This guy puts politics above National Security.

''U.S. leak 'harms al Qaeda sting'
Monday, August 9, 2004 Posted: 6:24 AM EDT (1024 GMT)




ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The effort by U.S. officials to justify
raising the terror alert level last week may have shut down an
important source of information that has already led to a series of al
Qaeda arrests, Pakistani intelligence sources have said.

Until U.S. officials leaked the arrest of Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan to
reporters, Pakistan had been using him in a sting operation to track
down al Qaeda operatives around the world, the sources said.

In background briefings with journalists last week, unnamed U.S.
government officials said it was the capture of Khan that provided the
information that led Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to announce
a higher terror alert level.

Khan is a computer expert who officials said helped Osama bin Laden
communicate with his terror network.

Investigators found detailed surveillance information on certain
targets in the United States, apparently conducted by al Qaeda
operatives, on Khan's computer disks.

The unnamed U.S. officials leaked Khan's name along with confirmation
that most of the surveillance data was three or four years old,
arguing that its age was irrelevant because al Qaeda planned attacks
so far in advance.

Law enforcement sources said some of the intelligence gleaned from the
arrests of Khan and others gave phone numbers and e-mail addresses
that the FBI and other agencies were using to try to track down any al
Qaeda operatives in the United States.

Then on Friday, after Khan's name was revealed, government sources
told CNN that counterterrorism officials had seen a drop in
intercepted communications among suspected terrorists.

Officials used Sunday's talk shows to defend last week's heightened
alerts, amid widespread claims the White House disclosed Khan's arrest
to justify raising its terror alert level. (Full story)

But some observers have said that Islamabad should not have been
compromised by political considerations in Washington.

One senator told CNN that U.S. officials should have kept Khan's role
quiet.

"You always want to know the evidence," said Sen. George Allen.

"In this situation, in my view, they should have kept their mouth shut
and just said, 'We have information, trust us.' "

Sen. Charles Schumer said he was "troubled" by the decision to
identify Khan.

He said the public learned little from reports of Khan's role, "and it
seems to me they shouldn't have put this name out."

"The Pakistani interior minister, Faisal Hayat, as well as the British
home secretary, David Blunkett, have expressed displeasure in fairly
severe terms that Khan's name was released, because they were trying
to track down other contacts of his," Schumer told CNN.

Looking forward
But Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad downplayed the
effect of the U.S. "outing" of Khan, saying Islamabad is looking
forward and not back.

"We are moving towards the positive side," he said. "We've got
positive information and we believe there will be positive results."

Pakistan continued its crackdown over the weekend, going after
multiple al Qaeda cells around the world.

They are on the manhunt for two North African al Qaeda operatives --
Abu Farj of Libya and an Egyptian named Hamza -- who are connected to
Ahman Khalfan Ghailani, who was arrested in late July.

Meanwhile, an al Qaeda operative believed to have been close to bin
Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar was flown home to
Pakistan after he was arrested in Dubai, intelligence sources said.
(Senior figure arrested)

Pakistani intelligence officials said information provided by Khan not
only contributed to the rise in the U.S. terror alert level but also
led to 13 arrests on terrorism charges in Britain.

Four of the 13 have since been released, but British police have been
given until Tuesday to question the remaining nine. (Full story)

British officials declined to comment.

CNN Correspondent Maria Ressa contributed to this report''