88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary
Page 47
(21) With General “Jafar,” far left, and the commander of the Tochi Scouts at the Ghulam Khan border observation post in North Waziristan, January 2002.
(22) General “Jafar” and me with officers of the Thal Scouts in southern Kurram Agency, January 2002. Behind us is the Kurram River Valley.
(23) The Safed Koh, or White Mountains, seen from Parachinar in northern Kurram, in January 2002. Al-Qa’ida militants, fleeing from Tora Bora, had come through the snowy passes a few weeks before. Some 130 of them were captured by Pakistani security forces.
(24) A graveyard at Arawali, in northern Kurram Agency, where a number of escaped al-Qa’ida detainees were killed by Pakistani lashgars, or tribal militias. Women from the local tribes decorated their graves with prayer flags to honor them as shouhada—martyrs.
(25) The British-era officers’ guest quarters at Miram Shah Fort, home of the Tochi Scouts, in North Waziristan Agency, April 2002.
(26) Inspecting the Saidgi border crossing in North Waziristan in April 2002. In the aftermath of U.S. Operation Anaconda at Shahi Kot, Afghanistan, American concern over al-Qa’ida fighters fleeing into Pakistan was at its height.
(27) My Frontier Corps escort on a visit to the headquarters of the South Waziristan Scouts at Wana, South Waziristan Agency, in April 2002. I was responding to reports of “thousands” of al-Qa’ida militants in the area.
(28) The defile at Shahur Tangi, South Waziristan, site of the famous ambush of a British-Indian Army convoy by the Mehsud Tribe, in 1937. Little has changed since.
(29) A parting memento from our ISI colleagues at the “Clubhouse,” presented to me in June 2002. ISI was responsible for apprehending many dozens of al-Qa’ida militants, and would capture many more—contributing a substantial part of the detainee population at Guantánamo.
(30) Front and back views of the medal I had struck to present to all visiting temporary staff who aided our efforts during my tenure in Pakistan. The medal was loosely modeled after the Afghanistan Campaign Medal of the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878–80.
(31) With Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, and deputy national security advisor Robert Blackwill at a meeting with Petraeus’s brigade commanders in Mosul, Iraq, late November 2003. Blackwill and I were assessing the rising insurgency, and what could be done about it.
(32) A view of the Tigris River from Saddam Hussein’s compound at Tikrit, his hometown. The compound was headquarters to the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Gen. Raymond Odierno. Blackwill and I visited Odierno as part of our in-country assessment of the Iraq War in November 2003.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To those whose important contributions to this book are catalogued and acknowledged in the Author’s Note, I must add a number of others.
First, I owe a great debt of gratitude to David McCormick of McCormick and Williams, who saw potential in a single New York Times op-ed and who pursued me with a patience and persistence without which the long-term aspiration represented by this book might have remained permanently unrealized.
I am similarly grateful to Webster Younce, then of Simon & Schuster, who first decided to take a chance on an untried author.
To the entire team at Simon & Schuster I owe much. The legendary Alice Mayhew, muse to many eminent writers, must have wondered frequently how she could have been saddled with me. This book would never have achieved its current form but for her guidance. Jonathan Cox and Stuart Roberts were both patient and efficient in guiding me through the publication process. Ann Adelman, my copy editor, was nothing short of brilliant.
Lists of acknowledgments always include ritual recognition for the forbearance of the author’s all-suffering family. In this case, though, neither the degree of my family’s forbearance nor the extent of my thanks can be adequately expressed.
Special thanks go to Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations, every inch the scholar and intellectual that I am not, who was so generous with his time in making sure that I did not do violence to the truth in the historical sequences of this book. Any lapses, needless to say, are mine.
And finally, I would be remiss if I did not extend thanks to “C,” who cannot be identified even in alias, but whose long-ago, offhand comment convinced me that this book simply had to be written.
