Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--From 9/11 to Abbottabad (42 page)

    
1
Omar Khyam:
For more on Khyam’s radicalization in Britain and the 2004 bomb plot, see Elaine Sciolino and Stephen Grey, “British Terror Trial Centers on Alleged Homegrown Plot,”
International Herald Tribune
, November 26, 2006,
www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/world/europe/26iht-web.1026crevice.3665748.html?pagewanted=1
.

    
2
“had enough people”:
Mitchell Silber,
The Al Qaeda Factor: Plots Against the West
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012), p. 96.

    
3
inert material:
For a description of the “Operation Crevice” arrests, as the plot was dubbed by UK authorities, see ibid., pp. 83–107.

    
4
enjoying his honeymoon:
Jane Perlez, “U.S. Seeks Closing of Visa Loophole for Britons,”
New York Times
, May 2, 2007,
www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/world/europe/02britain.html?pagewanted=all
.

    
5
three-month visit to Pakistan:
“Report into the London Terrorist Attacks on July 7, 2005,” Intelligence and Security Committee, May 2006,
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/isc_7july_report.pdf
, pp. 12 and 15.

    
6
tasked him with launching an attack:
Mitchell D. Silber and Arvin Bhatt, “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” New York Police Department, 2007,
www.nypdshield.org//files/04/83/96/f048396/public/…/NYPD_Report-Radicalization_in_the_West.pdf
, pp. 48–49.

    
7
“today’s heroes”:
“London Bomber: Text in Full,” BBC, September 1, 2005,
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4206800.stm
.

    
8
Zawahiri himself then made an appearance:
“U.S., UK Investigate ‘Bomber Tape,’ ”
CNN.com
, September 2, 2005,
articles.cnn.com/2005-09-02/world/london.claim_1_al-jazeera-london-attacks-qaeda?_s=PM:WORLD
.

    
9
The strike killed only local villagers:
Carlotta Gall et al., “Airstrike by US Draws Protests from Pakistanis,”
New York Times
, January 15, 2006,
www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/international/asia/15pakistan.html?pagewanted=all
.

  
10
disparaging comments:
Hassan Fattah, “Qaeda Deputy Taunts Bush for ‘Failure’ in Airstrike,”
New York Times
, January 31, 2006.

  
11
“Sheikh Osama warned”:
“Suicide Videos: What They Said,” BBC, April 4, 2008,
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7330367.stm
.

  
12
“would have rivaled 9/11”:
Richard Greenberg, Paul Cruickshank, and Chris Hansen, “Inside the Terror Plot That ‘Rivaled 9/11,’ ”
Dateline NBC
, September 14, 2009,
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726987#.Tw9Q2V1AIj8
.

  
13
called for attacks on the Pakistani state:
“Bin Laden Tape Encourages Pakistanis to Rebel,” Associated Press, September 20, 2007,
www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-20-al-qaeda-video_N.htm
.

  
14
more than fifty suicide attacks:
“Bomb Hits Pakistan Danish Embassy,” BBC, June 2, 2008,
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7430721.stm
.

  
15
Saudi government surveyed:
Author discussions with Saudi officials, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2009.

  
16
secret PowerPoint briefing:
Evan Thomas, “Into Thin Air,”
Newsweek
, September 3, 2007,
www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/09/02/into-thin-air.html
.

  
17
“Is that all there are?”:
Ibid.

  
18
“excellent idea”:
“CIA Chief Has ‘Excellent Idea’ Where Bin Laden Is,”
CNN.com
, June 22, 2005,
articles.cnn.com/2005-06-20/us/goss.bin.laden_1_bin-ayman-sense-of-international-obligation?_s=PM:US
.

  
19
“A great deal of the resources”:
Art Keller, interview by author, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 13, 2007.

  
20
“big surge”:
Robert Grenier, interview by author, Washington, DC, February 18, 2009.

  
21
“they were just all Iraq all the time”:
David Kilcullen, interview by author, New York, November 20, 2009.

  
22
“I couldn’t go out myself”:
Craig Whitlock, “In Hunt for bin Laden, a New Approach,”
Washington Post
, September, 10 2008,
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090903404_3.html?nav=emailpage&sid=ST2008090903480
.

  
23
“We are zero for ’07”:
Warrick,
The Triple Agent
, p. 13.

  
24
small, “compartmented”:
Michael Leiter, interview by author, Washington, DC, August 29, 2011.

  
25
stopped seeking Pakistani officials’ concurrence:
Author interview with Bush administration official, Washington, DC, 2009.

  
26
from many hours to forty-five minutes:
Ibid.

  
27
Hellfire missiles or JDAM … bombs:
“Reaper: A New Way to Wage War,”
Time
, June 1, 2009,
www.time.com/time/magazine/pdf/20090601drone.pdf
.

  
28
killed Abu Khabab al-Masri:
“Al-Qaeda Chemical Expert ‘Killed,’ ” BBC, July 28, 2008,
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7529419.stm
.

