The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA Paperback – May 1, 2012

This was one of the most interesting and tragic books I’ve ever read. Joby Warrick paints a very clear insight into what lead to a mild mannered, low-key Jordanian pediatrician and secret online jihadist into being captured by Jordanian intelligence operatives, being turned into a spy for them and the US, only to be turned into a suicide bomber by al-Qaeda when he meets his handlers and takes the lives of seven CIA officers and a member of the Jordanian royal family. The details to the lead up are morbidly fascinating and highlight the quiet, hard work done by the intelligence community oftentimes without any recognition or gratitude. I highly recommend this emotional roller coaster of a book.

Joby Warrick writes about the Middle East, diplomacy and national security for The Washington Post's National desk. He has covered the intelligence community, WMD proliferation and the environment, and served as a member of the Post's investigative unit. Joby Warrick, in this book, has proved that he is an exceptional writer and storyteller.Joby Warrick delves into the stories and histories of the main characters in this story, and the main agent, known as the 'golden source'. Humam al-Balawi is at the center of this story. He was a reserved young physician in his homeland of Jordan. He and his wife had met in college, married and had two children. He became engrossed in on-line radical groups and became a loud spokesperson, which is how he came to the attention of the Jordanian Intelligence. He was recruited and he was theirs. He was then introduced to the CIA, and he became one of theirs. He met with the Al Qaeda, and, again, he became one of theirs. We also meet Ali bin Zeid, who is a Jordanian intelligence captain, a cousin of King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the only one in the group who had ever met Balawi. And, Darren LaBonte, an ex-Army Ranger who was a CIA officer assigned to the agency's Amman station. Ali Zeid and LaBonte were close friends who often worked cases together. Jennifer Matthews, a career CIA agent, who needed one more good station success to ensure her a high level desk job at Langley. She had some demons to conquer and was assigned as the CIA station chief at Khost, the CIA's operating base in Afganistan. Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a man with an ego as big as his pot belly. He was on a 'wanted list' and was tracked by one of the best. Elizabeth Hanson, a thirty year old member of the CIA. She was a 'looker', blond and lithe. She loved the life of the CIA, she was a targeter, a job that took intelligence and persistence, and she was one of the best. She garnered clues from all over the world and with the use of computers, she was able to track the terrorists and target their death by drone.The person who truested their instinct the most, LaBonte, was concerned about whether al-Balawi could be trusted. He appealed to his Amman supervisors. "We're moving too quickly. We're giving up to much control by letting Balawi dictate events." He was overruled. The Amman station chief said if there was ever a moment to take a risk, it was now. And, so the fateful meeting was arranged, and the waiting began for the agent to arrive and hand over evidence about the Al Qaeda. The tension is palpable, the future of all of these people is in the results of this meeting. Finally, Humam al-Balawi and his handlers arrive.While reading this story, I could better understand the courage it took for the CIA to undergo its mission in Pakistan, to track down and finally kill Bin Laden. The years of research and tracking it takes to uncover one plausible clue at a time, is wearing. It takes persistence and a cool level head to undergo this kind of scrutiny. Mistakes are made and in the CIA that often means people die and futures are ruined. Joby Warrick has given us a glimpse into the minds of our spies, our CIA agents and how 'The Company' is led. This is a real treat for a spy mystery afficianado. The suspense is kept at high level, and the writing is superb. The stories of those involved kept me entranced in this story throughout this book. A rare event, indeed.Highly Recommended. prisrob 07-23-11The Triple Agent: The Al-qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIA [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cd]

The author has written a comprehensive book, worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, and in doing so has immortalized everyone that died at the hands of a suicidal bomber on that fateful day. The book is a hard read in terms of the aftermath in the lives of those left behind. I highly recommend this incredible book because it reveals so many levels of our intelligence agencies that I was not aware of. All Americans should be reading this book. So many heroes, so much pain.

It's not for nothing that Joby Warrick is a Pulitzer Prize winner (1996 for Public Service): his new book, "The Triple Agent," is a master-class of reporting. No wonder that his Washington Post colleague and journalism deity Bob Woodward has deemed it "absolutely first-rate, breakthrough reporting." It's the ultimate proof, as the saying goes, that real-life will always trump even the best fiction. Even the best creative minds would dismiss some of the key events of 'The Triple Agent' as implausible.The tale told here is, at its heart, a tragedy. A tragedy that lives were lost when caution and circumspection were tossed aside in favor of a mounting fever at the highest levels of US agencies to pounce on what seemed to be the most promising leads on Al Qaeda's leadership's whereabouts in almost a decade. In retrospect, the clanging signals of alarm bells were screaming for attention. Yet, in the throes of passion for actionable intelligence, all these signs went unseen and unheard.Warrick has won the confidence and talked extensively to the partners and loved ones of the victims of December 30, 2009. To a person, they relate that their loved ones - typically the bravest of the brave - were pensive, anxious and frightened about the dangers of this pending meeting with the sketchiest of informants. In their hearts, they knew this didn't smell right. The book's triumph is that it tracks these concerns in relation to the growing excitement at higher, removed levels. The further we go, the more the tracks diverge.In the ultimate reporting triumph, Warrick suddenly switches us to the Al Qaeda camp. There, the trap is being delicately woven, one strand at a time. In time, the trap takes the form of a 30-lb, C4-laden vest strapped around the torso of Jordanian doctor Humam al-Balawi.Warrick's book brings us the story of how each of the blast's victims ended up at Khost that day. These are individuals whose lives and pasts are typically left in the shadows. Warrick brings those lives into light. The book also brings attention to the full scope of the Drone Wars being played out over the skies of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The reader is left to see how the events of December 30, 2009 are but one piece of the Drone Wars.I bought the Audio CD version of 'The Triple Agent.' I highly recommend it. Sunil Malhotra's expert narration - especially his crisp pronunciation of the Arabic and Afghan names - will greatly enhance your experience of consuming Warrick's work.