Ain't this the truth, today's DU feature article on ......

[whistle]

....BushCo's hot pursuit of the al-Qaeda network "number three man".

<snip>
We Are Very Good Drivers

May 11, 2005
By Sheila Samples

Even as Tim Russert solemnly announced on Meet the Press Sunday that the "number three man" in the entire al-Qaeda network was now under lock and key, the world edition of the Sunday Times quoted European intelligence as saying that Abu Faraj al-Libbi was not only not number three, he is not even a blip on the terrorist radar screen.

According to the Times, "No European or American intelligence expert contacted last week had heard of al-Libbi until a Pakistani intelligence report last year claimed he had taken over as head of operations after Khalid Shaikh Mohammad's arrest. A former close associate of Osama Bin Laden now living in London laughed - 'What I remember of him is he used to make the coffee and do the photocopying.'"

But Bush and his minions, joined by their Pakistani counterparts, would not be denied their public victory dance, complete with back-slapping and high-fives. "A critical victory in the war on terror," Bush crowed, and added that the capture of this "major facilitator and chief planner" for Osama bin Laden "removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom."

Bush interrupted his attempts to destroy Social Security to laud Musharraf: "I applaud the Pakistani government for their (sic) strong cooperation in the war on terror," he said, adding that the Pakistanis had acted on "solid intelligence" to bring him to justice and vowing that those fighting terrorism will "stay on the offensive until al-Qaida is defeated."

<more>
<link> http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/05/11_drivers.html

[liberal N proud]

1. They needed a booster shot for the war on TERRA!

[oblivious]

2. So they're beating this coffee boy and can't figure why he hasn't cracked.

Is it possible for anything to be more ridiculous?

"So far he has not told us anything solid that could lead to the high-value targets," a senior intelligence official told the Sunday Telegraph. "It is too early to judge whether he is a hard nut to crack or simply that he doesn't know more than he has told us."

Al-Libbi had been beaten and injected with the so-called "truth serum," sodium pentathol, said the official.

"They have tried all possible methods, from the third degree to injecting him with a truth serum, but it is hard to break him," he said.

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20050508-110520-3623r.htm

One senior intelligence official said: "So far he has not told us anything solid that could lead to the high-value targets. It is too early to judge whether he is a hard nut to crack, or simply that he doesn't know more than he has told us.

"They have tried all possible methods, from the 'third degree' to injecting him with a truth serum, but it is hard to break him."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/AlQaeda-suspect-is-hard-to-break/2005/05/08/1115491045953.html?oneclick=true



I notice that the BBC and Christian Science Monitor are now reporting the fraud.

When asked about Libbi, an alleged former associate of Osama Bin Laden told the Sunday Times: "What I remember of him is he used to make the coffee and do the photocopying."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4528957.stm

The big catch that wasn't?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0510/dailyUpdate.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Nice piece

though I must point out that the Dustin Hoffman character in Rain Man was not called Benjamin Braddock (that's his character in The Graduate - "Benjamin, I am *not* trying to seduce you") but Raymond - hence the film title, from Tom Cruise misremembering his brother's name.