To my friend Josh Wood: thank you for your valuable notes, and for all the late-night Domino’s.
I’m indebted to every person who agreed to be interviewed for this book (regardless of whether they have come to regret that decision), but my special thanks go out to Terry Waite, Robert Fisk, Nick and Cass Ludington, Don Mell, Shazi Faramarzi, Gianni Picco, and Lou Boccardi, all of whom personally played various roles in the strange production that was my childhood.
To my half-sister Gabrielle: you forgave me for being the chosen one and became my friend, for which I will ever be grateful.
My gratitude also goes out to all the officials in the United States government and intelligence services who worked hard to help free my father and his fellow hostages. Regardless of the outcome, I know many of you had the best of intentions. Thank you for your service in support of my family.
Lastly, this book would not have a happy ending were it not for my fiancé, Jeremy, and his beautiful little boy, Ari, who are helping me build the family I’ve always wanted and never believed I deserved to have.
SOURCE LIST
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
1 Ninety-six foreign hostages kidnapped during the Lebanese hostage crisis, The Mirage of Peace: Understanding the Never-Ending Conflict in the Middle East by David Aikman, page 65.
1 Ten hostages killed in the Lebanese hostage crisis, Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media by John D. H. Downing, page 70.
2 Hezbollah fights Islamic State alongside Bashar al-Assad in Syria, “Hezbollah Recruiting Push Comes Amid Deeper Role in Syria,” Associated Press, December 18, 2015.
2 Hezbollah prepares for conflict with Israel, “Analysis: Israel’s Next War with Hezbollah Will Be Swifter and Decisive,” Jerusalem Post, March 7, 2016.
2 Beirut’s garbage crisis, “Lebanon: ‘River of Trash’ Chokes Beirut Suburb as City’s Garbage Crisis Continues,” CNN, February 25, 2016.
3 Forty-four killed in November 2015 Beirut attacks, “Lebanon Mourns 44 Killed in Beirut Bombing,” Agence France-Presse, November 13, 2015.
3 130 killed in Paris terror attack, “Paris Terror Attacks: In Memoriam of the Victims,” CNN.
3 ISIS threatens attacks on Times Square, Washington, D.C., “Islamic State Releases Video Threatening Attack on New York City,” USA Today, November 19, 2015.
3 San Bernardino terror attack kills twenty-two people, “Everything We Know About the San Bernardino Terror Attack Investigation So Far,” Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2015.
3 Donald Trump threatens to issue ID badges for Muslim Americans, “Donald Trump’s Horrifying Words About Muslims,” CNN, November 21, 2015.
3 Donald Trump threatens to ban Muslims from immigrating to the U.S., “Donald Trump’s Call to Ban Muslim Immigrants,” The Atlantic, December 7, 2015.
8 Hezbollah on U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist organizations.
17 Terry Anderson’s release, “Anderson, Last U.S. Hostage, Is Freed by Captors in Beirut,” New York Times, December 5, 1991.
28 Kahan Commission in Israel’s Lebanon War by Ze’ev Schiff and Ehud Ya’ari, page 284.
28–29 Declassified U.S. government documents on the Sabra and Shatila massacres, “A Preventable Massacre,” New York Times, September 16, 2012.
29–30 Phalange allied with Israel, Beware of Small States by David Hirst, pages 23–27.
29 Pierre Gemayel impressed by the Nazis after attending ’32 Berlin Olympics, Pity the Nation by Robert Fisk, page 65.
30 Arafat flees Lebanon, Pity the Nation by Robert Fisk, page 332.
30 Aylet Shaked’s “little snakes” Facebook post, “Israel’s New Justice Minister Considers All Palestinians to Be ‘The Enemy,’” Washington Post, May 7, 2015.
31–32 Los Angeles Times review of Den of Lions by Terry Anderson, October 24, 1993.
43 Twelve killed and twenty-seven wounded in ’82 French embassy bombing, “Beirut Bomb kills 12 at French Embassy,” New York Times, May 25, 1982.
43 Lebanese Shia look to Iran for support, U.S. Library of Congress country studies, Iran.
43 Shiites clash with the Christian South Lebanon Army, In the Path of Hizbullah, Ahmad Nizar Hamzeh, page 93.
44 Death toll from 1983 American embassy blast, “U.S. Embassy in Lebanon Devastated by Bomb Blast; Dozens Killed, Pro-Iran Group Named,” Facts on File World News Digest, April 22, 1983.
44 The U.S.-led multinational peacekeeping force was seen by many as supportive of Israel, Lebanon 1982–1984, Rand Corporation report.
