The Silent Hunt by Mark Jameson - Chapter 4.pdf

7/28/2019 The Silent Hunt by Mark Jameson - Chapter 4.pdf

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THE SILENT HUNT

A NOVEL BY MARK JAMESON

Mark Jameson hopes you enjoy this chapter ofThe Silent Hunt,a thriller based on his real experiencesin the CIA after 9/11.

To get the entire book or blog with Mark Jameson,go to www.thesilenthunt.com.

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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 hasbeen 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 4San Diego, California (March 2002)

Mark stepped out of San Diego International

Airport into the passenger pick-up area and breathed

in the air. She had been right, sunny and 75 degrees.

Jenna had told him not to worry about a jacket, as the

weather never changed in San Diego. He scanned the

congested area for a white Chevy Cavalier and came

up empty. Shes probably still circling.

Mark was nervous about his encounter with

Jenna and he wasnt sure why. He never had a

problem briefing a senior Senator or General, and had

kept his cool under fire in Afghanistan, but here hestood with butterflies in his stomach. Since Mark sent

his report two weeks ago he had heard little back on

his first effort. And while he continued to work well

with the Spitzers and the DEA team, Mark noticed that

most of the other FBI Agents and analysts seemed to

be avoiding working too closely with him. Mark had

reported this to David, who immediately began lookingfor signs that the full version of Marks report had

been leaked to the Bureau. He found no indications of

that, but recommended that Mark get out of town for a

while by staying in San Diego for several days and

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working with Jenna. Things were still strained and

purely business with David. Andy, one of Marks BTF

friends that had transferred to Monroes new unit

CTC/USA, had advised Mark that David was shaping

up as a good but extremely demanding boss. Andy

noted that David never smiled and didnt seem to

particularly like what he was doing, yet had made a lot

of good decisions and kept the team on track so far. In

some ways that sounds like David, in others not. Mark

remained concerned about his now distant friend.

Jenna, on the other hand, was becoming his

new confidant. They had begun comparing notes on

the STU secure telephone since his report was

released and the last two calls had turned personal

and very friendly towards the end. Mark had always

been a little shy with women, and was sensing that

feeling as she had become warmer over the phone.

Mark remembered that Jenna was very cute, petite but

mentally very tough, which in a way made her even

more attractive. Then he caught himself. What are

you thinking?

And shes punctual too, he added out loud as

he spotted the Cavalier. Jenna leaned over towards

the open passenger window and flashed him a bigsmile.

Hi there! Trunks open.

Mark threw his bag in the trunk and hopped in.

Hey Jenna. Thanks for picking me up.

Are you kidding, its my pleasure, she laughed

as she pulled away from the curb. Ive been dying to

see anybody from the Agency. These Bureau guys aredriving me nuts.

Theyre weird, thats for sure. You having a

hard time getting them to help you?

Mark Jameson

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Ha. No, I have the opposite problem. They

wont leave me alone. Ive got these guys eating out of

my hand, but they wont stop hitting on me! One big

goddamn boys club.

Hmm. I guess Im not having that particular

problem.

Jenna flashed him a nice smile. Do you want

check in to your hotel or get to work? Were going to

pass the office first.

Weve got a few hours till dinner, lets get

crackin'.

Good, I was hoping youd say that. I have

something I really want to show you.

* * *

Ten minutes later they pulled off I-15 and into

the parking lot of a new and attractive, but non-

descript, four story office building.

This is the FBI office? Mark asked as he

stepped out of the car.

Yeah, not exactly your typical federal building.

Its a nice change, actually. All that concrete

slab gets depressing. Plus it lowers their profile.

Nice thought, but theres a problem. She

grabbed his arm and halted him in the middle of theparking lot.

What?

Just a second. She paused for effect, then

pointed up as a loud noise suddenly intensified over

their heads. And there it is, she added as a Cessna

flew over their heads at 300 feet. Just over that hill is

Montgomery Field. Some of the baddies Ill show youinside have been taking flight training there. Then

she turned about forty five degrees to the right and

pointed at a strip mall across the street and down the

hill. Down there is a Quick Copy and sandwich shop

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that are owned and operated by the same baddies. So

not only does this place lie on their flight path, but

they know the Bureau is here.

