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| Terror Networks |
| Bin Laden’s decoy prepared to die |
| 2003-01-21 |
| Al-Qaida's leader Osama bin Laden escaped Afghanistan by giving his satellite phone to his Moroccan bodyguard, who served as a decoy for US forces tracking the signal, The Washington Post reported yesterday. Abdallah Tabarak was captured at Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan in November 2001 and sent to the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he is now a leader among fellow al-Qaida and Taliban detainees, senior Moroccan officials told the daily. "He agreed to be captured or die," one official said. "That's the level of his fanaticism for bin Laden." Tabarak, 43, used bin Laden's phone while moving around the cave complex at Tora Bora. "It wasn't a lot of time but it was enough. There is a saying: 'Where there is a frog, the serpent is not far away'," said the Moroccan officials who have interviewed Tabarak and other Moroccan prisoners at Guantanamo. Do they watch a lot of old "Kung Fu" episodes? Bin Laden is believed to have fled Tora Bora to neighbouring Pakistan. He was trying to get there, that would have been my guess Despite several messages attributed to him since his presumed escape, there is no definitive proof to suggest whether he is alive or dead. Until we get a video of him holding up todays paper, I vote for dead. A US reward of $8.5 million for his capture still stands. The Moroccan officials said US forces in Afghanistan did not know who Tabarak was when they captured him and sent him to Guantanamo. His mug shot, sent around the world, was immediately identified by Moroccan officials, they added. They said the ploy that allowed bin Laden to escape was widely known and celebrated among the prisoners at the military prison in Guantanamo. At least it's a good story. It may even be true, playing a tape of Binny's voice over the satellite phone is a nice trick. By this time, they knew we were listening in. |
| Posted by:Steve |