Eye Spy - May 2018

34 EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 115 2018

bu Zubaydah, arrested in March 2002

in Pakistan, used many aliases. He

left the Middle East in the mid-1990s

to help Afghanistan in its fight against

AL-QAIDA’S GATEKEEPER

the former Soviet Union. By the time Osama
bin-Laden returned to Afghanistan in 1996,
Zubaydah had already gained a huge reputa-
tion.

The CIA learned that he was once based in
Pashawar at a facility known as The House of
Martyrs. By 2000 he had been provided with
an elite training camp and was already
organising operations against US targets.

This followed a CIA report that indicated
Zubaydah had been given safe passage to Iran
along with other al-Qaida leaders. The CIA
believed Zubaydah was of key importance to
Osama bin-Laden as a planner. In 2001, a CIA
official said, “he is the number one person that
we are looking for.” Codenamed ‘The
Gatekeeper’ by the CIA, he was in charge of
routing al-Qaida recruits to various training
camps in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He
would select the best candidates and invite
them for extensive training at his home camp
in Khalden in Tora Bora. Here, Zubaydah and
associates would provide the agents with all

A

Abu Zubaydah - Man With a Thousand Secrets

they needed to conduct operations in the

West.

Zacarias Moussaoui, the 20th 9/11 hijacker

also passed through Zubaydah’s Khalden

camp. So too did Jamal Beghal, detained in

Dubai before leaving for Paris. He was set to

blow up the US Embassy in Paris.

Other damning evidence on Zubaydah found

by the CIA related to an attempted operation to

destroy the US Embassy in Bosnia in 2001.

When officials analysed the contents of a

mobile phone used by the head of the al-Qaida

unit sent to Bosnia, they discovered

Zubaydah’s private satellite phone number.

Since his arrest, Zubaydah has been involved

in various legal challenges. In 2014, he was

awarded around £90,000 by the European

Cour t of Human Rights. In this case, Poland

was ordered to pay him the money because of

its liaison with the CIA in running a detention

centre in the country in which the terrorist was

allegedly held.

Abu Zubaydah - real name Zayn al

Abidin Muhammad

Osama bin-Laden

choice” and referenced her “dignity, profes-

sionalism and honour.” Outgoing D/CIA Mike

Pompeo, who is thought to have recom-

mended Haspel said: “She is an exemplary

officer with an uncanny ability to get things

done and to inspire those around her.”

Former CIA man Daniel Hoffman, who was

Chief of Station in three countries, also praised

the president’s nomination, noting Haspel had

climbed from the lowest ranks at Langley.

“She is somebody who tries to bring disparate

elements together... an important intelligence

consideration. She’s got the highest level of

intellectual integrity and honesty.”

A PIVOTAL MOMENT

The nomination of Haspel as the first female

officer to lead one of America’s premier

intelligence agencies is seen as a pivotal

moment in US intelligence history. Stephen

Slick, a former CIA agent who worked with

Langley’s National Clandestine Service

explained why the move is so significant.

“If confirmed, it would send a powerful signal

to the many accomplished female officers at

the CIA. She would also be the first career

Agency officer with a background in opera-

tions to serve as Director in more than four

decades.

As for Tillerson’s departure, who remarkably

becomes the 30th senior Trump official to be

sacked in the last 12 months, few in Washing-

ton are surprised. “They had a difficult and

frosty relationship from the outset” said one

White House source. And President Trump

never forgave him for calling him a “moron” in

2017. Just recently, there were more words
      spoken when Tillerson said he did not believe
      the time was right for the president to meet
      North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

• In 2009, all CIA interrogation and detention
  sites were closed on the order of President
  Obama.

Former CIA National Clandestine

Service officer Stephen Slick