Page numbers of photographs appear in italics.
abaya (robe), 213
ABC World News:
Johnson and Kennedy profile, 192–94
Johnson interview, 191–92
Abu Abbas Islamic Group, 212
Ackerman, Gary, 231–32
Adams, Henry, 55
Advisory Committee on Refugees, 269
Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, 303
solatia (condolence payments), 85
US-affiliated workers in, 303, 305–6
al-‘Alam television, 212
alassas (Iraqi militiamen), 4–5, 173, 247
Albright, Madeleine, 27
Algerian Harkis, 268
Al-Qaeda, 234, 244, 259, 272, 288
American Amnesia (blog), 153
American International Group (AIG), 150–51, 226
Amina (US-affiliated Iraqi), 106–7, 160, 184
claims asylum in the US, 201–2
employed by the List Project, 205, 224, 225
threats against, 202
USAID criticizes for defecting, 202–3
Amman, Jordan, 94, 95, 149–50, 171, 226, 228, 230, 259, 280, 293
Amrika al-yawm (America Today), 136
Anbar Province, 79, 81, 87, 109
the Sahwa or “Awakening” in, 234
USAID in, 93
Ansar al-Sunnah Army, 288–90
Arabic:
arrests of Iraqis and naming conventions, 87
dictionary, 87
Johnson’s fluency, 18–19, 21, 156, 169, 298
naming conventions, 87
transliteration of, 87–88
Arango, Tim, 278
Army of the Men of the Naqshbandiya Order, 294
Asiacell, 213
Asia Times, 85
Al-Askari Shrine, 107–8, 162, 178
Assassins’ Gate, The: America in Iraq (Packer), 187
Australia, 252
militants, 294
Saddam Hussein’s executions (1979), 23
Baghdad. See also Green Zone
Abu Dasheer neighborhood, 142
Adhamiya neighborhood, 23
checkpoints, 32, 107, 161, 201
Dora neighborhood, 135, 136, 137, 142
Karkh Cemetery, 134
lawlessness in, 29, 30, 31, 137, 138, 170
Mansour district, 28
media leaves, 247
medical care in, 30–31
neighborhoods, 64
Al-Rasheed Hotel, 20, 257, 259
Red Zone, 3
Republican Palace, 45
restaurants, 135
sectarian violence in, 108, 109
Suleikh neighborhood, 133
Al-Technologia University, 27
US bombing of (March 2003), 28–29, 136
Yaghdan’s home in (Street Number 2), 4, 28
BaghdadDonut.xls file, 56
Baghdad International Airport, 42
Basrah, Iraq, 26, 45, 46, 57, 306
British-affiliated Iraqis assassinated in, 252, 302
Hassaniyah neighborhood, 207
Jaza’ir neighborhood, 207
Rasheed Hotel in, 211
US and Western companies compound, 213
Wael abducted in, 211–12
Basrah Engineering College, 209–10, 212
BATS (Biometrics Automated Toolset System), 87
Bechtel Corporation, 24, 29–30, 125, 244
electrical generation project, 58
Beck, Glenn, 256
“Betrayed: The Iraqis Who Trusted America the Most” (Packer), 190, 192
Blackstone’s formulation, 298, 299
Fallujah burning of mercenaries, 74, 298
Blagojevich, Rod, 17
Blair, Tony, 252
Blinderman, Eric, 204
Blumenauer, Earl, 237–38
Boehner, John, 155
Boxer, Barbara, 177–78
Breitman, Richard, 270
Bremer, Paul, 57, 121, 148, 227
speech in Chicago, 122–23
Brighton, Massachusetts, 166, 171, 174, 182, 197
Brown, Michael, 178
Brownback, Sam, 238
Brzezinski, Zbigniew, 249
appointees, 177, 178, 182, 185
denial of civil war in Iraq, 109
Gregory interview with, 236
Iraqi refugees and, 168, 229, 235, 237, 250, 251, 300
Iraq Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Task Force created, 185–86, 230
NSC and treatment of refugee organizations, 253–54
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act blocked, 244
status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), 246
“the surge” and, 234, 235, 246
ternary options for Iraq War, 234–35
Woodward interview, 243
Camp Taji (US military base north of Baghdad) and Pod 23, 214–16, 220
Casey, Gen. George, 67–68
CBS Evening News, 109
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 20, 183, 265, 268
Voice of Free Iraq radio and, 25
Chambesy, Switzerland, 300
Cheney, Dick, 156
Chertoff, Michael, 229
Chiarelli, Gen. Peter, 85
Chicago Council on Global Affairs (formerly Chicago Council on Foreign Relations), 122–23
Choi, Dana, 224–25
Clinton, Hillary, 238
clandestine viewing by Iraqis, 136
Coalition Provisional Authority, 57, 121, 171–72. See also Bremer, Paul
Colbert, Stephen, 121
College of DuPage, 18
Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad, 75–76, 146
Couric, Katie, 109
Creative Associates International, 32–33
CTOs (cognizant technical officers), 78
Dallegher, Maj. Gen. John, 253
Damascus, Syria, 189
US Embassy in, 226
Defense Base Act, 150
Denmark, 252
Dershowitz, Alan, 299
Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, 87
DeVry University, Keller School of Management, 306
Dewey, Arthur, 177
Dina (wife of Hayder), 135, 136, 137, 149, 230
in Amman, Jordan, 149, 226, 227
child born, 141
life in America, 306–8
dissociative fugue state, 96–97, 118–19, 174, 175
