The Mole and the Terrorists

Der Spiegel ^ | November 22, 2006 | Holger Stark

[NCjim]

Omar Nasiri infiltrated the Islamist terrorist network for European intelligence agencies. He got to know terrorist leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Afghanistan. Today he lives in hiding in Germany.

Nasiri knows what they say about people like him. He is familiar with the disparaging glances and the evasive promises of officials at Germany's domestic intelligence agency. Most of all, he knows that there is one sentiment shared by intelligence agents the world over: They love betrayal but not the betrayer.

They were never fond of Omar Nasiri. But they valued him because, for years, he was one of their best sources of intelligence about al-Qaida. Nasiri sits on the terrace at the Kempinski Hotel in Frankfurt, his upper body muscular and powerful, his soft brown eyes restless and watchful. He picks at a mountain of shrimp, washes down his meal with a glass of beer, and looks visibly comfortable. He has spent time in Afghanistan, met close associates of Osama bin Laden, slept in caves and mixed explosives. Now he wants to enjoy life in Germany.

[VOA]

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[LouD]

In the Khalden and Derunta training camps, Nasiri learned how to fire a Makarov rifle,

Typical uninformed journalist. The Makarov is a pistol.

[outofstyle]

His book, though, says a lot about his true loyalties. "I believe that the Americans and all the rest should get out of our country and stay away. I believe that they should stop interfering in the politics of Muslim countries," he writes in his book. "They should leave us alone, and if they don't they should be killed, because that is how one deals with invading armies and occupiers." After much hesitation, the German authorities issued Nasiri a passport a few weeks ago.

hmmm