The Triple Agent; The al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIA
New York, N.Y. Doubleday, 2011. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xv, [5], 244, [6] pages. Maps. Illustrations (color). Includes Prologue, Author's Note, List of Principal Characters, Epilogue, Acknowledgments, A Note on Sources, Notes, and Index. Chapters cover Obsession; Haunted; The Doctor; Humiliation; The Informant; Targets; The Jihadist; Pressure; Chief; The Double Agent; Dangle; Rehearsal; The Triple Agent; No God but God; The Martyr; Fallen; Resolve; Memorial Day, and Epilogue. Quotations in this book that are designated by quotation marks are the recollections of individuals who heard the words as they were spoken. Italics are used in cases in which a source could not recall the precise language or when a source relayed conversation or thoughts that were shared with him by a participant in the events described. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Warrick takes us inside the CIA's secret war against al-Qaeda, a war that pits robot planes and laser-guided missiles against an enemy intent on unleashing carnage in American cities. Flitting precariously between the two sides was Balawi, a young man with extraordinary gifts who managed to win the confidence of hardened terrorists as well as veteran spymasters. With his breathtaking accounts from al-Qaeda lair, Balawi appeared poised to become America's greatest double agent in half a century--but he was not at all what he seemed. Joby Warrick (born August 4, 1960) is an American journalist who has worked for The Washington Post since 1996, mostly writing about the Middle East, diplomacy, and national security. He has also written about the intelligence community, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the environment, and has also served as a member of the Post's investigation branch. His work has been recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes. Warrick was given the 2003 Bob Considine Award for best interpretation of international affairs in a newspaper by the Overseas Press Club of America, for his articles about proliferation threats. In September 2002, Warrick was one of the first journalists to publish reports casting doubt on the Bush administration's claims that aluminum tubes discovered in Iraq were appropriate for use in uranium centrifuges. Prior to his work at The Washington Post, Warrick reported for The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina. The newspaper received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a series of articles by Warrick, Melanie Sill and Pat Stith "on the environmental and health risks of waste disposal systems used in North Carolina's growing hog industry". The North Carolina native was previously an Eastern Europe correspondent for UPI and also worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Delaware County Daily Times. Warrick is the author of "The Triple Agent", a narrative culminating in the December 30, 2009, Camp Chapman attack in Afghanistan, which resulted in the murder of seven CIA employees by a suicide bomber. Warrick credits Bob Woodward for helping him structure the book's manuscript. Warrick was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for his book Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS which recounts the characters and events behind the emergence of the Islamic State. Derived from a Kirkus review: The story of how the Central Intelligence Agency continued its record of failure in the so-called war on terrorism, with fatal consequences. In his debut, Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post intelligence reporter Warrick focuses on Dec. 30, 2009, when CIA officials, U.S. military personnel and Pakistani and Afghani operatives gathered at a well-protected base in Khost, Afghanistan, to meet a Jordanian pediatrician who had seemingly become a valued spy for the Americans inside Muslim terrorist networks. But as the book's title suggests, Humam Khalil al-Balawi, despite supposedly careful vetting by CIA and Pakistani experts, was actually on the side of the anti-American warriors willing to sacrifice their lives in order to kill Westerners. Once inside the base, Balawi ignited a bomb strapped to his chest, killing seven CIA personnel. Although the classified-information obstacles and polished lies of master spies make accurate reporting on such embarrassing fatalities extremely difficult, Warrick demonstrates the initiative that has marked his newspaper career to share details that are mostly attributed and seem credible. An able storyteller, Warrick provides enough background on each key character to make them come alive. With so much focus on Osama bin Laden since 9/11—especially the failures of presidents Bush and Obama to fulfill their vows that he will be captured—it is easy for readers to forget that many other faith-based operatives from al-Qaeda and related organizations know how to lure American personnel into death traps. Warrick demonstrates the skills of those operatives while quietly exposing the lack of wisdom continually demonstrated by American government and military officials. An alarming narrative, especially so because of its understated, never-shrill tone. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: CIA, al Qaeda, Khalil al-Balawi, Terrorist, Suicide Bombing, Khost, Counterterrorism Center, Double Agent, Elizabeth Hanson, Michael Hayden, Darren LaBonte, al-Masri, Mukhabarat, Leon Panetta
ISBN: 9780385534185
[Book #82422]
Price: $35.00