[traviskicks]

U.S. officials are working feverishly to decipher numbers and apparent codes in a notebook retrieved from suspected al Qaeda leader Abu Faraj al-Libbi, ABC News has learned.
---

How stupid are the US officials to tell this to reporters? Why not tell them he destroyed it.

This stuff makes me sick. Lives are being lost because of incompetence like this.

[daybreakcoming]

Remember a couple years ago - maybe longer - Pres Bush advised us that we would be hearing deliberate "misinformation"? This might be one of those times. And who better to leak this to than one of the alphabets.

[Zeppelin]

i'm sure if they've released this info, theyve already deciphered the info. or maybe this is the misinformation Bush warned us about, to be used as tactics. we're not that stupid.

[taxcontrol]

Actually it is an old intelligence technique. First, break the codes, then set up a monitoring network of the accounts / targets. Then release to the press that you are working one the codes fully expecting the press to carry that message.

What happens then is that the target organizations does a knee jerk reaction and attempts to neutralize the targets. Perhaps this means attempting to withdraw funds or to contact someone to tell them they are no longer safe, etc.

Then the Intel org moves in a sweeps up the targets and STILL has new leads to go after! It is really quite effective and has been used against all kinds of secrete organizations including the mob to great effect.

[Perdogg]

I agree.

[al_again]

or maybe they are putting the info out on purpose in the hopes of getting osama to start moving.

[Law is not justice but process]

"Lives are being lost because of incompetence like this."

Agreed. I surely hope American Intelligence Agencies aren't that stupid. I see two possibilities. First, the Pakistanis are that stupid or someone in Pakistan is trying to help Al Quaeda. Second, the prisoner really did destroy all or most of the notebook and we are trying to smoke out some sleeper cells by instigating some emergency chatter.

[C210N]

U.S. officials are working feverishly to decipher numbers and apparent codes in a notebook retrieved from suspected al Qaeda leader Abu Faraj al-Libbi, ABC News has learned.

How stupid are the US officials to tell this to reporters? Why not tell them he destroyed it.

This stuff makes me sick. Lives are being lost because of incompetence like this.

Not only is it most likely that intelligence is planting this material in the alphabet press, but even here at FR, we may be faux-claiming horror at this news with the strategy that it helps the bad guys presume the story is valid...