Introduction
Early on a cold, overcast morning on September 13, 1987, three people boarded a small fishing boat in Cyprus and headed into the Mediterranean Sea. The fog had not yet lifted. Operation Goldenrod was under way. The operation’s aim was to arrest and transport a Lebanese terrorist, Fawas Yunis, to the United States to stand trial for acts of terrorism against US citizens. Operation Goldenrod was the first operation targeting a terrorist overseas undertaken by the recently created CIA Counterterrorist Center. Under the auspices of the White House and National Security Council, the operation fostered extensive, close planning, collaboration, and cooperation between federal law enforcement, diplomatic, intelligence, and military services. The operation had to be accomplished in such a way as to ensure it was legal under US and international law. Yunis would be tried, convicted, and sentenced to 30 years in prison in 1989.