44 Terry Anderson covered embassy attack, “U.S. Embassy in Beirut Bombed, 39 Dead,” Associated Press, April 19, 1983.
44 Ryan Crocker survived 1983 Beirut blast, G. W. Bush’s speech awarding Crocker Medal of Freedom, January 18, 2009.
45 Fifty-eight French paratroopers killed in 1983 barracks bombing, “France Remembers 58 Soldiers Killed in Drakkar, Beirut,” RFI, October 24, 2013.
45 Beirut marine barracks bombing the single deadliest day in U.S. Marine Corps history since Iwo Jima, “Recalling the Deadly 1983 Attack on the Marine Barracks,” USA Today, October 23, 2013.
46–47 Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto, Council on Foreign Relations, “An Open Letter, the Hizbullah Program,” January 1, 1988.
48–49 David Dodge obituary, details of abduction, “David Dodge, an Early Lebanon Hostage, Dies at 86,” New York Times, January 20, 2009.
48–49 Arafat searches for David Dodge, “Lebanon and PLO Join in Search for American,” New York Times, July 21, 1982.
49 Phalangists abducted the four Iranian diplomats, The Iran-Iraq War by Pierre Razoux and Nicolas Elliott, page 271.
49 Dodge interrogated about missing Iranian diplomats, Hezbollah: Born with a Vengeance by Hala Jaber, page 100.
49–50 Benjamin Weir kidnapped in May ’84, “Benjamin Weir’s Secret Passage,” Time, September 30, 1985.
50 Buckley abducted March ’84, “Hostages in Lebanon: Israelis Are Guarded; Another Seven Americans Held Hostage in Lebanon,” New York Times, June 27, 1985.
50 Buckley’s treatment and the videos of him sent to U.S. embassies, “The Spy Who Never Came in from the Cold,” Canada Free Press, October 25, 2006.
53 Mughniyeh’s motives regarding the Kuwait 17, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard by Steven O’Hern, page 61.
53 Mustafa Badr al-Din arrested in Kuwait in 1983, “Top Suspect in Hariri Murder Familiar Name in Kuwait Jail,” Al Rai, July 2, 2011.
53–54 Terry Anderson’s FOIA battle with the government to declassify documents related to his kidnapping, “My Dad’s Long, Frustrating Battle with the U.S. Government to Learn About His Own Kidnapping,” by Sulome Anderson, Vice, June 5, 2015.
56 Hezbollah’s emergence, use of suicide bombings, “In Search of Hezbollah,” New York Review of Books, April 29, 2004.
57 Hezbollah seen as responsible for the Islamic Jihad’s terrorism, “The Origins of Hezbollah,” Atlantic, October 23, 2013.
57 Hezbollah replaces Amal, “Hezbollah’s Ascent and Descent,” Carnegie Middle East Center, June 5, 2015.
67 Hamza akl Hamieh hijacks Kuwait Airways flight 561 in 1982 and Libyan Arab Airlines Zurich–Tripoli in 1981, Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam by Robin Wright, page 46.
68 Al-Sadr disappeared in Libya in August 1978, “Lebanon’s FM to Interview Qaddafi’s Top Spy About Sadr’s Fate,” Ya Libnan, September 3, 2012.
69–70 Early Zionist leaders had designs on Lebanon, Beware of Small States by David Hirst, pages 22–23.
71 Palestinian violence against Israelis is well-publicized, “Two Israeli Jews Stabbed, One Fatally, by Two Palestinians in Jerusalem,” New York Times, December 23, 2015.
71 Israeli soldier shoots Palestinian boy in the back as he flees, “Palestinian Teenager ‘Shot in Back by Senior Israeli Soldier While Fleeing,’” The Guardian, July 8, 2015.
71 Israeli soldiers shoot Palestinian children, “Israeli Army Shoots Dead Palestinian Child in West Bank,” Al Jazeera, October 5, 2015.
71 Israeli settler runs over Palestinian child, “Palestinian Girl Hit by Israeli Car Driver Dies,” Al Arabiya, October 20, 2014.
74 Most casualties in the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon were civilians, “Why They Die: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon During the 2006 War,” Human Rights Watch, September 5, 2007.
75–76 Ashura 1983, two killed and fifteen wounded, civil war in Lebanon 1975–1979, History of the Middle East Database.
76 Israel disregards the increasing hostility of Lebanese Shia, A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism by Daniel Byman, page 315.
77 Iran’s Revolutionary Guard trained Hezbollah members in the early eighties, The Shia Revival by Vali Nasr, page 115.
77 Hezbollah was reorganized into a cohesive entity with Iran’s help in the late eighties, Hezbollah: Organizational Development, Ideological Evolution and a Relative Threat Model, by Michael T. Jackson.
77 Hezbollah denies responsibility for the IJO’s terrorism, “Do Terrorists Usually Claim Responsibility for Their Attacks?” Slate, March 10, 2014.
