Dirty Wars (113 page)

197
Fazul claimed
:
Watts, Shapiro, and Brown, “Al-Qaida's (Mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa,” p. 94.

198
renting the house
:
Ibid., p. 96.

198
relocated his family
:
Ibid., pp. 94-95.

198
learned it from CNN
:
Ibid., p. 95.

198
resulted in raids
:
Ibid.

198
operate out of Liberia
:
Ibid., p. 97.

198
regularly travel to Somalia
:
Ibid., p. 98.

199
contracted Mohamed Dheere
:
Ibid., p. 99; Desmond Butler, “Threats and Responses: Terrorism; Three-Year Hunt Fails to Net Qaeda Suspect in Africa,”
New York Times
, June 14, 2003.

199
Internet café, “Fazul was too smart
”:
Sean D. Naylor, “Years of Detective Work Led to al-Qaida Target,”
Army Times
, November 21, 2011.

199
intercepted communications
:
Watts, Shapiro, and Brown, “Al-Qaida's (Mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa,” p. 99.

199
“
most wanted fugitives
”:
International Crisis Group, “Counterterrorism in Somalia: Losing Hearts and Minds?” Africa Report No. 95, July 11, 2005, p. 9.

200
“
the special group
”:
International Crisis Group, “Somalia's Islamists,” Africa Report No. 100, December 12, 2005, p. 11.

200
Italian cemetery
:
Ali, “The Anatomy of al Shabaab,” p. 28.

200
“
headline-grabbing assassinations
”:
Ibid.

201
video teleconferences
:
Naylor, “Years of Detective Work Led to al-Qaida Target.”

201
took control of Mogadishu
:
“Islamic Militia Claims Mogadishu,” CNN.com, June 5, 2006.

201
“
wonderful piece of news
”:
Transcript, “Islamic Militia Takes Control of Somali Capital,”
NewsHour
, PBS, June 6, 2006.

202
“
establish a friendly relationship
”:
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, letter to governments and international organizations, “The Union of Islamic Courts in Mogadishu Break the Silence,” June 6, 2006,
www.hiiraan.com/news/2006/jun/somali_news6_7.aspx
.

202
“
invite an investigative team
”:
US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI2640, from Ambassador William Bellamy, US Embassy Nairobi, “Islamist Advances, Prospects for Dialogue, but Still No Admission of the Al Qaida Presence,” June 15, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06NAI-ROBI2640.html
. The cable includes the text of a letter sent from Sheikh Sharif on June 14.

202
“
litmus test
”:
Ibid.

202
“
moderate
”:
See US diplomatic cable 07NAIROBI5403, from Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, US Embassy Nairobi, “Somalia—Sheikh Sharif and the Future Role of Islamic Courts Moderates,” January 1, 2007,
released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/01/07NAIROBI5403.html
.

202
“
contemplate killing Sharif
”:
Jon Lee Anderson, “The Most Failed State,”
New Yorker
, December 14, 2009.

202
“
onto everybody's radar screen
”:
Author interview, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, March 2011. All quotations of Gartenstein-Ross are from the author's interview.

202
“
There is instability in Somalia
”:
Transcript, “President's Remarks to the Travel Pool at Laredo Border Patrol Sector Headquarters,” June 6, 2006.

203
insane maze of roadblocks
:
Mohammed Olad Hassan, “Life Under Somalia's Islamists,” BBC.news.co.uk, July 11, 2006.

203
ports and the airport
:
“Mogadishu's Port Reopened,” AlJazeera.com, August 23, 2006.

203
felt safer
:
Xan Rice, “Mogadishu's Miracle: Peace in the World's Most Lawless City,”
Guardian
, June 25, 2006.

203
US officials acknowledged
:
US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI3441, from Economic Counselor John F. Hoover, US Embassy Nairobi, “Horn of Africa, State-US-AID Humanitarian Cable Update Number 8,” August 8, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/06NAI-ROBI3441.html
.

