The agent who penetrated al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and returned from Yemen with the group's new "airline bomb" was always under Saudi control and was not a double-agent, two sources briefed by Saudi counterterrorism officials have told CNN.Guess they didn't like the double agent term anymore than some of us here did. The source continues..
One source said Saudi counterterrorism officials were upset that details of the operation had emerged in the United States because they had a network of agents inside AQAP who could be compromised by leaks from Washington.
The sources also questioned suggestions that the infiltrator's information led to the successful drone strike over the weekend that targeted Fahd al-Quso, a leading figure in AQAP. The Saudi agent did not meet al-Quso while in Yemen, according to one source.To be fair, he wouldn't have had to actually meet al-Quso to know where he was in general terms and pass that along. It appears that about 2 weeks elapsed between the underwear bomb's disappearance and al-Quso's demise, which either means al-Quso wasn't involved in Saudi agent's penetration zone or he was stupid enough to remain in place after the compromise. Or we were given a trail and he remained on it. The Saudi source seems to indicate no correlation, however. The source also leaves open a more sinister possibility. *If* their agent didn't finger al-Quso then the delay of reportage until after the bin Laden anniversary could have been for reasons other than killing Quso.
And that's the interesting thing here--the pushback. Why? Aren't the Saudis team players? It's almost as if they think their agents were used to score political points. Maybe the upcoming investigation into the leaker will reveal something of interest. Obama has prosecuted more leakers than any of the past several presidents combined, so an investigation should be a certainty. Of course everyone is now talking about gay marriage.
2 comments:
Great reporting. I've been gone most of the last two days and just catching up.
I think one important thing is that the UK apparently recruited by the Brits and run by the Brits and the Saudis. They kept the US out of it until a few weeks ago (2 months?). They probably should have kept the US out of it completely since it seems the leak appeared in the US media. Who exactly did the leaking we don't know yet.
What a shame to out this information for a few headlines and to make Obama look good(?)
Heads should roll
Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
I suspect a head will roll if they can prove the head was not an administration figure but rather someone in the intel-military establishment. Then again, such a head should roll for violating a security clearance. That's why it's more likely the talking head was a political flack, and why we won't see much of an investigation.
"Hey, look over there- it's gay marriage!"
Post a Comment