The Triple Agent

4. “simultaneous notification”: The basis of the new U.S. policy was described to the author in interviews with two former senior intelligence officials involved in the policy discussions, and confirmed separately by a congressional official briefed on the policy change at the time.

5. a massive truck bombing: For details on the Marriott Hotel attack, see Bill Roggio, “Bombing at Islamabad Marriott Latest in String of Complex Terror Attacks,” Long War Journal, Sept. 21, 2008, http://www.longwarjournal.org/​archives/​2008/​09/​bombing_​at_islam​abad.php.

6. a commander named Sheikh Saeed al-Masri: Details of al-Masri’s expanded role within al-Qaeda beginning in 2007, as well the competition among rival commanders, were supplied to the author in interviews with one former and two current CIA officers involved in counterterrorism operations during the period.

7. Hayden’s initial meeting with his successor: Events described to author in interviews with two intelligence officers who witnessed the exchange.

Chapter 2: Haunted

1. chief liaison on counterterrorism to Britain: Details of Matthews’s experiences in London and her previous work at CIA headquarters and Thailand were recounted in author interviews with eight former agency colleagues as well as two relatives who were in frequent communication with her during the relevant periods.

2. sophisticated double suicide bombing: Separate accounts of the attack were obtained from International Security Assistance Force incident logs for Afghanistan’s eastern district on Jan. 19, 2009, and an interview with a Khost regional police commander who investigated the incident. The ISAF records were first posted by the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks in July 2010.

3. Inspector General, had launched a wide-ranging investigation: For details of the redacted report, see CIA Office of Inspector General, “Report on CIA Accountability with Respect to the 9/11 Attacks,” June 2005, http://www.foia.​cia.gov/​docs/​DOC_​00014​99482/​DOC_​000149​9482.pdf.

4. list of names remain classified: For a fuller description of the CIA’s deliberations over the release of names, see “CIA OIG [Office of Inspector General] Timeline” at HistoryCommons.com, http://www.historycommons.org/​timeline.jsp?​investigations:​_a_detailed_​look=complete​_911_​timeline​_cia_oig​_9_11_​report&timeline​=complete_911​_timeline, accessed on Sept. 30, 2010.

5. attempted to distill his advice: Author interview with former senior CIA official.

Chapter 3: The Doctor

1. The raiding party gathered: Details of Humam al-Balawi’s arrest, detention, and interrogation were provided in author interviews with two family members present during the relevant events; three current Jordanian intelligence officers and one former intelligence officer who were present during the events or were given detailed briefings; and a senior CIA officer who was similarly briefed. Additional details were drawn from Balawi’s videotaped statements about his arrests, as provided to the author by SITE Intelligence Group, a private group that monitors Web sites associated with extremist groups and provides analysis to government agencies, news organizations, and other customers on a restricted-access basis.

2. “Your handcuffs will be as silver bracelets”: English excerpts from Balawi’s Internet blogs as Abu Dujana al-Khorasani were provided, along with analysis, by Jarret Brachman, a terrorism expert, author, and government consultant.

3. He was also an instant hit: For analysis of Balawi’s impact as jihadist blogger, see Brachman’s monograph “Abu Dujana al-Khorasani,” in publication.

4. Defne, began to worry: Insight into Balawi family dynamics is provided in press interviews by Defne Bayrak, including her February 5, 2010, interview with al-Jazeera Television’s Today’s Interview program. English translation courtesy of SITE Intelligence Group. Additional corroboration provided in author interviews with two of Defne Bayrak’s journalist colleagues in Istanbul, Turkey.

5. Abu Dujana was a seventh-century Arab warrior: For more on Balawi’s namesake, see “Abu Dujana, Stories of the Sahaba,” as reprinted in http://www.articlesbase.​com/​spirituality​-articles/abu​-dujana-stories​-of-the-sahaba​-1532056.html.

6. Code-named Turbulence, it is a five-hundred-million-dollar-a-year network: For an authoritative account of the NSA’s secret data-collection network, see James Bamford, The Shadow Factory (New York: Anchor Books, 2008).

7. he was known among his peers as Sharif Ali: Biographical details about Ali bin Zeid and his interaction with the Balawi case were shared with the author in interviews with three bin Zeid family members and two of his Mukhabarat colleagues.

8. “He wasn’t flirty like some of the others”: Author interview with former patient of Balawi’s, Marka refugee camp, Amman, Jordan.