Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How an e-mail address disrupted plots in Britain and U.S.
Washington Post ^ | 06/19/2013 | Peter Finn and Greg Miller

Posted on 06/19/2013 11:30:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

In November 2008, Abid Naseer, a Pakistani student living in Manchester, England, began to e-mail a Yahoo account that was ultimately traced back to his home country. The young man’s e-mails appeared to be about young women — Nadia, Huma, Gulnaz and Fozia — and which of them would make a “faithful and loving wife.”

British investigators later determined that the four names were code for different types of explosives and that a final April 2009 e-mail announcing a “marriage to Nadia” between the 15th and the 20th was a signal that a terrorist attack in England was imminent, according to British court documents.

It is unclear exactly how British intelligence services linked the Pakistani e-mail address, sana_pakhtana@yahoo.com, to a senior al-Qaeda operative who communicated in a kind of pigeon code to his distant allies. But the intelligence helped stop the plot in England, and the address somehow made its way to the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md.

A few months later, the NSA was monitoring the Yahoo user in Pakistan when a peculiar message arrived from a man named Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan American living in Aurora, Colo. He asked about “mixing of [flavor and ghee oil] and I do not know the amount, plz right away.”

A short time later, on Sept. 9, 2009, a second message arrived that echoed the code used in the British plot: “The marriage is ready,” Zazi wrote.

The e-mails led the NSA to alert the FBI, which obtained a court order to place Zazi under more extensive surveillance. Officials learned that he had visited Pakistan in 2008, the same time as one of the British plotters.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: britain; terrorism; usa
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-24 next last
In the end, the e-mails and additional surveillance foiled a plot by Zazi and two others to conduct suicide bombings in the New York City subway system just days after he sent the “marriage is ready” e-mail.
1 posted on 06/19/2013 11:30:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

So we should allow spying on innocent Americans to prevent a possible attack in the UK? That is what they are saying, isn’t it?


2 posted on 06/19/2013 11:33:42 AM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

What’s not being said here is that someone, somewhere, told the NSA where to look. There’s no way they knew what this ‘code’ meant absent someone telling them about it.

In short, they made the case to surveil this email account, but they still have not made a case for spying on EVERY email account.

(And everyone be polite and wave at our guests from the Federal Government who are monitoring FR today!)


3 posted on 06/19/2013 11:34:00 AM PDT by MeganC (A gun is like a parachute. If you need one, and don't have one, you'll never need one again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Retroactive justification for stealing the 4th Amendment from us.


4 posted on 06/19/2013 11:37:06 AM PDT by DManA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Profiling is a good tool. Use it.


5 posted on 06/19/2013 11:37:06 AM PDT by El Cid (Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

And the subtle message is that spying on our email is okay.


6 posted on 06/19/2013 11:37:12 AM PDT by pax_et_bonum (Never Forget the Seals of Extortion 17 - and God Bless America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MeganC
RE: (And everyone be polite and wave at our guests from the Federal Government who are monitoring FR today!)


7 posted on 06/19/2013 11:38:09 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: PghBaldy
So according to the Feds and some do-gooder group, they didn't need PRISM or any of the spying to do this, they just needed a plain old warrant. They are lying to us by using examples like this which were not stopped by spying of Americans, which is what people are upset about.

They throw out these cases which have nothing to do with the question at hand - why are they spying on Americans?

8 posted on 06/19/2013 11:39:02 AM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

They keep trotting out this one plot arguably foiled by DESTROYING THE BILL OF RIGHTS FOR 300,000,000 AMERCANS.

A$$****s.

Where is the SECOND conviction?


9 posted on 06/19/2013 11:39:36 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (If youÂ’re happy and you know it clank your chains!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie

The whole purpose behind the immigration act of 1965 was to fill this country with people who would destroy it. Justifying a police state to monitor them all.

Like Tito and Yugoslavia.


10 posted on 06/19/2013 11:42:03 AM PDT by Black Agnes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Black Agnes

Tito was a lot better than this guy.


11 posted on 06/19/2013 11:42:54 AM PDT by Luke21
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Next time they may raid a wedding in Peshawar...


12 posted on 06/19/2013 11:43:57 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
sana_pakhtana@yahoo.com, to a senior al-Qaeda operative

Next time he'll try richard.windsor@yahoo.com


13 posted on 06/19/2013 11:45:36 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

The interesting takeaway I have from this is that these guys obviously never assumed that their email exchanges were safe... everything was in code.


14 posted on 06/19/2013 11:51:35 AM PDT by alancarp (Obama will grab your guns and ship them to Mexican drug mobs.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

HUMA! Where have I heard that name before?


15 posted on 06/19/2013 11:51:37 AM PDT by rod1 (CTLY)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

This is more shiny objects and squirrel pointing.

No sale.


16 posted on 06/19/2013 11:53:09 AM PDT by OpusatFR
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Uncle Miltie
They keep trotting out this one plot arguably foiled by DESTROYING THE BILL OF RIGHTS FOR 300,000,000 AMERICANS.

You know what they say; if it saves the life of only one child, we have to take away your rights.

17 posted on 06/19/2013 12:03:00 PM PDT by Sender (It's never too late to be what you might have been.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

The NSA was listening to OBL’s HQ phone calls for three years before 9/11. They tracked two hijackers to the U.S.

The Boston bombers were warned about twice and had FBI surveillance.

Why do have to believe they need a police state to do a good job?


18 posted on 06/19/2013 12:04:30 PM PDT by D-fendr (Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Have they disrupted any plots at all that did not include a government informant or an outside tip ?


19 posted on 06/19/2013 12:40:08 PM PDT by justa-hairyape
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rod1
RE: HUMA! Where have I heard that name before?


20 posted on 06/19/2013 12:43:07 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-24 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson