The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames (66 page)

68
“Ali told me everything …”:
Mustafa Zein, interview, Amman, October 6, 2012.

69
“It took a while to restore the relationship”: Charles Waverly
, interview, March 28, 2011.

70
“We, you and I”:
Robert Ames to Mustafa Zein, August 4, 1971.

71
“Bob had warned us …”:
Mustafa Zein, interview, October 6, 2012.

72
“I know he’s suffered …”:
Robert Ames to Mustafa Zein, August 4, 1971.

73
“It sure was great …”:
Robert Ames to Mustafa Zein, August 20, 1971.

74
“Regarding our friend,” Ames wrote, “if you see him …”:
Ibid.

75
“Regarding our friend,” Ames wrote Zein, “I believe it is imperative …”:
Robert Ames to Mustafa Zein, September 14, 1971.

76
“I was opposed …”:
Alan Hart,
Arafat: Terrorist or Peacemaker?
(London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1984), p. 348.

77
“spiritual godfather and chief”:
Abdul Hadi,
Palestinian Personalities
, p. 111.

78
“At the time,” said Bella, “Arafat could not afford to speak …”:
Hart,
Arafat
, p. 347.

79
“I told Ali …”:
Mustafa Zein, interview, Amman, October 6, 2012.

80
“Ali Hassan Salameh, the hard-living Fatah intelligence expert …”:
Eric Pace, “The Black September Guerrillas: Elusive Trail in Seven Countries,”
New York Times
, October 12, 1972.

81
Salameh was the “mastermind”:
Sayigh,
Armed Struggle
, p. 307.

82
“We are Black September …”:
Bird,
Crossing Mandelbaum Gate
, p. 281.

83
“The Jordanians were in an ugly mood”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, December 4, 1971.

84
an elaborate Damascene ceiling:
Bird,
Crossing Mandelbaum Gate
, p. 7.

85
“Today is the Jewish Sabbath”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, December 4, 1971.

86
he “missed the oriental dignity that was Jerusalem”:
Ibid.

  
1
they never locked their doors:
Karen Ames, civil suit testimony in
Anne Dammarell vs. Islamic Republic of Iran
, April 15, 2003, Federal District Court, Washington, DC,
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_01-cv-02224/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_01-cv-02224-4.pdf
.

  
2
“He didn’t like what alcohol did”:
Yvonne Ames, interview, November 19–20, 2010.

  
3
They owned a Kuwaiti chest:
Yvonne Ames, e-mail to author, January 22, 2013, with a photograph of the chest.

  
4
His favorite poem was Rudyard Kipling’s “If”:
Yvonne Ames, interview, November 19–20, 2010.

  
5
“Bob was reading five books …”:
Charles Englehart, interview, September 20, 2011.

  
6
“He didn’t talk much about himself”:
Adrienne Ames, interview, November 19, 2010.

  
7
“He was a quiet, solid neighbor”:
Ron Simmers Sr., phone interview, April 22, 2012.

  
8
a GS-13, earning less than $20,000:
Lance Potter, e-mail to author, January 30, 2012. Potter is citing U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Rates of Pay Under the General Schedule: Effective the First Pay Period Beginning on or After January 1, 1971,”
www.opm.gov/oca/pre1994/1971_GS.pdf
.

  
9
“Bob didn’t tolerate debt”:
Yvonne Ames, interview, November 19–20, 2010, and Yvonne Ames, e-mail to author, January 28, 2012.

10
“Everyone in our neighborhood …”:
Yvonne Ames, e-mail to author, January 28, 2012.

11
Yvonne sang with the Sweet Adelines:
Ron Simmers Sr., phone interview, April 22, 2012.

12
“It seemed all the planes took off …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, May 27, 1972.

13
“There’s lots of activity …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 19, 1972.

14
“I hear all sorts of gory tales …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 13, 1972.

15
“Here everything is dust”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, May 27, 1972.

16
“It’s about time I relaxed …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 21, 1972.

17
“I still crack my head …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 7, 1972.

18
“water problems, dust problems …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, May 27, 1972.

19
“I just had some canned spaghetti …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 4, 1972.

20
“Well, it’s getting late for me …”:
Ibid.

21
“I won’t be bored”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, May 22, 1972.

22
He lived frugally:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, July 27, 1972.

23
“I’m just an old homebody now”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, May 22, 1972.

24
“One good thing about being in Yemen”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 13, 1972.

25
a short, almost perfunctory trial:
As a young freelance reporter in Sana’a, I attended one of these trials of saboteurs in the summer of 1973.

26
“so there would be cars in front of me …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, July 21, 1972.

27
“Well, I’ve driven everywhere …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, June 29, 1972.

