignant Cancer’: The Hateful Rhetoric of Trump’s New National Security Adviser,” Quartz, November 18, 2016. Peter Baker and Matthew Rosenberg, “Michael Flynn Was Paid to Represent Turkey’s Interests during Trump Campaign,” New York Times, March 10, 2017. Ken Dilanian, “Russians Paid Mike Flynn $45,000 for Moscow Speech, Documents Show,” NBN News, March 16, 2017.

  Assange DM’d Guccifer 2.0: Mueller Report, 45.

  “Russian Roulette with a semi-auto”: Michael Anton, writing under the pretentious pseudonym Publius Decius Mus, “The Flight 93 Election,” Claremont Review of Books, September 5, 2016.

  Chapter Eight: Making the War on Terror Great Again

  “We’re locked in”: Author’s interview with Adham Hassoun, July 5, 2020. Author’s interview with Andy Stepanian, July 9, 2020.

  ICE agents waited: Julie Carey, “ICE Agents Arrest Men Leaving Fairfax County Church Shelter,” NBC News-4, February 15, 2017.

  By March 2019 ICE’s prisons: Spencer Ackerman, “ICE Is Detaining 50,000 People, an All-Time High,” Daily Beast, March 8, 2019.

  Trump never fulfilled his promise: At the time of this writing, if this occurred, it hasn’t leaked yet, and a lot about the Trump administration’s national security policies has leaked.

  Mariee was dead: Human Rights Watch, “In the Freezer: Abusive Conditions for Women and Children in US Immigration Holding Cells,” February 28, 2018. Todd J. Gilman, “ ‘My Daughter Is Gone’: House Hearing on ‘Kids in Cages’ Spotlights Infant Who Died after ICE Custody,” Dallas Morning News, July 10, 2019. Taylor Dolven and Kathleen Caulderwood, “This Toddler Got Sick in ICE Detention. Two Months Later She Was Dead,” Vice, August 27, 2018. Julia Webster, “Her 19-Month-Old Daughter Died after Being Held in an ICE Facility. Here’s What Yazmin Juarez Told Congress,” Time, July 11, 2019.

  having “vomited feces”: Monsy Alvarado, Ashley Balcerzak, Stacey Barchenger, et al., “Deaths in Custody. Sexual Violence. Hunger Strikes. What We Uncovered inside ICE Facilities across the US,” USA Today, December 19, 2019.

  237 reports of sexual abuse: Alvarado et al., “Deaths in Custody,” USA Today, December 22, 2019. Alice Speri, “Detained, Then Violated,” The Intercept, April 11, 2018. Robert Moore, “Gay, Transgender Detainees Allege Abuse at ICE Facility in New Mexico,” Washington Post, March 25, 2019. Victoria Lopez and Sandra Park, “ICE Detention Center Says It’s Not Responsible for Staff’s Sexual Abuse of Detainees,” ACLU, November 6, 2018. American Oversight, “DHS Records Relating to Family Separation from 2017 to 2019,” Records Received from January 2020 to March 2020, 636, www.americanoversight.org/document/dhs-records-relating-to-family-separation-from-2018-to-2019, accessed May 28, 2020.

  the “uterus collector”: Project South/Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide, whistleblower complaint of Dawn Wooten, September 14, 2020.

  an Arizona Republic reporter: Michael Kiefer, “First Peek: Immigrant Children Flood Detention Center,” Arizona Republic, June 18, 2014.

  the practice began under Kelly: Daniella Diaz, “Kelly: DHS Is Considering Separating Undocumented Children from Their Parents at the Border,” CNN, March 7, 2017. Michael Garcia Bochenek, “Trump’s Family Separation Affected ‘Thousands’ More Children Than Previously Known,” Human Rights Watch, January 18, 2019.

  suffering chest pains: Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, “Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody,” September 2019. Available at https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-09-18-00431.asp.

  “foster care, or whatever”: “Transcript: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s Interview with NPR,” NPR, May 11, 2018. Juan Guzman, “What I Witnessed at Casa Padre Detention Center,” Alliance for Childrens’ Rights, July 24, 2018. Jasmine Aguilera, “Everything You Need to Know about the Status of Family Separation at the U.S. Border, Which Isn’t Nearly Over,” Time, September 20, 2019. Caitlin Dickerson, “Parents of 545 Children Separated at the Border Cannot Be Found,” New York Times, October 21, 2020.

