Worthy Fights by Leon Panetta

Author:Leon Panetta
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

• • •

Less than a week after the Christmas Day attempt, we were hit again, this time with much more tragic results.

Throughout the fall of 2009, CTC had briefed me during the CT-ME update on a tantalizing lead. A Jordanian doctor named Humam al-Balawi had inserted himself into the top ranks of Al Qaeda in Pakistan and was offering to help us find none other than Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor who was second only to bin Laden in the Al Qaeda leadership. Balawi had been a minor celebrity of the jihadist underground, writing under an assumed name and posting Internet pieces that encouraged martyrs and generally railed at the West. Jordanian officials tolerated it for a time, but when Balawi seemed to drift from commentary toward possible action, they arrested him and subjected him to a rough interrogation at the kingdom’s infamous security headquarters.

While in their custody and immediately after his release, Balawi appeared to rethink his jihadist inclinations and responded warmly to encouragement by his Jordanian handler, a highly respected intelligence officer. Balawi left Jordan for Pakistan in the spring of 2009. There, he was to attempt to infiltrate Al Qaeda, a mission that would allow him to redeem his family name with a demonstration of loyalty to his king and country. The promise of a significant reward also sweetened the pot.

Balawi made it to the tribal areas of South Waziristan, and after a few months of cautious but growing contact with local terrorists, the Pakistani Taliban invited him to come live with some of its leaders. We briefly worried that he might have been killed that summer, but no harm came to him, though he disappeared for a time.

When he resurfaced, Balawi produced a short video that created a whirlwind of activity in Washington and Amman. In it, he was shown sitting near a top associate of bin Laden’s, incontrovertible evidence that Balawi had, in fact, inserted himself into the innermost reaches of Al Qaeda. A few weeks later he followed that up with an even more astonishing report: He had just met Zawihiri himself—the Egyptian terrorist needed medical attention, and Balawi was a physician. Balawi’s account included a number of details about Zawihiri’s medical and personal history; they were consistent with other information, and there seemed no doubt but that Balawi had secured the confidence of one of the most wanted men on earth.

This was a very big deal, and I personally briefed the president about our new lead. He shared the enthusiasm that our officers felt, though he, like many of our top people, wanted to know more about Balawi. What motivated him? How had he been so successful at infiltrating a notoriously suspicious terror group? I told Obama that we were pursuing those questions, and as we did, I kept in close touch with John Brennan, both to keep the White House informed and also to seek his counsel.

One thing that all our people agreed about was that we needed a face-to-face meeting with Balawi.

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