Raw Story Exclusive: British, US security services clash over terror intel

[paineinthearse]

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Exclusive_British_American_security_services_clash_over_terror_in_0801.html

Exclusive: British, American security services clash over terror intelligence
Michael Smith

The following was written by London Sunday Times reporter Michael Smith for Raw Story.

LONG-RUNNING disputes between UK and American intelligence and security services over intelligence in the war on terror rose to the surface last week with US sources accusing the British of blocking the capture of a key member of the al-Qaeda team that carried out the London bombings. The claims followed leaks of British police photographs, including a nail bomb found in the trunk of a bomber's car, passed to the US-based ABC News, apparently by a member of the US team sent to London to assist the investigation.

US sources named the man alleged to be suspected by British officials of playing a key role in the London bombings as Haroon Rashid Aswat, 32, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. He was arrested in Zambia last week. The US authorities tried to remove him from South Africa in a process known as “extraordinary rendition,” which bypasses the extradition process and normally leads to suspects being imprisoned at Guantanamo, but UK officials blocked their attempts on the basis that he was a British citizen.

The allegations, leaked to American newspapers, seemed designed to show the UK authorities in a bad light. Both the British and US authorities wanted to talk to Aswat, who is of Indian descent and is a close associate of the radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Mazri. The US interest stems from allegations that he helped set up a terrorist training camp at Bly in Oregon, traveling to the camp where, according to US officials, he is alleged to have “met potential candidates for jihad training.”

British officials insisted that although they did want to question Aswat over his alleged links to al-Qaeda, they did not believe he played a role in the London bombings. Claims of telephone calls with the bombers appeared to have originated from inaccurate reports in the British media, they said. Their concerns were over the legal process. If the extraordinary rendition had taken place it was highly unlikely that he could have been prosecuted in the British courts. They wanted him arrested legally; he was.

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[sabra]

1. RawStory is on fire today!

Thanks for the post.

[lala_rawraw]

2. yeah and now nap time until

(cough)

[sabra]

3. LOL

keep it coming...

[cliss]

4. Does anybody else get the feeling that

Americans are impossible to deal with? US intelligence people just don't know how to cooperate. They'll do things their own way, just like Marie Antionette.

Even with their BUDDIES, the English for God's sake. What does that tell us about our buddies on the fringe, or our enemies?

There's simply no concerted effort to work together with ANYBODY from what I can tell.

There's something really weird about this. It's not arrogance, like everyone says.

It's self-destructive.