Sunday, August 08, 2004

Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan

The very fact that I know the name of the Pakistani computer expert who was a US mole in Al Qaeda means that he's no longer a mole.

See Jim Dunnigan on the subject: Reading al Qaedas Encrypted Email
The latest Kuwait Times story on Khan: Pak hunts for two Africans linked to plots in US, UK
Captain Ed: Al-Qaeda Takes Body Blows, Shifting Direction

Most unpleasantly, the New York Times: Unmasking of Qaeda Mole a U.S. Security Blunder - Experts
They write, "Last Sunday, U.S. officials told reporters that someone held secretly by Pakistan was the source of the bulk of the information justifying the alert. The New York Times obtained Khan's name independently, and U.S. officials confirmed it when it appeared in the paper the next morning."

Tim Ripley, a security expert who writes for Jane's said, "It's not exactly cloak and dagger undercover work if it's on the front pages every time there's a development, is it?''

Indeed. The first cause here was some government official who said something he shouldn't. Do they have any more of those loose lips sink ships posters laying around? Maybe they should put a few up on the walls. The times is correctly reporting this as a blunder. The Times is totally silent on the effect its role has had in this fiasco. My take is, the official bludered, the Times is malicious. They knew what they were doing. First up against the wall when the revolution comes.

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