28
more than two hundred applicants:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, July 15, 1972.

29
“The thing is”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, May 5, 1972.

30
“People wanted to see me …”:
Robert Ames to Yvonne, July 10, 1972.

31
“If I put out ten more reports …”:
Ibid.

32
“Tehran might be a more plausible choice”:
Richard Helms with William Hood,
A Look over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency
(New York: Ballantine Books, 2003), p. 412.

33
“two of his best case officers”:
George Cave, interview, March 14, 2011.

34
“try to find time …”:
Amir Oren, “Top Secret, Eyes Only,”
Ha’aretz
, March 10, 2008. Oren’s article is based on declassified papers of Richard Helms, Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA.

35
“We had no choice …”:
Ali Hassan Salameh, interview by Nadia Salti Stephan,
Monday Morning
, April 26–May 2, 1976.

36
investigative journalist Aaron J. Klein:
Aaron J. Klein,
Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel’s Deadly Response
(New York: Random House, 2005), pp. 219–20.

37
“I am fully aware of the activities of our friend”:
Robert Ames to Mustafa Zein, March 26, 1972.

38
Flattery: “Our friend should know …”:
Ibid.

39
It was a very narrow escape:
Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi,
Best of Enemies: The Memoirs of Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1995), p. 112.

40
Half a million mourners:
Klein,
Striking Back
, p. 169.

41
“the result of complete carelessness …”:
Taylor,
States of Terror
, pp. 73–74; Ali Hassan Salameh, interview by Nadia Salti Stephan,
Monday Morning
, April 26–May 2, 1976.

42
“Okay, whatever Bob says …”:
Mustafa Zein, interview, Amman, October 6, 2012.

43
an attack on the Olympics would serve three purposes:
Klein,
Striking Back
, p. 34; Abu Iyad, with Éric Rouleau,
My Home, My Land: A Narrative of the Palestinian Struggle
(New York: Times Books, 1981), p. 106; Michael Rubner, review of four books on the Munich massacre,
Middle East Policy
13, no. 2 (2007): 176–92.

44
“picked up the keys …”:
Klein,
Striking Back
, p. 33.

45
“a tragedy for the Israelis and us”:
Hart,
Arafat
, p. 352.

46
“Terrorism is theater”:
Steve Coll,
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan,
and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004), p. 138.

47
“Dozens of senior ex-Mossad …”:
Klein,
Striking Back
, pp. 218–19.

48
“a forward command post …”:
Simon Reeve,
One Day in September
(New York: Arcade, 2000), pp. 46, 280. See also David Clay Large,
Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the Olympic Games
(New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2012).

49
he “was wide awake …”:
Bar-Zohar and Haber,
Quest for the Red Prince
, pp. 124–25, 132.

50
telephone conversations intercepted by the German government:
Paul O’Neil, “The Charming Assassin Who Loved the Good Life,”
Life
, April 1979, p. 104.

51
“Not to my knowledge was Ali Hassan in Munich”: Meir Harel
, interview, Tel Aviv, October 18, 2012.

52
“Ali Hassan was the tactical planner”:
Sam Wyman, interview, April 23, 2012.

53
“Initially, Bob thought Ali was behind the Munich operation …”:
Mustafa Zein, interview, Amman, October 6, 2012.

54
“I am not trying to portray him
[
Salameh
]
as St Francis …”:
Zein, “Deceit with Extreme Prejudice,” p. 190.

55
“When I heard about Munich”:
Taylor,
States of Terror
, pp. 62–63.

56
“In counter-terrorism …”:
George Jonas,
Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-terrorist Team
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984), p. 240.

57
“man with the imagination of the devil …”:
O’Neil, “Charming Assassin,” p. 104.

58
“At the time, we were subjected to a blackout …”:
Ali Hassan Salameh, interview by Nadia Salti Stephan,
Monday Morning
, April 26–May 2, 1976.

59
“It has to be resolved …”:
Zein, “Deceit with Extreme Prejudice,” p. 117.

60
“I saw somebody give him
[
Salameh
]
a cheque …”:
Taylor,
States of Terror
, p. 71.

61
“What hurt deepest were the comments of Ali”:
Robert Ames to Mustafa Zein, February 10, 1973, courtesy of Mustafa Zein.

62
“I happened to see many files on Ali”:
Ibid.

63
“There is much I would like to tell you …”:
Ibid.

64
“Khartoum had made its point …”:
Robert Ames, memo to Ambassador Helms, July 18, 1973, Richard Helms Papers, Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA.

65
“I suppose we were …”:
Taylor,
States of Terror
, p. 69.