203
“
some semblance of order
”:
Author interview, Ismail Mahmoud Hurre, June 2011.

203
“
rally with Ethiopia
”:
Memorandum from “Ennifar” (likely Azouz Ennifar, Deputy Special Representative for UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea), “Meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,” June 26, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/wiki/US_encouraged_Ethiopian_invasion_of_Somalia:_UN_meeting_memo_with_Jenday_Frazer,_Secretary_of_State_for_African_Affairs,_2006
.

204
training its notorious Agazi
:
Michael R. Gordon and Mark Mazzetti, “U.S. Ethiopian Campaign Routed Islamic Militants in Somalia,”
International Herald Tribune
, February 23, 2007.

204
began setting up shop
:
Thomas P. M. Barnett, “The Americans Have Landed,”
Esquire
, June 27, 2007,
www.esquire.com/features/africacommand0707
.

204
Task Force 88
:
Michael R. Gordon and Mark Mazzetti, “U.S. Used Base in Ethiopia to Hunt al Qaeda,”
New York Times
, February 23, 2007.

204
ratchet up its rhetoric
:
See Stephanie McCrummen, “Interview with Meles Zenawi,” WashingtonPost.com, December 14, 2006.

204
went on national radio
:
Author interview, Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, June 2011.

204
“
reconnaissance missions
”:
US Diplomatic cable 06ADDISABABA1904 from Vicki Huddleston, Chargé d'Affaires, US Embassy Addis Ababa, “Corrected Copy—Ethiopia: GOE Says No Incursion in Somalia,” July 12, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/07/06ADDISABA-BA1904.html
.

205
“
Shabab was a sideline organization
”:
Author interview, Malcolm Nance, May 2011. Quotations of Malcolm Nance come from the author's interview.

205
“
We warn all the nations
”:
Osama bin Laden, transcript of audio recording, July 2, 2006, translation from The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), accessed December 2010,
www.memri.org/report/en/print1872.htm
.

206
privately warned their superiors
:
US diplomatic cable 06NAIROBI2618, from Ambassador William Bellamy, US Embassy Nairobi, “Jowhar Falls,” June 14, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06NAIROBI2618.html
. “The UN has reports that an Ethiopian brigade positioned along the Somali border has been reinforced with armor and helicopters, sparking fears about an Ethiopian incursion to Somalia. Such a move could lead to greatly expanded conflict and could ultimately cause the TFIs to fail. In this light, we advise a high-level call to Ethiopia to dissuade movement of troops into Somalia...squadron of armor and MI-24 Hind B helicopters.”

206
“
Jihad in Allah's way
”:
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, “Islamists Declare Jihad (Holy War) on Neighboring Ethiopia Following the Fall of Key Town to Ethiopian-back[ed] Somali Government Forces,” October 10, 2006, video and transcription from Reuters.

206
“
executive order” written in Arabic
:
US diplomatic cable 06ADDISABABA3212, from Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy Addis Ababa, “Somali Prime Minister Gedi Highlights Foreign Extremist Support for ICU,” December 6, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/12/06ADDISABABA3212.html
.

207
John Abizaid
:
US diplomatic cable 06ADDISABABA3240, from Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy Addis Ababa, “Ethiopia: Meles Alters Stance on Military Action,” December 8, 2006, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/12/06ADDISABABA3240.html
; Xan Rice and Suzanne Goldenberg, “How US Forged an Alliance with Ethiopia over Invasion,”
Guardian
, January 12, 2007.

207
“
chance of a lifetime
”:
Alex Perry, “Somalia on the Edge,”
Time
, November 29, 2007.

207
“
They are terrorists
”:
David Gollust, “US Says al-Qaida Elements Running Somali Islamic Movement,” Voice of America, December 14, 2006.

