fatman17
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
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Significant CIA catch
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The Pentagon's announcement that Mohammad Rahim, described as a close associate of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, has been transferred by the CIA to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay was veiled in secrecy. Initially officials declined to say where and when he was captured, but a Pakistani news item indicates that he was captured in Lahore, Pakistan, last August.
A memorandum from CIA Director Michael Hayden that was obtained by The Associated Press and the terse remarks of Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman provide clues to the significance of Rahim's capture. Mr. Hayden notes: "Proficient in several languages and familiar with the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, he was also an extremist facilitator and courier with high-level contacts." Mr. Whitman was quoted as saying, "He is one of [bin Laden's] most trusted facilitators and procurement specialists."
Both the Hayden memo and the Pentagon spokesman referred to Rahim's role in helping bin Laden flee to a hideout in the caves of Tora Bora when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Rahim also helped the al-Qaida leader escape from Tora Bora to the tribal areas across the border in Pakistan where both bin Laden and al-Qaida second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri are now believed to be ensconced.
Put together Rahim's knowledge of the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan and his close ties to bin Laden and it is feasible that under interrogation since his capture last summer he has provided important information. It may be too much to hope that his capture may in some way help locate the current hideouts of bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.
Nevertheless, it was a coup. It certainly confirms CIA Director Hayden's statement that the most powerful tool against terror suspects "is good intelligence work, including cultivation of the partnerships overseas that were so critical to ending the terrorist career of Mohammad Rahim."
and we r not doing enough!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The Pentagon's announcement that Mohammad Rahim, described as a close associate of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, has been transferred by the CIA to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay was veiled in secrecy. Initially officials declined to say where and when he was captured, but a Pakistani news item indicates that he was captured in Lahore, Pakistan, last August.
A memorandum from CIA Director Michael Hayden that was obtained by The Associated Press and the terse remarks of Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman provide clues to the significance of Rahim's capture. Mr. Hayden notes: "Proficient in several languages and familiar with the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, he was also an extremist facilitator and courier with high-level contacts." Mr. Whitman was quoted as saying, "He is one of [bin Laden's] most trusted facilitators and procurement specialists."
Both the Hayden memo and the Pentagon spokesman referred to Rahim's role in helping bin Laden flee to a hideout in the caves of Tora Bora when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Rahim also helped the al-Qaida leader escape from Tora Bora to the tribal areas across the border in Pakistan where both bin Laden and al-Qaida second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri are now believed to be ensconced.
Put together Rahim's knowledge of the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan and his close ties to bin Laden and it is feasible that under interrogation since his capture last summer he has provided important information. It may be too much to hope that his capture may in some way help locate the current hideouts of bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.
Nevertheless, it was a coup. It certainly confirms CIA Director Hayden's statement that the most powerful tool against terror suspects "is good intelligence work, including cultivation of the partnerships overseas that were so critical to ending the terrorist career of Mohammad Rahim."
and we r not doing enough!
