The targeter : my life in the CIA, hunting terrorists and challenging the White House

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Title:

The targeter : my life in the CIA, hunting terrorists and challenging the White House

Author:

Bakos, Nada, 1969- author.

Coburn, Davin, author.

Summary:

"In 1999, 30-year-old Nada Bakos moved from her lifelong home in Montana to Washington, DC, to join the CIA. Quickly realizing her affinity for intelligence work, Nada was determined to rise through the ranks of the agency first as an analyst and then as a Targeting Officer, eventually finding herself on the frontline of America's War against Islamic extremists. In this role, Nada was charged with determining if Iraq had a relationship with 9/11 and Al-Qaida, and finding the mastermind behind this terrorist activity: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Her team's analysis stood the test of time, but it was not satisfactory for some members of the Administration. In a narrative that takes the reader from Langley deep into Iraq, Bakos reveals the inner workings of the Agency and the largely hidden world of intelligence gathering post 9/11. Entrenched in the world of the CIA, Bakos, along with her colleagues, focused on leading U.S. Special Operations Forces to the doorstep of one of the world's most wanted terrorists. Filled with on-the-ground insights and poignant personal anecdotes, The Targeter shows us the great personal sacrifice that comes with intelligence work. This is Nada's story, but it is also an intimate chronicle of how a group of determined, ambitious men and women worked tirelessly in the heart of the CIA to ensure our nation's safety."-- Page [2] of cover.

Edition:

First edition.

Contents:

Murder boards -- The farm -- Career analyst program X -- No room for ambiguity -- Looking for unicorns -- Long guns to be placed here -- Strategy, what strategy? -- Special friends -- The real CIA must be in the basement : we're just the cover -- It's all sunshine and rainbows until... -- We asked him nicely -- A bucket of turtles -- Shift in momentum -- Perpetual end of the road.

Physical Description:

viii, 354 pages ; 24 cm

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Personal Subject:

Bakos, Nada, 1969-

Corporate Subject:

United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

Subject Term:

Women intelligence officers -- Biography.

Intelligence officers -- Biography.

Author(s):

Coburn, Davin,

Publisher:

Little, Brown and Company,

Publication Date:

2019

ISBN:

9780316260473

Publication Information:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2019.

Call Number:

327.12 BAKOS

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003424077	Adult Nonfiction	327.12 BAKOS	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A CIA analyst's "revealing and utterly engrossing account" of the world of high-stakes foreign intelligence and her role within the campaign to stop top-tier targets inside Al-Qaida (Joby Warrick).
In 1999, 30-year-old Nada Bakos moved from her lifelong home in Montana to Washington, D.C., to join the CIA. Quickly realizing her affinity for intelligence work, Nada was determined to rise through the ranks of the agency first as an analyst and then as a Targeting Officer, eventually finding herself on the frontline of America's war against Islamic extremists.
In this role, Nada was charged with determining if Iraq had a relationship with 9/11 and Al-Qaida, and finding the mastermind behind this terrorist activity: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Her team's analysis stood the test of time, but it was not satisfactory for some members of the Administration.
In a tight, tension-packed narrative that takes the reader from Langley deep into Iraq, Bakos reveals the inner workings of the Agency and the largely hidden world of intelligence gathering post 9/11. Entrenched in the world of the CIA, Bakos, along with her colleagues, focused on leading U.S. Special Operations Forces to the doorstep of one of the world's most wanted terrorists.
Filled with on-the-ground insights and poignant personal anecdotes, The Targeter shows us the great personal sacrifice that comes with intelligence work. This is Nada's story, but it is also an intimate chronicle of how a group of determined, ambitious men and women worked tirelessly in the heart of the CIA to ensure our nation's safety at home and abroad.

Author Notes

Nada Bakos is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst on the team charged with analyzing the relationship between Iraq, al Qaida, and 9/11, and was the Chief Targeting officer following Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Bakos writes, speaks and appears on broadcast media to discuss national security and foreign policy.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Former CIA analyst and targeting officer Bakos chronicles her search for terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an uneven if occasionally gripping memoir. Bakos joined the CIA in 2000, and her first major assignment was to track al-Zarqawi, who initially "found al Qaida's approach to jihad far too moderate" and later helmed the group in Iraq. She recounts interrogations from Iraq in the summer of 2003 in vivid detail, such as hiding in a dark passageway to eavesdrop on a burly Iraqi intelligence officer nicknamed Evil Hagrid. In August that year, Bakos returned to CIA headquarters, and here she describes the inner workings of the department, which, unfortunately, don't hold the same suspense as the on-the-ground action. Bakos astutely observes the sexism in CIA meetings (her suggestions were better received when delivered by male coworkers) and the disarming power women interrogators had over jihadists. She retired before al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. air strike in 2006, so her recount of the event lacks the insider details that fuel the book's best moments. Despite the subtitle's reference to challenging the White House, there are few details regarding executive branch interactions. This memoir will appeal to those curious about the CIA's inner workings, but as a CIA thriller it misses the mark. (June)

Library Journal Review

Experts will debate whether the Iraq War, which lasted from 2003 to 2011, was justified and necessary. Former CIA analyst and targeting officer Bakos was on the team that investigated the relationship among Iraq, Al-Qaeda, and the September 11 attacks. The author then became the chief targeting officer tasked with following terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. With this entrenched and firsthand account, Bakos challenges the information that then President George Bush used to justify the attack on Iraq. Bakos claims that there was never a clear relationship between Iraq and the 2001 attacks; moreover, she says her group never found proof that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) existed. The book begins with the author's life story and how she came to join the CIA, then moves on to her career as she lived in Iraq and helped locate al-Zarqawi. She concludes with a passionate plea for the United States to develop a long-term plan for helping other countries rather than attacking and creating more disdain for America. VERDICT Students and scholars of foreign policy will find many new facts that will help them better understand the complexity of the subject.--Jason L. Steagall, formerly with Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI