"His computer ... has provided a treasure trove of information,"

[underpants]

from the April 27, 2005 edition
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0427/p03s01-woiq.html

WASHINGTON – The United States military has not yet managed to catch Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top Al Qaeda-linked terrorist in Iraq. But they have perhaps snagged the next best thing: his laptop.

"His computer ... has provided a treasure trove of information," says a Pentagon official who asked to remain nameless.

Zarqawi is a bear-like Jordanian-born figure renowned even among terrorists for his brutality. He has set himself up as the top Islamist terror figure in Iraq, although his exact relationship with Osama bin Laden and the rest of Al Qaeda's leadership remains unclear.

When they caught the pickup the US personnel found the computer, over $100,000 in euros, and two Zarqawi associates. Zarqawi himself may have escaped by rolling from the truck under an underpass, then fleeing on foot to a safehouse somewhere in the vicinity.

[Virginia Dare]

1. Al-Qaida is not better at protecting their data...

than the U.S. Government apparently. Isn't it convenient how they keep leaving their laptops around with all their deep dark secrets on them?

[underpants]

3. Zarqawi Laptop Treasure Trove of Terror Info

Yeah this "street thug" really should have done a better job of securing his information.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154751,00.html
WASHINGTON — Information seized from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's (search) laptop computer show that the Jordanian terrorist has been expanding his jihad network outside Iraq and may be emerging as Al Qaeda's (search) preeminent global military commander, The New York Post reported Wednesday.

U.S. intelligence officials who were briefed on data gleaned from a computer taken after a Feb. 20 U.S. Special Forces ambush in Iraq — in which Zarqawi narrowly escaped — told the Post that they have discovered shocking new details about the growing threat to U.S. and Western interests posed by Zarqawi, who they say is rapidly eclipsing bin Laden in importance.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. How the hell many computers did al-Zarqawi have? They're claiming

they pulled his personal computer from the bombing rubble this morning!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. That house didn't even have electric

Was there a generator anywhere in sight? How about a satellite dish. Or do they have WIFI out in the desert now?

[underpants]

6. Al-Zarqawi eluded capture but left clues, source says

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7637153/

Updated: 7:40 p.m. ET April 26, 2005

Photos, phone numbers among intelligence
found on laptop



LOL did it really not have electricity??? Uh....what about batteries it could run on batteries right?

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. I lived on a boat

You've got to charge batteries on a regular basis, ie you need to find electric to plug it into to recharge it.

You could use solar panels, but that house didn't look like the kind of place that would have such things.

Even with a working computer, whose providing Internet service to the boondocks of Iraq except the US Military?

[underpants]

10. LOL

I just got this image of someone carrying around solar panels with them and all their friends rolling their eyes. Finally after looking around the table at each other one of them sighs and says "Yeah okay Abu I'll help you with your solar panels"

[Ripley]

14. LOL!

Hey Dude! Why don't You just run over to Home Depot at that Base and buy a new A/C converter?

[underpants]

5. He must have gotten a new one

and, not learning from the past mistake, put every single thing you might possibly want to know on it oh and on a thumbdrive that he had in this pocket....that....(checks press release)... survived the two 500 pound bombs just like he did.

After near miss with Zarqawi, laptop may reveal insurgents
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-04-26-zarqawi_x.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in Iraq believe they just missed capturing most-wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a February raid that netted two of his associates, a senior U.S. military official said Tuesday.

[treestar]

9. He has to buy a new one every time he comes back from the

dead.

:sarcasm:

[underpants]

12. That's a lot of computers

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1389668

Lost a leg in 2002 (but US later changed their tune)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FJ15Ak02.html

Killed in March 2004
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29777-20...

Came back to life to personally behead Nick Berg (post-Abu Ghraib photo release)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1136076/posts
(interesting as no one in that video appeared to be handicapped - Zarqawi had one leg amputated)
http://wais.stanford.edu/Individuals/nickberg.htm

Killed again in Oct. 2004
http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/10-17a-04.asp

Seriously injured or killed in May 2005
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/10500
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loi...

Zarqawi shot in chest/lung in May 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4579885.stm

Killed and body in Falluja cemetery in June 2005
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loi...

And now killed again in Nov. 2005

Baghdad imam says Zarqawi killed at beginning of US invasion
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/73570F02-EA07-49...

Backed up by this March 2004 article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4446084 /

[KittyWampus]

8. I'm sure WHIG was glad to lard the coffers of Zaraqawi's treasure trove

[htuttle]

11. So...um...WHY are they talking about it?

Could it be that they decided that the PR value of saying, "We found some information" was more valuable than the information itself?

[underpants]

13. Could be

if there really was all this great information I don't understand why they would announce it. Maybe they are using this to smoke out people and see who acts frantic and runs first.

Either way I have stopped even shaking my head at the nonesense anymore and just laughing at it.

[UTUSN]

15. Wow, indestructible like the Newsweek FDR picture n/t

[tjwash]

16. How much do you want to bet that "treasure trove of information"...

...will be about where the Iranian secret nue-koo-ler bomb facilities, and the Iranian secret terra training camps are?

How much do you want to bet that "treasure trove of information" will be repeated ad-nauseam for weeks and weeks and used as a justification for a bombing, then an invasion?

How much do you want to bet that "treasure trove of information" turns out to be "all wrong, whoops sorry, bad intelligence" after the permanent military bases and the new embassy start construction in Tehran?

Just asking.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. CNN was just waving around some printouts

that supposedly came off of the Amazing Zarqawi's, no electric or batteries needed, WIFI access from anywhere computer.

The best part is the documents were printing in English. LOL. I didn't know that English was the language of al CIAda?