  
29
a fivefold increase:
See Katherine Tiedemann and Peter Bergen, “The Year of the Drone,”
New America Foundation
, February 24, 2010,
counterterrorism.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/bergentiedemann2.pdf
.

  
30
killed in the drone strikes:
See “Guard: Al Qaeda Chief in Pakistan Killed,”
CNN.com
, September 9, 2011, edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/09/pakistan.alqaeda.killed/index.html; Pir Zubair Shah, “U.S Strike Is Said to Kill Qaeda Figure in Pakistan,”
New York Times
, October 17, 2008,
www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/world/asia/18pstan.html
; Ismail Khan and Jane Perlez, “Airstrike Kills Qaeda-Linked Militant in Pakistan,”
New York Times
, November 22, 2008,
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/world/asia/23rauf.html
; Eric Schmitt, “2 Qaeda Leaders Killed in U.S. Strike in Pakistan,”
New York Times
, January 8, 2009,
www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/world/asia/09pstan.html
.

  
31
“The whole time along”:
Ari Fleischer interview.

  
32
ground assaults in the tribal regions:
Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti, “Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan,”
New York Times
, September 10, 2008,
www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washington/11policy.html?pagewanted=all
.

  
33
attack a compound … housing militants:
Pir Zubair Shah, Eric Schmitt, and Jane Perlez, “American Forces Attack Militants on Pakistani Soil,”
New York Times
, September 4, 2008,
www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/world/asia/04attack.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
.

  
34
“territorial integrity”:
Stephen Graham, “Pakistan Army Chief Criticizes U.S. Raid,” Associated Press, September 10, 2008,
www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9346IB00&show_article=1
.

    
1
engraved on a wall:
Author observation.

    
2
added to the honor roll:
Author observation.

    
3
long oversaw:
The CIA’s Alec Station was initially set up in December 1995 to keep track of bin Laden. It was disbanded in 2005. See Warrick,
The Triple Agent
, p. 94.

    
4
disappeared at the Battle of Tora Bora:
Accounts from two Guantánamo Bay detainees indicate that, after the battle, bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, escaped toward Jalalabad, where they stayed with Awal Gul. Gul died at Guantánamo in February 2011. See JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment for Awal Gul, ISN US9AF-000782DP, February 15, 2008.

    
5
“Elvis sightings”:
Michael Scheuer, interview by author, Washington, DC, October 1, 2011.

    
6
principal author of the highly classified President’s Daily Brief:
Peter Bergen,
The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict Between America and al-Qaeda
(New York: Free Press, 2011), p. 48.

    
7
identified as its author:
Ibid.

    
8
Sude had the reputation:
David Low interview.

    
9
“He was so weird looking”:
Barbara Sude, interview by author, Washington, DC, October 20, 2011.

  
10
kill bin Laden or to capture him:
Ibid.

  
11
“We wanted to make sure”:
Robert Dannenberg interview. 77
“They seem to have”:
Michael Scheuer interview.

  
12
critical to the spring 2002 arrest:
Warrick,
The Triple Agent
, p. 26.

  
13
“If she bites your ankle”:
Michael Scheuer interview.

  
14
first strategic warning:
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), “The Wandering Mujahidin: Armed and Dangerous,” August 21–22, 1993.

  
15
a prescient analysis:
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), “Terrorism? Usama bin Ladin: Who’s Chasing Whom?” July 18, 1996.

  
16
balancing the demands:
Cindy Storer, interview by author, Washington, DC, September 13, 2011.

  
17
“She is really fast”:
David Low, interview by author, Washington, DC, August 20, 2011.

  
18
“You guys are crazy”:
Roy Gutman,
How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan
(Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2008), p. 170.

  
19
Clarke says three times:
Richard Clarke, “The Dark Side,” PBS
Frontline
, January 23, 2006,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/interviews/clarke.html

  
20
as many as ten opportunities:
“CIA Insider Says Osama Hunt Flawed,” CBS News, September 15, 2004,
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/10/terror/main635038.shtml
.

  
21
the best chance to capture or kill:
“9/11 Commission Report,” op. cit., p. 137.

  
22
because of the concerns about the Emiratis:
John Diamond,
The CIA and the Culture of Failure: U. S. Intelligence from the End of the Cold War to the Invasion of Iraq
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2008), pp. 316–318.

  
23
In 1997, when I was a producer:
Author observations, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, March 1997.

  
24
the scanner wasn’t working:
Ali Soufan,
The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda
(New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011), p. 99.

  
25
“working theory of the case”:
Author interviews with U.S. intelligence officials involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
26
too dangerous:
Ibid.

  
27
Bin Laden had known the patriarch:
Journalist and bin Laden chronicler Steve Coll recounts how Haqqani organized Arab volunteers for the anti-Soviet jihad in the 1980s, and operated in many of the same areas as bin Laden. See Steve Coll,
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
(New York: Penguin, 2004), p. 157.

