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US questioned over leak of Naeem’s name

WASHINGTON: A US senator asked the White House to explain how and why the name of an Al Qaeda informant was leaked to the press, saying it might have hurt the war on terror, a letter from the lawmaker said on Monday.

A Pakistani intelligence source said on Friday that US officials confirmed the name of captured Al Qaeda suspect Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan while he was still cooperating with Pakistani authorities as part of a sting operation against Al Qaeda, thereby compromising his cover.

“I respectfully request an explanation to me and any other member of Congress who might wish one of who leaked this Mr Khan’s name, for what reason it was leaked, and whether ... reports that this leak compromised future intelligence activity are accurate,” Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, wrote White House Domestic Security Adviser Frances Townsend on Aug. 8.

A copy of the letter was obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Information from computer expert Naeem led the United States to issue a high alert at financial institutions against a possible Al Qaeda attack earlier this month, and led Britain to arrest 12 Al Qaeda suspects.

It is not clear who was the first to disclose Naeem’s name, but his unmasking has received criticism on both sides of the political spectrum. Republican Senator George Allen of Virginia said on television on Sunday: “In this situation, in my view, they should have kept their mouth shut and just said, ‘We have information, trust us.’”

Asked about the release of Naeem’s name, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said it was a hard line to draw between giving the public too much or too little information about terrorist threats.

“We did not, of course, publicly disclose his name,” Ms Rice said, adding that it had been given “on background.” She did not say when or by whom the name was first revealed. reuters

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