Haggai Harmon - The Chameleon Conspiracy

He paused. “We’re here to look at operational aspects. Any suggestions?”

“Dan, any ideas?” nudged Benny.

I spoke up. “If we want to crack the mystery of Atashbon or Department 81-if they are in fact separate entities-we just can’t exclusively rely on ELINT/SIGINT. We must have HUMINT. We need someone with a pulse, an informer, or for one of us to get it independently.”

“Not that I disagree with you,” said Kyle, “but look at the results that NSA has brought. It’s all ELINT based. They’ve just been intercepting electronic transmissions.”

“Sure, but did they tell us where the Chameleon is? Did they tell us whether there are other sleeper cells in the U.S.? They just brought us the ladder. Now we need a person to climb it,” I said. “We must have the human touch to bring in the smoking gun. If we can do it by remote control, then I’m all for it. But if we can’t-and I do believe that to be the case here-then we should do the job ourselves, even if that means penetration into Iran.” I was sounding more decisive than I actually was. I hoped I wasn’t going too far.

“You do realize that such a mission could get you killed,” said Bob Holliday. It was more of a statement than a question. “Is it worth it just to get even with someone who stole money?”

Though I was initially surprised, I realized with a quick flash of eye contact that he was handing me the ball to score. Maybe working for this guy wasn’t going to be so stiff after all.

“It started as a case of stolen money,” I said. “No longer. This is a case that concerns U.S. national security. For the first time we’ve got evidence to suggest that there could be Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S. If the suspicion is established as fact, do you think their hibernation will continue forever? We tentatively concluded that the Chameleon was assigned by his controllers to steal money. We know from the physical description of the other perpetrators of the banking fraud in the U.S. that there are probably other members of Department 81 in the U.S., because they didn’t look like the Chameleon. Do we know, in case there are additional sleeper cells in the U.S., what their missions are? Do we even know that they were in fact asleep during the past twenty years? Maybe some of the unsolved mysteries during those two decades were connected to one or more of them. Remember, the U.S. is called the Great Satan by the Iranian ayatollahs, while Israel is the Small Satan. The Iranian message is, don’t play with Satan-kill him.”

“So you’re suggesting we get the still-missing information regarding their identity directly in Iran,” said Arnold.

I nodded. “Yes. But I want to make clear that my support for the recommendation for penetration is contingent upon identifying and finding a potential source, or a plan that could provide us with the necessary information or be a conduit to others who could give us that. I’m not suggesting we enter first and then start looking around. I hope you give me credit for not being that unprofessional and careless. We suggested a preliminary plan in our team’s report.”

“Have you also done a risk assessment?” asked Casey.

“No. I was asked to deal with finding the Chameleon. Another team made the assessment. But since you asked, I agree that there are significant risks involved in penetration, even under our proposed plan, and I understand them. If caught, whoever goes there has little or no chance of walking away from it alive. But a more accurate risk assessment must be made once a plan is in place. And we don’t have an approved plan yet.”

I took a deep breath. “But if there’s a good plan, I’m willing to volunteer to be a singleton for that mission.” I knew that I’d fare better as a lone wolf in an operation designed for a single operative. During my military service I’d realized that many would volunteer for a mission until it was time to go. But not here; I was willing.

Benny, who sat next to me, said quietly in Hebrew, “Dan, you’re crazy.”

Everyone else just silently stared at me. We continued discussing various options for three more hours until Kyle said, looking at his watch, “OK, I think we’ve accomplished something today. I ask for your summary operational suggestions by the end of the week. I’m going back to the U.S., and we’ll review the options there. Benny, any suggestions?”

“Not at this time,” said Benny. “I need to talk to the director of the Mossad before we continue. In general, I’ve got his blessing, but when concrete plans are drawn that assume our participation, we must revisit the entire matter.”

When everyone was about to leave, Kyle asked Bob, Benny, Casey, Nicole, and me to stay behind.

“Let’s talk shop,” he said. “For the kind of detail I want to get into, we don’t need the whole assembly. Under what guise do you think an entry into Iran could succeed?”

“There are two ways,” I said. “The legal and the illegal. Well, both are illegal. What I call legal is an entry through the international airport of Tehran, with a cover story.”

“And the illegal entry?”

“Through one of the extremely long borders Iran has with its seven neighbors. Preferably penetration through Turkey, or from Turkmenistan.”

“If penetration isn’t through the international airport, whoever we send has to be physically fit,” said Nicole. “I’m sure you’re aware of the distances, the heights, the lack of transportation, and the rivalry between various factions living in these areas that don’t particularly like snooping strangers, regardless of their nationality.”

“I know that. We submitted a general plan, which may or may not be plausible,” I said. “But just two comments in that regard. One, we don’t have to dwell on that now, because it’s not our mandate to determine means of penetration. The operation departments of the CIA and Mossad are better qualified to recommend that. Also, the Mossad has an excellent long-term relationship with the Kurds, as we heard from Benny in Giverny, so maybe we could have a route here. But for the sake of our mock war game, and as suggested in our plan, let’s assume entry through Tehran’s airport. It has a lot of advantages.”

“Such as what?” asked Bob.

“Such as support for the legend. Let’s say, for example, that our men enter Iran posing as representatives of European companies selling pharmaceuticals to Iranian drug importers. Would their cover story make sense if they’re stopped en route from the Turkish border on the back of a mule, or in a beat-up bus that travels twelve hours, seated among peasants carrying their goats? On top of these problems we must bear in mind that the border areas in the north are infested with informers and part-time spies in numbers greater than those operating in Berlin during the Cold War.”

“I realize that illegal border crossing severely limits the options for a plausible legend,” agreed Kyle.

“OK. That leaves a ‘lawful’ entry as a preferred option. Next, let’s talk about a legend, just for the sake of our discussion, to see if we aren’t too optimistic in the evaluation of risks,” I said.

“Your report suggested several options, including posing as a European businessman. Why?” asked Bob.

“Because they’re preferred as business partners by the Iranians. The idea can fly, provided we can show real links on both sides. A real company in Europe that upon inquiry will confirm that our men actually work for it, and an Iranian company that will confirm prior business contacts and scheduled meetings to discuss some business-can we show that?”

“Based on our problem in Iran regarding lack of human assets, the answer is probably no,” said Kyle. “So we can’t build a legend that will require bidirectional verifiable contacts.”