FIGHTING DIRTY:

Arrest yields al-Qaeda contacts (News.com, March 03, 2003)

ACCUSED September 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was carrying the names and phone numbers of members of al-Qaeda sleeper cells in North America when he was arrested, intelligence officials have said.

His detention in Pakistan could disrupt acts of terror in the planning stages, authorities in Washington said.

Vincent Cannistraro, a former counter-terrorism chief for the CIA, said Mohammed would likely be interrogated "with some urgency" about al-Qaeda attacks that might be imminent.

Western intelligence officials have said Mohammed actively recruited terrorists for a new wave of attacks against Americans at home and abroad.

He is also alleged to have worked to develop radioactive "dirty" bombs.

Whadda ya' bet that suddenly folks will clam up about how John Aschcroft over-reacted to the arrest of Jose Padilla. It was Mohammed, along with Ramzi Yousef who first dreamt up crashing passenger jets into buildings. If he was working on dirty bombs you can bet there are more Padillas out there somewhere and one of them may already have a bomb. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 2, 2003 10:20 PM