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08/23/2005: "Even more Treason from the White House"

As Bush continues to boast about "staying the coarse" and "fighting terrorism", his administration seems to be defying his every word. After capturing a high-profile Al Qaeda member, an administrative official leaked his status to the New York Times.

Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan was know for his computer know-how and used by Al Qaeda to decode information within the organization's cells. He was apprehended by CIA agents who in turn monitored Khan while he continued his correspondence for two more days.

Reuters covered the story:

U.S. officials providing justification for anti-terrorism alerts revealed details about a Pakistani secret agent, and confirmed his name while he was working under cover in a sting operation, Pakistani sources said on Friday. A Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, who was arrested in Lahore secretly last month, had been actively cooperating with intelligence agents to help catch al Qaeda operatives when his name appeared in U.S. newspapers.

After the sting was prematurely exposed, British officials rushed to apprehend 12 suspects. The Times cited both Pakistani and U.S. government officials as the source of the top secret information. The author justified revealing Khan's identity to explain why the nation was at code orange. Isn't hunting down the terrorists and capturing Bin Laden more important than explaining an orange alert.

While the Times cited a Pakistani intelligence official as one of the sources for the story, it is now clear that corrupt white house officials are to blame.

Juan Cole:

"[CNN's Wolf] Blitzer then revealed that he had discussed the Khan case with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on background. He reported that she had admitted that the Bush administration had in fact revealed Khan's name to the press."

Let's hope that innocent people don't have to pay with their lives just for the political backstabbing that's happening in our capital.