But mostly I have to echo your sentiments of skepticism.
"He demanded payment of £1.3 million—and chillingly promised: "I can send the iridium to London, no problem. Once it's in Europe it's like sending vegetables."
My personal feeling is along the lines of Dennis Miller's: I hated angry foreign nationals who want to kill me on September TENTH, 2001. And they've hated us, and at every chance they've had, they've taken a shot. They don't hesitate to use this stuff. If this guy is the revolutionary he claims he is and has the power he claims to have, there would be mass death -- THE FIRST TIME they tried blowing up the WTC. They have BEEN killing us; we chosen to turn our heads away (embassy bombings, Cole, you know the list). That's why we need to take them out so quickly and decisively. Pre-emption is NOT a dirty word. In fact, it's high time we took it out of the closet and dusted it off. I am one of the "hawks" who believes the Iraq war is justified ESPECIALLY if we find no WMDs -- it just means we got the job done BEFORE they developed them (I still completely believe we will find WMDs, however, don't get me wrong).
If this IS true, this guy's world just got a *whole* lot smaller.
Caveat: The world is a dangerous place. But this piece just smells too over-the-top for me, s'all.