Jawbreaker
The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo
Available in Hardcover from Crown
September, 2005
ISBN 0-307-23740-0
Buy the book.

In Jawbreaker, Gary Berntsen, until recently one of the CIA’s most decorated officers, comes out from undercover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

With his unique mix of clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, Berntsen represents the new face of counterterrorism. Recognized within the agency for his aggressiveness, Berntsen, when dispatched to Afghanistan, made annihilating the enemy his job description.

As the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, Berntsen not only led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, he also raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for bin Laden.

In this first-person account of that incredible pursuit, which actually began years earlier in an East Africa bombing investigation, Berntsen describes being ferried by rickety helicopter over the towering peaks of Afghanistan, sitting by General Tommy Franks’s side as heated negotiations were conducted with Northern Alliance generals, bargaining relentlessly with treacherous Afghan warlords and Taliban traitors, plotting to save hostages about to be used as pawns, calling in B-52 strikes on dug-in enemy units, and deploying a dizzying array of Special Forces teams in the pursuit of the world’s most wanted terrorist. Most crucially, Berntsen tells of cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains—and what happened when Berntsen begged Washington to block the al-Qaeda leader’s last avenue of escape.

As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom’s enemies.

Reviews

"Jawbreaker is a terrific read!" - Tom Forman, CNN The Situation Room

“The hunt for Osama bin Laden is the story of courageous CIA officers, like Gary Berntsen, repeatedly finding him and U.S. political and military leaders refusing to kill him. Berntsen’s excellent book Jawbreaker -- which CIA leaders tried to suppress to protect America's bipartisan political elite and its military sycophants -- precisely describes the eleventh such opportunity since 1998, and again shows that uniformed bureaucrats masquerading as U.S. generals let him escape from Tora Bora rather than risk the lives of U.S. soldiers. Read this heartbreaking book, keep it safe, and reread it after al-Qaeda detonates a nuclear device in America. You will then know who signed the death warrant for tens of thousands of your countrymen.” —Michael Scheuer, bestselling author of Imperial Hubris and Through Our Enemies’ Eyes

“Jawbreaker is a real page turner . . . Berntsen was the CIA’s ‘go to guy’ when it came to leading in Afghanistan, owing to his exceptional operational and leadership skills in situations involving the threat of immediate danger. Berntsen is brave and bold and a true American hero.” —Cofer Black, former Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorism Center

“The Afghan campaign of 2001 was the CIA’s finest hour. Jawbreaker is the story of that victory and of the handful of clandestine service officers who organized one of the swiftest, most economical and most decisive military operations in history. Jawbreaker is both a thrilling read and a timely reminder of why America needs a clandestine service, and what we owe to those who serve in it.” —James Dobbins, Director of International Security and Defense Policy, Rand Corporation; Former U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan

"Particularly gripping.... Rising on the bestseller list at an inopportune moment for this White House. Jawbreaker is the self-told story of a veteran clandestine officer, Gary Berntsen, who was the pivotal CIA field commander in the hunt for Bin Laden. Mr. Berntsen is a fervent Bush loyalist, but his honest account doesn't do the president any favors. 'We needed U.S. soldiers on the ground!' he writes, to 'block a possible Al Qaeda escape into Pakistan!' But hisrequest to CENTCOM for 800 Army Rangers went unheeded." - Frank Rich, New York Times

"The book the CIA didn't want you to read, JAWBREAKER by Gary Berntsen, is out and it kills. I've sent Gary a nasty note because his story kept me up till 4 am today. Just couldn't put it down. Gary spent most of this year battling CIA censors, who were refusing to release the book. They insisted on excising parts of the story that have already appeared in other books about CIA operations in Afghanistan written by Steve Coll and another CIA veteran, Gary Schroen.

Gary Berntsen was the second CIA officer sent to Afghanistan and put in charge of directing the destruction of Al Qaeda and the hunt for Bin Laden. He arrived in the fall of 2001, replacing veteran officer Gary Schroen, who had led the first CIA element into Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. Gary 2, i.e., Berntsen, built on Schroen's foundation and played a critical role in directing the offensive that broke the back of the Taliban and scattered Al Qaeda.

The key news from Gary's book is that we had Bin Laden in our sights but Tommy Franks and JSOC Commander, Dell Dailey, dilly dallied and did not deploy U.S. troops requested by Berntsen to the battle at Tora Bora. We could of had him; we should of had him; but we let Bin Laden get away.

Gary's book is important in another regard. It shows what the CIA is capable of doing and why we need this capability in addition to the talents offered by U.S. military special operations forces. When the CIA puts its mind to it, it can move fast, innovate on the fly, and do some mind boggling things.

But JAWBREAKER also uncovers why the CIA is at times a faltering, incompetent, risk averse bureaucracy. Although the title of the book is the codeword for the Afghan operation in 2001, it may also be a clever reference about what may happen to you when you read how obtuse some CIA managers and other Government bureaucrats can be in the midst of a crisis. Your jaw may drop open and hit the floor. Hence, "jawbreaker".

Consider for example what happened to Gary, who was sent into Afghanistan in 2000 with orders to capture a top Al Qaeda commander. His mission was sand bagged by another CIA Chief of Station who served in one of the neighboring "Stans". This prima donna, a guy named "Lawrence", was sending reports back to Washington lying about what Gary was and was not doing. Lawrence had his nose out of joint because he felt his turf was being trampled on. The petty jealousy of this bonehead (who in a previous overseas assignment had lost of his intelligence assets) is bad enough. Making matters worse, CIA Director Tenet and the Director of Operations, Jim Pavitt, helped pull the plug on the operation. This wasn't a case of President Clinton getting cold feet, rather the CIA leadership pulled the plug on an operation that had a chance of success. And, Al Qaeda was left virtually unmolested until they struck the United States one year later.

If that doesn't get your blood boiling maybe you will get riled when you learn that in the immediate aftermath of 9-11 Gary, who was serving in South America, was warned by the Director of Operations for Latin America to NOT, I repeat NOT, volunteer to go to Afghanistan even though Berntsen had led the last American team to go into Afghanistan. Hell, the World Trade Center was still smoldering and this CIA bureaucrat was more concerned about keeping his positions filled than using all available resources to go after Osama Bin Laden.

The list of CIA bureaucratic stupidities detailed in Gary's tale is long and agonizing. But, the book also shows you what the CIA can do if it places mission over covering its own ass. In that regard it is important to acknowledge the harmful role that politicians have played in asking the CIA to carry out a mission and then feigning amnesia when the risk goes wrong.

Some folks of a liberal political persuasion may find Gary's high charged, testosterone laden. type A personality a bit overwhelming. Be forewarned and enoy the ride. Gary is a refreshingly authentic soul who is more concerned with doing what he thinks is right rather than checking to find out what is politically palatable. Gary understood that finding and killing Bin Laden was a priority. Unfortunately, our current civilian and military leaders seem to have forgotten the promise to get him, dead or alive." - Larry Johnson, TPM Cafe