  Six Senate Democrats: Roll Call Vote, 115th Congress, Second Session, On The Confirmation of Gina Haspel to be Director, Central Intelligence Agency, May 17, 2018, www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00101.

  trying to obtain a visa: Spencer Ackerman, “Iraqis Lament Trump Travel Ban that Disregards Their Service to America,” Guardian, January 29, 2017.

  Bolton emerged as an obstacle: Aaron Klein, “McMaster Worked at Think Tank Backed by Soros-Funded Group that Helped Obama Sell Iran Nuclear Deal,” Breitbart, August 7, 2017. Justin Baragona, “Lou Dobbs Slams Staunch Conservative John Bolton as ‘Tool for Radical Dems,’ ” Daily Beast, January 27, 2020.

  Obama made no move: Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Administration’s Approach to Counterterrorism,” December 6, 2016, transcript available at https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/06/remarks-president-administrations-approach-counterterrorism. Spencer Ackerman, “Obama Will Not Restrict Drone Strike ‘Playbook’ before Trump Takes Office,” Guardian, November 15, 2016.

  “They lost Ryan”: Spencer Ackerman, “Eight-Year-Old American Girl ‘Killed in Yemen Raid Approved by Trump,’ ” Guardian, February 1, 2017. Abby Phillip, “Trump Passes Blame for Yemen Raid to His Generals: ‘They Lost Ryan,’ ” Washington Post, February 28, 2017. Cynthia McFadden, William Arkin, and Tim Uehlinger, “How the Trump Team’s First Military Raid in Yemen Went Wrong,” NBC, October 1, 2017. Bureau of Investigative Journalism, www.thebureauinvestigates.com/drone-war/data/yemen-reported-us-covert-actions-2017#strike-4397, accessed May 19, 2020.

  authority for lethal air strikes: Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt, “Trump Poised to Drop Some Limits on Drone Strikes and Commando Raids,” New York Times, September 21, 2017.

  air forc
e statistics: Spencer Ackerman and Sune Engel Rasmussen, “36 ISIS Militants Killed in US ‘Mother of All Bombs’ Attack, Afghan Ministry Says,” Guardian, April 14, 2017.

  “You’re going to say”: Spencer Ackerman and Sabrina Siddiqui, “Donald Trump Speech at CIA Memorial Risks Fueling Intelligence Feud,” Guardian, January 21, 2017. Philip Rucker, John Wagner, and Greg Miller, “Trump, in CIA Visit, Attacks Media for Coverage of His Inaugural Crowds,” Washington Post, January 21, 2017.

  “sycophantic and obsequious”: Susan Glasser, “Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of Trump,” The New Yorker, August 19, 2019.

  Gina Haspel, the avatar: Brigitte Gabriel, ACT for America, web.archive.org/web/20170610105418/https://www.actforamerica.org/bgeoy, accessed May 17, 2020. Mark Mazetti, “New Head of CIA’s Clandestine Service Is Picked, as Acting Chief Is Passed Over,” New York Times, May 7, 2013.

  welcomed WikiLeaks’ campaign: Michael Pompeo, “Director Pompeo Delivers Remarks at CSIS,” CIA, April 13, 2017. Andrew Kaczynski, “CIA Director Mike Pompeo Repeatedly Cited WikiLeaks to Attack Clinton during Campaign,” CNN, April 24, 2017. United States of America v. Julian Paul Assange, indictment (Virginia, District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, March 6, 2018), https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1153486/download, accessed February 24, 2021. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, “WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Charged in 18-Count Superseding Indictment,” press release no. 19-575, May 23, 2019,www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-charged-18-count-superseding-indictment, accessed February 24, 2021.

  as Trump reviewed footage: Greg Jaffe, “For Trump and His Generals, ‘Victory’ Has Different Meanings,” Washington Post, April 5, 2018.

  “The big problem”: Spencer Ackerman, “Trump Ramped Up Drone Strikes in America’s Shadow Wars,” Daily Beast, November 25, 2018. In a later piece—Spencer Ackerman and Matt Bors, “The Truth about Trump’s Drone War: ‘All I Saw Was Death,’ ” Daily Beast, May 26, 2019—I cite that by the end of 2018, Trump’s totals rose to 253. But I’ve lost my notes for that piece and think it’s safer to stand by my total in “Ramped Up Drone Strikes.” As well, in the cartoon piece, I erroneously mistransposed the earlier 238 Trump total to Obama. It’s my mistake, not Matt Bors’s, and we’ve corrected it in The Nib, where it was also published.

  war in Somalia: Stanley McChrystal, My Share of The Task: A Memoir (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2013), 250. Author’s conversation with House staffer, June 13, 2018.

