WASHINGTON, March 14, 2008
U.S. Defense Dept: Top Terrorist Nabbed
Al Qaeda's Mohammad Rahim Reportedly Helped Osama Bin Laden Flee Afghanistan In 2001
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The U.S. Defense Department announced on Friday, March 14, 2008 that Mohammad Rahim, a high-level al Qaeda figure who helped Osama bin Laden escape from Afghanistan in 2001, has been captured and is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (CBS/AP)
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Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to say when or where Mohammad Rahim al-Afghani was captured - or by whom - announcing only that he was handed over by the CIA to the Pentagon earlier this week and is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
But in a memo obtained by The Associated Press, CIA Director Michael Hayden told agency employees that Rahim was detained in the summer of 2007. CBS News has learned that Rahim's capture was coordinated by Pakistan who then handed the suspect over to the CIA.
"Rahim is a tough, seasoned jihadist," Hayden said. "His combat experience, which dates back to the 1980s, includes plots against U.S. and Afghan targets."
Rahim is a close associate of bin Laden and has ties to al Qaeda organizations throughout the Middle East, Whitman said.
He said Rahim helped prepare the al Qaeda hideout at Tora Bora - a mountain area full of warrens used by bin Laden during the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. He assisted al Qaeda's escape from the area during the U.S. operation to try to catch the al Qaeda leader, officials said.
"Rahim's detention in the summer of 2007 was a blow to more than one terrorist network," Hayden said. "He gave aid to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other anti-Coalition militants.
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that while it is not known what interrogation techniques were used on Rahim, it is safe to assume that the decision to transfer him from the CIA to the U.S. military was made after he had been drained of all useful information.
Since Rahim was involved in al Qaida's escape from the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, Martin said, he might have known exactly how close the U.S. came to getting bin Laden before he fled into Pakistan. And since he also served as a courier for bin Laden in 2002, he must have also known something about where the world's most wanted man was hiding.
A statement from the Pentagon said Rahim al-Afghani is now under Department of Defense custody and control and will be treated appropriately and in accordance with policy and procedures for other DoD detainees at Guantanamo.
He will be treated in accordance with U.S. law and international obligations under treaties to include the Convention Against Torture, Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act, the Military Commissions Act, and applicable Department of Defense directives and instructions governing detainee operations, the statement said.
As a result of this latest transfer, there are now approximately 280 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
©MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 177 CommentsHere it comes!
Bush got a secret ''fear factor'' surprise to help the Republicans in the Nov-2008 election. Just when the news is getting very bad, they find an Al-Qaeda cockroach. Remember, kill one cockroach and 10 more come out. Do not fall into the cockroach trap.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., in his taped sermons, also questioned America%u2019s role in the spread of the AIDS virus and suggested that the United States bore some responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks." (AP NEWS)
Why do Democrat sound exactly like IRAN and Al Qaeda Terrorist in they hate speech for America. Look at the posts here after this story. The Democrats are out-ragged by the fact that one of their beloved genocidal murders has been captured or they say the same as Bin Ladin, "The story is just a Bush Lie".
This is the new %u201CChange for America%u201D that Saddam Hussein OBAMA, Hitlery and Democraps have promised us.
And, they are just NOW releasing this information?!
At a time when the news is overwhelmingly bad and this administration has little or no credibility, and it''s candidates may well lose in November because of it---and along comes THIS news!
It doesn''t look coincidental to me! It definitely looks like the proverbial ''October surprise'' but in March! Maybe for Mr.McCain to use in some way in the next few days, perhaps?!
When something looks,smells,& acts like a duck---it''s a duck folks! When something looks, smells, & acts like a political set-up---it tends to be a political set-up! But each person gets to make that determination for his or herself in this country!Amen.
Bush got a secret ''''fear factor'''' surprise to help the Republicans in the Nov-2008 election. Just when the news is getting very bad, they find an Al-Qaeda cockroach. Remember, kill one cockroach and 10 more come out. Do not fall into the cockroach trap.
Posted by lovegetpeace at 02:52 PM : Mar 14, 2008"
Was I right or was I right?
Actually, it now appears that this "terrrrrrrorist" was captured sometime in 2007, but the CIA decided to "introduce" him to its "advanced interrogation techniques" before handing him over to the military, which has some "advanced interrogation techniques" of its own!
Be that as it may, the CIA and military are busy patting themselves on the "arse", claiming another "victory" in the war against "terrrrrrrorism", mush to the delight of the Great Emperor Bush II, and promising to continue the struggle until either the Great Emperor Bush II bankrupts the country or a Whimpo-crat becomes heir to the throne in the Oval Office, whichever comes first!
