No Shadows in the Desert
Murder, Vengeance, and Espionage in the War Against ISIS
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- USD 20.99
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- USD 20.99
Publisher Description
The inside story of the covert operation that took down the heads of ISIS
No Shadows in the Desert reveals the untold story of the behind-the-scenes fight against ISIS—one coordinated by heads of state and ultimately fought in the alleyways and open deserts of the Middle Eastern battlefield by spies and soldiers. Samuel M. Katz draws upon his sources within the global intelligence and counterterrorism community, as well as the international special operations and espionage fraternity, to tell the story of the covert campaign against ISIS by the operatives who ventured deeply and secretly into enemy territory.
In this first-ever look at the secret inner workings of an Arab secret service, Katz tells the story of Jordan’s GID, the masters of human intelligence on the espionage battlefields of the Middle East, who proved pivotal and crucial go-to allies of the CIA and America’s other intelligence agencies in the war against ISIS and the war on terror. With the revealing and intimate insight of the intelligence officers who fought ISIS, No Shadows in the Desert is a rare glimpse into how a strategic partnership helped change how terrorism is fought in the Middle East and beyond.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Middle East security expert Katz (The Ghost Warrior) delivers a dramatic account of the secret mission by U.S. and Jordanian intelligence agents to avenge the "capture, torture, and immolation" of Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh by ISIS fighters in Syria. After the engine in Moaz's plane caught fire on Dec. 24, 2014, he parachuted into the Euphrates River near Raqqa and was captured. He was likely killed on January 3, though ISIS maintained that he was alive until February, when they released horrific video footage of his death. According to Katz, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani (who is believed to have participated in the killing) hoped to break Jordan's resolve to be part of the international coalition fighting against the Caliphate; instead, the video had the opposite effect. Katz chronicles the multinational effort led by the GID, Jordan's intelligence agency to locate the five terrorists responsible for Moaz's death and design and implement missions to execute them. Against the backdrop of this spy tale, Katz briskly untangles the history of the Syrian civil war and the campaign against ISIS. Though Katz's staccato prose can be clunky, he packs a wealth of information into the book and skillfully draws on an extensive network of sources in the U.S. and the Middle East. Espionage fans will savor this detailed and immersive account.