  AFRICOM knew it: Christina Goldbaum, “Strong Evidence that U.S. Special Operations Forces Massacred Civilians in Somalia,” Daily Beast, November 29, 2017. John Vandiver, “AFRICOM Ends 2019 with Record Number of Strikes in Somalia,” Stars & Stripes, December 30, 2019. Hamza Mohamed, “A Family Mourns as U.S. Drone Attacks Continue,” Al Jazeera, April 1, 2020. “Somalia: Zero Accountability as Civilian Deaths Mount from U.S. Air Strikes,” Amnesty International, April 1, 2020. Nick Turse, “U.S. Military Is Severely Undercounting Civilian Casualties in Somalia,” The Intercept, February 25, 2020.

  fight West African jihadists: Robbie Gramer and Chloe Havadas, “Coup Plotters in Mali Were Trained by U.S. Military,” Foreign Policy, August 21, 2020.

  Sergeant La David Johnson: Spencer Ackerman, “Slain U.S. Soldier Was Missing for Over Two Days,” Daily Beast, October 7, 2017. Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, and Eric Schmitt, “Military Inquiry Finds Soldiers Were Unprepared in Deadly Niger Ambush,” New York Times, May 10, 2018.

  “General Kelly needs counseling”: Amanda Holpuch, “Trump Bickers with Soldier’s Widow over Condolence Call,” Guardian, October 24, 2017. Anne Gearan and Kristine Phillips, “Fallen Soldier’s Mother: ‘Trump Did Disrespect My Son,’ ” Washington Post, October 18, 2017. Alex Daugherty, “Frederica Wilson Never Got an Apology from John Kelly. She Got Nooses from Critics,” Miami Herald, December 10, 2018.

  U.S.–Russian military: Spencer Ackerman, “White House ‘Muslim Ban’ Man Pushes for Even More Power,” Daily Beast, June 2, 2017. Ackerman, “White House Official Floated Withdrawing U.S. Forces to Please Putin,” Daily Beast, January 10, 2018. Ackerman, “Mike Flynn Had a Plan to Work with Russia. It Wasn’t Exactly Legal,” Daily Beast, June 7, 2017.

  The Taliban could be beaten: Kim Sengupta, “Exclusive: Blackwater Founder’s Plan to Privatize America’s $76 Billion, 17-Year War in Afghanistan,” Independent, July 10, 2018.

  Flynn had assured: Spencer Ackerman and Erin Banco, “Mike Flynn Asked Russian for Alliance against ‘Radical Islamists’ on Infamous Phone Call,” Daily Beast, May 29, 2020. Spencer S. Hsu, Devlin Barrett, and Matt Zapotsky, “Justice Department Moves to Drop Case Against Michael Flynn,” Washington Post, May 7, 2020.

  redoubt against the nativists: H. R. McMaster and Gary Cohn, “America First Doesn’t Mean America Alone,” Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2017.

  announced the escalation: Kimberley Dozier and Spencer Ackerman, “Team Trump Worried He’ll Change His Mind Again on Afghanistan War Plan,” Daily Beast, August 21, 2017.

  remarkable confidence from someone: Maj. Thomas D. Arnold and Maj. Nicolas Fiore, “Five Operational Lessons from the Battle for Mosul,” Military Review, January–February 2019. Martin Chulov, “The Fall of Raqqa: Hunting the Last Jihadists in ISIS’ Capitol of Cruelty,” Guardian, October 6, 2017. Jason Burke, “Rise and Fall of ISIS: Its Dream of a Caliphate Is Over, So What Now?” Guardian/Observer, October 21, 2017. Tim Arango and Michael R. Gordon, “Iraqi Prime Minister Arrives in Mosul to Declare Victory over ISIS,” New York Times, July 9, 2017. Mike Giglio, Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate (New York: PublicAffairs, 2019), 177–278. Amnesty International, “Iraq: New Reports Place Mosul Civilian Death Toll at More Than Ten Times Official Estimates,” December 20, 2017. Jared Malsin, “A U.S. Commander’s Year on the Front Line against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Time, September 7, 2017.

