The Way of the Knife Read online

  It was my great fortune to spend fifteen months at the Wilson Center, the best research institution in Washington. The Wilson Center gave me a professional home, fascinating and supportive colleagues, and access to a vast library run by a crack team. Thanks to Jane Harman and Michael Van Dusen for accepting me as a Public Policy Scholar and for running such a terrific operation. A very special thanks to Robert Litwak for being a constant source of insight and humor as I went through the painful process of writing the first draft of this book.

  It is my great honor to be a reporter for the New York Times, and I am grateful to Jill Abramson, Dean Baquet, and David Leonhardt for allowing me to take a leave from the paper to work on this project. When he was my boss in Washington, Dean encouraged me to examine the unexplored aspects of the secret wars—to write the stories that others weren’t writing. Some of the issues I wrote about for the newspaper during that period are explored in greater depth in this book. My friends and colleagues Helene Cooper, Scott Shane, and Eric Schmitt gave me encouragement and guidance throughout this process, and Scott and Eric took on a great deal of extra work while I was on book leave. I can’t thank them enough. In addition to those three, the national-security team in the Washington bureau is a collection of the best reporters—and most entertaining people—anywhere in journalism. Particular thanks to Peter Baker, Elisabeth Bumiller, Michael Gordon, Bill Hamilton, Mark Landler, Eric Lichtblau, Eric Lipton, Steve Myers, Jim Risen, David Sanger, Charlie Savage, and Thom Shanker. I am very lucky to work with them and the entire Washington bureau. Thanks also to Phil Taubman and Douglas Jehl, two former bosses at the paper with vast experience in intelligence reporting, who helped me greatly as I was beginning to cover a new beat.

  This book would never have happened without Scott Moyers, who in his previous incarnation as a literary agent urged me to look deeper into the themes that I was writing about in my articles for the New York Times. Then, after Scott became the publisher of The Penguin Press, I was lucky enough to get him as my book editor. He sees the big picture and pushed me to write as expansively as possible about the changing nature of American war and its impact. I appreciate the time he gave me to make sure the reporting for this book was right, and he provided a steady hand during the editing process. He proved that great book editing is possible even under very tight deadline pressures. Thanks also to Ann Godoff, the president and editor in chief at Penguin Press, for taking a leap on this project and for ensuring that the book could be published swiftly, at a time when these issues need far more public discussion. Mally Anderson at Penguin Press ensured that the various pieces of the book met their deadlines, and I’m very grateful to her for patiently guiding me through what was a very mysterious process. It was good having her calm voice at the other end of the phone.

  Rebecca Corbett, a friend and editor at the New York Times, probably has no idea how much better this book is as a result of her guidance, patience, and savvy. She pored over several drafts of the book, pushing me to dig deeper in the reporting and explain myself better in the writing. She has a keen eye for detail and for making characters come to life. Our lunches at The Bottom Line not only helped me organize my reporting but also helped enormously in constructing the book’s narrative. The discussion was much better than the food.

  My agent, Andrew Wylie, has been a confidant since the earliest stages of writing the proposal for this book, and I am grateful to him for taking me on as a client. He’s a true professional, and he gave particularly wise counsel during a nerve-racking day in New York as I had to make a decision about publishers: He told me to go with my gut. “Stop worrying,” he said. “Life’s too short.” He was right.

  My New York Times colleague Declan Walsh, in Islamabad, was kind enough to put me up during my time in Pakistan. Besides being a terrific reporter and a source of immense wisdom about what may be the world’s most complicated country, Declan runs what is no doubt Pakistan’s finest guesthouse. Thank you to everyone at the Islamabad bureau for making my reporting trip to Pakistan so productive.

