The Spymaster of Baghdad: A True Story of Bravery, Family, and Patriotism in the Battle against ISIS

by Margaret Coker

Overview

From the former New York Times bureau chief in Baghdad comes the gripping and heroic story of an elite, top-secret team of unlikely spies who triumphed over ISIS. 

The Spymaster of Baghdad tells the dramatic yet intimate account of how a covert Iraqi intelligence unit called “the Falcons” came together against all odds to defeat ISIS. The Falcons, comprising ordinary men with little conventional espionage background, infiltrated the world’s most powerful terrorist organization, ultimately turning the tide of war against the terrorist group and bringing safety to millions of Iraqis and the broader world. Centered around the relationship between two brothers, Harith al-Sudani, a rudderless college dropout who was recruited to the Falcons by his all-star younger brother Munaf, and their eponymous unit commander Abu Ali, The Spymaster of Baghdad follows their emotional journey as Harith volunteers for the most dangerous mission imaginable. With piercing lyricism and thrilling prose, Coker’s deeply-reported account interweaves heartfelt portraits of these and other unforgettable characters as they navigate the streets of war-torn Baghdad and perform heroic feats of cunning and courage.

The Falcons’ path crosses with that of Abrar, a young, radicalized university student who, after being snubbed by the head of the Islamic State’s chemical weapons program, plots her own attack. At the near-final moment, the Falcons intercept Abrar’s deadly plan to poison Baghdad’s drinking water and arrest her in the middle of the night—just one of many covert counterterrorism operations revealed for the first time in the book.

 Ultimately, The Spymaster of Baghdad is a page-turning account of wartime espionage in which ordinary people make extraordinary sacrifices for the greater good. Challenging our perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism, war and peace, Iraq and the wider Middle East, American occupation and foreign intervention, The Spymaster of Baghdad is a testament to the power of personal choice and individual action to change the course of history—in a time when we need such stories more than ever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062947413
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/22/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,079,928
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Margaret Coker is a prize-winning investigative journalist who, for the last nineteen years, has covered stories from thirty-two countries on four continents. Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Coker has largely focused on the Middle East, writing about corruption, counterterrorism, and cyber warfare. Her stories written during the 2011 Libyan uprising over Muammar Gaddafi for the Wall Street Journal won prizes for investigative journalism and diplomatic reporting. As Turkey bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, Coker contributed to a 2016 series that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. As the New York Times bureau chief in Baghdad in 2018, Coker won prizes for feature writing for her front-page stories about Iraq. Margaret and her husband live in Savannah, Georgia, with their two dogs and cat.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 Blessings of an Oldest Child 5

Chapter 2 A Chance for Freedom 22

Chapter 3 Breaking with the Past 35

Chapter 4 Return of the Exiles 46

Chapter 5 Ache for Paradise 63

Chapter 6 Murder Capital of the World 72

Chapter 7 Education of a Radical 82

Chapter 8 Building a Cover Story 89

Chapter 9 Learning from Misinformation 99

Chapter 10 Hunting for Prey 111

Chapter 11 Living Your Best Life 127

Chapter 12 Alone in the Wilderness 134

Chapter 13 Awakening the Beast 141

Chapter 14 War Hits Home 166

Chapter 15 Volunteering for Danger 179

Chapter 16 Launching the Mission 188

Chapter 17 Inside the Lion's Den 193

Chapter 18 Caught in a Trap 210

Chapter 19 Coming Home Again 224

Chapter 20 Racing Against Time 238

Chapter 21 Stretched to the Breaking Point 256

Chapter 22 Unraveling 270

Epilogue 277

Acknowledgments 285

Notes on Interviews and Citations 287

Bibliography 289

Index 297

Reading Group Guide 313

Editorial Reviews

"Margaret Coker, formerly of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, continued to cover Iraq after most of the American press corps had moved on; she has produced a gripping new book about the shadow war between Iraqi intelligence officers and the Islamic State...Coker’s reporting on these men, their families, and the family of a young woman recruited by terrorists is so meticulous that it lets her enter invisibly a closed, sometimes frightening world and portray it with cinematic detail...Coker’s Iraq emerges as its own country, more impressive than the stage of an American drama that absorbed us for a few years, more real than the projection of American fantasies and traumas, returning to its own people, finding its own destiny." — George Packer, The Atlantic

