THE SILENT HUNT

A NOVEL BY MARK JAMESON Mark Jameson hopes you enjoy this chapter of The Silent Hunt, a thriller based on his real experiences in the CIA after 9/11. To get the entire book or blog with Mark Jameson, go to www.thesilenthunt.com.

Published by Shoot Your Eye Out Publishing http://shootyoureyeout.net Copyright Mark Jamesonl 2011 Cover art : Copyright Mary Gustafson 2011 http://marygustafson.com/ No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either prior written permission of the publisher. The Silent Hunt is a work of fiction. All incidents, dialog, and characters, with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the authors imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogs concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other aspects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the CIA or any other U.S. Government agency. Nothing in these contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. Government authentication of information or Agency endorsement of the authors views. This material has been reviewed by the CIA to prevent disclosure of classified information. ISBN: 978-0-9833011-2-7 Manufactured in the United States of America

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CHAPTER 3
Denver, Colorado (February 2002)
Mark stopped typing to rub his eyes, then felt the need to lean back in his chair and stretch his arms. Then the killer yawn hit him. He looked up at the clock on the wall, the kind made by Lighthouse for the Blind found throughout Americas public schools, and saw that it was nearly midnight. His body was telling him to quit for the day. But his mind was still racing. So he compromised and got up for a five minute break. He walked around the corner to the break room, pulled a cold Diet Coke from the fridge, and walked over to the window. He looked down onto the active nightlife of downtown Denver, known to the locals as LoDo, from the 18th floor of Denvers federal office building. Hed been in Denver almost a month now, living in the Embassy Suites just down the street. Although hed spent most of his waking moments here in Denvers Joint Terrorism Task Force, known commonly as the JTTF, he had gotten out to enjoy the social scene, and it had been a wake-up call. Lots of
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fun people and good beer. Hed already put on 10 pounds since leaving Afghanistan. It made him a little sad to think how little hed enjoyed this side of life the last couple years. Even when he was in D.C. and not overseas, he worked sixty to eighty hour weeks and lots of late nights writing and re-writing pieces for the Presidents Daily Brief, or PDB. And in his spare time there he hung out with the other BTF analysts or buried himself in history books. Well, no beer tonight, he told the dark and silent break room. He slowly strolled through the empty hallways of the FBIs Denver Division, giving the caffeine some time to kick in. The last month had seemed like a year: the culture shock of a quick exit from Afghanistan straight to D.C., followed by a few strange days at headquarters that were highly controlled by Doug; then here. His thoughts drifted to the people that occupied these cubes and offices in the daylight. He had assimilated so much information, and had to learn a new sort of diplomacy very quickly. It started with the Special Agent in Charge, or SAC. He had laid out the ground rules for Mark in a ninety minute monologue. There would be no working in the field and no meeting assets. The work would be restricted to certain cases in the JTTF. In particular, the case that brought Mark to Denver was that of two Afghan brothers who came to the FBIs attention because the younger one had provided assistance to two of the 9/11 hijackers in San Diego. Then Mark discovered that the SAC had not passed any of this down the chain. It was up to Mark to make each of the Squad supervisors comfortable with his presence and purpose. It had not been easy. Mark had learned of the FBIs caste system. Agents
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were everything, analysts nothing. That extended to the other Inter-agency members of the JTTF, whether they were agents or analysts. Mark learned from his colleagues in San Diego and Portland that this was the common situation across the nation. In approximately 50 locations the FBI hosted a JTTF composed of agents and analysts from other federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The stated purpose was to coordinate and cooperate on terrorism. The reality was that the FBI retained rigid control and viewed the other JTTF members as assets only to assist them as needed. So Mark was immediately dismissed to work with the FBI analysts on the JTTF. It was there he learned that most FBI analysts were actually not much more than aging secretaries. Mark was shocked to learn that the FBI still maintained all its records in hardcopy and that the analysts primary function was to manage this giant paper beast. That included the process of transferring these records to the FBIs new computer system, a process that would likely take decades. Mark was further shocked when he saw that the FBIs system, despite being new, was not even Windows-based; just plain text in MS-DOS. Mark also discovered, however, that there was opportunity in this flawed system. There was so much information in the files that Mark didnt need to meet assets in the field. A wealth of it was sitting untouched. And the analysts were flattered by the attention that Mark paid them. They were all too willing to help him retrieve the information from the files, the one thing they were good at. The downfall was that because the files were all hardcopy, it required a lot of reviewing to find what he needed, and most of the cases were not cross referenced to one
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another where relevant. But thats what he was here for, to connect the dots. And he had found one younger analyst, Laura Spitzer, who was motivated and smart enough to conduct real analytical activities. So Mark had deputized her, and then through a stroke of luck discovered that her husband Jake Spitzer was a Special Agent on the terrorism squad and a former tanker like himself. Mark took advantage of his positive relationship with Laura to socialize with Jake and as Mark hoped the two shared their past military experience and began bonding. On the one hand Mark demystified some of their more fanciful images of the Agency, likening it to other large bureaucracies in the U.S. Government, while on the other winning Jakes respect and admiration for his recent service in Afghanistan. So now Mark had his in with the Agents and after a couple weeks Jake began confiding in him regarding the critical cases. In particular, Jake had participated in the surveillance of key subjects and had given Mark access to the surveillance reports. Those reports had led to a series of breakthroughs in Marks development of the case, and now he was nearly finished with his first comprehensive assessment of the situation in Denver and its potential links to the wider Al-Qaida network. Mark returned to his desk, but wasnt ready to refocus on the report just yet. He took his Agency laptop off of screen lock and reviewed what he had open. He really loved this machine and wished hed had something so useful in the Balkans and Afghanistan. It was a new model and state of the art for Agency technology. He had relatively unlimited ability to search CTC databases, including running traces on individuals. This was a classic Agency tool,
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essentially cross checking each noteworthy individual against the entire breadth of the Agencys historical files on individuals it had encountered around the world since the 1950s. Normally, Mark would had to have sent a request in to search each individual, but in a rare break from policy, Doug had gotten the capability and permission for his deployed analysts to do it directly, in part because they were working out of the U.S. and their laptops were communicating with Headquarters via the FBIs secure communications network. He saw that Jennas report was still minimized on the bottom of the screen. He opened it up and looked it over one more time for format. Jenna Neilson was the BTF analyst that had headed off to San Diego JTTF two weeks before Mark left for Denver. She had become the trailblazer in Doug Monroes new program. Mark had never worked with her too much on the BTF, as she was focused on the Serbian intelligence services while he was working the Albanian insurgent groups. He knew she was a former Naval counterintelligence analyst and that Doug had brought her over from the Navy. He also knew from reputation that she was smart as a whip and took bullshit from no one, especially not men. Jenna had sent around her first San Diego link analysis a week ago and it was a terrific piece of work. It had received similar reviews at Headquarters and David had called Mark right away and directed him to write a Denver report modeled on Jennas. It had definitely been strange receiving a call from David. He didnt try to explain that he was working for Monroe now; he just started ordering Mark around. Mark was worried that maybe he had overstepped his bounds in pushing Monroe to protect
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David. David did not sound particularly happy and was all business on the phone. So Mark left it alone, for now. Ill get back there and fix things with him. First things first, time to finish this puppy. Over the next hour Mark proof read his report three times, using the technique he repeated many times when writing for the PDB. One proof for theme and overall structure, ensuring the work is organized and the bottom line is up front. A second proof read looking at the underlying research, with a focus on omissions or issues that need to be better supported. And the third read through to ensure that the conclusion logically follows the rest of the piece and provides a logical next step. Finally, Mark added a fourth review: things he didnt want the FBI to see. Then he hit send and headed straight to his hotel.

