Black Flags

by Joby Warrick

  I could not have attempted this book without the generous support of my employer, The Washington Post, and so many Post colleagues and friends. I am especially indebted to Marty Baron, Cameron Barr, Kevin Merida, and Peter Finn for their kindness in allowing me to pursue this project. I also am particularly grateful to Jason Ukman, Julie Tate, Souad Mekhennet, Taylor Luck, David Hoffman, Mary Beth Sheridan, William Booth, Doug Frantz, David Ignatius, Kathryn Weymouth, Donald Graham, Greg Miller, Ellen Nakashima, Adam Goldman, Anne Gearan, Karen DeYoung, Craig Whitlock, Greg Jaffe, Liz Sly, Doug Jehl, Karin Brulliard, Jeff Leen, Scott Wilson, Carol Morello, Anne Kornblut, Walter Pincus, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Laurie McGinley, Kathryn Tolbert, Juliet Eilperin, Chris Mooney, Darryl Fears, and Steven Mufson.

  A very special thanks goes to Ranya Kadri, one of Jordan’s journalistic treasures and an amazingly resourceful colleague, translator, fixer, and occasional cook and hotelier during my Middle East travels.

  I am ever grateful to my literary agent, Gail Ross, for her suggestions, faith, and canny advice, and to the entire staff of the Ross-Yoon Literary Agency for logistical support. I’m indebted as well to the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, including Daniel Meyer, Nora Reichard, Michael Goldsmith, Bill Thomas, and Amelia Zalcman. And I’m profoundly thankful for the assistance of my remarkably talented editor, Kris Puopolo, who saw potential in my vague idea for a book about a rising terrorist movement most Americans in early 2013 had barely heard of. Any successes in these pages are a tribute to her strong ideas, peerless editing skills, and seemingly boundless patience.

  I was helped immensely throughout this effort by the support and encouragement of a number of friends and family members, especially Paul Scicchitano, James Rosen, Connie Kondravy, Shyam Madiraju, Gene and Denise Jordan, Will Jordan, Ed and Gena Fisher, B. H. Warrick, and my parents, Rev. Eugene and Barbara Warrick. Finally and most importantly, I would like to express my love and gratitude to my children, Victoria and Andrew, for tolerating the many absences, deferred vacations, and my general distractedness, and to my wife, Maryanne, a full partner in this enterprise who cheerfully served as an unpaid researcher, editor, and sounding board as well as an indispensable source of strength and steadiness throughout a challenging two years.

  It’s good to be home.

  NOTES

  Prologue

  “When will I be going home”: Researcher interview with Hussein al-Masri, government-appointed lawyer for Rishawi.

  If she cried or prayed: Author interview with a Jordanian official knowledgeable about Rishawi’s prison time and the final days leading up to her execution.

  from the pilot’s own cell phone: Author interview with a senior Jordanian official directly knowledgeable about the prisoner exchange negotiations.

  He could remember every detail: Author interview with a senior intelligence captain involved in the investigation. A second Jordanian official confirmed key details of the account.

  “The black flags will come from the East”: The prophecy comes from the collection of ancient texts known as the Hadith, specifically from “Kitab al-Fitan,” or “Trials and Fierce Battles,” associated with Nu’aym Ibn Hamaad in Islam’s second generation. For a discussion of the passage in English, see http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/​index.php?page=showfatwa​&Option=FatwaId&Id=101399.

  “The spark has been lit”: “Al-Zarqawi’s Message to the Fighters of Jihad in Iraq on September 11, 2004,” Middle East Media Research Institute, Sept. 15, 2004, http://www.memri.org/report/en/print1219.htm.

  hardened into resentment: Author interviews with two senior Middle Eastern officials familiar with the king’s views.

  “Can we do anything more for you?”: Author interviews with Sen. John McCain and a senior Middle Eastern official knowledgeable about the exchange.

  Chapter 1

  “There’s a terrible loneliness”: Quoted in Steven Caton, Lawrence of Arabia: A Film’s Anthropology (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999).

  “a warning of what hell is like”: Cole Coonce, Infinity over Zero: Meditations on Maximum Velocity (Famoso, Calif.: KeroseneBomb Publishing, 2002).

  documented by United Nations investigators: See Manfred Nowak, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture,” UN General Assembly Human Rights Council, 2007.

  pressed into service as the doctor: Author interview with the physician Sabha, who narrated his encounter with Zarqawi and the other inmates in al-Jafr.