Marks face went a little pale. Can we work

somewhere else?

Oh come on you wimp. Arent you supposed to

be a war hero or something? she teased as she lightly

punched him on the arm.

Hardly, Mark responded a little too seriously.

* * *

After guiding Mark through a maze of cubicles

and introductions to FBI agents, she stopped in front

of a large set of double doors. Kitchenette is over here

on the right. Want some water?

Actually a Diet Coke would be great.

Why is it every analyst drinks Diet Coke or

Mountain Dew? she asked rhetorically as she led him

towards the soda machine.

They seemed like a pretty good group, Mark

said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. You

were right. They really seem to dig you.

Let me ask you something, Jenna started

quietly as she peeked out the kitchenette door to make

sure no one was in listening range. What did younotice out there?

Well, it was pretty much all men, like you said.

No surprise there. Wait. We didnt meet any other

agencies, just Bureau. So wheres the JTTF?

Boy, you are sharp. She gave him an

approving smile. Im the JTTF. Nobody else. She let

that sink in. The criminal agents go out and worktheir sources for whatever I need and just give it to

me.

Why?

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Money. There was no JTTF in San Diego

before 9/11. Its up in LA. So 9/11 hits and these

guys have a terrorism case they dont want. They get a

lot of money to stand up a JTTF and they get me. So I

run the terrorism cases and they get to use the

money.

Thats got to be illegal in like fifty different

ways! Mark stressed in barely more than a whisper.

You cant run FBI investigations.

Dont stress so much. Im not having them

arrest anybody. They are just collecting information

for us, she stressed the last word. Besides, after I

take the Ops course Ill be a real case officer, she

said with a deep mocking voice as she made quotation

marks in the air with her fingers, and then I can go

out and meet the sources with these guys, totally

legit.

When are you taking the Ops course?

I have a slot in the accelerated course in May,

should be back here by August. Arent you taking it

too? I thought we all were as part of Dougs master

plan, she said, again mocking the last few words in a

deep voice.

Well we talked about it, but I kind of let itslide. Mark didnt want to think about his deal to

save David and switched the subject. So you are the

whole JTTF. Mark was still struggling to comprehend

how different Jennas situation to his own in Denver.

Come on. Let me show you the other reason

they let me run the show. She led him out of the

kitchenette back to the double doors. She punched infour digits on a keypad beside the door and led him

inside.

Mark scanned the large conference room in

stunned silence. Wrapped around all four walls of the

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room was a computer generated diagram linking

hundreds of individuals, phone numbers, bank

accounts, credit cards, locations, dates, airline flights,

passport numbers, and more. The diagram was

printed in sections of three feet by four feet. Mark

estimated there were close to twenty sheets that size,

perfectly taped together and wrapping all the way

around the room. The main conference room table

was covered with hundreds of file folders, organized in

several dozen stacks and labeled with yellow stickies.

Mark also noted handwritten notes all along the upper

and lower margins of the sheets, as well as a couple

dozen FBI file boxes piled along the back wall, and a

desk in the corner with an Agency lap top and a poster

sized printer.

Voila. My masterpiece.

You did all this?

Yes. She was beaming.

Without the help of any of their analysts?

Youre kidding, right? Now she was offended.

And they let you keep these files out here,

Mark pointed to the large stack of boxes, without

checking them in and out.

No. I dont work with the analysts at all. Theagents check this stuff out for me. They also log me

onto the computer files, but its pretty rare that I need

that.

Wow, Mark shook his head and gestured at

the wall. How did you do this?

Link Generator. Didnt you ever use it at the

BTF?Ah. No, I avoided graphics, PowerPoint, all

that. Except for maps. I cant live without maps.

Thats crazy. Generator is the perfect tool for

all your little insurgents. Besides, this is a map . . . a

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people map. Human terrain. We need to get you up to

speed.

OK, should we start with our Afghan

connection?

