Homeland: Carrie's Run: A Homeland Novel (30 page)

CHARACTERS

(in order of appearance)

Caroline Anne Mathison, nickname “Carrie,” Operations Officer, Beirut Station, NCS (National Clandestine Service division), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)

Saul Michael Berenson, Middle East Division Chief, NCS, CIA

Taha al-Douni, codename: Nightingale, Senior Officer GSD, Syrian General Security Directorate

Dima Hamdan, codename: Jihan, female agent for March 14 Group (Christian Maronite); location: Beirut, Lebanon

Davis Fielding, Beirut Station Chief, Middle East Division, NCS, CIA

Virgil Maravich, Technical Officer, “Black Bag” expert, Beirut Station, NCS, CIA

Fatima Ali, codename: Julia; wife number one of Abbas Ali, Hezbollah brigade commander

Abbas Ali, husband of Fatima; Commander of Hezbollah “Organization of the Oppressed Brigade”

Frank Mathison, Carrie’s father, lives with daughter Margaret in Alexandria, Virginia; former IT systems administrator, Vietnam veteran; current status: unemployed

Dar Adal, Former Senior Case Officer, “Black Ops,” NCS, CIA; current status: independent intelligence agent/consultant

Ahmed Haidar, Member Hezbollah Central Council (Hezbollah’s inner governing circle), location: Beirut and Tyre, Lebanon

David Randolph Estes, Director of the CTC (Counter-Terrorism Center), NCS, CIA; location: Langley, Virginia

Dr. Margaret Evelyn McClure, née Mathison, nickname “Maggie”; sister of Carrie Mathison; medical doctor; lives and practices in Alexandria, Virginia

James Abdel-Shawafi, nickname “Jimbo,” Senior Analyst II/Database Administrator, NSA (National Security Agency), Fort Meade, Maryland

Joanne Dayton, Intelligence Analyst 2, OCSAA (Office of Collection Strategies and Analysis), Intelligence Analysis Division, CIA

Alan Yerushenko, Deputy Director, OCSAA (Office of Collection Strategies and Analysis), Intelligence Analysis Division, CIA

Abu Nazir, real name: unknown; origin unknown; current status: leader of AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq); location: unknown

Abu Ubaida, real name: unknown; origin unknown; current status: second-in-command to Abu Nazir, leader of AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq); location: unknown

Mira Berenson, née Bhattacharya, wife of Saul Berenson; born Mumbai, India; current status: Director, Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch organization

Bassam Al-Shakran, origin: Amman, Jordan; current status: pharmaceutical salesman.

Abdel Yassin; origin: Amman, Jordan; current status: student at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY

Captain Koslowski, Captain, NYPD Counterintelligence Division, New York City

Sergeant Gillespie, Sergeant, NYPD Counterintelligence Division, New York City

Supervisory Special Agent Sanders, FBI Counter-Terrorism Division, Washington, DC

Tom Raeden, Hercules Team Leader, NYPD Counterintelligence Division, New York City

Abou Murad, fashion photographer, location: Gemmayzeh, Ashrafieh district, Beirut, Lebanon

Rana Saadi, well-known Lebanese actress and model; location: Verdun district, Beirut, Lebanon

Marielle Hilal, Lebanese actress and model; location: Bourj Hammoud district, Beirut, Lebanon

Mohammed Siddiqi, boyfriend of Dima Hamdan; origin: Doha, Qatar

Captain Ryan Dempsey, USMC; current status: Unit Commander, Task Force 145/liaison to CIA; stationed, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Warzer Zafir, Iraqi national; origin: Ramadi, Iraq; current status: US embassy translator and liaison to CIA

Abu Ammar, see Walid Karim

Walid Karim, a.k.a. Abu Ammar, codename: Romeo; current status: AQI Commander; origin: Ramadi, Iraq

Shada Karim, wife of Walid Karim, mother of daughter, Farah, and son, Gabir; location: Ramadi, Iraq

Aasera Karim, mother of Walid Karim; location: Ramadi, Iraq

Lt. Colonel Joseph Tussey, Commander, Third Battalion, Eighth Regiment, USMC; location: Ramadi, Iraq

Sergeant Billings, Squad Leader, Third Battalion, Eighth Regiment, USMC; location: Ramadi, Iraq

Perry Dryer, Baghdad Station Chief, Middle East Division, NCS, CIA; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Colonel Salazar, Commander, 4th Brigade, 3rd Division, US Army; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Captain Mullins, Commander, 2nd Battalion, Special Forces Group attached to 3rd Division, US Army; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Ambassador Robert Benson, US ambassador to Iraq; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Warrant Officer Blazell, nickname: Crimson; Assistant Team Leader, 2nd Battalion, Special Forces Group attached to 3rd Division, US Army; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

Ray Saunders, Beirut Station Chief, Middle East Division, NCS, CIA; location: Beirut, Lebanon

Bilal Mohamad; current status: drug dealer; location: Minet Al Hosn district, Beirut, Lebanon

GLOSSARY

(in alphabetical order)