Johnson’s fugue state and injuries in, 95–102, 242
Johnson’s ring lost/found in, 96
DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), 118
Dubai, UAE, 162
Dumford, Dick, 58
Durbin, Dick, 155
Egypt:
Halliburton-KBR in, 221
Iraqi refugees in, 220–21, 230
Islamist “pulp” writings, 20
Johnson on Fulbright scholarship in, 20
mukhabarat (secret police), 189
Zaid tortured in, 189
Eighty-Second Airborne, 144–45, 149, 228, 281
Eikenberry, Karl, 303
electricity and Iraq, 94
American failure to restore power, 32, 141
American invasion and loss of, 29
Bechtel assessments of, 125
belief that Americans would restore, 30
entrepreneurs and fatalities, 58
MOAG and, 58–61
Saddam Hussein’s policy, 57
unrest and lack of, 57–61
USAID and Bechtel contract for, 58
Eliot, T. S., 265
Eva (US-affiliated Iraqi), 219, 220
Faisal, King, 134
assassination of Sheikh Kamal in, 129
battle and siege of, 73–74
burning of Blackwater mercenaries, 74, 298
Camp Fallujah, 77, 80, 87, 94, 113
citizens of, 83
Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) in, 81, 83–86, 89, 90, 187
contractors and subcontractors in, 78
convoy runs, 81–83
getting PUC’d up (person under control) in, 86–87
“ink-spot” approach to, 75
Iraqis return to, 235
irrigation canal project in, 92
Johnson in, as “regional coordinator for reconstruction,” USAID, 75, 76, 77–80, 81, 84–86, 89–94, 187
Johnson’s quarters in, 77, 87, 93
mayor’s office furniture, 78, 90
poetry festival in, 85–86
police force, 83
“restive city of,” 78
rubble removal in, 80, 86, 89–90, 92–93
slaughterhouse in, 91
solatia (condolence payments), 84–85
tensions in, 84
veterinary clinic and supplies, 78, 90–92
wasted US money and fraud in, 89–92
“Fallujah Tragedy, The,” 85–86
Farahidi Institute, 210
FedEx: Iraqis employed by, 170, 173, 174
First Marine Expeditionary Force, 93
Folsom, John, 304
Franklin, Benjamin, 298
General Accounting Office (GAO), 85
Genesis 11:5–7, 297–98
Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 150
non-refoulement principle, 150
Gonzales, Alberto, 156
Green Zone (Baghdad, Iraq):
body armor hierarchy in, 47–48
Bunker Bar, 55
car bombs detonated in, 259
convention center, 56
electricity in, 57
Hammurabi Office Building, 160, 258
Iraqis employed in, 62–66
Johnson leaves, 75–76
Jordanians in, 66
Nepalese employed in, 3, 47, 256
NOB (New Office Building), 45
private security firms and, 55–56
USAID compound, 3, 45, 76, 160
US housing in, 3
Voice of God, 48
“White house,” 3
Zone Washington, 43
Gregory, David, 236
Groningen, Netherlands, 15
Grotberg, John, 9–10
Guam option, 253, 254, 270–74, 275, 276, 280
Shi’a uprising following, 25–26
Habib, Philip, 263–64
Haifa (wife of Yaghdan), 3, 27, 32, 33, 160, 161, 173, 226, 241
threats and, 159
in the UAE, 161–62
US bombing of Baghdad and, 28–29
as naturalized US citizen, 306
Halliburton-KBR, 47, 62, 213, 244, 255
Hammurabi, 156
Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, The, 87
Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, 250
Hastert, Dennis, 11, 154–58, 167, 190, 237
Iraqi refugee plight and, 169
Hastings Amendment (National Defense Authorization Act of 2010), 274, 275, 276, 278
Al-Hayat newspaper, 20
Hayder “Homeboy” (US-affiliated Iraqi), 133–51, 303
American invasion and, 136–37, 138
amputation and disabilities, 147, 227–28
application for refugee status, 149–50, 226–28, 230
childhood in the UK, 133
courtship and marriage, 135
danger and risks faced by, 142–43
Dora as home, 136, 137, 142–43
Eighty-Second Airborne and, 144–45, 149, 228, 281
epilogue written by, 307–8
family’s return to Iraq, 134
father of, 133–34, 135, 147, 148
as “Homeboy,” 140
Iran–Iraq War and, 134
Johnson and, 227–28
LA Times article on, 149
lawsuit against AIG and compensation, 151
life in America, 306–8
love of Americans, 141
as refugee in Jordan, 150
Titan Corporation and, 148–50
as translator for US military, 139–40
wife, Dina, 135, 136, 137, 141, 143, 147, 149, 226, 230
wounding of, 144–46
Hellermann, Brian, 144–45
Herrington, Stuart, 267
Hezbollah, 155
hijab (women’s headscarf), 3, 207, 213
Hoekstra, Peter, 157
Holbrooke, Richard, 269–70
Holland and Knight, LLP, 200, 202, 204, 205, 225, 255, 302
“Hot in Herre” (Nelly), 139
Hussein, Saddam, 20–21, 62, 73, 74, 133, 207, 215, 233
Ba’ath Party executions (1979), 23
control of media, 136
electricity policy, 57
fall of, 29
infrastructure reconstruction, US firms, 24
invasion of Kuwait (1990), 24–25
Iran–Iraq War and, 23–24
Mujahedeen-e Khalq and, 77
9/11 terrorist attacks and, 136
Republican Guard, 26
Shi’a uprising crushed (1991), 26
trial of, 204
