FBI accuses BBC of wrecking operation to infiltrate al-Qaida

JPost ^ | Aug 16, 2003 | DOUGLAS DAVIS

[veronica]

The FBI has accused the BBC of wrecking an elaborate operation that was designed to infiltrate al-Qaida.

The BBC, regarded by some as institutionally anti-American, is said to have aborted the operation by broadcasting an "exclusive" report about the arrest of a British arms dealer last Tuesday.

The arms dealer was allegedly attempting to purchase ground-to-air missiles for terrorist clients who were seeking to shoot down civilian airliners in the United States.

But what 68-year-old Hemant Lakhani did not know was that he was the subject of an elaborate, 18-month-long sting operation that involved Russian intelligence "suppliers" and FBI "customers."

Lakhani was arrested when he arrived in Washington last week to take delivery of the missiles, which had been disabled before leaving Russia.

First news of the arrest came in the BBC "exclusive," which led the network's main evening news program.

Senior US government officials told Newsweek magazine that the ultimate aim of the sting was to arrest Lakhani and then turn him into an informant who might lead them to terrorists trying to buy weapons.

This, however, was no longer possible after the BBC broke the story of Lakhani's arrest as the lead item in its main evening news program on Wednesday.

Newsweek said sources at the US Justice Department were "fuming" that the BBC "may have blown a rare opportunity to penetrate al-Qaida's arms buying network."

A BBC spokesperson said the network had not received any complaint from any US authority about the story. "All the interested parties were alerted to the report before transmission and at no time registered their concerns," said the spokesperson.

The BBC report was broadcast on the same day it was facing a moment of acute embarrassment over one of the most spectacular scandals in modern British politics.

The disclosure of Lakhani's arrest coincided with evidence by its correspondent Andrew Gilligan at the Hutton inquiry, which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the suicide of British Defense Ministry scientist Dr David Kelly.

Before his death, Kelly had denied telling Gilligan that the government deliberately "sexed up" intelligence material on Saddam Hussein's weapons capability to justify British participation in military action to topple Saddam.

The story of the Lakhani's arrest pushed the Gilligan story into second place in the program's running order.

[martin_fierro]

Good backgrounder on the BBC's institutional bias and Gilligan's slanted reporting here

[kitkat]

bump

[mewzilla]

Bump.

[Sacajaweau]

Do you all believe that Kelly committed suicide??

There's a scatter effect when someone like this crud gets captured. I'm sure we have a few more cruds in our sight from the BBC "leak".

[Catspaw]

Ah, yes, the Beeb--the best friend terrorists could ever have.

[mewzilla]

I posted this link on another Beeb thread, but in case you missed it I'll put it here, too. Apparently a reporter for the Beeb is suing Newsweek for reporting that the Beeb's story on missile man ruined an FBI investigation. The reporter for the Beeb is even using a US atty's statement to support his suit.

[FreedomPoster]

I should think the FBI should be tracking down the source of their leak to the BBC.

[Clara Lou]

When I heard about this bust, I thought, 1) "Thank God they got him," and then 2) "Only one? Not a network?" Now, I know why only one man was arrested. Good ol' BBC-- pray for the demise of the BBC and the NYTimes. It will be good for truth.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Al Jazeera with tea and scones.

[OldFriend]

Sorry...but it's all about the LEAKER. Find him/her and PUNISH!

[windchime]

FYI

[Diogenesis]

The BBC murders, plots, and is terrorist --- with American media following it.

book 'em, Dano.

[em2vn]

Keep these plans to yourself. Someone might mistake you for a conservative instead of a nut job.

[eno_]

The first I heard of the bust was a BBC report broadcast on NPR. It was dripping with sarcasm, and immediately got onto questions of whether it was a setup.

Disband the BBC.

[Defiant]

Agree. My reaction was, who leaked to the BBC. Second reaction was to curse the BBC, but who's to say Peter Jennings or Bob Woodward wouldn't have done the same if it had been leaked to them.

[Travis McGee]

Wall. Machine gun.

[FreedomPoster]

Exactly. Both are at fault, but the source of the leak is a bigger issue AFAIAC.

[aristeides]

According to Batchelor & Alexander show last night, leak came from Brit intelligence, MI-5 or MI-6.