PHOTO CREDITS
1. Courtesy of the author.
2. Official CIA Photo.
3. Photo © 2014 Matt Laur.
4. Courtesy of the author.
5. Courtesy of the author.
6. Official CIA Photo.
7. Photo © 2014 Matt Laur.
8. Courtesy of the author.
9. Courtesy of the author.
10. Courtesy of the author.
11. Courtesy of the author.
12. Photo © 2014 Matt Laur.
13. Courtesy of the author.
14. Courtesy of the author.
15. Courtesy of the author.
16. Courtesy of the author.
17. Courtesy of the author.
18. Courtesy of the author.
19. Courtesy of the author.
20. Courtesy of the author.
21. Courtesy of the author.
22. Courtesy of the author.
23. Courtesy of the author.
24. Courtesy of the author.
25. Courtesy of the author.
26. Courtesy of the author.
27. Courtesy of the author.
28. Courtesy of the author.
29. Photo © 2014 Matt Laur.
30. Photo © 2014 Matt Laur.
31. Courtesy of the author.
32. Courtesy of the author.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
© BOB CULLEN PHOTOGRAPHY
Robert Grenier is a highly decorated twenty-seven-year veteran of CIA’s Clandestine Service. He played central leadership roles in the greatest national security challenges of his generation—as CIA station chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan during 9/11, as CIA mission manager during the invasion of Iraq, and as the head of CIA’s global counterterrorism operations. Today he is chairman of ERG Partners, a strategic and financial advisory firm. A noted lecturer and television commentator, he is also a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the board of the CIA Officers’ Memorial Foundation. When not sailing, he resides with his family in the Washington, D.C., area.
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INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Names entirely in quotations refer to aliases or partially true names. Page numbers in italics refer to maps.
A
Abdul Haq, 156–57, 159–61, 187
Taliban ambush and murder of, 157, 161, 185, 195, 231
Abdul Jalil Akhund, see Jalil, Mullah
Abdul Latif, Haji, 148–49
Abdul Qadir, 231, 322
Abdul Razzak, 187, 281
Abdul Sattar, 69, 352
Abu Faraj al-Libi, 386
Abu Ghraib prison, 395, 399
“Abu Zaydan,” 178, 266
Abu Zubayda, 48–49, 328–29, 331–33
capture and interrogation of, 332–33, 392, 394
Achakzai tribe, 242
”Adnan, Brigadier,” 156, 301, 302
Afgha
n armies, 207, 215, 245, 283, 295, 358, 409, 411, 418
Afghanistan, xi, 54, 256, 310–15
anti-Soviet jihad in, 37–38, 41, 43, 59, 70, 104, 110, 123–24, 138, 148–50, 156, 259
Azra district in, 156
Bamian Valley in, 127
Bamiyan Province of, 313
CIA operations in, 98, 137–42, 182–96
civil war in, 9, 59, 61
Communist government of, 148, 159
crime and corruption in, 41, 42, 372, 373
Dera Juy Valley in, 200
drug-processing labs in, 98–99
ethnic groups in, 42, 110, 159
Ghor Province of, 145
Grand National Assembly (Loya Jirga) of, 279, 372
Helmand Province of, 142, 187, 201, 218, 313, 411
Interim Administration in, 279–85, 360–61, 372–73
Kandahar Province of, 137, 140–41, 142, 180, 187, 218
Karzai’s return to, 141, 145–46, 180–85, 189–96, 198–203, 217, 221–28
Logar Province of, 156
Nangahar Province of, 156, 187
Nimruz Province of, 166, 167, 187, 208, 220–21
1989 Soviet withdrawal from, 37, 38–39, 41, 42, 96, 121, 138, 416
1992 fall of Najibullah regime in, 416
opium poppy cultivation in, 61, 221, 409
Paktia Province of, 187, 209, 335
Paktika Province of, 187
Panjshir Valley in, 66, 142, 152, 207, 288, 290
