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Jawbreaker

The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

By Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo

By Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo

By Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo

By Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo

By Gary Berntsen
Read by Ralph Pezzullo and Robertson Dean

By Gary Berntsen
Read by Ralph Pezzullo and Robertson Dean

By Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo
Read by Gary Berntsen

By Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo
Read by Gary Berntsen

Best Seller
Paperback $17.00

Oct 24, 2006 | ISBN 9780307351067

Ebook $13.99

Dec 27, 2005 | ISBN 9780307341198

Audiobook Download $17.50

Dec 27, 2005 | 612 Minutes

Audiobook Download $14.98

Dec 27, 2005 | 351 Minutes

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    Jawbreaker by Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo
    Paperback $17.00
    Oct 24, 2006 | ISBN 9780307351067

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    • Paperback $17.00

      Oct 24, 2006 | ISBN 9780307351067

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      Dec 27, 2005 | ISBN 9780307341198

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    About Jawbreaker

    The Book the CIA Doesn’t Want You to Read

    Gary Berntsen, the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit—and cornering—of Osama bin Laden, and the reason the terrorist leader escaped American retribution. As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom’s enemies.

    About Jawbreaker

    In Jawbreaker Gary Berntsen, until recently one of the CIA’s most decorated officers, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

    With his unique mix of clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, Berntsen represents the new face of counterterrorism. Recognized within the agency for his aggressiveness, Berntsen, when dispatched to Afghanistan, made annihilating the enemy his job description.

    As the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, Berntsen not only led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, he also raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for bin Laden.

    In this first-person account of that incredible pursuit, which actually began years earlier in an East Africa bombing investigation, Berntsen describes being ferried by rickety helicopter over the towering peaks of Afghanistan, sitting by General Tommy Franks’s side as heated negotiations were conducted with Northern Alliance generals, bargaining relentlessly with treacherous Afghan warlords and Taliban traitors, plotting to save hostages about to be used as pawns, calling in B-52 strikes on dug-in enemy units, and deploying a dizzying array of Special Forces teams in the pursuit of the world’s most wanted terrorist. Most crucially, Berntsen tells of cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains—and what happened when Berntsen begged Washington to block the al-Qaeda leader’s last avenue of escape.

    As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom’s enemies.


    CIA Commander Gary Berntsen on…

    His eyebrow-raising style:
    “Most CIA Case Officers advanced their careers by recruiting sources and producing intelligence, I took a more grab-them-by-the-neck approach…I operated on the principle that it was easier to seek forgiveness than ask for approval. Take risks, but make sure you’re successful. Success, not good intentions, would determine my fate.”

    Doing whatever it took:
    “I didn’t just want to survive: I wanted to annihilate the enemy. And I didn’t want to end up like one of my favorite historical characters—Alexander Burns…He was one of the first of more than 14,000 British soldiers to be wiped out by the Afghans in the First Afghan War. Like Burns before me, I was also an intelligence officer and spoke Persian. This was my second trip into Afghanistan, too. The difference, I told myself, was that Burns had been a gentleman and I would do whatever it took to win.”

    Dealing with a Taliban official who controlled American hostages:
    “Tell him that if he betrays me or loses the hostages I’ll spend every waking moment of my life hunting him down to kill him. Tell him I’m not like any American he has ever met.”

    The capabilities of his Tora Bora spotter team:
    “Working nonstop, the four men directed strike after strike by B-1s, B-2s, and F-14s onto the al-Qaeda encampment with incredible precision. Somehow through the massive bureaucracy, thousands of miles of distance [and] reams of red tape…the U.S. had managed to place four of the most skilled men in the world above the motherlode of al-Qaeda, with a laser designator and communications system linked to the most potent air power in history…As I listened over our encrypted radio network, one word kept pounding in my head: revenge.”





    Also available as a Random House AudioBook

    About Jawbreaker

    In Jawbreaker Gary Berntsen, until recently one of the CIA’s most decorated officers, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

    With his unique mix of clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, Berntsen represents the new face of counterterrorism. Recognized within the agency for his aggressiveness, Berntsen, when dispatched to Afghanistan, made annihilating the enemy his job description.

