Bin Laden's Iraq Plan (Newsweek)

Newsweek ^ | 12/08/03 | Sami Yousafzai, Ron Moreau and Michael Hirsh

[ChipShot]

During the muslim holy month of Ramadan, three senior Qaeda representatives allegedly held a secret meeting in Afghanistan with two top Taliban commanders.

AT THAT MEETING, according to Taliban sources, Osama bin Laden’s men officially broke some bad news to emissaries from Mullah Mohammed Omar, the elusive leader of Afghanistan’s ousted fundamentalist regime. Their message: Al Qaeda would be diverting a large number of fighters from the anti-U.S. insurgency in Afghanistan to Iraq. Al Qaeda also planned to reduce by half its $3 million monthly contribution to Afghan jihadi outfits.

[winstonchurchill]

It would seem to me that it would be fairly easy to run a sting in Iraq looking for journalists that would pay for access to cover an attack, or would receive payments or "gifts", to provide such coverage.

You raise an interesting issue. In such a sting, the payor could not, in truth, actually 'give aid and comfort.' The crime would be 'attempted treason'. I wonder if there is such a thing. Come to think of it, 'attempted treason' sounds like the raison d'etre of the NYT.

[justshutupandtakeit]

The real message here is that Al Queda understands that if America is successful in Iraq it is finished. It cannot stop us from doing what we need to do in Afganistan and it won't be able to do so in Iraq.

This is actually good news even if the RATmedia paints it as negative. Halving the money for the Afgani terrorists and sacrificing the home base of Al Queda is a sign of retreat and defeat not victory over the "infidels."

[optimistically_conservative]

The crime would be 'attempted treason'.

Hmmmm ... perhaps the Iraqi courts could find such attempted treason within it's borders actionable? Or a military tribunal? I know, I know ... we find them illegal enemy combatants and ship them to GITMO.