[…] what the Americans had always lacked was someone from inside Mr. Zarqawi’s network, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, who would betray … According to a Pentagon official, the Americans finally got one. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the raid are classified, said that an Iraqi informant inside Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia provided the critical piece of intelligence about Mr. Rahman’s meeting with Mr. Zarqawi. The source’s identity was not clear — nor was it clear how that source was able to pinpoint Mr. Zarqawi’s location without getting killed himself.

“We have a guy on the inside who led us directly to Zarqawi,” the official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was on a giddy three-beer buzz and suffering from an undiagnosed case of stupid. You know I suspect I know where this guy works, and I’d be willing to bet that if he were found out he would be found on the steps of the river entrance, duct-taped, nude and with various implements sticking out of his orifices – and that is if someone in the group told them to go easy on him. Way to chase away any future sources, jackass.

It goes deeper than that though, as this post at Able Danger Blog will relate. Hundreds of American and Iraqi lives vs. a pittance in phone tolls. Hmmm. The law of unintended consequences is a bitch.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.