  “His radical conclusion”: Author interview with Hasan Abu Hanieh.

  “He is very tough”: Author interview with Jordanian journalist Abdullah Abu Roman, who spent time in prison with both men.

  chiseled through weight lifting: Jean-Charles Brisard, The New Face of Al-Qaeda (New York: Other Press, 2005), p. 49.

  “We have come to die!”: Joas Wagemakers, “A Terrorist Organization That Never Was: The Jordanian ‘Bay’at al-Imam’ Group,” Middle East Journal, Jan. 2014.

  al-takfiris—“the excommunicators”: For more about the takfiri ideology, see https://www.ctc.usma.edu/v2/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Vol1Iss7-Art61.pdf.

  “God willing, King Hussein will pardon you”: Abu Qadama Salih al-Hami, “Knights of the Unfulfilled Duty: Zarqawi and the Afghan Jihad” (n.p., 2007).

  “Oh, sister, how much you have suffered”: Will McCants, “Letter from Balqa Jail,” Jihadica: Documenting the Global Jihad, June 22, 2008, http://www.jihadica.com/letter-from-balqa-jail.

  “He was not a fighter who lived between the bullets”: Wagemakers, “Terrorist Organization That Never Was.”

  called themselves Ikhwan: For a detailed accounting of the Ikhwan movement and its relations with the House of Saud, see Robert Lacey, The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Sa’ud (New York: Avon, 1983).

  Chapter 2

  “I want to see you”: Abdullah, King of Jordan, Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril (New York: Viking, 2011).

  “A cold sensation”: Ibid.

  “We would soon be thrust into the spotlight”: Ibid.

  They stood for hours: Ahmad Khatib, “Jordanians Line Amman’s Streets to Bid Farewell,” Jordan Times, Feb. 9, 1999.

  “This is God’s judgment”: Francesca Ciriaci, “Abdullah Proclaimed King,” Jordan Times, Feb. 8, 1999.

  “Out of habit, I looked around”: Abdullah, Our Last Best Chance.

  Hussein survived at least eighteen assassination attempts: Avi Shlaim, Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008).

  “I didn’t know helicopters could”: “King Hussein of Jordan,” ABC News Nightline, originally broadcast Feb. 7, 1999.

  “I have no idea how”: Abdullah, Our Last Best Chance.

  “I’m no angel”: Ibid.

  “the backbone of the country”: “Muslim Brotherhood Meets King,” Jordan Times, March 19, 1999.

  “Your Majesty, we are with you”: Ibid.

  “Jordan is on the threshold”: Tareq Ayyoub, “The Amnesty Law: Complicated and Incomplete,” Jordan Times, March 29, 1999.

  Many months would pass: Abdullah, Our Last Best Chance.

  “Why didn’t someone check?”: Author interview with an official present at the time.

  “Our friend has come back”: Author interview with Dr. Sabha.

  Chapter 3

  “I didn’t do anything!”: Author interview with two senior officials present at the events.

  “Gun!” one of the officers shouted: Ibid.

  “He just spouted ideology”: Author interview with Samih Battikhi.

  troubled since childhood: For more on Zarqawi’s family and childhood, see Jean-Charles Brisard, Zarqawi: The New Face of Al-Qaeda (New York: Other Press, 2005).

  Zarqawi’s great love remained his mother: Ibid.

  “He wasn’t that smart”: Betsy Pisik, “Mother Denies Suspect Is a Terrorist,” Washington Times, Feb. 24, 2003.

  “We all knew who he was”: Author interview with Hudhaifa Azzam.

&nbs
p; “Zarqawi was crying”: Abu Qadama Salih al-Hami, “Knights of the Unfulfilled Duty: Zarqawi and the Afghan Jihad.”

  “God granted the Muslim mujahidin”: Quoted in Fu’ad Husayn, Al-Zarqawi: The Second Generation of al-Qaeda (n.p., 2006).

  He read books about early Islamic heroes: Ibid.

  “We printed out some of my books”: Quoted in ibid.

  “He wanted everything to be done quickly”: Quoted in ibid.

  “Your penalties only strengthen our faith”: Jean-Charles Brisard, The New Face of Al-Qaeda (New York: Other Press, 2005).

