I accepted the agent"s mission. There were no papers to sign, no employment application, no background check. He – I should say “they” since the CIA was behind this – already knew everything about me. Plus, confidential informants (I had become a “CI”) didn"t have to be trusted. They were kept in place, and in play, because it would be even more dangerous to quit.
Before long, I was back in Kabul with instructions to find out more about al Ramadi. I was supposed to do this casually, not to investigate him but to show interest in his work and his plan for Western invaders, as he called them. I was told to be faithful to Islam and to demonstrate at least a modest distrust for Americans. With these traits, I was going to establish myself, this new Karimi Istafan, as a potential recruit in th