207
“
Growing Al-Qaeda Menace
”:
Julie Hollar, “Rediscovering Somalia; Press Downplays U.S. Role in Renewed Crisis,” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, March 1, 2008,
http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/rediscovering-somalia/
.

207
“
a safe haven
”:
Ibid.

207
“
here in East Africa
”:
Transcript,
Newsroom
, CNN, January 6, 2007.

207
“
hard and fast views
”:
Karen DeYoung, “U.S. Sees Growing Threats in Somalia,”
Washington Post
, December 18, 2006.

207
“
idiotic
”:
Ibid.

207
“
making a bad bet
”:
Ibid.

208
across the Somali border
:
Jeffrey Gettleman, “Ethiopian Warplanes Attack Somalia,”
New York Times
, December 24, 2006.

208
40,000–50,000 troops
:
David Axe, “Wikileaked Cable Confirms U.S.' Secret Somalia Op,” Danger Room (blog), Wired.com, December 2, 2010,
www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/wikileaked-cable-confirms-u-s-secret-somalia-op/
; Scott Baldauf, “In Somalia, Foreign Intervention Won't Resolve Al Shabab Threat,”
Christian Science Monitor
, September 2, 2010. Axe reports that “some 50,000 Ethiopian troops” participated in the invasion; the
Christian Science Monitor
reports 40,000.

208
“
attack Addis Ababa
”:
Xan Rice, “Somali Hardliner Calls for Foreign Jihadists,”
Guardian
, December 23, 2006.

208
“
The warlord era
”:
Stephanie McCrummen, “Somali Islamic Fighters Flee Toward Kenya,”
Washington Post
, January 2, 2007.

208
demonstrations broke out
:
Reuters, “Anti-Ethiopian Protests Rock Mogadishu,”
Toronto Star
, January 6, 2007.

210
escaped, maximum security prison
:
Mark Trevelyan (Reuters), “Jailbreak in Yemen Stirs Concern Abroad; Inside Job Seen in Qaeda Escape,”
Boston Globe
, February 10, 2006.

210
later boasted
:
Wuhayshi later recounted the escape in an article for an Arabic-language publication, which was later translated by Gregory D. Johnsen. See Nasir al-Wuhayshi, “The New Leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen Relates the Details of the Escape of al-Qaeda Members from an Intelligence Prison,”
al-Ghad
, June 25, 2007.

210
“
serious problem
”:
Barbara Starr, “Yemen Prison Break Raises Alarms at Sea,” CNN.com, February 7, 2006.

210
“
Saleh knows how to play the game
”:
Author interview, former US counterterrorism official, January 2011. All statements and quotations attributed to the former US counterterrorism official are from the author's interview.

210
“
They play it for survival
”:
Author interview, Dr. Emile Nakhleh, January 2010.

211
“
an inside job
”:
Sam Kimball, “Whose Side Is Yemen On?”
Foreign Policy
, August 29, 2012.

211
“
would seem impossible
”:
Ibid.

212
major expansion of Camp Lemonnier
:
Joseph Giordono, “U.S. Military Plans to Expand Camp Lemonier in Djibouti; Lease to Provide for More Housing and Security,”
Stars and Stripes
, July 9, 2006.

212
“
Some teams use the base
”:
Ibid.

212
President Bush's top aide
:
US diplomatic cable 07SANAA1989, from Ambassador Stephen Seche, US Embassy Sana'a, “Townsend-Saleh Meeting Provides Opening for Additional CT Cooperation,” October 30, 2007, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/10/07SANAA1989.html
. Details of Saleh's meeting with Townsend come from this cable.

212
“
Despite the Somalia UN arms embargo
”:
“Security Council Committee on Somalia and Eritrea Issues List of Individuals Identified Pursuant to Paragraph 8 of Resolution 1844 (2008),” Department of Public Information, UN Security Council, April 12, 2010,
www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/sc9904.doc.htm
.

213
“
way over their heads
”:
Author interview, former US military official, February 2012.