cos number 1's and number 2's are potty talk

the other day i expressed some suspicion about the arrest of alq's #3 without knowing (or bothering) to get into any of the details. the confusion seems to be growing...

* via tas, he was already captured in Afghanistan back in 2002. guardian: " The 38-year-old was one of bin Laden's closest aides, with a $25 million (£17m) reward on his head" LINK

* LAT: "Officials gave conflicting accounts of where Farj, Pakistan's most-wanted fugitive, was arrested. Ahmed and Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said he was picked up in South Waziristan, a tribal region on the Afghan border. But Pakistani intelligence sources said the Libyan was captured Monday near Mardan, in North-West Frontier Province... Pakistani officials announced a $350,000 reward last summer for the arrest of Farj, 42, also known as Abu Faraj Libbi and Dr. Taufeeq... There has been some dispute about Farj's position in the Al Qaeda hierarchy... "There may be some grade inflation going on," said Kenneth Katzman, a senior terrorism analyst"
"If he really had moved into [Mohammed's] position, I think they would have been more public about him, including [offering U.S.] rewards," Katzman said. "There hasn't been a big capture in a while, so maybe they're emphasizing his importance more than they would have otherwise." LINK

* NYT: "Both Pakistani and American officials described the man, a Libyan named Abu Faraj al-Libbi, as the third most senior leader in Al Qaeda's terrorist network, and President Bush called the arrest a "critical victory in the war on terror." But counterterrorism experts in Europe immediately raised questions about Mr. Libbi's importance... But some intelligence officials in Europe expressed surprise at hearing Mr. Libbi described as Al Qaeda's third-highest leader, pointing out that he does not figure on the F.B.I.'s most-wanted list... There is another Qaeda operative on the list with a similar name" LINK

* "As John Stewart said on last night's Daily Show: "It seems like the #3 guy is sort of a raw deal in al Qaeda."" LINK

so apparently, alq's #3 was arrested in 2002, with a $25m bounty, and somehow escaped, and the ams removed the bounty, but the pakistanis put a $350k bounty on his head. or something. and now he looks ugly and sinister. of course.