Western world’s support of, 24
Iceland, 20–21
Viking saga, 71–72
IEDs (improvised explosive devices), 3, 43, 74, 82
amounts paid to children and, 79
detainees and, 87
informant about, 217
Zina’s Humvee and, 218
Immigration and Nationality Act, 252
Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, 267
insurgency, 31, 47, 55, 63, 64, 75, 76
American attitudes toward, 68, 79
economy of, 79–80
electricity problems and, 61
payments by, 79
al-Zarqawi as leader, 73
International Organization for Migration, 199
International Republican Institute, 244
Iran:
Iraqi refugees in, 26
revolutionary government, 24
Iran–Iraq War, 23–24, 74, 133, 157
Kuwait’s bankrolling of, 24
Iraq:
American attitudes toward Iraqis, 38–40, 43, 46–47, 62–66, 79, 92, 109, 160
American companies in, 24, 29–30, 32–33, 47, 61, 62, 87, 125, 148–49, 150, 213, 214, 244–45, 290
American names for roads, 82
American dollars wasted in, 58–61, 79, 89–92, 233
Arab naming conventions and, 87
civil war, 108–9, 155, 157, 168, 245
Coalition Provisional Authority, 57, 121
culture of, 3, 38–39, 92, 135, 140–41, 207, 209
democracy in, 75
detainees (PUCs), 86–87
electricity lacking in, 29, 30, 32, 57–61, 94, 139, 141, 227
ethnic cleansing in, 108, 109, 178
extrajudicial court systems, 157, 245
Gulf War and, 25
humanitarian crisis (1990s), 27
infrastructure breakdown, Iran–Iraq War and, 24
infrastructure breakdown, US war and, 32
insurgency in, 31, 47, 55, 61, 62, 63, 64, 68, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 83–84, 85, 218–19, 234
invasion of Kuwait (1990), 24–25
Islamic extremism in, 209–10, 212 (see also specific groups)
Johnson’s return (2009), 254–59
kidnappings in, 31, 79, 209, 212, 225, 257, 293
kidnap victim recovery as business in, 212
loss of civil society, 52
al-Maliki as prime minister, 155
murder of gays in, 237
no-fly zones established, 26
oil production, 26–27
police force, 172
RSO in, 47
sanctions placed on, 26–27
sandstorms, 76
searches for relatives lost or detained, 87
Shi’a-dominated government, 247
Shi’a uprising following Gulf War, 25–26
Shi’a uprising late 1970s, 23
Shi’ites in, 23
Sunnis in, 23
TAPS program, 172
telephone service, 29
temperatures, summer, 57
topography, 42
Transitional National Assembly (TNA), 56
unemployment in, 79
unrest and American failure to restore electrical power, 57–61
USAID-ARDI program, 52
US-installed leadership, 75, 155, 233
US reconstruction of, 155
US reconstruction of, cost, 49, 52, 59
US reconstruction of, failures, 57–61, 66, 75, 233
US trained security forces, 75, 233
water and, 24, 25, 27, 30, 32, 57, 58, 66, 207
Iraq Daily Update (IDU), 51–53, 67, 76, 78, 89, 156, 185, 258
recycled stories in, 51, 52–53
USGspeak and, 51–53
Iraqi Christians, 67, 171–72, 191, 219, 237, 261, 280
Iraqi refugees. See also List Project
backlog of cases, 279
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and, 179–81
Clinton’s treatment of, 253
Congressional support for, 237–38, 271
delays in visa processing, 226, 229, 230, 235–37, 260, 269–70, 281
“enhanced” screening measures for, 236–37, 278, 283–96
Guam option and, 253, 254, 270–74, 275, 276, 280
historic parallels, 265–70
in Jordan, 108, 109, 150, 172, 227, 230, 259
Kentucky arrests of terrorists and, 277, 278
as largest crisis in sixty years, 168, 192
media coverage and accelerated visas, 191
pleas to Johnson, 169–75
Refugee Admissions Program, 217, 277, 278
Refugee Bureau and, 179–81, 190, 198–200, 230, 235–36, 275
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, 238, 244
Sahwa cases, 247
Special Immigrant Visa and, 238, 242, 244, 245, 253, 271, 274, 278, 281, 302
in Sweden, 189
in Syria, 108, 109, 162, 168, 189, 240, 259
task force promise to admit (2007), 186
US admissions procedures, 168, 199, 232
US Refugee Admissions Program and, 177, 200, 245
visas granted in 2007, 186, 229–30, 249
visas granted in 2008, 245
visas granted in 2010, 278
visas granted in 2011, 282
VOLAGs and, 238–39
Iraqis, British-affiliated, 252
Iraqis, US-affiliated. See also specific people
American attitudes toward, 38–40, 43, 46–47, 79
badges of, 3, 4, 63, 64, 65, 106, 159, 170, 172, 173, 179, 201, 257, 259, 261
Blumenauer legislation to help, 237
body armor not issued to, 48
Bush administration and, 229
claiming asylum during US visits, 201–2
Congressional hearings on, 272–74
distrust of, 62–66
early optimism about US occupation, 61–62
embassy list of found by extremists, 174
Hastings amendment, 274, 275, 278
indignities borne by, 62–66
interpreters, 150, 171, 214–19, 246, 247, 252, 261, 271, 299–300 (see also Hayder “Homeboy”)
ISI assassination plan for, 272
