An edition of Jawbreaker (2005)

Jawbreaker

the attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda : a personal account by the CIA's key field commander

1st ed.
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Last edited by MARC Bot
December 29, 2022 | History
An edition of Jawbreaker (2005)

Jawbreaker

the attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda : a personal account by the CIA's key field commander

1st ed.
  • 5 Want to read

In Jawbreaker Gary Berntsen, until recently one of the CIA's most decorated officers, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.With his unique mix of clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, Berntsen represents the new face of counterterrorism. Recognized within the agency for his aggressiveness, Berntsen, when dispatched to Afghanistan, made annihilating the enemy his job description.As the CIA's key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, Berntsen not only led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, he also raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for bin Laden.In this first-person account of that incredible pursuit, which actually began years earlier in an East Africa bombing investigation, Berntsen describes being ferried by rickety helicopter over the towering peaks of Afghanistan, sitting by General Tommy Franks's side as heated negotiations were conducted with Northern Alliance generals, bargaining relentlessly with treacherous Afghan warlords and Taliban traitors, plotting to save hostages about to be used as pawns, calling in B-52 strikes on dug-in enemy units, and deploying a dizzying array of Special Forces teams in the pursuit of the world's most wanted terrorist. Most crucially, Berntsen tells of cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains--and what happened when Berntsen begged Washington to block the al-Qaeda leader's last avenue of escape.As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom's enemies.CIA Commander Gary Berntsen on...His eyebrow-raising style:"Most CIA Case Officers advanced their careers by recruiting sources and producing intelligence, I took a more grab-them-by-the-neck approach...I operated on the principle that it was easier to seek forgiveness than ask for approval. Take risks, but make sure you're successful. Success, not good intentions, would determine my fate." Doing whatever it took: "I didn't just want to survive: I wanted to annihilate the enemy. And I didn't want to end up like one of my favorite historical characters--Alexander Burns...He was one of the first of more than 14,000 British soldiers to be wiped out by the Afghans in the First Afghan War. Like Burns before me, I was also an intelligence officer and spoke Persian. This was my second trip into Afghanistan, too. The difference, I told myself, was that Burns had been a gentleman and I would do whatever it took to win." Dealing with a Taliban official who controlled American hostages:"Tell him that if he betrays me or loses the hostages I'll spend every waking moment of my life hunting him down to kill him. Tell him I'm not like any American he has ever met." The capabilities of his Tora Bora spotter team:"Working nonstop, the four men directed strike after strike by B-1s, B-2s, and F-14s onto the al-Qaeda encampment with incredible precision. Somehow through the massive bureaucracy, thousands of miles of distance [and] reams of red tape...the U.S. had managed to place four of the most skilled men in the world above the motherlode of al-Qaeda, with a laser designator and communications system linked to the most potent air power in history...As I listened over our encrypted radio network, one word kept pounding in my head: revenge."Also available as a Random House AudioBookFrom...

Publish Date
Publisher
Crown Publishers
Language
English

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda
Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
October 24, 2006, Three Rivers Press
Paperback in English
Cover of: Jawbreaker
Cover of: Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker: the attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda : a personal account by the CIA's key field commander
2005, Three Rivers Press
in English - 1st ed.
Cover of: Jawbreaker
Cover of: Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker
2005, Crown Publishing Group
Electronic resource in English

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Book Details


Table of Contents

The attack
August 7, 1998
The declaration
The deployments
CTC/Special Operations
Negotiations
Panshir Valley
Shomali Plains
Mazar-e Sharif
Amir
The fall of Kabul
Kabul
Team Juliet
Bilal
General Tommy Franks
Qala-i Jangi fortress
Tora Bora
The Battle of Milawa
Adam Khan
Hamid Karzai
Escape.

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Published in
New York

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
327.1273/009/0511
Library of Congress
JK468.I6 B427 2005

The Physical Object

Pagination
p. cm.

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL3403275M
ISBN 10
0307237400
LCCN
2005018377
OCLC/WorldCat
60798451
Library Thing
306161
Goodreads
1307922

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December 29, 2022 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
December 11, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
July 15, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
October 25, 2011 Edited by ImportBot import new book
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record