Word: zubaydah
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...Zubaydah, the master Al Qaeda strategist wounded and captured in a gunfight in Pakistan last month, has made it abundantly clear to the American military and intelligence personnel who visit his hospital bed that "he isn't a big fan of ours," a U.S. official says sardonically. So last week, when the Palestinian fanatic, on the mend at a secret U.S. facility overseas, declared that among the next targets of Osama Bin Laden's terror cells would be U.S. banks along the Eastern seaboard, the Americans were inclined to wonder if he was merely taunting them. "He's a smart...
...Skepticism of Abu Zubaydah's motives still ran deep, with officials debating, as one put it, "How do you we know he's not just jerking us around? You can make a case either way." Moreover, the banking community wouldn't take kindly to a yet another warning. One issued the previous Monday and based on a hoax perpetrated by a Dutch teenager, had shut some banks' doors...
...officials aren't optimistic Zubaydah will ever crack. But even a silent Zubaydah may spare American lives. Says an official: "If he never says a word to anyone, just having him out of the equation is enough...
...prevent attacks. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has endorsed the issuance of "torture warrants" in the rarest of instances. While ethicists remain squeamish at the prospect of torturing low-level al-Qaeda recruits who probably aren't privy to life-sparing information, the stakes may be different in Zubaydah's case. Anthony D'Amato, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law who has defended a doctor charged with genocide, finds torture legally reprehensible but sees some moral wiggle room when it comes to Zubaydah. "In the realm of morality, while torturing a human being is forbidden, it is nevertheless...
...says a lawyer. "They should be talking to this guy." A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. To be sure, there might be a public outcry if the government offered Moussaoui some kind of deal. But the government's strategy could change now that al-Qaeda operations boss Abu Zubaydah has been captured--if prosecutors believe Moussaoui has more to tell them...