"The Spymaster of Baghdad brings a focused, refreshing — and well overdue — viewpoint." — Financial Times

"A dramatic and edifying must-read." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An eye-opening account revealing that Iraqi competence and heroism were essential to its victory over terrorism." — Kirkus Reviews

“An intensely suspenseful, superbly well-reported, and significant tale.” — Booklist

"The Spymaster of Baghdad is the amazing true story of the secret war against ISIS in Iraq, which Margaret Coker tells with great verve and authority." — Peter Bergen, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt

“Margaret Coker has brought to readers a gripping spy drama that doubles as a page-turning story of family and survival. A moving window into patriots who faced down terror and fought for their country.” — Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, New York Times bestselling author of Ashley’s War and The Daughters of Kobani 

“Margaret Coker’s The Spymaster of Baghdad is a stunning and meticulous account of exceptional bravery and espionage carried out by Iraqis in the most dangerous stages of the war against ISIS. These are the type of stories we so rarely get to hear, and we are lucky to have journalists like Coker to tell them.”  — Phil Klay,  award-winning author of Redeployment and Missionaries

“A thrilling and skillfully reported tale of the invisible heroes of the Iraqi fight against terrorism, that, at its heart, is a poignant story of family and sacrifice.” — Tamer Elnoury, covert operative and New York Times bestselling author of American Radical. 

“Oftentimes, real life narrated by a master story teller reads better than any spy novel one could come across. The Spymaster of Baghdad, written by the intrepid Margaret Coker, is a heartbreaking and courageous story well worth reading and sharing with the entire world. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Abu Ali Al-Basri and the Iraqi Falcons Unit for their important role in the fight against the most lethal terrorist group of our time.” — Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE). 

"A unique masterpiece in the genres of espionage writing and spy biography."  — Vin Arthey, The Scotsman

"Ms. Coker weaves together a spy story worthy of John le Carré...its constituent parts are riveting in and of themselves, but Ms. Coker brings them together in such a powerful way that it goes well beyond its “spy genre” label." — Joshua C. Huminski, The Diplomatic Courier

From the Publisher

An intensely suspenseful, superbly well-reported, and significant tale.

Booklist

"The Spymaster of Baghdad is the amazing true story of the secret war against ISIS in Iraq, which Margaret Coker tells with great verve and authority."

Peter Bergen

Oftentimes, real life narrated by a master story teller reads better than any spy novel one could come across. The Spymaster of Baghdad, written by the intrepid Margaret Coker, is a heartbreaking and courageous story well worth reading and sharing with the entire world. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Abu Ali Al-Basri and the Iraqi Falcons Unit for their important role in the fight against the most lethal terrorist group of our time.

Anne Speckhard

Margaret Coker’s The Spymaster of Baghdad is a stunning and meticulous account of exceptional bravery and espionage carried out by Iraqis in the most dangerous stages of the war against ISIS. These are the type of stories we so rarely get to hear, and we are lucky to have journalists like Coker to tell them.” 

Phil Klay

An intensely suspenseful, superbly well-reported, and significant tale.

Booklist

"The Spymaster of Baghdad brings a focused, refreshing — and well overdue — viewpoint."

Financial Times

"A unique masterpiece in the genres of espionage writing and spy biography." 

Vin Arthey

★ 11/02/2020

Journalist Coker debuts with a fascinating, character-driven chronicle of the battle against al-Qaeda and ISIS in Iraq. She centers her account on Abu Ali al-Basri, leader of an elite Iraqi intelligence unit known as “the Falcons,” and two young men under his command. Framing the book with the joint Iraqi-American raid that resulted in the death of ISIS mastermind Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, Coker follows brothers Harith and Munaf al-Sudani as they endure family strife, the fall of Saddam Hussein, and the violence of the postinvasion insurgency before finally settling into vital roles on al-Basri’s spy team. Coker juxtaposes their heroic journey with the descent of Abrar al-Kubaisi, a young Sunni woman whose despair over the American occupation of Iraq led to her radicalization by ISIS. Coker ties the threads of the narrative together in a gripping and well-crafted conclusion worthy of a spy novel. Though she paints a vivid and harrowing picture of the fallout from the Iraq War, it is Coker’s focus on the resilience and bravery of Iraqis who are leading the fight to rebuild their country that lifts this book above other accounts of the war on terror. The result is a dramatic and edifying must-read for espionage fans and anyone interested in Middle Eastern affairs. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Margaret Coker, formerly of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, continued to cover Iraq after most of the American press corps had moved on; she has produced a gripping new book about the shadow war between Iraqi intelligence officers and the Islamic State...Coker’s reporting on these men, their families, and the family of a young woman recruited by terrorists is so meticulous that it lets her enter invisibly a closed, sometimes frightening world and portray it with cinematic detail...Coker’s Iraq emerges as its own country, more impressive than the stage of an American drama that absorbed us for a few years, more real than the projection of American fantasies and traumas, returning to its own people, finding its own destiny."

