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The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA
Doubleday
July 2011
On Sale: July 19, 2011
272 pages
ISBN: 0385534183
EAN: 9780385534185
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
A stunning narrative account of the mysterious Jordanian who penetrated both the inner circle of al-Qaeda and the highest reaches of the CIA, with a devastating impact on the war on terror. In December 2009, a group of the CIAβs top terrorist hunters gathered at a secret base in Khost, Afghanistan, to greet a rising superspy: Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian double-agent who infiltrated the upper ranks of al-Qaeda. For months, he had sent shocking revelations from inside the terrorist network and now promised to help the CIA assassinate Osama bin Ladenβs top deputy. Instead, as he stepped from his car, he detonated a thirty-pound bomb strapped to his chest, instantly killing seven CIA operatives, the agencyβs worst loss of life in decades. In The Triple Agent, Pulitzer Prizeβwinning reporter Joby Warrick takes us deep inside the CIAβs secret war against al-Qaeda, a war that pits robotic planes and laser-guided missiles against a cunning enemy intent on unleashing carnage in American cities. Flitting precariously between the two sides was Balawi, a young man with extraordinary gifts who managed to win the confidence of hardened terrorists as well as veteran spymasters. With his breathtaking accounts from inside al-Qaedaβs lair, Balawi appeared poised to become Americaβs greatest double-agent in half a centuryβbut he was not at all what he seemed. Combining the powerful momentum of Black Hawk Down with the institutional insight of Jane Mayerβs The Dark Side, Warrick takes the readers on a harrowing journey from the slums of Amman to the inner chambers of the White House in an untold true story of miscalculation, deception, and revenge.
 Media BuzzCharlie Rose - August 4, 2011
Diane Rehm Show - NPR - July 29, 2011
Morning Edition - July 26, 2011
Fresh Air - NPR - July 19, 2011
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