Pakistan seizes al Qaeda 'No. 3'

 

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

 

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- The alleged number three man in al Qaeda has been captured along with 10 other suspected members of the terror group in Pakistan's frontier province with Afghanistan, Pakistani and U.S. officials have confirmed.

 

Pakistan's information minister, Pakistani intelligence officials and U.S. counterterrorism authorities told CNN that top al Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al-Libbi and three other al Qaeda suspects were arrested Monday in Mardan, a city in a northwest Pakistani province on the border of Afghanistan.

 

That frontier province, U.S. intelligence reports have consistently said, is where it is also believed that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are currently hiding.

 

Al-Libbi -- believed to be responsible for the terror group's global operations and blamed for masterminding two assassination attempts against Pakistan's president -- is a Libyan and has a $1 million bounty on his head.

 

"He was the most wanted man in Pakistan and he's a big catch," said Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad in an interview with CNN. "It's a good sign and we are going in the right direction."

 

In Washington, U.S. counterterrorism officials told CNN al-Libbi's capture was due to U.S. intelligence. The officials suggested that someone working for U.S. intelligence was providing information to the CIA.

 

President George W. Bush said the arrest of al-Libbi "represents a critical victory in the war on terror."

 

Bush called him "a major facilitator and a chief planner" for al Qaeda and said his arrest "removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom."

 

"I applaud the Pakistani government for their strong cooperation in the war on terror," Bush said, adding that the Pakistanis had acted on "solid intelligence" to bring him to justice and vowing that those fighting terrorism will "stay on the offensive the offensive until al Qaeda is defeated."

 

One U.S. intelligence official said al-Libbi's capture was "very significant."

 

Ahmad said there had not yet been any requests from the United States to interview al-Libbi.

 

In another raid, this one early Wednesday in Bajore on the northwestern frontier near the Afghan border, intelligence officials and local police told CNN seven al Qaeda members were arrested.

 

The operation began with a raid on a house by Pakistani army commandos, security agency officers and helicopters, officials said.

 

Three of the men arrested are Afghan, three are Pakistani and one's nationality is not yet known, the officials added.

 

U.S. counterterrorism officials believe al-Libbi took on the role of No. 3 in al Qaeda following the March 2003 capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

 

They said he was responsible for al Qaeda's global operations -- including plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland -- and was the mastermind behind two failed assassination attempts against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

 

Al-Libbi was among six suspects identified as Pakistan's "Most Wanted Terrorists" in a poster campaign last year.

 

CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi and National Security Correspondent David Ensor in Washington contributed to this report.

 

:thumbup

"Who does No. 2 work for?" :shifty

 

 

 

Seriously though, this is a great capture. Hopefully this does lead us one step closer to Bin Laden.

Sometimes, I think that the only time we should be told about any capture is if it involves the capture of Public Enemy No. 1 himself.

Sometimes, I think that the only time we should be told about any capture is if it involves the capture of Public Enemy No. 1 himself.

762890[/snapback]

The problem is, if they do that, it will be a long time before you hear about that, if ever.

Sometimes, I think that the only time we should be told about any capture is if it involves the capture of Public Enemy No. 1 himself.

762890[/snapback]

The problem is, if they do that, it will be a long time before you hear about that, if ever.

763710[/snapback]

Not disagreeing with you here, but what makes you think they wouldn't announce that he has been caught?

Allah Bless Pakistan.

 

Musharaf is GANGSTA and has giant balls for taking a pro-U.S. stance in a country with an extremely Al Queda/Taliban sympathetic countryside.

 

Pakistan has been a WAY better ally to us than the U.K, Poland, or Israel by a MILE. There forces have been in bitter fighting with Pashtun and Taliban fighters since the Afghan campaign began.

Musharaf is GANGSTA and has giant balls for taking a pro-U.S. stance in a country with an extremely Al Queda/Taliban sympathetic countryside.

 

Pakistan has been a WAY better ally to us than the U.K, Poland, or Israel by a MILE.

763987[/snapback]

He didn't exactly have a choice.

 

If he doesn't allow us to send a full deployment to search for Al-Qaeda militants NOR does he fight them at the border and try to root them out himself (things he'd want to do anyway and the basis for his "pro-US stance"), he'd be no better than the Taliban. Pakistan would essentially be a safe haven for Osama & co.

 

That's not exactly the ideal situation for a longtime US ally with serious financial problems (read: looking for bribes) and a hostile neighbor ten times more powerful than it just on the other side of the Line of Control.

 

The media gives Musharraf a lot more credit than he's due for doing things that are politically "unpopular"; he's an authoritarian military dictator, for chrissakes. Who cares if it's unpopular to weed out armed terrorist militants who are aligned with fundamentalist political opponents who oppose your government?

 

Allah Bless Pakistan.

763987[/snapback]

Let's not forget about national hero AQ Khan and his fellow nuclear scientists selling their atomic technology to the two countries that pose that biggest threat to us today--North Korea and Iran.

 

Something tells me neither of those will be as easy to disarm as Libya was (which, by the way, also got its nuclear technology from Pakistan). God knows who else has purchased the secret recipe.

 

So, what happened to this scum-of-the-earth douche (AQ Khan) whose expressed mission in life was to arm the Muslim world with nukes? Well, after the US, IAEA, and the entire world demanded action, Musharraf placed him under--gasp--house arrest, conducted an "investigation," and slapped him with a presidential pardon (he's still under house arrest, though.). To this day, Musharraf refuses to let any country or the IAEA even question the guy.

 

Now don't get me wrong--I'm all pleased that they caught this al-Libbi character, but I can't help but wonder what the world would be like today if Pakistan--our supposed ally--hadn't prostituted its nuclear secrets to just any Tom, Dick, and Mohammed.

Why not announce the capture of #3? Our media announces everytime some kid blows up a camel's ass in Iraq. I think the former is much bigger news than the latter

Legacy, camels are a beautiful species & their asses should be protected at all costs.

 

This is terrific news though. Any progress towards stamping out the ringleaders of al Qaeda is promising.

Close this thread, go to "Well, oops"