Computer in Kabul holds chilling memos: PC used by al-Qaida leaders reveals 4 years of terrorism

Wall Street Journal ^ | 12/31/01 | Alan Cullison and Andrew Higgins

[VOA]

Consequently, I hope you are merely using hyperbole.

You have correctly divined my real import.
I was pretty mellow about Islam until about 8:45 AM EST on 9-11-01.
Given the deafening silence of "moderate Muslims", then getting further education about
Islam via talk radio here in Los Angeles (e.g., the two versions of speeches usually given
by guys like Arafat; nice guy in English, kill all the Israelis in Arabic)...
I've grown exceedingly wary and distrustful of the Muslim population in general.

As I heard a Coptic Christian lady from Egypt say on talk radio:
"Once the Muslims are even a modest part of a country's population, they will own your
country, even if they have to kill you."

This war on terrorism is going to be a truly long haul.
And moderate Muslims, by waiting over three months to figure what the right words to
say to
1. placate their average American neighbors
2. while not letting their co-congregants think they are not being devout Muslims
should not be suprised if they get nothing but disdain from both their more extreme brothers
and average Americans.


Until further notice, here is my acid test.
Once Attorney General John Ashcroft says that MANY Muslims have come forth OF THEIR
OWN VOLITION and informed on their CO-CONGREGANTS that are involved in planning, supporting,
and prosecuting acts of terror...I'll trust NONE of them.

[Alamo-Girl]

I certainly agree that we must use accurate words to identify Islamic subversion!

[Landru]

I dunno 'bout you, son.
One day you're here, next day you're gone.

Best I take the chance now to wish you a Happy New Years, while you're still here.
'Cuz if you're true to your pattern?
It won't be too long & you'll be gone, again, eh.

...hope you relaize you've taken the Now Ying -- Now Yang thing to a rediculous new level. ;^)

[Mudboy Slim]

"...the Bush Administration is constant in its refrain of War against Terrorists. It also refuses to call the terrorists, Islamists. By failing to properly define the enemy, the administration is making it impossible to estimate, assess, and forecast the enemy's next moves particularly in the info-propoganda arena."

Au contraire, sol2...Terrorists can be defined on an as-needed basis, IMHO. Fer instance, those Union members who use thuggery to stave off competition are, IMO, "terrorists," not "Islamists." And LeftWing Eco-Nazis are certainly "terrorists" when they spike trees--or use Federal Grants to create consciously-faulty "studies" that ALWAYS call fer greater Federal Power!! I could go on and on and on...and I reckon we will 'til we're done!!

"Consequently, to refuse to call these enemies of the west by their proper name, Islamic Terrorists, or their historical name, Saracens, and simulteneously to call their colonial terror-sabeteurs, "activists", does much to confuse our people to whom they are fighting while making it extremely hard if not impossible to not only define the enemy but thereby nuetralize attempts at foreseeing their next murderious and subversive movements. Indeed, such a situation is a prime objective of the Islamists' info-propoganda war: Encircle, disrupt, and nuetralize the West's mental and political thoughtprocesses in order to forestall effective reaction to the Saracen's final attacks."

While there are many on the Left who openly support anything--and anybody--who stand against Truth, Justice, and the American Way (and the smaller less-intrusive Fed'ral Guv'ment REAL Conservatives have in mind), it is my humble opinion that those Vast, LeftWing Med'yuh WHORE'd Forces are about to be ROUTED in No Uncertain Terms!!

MUD

[Plummz]

Does this particular chain of custody bother anyone besides me? The WSJ copies files before turning it over to the U.S. authorities apparently--and given some of western journalism's past fiascos,

Not really, given the "fiascos," unintended and otherwise, of selfsame "U.S. authorities."

[LiberteeBell]

Al Qaeda's operations seem to have been remarkably centralized. Which hopefully means that, by wiping out its base (and hopefully its leadership,) we cripple its ability to act.

Yes, it seems as though the "upper level managers" are extreme micro-managers with respect to nearly every aspect of their operations. The inability to fund and communicate with their field operatives may be the reason we have *thankfully* experienced no further attacks.

[Down South]

The FBI claimed they could communicate by changing just a few bits in a graphic. Yeah, right...

Yes, this is very, very possible. A friend of mine at work is a programmer. (I'm a software tester.) I asked him if this was possible, after seeing it in a really bad movie.

Anyway, over lunch, he hacked together a quick and dirty program that does just that. Basically, it changes the colors in a few pixels at the edge of a BMP file. Minor changes, but the end result is that the color value for each of those pixels contains a coded reference to a single ascii character. Considering he did that in about 20 minutes, and I saw it work, I have no doubt that someone could easily, very easily do this given a few days time and an average to good programming skill. Granted, my friend's version only contained up to 255 characters and could only use bitmaps. But given any resonable amount of time, this would be a piece of cake.

[Shermy]

Particularly encouraging, the letter in the computer files said, was a home-brew nerve gas made from insecticides and a chemical additive that would help speed up penetration into the skin. The writer said Khabab had supplied a computer disk that gave details of “his product” in a WinZip file, and “my neighbor opened it by God’s will.”

Cropdusters come to mind anyone? And remember how Atta or others asked how much "poison" the planes could hold???

[VeritatisSplendor]

This is one of the most spectacular "scoops" I have ever seen. Bravo for the WSJ!

[piasa]

The FBI claimed they could communicate by changing just a few bits in a graphic. Yeah, right...

LOL, maybe the FBI misspelled it by goofing one letter and it came out as 'bits.'

[AzJohn]

...one of the effects of Clinton's bombing of those camps was to derail those negotiations and solidify the relationship between bin Laden and the Taliban. I believe that this was one of the results of the bombing that Clinton intended. ...I read those reports in the Indian and Pakistani press on line. Surely Clinton was well aware that bin Laden would be well away from those camps.

I can believe that Clinton should have known bin Laden would be away from Afghanistan, but ordered the strikes anyway because his priority was to be in the news doing something about terrorism. But you seem to be saying Clinton was protecting bin Laden by making sure he stayed with the Taliban.

Am I understanding you correctly? This is quite an accusation, even for Clinton.

[snopercod]

LOL! Look at the "bits" on that one, Abdullah!

[aristeides]

One result of Clinton's bombing at the same time of the aspirin factory in Khartoum was to stymie the negotiations then going on between the FBI and the Sudan for the FBI's interrogation of two bin Laden lieutenants that had been arrested in Khartoum on suspicion of being involved in the embassy bombings. The Sudan was offering to let the FBI interrogate them, indeed offering to extradite them to the U.S. FBI Director Freeh, then in East Africa investigating the embassy bombings, was eager to have the men interrogated. But the bombing of the aspirin factory put a stop to that. Soon thereafter, the Sudan released the two men, who were Pakistanis, to Pakistan, which then had no interest in going after bin Laden's people.

I interpret this to mean that Clinton wanted to frustrate the FBI's investigation of the embassy bombings. How do you interpret it?

And how do you interpret the fact that at the same time Clinton's bombing of the camps in Afghanistan prevented the negotiations going on for the Taliban's handing bin Laden over to the Saudis from coming to fruition?

One thing Clinton is not is stupid.

[snopercod]

Thanks for relating that story.

I just can't picture a bunch of nomad goat-herders doing that sort of thing, though. Maybe I underestimate our enemy...

[AzJohn]

I didn't know that the FBI intended to interrogate those guys in Khartoum. Of course it has also been widely reported that the Sudan offered us intelligence on bin Laden which we didn't take. I believe I have also read detailed stories of diplomatic initiatives from the Sudan around this time that the United States ignored for some reason. I'll have to go back and look at those.

Still seems quite incredible to me, though. You are certainly right that Clinton is not a stupid man, so what would his motive be?

[aristeides]

I suspect bin Laden had been involved in dirty business with Clinton in the past. Clinton found him useful, thought he might have occasion to use him again, and feared giving him occasion to reveal what he knew. There is good reason to believe there was Middle Eastern involvement in OKC, the Ron Brown flight took off from a Bosnia infested with Islamic fighters, many of them led by Zawahiri's brother, and even the embassy bombings briefly took attention away from Monica.

That is what I suspect Clinton's motivation was.

[AzJohn]

I'm going to go back and read again the story I found on Sudan diplomacy. Thanks for the explanation---you've posted some good stuff on this thread.

[Fred Mertz]

Super posts to an excellent WSJ investigative piece. I wonder what day they purchased this PC; i.e how long to dissect the contents of the hard drive?

[aristeides]

I wonder what day they purchased this PC; i.e how long to dissect the contents of the hard drive?

La Repubblica's article on the phone records found at an al Qaeda house in Kabul was published on Nov. 24th.