jobs in the Green Zone, 55
Johnson’s list of, 174, 175, 179–81, 190
Jordanians hired to replace, 66
journalists’ interest in, 190–91
Kennedy support for, 192–94, 238
lack of plan for, post-withdrawal, 252, 254
as LES (Locally Engaged Staff), 65
murder of, 106, 170, 201, 292–93
Obama and, 249, 253, 258, 260, 265
Packer writing about, 187, 190
pleas emailed to Johnson, 162, 166, 170–73, 185, 190, 198–99, 227–28, 283–96, 305
seen as traitors by countrymen, 62, 85–86, 142–43, 147, 148, 174, 217, 244
slain and injured, partial list, 299–300
threats and violence against, 3, 5, 63, 64, 65, 66, 106–7, 142–43, 159, 170, 172, 173, 283–96, 302 (see also Omar)
uninformed of rights, 150
USAID employees, 42–43, 47, 61–66, 79, 168, 169, 172, 184
US moral obligation to, 231–32, 237, 249, 261
US refusal to protect, 65, 106, 160–61
visas designated exclusively for, 238
visas granted to, 271
Iraqi Special Forces, 107
“Iraqi Volunteers, Iraqi Refugees: What is America’s Obligation?” (House Subcommittee hearing), 231–32
Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO), 49–50
Iraq Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Task Force, 185–86, 230
Iraq War, 20
allies’ protection of affiliated Iraqis, 252
ambushes and attacks, 82 (see also IEDs; VBIED)
Americans enter Baghdad, 136–37
American troops, behavior of, 140–41
BATS system, 87
battle of Fallujah, 73–74
bombing of Baghdad, 28–29, 137
bombing of Basrah, 209
British forces, 252
Bush given ternary options for, 234–35
canine members of the armed forces, help for, 304
casualty rate, US forces, 108
catchy phrases used in, 233
children fighting in, 85–86
civilian flights (space-A), 93, 94
civilian-military gap perceived in, 75–76
“Coalition of the Willing,” 20
declassified Info Memo, 105
Democrats’ six-point plan, 108–9
embedded journalists, 254–55
funding drop (2008), 247
General Petraeus and, 234
“ink-spot” approach, 75
Iraqi dead, 234
judgment of history, 243
media coverage, 168–69
neoconservative support for, 21, 53, 109, 121, 234
night flights, 76–77
Obama announces end of, 281, 286
private security firms in, 38, 52, 55–56, 59, 61, 73, 254
requests for compensation, 216
the Sahwa (“Awakening”) and, 234, 246
status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), 246, 247, 254
strategies employed in, 75, 233
“the surge,” 234, 235, 246, 250
timetable for withdrawal, 251–52
tragedies and atrocities, 74
US allies and, 21
US shortage of Arabic speakers, 21
veterans, 181–82
withdrawal of US troops, 251, 273
withdrawal of US troops: Hastings amendment, 274, 275, 278
Islam, 23
Ramadan, 2–3
US reluctance to resettle Muslims, 235–36, 261
Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), 272
Islamist “pulp” writings, 20
It’s a Wonderful Life (film), 123–24
“I Will” (Radiohead), 42
Izzy (American soldier), 139, 141
Jaysh al-Sha’abi (Popular Army), 24
John (defense contractor), 87
Johnson, Carolyn (sister-in-law), 97, 98, 99
Johnson, Derek (brother), 7, 12, 13, 16, 97–98, 99, 100, 233, 285
ABC World News interview, 191–92
American Amnesia (blog), 153
apartment in New York City, 224, 245
Arabic fluency and studies, 18–19, 21, 156, 169, 298
arrival in Baghdad, 42–43
basketball aspirations, 16–17
in Brighton, 166, 171, 174, 182, 197
Caribbean vacation, 93–96
checklist following accident, 117, 125, 132
code name, 76
Congressional testimony (2010), 272–74
danger faced in Iraq, 81–83, 86, 94
dating, 174–75
dissociative fugue state and, 95–97, 118–19, 174–75, 181–82, 304
Egypt trip and interest in Arabic, 18
email from Zina, 223–24
failed wrist surgery, 125–27
in Fallujah, as “regional coordinator for reconstruction,” 75, 76, 77–80, 81, 84–86, 89–94, 125, 187
Fallujah convoy runs, 81–83
Fallujah flight, 76–77
Fallujah return, desire for, 114–15, 117, 120, 125–26
family history, 15–16
family of, taking in refugees, 239, 240
father and, 9–12, 14, 40–41, 97–103, 120, 158, 240, 241
feeling of failure, 129, 132, 154
flashbacks/nightmares, 113–14
Fulbright scholarship, Egypt, 20
grandmother, Henrietta, and, 16–18
Green Zone life, 56
as “grenade swatter,” 82
hate mail, 194–95
Hayder and, 227–28
home in West Chicago, 12–13, 14, 101–3, 111–31
IDU and, 51–53, 67, 76, 185, 258
injuries of 2005, treatment, and recovery, 1–2, 97–103, 111, 113–31, 175, 190, 242, 246, 304–5
insurgency fantasy of, 127–29
Iraqi workers, relationship with, 42–43, 48
Iraq War, decision to go to, 21
journalists’ interest in refugees and, 190–91
Kennedy and, 192–94
Kirkuk visit and MOAG, 59–60
law school and, 37, 132, 153–54, 158, 171, 174, 182, 204, 205
list created by, 174, 175, 179