planned post-2014 American posture in, 9, 415–18
political anarchy in, 41
religious student movement in, 4
Shahi Kot Valley in, 335–37
Shin Naray Valley in, 162–66, 164–65, 205, 214–15, 217, 235–37, 240–42, 245–46
Shomali Plains in, 209, 217–18
slow economic reconstruction of, 371–72
Southern Zone of, 313
Soviet invasion and occupation of, 4, 37–38, 39, 41, 43, 115, 148–49, 262, 358
Taliban collapse in, 217–19, 228, 258–62, 373
Taliban control in, 4, 5, 8, 44, 56, 61, 63, 66, 102, 110, 117–18, 126–27, 143, 195
terrorist training camps in, 43–44, 48, 107, 113
tribal structure of, 41, 42, 57, 58, 59, 73, 74, 75, 100, 107, 110–11, 137–38, 148, 150, 156, 160, 163, 187, 200
Uruzgan Province of, 180, 187, 191, 199–200, 202, 217, 221–24, 228, 231, 280, 360
U.S.-led NATO occupation of, 387, 415–16
U.S. relations with, 41, 44, 70–71, 84, 121, 138–39, 297, 310–11, 315, 358, 373, 415–18
U.S. war strategy for, 3–8, 90, 94–96, 98–103, 107–10, 113, 115–16
U.S. withdrawal from, 415–16
warlords and criminal gangs in, 41, 42, 73, 144, 166, 209, 211, 228, 360, 365
Zabol Province of, 234
see also First American-Afghan War; Second American-Afghan War
Afghanistan Constitution, 372
Afghanistan Ministry of Justice, 409
Afghanistan-Pakistan border, 259–64, 294, 335–37, 339, 384
Durand Line at, 259, 337, 357, 387, 418
Afghan mujahideen, 37, 39, 123–24, 156, 159, 181, 262, 280
Afghan National Police, 409
Africa, 397
post-colonial, 14
sub-Saharan, 65
African Americans, 175
Agency for International Development (AID), U.S., 363–65, 386–87
Agha, Tayyib, xvi, 224, 241–42
Ahmedzai tribe, 156, 160
Air Force, U.S., 184, 186, 226–28, 233, 290–91, 319, 359
AK-47s, 110, 206, 236–37, 240, 252, 317, 340
“Akbar,” xix, 51–54, 80–82, 85–86
Akhundzada, Sher Mohammed, 313
Alexander the Great, 261, 277
Algeria, 412
Ali Khan, Atif, 127
Alikhel Gorge, 156
Alikozai tribe, 282, 285, 314
Alizai tribe, 187
Allawi, Ayad, 371
Allen, Charlie, xv, 371
al-Qa’ida, 3, 43–45, 56, 59, 70, 114, 219, 238
Afghan policy toward, 107
capture and detention of members of, 290, 291, 311–12, 332–33, 392
founding of, 43
ISI investigation of, 269
“Millennium Plot” of, 47–48
9/11 attacks by, 4–5, 80, 84, 172, 384
nuclear aspirations of, 265–69, 273–74, 285
spread and growth of, 377
support infrastructure of, 270, 320
Taliban relations with, 61–64, 66, 82–86, 108, 119, 231, 361–62
terrorist operations of, 4–5, 47–50, 56, 64, 69, 71, 80, 84, 102, 172, 325, 384, 388, 396
Tora Bora escape of, 290–91, 294–97, 305, 312
training camps of, 5, 43–44, 48, 56, 82, 83, 84, 96, 113, 144, 328
U.S. campaign against, 74–75, 82–85, 88–89, 128, 131–32, 173–74, 181, 205, 258–60, 271, 289, 294–97, 302–4, 306, 317, 325, 335–37, 339–43, 360, 362, 363, 378–79, 384–86, 396, 409, 415
“Alwahhab, Mohamed,” 202
Amerine, Jason, 202, 224, 278
Ames, Aldrich, 28
Amu Darya River, 72–73
Annapolis, Naval Academy at, RLG’s nominations to, 11–12
anthrax, 270
Antibes, 20
anti-communism, 37, 167
Arab 555 Brigade, 43, 61
Arabian Peninsula, 311–12
Arabian Sea, 227, 291–92
Arabic language, 313, 393
Arab-Israeli conflict, 14
peace process in, 25, 31
Arabs, 176–77, 194, 238
Afghan, 54, 56, 58, 62, 74
Taliban forces joined by, 275–79, 282, 285
Arawali, 295
Aref, Engineer, 152–53
Arghandab, 234, 242, 243, 251
Arghandab River, 277
Aristotle, 72
Armitage, Richard, xviii, 345, 349–50, 352–53
Army, U.S., 6, 219, 286, 369, 370
CIA liaison with, 335
101st Airborne Division of, 311
Rangers of, 169, 297
see also Special Forces, U.S.