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, McCain????
Bush helped Bin Laden flee Afghanistan. Can we arrest him?
...and really, the Hitler refs are so played out - what are you, 10?
Jules: Mmmm! *******, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet $hit! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster''s Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET $hit on us! What flavor is this?
Jimmie: Knock it off, Julie.
Jules: [pause] What?
Jimmie: I don''t need you to tell me how fvcking good my coffee is, okay? I''m the one who buys it. I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping she buys $HIT. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it I want to taste it. But you know what''s on my mind right now? It AIN''T the coffee in my kitchen, it''s the dead niggger in my garage.
Jules: Oh, Jimmie, don''t even worry about that...
Jimmie: No, No, No, No, let me ask you a question. When you came pulling in here, did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Dead Niggger Storage?
Jules: Jimmie, you know I ain''t seen no...
Jimmie: Did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Dead Niggger Storage?
Jules: [pause] No. I didn''t.
Jimmie: You know WHY you didn''t see that sign?
Jules: Why?
Jimmie: ''Cause it ain''t there, ''cause storing dead nigggers ain''t my fvcking business, that''s why!
The above story was ignored by CBS, ABC, NBC, and the NYT because Democrats don''t want anyone to know that Cuban''s don''t hate America as much as Democrats. I thought the Democrats said that the only bad part of their beloved CUBA was Guantanamo Bay, were all the friends of the Democrats are tortured by the Evil American Military. I wonder why these Cuban Players ran away. It must be another Bush Plot to kidnap innocent victims away from their wonderful Cuban Dictatorship and force them to live as Slaves in our Horrible Capitalist Democracy.
Jules: Mmmm! *******, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet $hit! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster''s Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET $hit on us! What flavor is this?
Jimmie: Knock it off, Julie.
Jules: [pause] What?
Jimmie: I don''t need you to tell me how fvcking good my coffee is, okay? I''m the one who buys it. I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping she buys $HIT. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it I want to taste it. But you know what''s on my mind right now? It AIN''T the coffee in my kitchen, it''s the dead niggger in my garage.
Jules: Oh, Jimmie, don''t even worry about that...
Jimmie: No, No, No, No, let me ask you a question. When you came pulling in here, did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Dead Niggger Storage?
Jules: Jimmie, you know I ain''t seen no...
Jimmie: Did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Dead Niggger Storage?
Jules: [pause] No. I didn''t.
Jimmie: You know WHY you didn''t see that sign?
Jules: Why?
Jimmie: ''Cause it ain''t there, ''cause storing dead nigggers ain''t my fvcking business, that''s why!
Ahhhh - I get it. In other words, he was armed and trained by the CIA to fight the Soviet invaders, under orders from Ron Reagan.
Too bad old Ronnie boy didn''t help Russia, or better yet, too bad he didn''t keep us from getting involved altogether. The Soviets would have crushed the Taliban, bin Laden would either be dead or still fighting them, and America probably wouldn''t have been attacked on 9/11.
More GOP failure, stacked on top of more GOP failure.
Posted by j-whitman at 04:23 PM : Mar 14, 2008
Good point J.
What is this - the 500th "top" al Qaeda operative that we''ve caught?
I think we''ve caught 6 of bin Laden''s drivers too. How many camels does this guy actually own?
-- We would all be sitting around still with our homes intact smoking Cuban cigars celibrating the total defeat of Al Queda & the Taliban & the capture & trial of Ossama Bin Laden
Too bad old Ronnie boy didn''''t help Russia, or better yet, too bad he didn''''t keep us from getting involved altogether. The Soviets would have crushed the Taliban, bin Laden would either be dead or still fighting them, and America probably wouldn''''t have been attacked on 9/11.
More GOP failure, stacked on top of more GOP failure.
Posted by hungry1968 at 04:21 PM : Mar 14, 2008"
Help Russia? We had this thing called the "Cold War," which kinda meant we didn''t get along with Russia.
Unbelievable......
Posted by notblue at 04:29 PM : Mar 14, 2008"
He''s got a point & if he wears a very tall hat no one would even notice.
The EPA - muffled scientists that didn''t agree.
The Dept. of Justice - Remember all those lawyers?
The CIA - Needed to make sure the intelligence was sayin'' what he wanted to hear.
The Pentagon - What happened to Shinseki? And all the other honest generals?
Now why would we suspect that he''s politicizing the "War on Terror"?