as List Project director, 224, 228–29, 235, 245, 260–62
M240G machine gun practice, 80–81
mother and, 17, 18, 40–41, 93, 95, 116, 124, 126, 154
motivations of, 68–69, 76, 89, 93, 166, 167, 171, 305
Negroponte meeting with, 235
New York Times interview, 169
as New York Times Middle East bureau intern, 20, 21
NSA recruitment, 20
Nugent and, 200–201, 203–5, 255, 257
Obama and, 250–51
op-ed piece for Los Angeles Times, 167–69, 229, 302
op-ed piece for New York Times, 281–82
op-ed piece for Washington Post, 279
as persona non grata, 186, 301
pleas for help emailed to, 162, 166, 170–73, 185, 190, 198–99, 227–28, 283–96, 305
Power, NSC meetings, and, 153, 250, 251, 253, 254, 279–81, 282
pre-deployment, time with family, 40–41
public’s offers of support for US-affiliated Iraqis sent to, 194–95
refugee assistance begun, 167, 169–75
Refugee Bureau meeting, first, 179–81
return to Iraq (2009), 254–59
return to USAID, Baghdad (2009), 258–59
search for support for Iraqi asylum cases, 200
Second Marine Expeditionary Force and, 80–83
State Department call to, with complaint, 198–200
stress and migraine, 197–98
UN summit on the Iraqi refugee crisis and, 300–301
USAID hires, 37
USAID housing, Green Zone, 43, 76, 258
USAID meeting in Washington (2007), 182–85
USAID PAO, Baghdad, 45–48, 50–53, 56, 67
USAID phones returned, 129–30
USAID “regional coordinator for reconstruction,” Fallujah, 75, 76, 77–80, 81, 84–86, 89–94, 187
USAID’s email system and, 117–18
USAID training, 37–38
USAID transfer request, 69
US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and, 158
Vietnam War, lessons of and, 265–68
Yaghdan and, 53, 57, 162, 166, 173, 204, 240–42
Johnson, Soren (brother), 7, 12, 13, 16, 18, 99
Johnson, Tom (father), 237
political campaign of, 9–12, 158
son’s deployment to Iraq and, 40–41
son’s fugue state and injuries, 97–103
son’s recuperation and, 120
as state representative, 14
taking in refugees and, 239, 240
Jordan:
Iraqi refugees in, 108, 109, 150, 172, 227, 230, 259
MOAG rerouted through, 59
pencils ferried to Iraq, 26
Kafka, Franz, 243
Kaguyutan, Janice, 200
Kamal, Sheikh (head of Fallujah City Council), 129
Kamen, Al, 65
Kanafani, Ghassan, 19
Karbala’, Iraq, 26, 28, 29, 161
Kaufmann, Marlene, 275
Kawkaz, Mohammed Khalil, 85–86
Kazakhstan, 20–21
KBR. See Halliburton-KBR
Kennedy, Edward “Ted,” 192–93, 200, 238, 242, 244, 246, 302
Kennedy, John F., 49
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 250
Kerik, Bernie, 171–72
Kerr-McGee Chemical Company, 14
Khalilzad, Zalmay, 107
kharze zarqas (amulets), 135
kidnappings, 31, 79, 209, 212, 225, 257, 293
Kimmitt, Gen. Mark, 73
Camp Warrior, 295
MOAG and, 59
Omar assassinated in, 292–93
Kissinger, Henry, 172, 263–64, 265
Koppel, Ted, 49
Kosovar refugees (1999), 252
Ali Al-Salem air base, 255
British and, 25
Iran’s war debt to, 24
Iraq invasion (1990), 24–25
Laos, 271
Hmong in, 268
Lawrence, T. E., 87–88
Libya, 280
Lindsay Light Company, 13–14
List Project (to Resettle Iraqi Allies), 197–205, 237
ABC World News and, 192
Afghani requests to, 303, 305–6
Basma as staff, 302
bureaucratic stalling and, 269–70, 302, 303
Congressional hearings, 272–74
Congressional support, 237–38
difficulties of (2008), 246
first win of, 240
funding for, 204, 224, 228, 245, 304
“the Guam option” proposed, 253, 254, 270–74, 275, 276, 280
Hayder and, 226–28
interpreters’ pleas to, 247
Johnson as director, 205, 224, 228–29, 235, 245, 260–62
Johnson makes a list, 174, 175, 195
Johnson meets with US-affiliated Iraqis in Baghdad (2009), 257–59
Johnson’s new strategy, 262
Johnson’s vision for, 228
Johnson takes his list to the DOS, 179–81
Johnson takes his list to the Refugee Bureau, 276–77
law firms’ support for, 203–4, 205, 224–25, 254, 260, 281, 302
new applications to, 302
nonprofit status, 204–5
number of Iraqis helped, 254, 260, 271, 282
number of names, 238, 251, 254, 260, 265
Omar (US-affiliated Iraqi) and, 283–96, 299
Omar’s family asylum request and, 295–96
opposition to, 235–37
protest against interpreters’ mask ban, 246
refugees becoming US citizens, 306, 307
Tides Foundation grant, 204–5, 256
Tona and Amina as staff, 205, 224, 225, 302
Tragedy on the Horizon: A History of Just and Unjust Withdrawal, 272
Vanderbilt law students and, 271
Wisner added to board of, 267
Yaghdan and, 226
Zina and, 225
Los Angeles Times, 66, 148, 149, 150
first to publish on plight of US-affiliated Iraqis, 168
Johnson op-ed piece, 167–69, 229, 302
Luayy (Iraqi friend), 76
Lugar, Richard, 238
M240G machine gun, 80–81
Mahdi Army, 189, 209–10, 212, 240
Maimonides, 298
al-Maliki, Nouri, 23, 155, 156, 246, 247