Army Field Manual, 401–2, 405
Army Reserve, U.S., 190
atropine, 274
Atta, Muhammad, 191
Attock Fort, 261
Aurakzai, Ali Jan, 293, 339–40
Aziz Khan, Muhammad, 158–59
B
B-52 bombers, 258, 312
Baghdad, 22, 23, 108, 118, 369, 370
Bagram Airbase, 291, 319
Bala Zar, 242
Bali, 388
Bamian Buddhas, 127
Bangladesh, 38
Baradar, Abdul Ghani, xvi, 187–88, 231–32
Barakzai tribe, 148, 150, 163, 216, 242, 280, 282, 285, 314
Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud, Sultan, 171–78, 266–68, 270, 273–74
bin Laden and, 177–78, 266, 268
CIA interrogation of, 171, 174–77, 273–74, 392
Bedford “jinga” trucks, 241–42
Berlin, 153–54
Berntsen, Gary, xv, 288, 290, 296–97
“Bill,” 244
bin Laden, Osama, 48, 52, 71, 123, 166, 231, 253, 269, 274, 310, 338
in Afghanistan, 96, 117–20, 127, 135
Arab followers of, 282
bayat oath of loyalty to, 44
Dr. Bashir and, 177–78, 266, 268
entourage of, 61–62
killing of, 297, 382, 414
Pakistan sanctuary of, 74, 260, 296, 382
radio broadcasts of, 295–96
Saudi background of, 43, 57–58, 177
Taliban policy on, 53–54, 61–63, 75, 81–84, 86, 112–13, 118–20
terrorist enterprises of, 4–5, 43–44, 74, 84, 419
Tora Bora sanctuary of, 258–59, 295–96
U.S. pursuit of, 43–45, 53, 56–59, 66, 73, 74, 81–84, 88–89, 96,
114, 118–20, 128, 131, 135, 261, 264, 291–97, 339, 362, 379, 384–86
biological weapons, 274, 366–67
Black, Cofer, xv, 60, 64, 65, 74, 81–84
Blackwill, Robert “Bob,” xviii, 347, 369–70
Blair, Tony, 5, 97, 103
Blakeman, Chat, xviii, 351
BLU-82 bomb, 194
Bonn Conference, 251, 252, 279, 360–61
Boston, Mass., 13–15, 27–28
Back Bay area of, 14
Dorchester area of, 28
Boston College, 14–15
Boykin, Jerry, xvii, 382
Brahvi, Abdul Karim, 166, 208, 220–21
Bremer, Paul “Jerry,” 368–69
Brennan, John, xv, 389, 390–91
Brief History of Time, A (Hawking), 73
British Airways, 69
British army, 359
British Cabinet, 7
British High Commission, 128–29
British-Indian army, 72
British Raj, 48
Brooks, David, 375
Burgess, Ron, xvii, 382
burqas, 63–64
Bush, George H. W.:
administration of, 22, 23, 38, 56
as CIA director, 56
Bush, George W., 400–401
administration of, 5, 7, 24, 55–57, 59–60, 78, 90, 93, 97, 103, 112–15, 121, 255, 267–70, 374–75, 395, 401–3, 409, 410
daily intelligence briefing of, 56, 390
democratic change commitment of, 381
Iraq policy of, 375, 377
second inaugural address of, 381
2001 State of the Union speech of, 5, 97, 112, 115
War Cabinet of, 7, 90, 192
White House and security staff of, 55, 59, 72, 113
C
C-17 transports, 291, 319
Caesar, Gaius Julius, 408
Cambone, Steve, xvii, 337–38, 399, 406
Cambridge, Mass., 14
Camp David, 3, 6, 90
Cape Cod, Mass., 64
Card, Andrew, 55, 402–3
Central Command (CENT-COM), U.S., 7, 90, 107, 168–70, 193, 224, 288–89, 397
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), xii, 55, 372–85
Afghanistan operations of, 98, 137–42, 182–96