got a few hits on al-Numair, The Panther, and I actually got his real name from Wikipedia—Bulus ibn al-Darwish. No wonder he changed it.
Apparently some of this info was not as classified as Tom thought. In fact, there is little that is not available online if you know what you’re looking for.
I checked out the Wikipedia entry. Bulus ibn al-Darwish, a.k.a. The Panther, was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on May 8, 1965, making him thirty-nine years old in May, if he lived that long. So he was not a naturalized citizen—he was actually born here. Interesting.
His parents were both Yemenis who’d immigrated to America, but there was no further info on them. Dead? Alive? Living where?
Little Bulus attended public schools in New Jersey, then graduated from Columbia University in 1987 with a degree in economics—making him an Ivy League terrorist. He should have gone to Wall Street—same work, better pay.
At some point, according to the entry, Mr. al-Darwish became radicalized and went to Yemen in the early 1990s.
The remainder of the entry was a mix of facts and speculation about his activities in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and perhaps Iraq. He was identified as one of the planners of the attack on the USS Cole and also the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg in the Gulf of Aden.
Additionally, the subject asshole had been implicated in two or three armed attacks on Westerners in Sana’a, Aden, and the surrounding areas, resulting in a number of deaths and kidnappings. Plus, while he was at it, he’d planned two rocket attacks—one on the American Embassy in Sana’a, one on the Sheraton Hotel in Aden. Both attacks had been thwarted. The planned attack on the Sheraton interested me, because that’s where I stayed with the other American personnel in Aden. We called the place Fort Apache.
And last but not least, Mr. al-Darwish and some friends had been involved in a shoot-out at the Saudi Arabian border last year, resulting in the deaths of six Saudi soldiers.
Bottom line, this was a bad guy. Maybe fearless, maybe nuts, and definitely angry about something. Maybe he got teased in school.
Also, I’d never heard of this guy. And I knew the names of lots of terrorists. So this guy was being kept under wraps. Why? Probably because this was strictly a CIA case, and they were not sharing the info with the FBI. Until now. The Agency only talks to you when they need you.
I clicked next onto the website of the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a and checked out Citizen Services and what’s called Warden Messages. The Department of State, I saw, was concerned about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and had issued a Travel Warning for Yemen regarding “possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses, and perceived interests.”
I guess that included the embassy itself, not to mention everyone working or visiting there.
The embassy website further informed me that “travel on roads between cities throughout Yemen can be dangerous.” Really? “Travel outside Sana’a is restricted.” Right. That’s where those roads are. “Travel in tribal areas north and east of Sana’a is particularly dangerous, and kidnappings are common.” Best to avoid the whole country.
There was also a mention of the ongoing civil war that Kate and I had seen reported on BBC. This rebel leader, al-Houthi, was taking control of bigger parts of North Yemen. And that led me to wonder why anyone wanted to rule this fucked-up place.
So to recap, Yemen was ruled by a corrupt dictator, and the country was half overrun by a rebel leader, and the rest of the place was run by tribal warlords, except the areas that were infiltrated by Al Qaeda. Plus, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were infested with pirates. The good news was that everyone was stoned on khat and didn’t give a shit.
I read a last entry on the embassy website, which advised, “From time to time, the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a may temporarily close or suspend public services as necessary to review its security posture and its adequacy.”
With luck, they’d shut down before I got there.
Anyway, I could have spent a week surfing the Internet, getting background on Yemen and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and The Panther, but why bother? By Saturday or Sunday I’d be in the belly of the beast.
I logged off the computer and went back to my desk.
CHAPTER NINE
Kate and I decided to have lunch at Fraunces Tavern, the