Pakistani Court Frees Terror Suspects

(NEWSER) - The US and Pakistan were this close to catching Osama bin Laden about 5 years ago, says former President Pervez Musharraf. "Then, suddenly, we lost track." In a question-and-answer forum following a speech in South Dakota, Musharraf said intelligence closed in on the al-Qaeda leader in a "broad location" before fizzling, notes USA Today. "I don't know whether he's dead or alive," he added. "It was a failure of Pakistan and a failure of US intelligence also." More»

Pakistan is holding them in security compound for now

(NEWSER) - Osama bin Laden advised his children against a life of terror, according to one of his brothers-in-law. "He told his own children and grandchildren, go to Europe and America and get a good education," says Zakara al-Sadah, whose sister was the al-Qaeda chief's fifth wife. For now, Sadah claims, Pakistani authorities are holding nine bin Laden children and three wives—including Sadah's sister—in an Islamabad security compound against their will, reports the Daily Mail via The Sunday Times . More»

Seeks to thwart al-Qaeda muscle; but Pakistan won't stand for it

(NEWSER) - Bush administration officials are weighing plans for the CIA and US military to conduct new, more aggressive covert operations in Pakistan, the New York Times reports. The proposal is a response to growing al-Qaeda and Taliban efforts to destabilize Pakistan, cast in sharp focus by the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan officials, however, say they will not allow such operations. More»

Money earmarked for war on terror diverted to shore up regime

(NEWSER) - Billions of dollars the US gave to Pakistan to bolster counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaeda apparently have been diverted to prop up President Pervez Musharraf's government and finance weapons systems aimed at India, reports the New York Times. Because the US has failed to properly monitor military aid programs, progress against terror organizations is "bleak," said one official, and Pakistanis have made no progress nabbing mastermind Osama bin Laden. More»

Media blitz aims to reassert power, unite fractured terror group

(NEWSER) - Osama bin Laden’s sudden media blitz this month isn’t just a message to the West—it’s also to his own fractured terrorist organization, a Taliban official tells Newsweek. An al-Qaeda faction had long told bin Laden to remain secluded for his own safety, advice the spotlight-loving leader now thinks was meant to sideline him. More»