NY Times like Al Jazeers should be closed (fxckin rats)

[PatPatriot]

Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004 10:16 p.m. EDT
NY Times Blew Cover of Key Counterterror Agent

An al Qaida computer expert who was secretly arrested on July 18 and has since been providing critical intelligence on the terror group's plans for coming attacks on the West was rendered useless this week when he was outed by the New York Times.

Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, described by U.S. intelligence as "a one man al Qaida communications hub," was using the Internet to contact and identify al Qaida operatives throughout the world so they could be tracked and arrested by British and U.S. authorities.

Story Continues Below



"After his capture he admitted being an al Qaeda member and agreed to send e-mails to his contacts," a Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters. "He sent encoded e-mails and received encoded replies. He's a great hacker and even the U.S. agents said he was a computer whiz."
Khan was the source for reports that al Qaida was planning attacks on financial institutions in New York, Newark and Washington, D.C., spurring Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to raise the national alert status to orange last Sunday.

But the undercover operative's value as a critical intelligence asset went up in smoke on Monday, when the New York Times named the previously unidentified Khan, calling him "a kind of clearinghouse of Qaida communications" and "a vital source of information" on terrorist operations.

Once Khan was outed, British authorities scrambled to round up al Qaida suspects he had identified before they were able to go underground.

"By exposing the only deep mole we've ever had within al Qaida, it ruined the chance to capture dozens if not hundreds more," former Justice Department prosecutor John Loftus told Fox News on Saturday.



Editor's note:

 

[lander]

>> NY Times like Al Jazeers should closed

As soon as time travel becomes possible they will consider your request.

 

[bblight]

The NY Times is about as anti-American as you can get!

 

[GAMEFACE]

How many times do I have to say it's the enemy within that's our greatest foe. The liberal media, the ACLU, the radical left. When are we going to wake up?

 

[DrunkenHorseplayer]

It's no different than Bush's boys outing the CIA agent.

 

[xpanda]

Why is nobody asking why or how this guy's name was leaked to the press in the first place?

 

[D2bets]

xpanda, the question is being asked. Only a neocon moron could blame a newspaper for printing information given to them by the government and not blame the government for giving it to them.

U.S. leak 'harms al Qaeda sting'
Monday, August 9, 2004 Posted: 6:24 AM EDT (1024 GMT)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The effort by U.S. officials to justify raising the terror alert level last week may have shut down an important source of information that has already led to a series of al Qaeda arrests, Pakistani intelligence sources have said.

Until U.S. officials leaked the arrest of Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan to reporters, Pakistan had been using him in a sting operation to track down al Qaeda operatives around the world, the sources said.

In background briefings with journalists last week, unnamed U.S. government officials said it was the capture of Khan that provided the information that led Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to announce a higher terror alert level.

Khan is a computer expert who officials said helped Osama bin Laden communicate with his terror network.

Investigators found detailed surveillance information on certain targets in the United States, apparently conducted by al Qaeda operatives, on Khan's computer disks.

The unnamed U.S. officials leaked Khan's name along with confirmation that most of the surveillance data was three or four years old, arguing that its age was irrelevant because al Qaeda planned attacks so far in advance.

Law enforcement sources said some of the intelligence gleaned from the arrests of Khan and others gave phone numbers and e-mail addresses that the FBI and other agencies were using to try to track down any al Qaeda operatives in the United States.

Then on Friday, after Khan's name was revealed, government sources told CNN that counterterrorism officials had seen a drop in intercepted communications among suspected terrorists.

Officials used Sunday's talk shows to defend last week's heightened alerts, amid widespread claims the White House disclosed Khan's arrest to justify raising its terror alert level. (Full story)

But some observers have said that Islamabad should not have been compromised by political considerations in Washington.

One senator told CNN that U.S. officials should have kept Khan's role quiet.

"You always want to know the evidence," said Sen. George Allen.

"In this situation, in my view, they should have kept their mouth shut and just said, 'We have information, trust us.' "

Sen. Charles Schumer said he was "troubled" by the decision to identify Khan.

He said the public learned little from reports of Khan's role, "and it seems to me they shouldn't have put this name out."

"The Pakistani interior minister, Faisal Hayat, as well as the British home secretary, David Blunkett, have expressed displeasure in fairly severe terms that Khan's name was released, because they were trying to track down other contacts of his," Schumer told CNN.

Looking forward
But Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad downplayed the effect of the U.S. "outing" of Khan, saying Islamabad is looking forward and not back.

"We are moving towards the positive side," he said. "We've got positive information and we believe there will be positive results."

Pakistan continued its crackdown over the weekend, going after multiple al Qaeda cells around the world.

They are on the manhunt for two North African al Qaeda operatives -- Abu Farj of Libya and an Egyptian named Hamza -- who are connected to Ahman Khalfan Ghailani, who was arrested in late July.