Yes! Jenna rubbed her hands together, led

him down the wall three sheets, and pointed to a small

photograph of a mans head. Barzai Ramatullah,

younger brother of Malik in Denver. Her finger traced

a line from Barzais photo to a cartoon figure

representing Malik on the next sheet over. Spreading

out from Malik was a wagon wheel of lines connecting

to the other Denver Afghans and Arabs Mark had

highlighted in his report, with follow on lines from

them to the areas of significance Mark had unearthed

so far. Mark noted with dismay that his whole

analysis took up about one quarter of one of Jennas

Link Generator sheets.

Jenna r e tur ned her f inge r to Barza i

Ramatullah. So, big picture. In early 2000 Barzai

helps 9/11 hijackers Hazmi and Mihdar set up shop in

San Diego when they first arrive in the U.S. and later

in 2000 does the same for 9/11 hijacker Hanjour.

She traced her finger along a line from Barzai to the

bottom of the page. The line continued from therethree sheets down to a sheet that contained nothing

but the 19 9/11 hijackers, organized by their mission

teams on that day, and spokes from each of them that

reached across the entire Link diagram. She walked

back to Barzai and pointed to another line that moved

up to a group of photographs. This is the San Diego

cell. Im still trying to figure out whos in charge, howtheyre organized, and what their ultimate purpose is.

Barzai seems to be tied to all of them and keeping

things organized, but I dont think hes in charge.

Afghans never run the show in Al-Qaida. For all their

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pan-Islamic bluster, they look down on Afghans like

classic bigots all over the rest of the world.

Thats a good point. I cant prove it, but Ive

got the same hunch in Denver. Even though the

Afghans are running around doing the footwork, I

think a Saudi is calling the shots.

Im glad you brought that up. One of the

things I thought we could do this week is a group to

group comparison. I think itll help us draw up a

template for how they operate and to anticipate their

moves. Let me keep going with my orientation for

now.

Mark took the cue and held his tongue.

She pointed back to the group of Barzais

associates. They seem to be more logistics and less

operational and theyve got lots of ties to the three San

Diego hijackers. This one is Adnan al Kayoumi, Saudi.

He used to work for the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority.

He helped Hazmi and Mihdar open a bank account,

find an apartment, and co-signed their lease. Im still

trying to see if he had a hand in helping the other

pilots into flight school.

This is Abdullah Jawash, Yemeni. When

Hazmi and Mihdar came to San Diego in Feb 2000Abdullah drove them around everywhere. He

translated for them when they were applying to local

flight schools.

Incidentally it looks like Hazmi and Mihdar

washed out of pilot training early because of their poor

English. This probably explains why they ended up as

muscle hijackers even though they were more seniorAl-Qaida operatives than almost all the other 9/11

team members. I also believe it is very significant that

these guys came to San Diego first and far earlier than

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the other pilots. But thats deeper stuff. Well get

back to that.

Jenna walked over to the conference room table

and picked up a ratty looking notebook from one of the

stacks. I just got my hands on this. A couple months

ago the Bureau got this from a source. It belongs to

Jawash, the Yemeni. Its some sort of journal and is

dated before 9/11. He seems to have had

foreknowledge of the attacks. Its not definitive, but it

talks about planes falling from the sky, mass killings,

and hijacking.

She replaced the notebook in its exact spot on

the table, returned to the diagram, and pointed to the

rest of the San Diego group in a sweeping arc. Most

of these guys live in the same house. My boys out

here have a source in the house which has produced a

lot of this material. This one is Osama Baradallah,

another Yemeni. Omar Warbashat and Yasir al Hamdi,

Saudis. Imad al Rabinah, Jordanian. Theyve got a

stash of Al-Qaida videos. Afghanistan, Chechnya,

Bosnia, all that stuff. They bring in cash from Saudi

for operations, forge drivers licenses, that kind of stuff.

And they are all followers of this guy, Imam Anwar

Aulaqi, another Yemeni. Interestingly, he kind ofdropped out of sight mysteriously in late 2000, pretty

much the same time that Hazmi and Hanjour

relocated from San Diego to Arizona. In early 2001

Aulaqi resurfaced in Virginia. Dougs trying to get a

team member into the FBIs DC field office to work the

case, but running into roadblocks so far.