    As the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, Berntsen not only led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, he also raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for bin Laden.

    In this first-person account of that incredible pursuit, which actually began years earlier in an East Africa bombing investigation, Berntsen describes being ferried by rickety helicopter over the towering peaks of Afghanistan, sitting by General Tommy Franks’s side as heated negotiations were conducted with Northern Alliance generals, bargaining relentlessly with treacherous Afghan warlords and Taliban traitors, plotting to save hostages about to be used as pawns, calling in B-52 strikes on dug-in enemy units, and deploying a dizzying array of Special Forces teams in the pursuit of the world’s most wanted terrorist. Most crucially, Berntsen tells of cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains—and what happened when Berntsen begged Washington to block the al-Qaeda leader’s last avenue of escape.

    As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom’s enemies.


    CIA Commander Gary Berntsen on…

    His eyebrow-raising style:
    “Most CIA Case Officers advanced their careers by recruiting sources and producing intelligence, I took a more grab-them-by-the-neck approach…I operated on the principle that it was easier to seek forgiveness than ask for approval. Take risks, but make sure you’re successful. Success, not good intentions, would determine my fate.”

    Doing whatever it took:
    “I didn’t just want to survive: I wanted to annihilate the enemy. And I didn’t want to end up like one of my favorite historical characters—Alexander Burns…He was one of the first of more than 14,000 British soldiers to be wiped out by the Afghans in the First Afghan War. Like Burns before me, I was also an intelligence officer and spoke Persian. This was my second trip into Afghanistan, too. The difference, I told myself, was that Burns had been a gentleman and I would do whatever it took to win.”

    Dealing with a Taliban official who controlled American hostages:
    “Tell him that if he betrays me or loses the hostages I’ll spend every waking moment of my life hunting him down to kill him. Tell him I’m not like any American he has ever met.”

    The capabilities of his Tora Bora spotter team:
    “Working nonstop, the four men directed strike after strike by B-1s, B-2s, and F-14s onto the al-Qaeda encampment with incredible precision. Somehow through the massive bureaucracy, thousands of miles of distance [and] reams of red tape…the U.S. had managed to place four of the most skilled men in the world above the motherlode of al-Qaeda, with a laser designator and communications system linked to the most potent air power in history…As I listened over our encrypted radio network, one word kept pounding in my head: revenge.”





    Also available as a Random House AudioBook

    About Jawbreaker

    In Jawbreaker Gary Berntsen, until recently one of the CIA’s most decorated officers, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

    With his unique mix of clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, Berntsen represents the new face of counterterrorism. Recognized within the agency for his aggressiveness, Berntsen, when dispatched to Afghanistan, made annihilating the enemy his job description.

    As the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, Berntsen not only led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, he also raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for bin Laden.

    In this first-person account of that incredible pursuit, which actually began years earlier in an East Africa bombing investigation, Berntsen describes being ferried by rickety helicopter over the towering peaks of Afghanistan, sitting by General Tommy Franks’s side as heated negotiations were conducted with Northern Alliance generals, bargaining relentlessly with treacherous Afghan warlords and Taliban traitors, plotting to save hostages about to be used as pawns, calling in B-52 strikes on dug-in enemy units, and deploying a dizzying array of Special Forces teams in the pursuit of the world’s most wanted terrorist. Most crucially, Berntsen tells of cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains—and what happened when Berntsen begged Washington to block the al-Qaeda leader’s last avenue of escape.

    As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom’s enemies.


    CIA Commander Gary Berntsen on…

    His eyebrow-raising style:
    “Most CIA Case Officers advanced their careers by recruiting sources and producing intelligence, I took a more grab-them-by-the-neck approach…I operated on the principle that it was easier to seek forgiveness than ask for approval. Take risks, but make sure you’re successful. Success, not good intentions, would determine my fate.”