A Primer on Lebanese Political Groups—
Politics in Lebanon is extremely complex
—
and the penalty for a mistake can be death. This small ancient country whose history goes back to the Phoenicians in pre-biblical times, is divided along deep fault lines of political interests and religious and tribal affiliations. This volatile internal mix is further complicated by interference from outside forces such as Syria, Israel, the Palestinians, and the Sunni-Shiite divide (see page 357), not to mention the United States. In 1975, the powder keg exploded into a brutal civil war that lasted sixteen years (nearly four times longer than the American Civil War). While the Lebanese Civil War ended in late 1990, to this day, the country’s political system remains precariously balanced between opposing elements, all armed to the teeth. Governance in such circumstances is nearly impossible. The Lebanese adopted a unique form of government, in which by law, the President must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, the Speaker of the Parliament a Shiite Muslim, and the Deputy Prime Minister and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Eastern Orthodox Christians.

In order for Carrie to achieve her mission, she must navigate between these dangerous and conflicting groups and interests. In 2006, the period in which this novel is set, these groupings (also described below) included among others: Hezbollah (Shiite Muslims unofficially allied with Syria and Iran), March 14 (primarily Maronite Christians), PSP (Druze), the Islamic Group (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) and the PLO (Palestinians).

Note: As indicated in intelligence provided to Carrie by one of her agents, Fatima Ali, a.k.a. Julia, the Second Israel-Lebanon War, prompted by a cross-border incident by Hezbollah, will break out in July 2006.

Alawites—
A Shiite Muslim religious group, an offshoot of the “Twelver” branch of Shia Islam, primarily located in western Syria. The Alawites began as a sect that followed the teachings of the eleventh Imam, Hassan al-Askari, in the ninth century. In the centuries that followed, they achieved notoriety as warriors. Alawites represent only a small percentage of the Syrian population and might have passed unnoticed were it not that Syria has been ruled for more than forty years by a single Alawite dynasty, the Al-Assad family, who placed Alawites in positions of power. Bassam al-Assad, son of the founder of the modern Syrian state, Hafez al-Assad, was the President of Syria in 2006, the period in which this book is set. As Alawite Shiites, the Al-Assads, father and son, allied Syria with the other two anti-Western Shiite powers in the Middle East, Hezbollah and Iran.

Al Qaeda—
The global international militant terrorist organization. Founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi
jihadi
, in part as a response to the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), al Qaeda (the name means “the Base”) is a combination militant Islamist terrorist network, stateless military force and a radical Sunni Muslim movement advocating global
jihad
. As Salafist
jihadis
, al Qaeda is intolerant of all persons of other religions or philosophies except strict Salafist Sunni Muslims. This includes intolerance toward other Muslims, such as Shiites, Sufis, or even Sunnis who in their view do not practice a sufficiently strict Salafist Sunni version of
sharia
law. The organization achieved worldwide notoriety for its attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Since then, although it has lost much of its early leadership, it has developed offshoots in other parts of the world, including among others: AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in Kashmir, AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; North Africa), Jemaah Islamiah (a Southeast Asian Islamist terrorist group), and AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq).

AQI—
Al Qaeda in Iraq; the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda; the international Salafist
jihadi
militant organization founded by the Saudi terrorist, Osama bin Laden (responsible for the attack on America on September 11, 2001). AQI was founded in 2003 as a reaction to the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. It was first led by the Jordanian militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. After his death, in the
Homeland
version of events, AQI was led by a mysterious man with the
kunya
, or nom de guerre, of Abu Nazir. By 2006, when this novel is set, the American war effort in Iraq is under serious attack. AQI has taken over almost all of the vast Anwar Province that comprises most of western Iraq all the way to the Syrian border.

COMINT—
Acronym for Communications Intelligence, i.e., intelligence derived from the interception of electronic or voice communications.

GSD—
The General Security Directorate; Idarat al-Amn al-Amm; the brutal agency in charge of internal and external security for the Syrian government. In addition to suppressing internal dissent and security threats against the Assad regime, the GSD is deeply involved in intelligence work outside Syria, such as coordinating intelligence activities and information with Hezbollah and the MOIS, the Iranian CIA, both allies of the Assad regime in Syria. It is for this reason that Carrie regards a senior GSD official, such as Taha al-Douni, a.k.a. Nightingale, as a prize worth trying to recruit.

Hezbollah—
An Iranian-sponsored Shiite paramilitary and political movement based in Lebanon (see Sunnis versus Shiites on page 357). Founded in 1982 as a resistance movement against Israel in the aftermath of the First Israel-Lebanon War, its heavily armed militia and strong political presence has made it one of the dominant groups in Lebanon. There are certain areas within Lebanon that are completely controlled by Hezbollah, comprising a virtual state within a state. Hezbollah has ties to both Iran and Syria, all of them, Shiite-based. Hezbollah’s tactics have caused the United States and Israel to officially classify it as a terrorist organization. Note that Hezbollah is Shiite and al Qaeda is a radical Sunni movement, which makes them rivals, not allies.

