[Vision2020] Our ship of state is leaking . . . again.

[Joan Opyr]

Forget Sandy Berger; who cares whether or not he removed copies of documents -- documents that he himself had either written or commissioned -- from the National Archives?  We've got a more serious and potentially deadly problem on our hands.  Once again demonstrating greater concern for its own re-election than for the fight against Al Qaeda, the Bush Administration has opened its great, big mouth and leaked the news that our pals in Pakistan have captured an important Al Qaeda computer operative -- and not only have the Bushies leaked the news of the man's capture, they've also leaked his name.  As a consequence, several Al Qaeda suspects were tipped off via the nightly news and escaped.  Good one, eh?  If Mr. Bush should decide to replace Dick Cheney on the GOP ticket, I sincerely hope he'll consider Jerry Lewis.  Mr. Lewis would bring a bit of genuine comedic experience to this farce, and besides, the French love him.      

I'm forwarding the following from www.salon.com but would suggest that you also check out the BBC, the Guardian, the Independent, and/or the British news source of your choice.  The Bush Administration's loose lips have now been publicly condemned by none other than the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw.  That would be Jack Straw, who works for Tony Blair, who leads the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, our last remaining ally on the planet.

Now, I'm going to call the Playtex corporation and arrange to have a Cross-Your-Heart 44 Triple-D underwire brassiere sent via express mail to the White House.  It's high time someone restrained these boobs.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
  





Leak allowed al-Qaida suspects to escape

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By MATTHEW PENNINGTON

Aug. 10, 2004  |  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf says Pakistan has been "90 percent" successful in arresting suspects behind a series of high-profile terror attacks, including against key government leaders.  
Yet senior officials said Tuesday that some al-Qaida fugitives escaped after news reports revealed the arrest of a computer expert for Osama bin Laden's network who was cooperating with investigators.  
Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, a 25-year-old Pakistani, was nabbed in a July 13 raid in the eastern city of Lahore. His capture was a signal victory for Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. He led authorities to a key al-Qaida figure and sent e-mails to terrorists so investigators could trace their locations.  
In an interview published in a Pakistani newspaper Tuesday, Musharraf hailed the efforts of the country's intelligence agencies.  
"We have achieved an unprecedented 90 percent success to unearth elements involved in terrorist attacks against myself, prime minister-in-waiting Shaukat Aziz and in other high-profile cases," Musharraf was quoted as saying by The News.  
Pakistan has seen a string of bombings and suicide attacks over the past year, including two suicide bombings by Islamic militants that the president narrowly escaped in December, and another last month targeting Aziz, the current finance minister and prime minister designate. Seven people were killed in the attack, though Aziz was unhurt.  
The attacks appear to have reinforced Musharraf's resolve to crack down on al-Qaida, whose elusive leader has long been believed to be hiding out someplace along Pakistan's forbidding border with Afghanistan. Pakistan has arrested about 30 terror suspects in less than a month.  
But on Tuesday, two senior officials expressed dismay that the arrest of Khan made it into the media too soon -- reported first in American newspapers on Aug. 2 after it was disclosed to journalists by U.S. officials in Washington.  
"Let me say that this intelligence leak jeopardized our plan and some al-Qaida suspects ran away," one of the Pakistani officials said on condition of anonymity.  
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Sunday that Khan's name had been disclosed to reporters in Washington "on background," meaning that it could be published, but the information could not be attributed by name to the official who had revealed it.  
The Pakistani officials said that after Khan's arrest, other al-Qaida suspects abruptly changed their hide-outs and moved to unknown places. On Monday, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the White House to explain why Khan's name was revealed.  
The disclosure on Aug. 1 came as the Bush administration was defending its decision to warn about possible attacks against U.S. financial buildings in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey.  
White House spokesman Scott McClellan cautioned Monday that information may be more limited about future raids against al-Qaida suspects.  
Khan led authorities to Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani -- a Tanzanian with a $25 million American bounty on his head for his suspected involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa -- and the capture of about 20 other al-Qaida suspects. The arrests also prompted a series of raids in Britain and uncovered past al-Qaida surveillance in the United States  
Pakistani officials over the weekend have said they are searching for two North Africans: Abu Farj, a Libyan, and Hamza, an Egyptian, who are believed to have spent some time in Pakistan with Ghailani.  
A Pakistani security official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that despite failing to capture some al-Qaida suspects after Khan's arrest, the country's security agencies were chasing them and would eventually get them.  
The official would not reveal the names or nationalities of the fugitives who evaded arrest.  
Ghailani and Khan are still in the custody of Pakistan.  
Officials say Ghailani and Khan's computer contained photographs of potential targets in the United States and Britain, including London's Heathrow Airport and underpasses beneath London buildings.  
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Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad contributed to this report Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
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