  I am in great debt to my friends who cover national-security issues for other news organizations. The work that they do to shed light on dark corners has informed this book immensely. Particular thanks to Greg Miller, Joby Warrick, Peter Finn, Julie Tate, and Dana Priest, of the Washington Post; Adam Goldman, Matt Apuzzo, and Kimberly Dozier, of the Associated Press; and Siobhan Gorman, Julian Barnes, and Adam Entous of the Wall Street Journal. We all may compete fiercely against each other, and curse each other when we are forced to match a competitor’s story at 10 P.M., but in the end we’re all on the same side.

  The debt that I owe to my family is one that I can’t possibly begin to repay. My parents, Joseph and Jeanne Mazzetti, taught me to be curious and to be humble. But most of all they taught me to be honest, and I hope they are as proud of me as I am of them. My sisters, Elise and Kate, are the two best friends someone could have, and they—along with their husbands, Sudeep and Chris—are role models for me in the way that they live their lives and raise their families.

  The single person who has contributed the most to this book is Lindsay, my wonderful wife. From our very first discussion about the possibility of me writing a book, while walking in Riverside Park in New York, Lindsay’s support was unwavering. She read and edited drafts of the book, offered suggestions, endured my insomnia, and provided encouragement during the times that I thought I was taking on more than I could handle. I couldn’t possibly have done this without her, and I love her very much.

  And to Max, my son. Max was born when I was in the early stages of this project, and he has changed my life in ways I’m just beginning to understand. I can’t wait until he is old enough to read this book. I cherish the memories of the mornings we spent together during the first few months, and of the smiles he delivered when I came home at the end of particularly frustrating days of book writing. They put things in perspective. There is a great deal of pain and heartache in the world, but it is a far better place with Max in it.

  A NOTE ON SOURCES

  It is a great challenge to write an account of an ongoing war that, at least officially, remains a secret. This book is the result of hundreds of interviews in the United States and overseas, both during my years as a national-security reporter and during my book leave from the New York Times. I tried as much as possible to convince the people whom I interviewed to speak for the record, and those who agreed are cited by name both in the main text of the book and in the endnotes. I also conducted scores of interviews on “background,” where I allowed sources to speak anonymously in exchange for their accounts of American military and intelligence operations, the vast majority of which remain classified. Although this is hardly ideal, I believe it is a necessary evil to ensure that trusted sources are able to speak candidly.

  Using anonymous sources is always a risk, and as a national-security reporter I have learned that some sources can be trusted far more than others. For this book I have relied heavily on people whose information I have come to trust over the years. To the extent I am able, I have used the endnotes to give more information about who provided specific information, even if I did not use their names. On some occasions, usually because material is particularly sensitive, I presented information that does not have designated endnotes. In these instances I made sure that I could verify the information from multiple sources. When I recount conversations between two or more people, I have used quotation marks around the dialogue only when I am confident that my sources have provided an accurate recollection of the conversation.

  I have tried as much as possible to draw on open source material and declassified government documents. In this effort, I have been helped by the work of several different organizations. The National Security Archive, at George Washington University, works tirelessly to get government documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act, and I am enormously grateful for their efforts. The SITE Intelligence Group is the best resource for monitoring the
writings and public statements of militant groups in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and other countries, and I have drawn extensively on SITE’s work. A large number of the U.S. government documents cited in this book were first made public by WikiLeaks, the antisecrecy organization. The WikiLeaks database has become an important resource for journalists and historians trying to better understand the inner workings of American government.

  I am deeply indebted to the many people in several different countries who gave up countless hours of their time to let me interview them. They trusted me to tell their stories, and this is their book as much as it is mine.

  Mark Mazzetti

  Washington, D.C.

  December 2012

  NOTES

  PROLOGUE: THE WAR BEYOND

  “Is he understanding everything?”: Raymond Davis interrogation by Lahore police comes from cell-phone video taken during the questioning. The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=o10sPS6QPXk.

  An assortment of bizarre paraphernalia: Mark Mazzetti et al., “American Held in Pakistan Worked With CIA,” The New York Times (February 21, 2011).

