| Not Usama's Boy |
10 March 2003
|
Washington May Fib about Captured Terrorists
After the arrest in Pakistan of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, number 3 operative in Al-Qaeda, there were howls from certain quarters that the press announcement of the arrest was counter-productive. By letting on that the West had captured him, his partners in terror were tipped off and may have escaped capture. Quite possibly so. And that could be why the alleged capture of Usama bin Laden's son(s) was denied by Washington over the week-end.
Conspiracies are, fortunately, very hard to keep under wraps, and so there is every chance that the provincial minister who announced to the media that UbL's son or sons had been arrested was a simple mistake. Nonetheless, the story smelled of cover-up, coming as it did right before the week-end, during which Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Bush were prospecting for votes on the Security Council to permit a war on Iraq.
Washington owes its people a policy. When a bigwig of evil is caught, the public's right to know comes into conflict with its expectation of security. Thus far, the White House has not addressed the matter, and it is this sort of issue that makes the 21st century a new place. Not telling at all destroys the electorate's right to know. Telling immediately may, indeed, let murderers escape.
While fighting the war on terror, Washington needs to trust of the people, and it will not be forthcoming without credible information. Nor will it be forthcoming if Washington fails to protect American soil again. Perhaps Attorney General Ashcroft can get off his moral crusades long enough to formulate a sound policy on this.