JaBbA's Hut

Back from vacation -- didn't even watch the convention (although I did tune into PBS's post-speech coverage Thursday night).

While I'm catching up, there's an interesting article about the 'October Surprise' over at the Progressive News.

I HAD heard that the Pakistanis blew the lid off a high-value captured terrorist with an announcement timed to interfere with Kerry's speech. Pretty stupid. But this one blew me away with it's sheer idocy and political motivation:

More striking yet was the announcement that followed. As part of the ramping up of its Orange Alert, the administration announced that an al-Qaeda computer expert and techno-whiz had just been arrested with terrifying material on his computer, and then, when the New York Times learned his name, evidently confirmed it to the paper. The catch was, as Reuters recently revealed, when Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan was arrested, he agreed to turn double agent -- and so became that rarest of all creatures, a potential mole inside al-Qaeda. Soon thereafter, his cover was blown. "'The whole thing smacks of either incompetence or worse,' said Tim Ripley, a security expert who writes for Jane's Defence publications.'You have to ask: what are they doing compromising a deep mole within al Qaeda, when it's so difficult to get these guys in there in the first place?... Running agents within a terrorist organisation is the Holy Grail of intelligence agencies. And to have it blown is a major setback which negates months and years of work, which may be difficult to recover."