Somalia-based al-Shabaab may attack US: FBI DirectorOctober 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - FBI Director Robert Mueller has expressed fears that al Qaeda-linked Somalian terrorist group al-Shabaab may attack America. Mueller was responding to a question whether al-Shabaab would send American recruits back to the U.S.
Pak's 'double-game' helped bin-Laden escape allied forces : ReportSeptember 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan's 'double game' and its undercover relationship with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda helped Osama-bin-Laden escape the allied forces and prevented him from being nabbed, The Times online reports. Pakistan's connection with al-Qaeda dates back to 1980's when the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) helped the CIA to supply arms, ammunition and financial help to bin- Laden and other members of the Mujahideen resistance against Soviet forces.
US to reveal names of secret camp detainees to Red CrossAugust 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has decided to share the identities of militants and terrorist suspects held in secret US military camps in Iraq and Afghanistan with the International Committee of the Red Cross, The New York Times reported. Citing unnamed sources, the Times late Saturday said the change was signalled with no fanfare.
Lithuania hosted secret CIA prison: ReportAugust 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Lithuania was among three European countries that hosted secret CIA prisons for holding high-value Al Qaeda suspects, ABC News reported Thursday, citing unnamed former CIA officials. The CIA held up to eight prisoners in a building outside Vilnius for as long as a year, until late 2005, when the secret prison operation was ended after it surfaced publicly, the officials said.
CIA planned Al Qaeda assassinations: ReportJuly 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A secret operation halted last month by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director planned assassinations of Al Qaeda targets, a newspaper reported Monday. The activities of the highly classified US operation weren't clear, and the agency refused to comment, but some officials said it followed a 2001 presidential directive to capture or kill Al Qaeda operatives, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing intelligence officials.
Report: CIA had secret plan to get al-Qaida operatives dead or aliveJuly 13th, 2009 Report: CIA had plan to kill al-QaidaWASHINGTON — The Wall Street Journal reports that the CIA program concealed from Congress was a secret plan to kill or capture al-Qaida operatives. Former intelligence officials tell the Journal that the plan, which was ordered halted by agency Director Leon Panetta, was an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential finding authorized by President George W.
US freezes assets of LeT operatives linked with Mumbai attacksJuly 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has decided to freeze the assets of three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commanders, who were supposedly behind the November 2008 Mumbai carnage. Sanctions would also be imposed on an Al-Qaeda backer, Ameen Al-Peshawari, The Nation reports.
CIA urges judge to keep Bush-era Qaeda papers sealed over fears of jihadi misuseJune 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has objected to the release of certain Bush-era documents that detail the videotaped interrogations of al Qaeda detainees at secret prisons, arguing before a federal judge that doing so would endanger national security and benefit the terrorist network's recruitment efforts. In an affidavit, CIA Director Leon E.
Shaky Pakistan seen as a target of Al Qaeda plots: NYTMay 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - As Taliban militants push deeper into Pakistan, foreign operatives of Al Qaeda are seizing on the turmoil to sow chaos in Pakistan, the New York Times reported Monday. The operatives which had earlier focussed on plotting attacks against the West are now seeking to strengthen the hand of the militant Islamist groups in Pakistan, said the influential US daily citing American and Pakistani intelligence officials.
Senate document discloses existence of secret interrogation legal opinionsApril 23rd, 2009 Senate discloses existence of secret legal memosWASHINGTON — Five previously unacknowledged secret memos revealing new information about the Bush administration's interrogation policies remain hidden in government file cabinets, a Senate report disclosed Wednesday. It's not just the memos' contents that are classified.
Terrified of al Qaeda's capabilities post-9/11 US turned to torture: StratforApril 22nd, 2009 LAHORE - The US was so terrified of al Qaeda's capabilities post-9/11 that the then Bush Administration expected follow-up attacks at any moment and was forced to turn to torture due to lack of intelligence about the terrorist organisation activities, Stratfor, the global think tank, has said. The report, by George Friedman, states the government had also received intelligence indicating al Qaeda might have a nuclear weapon, but they had no idea whether those scraps had any value.
US obliged to go after CIA torturers, says UN monitorApril 18th, 2009 VIENNA - The US would be in breach of international law if it does not prosecute CIA officials for torturing alleged terrorists, UN monitor on torture Manfred Nowak said in a newspaper interview published Saturday in Austria. The UN Special Rapporteur on torture was reacting to the announcement by US President Barack Obama that CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) operatives who used harsh interrogation tactics authorised by the Bush administration should not be held responsible.
Bush administration cleared CIA use of insects to torture GITMO detaineesApril 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is reported to have given its approval to the Central Intelligence Agency to use insects as a method of torture against Guantanamo Bay detainees. The New York Times quotes the Justice Department as saying in a report the methods approved by the Bush administration for extracting information from senior operatives of Al Qaeda in careful detail - like keeping detainees awake for up to 11 straight days, placing them in a dark, cramped box or putting insects into the box to exploit their fears.
CIA no longer uses secret prisons, says spy chiefApril 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - CIA Director Leon Panetta has said that the US spy agency no longer uses secret prisons to detain terrorism suspects and is working on a plan to close the existing facilities. Panetta made the remarks in a letter Thursday to the employees of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
CIA closes secret prisons for terrorism suspectsApril 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US will no longer hold terrorism suspects in secret prisons and plans to shut down any facilities still in operation, CIA Director Leon Panetta has said, marking the latest reversal of terrorism policy by the new administration. President Barack Obama has already ordered the eventual closure of the controversial prison camp in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and repealed some of the harsh interrogation tactics used under president George W.
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