DTG: 081502092002Z CTC/USA-DN 1147 TO: CTC/USA, CTC/USA-SD, CTC/COPS, CAIRO, KABUL, RIYADH FROM: CTC/USA-DN TO AL-QAIDA CTC/USA-PL,

SUBJECT: DENVER LINKS NETWORK, INITIAL ASSESSMENT REFERENCES:

A - -CTC/USA-SD 1109 B - - CTC/COPS 105331 C - - CAIRO 63002 D - - CTC/COPS 118458 1999-JANUARY 2002

DATE OF INFORMATION:
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SOURCE: U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS; OFFICER ASSESSMENT 1. OVERVIEW: REVIEW OF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS INDICATES THAT THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY CONNECTIONS TO THE AL-QAIDA NETWORK IN THE DENVER AREA: A NODE IN A NATIONAL AFGHAN HEROIN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK AND A SAUDI STUDENT AND PUBLISHER. THE AFGHAN GROUP IS LINKED TO THE SAN DIEGO ASSOCIATE OF THREE OF THE 9/11 HIJACKERS, TO AFGHAN WARLORD GULBUDIN HEKMATYAR, AND TO AL-QAIDA PROCUREMENT AGENT KHALIL ZAYAD. THE SAUDI IS LINKED TO THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY AND TO A GLOBAL NETWORK OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARS THAT PROVIDE RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATION FOR AL-QAIDAS ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONALLY, THE AFGHANS AND THE SAUDI MAY BE LINKED TO ONE ANOTHER. 2. THE AFGHANS.