Mark held up his hand and meagerly asked,Can I ask a question?

Yes, smart ass.

He pointed around the room at the massive

Link diagram. This is huge, but the stuff youve

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shown me so far on San Diego and Denver fills about

one to two of these sheets. What is the rest of this?

Well, really its mostly overseas connections.

Links from Agency and NSA reporting. She pointed to

her Agency laptop on the desk.

Mark pointed to the boxes of FBI files along the

wall. What about all this? I assume this is the

source of all these diagrams.

No, she chuckled and pointed at the files on

the conference table. These are the FBI files Ive been

through. Then she flashed him a charming smile,

batted her eyes, and laid a hand on the large stack of

file boxes. I was hoping youd help me go through

these.

I see. When you heard I was coming for a

longer trip you figured you had a captive audience.

Slave labor.

Come on Mark, please. He could see why the

agents were putty in her hands.

Of course. Thats what Im here for.

Great. So heres the thing. Our central

purpose is to unearth the U.S. network, right? So as

you just pointed out, theres a lot of material on the

wall here, but most of it is the links back to overseas.I want us to tackle these boxes and find the U.S.

connections. Weve got San Diego and Denver. Theres

definitely something were missing in Arizona. So the

real question, to me anyway, is what was happening

out here in the West?

Sounds fun. Do I get to check into my hotel or

should I just plan on sleeping here? Mark said with asmile.

* * *

They had been at it for three days when they

made the big breakthrough. Mark had found a memo

Mark Jameson

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from the FBIs Phoenix Division in one of the files. At

first he scanned it, as he had hundreds of other

documents the last few days. Then he had to go back

and read it in full. He looked up at Jenna, not sure

how to explain what he had in his hands.

Theyd spent nearly all their waking moments

together, meals included, discussing the case. They

found that they really enjoyed working together and

both seemed to be driven by a similar fire to solve

mysterious puzzles. And there seemed to be

something more as well. They got along almost too

well, were more than comfortable with each other, and

were learning to read each other very well. Although

Jenna was physically attractive, Mark felt a new level

of interest with this person who seemed to be a

kindred spirit of sorts. But he told himself not only

was it unprofessional, but it risked ruining what

seemed a promising friendship, so he had said nothing

and done nothing, which was what he usually did

anyway.

Jenna realized Mark was staring at her.

What?

He shook his head. Um, remember when I

asked you about me getting badged here, you know,cleared to look at all this stuff?

Yes? And? she made a so what gesture with

her hands and face.

And . . . you said dont worry about it. Well,

Im worried about it again.

Her face and tone got softer. Come on, just tell

me.OK, he sighed. Ive got a memo here from FBI

Phoenix, dated July 2001. They knew.

Who knew? Knew what?

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The FBI, at least that division, was tracking Al-

Qaida operatives in the U.S., taking flight training.

This Agent in Phoenix tried to sound the alarm bell!

In Phoenix?! Let me see that! Mark handed

her the document. He watched the excitement on her

face as she read. He realized they werent connecting.

In his mind, theyd just discovered evidence that the

FBI had botched a major opportunity to stop 9/11. It

would be ugly and problematic however they handled

it, but there was no way they could ignore it. It got to

the essence of their mission. Jenna, he realized,

wasnt thinking about that at all. She was thinking

theyd discovered the link to Arizona that shed been

looking for. She was probably right.

OK, OK, she was very excited and talking with

her hands. There is a list of ten Muslim students at

various Arizona flight schools. They were from all

over, Pakistan, India, the Gulf, Lebanon. This says

they showed an unnatural and alerting interest in

airplane engineering and security. Its got one of the

students in touch with Abu Zubaydah, a senior Al-

Qaida operator in Pakistan, and establishes several

links from the group to Al-Muhajiroun, a radical

Islamic organization in London with ties to UBL. Shepaused while reading. Jesus! The agent here is

actually warning of an Al-Qaida attack on or using

U.S. airports.

See?! What are we going to do with that?

