Posted on 04/01/2002 2:26:08 PM PST by kattracks
WASHINGTON, Apr 01, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- The capture of Abu Zubaydah, al-Qaida's top surviving operational commander, is one of the most significant accomplishments in the U.S. war on terrorism, officials and experts said Monday.
In Zubaydah's head are the names, faces and locations of numerous al-Qaida operatives the world over, U.S. officials say.
He may also know the hiding place of Osama bin Laden.
"It's a major, major victory, if not the biggest victory so far," said Stan Bedlington, a former senior terrorism analyst with the CIA. "He's the biggest fish that we've caught."
Pakistani authorities, in concert with the CIA and FBI, captured Zubaydah in a raid last Thursday at a compound in Faisalabad, far from the Afghan border, U.S. officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Zubaydah was shot three times trying to escape - in the stomach, groin and leg - but was expected to survive, said one official.
He is in U.S. custody, but it's unclear if he remains in Pakistan.
Zubaydah acknowledged his identity, said Pakistani officials and others familiar with his capture. Other past associates have also identified the captured man as Zubaydah, U.S. officials said.
Only bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahri and Mohammed Atef ranked higher, and Atef was killed by U.S. airstrikes in November.
Zubaydah has been linked by intelligence and police officials to at least five al-Qaida terrorist plots, including the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The extent of his role, however, has not been fully determined.
Captured al-Qaida operatives said he organized the millennium plots to blow up Los Angeles International Airport and the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman, Jordan, which is frequented by American tourists. Both were thwarted.
In 2000, a Jordanian military court found him guilty in absentia of conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks and he was sentenced to death in absentia.
Zubaydah, a 31-year-old Palestinian who was born in Saudi Arabia, was also tied to thwarted plots to blow up the U.S. embassies in Paris and in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, after Sept. 11. U.S. officials say they are investigating his links to the attacks on the USS Cole and the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Despite his prominence, the FBI never named him as a "most wanted" terrorist. He is also known as Zain al-Abidin Muhahhad Husain.
"We've followed him for a very long time - a very dangerous character," National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
Since the United States attacked Afghanistan, Zubaydah has led an effort to reorganize al-Qaida in Pakistan. Financial transfers and intercepted communications suggested he was directing attempts to conduct new terrorist attacks against U.S. interests, U.S. officials have said.
Officials cautioned that Zubaydah's arrest, while a major blow to al-Qaida, does not end the group's threat. Cells are still operating, and the group has several other leaders capable of organizing them.
Bedlington suggested Zubaydah's high position in al-Qaida may have given him access to bin Laden's post-Sept. 11 plans - including his hideouts and how to contact him. That's information U.S. intelligence can exploit, if Zubaydah talks, Bedlington said.
Think of him as a "choke point" between bin Laden's will and actual terrorist attacks, said Vince Cannistraro, a former senior CIA counterterrorism chief. Where bin Laden and al-Zawahri would set policy, Zubaydah would implement it. U.S. officials said when the inner circle would call for a bombing of an embassy, Zubaydah would select the embassy, cell and method of attack.
"He was the guy that had the direct contact with prominent al-Qaida cell leaders abroad, and he knew where they all were," he said. "He would have been the guy coordinating new attacks."
His contacts with cells came through his role as a recruiter in the group. Prospective recruits would meet Zubaydah in Pakistan, who would assign them to camps. When they finished training, he put them in cells overseas.
Ahmed Ressam, convicted in April 2001 of smuggling, terrorist conspiracy and other charges in connection with the Los Angeles plot, described Zubaydah's role during court testimony.
"He is the person in charge of the camps. He receives young men from all countries. He accepts you or rejects you. And he takes care of the expenses for the camps. He makes arrangements for you when you travel coming in or leaving," Ressam said.
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
He is in U.S. custody, but it's unclear if he remains in Pakistan.
I'm sure Mr. Putin could recommend some highly skilled former KGB agents to extract information if we ask him nicely.
Who cares? If he's a vegetable after they've finished extracting all of the information, so be it. He can spend the rest of his life in Pampers hooked up to a feeding tube.
LOL. IF?
In Zubaydah's head are the names, faces and locations of numerous al-Qaida operatives the world over, U.S. officials say.Instantly outdated thanks to the press. Quick, get his info! Quick!
Probably because the belief that we have the technology and/or the ability and/or the will to extract whatever we want out of this turd is worth a great deal in psyops.
Got your 410. The quail are up.
This will force Bin Laden to run......and watch the terror cell's start to get rolled up...
I think after we've got what we need out of the weasel there won't be enough brain activity left for him to be able to testify.
However, this is a great capture. Just load this Clymer up with Versed IV, and he will talk and talk and talk and never remember a thing he said or was questioned about. Then turn him back over the Paky's to "handle". We have enough of his kind in Gitmo and Johnny Jihad to last us a longtime.
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