66
“Fatah leader Yasser Arafat …”:
Scott W. Johnson, “How Arafat Got Away with Murder,”
Weekly Standard
, January 29, 2007. Professor Yezid Sayigh wrote that Khartoum was an Abu Iyad operation: “Arafat was implicated once the attack had taken place, but it is not clear that he or other members of the Fatah central committee had prior knowledge of it.” Sayigh,
Armed Struggle
, p. 311.

67
“You sup with the devil”:
Benjamin Weiser, “Company Man,”
Washington Post
, May 17, 1992, p. 25.

68
Ames passed an urgent message to Salameh:
David Ignatius, “The Secret History of U.S.-PLO Terror Talks,”
Washington Post
, December 4, 1988; Mohammed Natour (Abu Tayeb), “The Martrydom of Ali Hassan Salameh,” unpublished manuscript, courtesy of Mustafa Zein. Zein reports that the Libyan businessman Al-Khudairi later escaped to Rabat with the assistance of Moroccan intelligence. Mustafa Zein, signed note to author, October 6, 2012.

69
“After Munich”: Uri Oppenheim
, interview, Tel Aviv, October 14, 2012.
Oppenheim
spent ten years as a clandestine Mossad officer in Europe.

70
One Thousand and One Nights: An Arabic edition of this book was found in his pocket by the medical examiner.

71
“Over the years”:
Klein,
Striking Back
, pp. 119–23.

72
“As far as I remember …”:
Ibid., pp. 122–23.

73
“Basil was an Arab nationalist …”:
Dr. Abdul Said Aziz, interview, April 4, 2012.

74
“on a tour in Europe …”:
Walid W. Kazziha,
Revolutionary Transformation in the Arab World: Habash and His Comrades from Nationalism to Marxism
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1975), p. 38.

75
He lived modestly:
Kameel B. Nasr,
Arab and Israeli Terrorism: The Causes and Effects of Political Violence, 1936–1993
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1997), p. 72. Nasr is citing the London
Times
, April 10, 1973, and
Le Monde
, July 24, 1982.

76
“La! La! La!”:
Jonas,
Vengeance
, p. 192.

77
“a revolutionary avant-garde intellectual …”:
“Iraqi, on a Guerrilla ‘Mission,’ Shot and Killed in Paris,”
New York Times
, April 7, 1973.

78
“looks very much like the execution of a secret agent”:
“Iraqi Is Killed in Paris; Israeli Agents Blamed,”
Washington Post
, April 7, 1973.

79
nine different passports:
Klein,
Striking Back
, p. 155. Klein doesn’t give a source for the “nine different passports,” but the Associated Press story published by the
New York Times
quotes a hotel employee saying that police found $1,000 in cash. “Iraqi, on a Guerrilla ‘Mission,’ Shot and Killed in Paris,”
New York Times
, April 7, 1973.

80
“quartermaster”:
Jonas,
Vengeance
, p. 191.

81
“on a mission”:
“Iraqi, on a Guerrilla ‘Mission,’ Shot and Killed in Paris,”
New York Times
, April 7, 1973.

82
“roving ambassador”:
Jonas,
Vengeance
, p. 193. Abu Iyad described Al-Kubaisi as a “professor at the University of Baghdad” (Iyad,
My Home, My Land
, p. 103). The American scholar Harold M. Cubert later wrote that Al-Kubaisi “was an active ANM member and continued his association with its leadership as a PFLP operative after December 1967.” Following Al-Kubaisi’s murder in 1973, the PFLP published his dissertation in its weekly magazine,
Al-Hadaf
. “It also eulogized him as an important ANM and PFLP member.” Harold M. Cubert,
The PFLP’s Changing Role in the Middle East
(London: Frank Cass, 1997), pp. 49–50.

83
“was probably not affiliated with Fatah’s Black September …”:
Klein,
Striking Back
, p. 153.

84
“The Mossad was not after the muscle …”:
Fadl Naqib, e-mail to author, May 23, 2012; Fadl Naqib, “Ghassan Kanafani: Questions and Answers,” speech delivered at the Brecht Forum, New York City, May 8, 1999.

85
“Kubaisi rings a bell”:
George Cave, e-mail to author, May 11, 2012.

86
“Mr. K was a chattering contact …”:
Duane R. Clarridge, e-mail to author, May 11, 2012.

87
“I know”:
Graham Fuller, e-mail to author, May 7, 2012.

88
“interesting intelligence”:
Robert Ames, memo to Helms, July 18, 1973, Richard Helms Papers, Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA,
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/index.html
.

89
“His is the first execution …”:
Adam Goldman and Randy Herschaft, “Papers Shed Light on Envoy’s ’73 Killing,”
Boston Globe
, July 1, 2007. See also Fred Burton and John Bruning,
Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent’s Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice
(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), pp. 199–205.