Hold on. Lets think this through. I can work

with my boys here to look at the Phoenix students. I

just need to do it in bits, not all at once. We need toID these guys, get a rundown of their activities, and

find the link to Hazmi and Hanjour.

How can you do that without being in Phoenix

to look at the files?

Mark Jameson

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Well, some of this stuff will be in the

computerized files. The agents will run searches for

me. Youre right, though, it wont all be there. But if

we can make a link back to the cell here in San Diego,

even if its indirectly through their common association

with Hazmi and Hanjour, that will be enough to justify

the agents from here calling down there and getting

more information. The other side of it is to task the

source in the cells house here to dig for more

information on the Arizona connection. Ive been

wanting to do that, but Ive needed some justification.

This is it.

You cant let them know that I saw that.

Theyll freak. They trust you, but not me necessarily.

True. Jenna sat in silence for a minute. Ive

heard of Zubaydah. You worked the Al-Qaida

leadership over in Afghanistan, right? What do you

know about him or al-Muhajiroun?

Well I mostly worked order of battle.

Jenna shot him a quizzical look. English

please, mister military man.

Sorry. Military structure, capabilities,

leadership. In other words, Al-Qaidas direct combat

arm in Afghanistan. But a big part of that wasfollowing the logistics, which overlaps heavily with the

Pashtun tribal forces and Al-Qaidas support

structure across the border in Pakistan.

OK, so educate me, she flashed him that smile

again, then it disappeared, but stick to the point.

Zubaydah and these guys in London.

Alright. In the simplest sense, under UBL Al-Qaida has two wings. One you could describe as

religion and communications, the other one military,

which includes all the things we think of as terrorist

related. Ayman Al-Zawahiri did and still does head

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the religion slash communication department.

Muhammad Atef did run the military wing until we

killed him during the war. What you have to

understand is that when Al-Qaida was formed after

the Soviet war, its core was nearly all senior Egyptian

terrorists, which is where Zawahiri and Atef came

from. These guys are old school. But in both wings

the guys under them that are managing the work on a

day to day basis were more of a mix, Egyptians,

Gulfies, Paks, and younger. And a lot of those guys

previously ran their own terror networks which they

folded into Al-Qaida in the late 90s. But in a lot of

ways these networks still operate independently.

Mark stopped when he noted that Jenna looked

a little agitated. He held up his hands in protest, I

know, you know some of this, but Im getting to the

point, I promise. She remained stone-faced. Mark

proceeded, So, under Atef in the military wing, two

guys stand out as the most significant sub-network

terror ist managers. One is Khal id Shaykh

Muhammad, we call him KSM, and the other is Abu

Zubaydah. We know a decent bit about both, but the

problem is often the information overlaps and its hard

to know which sub-network you are looking at.Anyway, when Atef was killed, he was replaced, but

with someone less powerful, which raised the

importance of KSM and Zubaydah. Any follow on

attack is going to come through one of them.

Good, now were getting somewhere. Took you

long enough! She smiled and kicked him playfully in

the shin. What about the London organization?Ive never heard of it, but it probably is a

religious organization, fronted by an Imam, that is part

of the communications wing. In the West these guys

are best known for raising money and funneling it

Mark Jameson

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back, but they could also be used for operational

cover.

You mean providing travel cover, places to stay,

that kind of thing?

Yeah, exactly. Mark paused and studied

Jennas face. You seem awfully calm. What about

that? He pointed to the memo, still in her hand.

Im quite excited actually, but now we have to

focus. Dont you worry your pretty little head over

this. You never saw it. You just fire up your laptop

and dig into Zubaydah and London. She stood up

and headed for the door, then turned with a big smile,

Im sure Ill have some more leads for you after that.

* * *

Another three days flew by at rocket pace.