A. M. RAMATULAH. FBI DENVER INITIATED INVESTIGATION OF AFGHAN NATIONAL MALIK RAMATULAH UPON RECEIPT OF REF A INFORMATION ESTABLISHING THAT HE WAS THE OLDER BROTHER OF SAN DIEGO SUBJECT BARZAI RAMATULAH. PER REF, B. RAMATULAH PROVIDED ACTIVE SUPPORT TO 9/11 HIJACKERS HAZMI, MIHDAR, AND HANJOUR. INITIAL SURVEILLANCE AND LOW LEVEL SOURCE REPORTING REVEALED THAT M. RAMATULAH, A 42 YEAR OLD COMPUTER SOFTWARE ENGINEER, WAS PART OF A LARGER GROUP OF AFGHANS IN THE DENVER AREA WHO WERE MANAGING A MID-U.S. TRANSPORT NODE FOR A NATIONWIDE HEROIN TRAFFICKING NETWORK. ON TWO OCCASIONS FBI SURVEILLANCE WITNESSED ASSOCIATES OF M. RAMATULAH UNLOADING HEROIN TRANSPORTED BY A SMALL CALIFORNIA SHIPPING COMPANY, STORING IT, AND THEN RELOADING IT INTO TRUCKS OWNED BY A LOCAL AFGHAN RUG MERCHANT. UPON LEARNING THIS, THE FBI WITHDREW SURVEILLANCE AND DELEGATED THE CASE TO DENVER JTTFS DEA
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CONTINGENT. DEA (ONE AGENT AND ONE ANALYST) CONTINUED SURVEILLANCE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE COVERAGE WITHOUT THE FBIS CONSIDERABLY LARGER SURVEILLANCE SQUAD. DEA ANALYSIS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED KNOWN AFGHAN TRAFFICKING NODES IN CHICAGO AND NEW YORK AS THE ONWARD SHIPPING DESTINATIONS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT FBI/DEA NEVER WITNESSED M. RAMATULAH DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES. B. COUNTERSURVEILLANCE. OFFICER EVALUATION OF FBI AND DEA SURVEILLANCE REPORTS DEMONSTRATED A PATTERN OF SOPHISTICATED COUNTERSURVEILLANCE BY RAMATULAH INDICATING THAT HE WAS FULLY AWARE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT SURVEILLANCE, HAS HAD SOME TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL SURVEILLANCE TRAINING, AND WAS CONDUCTING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY UNRELATED TO THE HEROIN TRAFFICKING. LISTED BELOW ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF RAMATULLAHS COUNTERSURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES. BECAUSE THE FBI SURVEILLANCE SQUAD WAS STAFFED BY A REVOLVING STRING OF AGENTS ON TEMPORARY DUTY AND BECAUSE THEY NEVER CONDUCTED AN OVERARCHING, MAP-BASED REVIEW OF ALL THE SURVEILLANCE REPORTS, THEY FAILED TO SPOT RAMATULAHS PATTERNS OVER TIME. -REGULAR STOPS AT THE SAME AREA STORES, MAKING MINIMAL OR NO PURCHASES. ON ONE OCCASION, DEA SURVEILLANCE WITNESSED RAMATULAH PARK IN THE PARKING LOT OF A LARGE DEPARTMENT STORE FOR 20 MINUTES. HE WAS PARKED FAR FROM THE STORE AND NEVER EXITED HIS VEHICLE. JUST PRIOR TO LEAVING, RAMATULAH FLASHED HIS HEADLIGHTS MULTIPLE TIMES. DEA AGENT WAS NOT IN A POSITION TO SEE IF ANY VEHICLE RETURNED THIS APARENT SIGNAL (SEE PARA 4 BELOW). -REGULAR CUTS THROUGH RESIDENTIAL AREAS. LATER ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT RAMATULAH WAS NOT
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ONLY HIGHLIGHTING SURVEILLANCE BY PULLING THEM OUT OF HEAVY TRAFFIC, BUT WAS DRAGGING THEM PAST THE HOMES OF HIS ASSOCIATES, LIKELY FOR SPOTTING PURPOSES. -REGULAR USE OF NON-ALERTING TURNS, EXIT/ ENTRANCE RAMPS, AND ONE PARTICULAR U-TURN, THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR VEHICLE SPOTTING. -PURCHASE OF GASOLINE MORE OFTEN THAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN REQUIRED IN THE SAME DAY. -EXTENSIVE USE OF SUNGLASSES, LIKELY TO HIDE EYE MOVEMENT. USE OF NOTEPAD AND PEN DURING DRIVING, LIKELY TO RECORD SURVEILLANCE DETAILS. C. MANSUR. OFFICER CONDUCTED CTC TRACES OF M. RAMATULAHS DENVER-AREA AFGHAN ASSOCIATES AND SURFACED TWO INDIVIDUALS OF INTEREST. THE FIRST IS TALFIQ MANSUR, A 68 YEAR OLD RETIREE. TRACES INDICATE THAT MANSUR SERVED AS DEPUTY INTERIOR MINISTER OF AFGHANISTAN CIRCA 1992 UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF GULBIDIN HEKMATYAR. REF B INDICATES THAT HEKMATYAR IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WARLORDS IN AFGHANISTAN, WHO