78 Abbas Musawi and Sobhi al-Tufayli were secretaries-general of Hezbollah, A Privilege to Die, by Thanassis Cambanis, page 112.
80 TWA flight 847 hijacked by Islamic Jihad, “Terror Aboard Flight 847,” Time, June 24, 2001.
90 “Regarding Iran Contra,” Excerpts from the Tower Commission.
92 Fear of Soviet influence on Iran, “The Soviet Union and Iran,” Foreign Affairs, Spring 1983.
92 Shah of Iran deposed, replaced by Islamic regime, “Iran 1979: A Revolution That Shook the World,” Al Jazeera, February 11, 2014.
92 Fifty-two hostages released minutes after Reagan is sworn in, “Reagan Takes Oath as 40th President; Promises ‘An Era of National Renewal,’ Minutes Later, 52 Hostages in Iran Fly to Freedom After 444-Day Ordeal,” New York Times, January 21, 1991.
94 David Kimche obituary, Guardian, March 10, 2010.
94 Kimche-McFarlane meeting and initial Israel-U.S. deal regarding selling arms to Iran, Understanding the Iran-Contra Affair, Brown University.
94 Kimche suggested Ghorbanifar to McFarlane as go-between with Iran, Understanding the Iran-Contra Affair, Brown University.
95 McFarlane choses North as point man for the arms deals, The Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Lawrence Walsh, August 4, 1993.
95 McFarlane agrees to work with Ghorbanifar, “The Front,” American Prospect, March 20, 2005.
95 Reagan administration’s support of the Contras, “Regarding Iran Contra,” excerpts from the Tower Commission.
95 Unclear which faction in Iran had influence over the hostage-takers, Getting the Hostages Out: Who Turns the Key?, Rand Corporation report, May 1990.
95–96 North and McFarlane bring Bible to Iran, “McFarlane Took Cake and Bible to Teheran, Ex-CIA Man Says,” New York Times, January 11, 1987.
96 Ash-Shiraa breaks arms-for-hostages deals, “Iran-Contra: Who Leaked Ronald Reagan’s 1985–1986 Arms-for-Hostages Deals?,” National Security Archives, November 4, 2014.
96 Ash-Shiraa accused of being a mouthpiece for Syria, How the Iran-Contra Story Leaked, declassified CIA report, summer 1989.
96 Ash-Shiraa accused of being a Mossad asset, “Ari Ben-Menashe,” World Heritage Encyclopedia.
101 Abolhassan Banisadr believes in October Surprise narrative, “Bani-Sadr, in U.S., Renews Charges of 1980 Deal,” New York Times, May 7, 1991.
101 Yitzhak Shamir says October Surprise took place, “Shamir’s October Surprise Admission,” Consortium News.
101 Israel-Iran arms deal; Argentinian plane crash in Soviet Union, “$27 Million, Israel, Iran Arms Deals Told,” Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1981.
101–102 PBS interview, Nick Veliotes, declassified documents describing McFarlane’s attempts to channel weapons to Iran via Israel pre-Iran-Contra, How Neocons Messed up the Mideast, Consortium News, February 15, 2013.
103 “Captive CIA Agent’s Death Galvanized Hostage Search,” Washington Post, November 25, 1986.
104 Iran-Contra changed U.S. hostage negotiation policy, “The Illusion of a Hostage Policy,” New Yorker, February 3, 2015.
104 U.S. hostage policy of “quiet diplomacy” and silence in the press, “The Families of Hostages Are Told to Keep Quiet. They Shouldn’t,” Washington Post, June 12, 2015.
106 Terry Waite’s kidnapping and blame placed on Oliver North, “Reviews/Television; On Terry Waite and the Arms-for-Hostages Deal,” New York Times, November 26, 1991.
108 Decoy in a Deadly Game: Terry Waite and Ollie North: The Untold Story of the Kidnapping—and the Release by Gavin Hewitt.
119 Sabra’s conflict with former Lebanese president Elias Hrawi, “Calmest Cabinet Session for 31 Years Avoids All Slapstick,” Daily Star, July 7, 1998.
120 Ash-Shiraa is pro-Syrian, “After the Ayatollah,” Foreign Policy, Spring 1987.
122 Hezbollah officially announces its role in Syrian war, “Hezbollah’s Role in Syrian Conflict Ushers New Reality for Its Supporters,” Guardian, May 24, 2013.
123 Battling ISIS has increased Hezbollah’s popularity, “How ISIS Terror Benefits Hezbollah,” Now Lebanon, November 12, 2015.
123 “Beirut Editor ‘Never Imagined’ Scoop Would Be So Big,” Washington Post, December 10, 1986.
