[IP] Bin Laden Phone Leak an urban myth
Another urban myth by the USG -- just like WMD
Begin forwarded message:
From: Tim Finin <finin@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 22, 2005 9:06:53 AM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Bin Laden Phone Leak an urban myth
Where was Snopes when we needed him? All week long I've
been reading and hearing about how we were listening in on
Bin Laden's phone conversations until he wised up when the
Washington Times "leaked" the fact. Bad Press!! Now the
Post reports this as an urban myth. I guess our leaders,
even though they control tremendous intelligence assets, get
some information the old fashioned way -- from a friend of a
friend.
--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/21/
AR2005122101994.html
File the Bin Laden Phone Leak Under 'Urban Myths'
Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Thur 22 Dec 2005
President Bush asserted this week that the news media
published a U.S. government leak in 1998 about Osama bin
Laden's use of a satellite phone, alerting the al Qaeda
leader to government monitoring and prompting him to
abandon the device.
The story of the vicious leak that destroyed a valuable
intelligence operation was first reported by a
best-selling book, validated by the Sept. 11 commission
and then repeated by the president.
A leak alerted Osama bin Laden to telephone surveillance,
according to President Bush and others. A leak alerted
Osama bin Laden to telephone surveillance, according to
President Bush and others. (AP) Who's Blogging? Read what
bloggers are saying about this article.
But it appears to be an urban myth.
The al Qaeda leader's communication to aides via satellite
phone had already been reported in 1996 -- and the source
of the information was another government, the Taliban,
which ruled Afghanistan at the time.
...
--
Tim Finin, Computer Science & Electrical Engineering, Univ of Maryland
Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore MD 21250. finin@xxxxxxxx
http://ebiquity.umbc.edu 410-455-3522 fax:-3969 http://umbc.edu/~finin
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