274 AMERICAN SPYsive and unnecessary, and they often made a target of those they were
designed to protect. Our employees traveled around the country in non-
descript Iraqi cars and trucks, blending in beautifully. (Although once in
Basra, diligent police at a checkpoint stopped and questioned us because
they wanted to make sure I wasn’t being kidnapped; they were not used to
seeing an American cruising around Basra with Iraqis inside a typical Iraqi
vehicle.) Because of our responsiveness and our modus operandi, we were
not confined to the relative safety of military bases and “green zones”; we
covered 100 percent of the country.
US government authorities in Iraq got wind of my company’s success
and solicited my cooperation. As always, I was happy to cooperate in any
and every way possible. Two years after the invasion, confronting the very
insurgency Sheik Omar warned about, the US government had begun to
appreciate the value of my Iraqi entity with its country-wide “red zone”
access. Babylon Inc. was held back by none of the constraints faced by
the government. Risky and dangerous activities, which happened to be a
routine part of Babylon Inc.’s business, would prove to be valuable to the
government’s counterterrorism mission.
Despite their initial concerns, my CIA background remained hidden
and a nonissue while I was running Babylon Inc. That said, the fact that I
was a former CIA officer running an Iraqi company tailor-made for their
requirements made it very easy for the US government to work with me. We
spoke the same language. In the process, we both learned that I could do
more for the US government mission from the outside—where I was free to
run things my own way—than from the inside. The arrangement was good
for them and good for me. The results of this unique collaboration were also
decidedly good for force protection and America’s national security.
Although the government officials with whom I was dealing clearly
understood the potential payoff (as well as the risks) of collaborating with
Babylon Inc., something did not add up for some of them, who were
almost instinctively opposed. How could a former CIA officer possibly run
a business in Iraq? (Answer: it’s not easy, but it can be done.) Unfortunately,
the reality is that no situation is ever perfect. If you wait to find the perfect,
risk-free environment before acting, you’ll never act. You give it your best
shot, try not to do anything stupid, and move forward, with the implicit
awareness that no scenario is perfect and there is always some risk that