Prologue, Chapters 1-2 Summary and Analysis

Gary Schroen, a CIA agent meets with Ahmed Shah Massoud, the former Afghan defense minister. The CIA fed large amounts of money to Massoud's organization during the war with the Soviet Union. By 1996, Massoud's popularity is waning. The Taliban form in 1994 and is trying to clear Afghanistan of warlords, including Massoud. The Americans, who walk away from Afghanistan when the Soviet Union dissolves, will be coming back in the future, Schroen says because of terrorism.

Osama bin Laden comes to Afghanistan for asylum in May 1996. The wealthy sheikh is known to the warlords for his help against the Soviets. He is a financier of Islamic terrorist groups and is expelled by the Sudan and stripped of his Saudi citizenship. The CIA has a special unit for gathering information on bin Laden.

Schroen and the CIA want Massoud's...