speech before Congress, 156–57
Mamaux, Lale, 275
Mamet, David, 113
Mansfield, Dr., 38–40
Marshall Plan, 49
Maryam (US-affiliated Iraqi), 170, 173
Mashael (US-affiliated Iraqi), 106
Mather, Increase, 298
May (US-affiliated Iraqi), 171–72, 173
Mayer Brown, LLP, 224, 281, 302
McCain, John, 156
McDonald, James, 269
Miller, T. Christian, 66, 148–49, 150, 167–68
“Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting” (1975), 263–64
MOAG (Mother of All Generators), 58–61, 66
Mouayyad (US-affiliated Iraqi), 137, 140, 303
Muhammara, Iraq, 134
Mujahedeen-e Khalq, 77
Mustafa, Farouk, 19
My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope (Bremer), 121, 122
National Democratic Institute, 244
National Public Radio, 85
National Security Agency (NSA), 20
Natsios, Andrew, 49
Nazar, Dr. (Fallujah veterinarian), 90–92
NBC Nightly News, 109
Negroponte, John, 235
neoconservatives, 53, 109, 121, 234
New Republic, 187
New Yorker, 186–87
Packer’s article “Betrayed,” 190, 192, 250
New York Times:
Arango article on Obama administration disregarding the Hastings amendment, 278
editorial opposing Sauerbrey nomination, 178
Johnson as intern, Middle East Bureau, 20
Worth interview with Johnson, 169
Nightline, 49
9/11 terrorist attacks, 19, 74, 135–36, 194
Constitutional principles eroded and, 298–99
delays in visa processing and, 232, 250
narrowness of thought in Washington and, 262
shutdown of US Refugee Admissions Program and, 177
US reluctance to resettle Muslims after, 235–36, 261
Nouri (US-affiliated Iraqi), 201
Nugent, Chris, 200–201, 202, 203, 302
trip to Iraq with Johnson, 255, 257
Yaghdan and, 226
Obama, Barack, 17, 153, 156, 178, 179, 238, 270
announcement of Iraq War end, 281, 286
appointees, 253
excerpt, “Turning the Page in Iraq,” 249, 251
Johnson’s hopes for, 250–51
Libyan rebels airlifted, 280
Power (Samantha) and, 250, 253–54
2013 National Defense Authorization Act, 304
US-affiliated Iraqis and, 249, 253, 258, 259, 265, 300
withdrawal from Iraq and, 251, 273
Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), 78–79
funding, 78
Oil Training Institute of Baghdad, 135
Omar (US-affiliated Iraqi), 283–96, 299
assassination of, 292–93
brother of threatened, 294
bureaucratic stalling and, 292
family’s request for asylum, 294, 295
threat letter sent to, 288–89
wife and child threatened, 293
Charlie Company, 143
Hayder as interpreter for, 139–40, 142–45, 147
Operation Baghdad Pups, 303–4
Packer, George, 186–87, 190, 192, 200, 231, 250, 251
Paul, Rand, 278
Pelosi, Nancy, 155
Philip, Pate, 11–12
Poland, 252
Power, Samantha, 153, 250, 251, 270–71, 275
backpedaling by, 279–80
NSC meetings, 253, 260, 279–81, 282
Primitivo (Haitian worker), 96–98, 99
private security firms, 38, 52, 55–56, 59, 61
Problem from Hell, A: America and the Age of Genocide (Power), 153, 275
Projects and Contracting Office (PCO), 49
protection security detail (PSD), 60
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), 95–97, 304
Question 19, 165
Refugee Admissions Program, 271, 277, 278
Refugee Bureau. See US Department of State
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, 238, 244
Refugees and Rescue (McDonald), 269
Reid, Harry, 155
Rhodes, Ben, 251
Rice, Condoleezza, 185
Rijal fi’il-shams (Men in the Sun) (Kanafani), 19
Rolling Stone magazine, 280
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 270
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 269
Rosen, Nir, 85
Rosenblatt, Lionel, 266
Roskam, Peter, 237
Rumsfeld, Donald, 105, 156, 169
al-Sadr, Muqtada, 173, 189, 209, 240
“Safeguarding Our Allies” (Johnson), 168–69
Safe Report, 55–56
“Saga of Njáll Burned Alive,” 71–72
Salem witch trials, 298
Samarra, Iraq, 107–9, 162, 168, 178
Santorum, Rick, 157
Saudi Arabia, 207
Shi’a refugees in, 26
Voice of the South radio station in, 25
Sauerbrey, Ellen, 177–78, 229, 253, 275
ABC World News profile and, 194, 229
denies Refugee Bureau has Johnson’s list, 194, 229
Johnson as persona non grata with, 194
testimony before House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 231, 231–32
Schlesinger, James R., 264
Schlosser, Julie, 228
Schwartz, Eric, 253, 273, 275, 276, 278
Second Marine Expeditionary Force, 76, 84, 93
Fallujah convoy runs, 81–83
Johnson and, 80–83
med packs, 81–82
Seneca, 166
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Lawrence), 87–88
shemagh (men’s headcovering), 3
Shi’a, 23
Iraq government dominated by, 247
Iraq uprising late 1970s, 23
refugees (1991), 26
sharia law instituted by, 234
in Southern Iraq, 57
Sunni attack on Al-Askari Shrine, 107–8
uprising following Gulf War, 25–26
