Aki J. Peritz - Disruption - Inside the Largest Counterterrorism Investigation in History

A fascinating read. There are secrets in this book even I didnt know.

Gen. Michael V. Hayden, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency

This operation remains the gold standard for how America and Great Britain came together to crush the greatest conspiracy since 9/11. Disruption knocks it out of the park.

Fran Townsend, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism

Aki J. Peritz

Potomac Books

An imprint of the University of Nebraska Press

2021 by Aki J. Peritz

Cover designed by University of Nebraska Press; cover image: Background iStockphoto/spxChrome; London Shutterstock/Songquan Deng.

Author photo courtesy of Cliff Lipson, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

All rights reserved. Potomac Books is an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Peritz, Aki, author.

Title: Disruption: inside the largest counterterrorism investigation in history / Aki J. Peritz.

Description: [Lincoln, Nebraska]: Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021022964

ISBN 9781640123809 (hardback)

ISBN 9781640125049 (epub)

ISBN 9781640125056 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH : TerrorismPreventionInternational cooperation. | Aeronautics, CommercialSecurity measuresInternational cooperation. | Suicide bombingsPreventionInternational cooperation. | Intelligence serviceInternational cooperation. | BISAC : POLITICAL SCIENCE / Terrorism

Classification: LCC HV 6431 . P 466 2021 | DDC 363.325dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021022964

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, its the only thing that ever has.

Apocryphally attributed to Margaret Mead

Maps

Illustrations

Overt Conspirators

• Rashid Rauf: Birmingham native in Pakistan who would eventually become the Overt mastermind
• Mohammed Yasar Gulzar: Raufs childhood friend who fled to Pakistan following Raufs uncles murder
• Abdulla Ahmed Ali: Walthamstow resident and Overts London ringleader
• Assad Sarwar: High Wycombe resident and Overt quartermaster
• Tanvir Hussain: Alis second-in-command and avid cricketeer
• Waheed Arafat Khan: One of the potential suicide bombers
• Ibrahim Savant: One of the potential suicide bombers
• Umar Islam: A convert to Islam and potential suicide bomber
• Waheed Zaman: A university student and potential suicide bomber

Others

• Mohammed Patel: Owner of the Islamic Medical Association ( IMA )
• Mohammed Hamid: Al-Koran bookstore owner, a.k.a. Osama bin London
• Cossor Ali (Anwar): Abdulla Ahmed Alis wife
• Dawood Khan: Abdulla Ahmed Alis oldest brother
• Dhiren Barot: Al Qaeda operative who tried to attack Londons Underground and carparks
• Mohammed al-Ghabra: London-based jihadist with connections to multiple plots
• Anwar al-Awlaqi: Leading English-speaking al Qaeda propagandist
• Abdul Rauf: Rashid Raufs father
• Mohammed Saeed: Rashid Raufs uncle
• Mohammad Sidique Khan: The 7/7 attacks ringleader
• Muktar Said Ibrahim: The 7/21 attacks ringleader

Pakistan-Based Terrorists

• Osama bin Laden: Founder and leader of al Qaeda
• Ayman al-Zawahiri: Osama bin Ladens deputy
• Masood Azhar: Founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat ul-Mujahidin ( HUM )
• Abu Ubaydah al-Masri: Senior al Qaeda bombmaker
• Khalid Sheik Mohammed: The 9/11 attacks mastermind
• Hamza Rabia: Al Qaedas operational commander
• Hafeez Saeed: Head of Lashkar-e-Taiba
• Marwan al-Suri: An al Qaeda bombmaker and trainer

British Officials

• Tony Blair: Prime Minister
• John Reid: Home Secretary
• Eliza Manningham-Buller: Security Service ( MI 5) Director General
• John Scarlett: Secret Intelligence Service ( MI 6) Chief
• Peter Clarke: Head of SO 15, Metropolitan Police
• Andy Hayman: Asst. Commissioner for Specialist Operations, Metropolitan Police

U.S. Officials

• George W. Bush: President
• Fran Townsend: Assistant to President Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
• Juan Zarate: Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser for Combating Terrorism
• Michael Chertoff: Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) Secretary
• Michael Hayden: CIA Director
• Stephen Kappes: CIA Deputy Director
• Larry Pfeiffer: Chief of Staff to CIA Director Hayden
• Jose Rodriguez: CIA National Clandestine Service Director
• Robert Mueller: FBI Director
• Scott Redd: National Counterterrorism Center ( NCTC ) Director
• Andy Liepman: NCTC s Director of Intelligence

Pakistani Officials

• Pervez Musharraf: President
• Ashfaq Parvez Kayani: ISI Director-General
• Azmat Hayat Khan: ISI Deputy Director-General

3 MPO : Sec. 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (Pakistan)

ACCOLC : Access Overload Control (UK)

ANPR : Automatic Number Plate Recognition (UK)

BAA : British Airports Authority

CBRN : Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear

COBR : Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (UK)

CPS : Crown Prosecution Service (UK)

CTC: CIA s Counterterrorism Center (U.S.)

DHS : Department of Homeland Security (U.S.)

FATA : Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Pakistan)

GCHQ : Government Communications Headquarters (UK)

HMP : Her Majestys Prison

HMTD : Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine

HUA : Harakat ul-Ansar

HUM : Harakat ul-Mujahidin

HUMINT : Human Intelligence

ISI : The Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (Pakistan)

IMA : Islamic Medical Association

IOC : International Olympic Committee

JEM : Jaish-e-Mohammed

JTAC : The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (UK)

KSM: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

LeT: Lashkar-e-Taiba

Met: The Metropolitan Police (UK)

MI 5: The Security Service (UK)

MI 6: The Secret Intelligence Service (UK)

NCTC : National Counterterrorism Center (U.S.)

NSA : National Security Agency (U.S.)

ODNI : Office of the Director of National Intelligence (U.S.)

PDB : Presidents Daily Brief

SIGINT : Signals Intelligence

SO 15: Counter-Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police (UK)

SVTC : Secure Video TeleConference

TATP : Triacetone Triperoxide

TPIM : Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (UK)

TSA : The Transportation Security Administration (U.S.)

TSOC : The Transportation Security Operations Center (U.S.)

TVP : Thames Valley Police (UK)

UAV : Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Thank you for reading this book. A few housekeeping notes: writing about a global terrorist conspiracy and the desperate race to stop it means a fair amount of bureaucratic language has wormed its way into the text. That said, in order to make the narrative more accessible to a general reader, Ive tried to eliminate as many acronyms and unfamiliar terms from these pages as possible.