The Jericho Sanction Read online

  ADVANCE PRAISE

  FOR THE JERICHO SANCTION

  “Another great read from Ollie North. I couldn't put it down.”

  SEAN HANNITY

  FOX News' “Hannity & Colmes,” Author of Let Freedom Ring

  * * *

  PRAISE FOR

  MISSION COMPROMISED

  “A Tom Clancy-esque tale of White House intrigue.”

  THE NEW YORK TIMES

  “A little payback, perhaps, for some of the controversial ex-Marine's treatment by the Beltway establishment?”

  PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

  “A political thriller.”

  USA TODAY

  “A Tom Clancy-like thriller.”

  THE DALLAS MORNLNG NEWS

  “A sly thriller.”

  JAMES BRADY

  Parade Magazine, Author of Warning of War

  “Entertaining.”

  CHRLSTLAN RETELLING

  “Absorbing scenario combining recent events and fiction so seamlessly as to leave readers wondering where the line between them lies.”

  CBA MARKETPLACE

  “A good thriller with a solid plot...a feeling of authenticity.”

  THE JERUSALEM POST

  “Sends chills up my spine about how on target and current....Couldn't stop reading it.”

  PLNE BLUFF COMMERCLAL

  “Combines the suspense of Tom Clancy with the drama of Blackhawk

  Down, the complexity of Mission Impossible, the dogged morality of High

  Noon....The result is a story that causes the reader to wake up in the

  middle of the night wondering how much of it is true.”

  MOODY MAGAZLNE

  “Filled with action, intrigue, and events that could have been taken from the headlines. This is a must-read.”

  SEAN HANNITY

  FOX News' “Hannity & Colmes,” Author of Let Freedom Ring

  “An exciting, solid, action-packed adventure about a Marine who, like the author, knows the meaning of Semper Fidelis.”

  JOE FOSS, Brig. Gen. USMC (Ret.)

  WWII Ace and Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

  “Superb read....A primer to the hidden works and inner mechanisms of the White House and the National Security Council.”

  GENERAL CHARLES C. KRULAK, USMC (Ret.)

  31st Commandant of the Marine Corps

  For Betsy,

  who once again waited and prayed

  while I went off to another war

  IN MEMORIAM

  Operation Iraqi Freedom began on 21 March 2003 with a night helo-borne assault against Saddam Hussein's forces in the vicinity of Basra on the Faw Peninsula. As the attack commenced, a sandstorm and smoke from oil wells set afire by Saddam's forces reduced visibility to near zero. Shortly thereafter, the third USMC CH-46E helicopter in our flight crashed, killing all the U.S. Marines and Royal Marine Commandos aboard.

  This book is dedicated to the memory of the four U.S. Marines of HMM 268 and the eight members of the Royal Marine Commando contingent who were the first casualties of the war to liberate Iraq.

  U.S. MARINES:

  Major Jay Thomas Aubin, 36 (Waterville, Maine)

  Captain Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30 (St. Anne, Illinois)

  Staff Sergeant Kendall Damon Waters-Bey, 29 (Baltimore, Maryland)

  Corporal Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25 (Houston, Texas)

  ROYAL MARINE COMMANDOS:

  Major Jason Ward

  Captain Philip Stuart Guy

  Warrant Officer Mark Stratford

  Color Sergeant John Cecil

  Operations Mechanic 2nd Class Ian Seymour

  Sergeant Les Hehir

  Lance Bombadier Llewelyn Karl Evans

  Marine Sholto Hedenskog

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Glossary

  Prologue: Betrayed and Abandoned

  01. Tracked Down!

  02. Escape

  03. Legacy of Death

  04. The Letter

  05. Intrigue

  06. Sailors, Soldiers, and Spies

  07. Traitors and Hostages

  08. Blown Cover

  09. The Wolf

  10. Making Plans while Marking Time

  11. Reluctant Accomplice

  12. A Meeting of Adversaries

  13. Dealing with the Devil

  14. Regrouping

  15. Heating Up

  16. Too Many Secrets

  17. Planning for War

  18. Freefall toward Disaster

  19. Tough choices

  20. Racing toward Doomsday

  21. Targets and Shooters

  22. Rendezvous with Death

  23. Endgame

  Epilogue

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Tikrit, Iraq

  25 April 2003

  Every old soldier wants to believe that the “Best of the Best” were those warriors he served with under fire. That was my sense when I arrived here in Saddam's hometown to cover the U.S. Marines and Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I should have known better, for much of my life has been spent among heroes like these men and women serving here. They are the same kind of humble and unsung heroes of whom I make people aware through my FOX News television series, War Stories.

  No sane person who has ever really been to a war ever wants to go to another. There is nothing glorious about war. I first saw the carnage of combat as a Rifle Platoon commander in Vietnam. And I've also been an eyewitness to the bravery and horror of war in Central America, Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel—and now, Iraq. Thankfully, there are those willing to fight for a just cause. And when they do, they deserve to have what they are doing reported accurately. That's why I'm here on the banks of the Tigris River.