  “our diplomat in Pakistan”: Press conference by President Barack Obama, February 15, 2011.

  Moscow Rules: Author interview with two American officials.

  trouble for the alliance: The officer’s thoughts about the OSS quoted in Douglas Waller, Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage (New York: Free Press, 2011): 188–189.

  twisted and burning: Details of Sir Richard Dearlove’s trip to CIA headquarters come from Ross Newland, a former top CIA official who was standing next to Dearlove during the Predator strike.

  CHAPTER 1: PERMISSION TO KILL

  “You are there to kill terrorists”: Secret cable from American ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin, to State Department, September 14, 2001. The cable was declassified and later released by the National Security Archive.

  license to kill: The CIA presentation in the White House Situation Room was described by one participant in the meeting and a second former American official with direct knowledge of what transpired during the meeting.

  “Usama Bin Lane”: Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved Lives (New York: Threshold Editions, 2012): 75.

  to kill off as many al Qaeda operatives as possible: George J. Tenet, At the Center of the Storm (New York: HarperCollins, 2007): 165.

  “have flies walking across their eyeballs”: Cofer Black interview, 60 Minutes, May 13, 2012.

  “the flies-on-the-eyeballs guy”: Bob Woodward, Bush at War (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002): 52.

  who should be captured: This idea is explored in greater depth in Philip Zelikow, “Codes of Conduct for a Twilight War,” Houston Law Review (April 16, 2012).

  “we don’t do policy from [Langley] . . .”: “Intelligence Policy,” National Commission on Terrorism Attacks Upon the United States, 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 7 (2004).

  take a job at the State Department: Black and Pavitt were barely speaking to each other. By early 2002, according to several former CIA officials, Black’s popularity at the White House led the CTC chief to ignore his bosses at Langley and frequently say, “I work for the president.” After Black’s time at the State Department, he took a senior management job at Blackwater USA.

  “out on Business”: Rodriguez Jr., 20.

  He was removed from the job: David Wise, “A Not So Secret Mission,” Los Angeles Times (August 26, 2007).

  prisoners presumably would be there: David Johnston, and Mark Mazzetti, “A Window into CIA’s Embrace of Secret Jails,” The New York Times (August 12, 2009).

  They dug up a handful of bodies: Details of the Zhawar Kili exploitation operation come from Navy SEAL history of mission, July 2002. The history is titled “The Zhawar Kili Cave Complex: Task Force K-Bar and the Exploitation of AQ008, Paktika Province, Afghanistan.”

  two teams stormed the compounds simultaneously: Specifics of the Hazar Qadam operation come from U.S. Special Operations Command’s internal history of the raid, as well as interviews with members of the special-operations task force based in Kandahar.

  an entirely new organization: Donald H. Rumsfeld memorandum to George Tenet, “JIFT-CT.” September 26, 2001.

  “If the war does not”: Donald H. Rumsfeld, “Memorandum for the President,” September 30, 2001.

  with gun barrels pointed forward: Details of Mullah Khairkhwa’s pursuit and capture come from a U.S. Special Operations Command classified history, as well as interviews with members of the special-operations task force based in Kandahar.

  one of the island prison’s first inmates: Memorandum for Commander, United States Southern Command, March 6, 2008, “Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control for Guantánamo Detainee, ISN US9AF-000579DP(S).” Available at http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa.

  CHAPTER 2: A MARRIAGE AMONG SPIES

  “Pakistan has always seen”: Mahmud Ahmed to Richard Armitage, “Deputy Secretary Armitage’s Meeting with Pakistan Intel Chief Mahmud: You’re Either with Us or You’re Not,” State Department cable, September 12, 2001. This document and several others cited in this chapter were declassified and released on September 11, 2011, by the National Security Archive.

  “to save the planet”: Donald Rumsfeld to George W. Bush, “Memorandum for the President: My Visits to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Uzbekistan, and Turkey,” (October 6, 2001).

