82

YEMEN

When Saleet Zafar got rolling, Wyatt could see why he was such a powerful imam. The man could tell a story. He was all hand gestures and facial expressions and voice inflections. Smiling one moment, scowling the next. Leaning in to make sure Wyatt followed everything he was saying. He could have been a good lawyer, Wyatt thought.

Saleet was cerebral, and he peppered his story with words and descriptions that displayed a keen intellect. It was his intellectual curiosity, he said, that had first drawn him to Cameron Holloman. Cameron was not a Muslim, but he was sympathetic to the cause and distraught at the devastation Saudi Arabia and the United States were leveling against civilians in Yemen. Indiscriminate aerial strikes, Saleet called them. He began corresponding with Cameron and talked with him via Skype.

“My goal was to convert him to Islam,” Saleet said. “It was a goal I shared with Gazala.”

He and Cameron met during the reporter’s trip to Yemen. Cameron wanted to meet with some Houthi leaders to better understand their side of things.

“So I arranged that meeting,” Saleet continued. “Cameron asked questions for hours and took notes. I think he uploaded that information to the cloud, where he stored his research. He may also have sent text messages and e-mails, which I now believe were being monitored by your government. Eight days after we left the compound where he met with the Houthi leaders, a drone strike killed all three of them, as well as two women and one six-year-old child.”

He paused for a moment and weighed his words. “After that strike, Cameron was arrested by the Houthis on suspicion that he worked with the CIA. A few weeks later I was contacted by an intermediary working on behalf of the United States to see if I could negotiate Cameron’s release.”

This was news to Wyatt, though he was now to the point where virtually nothing surprised him. “Who approached you?” he asked.

“Another imam who had connections with the U.S. ambassador in Saudi Arabia,” Saleet said. He chewed his qat. “Do you know the story of Raymond Davis?”

Wyatt racked his memory. “Never heard of him.”

Saleet shook his head. “I would think that you, of all Americans, should be aware of the Raymond Davis story.”

Once again Saleet launched into his mesmerizing storytelling mode. Raymond Davis had been a CIA operative in Lahore, Pakistan, during the administration of President Obama. One day, after he withdrew cash from an ATM, a motorbike pulled up beside him at a stoplight. One of the men on the bike pointed a gun at Davis. They were just common street thieves, but they had chosen the wrong victim. Davis pulled out a Glock and killed them both.

The Pakistani police arrested Davis and accused him of being a CIA operative, though Mr. Obama would never admit it, saying only that he worked for the American State Department. Eventually a solution was reached. Davis was transported from his prison cell to a Sharia court in a remote area of Pakistan, where he faced the families of the victims. Under the Sharia custom of diyat, or “blood money,” the families forgave Davis after the CIA paid 200 million rupees, or approximately $2.3 million. In this secret court proceeding, family members approached Davis, some of them sobbing, and announced that they forgave him. Davis was released and returned to the United States.

“I tried to negotiate a similar resolution for Cameron Holloman,” Saleet said. “I was authorized to offer diyat of up to $10 million. But the relatives of the victims were not willing to have their forgiveness purchased. And so your country sent in a strike force to free my friend. Even after the deaths of the American soldiers, I pleaded with the Houthi leaders to release Cameron. But they would not listen and threatened me as well. I never saw Cameron alive again.”

It was this part, Wyatt could tell, that bothered Saleet most of all. Not just the fact that Cameron had died but that he had died as an infidel and would thus, according to Muslim theology, spend eternity suffering in hell. From the look on his face, Saleet held himself personally responsible.

“How did the Houthis know the American Special Forces were coming?” Wyatt asked. “Did you know?”

Saleet gave Wyatt a sad smile. “If you’re asking whether I told the Houthi leaders that the Americans were on the way, the answer is no. I myself did not know. And I wanted to see Cameron released more than anyone.”

“Then how did they find out?”

Saleet let the question hang in the air for a moment. He was undoubtedly smart enough to understand that this was the real issue in the case. Wyatt could never win unless he could show that the administration knew the raid was doomed from the start.

Studying the imam’s expression, Wyatt could sense that he was close to the truth. His heart started beating faster, and he had to will himself to stay calm. This man knew! Wyatt could make his case right here, with witnesses from Yemen, and the state secrets defense could not stop him. “You know, don’t you?” he persisted.

“Yes. I know. And I will take you to the person who can provide the evidence you need.”

Saleet chewed his qat a little before he continued. “You asked in your letter to talk to the relatives of victims who were killed in the drone strike that led to the sheep sacrifice by Admiral Towers. Do you remember that?”

“Of course.”

“You will get your wish. But first, there is a condition.”

There were always conditions. And now, so tantalizingly close to the truth, Wyatt was ready to agree to anything. “Which is?”

“I have now given you a preview of my story. A—what do you call it?”

“A proffer.”

“Indeed, I have given you enough so that you can decide. I need to know that in exchange for meeting this man who will make your case, you will act as my attorney upon your return. I need to know that you will do everything within your power to remove my name from the president’s list.”

Wyatt looked Saleet in the eye, reached out his hand, and shook on the matter.

“What is your retainer?” Saleet asked.

“How about a new set of bodyguards to escort me back to the Dubai airport when we’re finished?”

“I’ll tell the men to be more gentle,” Saleet promised. “They are only doing this because I told them that together we might be able to destroy President Hamilton. To be honest, Mr. Jackson, they have no love for Americans.”

“I’ve noticed,” said Wyatt.