George Packer

"The Spymaster of Baghdad brings a focused, refreshing — and well overdue — viewpoint."

Financial Times

Margaret Coker has brought to readers a gripping spy drama that doubles as a page-turning story of family and survival. A moving window into patriots who faced down terror and fought for their country.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

A thrilling and skillfully reported tale of the invisible heroes of the Iraqi fight against terrorism, that, at its heart, is a poignant story of family and sacrifice.

Tamer Elnoury

"Ms. Coker weaves together a spy story worthy of John le Carré...its constituent parts are riveting in and of themselves, but Ms. Coker brings them together in such a powerful way that it goes well beyond its “spy genre” label."

Joshua C. Huminski

01/01/2021

The Iraq War is often told through the lenses of the U.S. military and media, which credited U.S. efforts with success in the confusing and sometimes aimless conflict. Coker, Baghdad Bureau Chief for the New York Times in 2017–2018, shows that an Iraqi security agency was also instrumental in foiling terrorist activities and capturing numerous al-Qaeda and ISIS operatives. Her book focuses on three Shiite Iraqis: Abu Ali al-Basri, head of an elite intelligence unit, as well as Harith and Munaf al-Sudani, who worked with al-Basri to infiltrate and inform on an ISIS cell. Coker's engaging writing provides enlightening descriptions of the complexity of Iraqi social and religious elements that affected the conflict. She shows that, without Iraqi security forces, dozens more terrorist attacks would have occurred and even more suicide bombers would have succeeded. Readers wishing to better understand the complexities of the Iraq War will appreciate her insight into Iraqi society. VERDICT Fans of spy stories will gravitate toward Coker's use of intrigue and suspense. Her book is an important addition to the history of the Iraq War, and shows how Iraqi security and intelligence agencies made significant contributions in restoring order during and especially since the end of the conflict.—Jill Ortner, SUNY Buffalo Libs.

Library Journal

2020-11-05
A history of the defeat of the Islamic State group in Iraq, featuring an unexpected cast of heroes.

Many Americans believe that the invasion of Iraq was a multitrillion-dollar debacle that replaced a vicious dictator with a failed state. Having suppressed the insurgency and al-Qaida, the U.S. withdrew in 2011, whereupon al-Qaida’s even more vicious successor, IS, came roaring back before American forces returned to lead the fight against it. Journalist Coker, former New York Times Baghdad bureau chief, begs to differ, if only regarding recent events in which Iraqis played a central role. A leading figure is Abu Ali al-Basri, a dissident who returned in 2003 after nearly 20 years in exile. However, because he didn’t learn English during that time, “he wasn’t part of the exile cliques” chosen by Americans to introduce democratic government. By 2006, with terrorism running rampant, no one, including CIA officials, doubted that the billions spent on Iraq’s intelligence and security agency were wasted. At the time, Iraq’s prime minister, who didn’t trust his intelligence director, appointed the then-obscure al-Basri to lead his own team. Working quietly for years with a handful of trustworthy men and eschewing the usual strong-arm tactics, he gathered information and sent men undercover, ultimately convincing even the Americans that he knew his business. Coker adds vivid accounts of two major supporting characters: Harith Al-Sudani, a college dropout who joined al-Basri’s agency, infiltrated an IS cell, and foiled dozens of bombings before being caught, tortured, and beheaded; and Abrar al-Kubaisi, a chemist and “member of the city’s educated elite,” who was devastated by the chaos and loss of status that followed the invasion. Rejected by IS after offering her expertise in poison, she planned her own mass murder. Much of the text is novelistic, with the author providing perhaps too much insight into her characters’ emotions and movements, but the basic story, and many of its intriguing details, will be fresh for most American readers.

An eye-opening account revealing that Iraqi competence and heroism were essential to its victory over terrorism.

Kirkus Reviews