123 Hashemi’s fundamentalism, “The Case of Mehdi Hashemi,” by Evan Siegel.
123 Hussein-Ali Montazeri, “Profile: Iran’s Dissident Ayatollah,” BBC, January 30, 2003.
123 Hashemi headed IRGC’s Office of Liberation Movements, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard: The Threat That Grows While America Sleeps by Steven O’Hern, page 71.
124 Hashemi took control of Montazeri’s armed followers in 1981, Iran Report, RFE/RL August 9, 1999.
124 OLM was transferred to Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984; Hashemi went to Qom and set up Office for Global Revolution, Iran: A Country Study, U.S.Library of Congress, 1987.
124 Links between Hashemi and the Islamic Jihad, Hashemi spreads Islamic revolution to other countries, “Newspapers Report U.S.-Iran Contacts,” Harvard Crimson, November 5, 1986.
124 Hashemi goes rogue, Iran and the United States: An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace by Seyed Hossein Mousavian and Shahir Shahidsaless, page 93.
124 Asgari as Hashemi’s point man, Navigating Iran, From Carter to Obama by Ofira Seliktar, page 49.
124 Asgari sent to Lebanon in 1982, “As U.S. Looks to Nuclear Deal, Book Faults Handling of Iranian Defector,” New York Times, May 18, 2014.
124 Asgari’s meeting with Assad: Navigating Iran: From Carter to Obama by Ofira Seliktar, page 49.
124 Asgari’s connections to the IJO’s terrorism, The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird, pages 374–375.
125 Declassified CIA documents regarding Hashemi’s conflict with Rafsanjani and his role in leaking Iran-Contra, “Iran-Contra: Who Leaked Ronald Reagan’s 1985–1986 Arms-for-Hostages Deals?,” National Security Archives, November 4, 2014.
125 “Americans Pawns in Iran Power Struggle: 3 Hostages Apparently Held by Foes of Talks,” Los Angeles Times, November 14, 1986.
125 Montazeri loses favor with Khomeini after Hashemi’s execution, “Filling Montazeri’s Shoes in Iran,” Guardian, December 29, 2009.
127 Ash-Shiraa’s links to radical elements in Iran, Sabra’s inside information on hostages, “Iranians Seized for Waite Trade, Says Magazine,” Associated Press, May 1, 1987.
128 Ghorbanifar claims Iranians seized Weir from his captors by force, “From an Iranian Middleman, His Side of the Story,” New York Times, June 23, 1987.
128 Hala Jaber’s interview with Naim Qassem regarding hostage-takings, Hezbollah: Born with a Vengeance by Hala Jaber, page 143.
141 United States once supported Saddam Hussein, “Exclusive: CIA Files P
rove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran,” Foreign Policy, August 26, 2013.
141 United States helped Taliban rise to power, “U.S. Gave Silent Backing to Taliban Rise to Power,” Guardian, August 10, 2001.
141 American support of Mubarak, “How Did the U.S. Get in Bed with Mubarak?,” Salon, January 29, 2011.
141 CIA sponsored coup against Mossadegh in Iran, “CIA Admits Role in 1953 Iranian Coup,” Guardian, August 19, 2013.
143 Hezbollah: Mobilization and Power by Aurélie Daher.
157 Mustafa Zein as a CIA source in Lebanon, The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird.
157–158 Salameh was a high-ranking member of Fatah and Black September, “Life and Death of a Terrorist,” New York Times, July 10, 1983.
158 Palestinian versus Israeli death tolls, “This Chart Shows Every Person Killed in the Israel-Palestine Conflict Since 2000,” Vox, July 14, 2014.
160–161 SAVAK established by the shah and CIA in 1957, Iran: A Country Study, U.S. Library of Congress, page 276.
164 The Sunday Times reports that Asgari was working for Western intelligence and Mossad, “Defector Spied on Iran for Years,” Sunday Times, March 11, 2007.
164 The Washington Post reports that Asgari is in the United States, claims by Iran that he was kidnapped by the CIA and Mossad, “Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence,” Washington Post, March 8, 2007.
164–165 Asgari provides intelligence to Israel, “Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile,” Federal Research Division, U.S. Library of Congress.
172 Al-Musawi replaced Tufayli as secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1991, Tufayli’s ouster, Hizb’allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis by Magnus Ranstorp, page 105.
177 Hezbollah and Lebanese forces busted an Israeli spy ring in 2009, “Robert Fisk: The Mysterious Case of the Israeli Spy Ring, Hizbollah and the Lebanese Ballot,” Independent, May 21, 2009.
177 Hezbollah turned Mossad officer “Prisoner X” into a double agent, “Spy in Cell 15: The Real Story Behind Israel’s ‘Prisoner X,’” Der Spiegel, March 26, 2013.
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