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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Leaked Stratfor Emails on Seized Bin Laden Documents

The Stratfor emails leaked by Wikileaks include new information about the seized Bin Laden documents. It begins with a May 12, 2011 email on the "OBL take":
I can get access to the materials seized from the OBL safe house.  What are the top (not 45) questions we want addressed?
The email chain that follows includes a few requests:
1 specific operational plans
2 communications with franchise groups (like AQAP)
3 connections to anyone associated with the Pakistani state
The reply, which has received more significant news coverage (see here and here), was:
More on #3 --
Several w/in ISI and Pak Mil, less than 12
More on this later.
The later follow up was:
Same response as before:
Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General that had knowledge of the OBL arrangements and safe house.
Names unk to me and not provided.
Specific ranks unk to me and not provided.
But, I get a very clear sense we (US intel) know names and ranks.
I also do not know if we have passed this info to the GOP.
If I was in command, I would not pass the info to the GOP, because we can't trust them. I would piece meal the names off and bury in a list of other non-related names for internal ISI traces in a non-alerting fashion, to see what the Pakis tell us.
I may also trade one or two names for the captured tail rudder.
The Pakistani army has called the allegation "rubbish and tantamount to kite flying; much farther from the truth." More leaked emails will be released soon.

Earlier posts on documents from the bin Laden compound (in either Pakistani and U.S. custody) are here and here.