Dr. Watson, late of Baker Street, and having himself served in Afghanistan, would have appreciated what he undoubtedly would have called: The Curious Case of the Severed Afghan Head. When the green metal box first arrived in Washington from Kabul, allegedly bearing the skull of Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenant, President George W. Bush is said to have said, only half in jest: "So if it turns out to be Zawahiri's head, I hope you will bring it here."
Afghan tribal chiefs had sent what they believed to be the skull of Ayman al-Zawahiri in hope of collecting a $25 million reward. The Americans, needing proof, asked Egypt for a DNA sample from Zawahiri's brother, whom the Egyptians were holding. According to Ron Suskind's account, in his "The One Percent Doctrine," the Egyptians offered to cut off the brother's arm and send it to CIA. Just a vial of blood will do, said a stammering CIA man.
The severed head turned out not to be Zawahiri's, and the skull was shipped to a warehouse in New York's Staten Island, according to Suskind. George Tenet, CIA director, got to keep the tin box it came in. |