  A third officer who took a particular interest: Author interview with Abu Mutaz.

  Chapter 4

  “The time for training is over”: Ali H. Soufan, The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against Al-Qaeda (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011).

  “Rob, I have to tell you something”: Author interview with Robert Richer.

  “Despite everything that happened”: Author interview with senior Jordanian official.

  “In a nutshell, Abu Musab:” Quoted in Fu’ad Husayn, Al-Zarqawi: The Second Generation of al-Qaeda (n.p., 2006).

  “Iraq will be the forthcoming battle”: Ibid.

  Chapter 5

  “I am where I want to be”: Marcella Bombardieri and Jana Benscoter, “Slain Envoy Had Boston Ties on Aid Mission; Foley Was ‘Doing What I Want to Do,’ ” Boston Globe, Oct. 29, 2002.

  Foley crumbled to the pavement: Author interview with two senior Jordanian officials directly involved in the events.

  “I kept wondering, ‘What can I do?’ ”: Author interview with Nada Bakos.

  “appear based on hearsay”: CIA, “CTC Iraqi Support for Terrorism,” unpublished report, CTC 2003-1000/HS, Jan. 29, 2003.

  “simply one of the best”: Author interview with a former senior U.S. intelligence official.

  “I asked tough questions”: Richard B. Cheney, In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir (New York: Threshold Editions, 2011).

  Chapter 6

  Charles “Sam” Faddis knew: Author interview with Charles Faddis.

  “They used to force women”: “Under the Microscope,” Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, July 1, 2004.

  “Look, if we can produce solid intelligence”: Author interview with Charles Faddis and descriptions in his book: Mike Tucker and Charles Faddis, Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq (Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2009).

  “It’s big enough to be an invasion”: Stanley A. McChrystal, My Share of the Task: A Memoir (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2013).

  “He was able to forge ties”: George Tenet, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007).

  White House officials were reluctant: Peter Baker, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House (New York: Doubleday, 2013).

  “We are considering it”: Riad Kahwaji, “Jordan and U.S. Discuss Possible Patriot Deployments,” Marine Corps Times, Feb. 10, 2003.

  “fixated on Iraq”: Abdullah, King of Jordan, Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril (New York: Viking, 2011).

  “But I was certain of one thing”: Ibid.

  Chapter 7

  “Iraq today harbors a deadly terrorist network”: For Colin Powell’s Feb. 5, 2003, speech to the United Nations Security Council, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/​wp-srv/nation/transcripts/powelltext_020503.html.

  She continued watching: Author interview with Nada Bakos.

  “This is bullshit!”: Author interview with Samih Battikhi.

  “We were sick about it”: Author interview with Abu Mutaz.

  “With that speech”: Author interview with Hasan Abu Hanieh.

  Chapter 8

  She tried the question: Author interview with Nada Bakos; a second U.S. official familiar with the events confirmed her account.

  “We had invaded”: Author interview with Nada Bakos.

  sent the van’s front section spiraling: Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “Car Bomb Kills 11 in Baghdad,” Washington Post Foreign Service, Aug. 8, 2003.

  “We may see more of this”: Michael R. Gordon, “Terror Group Seen As Back Inside Iraq,” New York Times, Aug. 10, 2003.

  “We’ve made good progress”: E. A. Torriero, “Embassy Attack May Have Tie to Al Qaeda,” Chicago Tribune, Aug. 9, 2003.

  “Remnants of the regime”: Jim Henderson, “Democracy Is Not Easy, Condoleezza Rice Tells Journalists in Dallas,” Houston Chronicle, Aug. 8, 2003.

  “The presence of coalition forces”: D’Arcy Doran, “UN Employees’ Fears Grew As Security Deteriorated in Baghdad,” Associated Press, Aug. 28, 2003.

  “The explosion went off”: Gil Loescher interview with Jeremy Paxman, BBC News, broadcast Dec. 18, 2003. For entire interview, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/​newsnight/3330885.stm.

  “They want to fight us there”: George W. Bush press conference, Aug. 23, 2003, Crawford, Texas. Excerpts available at http://www.usembassy-israel.​org.il/publish/press/2003/august/082304.html.

  “Allah was merciful today”: Author interview with a senior U.S. official familiar with the investigation.