  
28
less and less likely:
Author interviews with U.S. officials involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
29
welcomed back to Afghanistan:
When bin Laden arrived in Jalalabad (then controlled by Haji Qadir, a member of a Khalis faction) in 1996 from Sudan, he was quickly escorted to meet with Khalis himself. See Bergen,
The Osama bin Laden I Know
, pp. 158–59.

  
30
believed by Pakistani intelligence:
Author interviews with U.S. counterterrorism officials.

  
31
“Message to the American People”:
“Bin Laden: ‘Your Security Is in Your Own Hands,’ ”
CNN.com
, October 29, 2004,
articles.cnn.com/2004-10-29/world/bin.laden.transcript_1_lebanon-george-w-bush-arab?_s=PM:WORLD
.

  
32
“I can still see the picture of bin Laden”:
Frances Townsend, interview by author.

  
33
“When there were videos”:
Michael Scheuer interview.

  
34
If plants were visible:
Author interview with senior counterterrorism official, Washington, DC, December 2011.

  
35
a sequence in
Fahrenheit 9/11:
“Al Jazeera, “Full Transcript of bin Laden’s Speech,” October 29, 2004,
english.aljazeera.net/archive/2004/11/200849163336457223.html
.

  
36
recommended the works of Noam Chomsky:
SITE Group translation, September 11, 2007,
counterterrorismblog.org/site-resources/images/SITE-OBL-transcript.pdf
.

  
37
“We didn’t necessarily think”:
Barbara Sude interview.

  
38
bragged to his girlfriend’s father:
Neal Bascomb,
Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World’s Most Notorious Nazi
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), pp. 86–87.

  
39
the operation to find Pablo Escobar:
The definitive account of the hunt for Pablo Escobar is in Mark Bowden,
Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw
(New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001).

  
40
“You can throw all your phones away”:
General Michael Hayden, interview for
Last Days of Osama bin Laden
, National Geographic Channel, aired November 9, 2011.

  
41
Saudi media advisor:
Khaled al-Fawwaz, interview by author, London, April 1, 1997.

  
42
assassination of Dzhokhar Dudayev:
Glenn Kessler, “File the Bin Laden Phone Leak Under ‘Urban Myths,’ ”
Washington Post
, December 22, 2005,
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/21/AR2005122101994_pf.html
.

  
43
rookie cop:
Henry Schuster and Charles Stone,
Hunting Eric Rudolph: An Insider’s Account of the Five-Year Search for the Olympic Bombing Suspect
(New York: Berkley Books, 2005), pp. 277–79.

  
44
on a flight back home to Pakistan:
Tim Weiner, “U.S. Seizes Lone Suspect in Killing of 2 C.I.A. Officers,”
New York Times
, June 18, 1997,
www.nytimes.com/1997/06/18/world/us-seizes-the-lone-suspect-in-killing-of-2-cia-officers.html?ref=miramalkansi
.

  
45
habitually dressed:
Brad Garrett, interview by author, Washington, DC, November 2011.

  
46
chasing the elusive Kansi:
Ibid.

  
47
You can’t trust the Pakistanis:
Ibid.

  
48
sizable cash reward:
Ibid.

  
49
no signals intelligence:
Peter Bergen,
Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001), p. 4.

  
50
“magic detainee”:
Author interviews with U.S. counterterrorism officials involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
51
“midlevel managers”:
Ibid.

  
52
“It was a reflection”:
Philip Mudd, interview by author, Washington, DC, June 2, 2011.

  
53
Mudd authored an influential memo:
Author interview with senior intelligence official, Washington, DC, November 2011.

  
54
“If you sat around the table”:
Philip Mudd interview.

  
55
four “pillars”:
Author interviews with U.S. counterterrorism officials involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
56
problem with this approach:
Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official, Washington, DC, November 2011.

  
57
“solid conclusions”:
Ibid.

  
58
increasingly easy for the CIA to dismiss:
Author interviews with senior U.S. counterterrorism officials.

  
59
“was not making any new friends”:
Ibid.

  
60
“too big a footprint”:
Ibid.

  
61
might well be living with him:
Ibid.

  
62
never developed any:
Author interview with senior U.S. counterterrorism official, Washington, DC, November 2011.

  
63
safe houses in all the major cities:
bin Laden, bin Laden, and Sasson,
Growing Up bin Laden
, pp. 238–39.

  
64
“probably in the outskirts of Islamabad”:
Author interview with National Security Council official, Washington, DC, 2011.

  
65
“We always hoped for a person”:
Author interviews with counterterrorism officials involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
66
highly compartmented … just not feasible:
Author interviews with U.S. intelligence officials involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
67
“It was much easier”:
Robert Dannenberg interview.

  
68
created a composite:
Ibid.

  
69
“never a sense”:
Ibid.