Remember Muhammed Khan?

Remember last August when the Bush Administration publicly stated that they had captured a top Al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan, Muhammed Khan? Juan Cole reported at the time that Khan had become a mole to gather further information on a planned attack on London transit system.

This decision to keep the arrest quiet appears to have been made because Khan had been "flipped," i.e., had become a double agent and continued to have email contact with al-Qaeda members in London, e.g., but now with the Pakistani military intelligence listening in.

There was no reason for any reporter anywhere to inquire about Khan, since nothing had come out in Pakistan about his case. Pakistani intelligence was passing on to British intelligence what it was finding out about the London cell. Khan was still communicating with it on Monday August 2.

ABC News now reports the London bombers were part of the original plot that the United States botched for good War On Terror PR.

Officials tell ABC News the London bombers have been connected to an al Qaeda plot planned two years ago in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

The laptop computer of Naeem Noor Khan, a captured al Qaeda leader, contained plans for a coordinated series of attacks on the London subway system, as well as on financial buildings in both New York and Washington.

"There's absolutely no doubt he was part of an al Qaeda operation aimed at not only the United States but Great Britain," explained Alexis Debat, a former official in the French Defense Ministry who is now a senior terrorism consultant for ABC News.
...
Security officials tell ABC News they have discovered links between the eldest of the London bombers, Mohammed Sadique Khan, 30, and the original group in Luton. Officials also believe it was not a coincidence the subway bombers all met at the Luton train station last week.

The incompetence of this administration is unbelievable. Republicans are going to turn 2006 into a National Security election turning the focus away from domestic issues, just like they did in 2002. Democrats should, to quote the chimp "bring 'em on." We've got Rove and the connection between the London bombings and Muhammed Khan to show the public that the Republican Party doesn't care one bit about terrorism, only about exploiting it for political gain.