Short Guide to Iraq, A (US Army, 1943), 35–36
Siemens, 61
60 Minutes, 27
60 Minutes II, 62
Skanninge, Stockholm, 15
Smith, Gordon, 238
Snake (US-affiliated Iraqi), 219
Snow, Tony, 109
solatia (condolence payments), 84–85, 86
Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), 238, 242, 244, 253, 274
expiration of, 302
killing of program, 245
waiver of “original signature,” 281
Stearman, William, 264
Stevens, Ted, 155
Stover, Col. Steven, 246
Sunnis, 23
in Baghdad, 57
militants, attack on Al-Askari Shrine, 107–8
the Sahwa (“Awakening”) and, 234, 246
Sweden: Iraqi refugees in, 189
Syria:
Iraqi refugees in, 108, 109, 162, 168, 189, 240, 259
Mahdi Army in, 189
US sanctions on, 59
Tara (sister of Zina), 207
application for refugee status, 230
at Camp Taji, Pod 23, 215, 216
danger and risks faced by, 218
in Egypt, 230
flight from Iraq, 220
Halliburton-KBR and, 213–14
life in America, 306
Titan Corporation and, 214
Tarmiyah province, Iraq, 216
Mushahada, 217
reimbursements to, 218
violence in, 218–19
Tartous, Syria, 59
Thieu, Nguyen Van, 265
Thompson, James “Big Jim,” 11
Tides Foundation, 204–5, 256–57
Titan Corporation, 148–50
interpreters working for, 214
Iraqi employees, slain/injured list, 299–300
Tobias, Randall, 182
Tona (US-affiliated Iraqi), 106–7, 160, 184
claims asylum in the US, 201
employed by the List Project, 205, 224, 225
Tonga, 20–21
Tragedy on the Horizon: A History of Just and Unjust Withdrawal (List Project), 272
Turkey, 136
“Turning the Page in Iraq” (Obama), 249, 251
United Kingdom:
affiliated Iraqis assassinated, 252
British withdrawal from Iraq, 252
Iraqis granted refugee status, 252
United Nations:
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 149, 150, 172, 177, 181, 199, 221, 226, 228, 232
no-fly zones established by, 26
oil-for-food program, 135
sanctions on Iraq, 26–27
summit on the Iraqi refugee crisis, 300–301
UNICEF in Iraq, 170
United States. See also Iraq War
Blackstone’s formulation, 298, 299
bombing of Baghdad (March 2003), 28–29
companies in Iraq, 24, 29–30, 32–33, 47, 61, 62, 87, 125, 148–49, 150, 213, 214, 244–45, 290
Congressional bills on moral obligation to support US-affiliated Iraqis, 237–38
Gulf War, 25
history of airlifts, 252–53
Iraqi Kurds admitted to (1996), 252–53
Kosovar refugees admitted to (1999), 252, 271
principles eroded in, 298–99
refugees accepted in, history of, 265–72
rejection of Jewish refugees, 269
reluctance to resettle Muslims, 235–36
Saddam Hussein supported by, 24
sanctions on Iraq, 26–27
secret “black-site” prisons, 261
torture and interrogation by, 62
United States Holocaust Museum, 269
University of Chicago, Oriental Institute, 18
University of Michigan, 204, 205
USAID (US Agency for International Development), Iraq, 3, 75
as administrative agency, 50
-ARDI (Agriculture Reconstruction and Development for Iraq) program, 52, 53
armored luxury SUVs and, 50
body armor distributed by, 46
Casey visits, 67–68
Creative Associates International and, 33
CTOs (cognizant technical officers), 78
denial of protection for Iraqi employees, 160–61, 258
education initiatives, 5, 68, 170
email system, 117
employee housing, 43
executive officer, Sandy, 46–47
EXO (Executive Officer), 160
failures of, 66
Fallujah projects, 77–78
firing of personnel, 66–67
Green Zone compound, 3, 45, 76, 160
“hand-in-glove” relationships, 75, 80, 90
health, education, and infrastructure offices, 78
identity crisis of, 50
Iraqis employed by, 42–43, 47, 61–66, 79, 168, 169, 172, 184
Iraq power (electricity) and, 57–61
Johnson hired for Baghdad, 37
Johnson in Baghdad, in PAO, 45–48, 50–53, 57, 59–60, 61, 67
Johnson in Fallujah, as regional coordinator, 75, 76, 77–80, 81, 84–86, 89–94
Johnson notifies of accident, 115
Johnson’s absence and, 119, 123, 125, 129, 153, 168, 184
Johnson’s boss, Doug, 45–46, 51, 61, 66–67
Johnson visits (2009), 258–59
marginalization of, 49
MOAG and, 58–61
Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), 78–79
postwar reconstruction and, 49–50, 57–61
Public Affairs Office (PAO), 45–46
roof collapse, 259
rule of law training initiative, 156
staff photo (January 2005), 163, 184, 240
training for Iraq deployment, 37–40
treatment of Amina (US-affiliated Iraqi), 202–3
wasted US money and fraud, 58–61, 89–92
Yaghdan employed by, 2, 3, 33, 57, 63–66, 184
USAID (US Agency for International Development), Washington:
Johnson visits, 182–85
reaction to Johnson’s writing, 183
“Smoke,” the Iraqi donkey, 304
US Army Corps of Engineers, 48
US Citizenship and Immigration Services, 201
US Department of Defense:
Biometrics Fusion Center, 87