  “We should join efforts”: “Ayatollah Hakim’s Last Sermon,” BBC News online, Aug. 30, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk​/2/hi/middle_east/3193341.stm.

  “Baghdad is bustling with commerce”: Tom Infield, “U.S. General: Hezbollah Linked to Iraq Bombings,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 6, 2003.

  “brilliant strategy”: Author interview with Bruce Riedel.

  Chapter 9

  “It’s factual”: Author interview with Robert Richer.

  “Right before the invasion”: Author interview with a former senior U.S. official present during the events.

  “The ease with which the insurgents”: Quoted in James Risen, State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration (New York: Free Press, 2006).

  “So you guys think”: Author interviews with two officials present.

  no evidence of bullet damage: “Violent Response: The U.S. Army in Al-Falluja,” Human Rights Watch, 2003, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/iraqfalluja.

  “We went to them”: Author interview with Zaydan al-Jabiri.

  Chapter 10

  “Even if our bodies”: “Zarqawi Letter” to Osama bin Laden, U.S. Department of State, Feb. 2004, http://2001-2009.state.​gov/p/nea/rls/31694.htm.

  “I was likely standing less than a block”: Stanley A. McChrystal, My Share of the Task: A Memoir (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2013).

  “It was pure, unadulterated hatred”: Author interview with Stanley A. McChrystal.

  “before Iraq became truly hellish”: McChrystal, My Share of the Task.

  “I would anticipate”: “Major Combat Operations Over in Iraq,” PBS News-Hour, April 14, 2003, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/​military-jan-june03-battles_04-14.

  “What is that?”: Author interview with McChrystal.

  “We fundamentally do not understand”: McChrystal, My Share of the Task.

  “The level of organization”: Quoted in Brian Knowlton, “U.S. Blames Iraq Attacks on Jordanian-Born Sunni Militant,” New York Times, March 3, 2004.

  “Why,” she shrieked: Vivienne Walt, “Over 150 Killed in Iraq Blasts,” Boston Globe, March 3, 2004.

  Chapter 11

  The man he selected for the mission: Author interview with two senior Jordanian officials present during the events.

  “They’re using middlemen”: Author interview with Abu Mutaz.

  “By the time we found them”: Ibid.

  “The men in the Caprice”: “Al Qaeda Plans Terrorist Attack in Chemical Weapons Against Jordan,” Petra News Agency, April 27, 2004. (Full text of confession, unsigned.)

  “unforeseen negative consequences”: Abdullah, King of Jordan, Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril (New York: Viking, 2011).

  “Yes, there was a plot”: Jamie Holguinap, “Terrorist: Wish We Had That Bomb,” Associa
ted Press, April 16, 2004.

  Chapter 12

  “Nation of Islam, great news!”: Nicholas Berg beheading. video transcript archived by University of Georgia Islamic Studies Department, http://islam.uga.edu/zarqawi.html.

  “I am reasonably confident”: Nicholas Berg letter, Tom’s Photography, Jan. 4, 2004, http://www.nickberg.org/berg/​Email_from_Berg/Entries/2004/1/4_Bergs_Email_​from_Iraq.html.

  “He went where no one else did”: Michael Powell and Michelle Garcia, “In a Pennsylvania Town, Friends Recall the Pranks and the Promise,” Washington Post, May 14, 2004.

  “No one could figure out”: Author interview with Nada Bakos.

  “Their intention is to shake our will”: “President Bush Condemns Brutal Execution of Nicholas Berg,” May 12, 2004, http://georgewbushwhitehouse.​archives.gov/news/releases/2004​/05/text/20040512-2.html.

  “If you had your thumb”: David E. Sanger and Richard W. Stevenson, “Bush Supporters Are Split on How to Pursue Iraq Plan,” New York Times, May 13, 2004.

  “Zarqawi jumped the shark”: Author interview with Nada Bakos.

  Chapter 13

  “Not a good sign”: Author interview with Robert S. Ford.

  “He spent his entire career”: Author interview with Ronald Neumann.

  “Insurgents and foreign fighters”: “USEB 154: 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Discusses Situation in Al Anbar Province,” Public Library of US Diplomacy, July 23, 2004, https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/04BAGHDAD235_a.html.

  “He surrounds himself with the scum”: Author interview with Zaydan al-Jabiri.