COOPERATES EXTENSIVELY WITH THE TALIBAN AND ALQAIDA AND HAS TRADITIONALLY FUNDED HIS OPERATIONS WITH HEROIN TRAFFICKING. D. BASTALAH. CTC TRACES OF RAMATULAH ASSOCIATE SAIF BASTALAH, A 38 YEAR OLD ENGINEER FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, REVEALED THAT BASTALAHS NAME AND DENVER CONTACT INFORMATION WAS LISTED ON THE LAPTOP OF KHALIL ZAYAD. ACCORDING TO REF C, ZAYAD WAS A KNOWN AL-QAIDA PROCUREMENT AGENT WHO WAS DETAINED BY EGYPTIAN AUTHORITIES IN 1999 AND IS NOW DECEASED. ON ONE OCCASION, FBI SURVEILLANCE OBSERVED BASTALAH WITH AN UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL BELIEVED TO BE OF MIDDLE EASTERN ORIGIN. BASTALAH
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DROVE THIS INDIVIDUAL TO A REAL ESTATE OFFICE AND THE TWO WENT WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT TO VIEW SEVERAL VACANT OFFICES IN A LOW-RENT AREA OF NORTHERN DENVER. WHILE NOT CONCLUSIVE, THIS INCIDENT SUGGESTS THAT BASTALAH MAY STILL BE PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO AL-QAIDA PROCUREMENT CHANNELS. 3. THE SAUDI. FBI SOURCE REPORTING HAS IDENTIFIED HAIDAR AL-ABASI, A 29 YEAR OLD SAUDI STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, AS A POTENTIAL AL-QAIDA SYMPATHIZER. ABASI IS A MASTERS STUDENT IN COMMUNICATIONS, BUT SOURCE INDICATES THAT HE ONLY ATTENDS APPROXIMATELY ONE COURSE PER SEMESTER. ABASI HAS ESTABLISHED A PUBLISHING COMPANY THAT DISTRIBUTES BOOKS AND TAPES FOR A GROUP OF RADICAL ISLAMIC SCHOLARS. ACCORDING TO REF D, THIS GROUP IS KNOWN FOR RELIGIOUS ASSESSMENTS, RULINGS, AND SERMONS THAT PROVIDE JUSTIFICATION FOR AL-QAIDAS ACTIONS AND LEGITIMACY TO UBLS RECORDED MEDIA MESSAGES. CTC TRACES INDICATE THAT ABASI IS A MEMBER OF THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY. INS RECORDS INDICATE THAT ABASI HAS OVERSTAYED HIS STUDENT VISA BY SEVERAL YEARS. FBI DENVER MAINTAINS AN ACTIVE CASE AGAINST ABASI AND IS PROCESSING FISA REQUEST FOR PHONE SURVEILLANCE. ABASI HAS TWO TO THREE ARAB ASSOCIATES ON CAMPUS ON WHICH FBI IS DEVELOPING FURTHER INFORMATION. ONE FBI SOURCE REPORTS THAT ONE OF ABASIS ASSOCIATES MOVED TO INDIANA FOR A SEMESTER IN 1999 AND THEN RETURNED TO COLORADO. FBI HAS PROVIDED NO FURTHER INFORMATION AT THIS TIME. 4. DENVER NEXUS? AN FBI SOURCE REPORTED THAT ON ONE OCCASION ABASI LEFT HIS PUBLISHING COMPANY TO RUN AN ERRAND. AFTER DEPARTING, ONE OF ABASIS ASSOCIATES NOTED THAT ABASI HAD FORGOTTEN HIS CELL PHONE ON HIS DESK. AN HOUR LATER, THE ASSOCIATE HEARD ABASIS CELL PHONE RING AND, THINKING IT MIGHT BE ABASI
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TRYING TO LOCATE HIS PHONE, WENT TO PICK IT UP. THE ASSOCIATE ANSWERED AND THE VOICE ON THE OTHER END WAS SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE THAT WAS NOT ARABIC. OFFICER CROSSCHECKED THE DAY AND APPROXIMATE TIME OF THIS INCIDENT AGAINST THE RAMATULAH SURVEILLANCE REPORTS AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY THE SAME TIME AS THE INCIDENT IN WHICH RAMATULAH APPEARED TO BE SIGNALING WITH HIS HEADLIGHTS (SEE PARA 2B). THIS SUGGESTS THAT RAMATULAH WAS EN ROUTE TO MEET WITH ABASI, ATTEMPTED TO CALL HIM TO ADVISE OF FBI SURVEILLANCE, AND WHEN UNSUCCESSFUL ISSUED AN ABORT SIGNAL TO ABASI WITH HIS HEADLIGHTS. ALTHOUGH THIS CAN NOT BE VERIFIED AT THIS TIME, IF TRUE IT SUGGESTS THAT RAMATULAHS COUNTERSURVEILLANCE IS CONDUCTED TO CONCEAL REGULAR MEETINGS WITH ABASI. 5. NEXT STEPS. OFFICER INTENDS TO ENGAGE JTTF TO FOCUS GREATER ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS: POSSIBILITY AND POTENTIAL PURPOSE OF RAMATULAH-ABASI MEETINGS; FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION OF ABASI AND AFGHANS; INCREASED FOCUS ON SOURCE WITH ACCESS TO ABASI; ABASIS ARAB ASSOCIATES. OFFICER WILL ALSO MEET WITH CTC/USA-SD TO FURTHER DEVELOP CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DENVER AND SAN DIEGO SUBJECTS. 6. TEARLINE FOR PASSAGE TO FBI:

-----------TEARLINE---------------------------SUBJECT: DENVER LINKS NETWORK, INITIAL ASSESSMENT DATE OF INFORMATION: TO AL-QAIDA

1999-JANUARY 2002

OVERVIEW: REIVEW OF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS INDICATE THAT THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY CONNECTIONS TO THE AL-QAIDA
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NETWORK IN THE DENVER AREA: A NODE IN A NATIONAL AFGHAN HEROIN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK AND A SAUDI STUDENT AND PUBLISHER. THE AFGHAN GROUP IS LINKED TO THE SAN DIEGO ASSOCIATE OF TWO OF THE 9/11 HIJACKERS, TO AFGHAN WARLORD GULBUDIN HEKMATYAR, AND TO AL-QAIDA PROCUREMENT AGENT KHALIL ZAYAD. THE SAUDI IS LINKED TO THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY AND TO A GLOBAL NETWORK OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARS THAT PROVIDE RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATION FOR AL-QAIDAS ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONALLY, THE AFGHANS AND THE SAUDI MAY BE LINKED TO ONE ANOTHER. THE AFGHANS. A. M. RAMATULAH. FBI DENVER INITIATED INVESTIGATION OF AFGHAN NATIONAL MALIK RAMATULAH UPON RECEIPT OF TRACES ESTABLISHING THAT HE WAS THE OLDER BROTHER OF SAN DIEGO SUBJECT BARZAI RAMATULAH. B. RAMATULAH PROVIDED ACTIVE SUPPORT TO 9/11 HIJACKERS HAZMI, MIHDAR, AND HANJOUR. INITIAL SURVEILLANCE AND LOW LEVEL SOURCE REPORTING REVEALED THAT M. RAMATULAH, A 42 YEAR OLD COMPUTER SOFTWARE ENGINEER, WAS PART OF A LARGER GROUP OF AFGHANS IN THE DENVER AREA WHO WERE MANAGING A MID-U.S. TRANSPORT NODE FOR A NATIONWIDE HEROIN TRAFFICKING NETWORK. ON TWO OCCASIONS FBI SURVEILLANCE WITNESSED ASSOCIATES OF M. RAMATULAH UNLOADING HEROIN TRANSPORTED BY A SMALL CALIFORNIA SHIPPING COMPANY, STORING IT, AND THEN RELOADING IT INTO TRUCKS OWNED BY A LOCAL AFGHAN RUG MERCHANT. DEA ANALYSIS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED KNOWN AFGHAN TRAFFICKING NODES IN CHICAGO, AND NEW YORK AS THE ONWARD SHIPPING DESTINATIONS. B. COUNTERSURVEILLANCE. EVALUATION OF SURVEILLANCE REPORTS DEMONSTRATED A PATTERN OF SOPHISTICATED COUNTERSURVEILLANCE BY RAMATULAH INDICATING THAT HE HAS HAD SOME TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL SURVEILLANCE TRAINING AND WAS
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CONDUCTING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY UNRELATED TO THE HEROIN TRAFFICKING. LISTED BELOW ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF RAMATULLAHS COUNTERSURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES. -REGULAR STOPS AT THE SAME AREA STORES, MAKING MINIMAL OR NO PURCHASES. ON ONE OCCASION, DEA SURVEILLANCE WITNESSED RAMATULAH PARK IN THE PARKING LOT OF A LARGE DEPARTMENT STORE FOR 20 MINUTES. HE WAS PARKED FAR FROM THE STORE AND NEVER EXITED HIS VEHICLE. JUST PRIOR TO LEAVING, RAMATULAH FLASHED HIS HEADLIGHTS MULTIPLE TIMES. DEA AGENT WAS NOT IN A POSITION TO SEE IF ANY VEHICLE RETURNED THIS APARENT SIGNAL. -REGULAR CUTS THROUGH RESIDENTIAL AREAS. LATER ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT RAMATULAH WAS NOT ONLY HIGHLIGHTING SURVEILLANCE BY PULLING THEM OUT OF HEAVY TRAFFIC, BUT WAS DRAGGING THEM PAST THE HOMES OF HIS ASSOCIATES, LIKELY FOR SPOTTING PURPOSES. -REGULAR USE OF NON-ALERTING TURNS, EXIT/ ENTRANCE RAMPS, AND ONE PARTICULAR U-TURN, THE WOULD ALLOW FOR VEHICLE SPOTTING. -PURCHASE OF GASOLINE MORE OFTEN THAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN REQUIRED IN THE SAME DAY. -EXTENSIVE USE OF SUNGLASSES, LIKELY TO HIDE EYE MOVEMENT. USE OF NOTEPAD AND PEN DURING DRIVING, LIKELY TO RECORD SURVEILLANCE DETAILS. C. MANSUR. OFFICER CONDUCTED CTC TRACES OF M. RAMATULAHS DENVER-AREA AFGHAN ASSOCIATES AND SURFACED TWO INDIVIDUALS OF INTEREST. THE FIRST IS TALFIQ MANSUR, A 68 YEAR OLD RETIREE. TRACES INDICATE THAT MANSUR SERVED AS DEPUTY INTERIOR MINISTER OF AFGHANISTAN CIRCA 1992 UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF GULBIDIN HEKMATYAR.
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TRACES INDICATE THAT HEKMATYAR IS ONE OF MOST INFLUENTIAL WARLORDS IN AFGHANISTAN, COOPERATES EXTENSIVELY WITH THE TALIBAN AND QAIDA AND HAS TRADITIONALLY FUNDED OPERATIONS WITH HEROIN TRAFFICKING.