  As an “embedded” war correspondent for FOX News Channel having now lived with the First Marine Expeditionary Force and the Fourth Infantry Division for the better part of the last two months, it is evident that there have never been brighter, better equipped, more thoroughly trained soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen, and Marines than these. No military force has ever gone so far, so fast, and with so few casualties as this group of young Americans and our British allies. Their skill and daring, their discipline and endurance are without parallel in the world today. No other armed force could do what they have done. They put an end to Saddam Hussein's brutal tyranny and liberated a people. Being with them while they did it has been a privilege and an inspiration.

  I'm grateful to Roger Ailes, my boss at FOX News, for dispatching me here to cover this war. Griff Jenkins, my cameraman/producer, lived through all of it with me—and somehow managed to hold the camera steady, even while getting shot at! And Pamela Browne, senior producer for War Stories, turned miles of videotape into a documentary that showed these young Americans to be as good as they really are.

  Once more, Joe Musser, my friend and partner in this book effort, made it possible to finish a work. In the midst of creating our first book, Mission Compromised, I left him holding the pen while I ran off to cover those chasing Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. This time, for research we went together on counter-terrorist operations with the Israeli Defense Forces. But then I left for two months in Iraq. Joe's lovely wife Nancy must be wondering what war I'll be covering when our next deadline comes due.

  Because of my protracted absence in Iraq, my friend and editor, Gary Terashita, has had to read and edit this book a chapter at a time over many months. His advice and counsel have been invaluable—even when conveyed sixty-five hundred miles over a satellite telephone via my steadfast assistant, Marsha Fishbaugh.

  Kim Terashita had to proof and pray her way through a belatedly delivered manuscript, and Kim Overcash found ways for Gary and me to connect—even throu
gh the “fog of war.” Despite distance and delays, project editor Lisa Parnell somehow pulled all of this together in time for publication, and Mary Beth Shaw in Author Relations found ways to keep me informed. Marketing Director John Thompson, Sales Director Susanne Anhalt, Publicity Director Heather Hulse, Senior Publicist Robin Patterson, Duane Ward of the Premiere Group, and Cathy Saypol Public Relations have all performed “above and beyond the call of duty” in promoting and selling my books—and I'm grateful. Thanks, too, for another great cover design by Greg Pope and team that “tells the story.”

  Of course there would be no “story” to tell without the encouragement and inspiration of my wife and our children and their mates. Once again I have left them in order to hang around with heroes in harm's way. But while I have been here in Iraq, Betsy, Tait and Tom, Stuart and Ellen, Sarah and Martin, and Dornin have all prayed for my safety—and I have seen ample evidence of their prayers being answered. In their faith and affection I am reminded of God's love in my own life—and how easy it is to appear daring when you simply know where you are going…and why you are going there.

  Semper Fidelis,

  Oliver L. North

  GLOSSARY

  ACS. Automated Case File System of the FBI; part of the FBI's Electronic Case File database, equivalent to a closed FBI computer intranet (also see ECF).

  Ahm Al-Khass. Amn Al-Khass. Iraq's Special Security Services; also SSS.

  AGM. Air to ground missile.

  aka. Also known as; in describing a name and an alias.

  AO. Area of operation; of Israeli counter-terrorism units, such as airports, harbors, or various national borders. Different units are assigned to each AO (also see Sayeret Matkal; S'13).

  ATGM. Anti-tank guided missile.

  AWACS. Airborne Warning and Control System (USA).

  Bakshish. The Arabic word used to denote an expected payment or bribe.

  BOLO. Acronym for “Be on Lookout”; when used as a noun, it is the term used for the picture, or artist's rendering, of a person being sought by law enforcement organizations, and refers to the photo, fax, poster, or other

  “hard copy” or printed version that can be placed into the hands of various agencies and their personnel.

  BOQ. Base Officers Quarters.

  C. The abbreviation for chief of British SIS (see MI6). A green C in the logo of the SIS is an allusion to its founder, the original C, Sir Mansfield Cumming. A SIS tradition is that all chiefs are known simply as C and sign their documents using green ink.

  CAR15. The carbine version of the U.S. M16A1 rifle (also see M4).

  CENTCOM. (Also USCENT-COM) Central Command (U.S. Central Command), one of the nine U.S. unified military command centers. CENTCOM is located at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida, and is the unified command responsible for U.S. security interests in twenty-five nations in Central Asia, Africa, and the Gulf Region of the Middle East. CENTCOM carries out its missions through a joint service staff of nine hundred, drawn from components of the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Command forces.

  CinC. The commander in chief. The CinC of the U.S. Central Command (CENT-COM) has a rank of four-star general or admiral.

  CO. Commanding officer.

  COD. Carrier onboard delivery; an air “taxi” that shuttles people and equipment to and from an aircraft carrier. The usual aircraft for this is a C-2A Greyhound propeller plane.

  “Cover Your Six.” Military jargon; terms for direction are based on a clock dial: twelve o'clock is straight ahead, three o'clock to the right, nine to the left, and six is behind or to the rear.

  CT. Counter-terror (ism).

  Dead drop. A secret location where packages can be left or picked up.