Meanwhile, an al Qaeda operative believed to have been close to bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar was flown home to Pakistan after he was arrested in Dubai, intelligence sources said. (Senior figure arrested)

Pakistani intelligence officials said information provided by Khan not only contributed to the rise in the U.S. terror alert level but also led to 13 arrests on terrorism charges in Britain.

Four of the 13 have since been released, but British police have been given until Tuesday to question the remaining nine. (Full story)

British officials declined to comment.

 

[Shotgun]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by D2bets:
xpanda, the question is being asked. Only a neocon moron could blame a newspaper for printing information given to them by the government and not blame the government for giving it to them.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's garbage. The news media is constantly asked by government officials to hold off on reporting stories because lives are at risk, be it a major investigation or a time of war. Only a Bush-hating moron will ignore history just to take unjustified shots at Bush.

Congrats to the Times for finding some scumbag that will leak a source's name. Glad to know they are more interested in getting a scoop than keeping their country safe from terrorism.

 

[D2bets]

Shotgun, pay attention. This was LEAKED to the media. The media didn't find this on their own. If the leaker didn't want it printed then why did they leak it? An there's no suggestion that anyone requested the media to hold back on this. It's not the media's job to determine whether a story like this puts an investigation at risk, it's the government's job to tell them if they don't want them to print it. The government obviously wanted to shout all this shit from the mountaintops and they got their wish.

 

[GAMEFACE]

The fuker that leaked it should be shot and the NY Times should be closed ASAP until the war is over this is aiding the enemy. I've had it with the media assisting the enemy.

 

[kayaman+]

"It's no different than Bush's boys outing the CIA agent."

Actually it is different. Reporting the news objectively is the medias responsibility, it's not up to the media source to decide what's detremental to whom or not.
The dumbya gang outing the CIA agent was betrayal.

 

[GAMEFACE]

I have NO doubt these radicals will hit the US with a dirty bomb, a nuke or a bomb that kills more US citizens than died on 9-11. They will not give up until they succeed and currently the left has paralyzed our will to crush the enemy. Then my friends all this PC bullshit is over. The people will demand complete and total victory and I don't care whose in office they will have to respond or they will be fired. I've simply had it with the sedition.

 

[xpanda]

Ah, the sweet smell of testostrone. Nothing quite like wishing thousands of your own citizens to die simply so that your particular brand of political aggression can make it the mainstream. And this after two threads in the same day about 'the enemy within.'

 

[GAMEFACE]

X,

Don't start spinning what I said. I don't wish or want to be hit. America is open and has many targets that cannot be 100% protected, everyone knows this. The enemy is determined to strike and some us believe it's just our imagination. I wish I believed it wouldn't happen, however, without complete and total victory we stand a better chance of being hit again. Americans will demand victory at that point, the liberals in the media will be told to STFU.

 

[Shotgun]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by D2bets:
Shotgun, pay attention. This was LEAKED to the media. The media didn't find this on their own. If the leaker didn't want it printed then why did they leak it? An there's no suggestion that anyone requested the media to hold back on this. It's not the media's job to determine whether a story like this puts an investigation at risk, it's the government's job to tell them if they don't want them to print it. The government obviously wanted to shout all this shit from the mountaintops and they got their wish. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't see any facts behind your speculation that the government wanted all this out. Of course some wanted it leaked. Someone leaked information that the US had ground forces in Afghanistan in Oct 2001, at a risk to both Afghan and American lives. Someone leaked the Iraqi war plans before the invasion; someone (Bob Torricelli) leaked info regarding an undercover CIA spy in Guatamala that ended up getting that operative killed. Someone (Patrick Leahy) leaked information saying the US had Bin Laden's phone bugged. The media has responsibility to withhold details in stories that harm the greater community at large. They don't release a leaked rape victim's names (usually); they don't release information that is leaked to them regarding criminal investigations; they shouldn't release information that comprimises the war on terror.

Just because it is leaked doesn't mean it should be in the newspaper.

 

[GAMEFACE]

No reason to beat around the bush, it was leak because they side with the enemy. They should be closed until the war is over.

 

[Jimmymak]

“however, without complete and total victory we stand a better chance of being hit again.”

You may as well resign yourself to living in abject fear for the rest of your miserable life then.
Terrorism has been around for a lot more years than you have and will be around well after your gone. You will never achieve total victory and statements like the above just go to show what a short sighted, immature little boy you are. Yes America will be hit again, if not by some lunatic Islamic faction then by some lunatic redneck Christian fundamentalist.
What you fail to understand is that you have a far better chance of containing terrorism if you get rid of Bush who has created more terrorists than Saddam or Ayahtollah Khomeni ever dreamed possible.

 

[PatPatriot]

I love that term "un named" thats as good as "anonymous sources" or "strong speculation" or people "close to the white house".

 

[GAMEFACE]

jimmy,

fine, lets get hit again. One more large attack changes everything.

victory is possible, Americans don't have the will right now to demand victory. after the next attack America will demand victory.

Iran, Syria and Saudia Arabia are funding most of the shit and teaching hate that spurs the attacks. Three strikes and victories in hand.