The Bin Laden Plot

PJ Rolow, the deputy director for operations, lived alone in a two-story colonial on a secluded ten-acre plot monitored by a sophisticated security system, with a four-man protective agent detail stationed less than a minute away. Christine’s SUV pulled into Rolow’s driveway and Christine emerged from the vehicle, leaving her protective agents behind. As she moved up the walkway, her simmering anger and frustration regarding Khalila reached the boiling point.

When Rolow answered the door, Christine barged into his foyer.

“Who is she? Khalila!”

Rolow backed up as she advanced, his eyes going wide in the presence of the enraged director. He said nothing as Christine glared at him.

He finally nodded, then moved past her, closing the front door. “Let’s talk in my study.”

Rolow led Christine upstairs, where he turned off his cell phone and placed it on a small table in the hallway before entering the study. Christine did the same; they were clearly going to discuss classified matters.

Once inside the study, Rolow closed the door and went to a credenza, where he poured a drink into a crystal glass. He offered her one, but she declined.

“Who is she?” Christine asked again.

“I can’t tell you.”

“What do you mean, you can’t tell me? I’m the director of the CIA.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Khalila’s file is sealed.”

“On whose authority?”

“The president’s.”

Christine was taken aback, wondering why the president would withhold this information from her. But Rolow hadn’t specified which president.

“The current president?”

“No. A previous one.”

“Fine. I’ll have the current president authorize it.”

“He won’t. Once he sees her file, he’ll seal it just like the last two presidents.”

“We’ll see about that,” Christine retorted. She had an excellent relationship with the president. He had been the one who had nominated her for CIA director in the first place.

She moved toward the door to retrieve her phone, but Rolow took her gently by the arm.

“It’d be better if you didn’t know.”

“Who else knows?”

“Only Bryant and me,” he said as he released her.

“That’s what the presidential decree says?”

Rolow nodded. “Only two persons at the agency are authorized to know: the DD and DDO.”

Christine contemplated Rolow’s assertion — that it’d be better if she didn’t know — then decided to shift topics.

“I have concerns about Khalila, and what I want to know is whether she can be trusted.”

Rolow considered her question at length, and when he didn’t immediately respond, Christine blurted, “Damn it, PJ, it’s a simple question! Can she be trusted?”

“I don’t know!”

Christine was stunned by Rolow’s admission.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? She’s a CIA field officer with access to classified information, and she’s currently involved in two incredibly sensitive investigations: a potentially corrupt secretary of the Navy and that bin Laden might have been captured instead of killed.”

“I know, I know,” Rolow replied.

“What the hell, Rolow? Why did you let someone you don’t fully trust into this position?”

“Her access to critical individuals and organizations in the Middle East outweighs the risk.”

Christine glared at him for a moment. When she spoke, her voice lowered a notch. “I should be the one who makes that assessment.” Then she moved toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To get my phone. I’m calling the president.”

This time, Rolow didn’t stop her.

She called the president on his cell phone — knowing his number was one of the perks of being on his staff as his national security advisor. When he answered, she put him on speaker.

“Good evening, Mr. President. This is Christine O’Connor. I apologize for bothering you tonight, but there’s a critical CIA file sealed by a previous president, and I need your permission to access that information.”

“What file is that?”

Rolow intervened. “Mr. President, this is Director for Operations PJ Rolow. The file concerns the background of one of our field officers. It contains highly sensitive information, and the file was sealed by the last two presidents, accessible only by myself and the deputy director. I strongly recommend you sustain that precedent.”

“You’re asking me to withhold critical information from the director of the CIA?” the president asked. “Information that you and the deputy director have access to? That sounds a bit backward, if you ask me.”

Rolow expounded on what he had discussed earlier with Christine. “The thought process is that CIA directors are political appointees who typically don’t stay in the job very long. They’re also affiliated by party, and the information in this file could be weaponized against administrations of the opposite party for political gain.”

“You realize, PJ, that Christine is from the opposite party of my administration? Yet I appointed her as CIA director anyway?”

“Yes, Mr. President, I do realize that. It’s just that — ”