  DIA. Defense Intelligence

  Agency (U.S.); military intelligence gathering arm of the Pentagon.

  DOD. Department of Defense.

  Duvdevan. Israeli counterintelligence unit (also see EU) that is responsible for operations and missions inside the country; some of these missions have included targeted killings (assassinations) of terrorists that were authorized by the government.

  DZ. Drop zone.

  ECF. The FBI's computerized Electronic Case File system that allows agents and any other authorized users to access classified files for intelligence, background, and cross-referencing of data. It also represents a treasure trove of information useful to spies.

  ETA. Estimated time of arrival.

  EU. Engagement units; those Israeli units that have counter-terrorism as a secondary specialty. Each EU is organized under an IDF command within the country, including North Command, Central Command, and South Command. The Sayeret Golany EU is based in the North Command; three EUs are based in the Central Command (Sayeret T'zanhanim, Sayeret Nahal, and Sayeret Duvdevan); and Sayeret Givaty is the EU based in the South Command.

  EWO. Electronic warfare officer.

  Federal Security Service. Successor to the KGB; also SVR.

  FFP. Final firing position; usually refers to a position used by a sniper.

  FIR. Flight information region.

  Firm, The. The internal nickname for the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (also see MI6).

  FM. Foreign minister.

  G-l. Administrative and personnel function for a military command of brigade or higher (also see S-l).

  G-2. Intelligence and counterintelligence function for a military command of brigade or higher (also see S-2).

  G-3. Operations and training function for a military command of brigade or higher (also see S-3).

  G-4. Logistics and supply function for a military command of brigade or higher (also see S-4).

  GCHQ. British Signals and Intelligence Agency, similar to U.S. National Security Agency.

  GID. General Intelligence Directorate (Syria); see IAA.

  GRU. Soviet Military Intelligence Service.

  Gunny. Slang for Marine gunnery sergeant.

  H-hour. Military designation for time of an attack.

  HAHO. High altitude, high opening parachute deployment.

  HALO. High altitude, low opening parachute deployment.

  Hezbollah. Party of God (also known as Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine). Known or suspected to have been involved in numerous terrorist attacks, especially on the U.S. and Israel.

  IAF. Israeli Air Force.

  IAA. Idarat al-Amn al-'Amm. General Intelligence Directorate, Syria; the agency responsible for gathering intelligence and dealing with covert operations for the country (similar to the U.S. FBI or CIA).

  IDF. Israeli Defense Forces; the military force of the state of Israel.

  IFF. Identification Friend or Foe icon; a graphics box that is displayed on a computer screen for reference, similar to that on an air traffic controller's screen that identifies the various aircraft in the vector.

  IM. Instant Messaging. Wireless instant messaging differs from e-mail primarily in that its main focus is immediate end-user delivery and does not use typical computer architecture and hardware.

  INC. Iraqi National Congress, the anti-Saddam opposition movement of Iraq.

  In sha'Allah. Arabic, from the Quran, means “God willing.”

  IR. Infrared.

  ISA. Intelligence Support Activity; a small, well-trained, and highly capable intelligence unit of the U.S. Army, operating across the world on special operations focused on counter-terrorism and providing intelligence on black market nuclear and bio/chemical weapons activity.

  ISEG. International Sanctions Enforcement Group; a thirty-eight-man joint U.S.-UK unit.

  ISET. International Sanctions Enforcement Team; each joint U.S.-UK team has seven men.

  JCS. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  KY. NATO-standard encryption equipment.

  LMG. Light machine gun.

  LZ. Landing zone.

  LRRP. Long Range Reconnaisance Patrol.

 
M4. Carbine version of the U.S. M16A2 rifle.

  MI6. United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service; deals with foreign intelligence gathering (similar to U.S. CIA).

  MIT. Milli Istihbarat Teskilati is the Turkish intelligence service (similar to the CIA).

  MASINT Program. Top Secret Measurement and Signature Intelligence program of the CIA, believed to be one of the documents given to the KGB by their Russian FBI mole.

  MATKAL. General staff of the Israeli Defense Forces High Command.

  MEU. Marine expeditionary unit; a reinforced Infantry battalion of approximately eighteen hundred men.

  Mossad. A Hebrew acronym for the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations. It is the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service.

  MOD. Minister of Defense.

  NCO. Noncommissioned officer in the military services.

  NRO. National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO designs, builds, and operates the U.S.'s reconnaissance (spy) satellites. NRO products are provided to customers that include the CIA and the Department of Defense. NRO satellites can anticipate potential trouble spots around the world, help plan military operations, and monitor their execution.

  NSA. National Security Agency. As the U.S.'s cryptologic organization, NSA coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence information (intel). A high-tech organization, NSA is on the leading edge of electronic communications and data processing. NSA is also one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research within the U.S. government.

  NSC. National Security Council.

  NTDS. Naval tactical data system.

  NVD. Night-vision device; an optical device for sighting targets in darkness through a

  scope mounted on a rifle or other weapon.

  NVG. Night-vision goggles; worn by soldiers or special operators to see in the dark.