Free Republic

The most successful interrogation of an Al-Qaeda operative by U.S. officials required no sleep deprivation, no slapping or "walling" and no waterboarding. All it took to soften up Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugar-free cookies. (snip) "He was a diabetic and couldn't eat anything with sugar in it." At their next meeting, the Americans brought him some sugar-free cookies, a gesture that took the edge off Abu Jandal's angry demeanor.

Lebanese troops killed a militant from the extremist Fatah al-Islam during a house raid in the northern port city of Tripoli, police said. They said Bilal Drakish, also known as Abu Jandal, was shot dead on Wednesday as he prepared to throw a grenade at a unit of security forces raiding an apartment in Tripoli's northern neighborhood of Tibanneh. Police said the security forces had been pursuing Drakish who tried to throw a hand grenade at them but was fatally shot before he could trigger it. State-run National News Agency said two passers-by were wounded in the exchange and...

A former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, who is now a leader in the terrorist group in Yemen, has disclosed new details of al-Qaida's strategy, including plans to increase bombing attacks in Saudi Arabia. Nasir Ahmad Nasir Al Bahri, also known as Abu Jandal, told the London Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi that he was born in Saudi Arabia and is currently involved in export-import trading in Yemen. Al Bahri was trained in Afghanistan and was imprisoned on charges that he participated in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. Al Bahri said three FBI agents questioned...