  Multiple lawsuits did not dissuade: Trudy Ring, “Trump Sticking with Trans Military Ban,” The Advocate, March 23, 2018.

  after Mattis’s departure: Richard Gonzales and Tom Bowman, “Pentagon Considers Canceling Program that Recruits Immigrant Soldiers,” NPR, July 3, 2017. Javonte Anderson, “ ‘I’m Just Overwhelmed’: Deported Army Veteran Miguel Perez Jr. Says after Being Granted Citizenship,” Chicago Tribune, October 4, 2019. Alex Horton, “The Military Is Kicking Out Foreign Recruits—for Having Foreign Ties,” Washington Post, July 30, 2019. Dave Phillips, “Army Suspends Its Purge of Immigrant Recruits,” New York Times, August 9, 2018. Meghann Myers, “ICE Is Supposed to Consider Service When Deporting Veterans. It Hasn’t Been,” Military Times, June 12, 2019.

  the administration manufactured: Linda Qiu, “Border Crossings Have Been Declining for Years, Despite Claims of a ‘Crisis of Illegal Immigration,’ ” New York Times, June 20, 2018.

  Trump also lied: Elana Schor, “Trump Concedes ‘No Proof’ of Middle Easterners in Caravan,” Politico, October 23, 2018.

  the nebulous mission: Pentagon pool report, “Remarks by Secretary Mattis at an Armed Forces Full Honor Arrival Welcoming Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Jeong to the Pentagon,” October 31, 2018, available at www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/1678582/remarks-by-secretary-mattis-at-an-armed-forces-full-honor-arrival-welcoming-rep. Associated Press, “Mattis Visits Border Troops, Defends Use of Military on U.S.-Mexico Line,” November 14, 2018.

  reminiscent of 2002: John Walcott, “Officials Doubt Mike Pompeo’s Claim that Iran Is Collaborating with al-Qaeda,” Time, May 21, 2019.

  Security Staters like Jim Clapper: Spencer Ackerman and Kimberly Dozier, “Bolton’s Hawkish Syria Plan Backfired, Pushing Trump to Get Out,” Daily Beast, December 22, 2018. Ackerman, “Trump Finally Gets the National Security Adviser McMaster Tried to Prevent,” Daily Beast, March 22, 2018. Mark Landler, Helene Cooper, and Eric Schmitt, “Trump to Withdraw U.S. Forces from Syria, Declaring, ‘We Hav
e Won against ISIS,’ ” New York Times, December 19, 2018. Ackerman, “U.S. Officials Try to Slow Trump’s ‘Everybody Out of Syria’ Order,” Daily Beast, December 19, 2018.

  “participation in hostage-taking”: Spencer Ackerman and James LaPorta, “Detention Camps on Military Bases ‘Smacks of Totalitarianism,’ Troops Say,” Daily Beast, June 25, 2018. Defense Department press release, “Statement on Request of Department of Homeland Security for Assistance,” May 22, 2019.

  McGurk told an Abu Dhabi conference: Ryan Browne, Holmes Lybrand, and Tara Subramaniam, “Fact Checking Trump’s Claim that Kurds Are Releasing ISIS Prisoners on Purpose,” CNN, October 14, 2019. Middle East Eye staff and agencies, “American Soldiers Pelted with Fruit and Vegetables as They Exit Northern Syria,” Middle East Eye, October 21, 2019. Christopher Dickey and Spencer Ackerman, “The U.S. Spoiled a Deal that Might Have Saved the Kurds, Former Top Official Says,” Daily Beast, October 13, 2019.

  view Baghdadi as anything: Donald Trump, “Remarks of President Trump on the Death of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” White House, October 27, 2019, transcript available at www.voanews.com/usa/text-trumps-statement-death-baghdadi. Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, and Julian E. Barnes, “Trump’s Syria Troop Withdrawal Complicated Plans for al-Baghdadi Raid,” New York Times, October 27, 2019. Daniel Estrin and Lama al-Arian, “Syrians Say U.S. Helicopter Fire Killed Civilians during the Raid on Baghdadi,” NPR, December 3, 2019.

  “three great warriors”: Dave Phillips, “Anguish and Anger from the Navy SEALs Who Turned in Edward Gallagher,” New York Times, December 27, 2019. Andrew Dyer, “Retired Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Strikes Back at SEALs Who Testified against Him,” San Diego Union-Tribune, January 27, 2020. Ashley Parker and Dan Lamothe, “Navy Secretary Forced Out by Pentagon Chief over Handling of Navy SEAL’s War Crimes Case,” Washington Post, November 29, 2019. Asawin Suebsaeng and Spencer Ackerman, “Trump Tells Allies He Wants Absolved War Criminals to Campaign for Him,” Daily Beast, November 25, 2019. Julie Watson and Brian Melley, “Witnesses: Eddie Gallagher Shot Civilians in Iraq,” Associated Press, June 21, 2019. John Fritze, “Trump Ramps Up Attacks on ‘Deep State,’ Focuses on Pentagon amid Gallagher Controversy,” USA Today, November 27, 2019.