# Jordanian al-Qaeda detainee

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Jordanian al-Qaeda detainee," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/jordanian-al-qaeda-detainee/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*The subject of John Kiriakou's first-ever interrogation in Pakistan, a Jordanian who had gone to Afghanistan to run an orphanage, joined al-Qaeda for its funding, and told the truth about his escape route because 'I'm your prisoner; what good would it do to lie?'*

- **Captured:** Crossing from Tora Bora into Pakistan
- **Outcome:** Released to Jordan; not a combatant

The **Jordanian al-Qaeda detainee** was the subject of [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s first-ever interrogation, conducted without training when he arrived as chief of counterterrorism operations in Pakistan. Rather than play good cop or bad cop, Kiriakou simply had a conversation.[1][2][3] The man explained he had gone to Afghanistan in 2000 to open an orphanage for parentless children, and joined al-Qaeda because it funded the orphanage generously and asked nothing of him; he never carried a weapon. In another telling, Kiriakou gives the same story slightly differently: the detainee said he had gone to Afghanistan three years earlier to volunteer building an orphanage, having previously worked at an orphanage in Jordan.[4][3] Asked to trace his escape route from Tora Bora, he gave detail so precise, a village, a man with a Toyota, a night in a barn, that Kiriakou, who already knew the *"rat lines,"* knew he was telling the truth. Asked why, the man said, *"I'm your prisoner; what good would it do for me to lie to you?"* and then offered to invite Kiriakou into Islam and be his godfather in the faith; Kiriakou declined, thanking him but citing his own Orthodox Christian faith. He was released to Jordan as a non-combatant.[5][6][7][8]

## See also

- [Economic roots of terrorism](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/economic-roots-of-terrorism)
- [Abu Zubaydah Capture](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abu-zubaydah)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou, CIA: "From the Inside" (Part 2) (2025-08-04), at 1:47:54. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMtuwhkBAY&t=6474s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-08-04-tegan-broadwater-from-the-inside-part-2/
2. John Kiriakou, CIA: "From the Inside" (Part 2) (2025-08-04), at 1:48:26. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMtuwhkBAY&t=6506s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-08-04-tegan-broadwater-from-the-inside-part-2/
3. CIA and the Vatican, Christian Zionism, and Living the Faith (2026-06-16), at 11:21. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-EzDMH7ck&t=681s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-16-the-third-way-orthodox/
4. John Kiriakou, CIA: "From the Inside" (Part 2) (2025-08-04), at 1:48:59. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMtuwhkBAY&t=6539s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-08-04-tegan-broadwater-from-the-inside-part-2/
5. John Kiriakou, CIA: "From the Inside" (Part 2) (2025-08-04), at 1:50:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMtuwhkBAY&t=6600s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-08-04-tegan-broadwater-from-the-inside-part-2/
6. John Kiriakou, CIA: "From the Inside" (Part 2) (2025-08-04), at 1:51:03. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMtuwhkBAY&t=6663s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-08-04-tegan-broadwater-from-the-inside-part-2/
7. John Kiriakou, CIA: "From the Inside" (Part 2) (2025-08-04), at 1:51:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMtuwhkBAY&t=6695s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-08-04-tegan-broadwater-from-the-inside-part-2/
8. CIA and the Vatican, Christian Zionism, and Living the Faith (2026-06-16), at 12:55. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-EzDMH7ck&t=775s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-16-the-third-way-orthodox/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/jordanian-al-qaeda-detainee/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt