Yes, we all want to know about our givernment’s successes in the War on Terror. The more of them, and the sooner such events transpire, the better. Sometimes, though, I wonder about why information is released when secrecy, at least for a while longer, would make a big difference in the overall value of the victory.
This weekend’s capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi is such an instance. Along with the man who is allegedly the chief operations officer for Al Qaeda, the arresting team scooped up computers, cell phones, and other materials apparently containing a good deal of current information on the outlaw crew’s plans and resources.
In contrast, Attorney General Ashcroft only today announced that German authorities arrested another key terror leader, Sheik Mohammed Ali Hasan al-Moayad, back in January.
So why did the more significant arrest get plastered all over the world’s news media before the government could decipher and analyze, much less act on, what they found? I suppose the only real answer is that this arrest was not a quiet affair and those most directly affected by it would know anyway. Still, if the team tracking Mohammed was a little more clever, you have to think they could have arranged to take him in secrecy and make the arrest even more effective in the long run.
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