The Terrorist and Two ATM Cards

[The Whiskey Priest]

When a criminal is apprehended the items he is carrying on his pocket is designated as “pocket litter.” When Abu Zubaydah was apprehended March 2002, among his “pocket litter” were two ATM type cards. One card was for a bank in Kuwait and another for a bank in Saudi Arabia. The significance of this discovery was that up until that moment US intelligence had lead in the hunt for financial transaction of any high ranking member of al Qaeda. The cards would provide entrée to bank records that would be a treasure trove of information on how and who was funding bin Laden’s organization. This would provide more information than had been gained through the financial forensic examinations of hawalas transactions which were the standard practice of al Qaeda.

A funny thing happened after the cards were bundled up and shipped back to the US, they were allowed to collect dust with not inquiry pursued. Whether this was due to incompetence or because someone was afraid of the names of high ranking Saudis that might be uncovered is not clear. What did happen was nothing, nothing that is until the US recruited a Muslim financier with connections in Saudi Arabia to make some discrete inquires. Upon doing so the financier reported back that strangely the bank records had been confiscated by Saudi intelligence and no longer existed. The confiscation of the records took place almost simultaneously with the capture of Zubaydah.

This story is reported in James Risen’s book, State of War.

The questions unanswered are:

Why did the Bush Administration drop the ball on this one?
Has the Bush Administration inquired of the Saudis why they destroyed the records?
Is this another instance of Bush protecting the Saudis?

With this sort of incompetence it is hard to feel like we know what we are doing with Bush and his Republican party minions at the helm.

[madmark]

1. No matter how many Patriotic Acts or Homeland Security Bureaucracies

you create, or no how many Americans' 4th amendment rights get violated, none of it is a substitute for basic, fundamental competence which this Administration lacks.

[The Whiskey Priest]

2. Risen goes on to point out the inordinate amount of influence the Saudis

have within the government, the press and the business establishment. Maybe we should also think about withdrawing our troops from Saudi Arabia.

[Lori Price CLG]

3. Kick. n/t

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. Very interesting....

Do I smell a coverup of some kind?