Edgewise

"Pin the Tail on the" ...Argh!

David Kolodney

Mr. Kolodney's transmission was inexplicably cut off in mid-sentence. He has not been heard from since.

The complete transcript of his report begins with these excerpts from an article in today’s Washington Post. (Boldface, italics, and brackets are Mr. Kolodney’s.)

Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake
German Citizen Released After Months in "Rendition"

Masri was held for five months largely because the head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center's [CTC] al Qaeda unit "believed he was someone else," one former CIA official said. "She didn't really know. She just had a hunch." [The Dark Side of The Force.]

….Khaled Masri came to the attention of Macedonian authorities on New Year's Eve 2003. …. He was taken off a bus at the Tabanovce border crossing by police because his name was similar to that of an associate of a 9/11 hijacker.

….Others were doubtful. They wanted to wait to see whether the passport was proved fraudulent. The unit's director won the argument. She ordered Masri captured and flown to a CIA prison in Afghanistan.

….Back at the CTC, Masri's passport was given to the Office of Technical Services to analyze. By March, OTS had concluded the passport was genuine. The CIA had imprisoned the wrong man.

….On the day of his release, the prison's director, who Masri believed was an American, told Masri that he had been held because he "had a suspicious name," Masri said in an interview.

DKo: One of the crucial reasons for strict secrecy in these matters is to protect the United States' exclusive, ultra-advanced intelligence methods. If other countries were able to copy these techniques, it would give an immensely dangerous boost to their own intelligence-gathering capabilities. Fortunately, as things stand, they are not yet even familiar with "Pin the Tail on the" ….Argh!

Note: Mr. Kolodney insisted on anonymity, because of the extremely sensitive nature of this information.