Chapter 21: A New Campaign Against an Old Enemy

1 It was July … in the shadows. A source familiar with the conference; a Team 6 source.

2 This became clear … potential gains. A Joint Staff officer; Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda, by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker (New York: Times Books, 2011), pp. 31–32.

3 In 2003 … duly impressed. A source familiar with the mission into Iran; a special mission unit officer; two JSOC staff officers.

4 Striding out … “protected.” A TF 17 officer; a JSOC staff officer.

5 The Quds Force was divided … only Coalition forces. A TF 17 officer.… rather than the foreign ministry … “The Shadow Commander,” by Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, September 24, 2013, accessed at: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all; The Endgame, p. 313.

6 In early 2005 … through December. “How Iran Used Explosively Formed Projectiles to Influence Events in Iraq,” in Musings on Iraq blog, July 11, 2011, accessed at: http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-iran-used-explosively-formed.html.

7 By early … in Iraq. Task Force Black, pp. 206–7.

8 … in denial … The Twilight War, pp. 522–25.

9 In summer … death squads. Known and Unknown, p. 697.

10 George Casey … by Iran. My Share of the Task, p. 252.

11 JSOC began … October 2006. My Share of the Task, p. 252.

12 The new missions … such missions. A TF 17 officer.

13 In the first … days later. The Twilight War, p. 527; Task Force Black, pp. 207, 209; The Endgame, pp. 322–24;… Objective Clarke … A TF 17 officer.

14 In the second … “Irbil five.” My Share of the Task, p. 253; Task Force Black, pp. 205–6, 208; The Endgame, pp. 313, 325.

15 The Quds Force struck … their escape. My Share of the Task, p. 253; The Endgame, p. 312.

16 But McChrystal … those militias. A senior special mission unit officer; a TF 17 officer; My Share of the Task, pp. 252–53.… about 2,000 … Task Force Black, p. 243.

17 Those “assets” … on the JSOC staff. A senior Special Forces officer; a retired Special Forces officer; a retired special operations officer; a TF 17 officer; My Share of the Task, p. 256.

18 The new … Operation Canine. A TF 17 officer.

19 In addition to … of the Righteous. Task Force Black, pp. 222–26; My Share of the Task, pp. 256–57; The Endgame, pp. 351–53; a TF 17 officer.

20 Daqduq’s role … to train others. A TF 17 officer.

21 The task force followed … for a period. A TF 17 officer; Intelligence Wars: Lessons from Baghdad, by Steven K. O’Hern (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus, 2008), p. 104; The Twilight War, p. 521; “Captured Iranian Qods Force Officer a Regional Commander in Iraq,” by Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal, October 3, 2007, accessed at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/10/captured_iranian_qod.php; “US Released Senior Iranian Qods Force Commander,” by Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal, July 27, 2009, accessed at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/07/us_released_senior_iranian_qods_force_commander.php; The Endgame, p. 439.

22 The captures … number of assault forces. A TF 17 officer.

23 Almost immediately … before striking. A TF 17 officer; My Share of the Task, pp. 267–69; The Endgame, pp. 440–43.

24 But despite … to Petraeus. A TF 17 officer; a senior Special Forces officer; My Share of the Task, p. 269.

25 … “in competition over the same resources” … My Share of the Task, p. 253.

26 By 2008 … was brief. A TF 17 officer.… each flight from Tehran … Of course, Quds Force operatives weren’t restricted to direct commercial flights from Iran to Iraq. They could also fly to a third location like Jordan or Qatar and then travel to Iraq from there on false passports. “The Quds Force is damn good at putting in people with Jordanian passports or Emirati passports,” said a Washington source familiar with special operations in Iraq.

27 As JSOC sought … fingers of one hand. A senior special mission unit officer.

28 There was a certain … treasury. “U.S. Frees Suspect in Killing of 5 G.I.’s,” by Allisa J. Rubin and Michael R. Gordon, The New York Times, June 8, 2009, accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/world/middleeast/09release.html; Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God, by Matthew Levitt (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2013), p. 306; Task Force Black, p. 275.

29 … Iraqi government released the Hezbollah operative … “Against U.S. Wishes, Iraq Releases Man Accused of Killing American Soldiers,” by Michael R. Gordon, The New York Times, November 16, 2012, accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/middleeast/iraq-said-to-release-hezbollah-operative.html.

30 (Confusingly … G Squadron.) Delta sources.

31 … A year later … McChrystal’s change of command ceremony was on June 13, 2008.

32 (In 2002 … about 2,300.) A field grade JSOC staff officer.

33 … to declare to author Bob Woodward … The War Within, by Bob Woodward (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008), p. 380.