  “Usama bin Ladin”: U.S. embassy in Islamabad cable to U.S. Secretary of State, “Usama bin Ladin: Pakistan seems to be leaning against being helpful,” State Department cable, December 18, 1998.

  “I cannot understand why you Americans”: John R. Schmidt, The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011): 109.

  “is the future of Afghanistan”: Author interview with Shaukat Qadir.

  the embassy car waiting for him: Author interview with Porter Goss.

  “deep introspection” in Islamabad: Secret State Department cable detailing meeting between Richard Armitage and Mahmud Ahmed, “Deputy Secretary Armitage’s Meeting with Pakistan Intel Chief Mahmud,” September 12, 2001.

  all the intelligence it had about al Qaeda: U.S. Secretary of State cable to U.S. embassy in Islamabad, “Deputy Secretary Armitage’s Meeting with General Mahmud: Actions and Support Expected of Pakistan in Fight Against Terrorism,” September 13, 2001.

  the northern province of Sindh: Pervez Musharraf, In the Line of Fire (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006): 206.

  a crushed, impoverished outcast: Ibid., 202.

  “if and when the government”: Pervez Musharraf, Translated text of speech, September 19, 2001.

  “Afghanistan will revert to warlordism”: U.S. embassy in Islamabad cable to U.S. Secretary of State, “Mahmud Plans 2nd Mission to Afghanistan,” State Department cable, September 24, 2001.

  “You want to please the Americans”: John F. Burns, “Adding Demands, Afghan Leaders Show Little Willingness to Give Up Bin Laden,” The New York Times (September 19, 2001).

  after years of mistrust: George J. Tenet, At the Center of the Storm (New York: HarperCollins, 2007): 140–141.

  Grenier was dead wrong: Henry A. Crumpton, The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA’s Clandestine Service (New York: Penguin Press, 2012): 194.

  “Every pillar of the Taliban regime will be destroyed”: U.S. Secretary of State cable to U.S. embassy in Islamabad, “Message to Taliban,” State Department cable, October 5, 2001.

  turned our stalled relationship around: Colin L. Powell to President George W. Bush, “Memorandum to the President: Your Meeting with Pakistan President Musharraf,” November 5, 2001.

  stay in Afghanistan for years: Author interview with General Ehsan ul Haq.

  Pakistan’s embassies in Washington: A description of the ISI cables comes from a former senior Pakistani official who had read
the ISI analysis.

  “a very short-term affair”: Author interview with Asad Durrani.

  on level ground with the Americans: Account of the conversation comes from author interview with Ehsan ul Haq.

  nothing productive came from the meeting: Ibid.

  “range after range”: Churchill’s dispatches were later compiled in his first book, Winston Churchill, The Story of the Malakand Field Force: An Episode of Frontier War (New York: W. W. Norton, 1989).

  “an inconvenient fact”: Mark Mazzetti and David Rohde, “Amid U.S. Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan,” The New York Times (June 30, 2008).

  The hunt for bin Laden: Christina Lamb, “Bin Laden Hunt in Pakistan Is ‘Pointless’,” London Sunday Times (January 23, 2005).

  the suspicions had dissolved: Author interview with Asad Munir.

  dripping wet in his swimsuit: Ibid.

  informing on al Qaeda for Britain’s MI6: The information al-Jaza’iri had been a British agent came from the dossier of information compiled about his background by interrogations at Guantánamo Bay. The dossier was part of a number of documents made public by the group WikiLeaks, and is available at www.guardian.co.uk/world/guantanamo-files/PK9AG-001452DP.

  CHAPTER 3: CLOAK-AND-DAGGER MEN

  assassination attempts: “National Security Act of 1947,” United States Congress, July 26, 1947. NSA 1947 was codified in 50 U.S.C, Chapter 15, Subchapter I § 403-4a. President Truman’s views on the CIA are described in Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (Maine: Anchor, 2008): 3.