Common Access Card, 40
as driver of US foreign policy, 75
“hand-in-glove” relationships, 75, 90
Iraq reconstruction and, 49, 67
Pentagon headquarters, Baghdad, 45
privatization and, 50
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 199, 232
interview questions for refugees, 225
interviews with Iraqi refugees, 225, 226
List Project and, 205
refugee czar appointed, 229
US Department of State, 75
Ambassador to Iraq, 107
Baghdad embassy, 45, 55, 65–66
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM Bureau), 177, 179–81, 190, 198–200, 230, 235–36, 275
Green Zone embassy compound, 160
the Guam option and, 276
handling of case of US-affiliated Iraqi, Omar, 283–96
Iraqi refugees and delays in visa processing, 235–36
IRMO and, 49–50
Johnson called by, regarding his list, 198–200
Johnson delivers list of names to, 179–81, 190, 194
Johnson informs of legal help for refugees, 205
journalists’ interest in US-affiliated Iraqis and, 191
List Project and, 205
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act blocked by administration, 244
refugee czar appointed, 229
US Foreign Service Institute, 38–40
USGspeak, 51–53, 181, 186, 199–200, 230, 273, 279
LES (Locally Engaged Staff), 65
“ramping up,” 52, 192, 232, 279, 303, 315
US Immigration and Naturalization Service, 267
US Institute of Peace, 244–45
US Navy, 224–25
US Refugee Admissions Program, 177, 200, 245
US Regional Security Office (RSO), 47, 160
US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 157, 158
Vanderbilt University’s Law School, 271
Varney, Stuart, 108
VBIED, 82
Vietnam War, 13, 41, 77, 172, 177
ad hoc evacuation of US-affiliated employees, 266, 273–74
airlift of US-affiliated employees to Guam, 267
code-phrase for evacuation, 266
final days, 265
“Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting” (1975), 263–64
presidential intervention on behalf of US-affiliated employees, 268
songs, 179
Tan Son Nhut air base, 266
US-affiliated employees and emigration to US, 232, 263–64, 265–68
US-affiliated employees and fall of Saigon, 182, 194, 265
US embassy’s tamarind tree, 266
visas granted to US-affiliated employees, 267
Vitale, Ann, 166
Voice of America, 25
Voluntary Agencies (VOLAGs), 238–39
Wael (Jordanian working in Iraq), 210
abduction of, 211–12
Johnson article in Magazine, 181–82
Johnson op-ed piece for, 279
Washington Times, 178
Waxman, Sharon, 200
Webster, Gen. William G., 251
West Chicago, IL, 9, 10, 101, 117, 121, 127–29
thorium contamination of, 13–14
Yaghdan and family and, 238–42
“What Did Not Happen” (declassified memo), 105
Williams, Brian, 109
Williams, Byron, 256–57
Wisner, Frank, 267
Wolf, Mark, 267
Woodward, Bob, 243
World Refugee Day, 205
World War II:
Jewish refugee crisis, 269
Worth, Bobby, 169
Yaghdan (US-affiliated Iraqi), 158–62, 184, 195, 247
accounting degree earned in US, 306
Americans’ treatment of, 63–66
appeals for help to US, 5
application for refugee status, 226, 230
birth of, 23
bombing of Baghdad and, 28–29
Yaghdan (US-affiliated Iraqi)
burning of papers, 159
business partner, Mohammad, 27, 29, 30, 31
computer repair business, 27, 29
Creative Associates International employs, 32–33
disillusionment of, 61
early optimism about US occupation, 61
father’s position, 24
fleeing to Karbala’, 161
as “fourth Johnson brother,” 241
fund for, 166
Haifa and, 27, 32, 33, 159, 160, 161, 306
Johnson and, 53, 57, 162, 166, 173, 204, 240–42
losing faith in the visa process, 226
questions about life in America, 239–40
requests for help from US employer, 106, 160–61
security measures used by, 3, 64
son born in US, 306
threats against and severed dog’s head, 5, 63, 106, 159, 166, 301–2
unwillingness to flee, 109
USAID employment, 2, 3, 33, 57, 63–66, 160–61, 184
as US citizen, 306
Vitale and, 166
wars during youth of, 23–24
West Chicago and, 238–42
Zarqawi, Abu Musab al-, 73
Ziad (US-affiliated Iraqi), 169, 171, 172, 173, 187, 189, 195
Zina (US-affiliated Iraqi), 207–19
abduction of Wael and, 211–12, 214
application for refugee status, 230
at Camp Taji, Pod 23, 215–16
computer programming studies, 210
contacts Johnson, 223–24
danger faced by, 213, 217, 218–19
engineering studies, 208–9, 212
flight from Iraq, 220
friend Eva killed in IED attack, 219
Halliburton-KBR and, 213–14, 221
hopes for Americans, 214–15
informant contacts, 217
interpreter duties, 215–17
lawyer for, 225
life in America, 306
major of the civil affairs team and, 216, 217, 218–20
mother joins as refugee, 220
registration at UNHCR, 221
sniper fire and, 218
Titan Corporation and, 214
US bombing of Basrah and, 209
Wael and, 210–12