294 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS“Scott,” “Amy,” “AK,” Ted Price, Burton Gerber, and dozens of other
CIA colleagues, instructors, mentors, COSs, DCOSs, branch chiefs, divi-
sion chiefs, fellow case officers, and others in the CIA—including SERE
guards and interrogators—who patiently and selflessly provided guidance
and training to me and my colleagues.
Mark Kelton, I probably would not be alive today if it were not for you.
But for your quiet professionalism and dedication to duty, I would likely be
represented by a star on the Memorial Wall and my daughters would have
joined the growing ranks of beautiful beneficiaries of Spookstock.
To “R. J.,” “Big Dale,” “Jesuit Joe,” “Jack,” “Army Jim,” “Carol,” “the Inter-
ceptor,” “Heather,” and my other CT classmates: I’ll never forget you or our
CIA training exploits and hope I did our training (and you) justice in this book.
To the US military’s secret special operators with whom I worked in
the Balkans and in Iraq, thank you for risking your lives on my and our
nation’s behalf and for silently supporting the agency’s mission in defense
of our country.
To 00HITCH, “Jovan,” “Sasha,” and countless other unnamed foreign
agents and witting contacts with whom I worked and who risk(ed) their
lives and those of their families to support the noble cause of freedom. You
are the unsung heroes of this book.
To my former foreign service colleagues: thank you for your service,
your professionalism, your thankless support to the CIA, and for not
playing “spot the spook” overseas when the walls had ears. Dink: if you’re
reading this, kudos for acting like you didn’t recognize me when we unex-
pectedly crossed paths at the Jolly Hotel in Rome.
To R. J. (and supervisor) for your decades of friendship, cigars, p(ivo)-
rations, football, Diet Mountain Dew, Yorkshire terrorist(s), wise counsel,
and for an endless string of inexplicable life coincidences. Also, thanks in
advance for agreeing to serve as acting president of my new pet project, the
Deep State Alumni Association.
To “Buey” for a lifetime of laughs, for always being there, and for
24/7 help with vocabulary, syntax, and grammar. I’m just happy that your
English degree has finally paid off for me.
To my Iraqi friends and colleagues at Babylon Inc., who knowingly
risked their lives to support American troops and unknowingly risked their
lives to enhance security in both Iraq and the United States.