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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion August 10, 2004
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Bush Leak Allowed Terrorists to Escape



President Bush has promised his administration is "doing everything we can" to fight the War on Terror.1 He has also said, "I've constantly expressed my displeasure with leaks"2 and said, "whether they happened in the White House or happened in the administration or happened on Capitol Hill [leaks] can be very damaging."3 But according to a new report, the White House's leak of secret information for its own political gain has undermined the War on Terror because it allowed key al Qaeda suspects to escape.

According to government and security officials, the disclosure by the White House "of the arrest of an al Qaeda computer expert allowed several wanted suspects from Osama bin Laden's terror network to escape." Specifically, the White House told the media it had apprehended Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, a 25-year-old Pakistani computer engineer who the administration said was a terrorist.4 But according to MSNBC, Khan was a key intelligence source for U.S. and Pakistani authorities and "had been actively cooperating with intelligence agents to help catch al-Qaida operatives."5 In other words, the White House blew the cover of a U.S. intelligence mole in order to publicly justify raising the terror alert level one week after the Democratic National Convention. In the process, it allowed terrorists who threaten America to evade capture.

If there was any doubt about who leaked Khan's name and compromised U.S. national security, those were put to rest this weekend. On CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" on Sunday, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice admitted it was the Bush administration that leaked Khan's name.6

Sources:
  1. "President's Remarks at Marquette, Michigan Rally," The White House, 07/13/04.
  2. "President Discusses National, Economic Security in Cabinet Meeting," The White House, 10/7/03.
  3. "President Holds Press Conference," The White House, 10/28/03.
  4. "Leak allowed al-Qaeda suspects to escape," USA Today, 8/10/04.
  5. "Pakistan: U.S. Blew Undercover Operation," Truthout, 8/6/04.
  6. "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," CNN, 08/08/04.



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