The Islamic Group—
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya; the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1925, whose credo involves a return to a strict Sunni Muslim version of
sharia
law. Although Sunni Muslims, they joined forces with the Christians in the March 14 alliance in order to oppose Hezbollah and their Syrian allies, who threatened to take over all of Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces, Lebanese Phalange, and the Lebanese Front—
The Lebanese Front or Front Libanais was formed as a right-wing ultra-nationalistic paramilitary force, primarily consisting of Maronite Christians, designed to represent and defend “Christian territory” during the bitter Lebanese Civil War. Later, the so-called Lebanese Forces, a.k.a. Les Forces Libanaises, were formed as an umbrella group, which fought as the main right-wing Christian militia force during the Civil War. The Lebanese Phalange, a.k.a. the Kataeb Party
,
was formed in 1936 as a Maronite Christian paramilitary youth organization by Pierre Gemayel, who modeled it after the Spanish Falange and the Italian Fascist parties. The Phalange became an important component of the Maronite Christian Forces of the Lebanese Front during the Lebanese Civil War.

March 14 Group—
A predominantly Maronite Christian coalition founded during the so-called Cedar Revolution, a wave of protests that swept Lebanon in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, the popular Sunni Muslim prime minister. In addition to its political arm, the group also includes the powerful Maronite Christian Lebanese Forces and Lebanese Phalange armed militia groups, as well as political and military support from some additional allies in Lebanon’s topsy-turvy politics: Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, the Sunni Muslim Islamic Group and also the Lebanese Armenian community. Carrie’s assumption that her female agent, Dima Hamdan, is a Maronite Christian is in part based on the fact that Dima is a secret agent for the March 14 Group.

Maronite Christians—
An early Christian ethno-religious group originating in the Syrian and Mount Lebanon regions. They began as followers of a fifth-century Syrian Christian mystic, Saint Maron, who spent his entire life on a mountain in Syria. Their church is considered an Eastern Catholic Syriac Christian denomination, unique for its liturgy, which is done in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic (the language spoken in the time of Jesus). Today, Maronite Christians make up one-fourth of the population of Lebanon and form the backbone of the nationalist Lebanese Arab parties and right-wing militias. A powerful force within Lebanon, politically and militarily, they have often been pitted against the Muslims, Druze and Palestinians in the various complex configurations of Lebanese politics. In 2006, the period in which this book is set, they are represented politically and militarily through the March 14 Group (see page 355).

MOIS—
The Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Vezarat-e Ettela’at Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran. Iran’s foreign secret intelligence service, i.e., the Iranian equivalent of the CIA. Since both Hezbollah and the Assad government in Syria have ties to Iran, it is appropriate for Carrie to assume that her target agent, Taha al-Douni, codenamed Nightingale, would have access to intelligence from both Hezbollah and Iran’s intelligence organization, MOIS.

Murabitun
—Al Murabitun was started in 1957 by Sunni Muslim followers of Egyptian President Nasser. They opposed the pro-Western policies of Lebanon’s then-President Camille Chamoun, a Maronite Christian. They acquired the name Al Murabitun
,
“the Sentinels,” during fighting in the first Lebanese Civil War in 1958. Later, during the long Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), the Sunni Muslim Murabitun joined with the LNM, the Lebanese National Movement, a coalition of left-wing and socialist forces who had combined with the Druze and Palestinians, all of whom joined forces against the Maronite Christian Lebanese Forces.

Operations Officer—
As an Operations Officer, also called a “case officer,” Carrie’s job is to recruit and run or “handle” agents. These agents, also called “assets,” “sources,” “Joes” or “birds” in CIA parlance, are typically nationals of the country she is in. Or they may be members of specific groups, foreign intelligence services or other organizations who can provide “intel” or intelligence that is of value to the United States.

Sunnis versus Shiites—
The origin of the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites goes back to 632 when the Prophet Muhammad died without leaving a son or heir. Two claimants vied to replace him as the leader or caliph, of the new religion: the Prophet’s closest male relative by blood, his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, whose followers called themselves Shiat Ali, the followers of Ali, or Shiites for short; and the Prophet’s father-in-law, Abu Bakr, whose supporters, called Sunnis, believed he would be best able to manage the rapidly expanding Muslim empire. Abu Bakr was chosen, creating the initial rift. The split between these two groups became irreparable in the year 680, when Ali’s son, Hussein (who was not only Ali’s son, but also the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad), challenged what he saw as a heavy-handed Sunni leadership. Ali, his forces outnumbered, was killed at Karbala in Iraq. Many of his male relatives were slain with him. The massacre of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, along with most of his male relatives, sent shock waves across the Muslim empire that reverberate to this day. It led Shiites to adopt a sense of martyrdom as part of their faith, exemplified as they saw it, in the actions of Hussein, whose sacrifice is still commemorated on the Shiite holiday, the Day of Ashura. Throughout history, while acknowledging that they are fellow Muslims, Sunnis and Shiites have viewed each other with suspicion. The conflict continues to this day, often played out through surrogates, such as Hezbollah (Shiite) and Al Qaeda (Sunni), and in countries with mixed populations, such as Lebanon and Iraq.