    Doing whatever it took:
    “I didn’t just want to survive: I wanted to annihilate the enemy. And I didn’t want to end up like one of my favorite historical characters—Alexander Burns…He was one of the first of more than 14,000 British soldiers to be wiped out by the Afghans in the First Afghan War. Like Burns before me, I was also an intelligence officer and spoke Persian. This was my second trip into Afghanistan, too. The difference, I told myself, was that Burns had been a gentleman and I would do whatever it took to win.”

    Dealing with a Taliban official who controlled American hostages:
    “Tell him that if he betrays me or loses the hostages I’ll spend every waking moment of my life hunting him down to kill him. Tell him I’m not like any American he has ever met.”

    The capabilities of his Tora Bora spotter team:
    “Working nonstop, the four men directed strike after strike by B-1s, B-2s, and F-14s onto the al-Qaeda encampment with incredible precision. Somehow through the massive bureaucracy, thousands of miles of distance [and] reams of red tape…the U.S. had managed to place four of the most skilled men in the world above the motherlode of al-Qaeda, with a laser designator and communications system linked to the most potent air power in history…As I listened over our encrypted radio network, one word kept pounding in my head: revenge.”





    Also available as a Random House AudioBook

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    About Gary Berntsen

    Gary Berntsen served for more than two decades in the Central Intelligence Agency. He operated at the highest levels in… More about Gary Berntsen

    About Ralph Pezzullo

    Ralph Pezzullo is a former journalist, an award-winning playwright, a screenwriter, and a poet, and the author of At the Fall… More about Ralph Pezzullo

    About Gary Berntsen

    Gary Berntsen served for more than two decades in the Central Intelligence Agency. He operated at the highest levels in… More about Gary Berntsen

    About Ralph Pezzullo

    Ralph Pezzullo is a former journalist, an award-winning playwright, a screenwriter, and a poet, and the author of At the Fall… More about Ralph Pezzullo

    About Gary Berntsen

    Gary Berntsen served for more than two decades in the Central Intelligence Agency. He operated at the highest levels in the Middle East and Latin America, and led the CIA’s major counterterrorist deployments in East Africa following the attacks on… More about Gary Berntsen

    About Gary Berntsen

    Gary Berntsen served for more than two decades in the Central Intelligence Agency. He operated at the highest levels in… More about Gary Berntsen

    About Ralph Pezzullo

    Ralph Pezzullo is a former journalist, an award-winning playwright, a screenwriter, and a poet, and the author of At the Fall… More about Ralph Pezzullo

    Product Details

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | Domestic Politics | World Politics

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Crown
    Oct 24, 2006 | 368 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780307351067

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | Domestic Politics | World Politics

    Ebook | $13.99
    Published by Crown
    Dec 27, 2005 | 320 Pages | ISBN 9780307341198

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | Domestic Politics | World Politics | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $17.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Dec 27, 2005 | 612 Minutes | ISBN 9781415929230

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | Domestic Politics | World Politics | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $14.98
    Published by Random House Audio
    Dec 27, 2005 | 351 Minutes | ISBN 9780739323496
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    Praise

    "A thrilling read…Berntsen did his best to try to get bin Laden; many in Washington have yet to do theirs." —Washington Post

    “Gripping . . . this honest account doesn’t do the president any favors.” —Frank Rich, New York Times

    “The hunt for Osama bin Laden is the story of courageous CIA officers, like Gary Berntsen, repeatedly finding him and U.S. political and military leaders refusing to kill him. Jawbreaker—which CIA leaders tried to suppress to protect America’s bipartisan political elite and its military sycophants—precisely describes the eleventh such opportunity since 1998, and again shows that uniformed bureaucrats masquerading as U.S. generals let bin Laden escape.” —Michael Scheuer, author of Imperial Hubris and Through Our Enemies’ Eyes

    “Jawbreaker is a real page turner . . . Berntsen was the CIA’s ‘go to guy’ when it came to leading in Afghanistan, owing to his exceptional operational and leadership skills in situations involving the threat of immediate danger. Berntsen is brave and bold and a true American hero.” —Cofer Black, former Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Counterterrorism Center

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