May 8, 2005
1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4…
When you heard that Al Qaeda’s #3 terrorist had been arrested last week, did anything strike you as odd? Like, for instance, that you’d never heard of him?
That’s because Abu Farraj al-Libbi doesn’t seem to be the only Al Qaeda #3—in fact, as first draft notes, there might be five of them.
Over at The Counterterrorism Blog, Larry Johnson has an explanation:
An untold story behind the recent capture in Pakistan of a man alleged to be a senior Al Qaeda operative is the split that exists between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense over who is and is not a High Value Target. Simply stated, the CIA has one list and the Department of Defense has a separate list. While there are certain associates of Bin Laden on both lists, the lists diverge. This is one more symptom of a far deeper problem--no single organization or entity is in charge of the hunt for Bin Laden and his cronies.
…This dispute goes to the heart of the search for the remnants of Al Qaeda. With no single agency or department in charge there is no coordinated search for the men responsible for the 9-11 attacks. Until someone at the White House wakes up and insists that this be a priority, the President will have to be content with rare announcements that an Al Qaeda operative of questionable value was apprenhended with the help or our erstwhile Pakistani allies.
Apparently there is at least some agreement on the identity of #1.
Posted by Stephen at 12:40 AM in Terrorism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
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