Over time, maybe months, I became a regular member of al Ramadi"s inner circle. His army had murdered scores of civilians, Muslims like him and me, and a handful of Americans. He said all Muslims went to heaven and all Americans went to hell, so the exchange of lives was worth it.
The CIA contact wanted me to report all of this and warn the Americans of a possible suicide attack, which I did. But I also was going to follow through on my plan to kill al Ramadi. I knew that his men would never let me get near him with a weapon, but I would have to try.
One day, al Ramadi called me to come closer so that he could speak with me.
“Our women can fight the same battles as the men, you know,” he said.
That was a bit strange, because in Islam the men are the fighters. But I also knew that some