THE WHO ALHIS

D. BASTALAH. CTC TRACES OF RAMATULAH ASSOCIATE SAIF BASTALAH, A 48 YEAR OLD ENGINEER FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, REVEALED THAT BASTALAHS NAME AND DENVER CONTACT INFORMATION WAS LISTED ON THE LAPTOP OF KHALIL ZAYAD. ACCORDING TO TRACES, ZAYAD WAS A KNOWN AL-QAIDA PROCUREMENT AGENT WHO WAS DETAINED BY EGYPTIAN AUTHORITIES IN 1999. ON ONE OCCASION, FBI SURVEILLANCE OBSERVED BASTALAH WITH AN UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL BELIEVED TO BE OF MIDDLE EASTERN ORIGIN. BASTALAH DROVE THIS INDIVIDUAL TO A REAL ESTATE OFFICE AND THE TWO WENT WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT TO VIEW SEVERAL VACANT OFFICES IN A LOW-RENT AREA OF NORTHERN DENVER. WHILE NOT CONCLUSIVE, THIS INCIDENT SUGGESTS THAT BASTALAH MAY STILL BE PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO AL-QAIDA PROCUREMENT CHANNELS. THE SAUDI. FBI SOURCE REPORTING HAS IDENTIFIED HAIDAR AL-ABASI, A 29 YEAR OLD SAUDI STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, AS A POTENTIAL AL-QAIDA SYMPATHIZER. ABASI IS A MASTERS STUDENT IN COMMUNICATIONS, BUT SOURCE INDICATES THAT HE ONLY ATTENDS APPROXIMATELY ONE COURSE PER SEMESTER. ABASI HAS ESTABLISHED A PUBLISHING COMPANY THAT DISTRIBUTES BOOKS AND TAPES FOR A GROUP OF RADICAL ISLAMIC SCHOLARS. ACCORDING TO TRACES, THIS GROUP IS KNOWN FOR RELIGIOUS ASSESSMENTS, RULINGS, AND SERMONS THAT PROVIDE JUSTIFICATION FOR AL-QAIDAS ACTIONS AND LEGITIMACY TO UBLS RECORDED MEDIA MESSAGES. TRACES INDICATE THAT ABASI IS A MEMBER OF THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY. INS RECORDS INDICATE THAT ABASI HAS OVERSTAYED HIS STUDENT
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VISA BY SEVERAL YEARS. SOURCE REPORTS THAT ONE OF ABASIS ASSOCIATES MOVED TO INDIANA FOR A SEMESTER IN 1999 AND THEN RETURNED TO COLORADO. DENVER NEXUS? FBI SOURCE REPORTED THAT ON ONE OCCASION ABASI LEFT HIS PUBLISHING COMPANY TO RUN AN ERRAND. AFTER DEPARTING, ONE OF ABASIS ASSOCIATES NOTED THAT ABASI HAD FORGOTTEN HIS CELL PHONE ON HIS DESK. AN HOUR LATER, THE ASSOCIATE HEARD ABASIS CELL PHONE RING AND, THINKING IT MIGHT BE ABASI TRYING TO LOCATE HIS PHONE, WENT TO PICK IT UP. THE ASSOCIATE ANSWERED AND THE VOICE ON THE OTHER END WAS SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE THAT WAS NOT ARABIC. OFFICER CROSSCHECKED THE DAY AND APPROXIMATE TIME OF THIS INCIDENT AGAINST THE RAMATULAH SURVEILLANCE REPORTS AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY THE SAME TIME AS THE INCIDENT IN WHICH RAMATULAH APPEARED TO BE SIGNALING WITH HIS HEADLIGHTS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT RAMATULAH WAS EN ROUTE TO MEET WITH ABASI, ATTEMPTED TO CALL HIM TO ADVISE OF SURVEILLANCE, AND WHEN UNSUCCESSFUL ISSUED AN ABORT SIGNAL TO ABASI WITH HIS HEADLIGHTS. ALTHOUGH THIS CAN NOT BE VERIFIED AT THIS TIME, IF TRUE IT SUGGESTS THAT RAMATULAHS COUNTERSURVEILLANCE IS CONDUCTED TO CONCEAL REGULAR MEETINGS WITH ABASI. NEXT STEPS. RECOMMEND INCREASED FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS: POSSIBILITY AND POTENTIAL PURPOSE OF RAMATULAH-ABASI MEETINGS; FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION OF ABASI AND AFGHANS; INCREASED FOCUS ON SOURCE WITH ACCESS TO ABASI; ABASIS ARAB ASSOCIATES. ------------TEARLINE--------------------------