Their bad policies in not talking to Cuba & our economic recession might have opened the door for trade & those Cuban cigars
Posted by topglock45 at 04:29 PM : Mar 14, 2008
Are you kidding?!?!?
He was one of the biggest failures as a president EVER. His economic policies did NOTHING but bust unions, critically hurting working families. Reaganomics was nothing more than the first shots in the GOP war on the middle class.
He also sold/gave arms, ammo, training, and information from our intelligence agencies to Iran, Iraq, AND the Taliban - our current top three biggest security threats right now. Remember the picture of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein, smiling and laughing?
And are you really saying that Reagan freed the hostages the DAY BEFORE he took office?
You GOP following brain washed creeps are WAY, WAY out of touch with reality. Go back to newamericancentury.org and see who practically BEGGED for the war with Iraq to start, Mr. GOP lover. Here you go, let me help you out (since you obviously NEED help):
http://newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm
The greatest harm to democracy is when men do nothing.
Unbelievable......
Posted by easeup at 04:29 PM : Mar 14, 2008
What was the "Cold War"? It was nothing more than us saying our political philosophy was better than theirs, and vice versa. Who won? Russia is now the current #2 superpower, right behind China. Bush has dragged us down to third (and his goal appears to be to drag us down to "third world").
And like I said, we preferably would have stayed out of it altogether - without our "help" they either would have killed our crushed the Taliban INCLUDING bin Laden, or they would still be there occupying them and fighting them. Either way, we probably WOULDN''T have been attacked on 9/11.
Posted by mbcsmith
---------
BDS is a powerful affliction.
Stop your war against Americans, it doesn''t help our nation --- It only hurts it
discuss yes - complaining gets old sometimes - sometimes - like you say - people need to act instead of complain -
you are one of the few who have some decency of honor. I wish there were more.
From the article:
Re: "Authorities have captured a high-level al Qaeda figure who helped Osama bin Laden escape from Afghanistan in 2001, the Pentagon announced Friday."
"Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to say when or where Mohammad Rahim al-Afghani was captured - or by whom - announcing only that he was handed over by the CIA to the Pentagon earlier this week and is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."
"But in a memo obtained by The Associated Press, CIA Director Michael Hayden told agency employees that Rahim was detained in the summer of 2007."
If this man is even a real person, then we must ask why the U.S. military and media is announcing his capture today, if he was "captured" in 2007.
The answer seems clear: they are attempting to justify their global terror campaign against the people of the world, and they seek a booster-shot of support.
All persons should be released from Guantanamo Bay, as they are being held in an illegal detention/torture facility. This man was most likely a goat-hearder or something similar, who was turned in by some warlord for the reward money.
Micheal Hayden is a poster-boy for fascism, and this treasonous fecal mound should face a war crimes tribunal, gallows, or firing squad, along with other members and collaborators of the Bush cabal.
Don''t miss some of the only U.S. military heroes in Iraq tesifying about the murders and abuses that they committed and witnessed while serving in the lie-based war of aggression against Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Testimony is being given RIGHT NOW, in a program called "Winter Soldier"-
http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier
Also, please remember that demonstrations against the Bush war of terror and the 5 year anniversary of the criminal invasion of Iraq, are taking place tommorrow, March 15, 2008.
Look for one in a town near you!
all soldiers in Iraq are heroes including veterans of all wars - too bad they are fighting and have fought for you because you don''t believe in them.
09-11-01 wouldn''t have happened.
netadmin1,
Re: "all soldiers in Iraq are heroes including veterans of all wars - too bad they are fighting and have fought for you because you don''t believe in them."
We know that they are involved in war crimes, but they are most certainly NOT heroes, unless they are opposing these disgraceful and criminal debacles.
If you consider people that gang-rape little girls, execute and torture civilians, etc., as heroes, then I feel very sorry for you.
Those who are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, are dupes and victims of our criminal leadership and corporate media, at best.
The ONLY U.S. military heroes in the Bush regime''s war of terror are those who resist it. Period.
09-11-01 wouldn''''t have happened.
Posted by topglock45 at 05:10 PM : Mar 14, 2008
First of all, it was Sudan that had him in custody - not Pakistan.
Secondly, what should we have taken him into custody for in 1996? He wasn''t wanted for anything by us. Yes hindsight is 20/20, but you can''t fault someone for NOT predicting the future.
If you want to think like that, then you should ask, "Why did the Reagan administration gives arms and ammo to bin Laden in the 1980''s?"
.. They''ll learn in time nothing is as it seems.... It took me the better part of 50 years.
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