Annie Jacobsen

The Special Activities Division, now it's called the Special Activities Center. But originally, that's the umbrella agency that has the different paramilitary organizations under it, right? So the most lethal one is Ground Branch. And that's what I reported on in Surprise Kill Vanish. And its origins go way back to the Guerrilla Warfare Corps that was started in 1947 for the president.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Well, I think it's because mostly, from what I understand, it's a really dirty game. And people are covering for people, right? And I'll give you the example of Billy Wah and Imad Mugnia, if I may, right? So Imad Mugnia was the most wanted terrorist in the world before bin Laden. You know, Hezbollah's chief of operations. And he was wanted by every, you know, Mossad on down.

Well, I think it's because mostly, from what I understand, it's a really dirty game. And people are covering for people, right? And I'll give you the example of Billy Wah and Imad Mugnia, if I may, right? So Imad Mugnia was the most wanted terrorist in the world before bin Laden. You know, Hezbollah's chief of operations. And he was wanted by every, you know, Mossad on down.

Well, I think it's because mostly, from what I understand, it's a really dirty game. And people are covering for people, right? And I'll give you the example of Billy Wah and Imad Mugnia, if I may, right? So Imad Mugnia was the most wanted terrorist in the world before bin Laden. You know, Hezbollah's chief of operations. And he was wanted by every, you know, Mossad on down.

But no one could find him. He was missing for 20 years. There wasn't even a photograph of him. And then he resurfaced. And of all places, he resurfaced in Saudi Arabia, okay? So what? That's when I say it's a dirty game, right? Hezbollah, Iran. Hezbollah, Iran. Enemies with Saudi Arabia. Why on earth was Imad Mugnia in Saudi Arabia? Well, that's where he was.

But no one could find him. He was missing for 20 years. There wasn't even a photograph of him. And then he resurfaced. And of all places, he resurfaced in Saudi Arabia, okay? So what? That's when I say it's a dirty game, right? Hezbollah, Iran. Hezbollah, Iran. Enemies with Saudi Arabia. Why on earth was Imad Mugnia in Saudi Arabia? Well, that's where he was.

But no one could find him. He was missing for 20 years. There wasn't even a photograph of him. And then he resurfaced. And of all places, he resurfaced in Saudi Arabia, okay? So what? That's when I say it's a dirty game, right? Hezbollah, Iran. Hezbollah, Iran. Enemies with Saudi Arabia. Why on earth was Imad Mugnia in Saudi Arabia? Well, that's where he was.

There was a Navy SEAL who was doing reconnaissance on him. This is according to Billy Wah. And this is around 2005. So Billy's in his 80s at this point, right? Late 70s, 80s. And He gets word that the SEAL who's been tracking Mugnia to get photographs of him, to give the photographs to Mossad and CIA so they can do a joint operation to kill him, which they did with a car bomb in Damascus.

There was a Navy SEAL who was doing reconnaissance on him. This is according to Billy Wah. And this is around 2005. So Billy's in his 80s at this point, right? Late 70s, 80s. And He gets word that the SEAL who's been tracking Mugnia to get photographs of him, to give the photographs to Mossad and CIA so they can do a joint operation to kill him, which they did with a car bomb in Damascus.

There was a Navy SEAL who was doing reconnaissance on him. This is according to Billy Wah. And this is around 2005. So Billy's in his 80s at this point, right? Late 70s, 80s. And He gets word that the SEAL who's been tracking Mugnia to get photographs of him, to give the photographs to Mossad and CIA so they can do a joint operation to kill him, which they did with a car bomb in Damascus.

That's the end of the story, right? But how we got there was we needed, you know, the CIA needed confirmation. You can't kill the wrong person. So the SEAL panicked, according to Billy Wah, and was just like, I'm out of here. This is too dangerous, and I do not want to wind up in a Saudi prison. So who do you send in? Billy Wah, right? He shows up. He's there for 24 hours.

That's the end of the story, right? But how we got there was we needed, you know, the CIA needed confirmation. You can't kill the wrong person. So the SEAL panicked, according to Billy Wah, and was just like, I'm out of here. This is too dangerous, and I do not want to wind up in a Saudi prison. So who do you send in? Billy Wah, right? He shows up. He's there for 24 hours.

That's the end of the story, right? But how we got there was we needed, you know, the CIA needed confirmation. You can't kill the wrong person. So the SEAL panicked, according to Billy Wah, and was just like, I'm out of here. This is too dangerous, and I do not want to wind up in a Saudi prison. So who do you send in? Billy Wah, right? He shows up. He's there for 24 hours.

He knows where Mugnia lives from the SEAL. He positions himself. in a cafe across the street, which is run by Sudanese men. And of course, Wa speaks some Sudanese because he operated in Sudan, right? And he's shooting the shit with him by his own words. He had the most foul mouth. It was just absolutely delightful to listen to. And then in between him and Mugnia's house is a dumpster.

He knows where Mugnia lives from the SEAL. He positions himself. in a cafe across the street, which is run by Sudanese men. And of course, Wa speaks some Sudanese because he operated in Sudan, right? And he's shooting the shit with him by his own words. He had the most foul mouth. It was just absolutely delightful to listen to. And then in between him and Mugnia's house is a dumpster.

He knows where Mugnia lives from the SEAL. He positions himself. in a cafe across the street, which is run by Sudanese men. And of course, Wa speaks some Sudanese because he operated in Sudan, right? And he's shooting the shit with him by his own words. He had the most foul mouth. It was just absolutely delightful to listen to. And then in between him and Mugnia's house is a dumpster.

And Billy Wa, being Billy Wa, who will go to any lengths to do the job, decides to conduct reconnaissance from inside the dumpster. And that is where he is when he takes the picture of Imad Mugnia living so comfortably in Saudi that Mugnia, according to Billy, came out of his apartment building with dry cleaner plastic bag hangers over his shoulder. That's how comfortable. He lived there.