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Key Terms and Acronyms

AK TheAK-47is a7.62mmassault rifle first developed in theSoviet Union byMikhail Kalashnikov. It is also known as aKalashnikov, an "AK. Allah Uh Akbhar Arabic for "God is Great", it is a commonIslamicArabic expression, used as both an informal expression of faith and as a formal declaration. AN/PAQ-1 Infrared laser designator used by forward observers to obtain target range and designate targets. Lightweight, handheld, and battery operated. AN/PRC117F Man-portable, tacticalcombat-net radiofor the transmission of voice and data traffic up to theTop Secretlevel AN/PVS-7 Standard U.S. Army night vision goggles in the 1980s-90s Arty Artillery ASAC Assistant Special Agent in Charge AWACS Airborne Warning and Control System BTF Balkan Task Force B-52 Long range strategic bomber in service with U.S. Air Force since 1955 COS CIA Chief of Station CIA Central Intelligence Agency C/O CIA Case Officer or Operations Officer COLT Combat Observation and Lasing Team
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COPS Chief of Operations. Key position within the CIAs headquarters divisions. CT Counterterrorism CTC CIAs Counterterrorism Center CTC/UBL CTC team dedicated to analysis of / operations against Usama Bin Ladin CTC/USA CTC team dedicated to analysis of / operations against Al-Qaida inside the U.S. C-17 (Globemaster) Largemilitary transport aircraft in service with the U.S. Airforcefrom the early 1990s CH-47 (Chinook) A twin-engine,tandem rotorheavy-lifthelicopter in service with the U.S. Army since the 1960s. AKA Shithook. DAGR GPS Defense Advanced GPS (Globaly Positioning System) Receiver(colloquially,"dagger") is a handheldGPSreceiver used by U.S. forces. DCI Director of Central Intelligence. CIA Director and unofficial chief of U.S. intelligence community until creation of Director or National Intelligence post after 9/11. DEA U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency DI CIAs Directorate of Intelligence DO CIAs Directorate of Operations Di di U.S. Army Vietnam era slang meaning Lets get the hell outta here. Dragunov 7.62mm sniper rifle developed in the Soviet Union The Farm The CIAs primary training facility, located in southern Virginia FBI U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation

FISA Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 prescribes procedures for the physical and
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electronicsurveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" (which may include American citizens and permanent residents suspected of being engaged in espionage and violating U.S. law on territory under United States control).
Force Recon U.S. Marine Corps'sspecial operations forcesthat conduct deep reconnaissance and intelligence operations FRAGO U.S. Army slang for Fragmentation Order. Shortened version of Armys standard Operations Order, typically abbreviated by changing / dangerous situations. F/A-18 (Hornet) Supersonic, carriercapable,multirole fighterjet, designed todogfightandattack ground targets. In service with U.S. Navy since the late 1980s. GITMO Slang for Guantanamo Bay, location of U.S. Marine Corps base and Al-Qaida detention facility on the island of Cuba. Glynco U.S. Law Enforcement Academy (Glynco, Georgia) GPS Global Positioning System G-3 German 7.62mm assault rifle developed in the 1950s Hallway File CIA slang for rumors / mistakes that are unshakable and follow an Agency employee throughout their career
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The Silent Hunt

Han P U.S. Army slang for Han Pijesak, Bosnian mountain town that was headquarters of General Ratko Mladic (the Butcher of Srebrenica) HUMINT Human Intelligence ICE/INS Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post 9/11 merger of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Customs Service. IMU Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan IRA Irish Republican Army IRS U.S. Internal Revenue Service ISI Pakistans Directorate for Interservices Intelligence (primary intelligence agency) JT Jamaat al Tabligh. Non-violent Muslim missionary group, often used by Al-Qaida for travel cover. JTTF Joint Terrorism Task Force Kalashnikov See AK Karzai Hamid Karzai, became President of Afghanistan in 2002 with U.S. backing KLA Kosovo Liberation Army. Also known by Albanian acronym UCK. Klick U.S. Army slang for kilometer KRL Khan Research Laboratories KSM Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, a.k.a Muhktar LT U.S. Army slang for Lieutenant LTD Laser Target Designation operations, see AN/PAQ-1 LZ Landing Zone METT-T U.S. Army planning acronym: Mission, Equipment, Troops, Terrain, Time MI-5 U.K.s counter-intelligence and security agency (internal service)
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Mark Jameson

