In the Dark of War

A CIA officer’s inside account of how Libya’s descent into rampant violence precipitated the harrowing overland evacuation of the entire U.S. Mission from Tripoli after being trapped in the city for weeks.

Most of the world is aware of the tragic events surrounding the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. Most are also aware of the resulting political controversy in Washington. But few know what happened next in Libya. While said controversy in Washington subsided, the volatility in Libya escalated—threatening the brave men and women who remained behind to continue the U.S. mission.

In this dramatic retelling of dangerous attacks threatening the U.S. mission Tripoli, Libya—less than two years after Benghazi—American valor and courage prevailed. The U.S. personnel and intrepid operators stood fast as militias clashed, suicide bomb attacked, and numerous threats and kidnappings closed in on their location. In the midst of it all, the intelligence and determination of one woman with unwavering faith played a pivotal role in saving them all…

Sarah M. Carlson served as a Targeting Analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency’s Counterterrorism Center. She specialized in threats and attack plans directed against the U.S. and Europe and completed multiple rotations with the Directorate of Operations. Prior to that, she served as a Counterterrorism Analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency in the Homeland Defense Division and Iraq Branch in the Middle East. She also completed rotations to the National Counterterrorism Center and U.S. Northern Command while with the DIA. Her counterterrorism career focused on groups operating in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. She learned Arabic and traveled extensively through North Africa and the Middle East.

Sarah received dozens of awards for her service, including exceptional performance awards, meritorious unit citations, and warzone-related honors.

Since leaving the CIA, Sarah has continued in public service with local government as an emergency operations manager, where she specializes in all-hazards preparation, disaster response, and alert and warning.