WARNING: Al Qaeda Leader Roams the Street .... Or Not

by emptywheel

I'm really surprised at the gullibility of the blogosphere when they react in horror, with no apparent irony, that we let a top Al Qaeda operative escape in July. The story everyone is up in arms about is:

A man once considered a top al-Qaida operative escaped from a U.S.-run detention facility in Afghanistan and cannot testify against the soldier who allegedly mistreated him, a defense lawyer involved in a prison abuse case said Tuesday.

Omar al-Farouq was one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Southeast Asia until Indonesian authorities captured him in the summer of 2002 and turned him over to the United States.

A Pentagon official in Washington confirmed Tuesday evening that al-Farouq escaped from a U.S. detention facility in Bagram, Afghanistan, on July 10. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Consider me skeptical.

Remember what a pain in the arse it was for poor Rummy when Zacarias Moussaoui asked to call Ramzi bin al-Shibh as a witness in his trial? Remember the legal hoops they had to jump through to prevent a top Al Qaeda figure from testifying in open court?

Well, they found an easier solution this time.

I have no idea where they've whisked Omar al-Farouq off to. Maybe he's in that secret prison in Eastern Europe the WaPo is reporting about today. Or maybe, just maybe (consider me skeptical on this count, too), that beating he took convinced him he'd be willing to spy on Al Qaeda for us, and we released him so he could go get back into Al Qaeda only to reveal its biggest secrets to us once he did so.

No, the story here is not that we let a top Al Qaeda operative to escape.

The story is that this Administration would rather suffer from the black eye of letting a top Al Qaeda operative escape than allow the extent of its torture program to be revealed. This Administration would rather be seen as incompetent than let the truth of their vast calculating comptence (solely on the matter of torture, mind you, they're incompetent in everything else) come to light.

Comments

[David Sanger]

I wonder if al-Farouq was alive when he 'escaped.'

[emptywheel]

Yeah, I wonder that myself. God I hate believing things like this about my country.

[mamayaga]

Have we ever let any known Al Qaida members testify in open court? I know that tin-foilism is not fashionable in Left Blogistan, but there is a possibility that more than our torture regime is kept veiled by keeping these guys out of sight. The close connections between the 9-11 plotters and our good friends the Saudis and Pakistanis, for instance.

[ExcuseMeExcuseMe]

He disappeared?

Or he was Disappeared?

Should we parse?

Hey, I know – maybe he was whacked. That would fit with the Mob Symbolism.

[emptywheel]

mamayaga

Nope, I don't think we have known any AQ member to testify in open court. But that might just relate to BushCO not wanting them to tell the American people that they funded their training program in teh 1980s.

Kind of like how we only get Saddam in open court in VERY controlled circumstances. Don't want too many people reminded of Rummy's warm visit with Saddam back when he was gassing Kurds.

[rod]

At the substantial risk of being called a blogwhore, I will note that the foul stench rising from this story struck me immediately.

[emptywheel]

rod

Well, thank god I'm not the only one who still knows how to read skeptically.

[James]

Can we all say "disappeared?" Son-of-a-gun jes up and fled da coop! Never expect to see HIM again.

[Bill from Dover]

Looks like we had the #2 again.

[RadicalFringe]

Amen - when I read the story, an apparition of The Church Lady appeared before me. She straightened the papers on her desk and pursed her lips, then leaned forward, cocked her head slightly and exclaimed, "How conveeenient!"