MI-6 U.K.s Secret Intelligence Service (external service) Mogadishu Site of 1993 Blackhawk Down incident during which a U.S Army Special Forces/ Rangers operation went awry, resulting in hours of bloody street battles MP Military Police Muhj Muhjahidin. Interchangeable for Muslim holy warriors, Afghan freedom fighters. CIA slang for Islamic terrorists/insurgents. M-1 Abrams main battle tank, in service with the U.S. Army since early 1980s M-4 Shorter, lighter version of U.S. Armys primary assault rifle, M-16A2. M-4 was widely used by U.S. Special Forces in 1990s and began replacing M-16s as the Armys primary weapon after 9/11. NCO Non Commisioned Officer NE CIAs Near East Division Northern Alliance United Islamic Front, known in the West as the Afghan Northern Alliance, was a military-politicalumbrella organizationuniting Tajiks and other ethnic groups against the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War in the 1990s. NSA U.S. National Security Agency NSC U.S. National Security Council NWFP Pakistans Northwest Frontier Province OP Observation post OPCON U.S. Army acronym for Operational Control, indicating when a unit is temporarily put under control of another unit OSS Office of Strategic Services the CIAs WWII predecessor PDB Presidents Daily Brief
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The Silent Hunt

PFC Private First Class PKM 7.62 mmgeneral purpose machine gundesigned in theSoviet Union in the 1960s PLO Palestine Liberation Organization QRF Quick Reaction Force Quantico FBIs primary training facility, located on Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia ROE Rules of Engagement RPG-7 Widely-produced, low cost, portable,shoulder-launched,anti-tankrocketpropelled grenadelauncher. Originally developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. SAC Special Agent in Charge SAR Search and Rescue SATCOM Satellite Communications SECDEF U.S. Secretary of Defense SINCGARS Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System, the primary combat net radio used by U.S. military forces SF Special Forces Snags U.S. Army (derogatory) slang for locals in Bosnia SOG CIAs Special Operations Group Srebrenica Site of 1995 massacre of Bosnians Muslims by Bosnian Serbs STU Secure Telephone Unit. Family of U.S. Government securetelephones. Latest, STU III, was introduced in 1987 by theNSA. Thuraya A regionalsatellite phoneprovider widely used in the Middle East Top U.S. Army slang for the senior NCO in a unit (term of respect) UBL Usama Bin Ladin, a.k.a. The Shaykh
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Mark Jameson

UCK See Kosovo Liberation Army UHF Ultra High Frequency designates theradio frequencyrange between 300MHzand 3GHz(3,000MHz) VHF Very High Frequency designates the radio frequency range between 30MHzand 300MHz Vil U.S. Army Vietanam era slang for Village WMD Weapons of Mass Destruction 105s Slang for artillery, 105mm being one of the most widely used artillery munition calibers in the world. 10TH Mountain U.S. Armys 10th Mountain Division 101st U. S. Army 101st Air Assault Division

Authors note: The author chose to follow the practice of depicting Arabic words without the English letters e and o, a common Lebanese practice. (E.g. Usama vs. Osama, Al-Qaida vs. Al-Qaeda)

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September 11th 2001 Hijacker Teams AA Flight 11

11

UA Flight 175

12

AA Flight 77

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UA Flight 93

Photo Images https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speechestestimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdf

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About The Author

The author captures over fourteen years of unique government experience in this thriller about hunting Al-Qaida. He started as a U.S. Army officer with two tours in Bosnia. During the Armys initial deployment to Bosnia, he led a scout platoon that tracked the number two war criminal in the Balkans and kept the Serbs most dangerous units from reigniting the war. In 1999, the author joined the CIA as a military analyst and was immediately put to work on the Agencys premier analytical unit, the Balkan Task Force. For the next three years he was part of a small team that tracked Balkan insurgent groups in minute detail, wrote daily intelligence analysis for the White House and senior Washington policy makers, and forward deployed to the Balkans to aid CIA operations officers, the U.S. military, and NATO allies in turning off several brewing Balkan crises. The author received several citations for critical
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warning memos to senior policy makers and for his role in averting new Balkan wars. Shortly before 9/11, the author became a CIA operations officer. After the attacks he deployed across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East to assist the FBI in piecing together its multitude of cases related to the attacks. In 2003 he received a commendation from the Director of the FBI for his role in combating terrorism inside the U.S. In 2006 the author left CIA for the defense industry. He has a Masters Degree in Security Policy Studies from George Washington University and lives in the St. Louis area with his wife and two children.

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