his name: david coleman headley. he'd been chosen for the job because he had the perfect cover; he was an american. for the past year, i've been on the trail of david coleman headley, investigating his rise from small-time drug smuggler to international terrorist and spy. i started here in chicago, where, in 2008, headley had moved his pakistani wife and four children. they lived on the north side, near headley's old friend, a man named tahawwur rana. ( doorbell rings ) mrs. rana, how are you? if you could tell me what you know about how they met? i talked with rana's wife. >> my husband, he told me he was his class fellow. >> rotella: headley and rana became close in the 1970s... >> this is my husband. >> rotella: ...growing up outside of islamabad. >> this is dave. >> rotella: david coleman headley. >> mm-hmm. >> rotella: the ranas considered headley family. >> dave was very, very nice. he called me "sister," and he said, "you are my sister." and that was a very good thing. and my kids also started calling him, like

. >> david coleman headley was a specialist in constructing a blueprint of the killing zone. >> a dream come true from the perspective of a terrorist group. >> a sociopath, evil... >> a u.s. double agent... >> did they ask him about his work for the u.s. government? >> we were told by the u.s. that is not to be asked. >> "a perfect terrorist," a frontline/propublica investigation. >> frontline continues online. learn more about the opium brides problem and the politics of poppy eradication. watch frontline's other undercover reports inside afghanistan, and hear from a prominent former u.s. official about why he believes drone strikes in pakistan may be counterproductive. >> in a sense, we have helped to bring about the situation that we most fear. >> follofrontlion facebook and twitter, or join the discussion at pbs.org/frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more ju

. >> david coleman headley was a specialist in constructing a blueprint for killing zones. >> a dreamome true, from the perspective of a terrorist group. >> ...a sociopath. >> ...evil. >> ...a u.s. double agent. >> did they ask him about his work for the u.s. government? >> we were told by the u.s.a., "that is not to be asked." >> "a perfect terrorist," a frontline propublica investigation. >> frontline continues online with more on ramita navai's undercover journey in syria. >> a 14-year-old boy was killed here. >> learn more about syria's minority alawite community and their perspectives on the rebellion. plus, a map of where the rebellion is occurring. find out how key players in the region stack up on the conflict. read extended interviews... >> ...egyptian uprising and the tunisian uprising... >> ...uprising seemed to gain momentum... >> ...hanging with the regime... >> and follow frontline on facebook and twitter, or tell us what you think at pbs.org. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for p

. >> faisal shahzad, the time square bomber, david headley, connected with attacks in mumbai, those areall cases in which data was helpful in identifying an unknown actor before the fact. >> but general jones, speaking on the phone the other day, you mentioned something not mentioned often in washington which is a national id card. do you think that's something that it's time for to help secure the country? >> well, this is a very personal opinion, but i believe technology has gotten to the point where something like that could be contemplated, and how you put it together is up to us, but who individuals are really matters, and i frankly, having grown up in a country where you had to have a national id card to have access to just about anything, that would be france, post-war france, called a ray card, but it was the document you had to have when you were pulled over by a policeman or questioned by a lawyer or anything. you had to have it, or tried to get access to health benefits or anything like that. it's not a new idea, but when you think of -- >> but it's very controversial. >> it'

general jones -- >> if i might, though, if i might, jeanne, faisal shahzad, the times square bomber, david headley who was we connected wih the attacks in mumbai, all three of them are examples of cases where pnr data was actually very helpful in identifying an unknown actor before the fact. >> but, general jones, when we were speaking on the phone the ore day, you mentioned something that isn't mentioned very often in washington, which is a national id card. do you think that's something that it's time for to help secure the country? >> well, this is a very personal opinion, but i do believe that technology has gotten to the point where something like that could be con contemplated. now, how you put it together is up to us. but, you know, i think who individuals are really matters. and, um, and i, frankly, having grown up in a country where you had to have a national id card to have access to just about anything, that would be france, postwar france, i mean, it's called the gray card, but it was the document that you had to have when you were pulled over by a policeman or questioned by a lawyer o