Marks investigations hadnt gotten them too much

farther. Hed learned that the initial read out at the

Mothership was that KSM was the chief architect of

9/11, but that the supporting information was still

vague and that the Agency knew less about him than

they did about Zubaydah and there were indications of

Zubaydahs fingerprints on 9/11 too. Similarly, Mark

had unearthed the basics on Al-Muhajiroun in

London. It was dedicated to the establishment of anIslamic state, was led by Sheikh Omar Bakri

Mohammed, who called himself the "mouth, eyes and

ears of Usama bin Ladin," and was investigated by

Scotland Yard after voicing support for al-Qa'ida and

calling on young Muslims to engage in terror attacks

in Britain. It was a good nugget but didnt advance

their work against a U.S. network by much.The good news was that Jenna had confirmed a

direct telephonic connection between one of the

Arizona students and a known Zubaydah phone

number in Pakistan. It was enough of a link to justify

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their digging into the Arizona case via Jennas

supporters in San Diego. San Diego FBI had their

informant subtly probe one of the other occupants of

the cell house about who Hazmi and Hanjour had gone

to live with in Arizona. The informant came back with

two names, one of which matched a student on the

list. The second, an Imam named Dulaimi, did not

match and Mark and Jennas respective CIA and FBI

searches turned up nothing further.

Mark had had another significant breakthrough

when he found a file box with nothing but surveillance

reports. Unlike in Denver, FBI San Diego had

surveilled the San Diego cell in bits and pieces before

9/11. But they didnt really know what they were

dealing with and, just like in Denver, they never

reviewed the results of their surveillance as an

aggregate. As Mark did this, he made two key

discoveries. First, there was a geographical pattern in

the daily activities of the members of the cell house

that took them around the perimeter of the huge U.S.

Navy base in San Diego, with a particular emphasis on

areas that offered visual vantage points of the larger

combat vessels.

Second, Mark discovered that during an eveningin August 2001 when the FBI was watching Barzai

Ramatullah, on the way home from work he took an

unexpected route and headed out of San Diego into

the desert. The surveillance team judged that Barzai

was heading for Las Vegas, and called ahead

requesting Las Vegas FBI pick up his surveillance after

he crossed into Nevada. Jenna checked with the SanDiego agents and learned that Las Vegas FBI failed to

ever pick up the surveillance, but they recalled that

Barzais car was sitting back in front of his house in

San Diego the next morning.

Mark Jameson

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Jenna pointed out that some of the information

on her charts came from detailed timelines of the 9/11

hijackers activities in the U.S., which were compiled

from credit card data, airline data, phone records, and

other similar information by Dougs team at Langley.

Jenna remembered from discussions with the team

that one of their biggest question marks was Las

Vegas. Atta and the other three 9/11 pilots had

conducted numerous cross country reconnaissance

flights that often routed through Las Vegas, and on at

least two occasions the team leaders and other key

team members held meetings there. After a quick

check with Headquarters, Jenna confirmed that the

night Barzai went to Las Vegas was one of the

confirmed dates that Atta, Hazmi, and Hanjour were

meeting in Las Vegas.

Jenna had begun to write a second analytical

overview, but Mark had implored her to touch base

with Headquarters first. Marks intuition, or his

spider sense as he liked to joke, was still tingling

hard about the quick shift in attitudes he had

experienced before leaving Denver. Mark was afraid

that if Jenna published the results of the FBI Phoenix

memo, she would find the same situation in SanDiego, where she had obviously made far greater

strides in winning the FBIs confidence than he had.

Theyd had a heated but respectful debate over this

until Mark blurted out, partly without thinking about

it, that he just didnt want her to get hurt. Jenna was

surprised and relented. David had agreed with Mark.

Something was going on. Write an internal memoonly, hed ordered. Put it on disk and hand carry it

back to Headquarters in a secured courier pouch.

As a peace offering Mark had offered to buy

Jenna dinner, a real dinner, not something to eat as

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they rifled through files. He was not surprised when

she said yes, but he felt the butterflies return. They

had a fabulous, genuine Mexican meal on an outside

patio in Balboa Park, enjoyed some margaritas, and

reviewed the last 10 days worth of work. But mostly

they had fun.

You know what that thing reminds me of,

Mark said, referring to Jennas giant link diagram as

they walked away from the restaurant down the wide

Spanish colonial boulevard that ran through the

center of the park. The Bayeux Tapestry. Mark

chuckled until he noticed the blank look on her face.

Come on, you dont know the Bayeux Tapestry?

No, but knowing you it either comes from a

history book or a comic book, she jabbed back with a

grin.

I guess Im predictable. History it is. Its a

gigantic tapestry on display in Normandy, nearly a

thousand years old. It depicts the Norman invasion of

England in 1066. The thing is hundreds of feet long

and wrapped all around the walls of this museum.

He looked at her blank face. I guess you had to be

there.

You may be predictable, but youre cute, sheoffered, grinning again. He was enjoying her beautiful

smile and forgot to speak.

She filled the void. So, you looking forward to

going back to DC?

I guess. Itll be nice to see some of the BTF

gang.

What about David? I got the impression youguys know each other well. I heard hes a real hard

ass. Thats good, those slackers in the BTF need it,

she joked. But then she realized that Mark wasnt

with her anymore, but lost in thought. Shed made a

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mistake and wanted to fix it quickly. She liked where

they seemed to be going. She stopped walking and

grabbed his hand. He stopped and refocused on her.

Im sorry, Mark. You havent said anything

this week about Afghanistan. Is that whats bothering

you? Wanna talk about it?

Mark took a deep breath. No. I mean I do

but, he looked at her hand, holding his, and softened,

not now.

Im not a big believer in long distance

relationships, she blurted with some determination,

but I really like you. Mark was a little shocked and

again forgot to speak. Jenna leaned in and gave him a

long, soft kiss.

Come on, she said. Take me home.

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Key Terms and Acronyms

AK TheAK-47is a7.62mmassaultrifle first developed in theSoviet Union byMikhailKalashnikov. It is also known as aKalashnikov, an"AK.

Allah Uh Akbhar Arabic for "God is Great", it is a

commonIslamicArabic expression, used as both aninformal 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-netradiofor the transmission of voice and data traffic upto theTop SecretlevelAN/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 AgencyC/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) Largemilitarytransport aircraft in service with the U.S. Airforcefromthe early 1990s

CH-47 (Chinook) A twin-engine,tandemrotorheavy-lifthelicopter in service with the U.S.Army since the 1960s. AKA Shithook.

DAGR GPS Defense Advanced GPS (Globaly

Positioning System) Receiver(colloquially,"dagger") isa 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

DOCIAs Directorate of OperationsDi 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 ofInvestigation

FISA Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978

p r e s c r i b e s p r o c e d u r e s f o r t h e p h y s i c a l a n d

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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'sspecialoperations forcesthat conduct deep reconnaissanceand intelligence operations

FRAGO U.S. Army slang for

Fragmentation Order. Shortened version of Armysstandard Operations Order, typically abbreviated by

changing / dangerous situations.

F/A-18 (Hornet) Supersonic, carrier-

capable,multirole fighterjet, designedtodogfightandattack ground targets. In service withU.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 1950sHallway File CIA slang for rumors / mistakes

that are unshakable and follow an Agency employee

throughout their career

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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

KRLKhan Research LaboratoriesKSM 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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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 Tajiksand 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 istemporarily put under control of another unit

OSS Office of Strategic Services the

CIAs WWII predecessor

PDB Presidents Daily Brief

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PFC Private First Class

PKM 7.62 mmgeneral purposemachine gundesigned in theSoviet Union in the1960s

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-tankrocket-propelled grenadelauncher. Originally developed inthe 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

SOGCIAs Special Operations GroupSrebrenica 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 phoneproviderwidely used in the Middle EastTop 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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UCK See Kosovo Liberation Army

UHF Ultra High Frequency designates

theradio frequencyrange between 300MHzand3GHz(3,000MHz)VHF Very High Frequency designates

the radio frequency range between 30MHzand300MHzVil 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

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UA Flight 175

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AA Flight 77

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UA Flight 93

Photo Images

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-

testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdf

14
https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdfhttps://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdfhttps://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdfhttps://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/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 theArmys 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 operationsofficers, 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 thedefense 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.

The Silent Hunt

Documents

The Silent Hunt by Mark Jameson - Chapter 4.pdf