The Spymaster of Baghdad, by Margaret Coker

Author: Margaret Coker. Review by Reg Naulty

The spymaster of Baghdad is Abu Ali al-Basri, who was the head of counter-terrorism for the national intelligence agency in Iraq. His unit, the Falcons, had a spectacular record of success against Islamic State during the prime ministership of Nouri al-Maliki. Over the course of sixteen months, it stopped thirty suicide bombings and eighteen massive terror attacks on the Iraqi capital.

It took considerable work to prevent these attacks. One member of the Falcons ingratiated himself into the planning echelon of Islamic State by feigning allegiance to its principles and working as a double agent, at terrible risk to himself. He contributed greatly to the team’s success.

Al-Basri himself learned the undercover trade when he was on the run from Saddam Hussein’s secret police, trying to stitch together an underground network of Shiites. Nouri al-Maliki was also his boss then.

Margaret Coker tells the story of the Falcons organisation superlatively well – how it replaced another unit under the command of an incompetent man installed by the USA, and how al-Basri saw his work as scientific, not as a bloodsport. What comes through most strongly in the book is the outstanding bravery of ordinary Iraqis in their opposition to terrorism.

Something else which comes through powerfully is how tightly knit the Iraqi family is, and how deeply the misfortunes and fortunes of family members reverberate. Strong family helps its members in hard times.

We now know that the US and its allies are going to leave Afghanistan this year, and there seems to be a wide sense of foreboding for the regime in Kabul in the absence of foreign troops. Margaret Coker’s book shows that many ordinary Muslims are likely to resist living under the Taliban, a regime that proposes to run Afghanistan as Arabia was run in the time of Muhammad, which for them means no free elections and the subjugation of women.

After forty years of war, what Afghanistan needs most of all is peace, and it is unclear what the Taliban’s intentions are with respect to war. But it is worth remarking that the Taliban has never operated in a vacuum. There is Saudi Arabia which it respects, since it has the kind of Islam which it aspires to, and Pakistan, which has provided it with sanctuary and access to supplies. Both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan care about their relations with the rest of the world. The US is one of Saudi Arabia’s strongest allies, and Pakistan is unlikely to want to be too reliant on China. Both countries should be open to persuasion.

There are also the relevant United Nations organisations which we can support, those for refugees, for example. Many countries have been involved militarily in Afghanistan, with mixed results. Peaceful involvement should do better.

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