Trevor Blake: Mohammad Sadique Khan
July 13, 2004: Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan is arrested in the United Kingdom as a suspected agent of Al-Qaida. He is put to work by the United States government in a sting operation against Al-Qaida.
August 2, 2004: After a briefing from the United States government, the New York Times publishes the name of Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan as working for the United States government in a sting operation against Al-Qaida.
August, 2004: The United States goes on ‘orange alert.’ By remarkable coincidence, this occurs at the same time as the Democratic National Convention.
August 8, 2004: National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice uses the international television chanel CNN to name Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan as working for the United States government in a sting operation against Al-Qaida. By remarkable coincidence, this occurs at the same time as the Bush administration wants to appear to have ‘done someting’ about terrorists. While revealing one’s spies is a form of shooting ones’ self in the foot, at least it shows that one has a gun.
August, 2004: British intelligence, no longer able to use Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan as ‘bait’ to capture other A-Qaida members, arrests thirteen of Khan’s contacts. Five suspected members, having been warned by the United States government via both news briefings (NYT) and directly (NSA Advisor Rice) that their contact Khan was a plant, escaped. One of the five that escaped was Mohammad Sadique Khan.
September 16, 2004: Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge acknowledges that revealing Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan was working for the United States government in a sting operation against Al-Qaida was a mistake. Ridge calls this “regretable.”
July 7, 2005: Four bombs explode in London, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. One of the bombers responsible was Mohammad Sidique Khan.
Analysis: Because the United States government revealed Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan was working for the US in a sting operation against Al-Qaida, Mohammad Sidique Khan was warned in time for him to escape arrest – thereby allowing him to participate in the recent bombing of London. George W. Bush and his team are willing to make the world pay any price to keep and expand their power.
