Jeremy Scahill - Dirty Wars

aims of, 9–10

beliefs of, 8

and Obama, cabinet selection of, 246

Neoconservatives

and Cheney, defense plan of, 8

and CIA, oversight changes in, 23–24

and McChrystal, 109

and natural resources, dominance over, 8

and shadow government, 7

New Mexico State University, 31

New York City Bar Association, Committee on International Human Rights, 149–150

Nicaragua, 11, 165

Night raids, 521

in Afghanistan, 332–334 (see also Gardez raid/massacre)

and anti-US sentiment, 518

escalation of, and Afghanistan insurgency, 349

and Taliban, support for, 348

Night Stalkers. See 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment

9/11 attacks

and Awlaki, Anwar, response of, 37, 39–40, 41–42, 43

exploitation of, 19

and hit list, 14

and war, right to declare, 19–20

Nixon, Richard, 9

Niyoyunguruza, Juvenal, 299

Nobel Peace Prize, and Obama, 301–302

Nodal analysis patterns of movement, 173

Noor, Abdulkadir Moalin (aka “the Khalifa”), 479–480

Noriega, Roger, 409–410

Norris, Molly, 379, 380

North, Oliver, 11, 165

Northern Virginia Paintball Jihad, 72

Northwest Flight 253 Christmas day bombing attempt, 317–321, 369, 378

NSA. See National Security Agency

NSDD. See National Security Decision Directive

NSPD-1. See National Security Presidential Directive-1

NSPD-38. See National Security Presidential Directive-38

NSS. See National Security Service

Nuhaas, Ibn, 137

Nur, Mohamed Ahmed, 494

Nur, Sheikh Aden Mohamed, 277

Obama, Barack, 169

and Afghanistan, 270, 284

and Afghanistan, surge in, 328–329

and Afghanistan strategy, 282

and African policy, 298

and al Qaeda, 248, 255–257, 294, 320–321

and al Shabab in Somalia, 271–272, 272–273

and AQAP bomb plot against US, 390

and assassination operations, 253

and assassination policy, 353–354

and Awlaki, Anwar, 237–238, 243, 354

and Awlaki, Anwar, hunt for, 401

and Awlaki, Anwar, killing of, 499–500, 501

and Awlaki, Anwar, strikes against, failure of, 314–316, 453–454

and Awlaki, Anwar as top terrorist, 269

and Awlaki, Nasser, letter from, 326–327

and bin Laden at Abbottabad compound, 435, 436, 437, 440, 441, 442–443, 444, 445, 446–447, 449, 450, 451–452

and bin Laden raid, protest over, 458

and Blackwater-CIA-JSOC covert action, in Pakistan, 252–253

and Bush, drone strike policies of, escalation and preservation of, 250, 251

and Bush-era counterterrorism policy, expansion of, 261, 516–517, 520

and Bush-era covert wars, expansion of, 248, 256, 259–260

and Bush-era detention policy, expansion of, 296

and Bush-era torture and detention programs, dismantling of, 248

cabinet selection of, 246

and Cheney, 247, 320

and CIA interrogation and torture/techniques, 245

and CIA-JSOC divide, 350–351

and clandestine action, 282–283

and counterinsurgency, in Afghanistan, 328–329

and counterterrorism policy, 246–247, 249–250, 295–297

and counterterrorism policy, expansion of, 261

and counterterrorism policy, reframing of, 297–298

and counterterrorism policy, SOFs role in, 355

and covert wars, US, 301–302

and Davis incident, 403, 404, 423, 424, 425

and drone program, 515–516

and first annual budget request, 298

foreign policy of, 244–247

and Global War on Terror, 468

and Guantánamo, and Yemeni prisoners, repatriation of, 323

and Guantánamo, and Yemeni prisoners, transfer of, 256, 257–258, 261

and Guantánamo prison break, 254

inauguration of (second term), 513

interrogation policy of, 261

and Israel, and right to defend against missile attacks, 519

and JSOC, 329

and JSOC, and clandestine action, 282

and JSOC, expansion of authority of, 297

and JSOC, in Somalia, 295–296

and JSOC, support for, 355

and JSOC, transformation of, 259

and JSOC-ization of US counterterrorism policy, 350–351

and JSOC operations, intensification of, 350

and JSOC/SOFs, admiration for, 276

and “just war” theory, 353

and kill/capture operations, 245–246

and Maersk Alabama, hijacking of, 274–276

and Majalah massacre, 308

and McCain, 245–246, 256

and McChrystal, resignation of, 349

and Musharraf, 245

Nobel Peace Prize speech of, 301–302

and piracy industry in Somalia, 482–483

Republicans’ attack on, 320–321

and Saleh, Ali Abdullah, 256, 257–258

and secret prisons/black sites, 294, 296, 473

and Shabwani incident, 357–358

and Shaye, 399

and Signature Strikes, 249, 352

and smart war, 515

and SOFs, increased presence of, 354–355

and Somalia, dual-track policy in, 474–475, 476, 477

and spy programs, in Pakistan, 250

and targeted killings/drone strikes, 295–296, 473

and targeted killings/drone strikes, and al Qaeda recruitment, 494

and targeted killings/drone strikes, expansion of, 513–514

and targeted killings/drone strikes, final authority over, 351–352

and targeted killings/drone strikes, in Pakistan, 248–250, 255, 352

and targeted killings/drone strikes, in Yemen, 78

and targeted killings/drone strikes, legality of, 517–518, 519–521

and US citizens, assassination strike against, 314–316, 325–326

and US citizens, assassination strike against, and Awlaki lawsuit against, 369–374, 392

and US embassy bombings, 236, 277

West Point speech of, 301

and Yemen, downplay of US role in, 321–322

and Yemen, expansion of SOFs in, 261–263

and Yemen, focus on, 269, 285–287

and Zinjibar siege, 464

Obama, Michelle, 513

Obama administration

and Afghanistan war, 258

and al Qaeda, in Yemen, 268

and AQAP, 321

and clandestine action, 282–283

and detainee policy, legality of, 519

and detainee policy, violation of, 453

and Saleh regime, weakening of, 465

and SOFs, expansion of, 283–284

and Yemen, assistance to, 386

O’Connell, Thomas, 141

Office of Combating Terrorism, 117

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, 170

Olson, Eric, 282, 442

Omar, Mullah Mohammed, 167, 174

160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (aka Night Stalkers), 51, 443

O’Neill, John, 63

O’Neill, Paul, 13

Operating Base Alpha, 139

Operation Black Hawk, 120–121

Operation Cannonball, 176

Operation Desert Shield, 102

Operation Desert Storm, 102

Operation Eagle Claw, 49, 50, 103

Operation Enduring Freedom, 23, 104

Operation Gothic Serpent, 125

Operation Green Quest, 46, 70

Operation Honey Badger, 49

Operation Infinite Reach, 126

Operation Just Cause, 53

Operation Neptune Spear, 440, 441

Operation Red Dawn, 141

Operation Troy, 499

Oversight, 16–17, 23–24. See also Congressional oversight, 59, 148

Pakistan, 328, 329

and Abbottabad compound (see under Bin Laden, Osama)

al Qaeda in, 114, 217–218, 255–256

Blackwater-CIA-JSOC covert action in, 251–253, 406–413

CIA in, 168–169, 255

and Davis incident, 403–407

drone strikes in, 177, 248–252, 255, 352, 406, 411, 412, 413, 421–422, 459, 519

earthquake (2005) in, 176

HVTs in, 175–177

insurgency in, 332

JSOC in, 168–169, 417–418

kill/capture operations in, 406–408, 410, 411