US Features
Bush reveals details of clandestine effort in war on terror
By Mike McCarthy
Sep 7, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - US President George W Bush revealed more details than ever before on Wednesday of his administration's clandestine effort to combat terrorism.

Bush for the first time acknowledged that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was running secret prisons for holding and interrogating high level al-Qaeda figures that have been captured since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Since the CIA operation was revealed by the Washington Post in a November article, Bush and other members of his administration have refused to publicly discuss the programme.

Bush also used his address to announce that all 14 of the detainees held by the CIA had been transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for possible prosecution.

During his speech at the White House as part of the run up to the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Bush not only discussed the CIA operation, but provided details about how the interrogations have led to success in the war on terrorism.

'In this new war, the most important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists themselves,' Bush said.

The CIA and Pentagon practice of locking up detainees indefinitely has drawn international outrage and provoked accusations of human and civil rights violations.

Bush cited examples of how the CIA secret programme contributed to the war on terrorism in an effort to thwart criticism and highlight the effectiveness of the US-led effort.

The first big score for the United States was the capture of Abu Zubaydah in Pakistan in March 2002. After being turned over he provided the CIA with what Bush characterized as 'nominal information' that helped lead to the arrests of individuals preparing to attack the United States.

Bush said Zubaydah gave clues that helped United States track down Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

'We knew that Zubaydah had more information that could save innocent lives. But he stopped talking,' Bush said. 'As his questioning proceeded, it became clear that he had received training on how to resist interrogation. And so, the CIA used an alternative set of procedures.'

Bush did not detail the procedures over concerns al-Qaeda could adapt to the methods, saying only 'the procedures were tough and they were safe and lawful and necessary.'

Zubaydah revealed more accomplices in the September 11 attacks, eventually identifying Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the key planners in the attacks, Bush said.

The same unspecified procedures were used to interrogate Mohammed, who then told of another plot inside the United States and al-Qaeda operatives in South Asia that led to the capture of Hambali in Thailand and dozens of suspected terrorists belonging to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), al-Qaeda's Indonesia-based affiliate, Bush said. Hambali headed JI.

'Hambali admitted that the operatives were being groomed at (Mohammed's) request for attacks inside the United States, probably using airplanes,' Bush said.

Bush's speech was aimed at blunting criticism of the war on terror and to address concerns about human rights violations. He announced that the al-Qaeda suspects had been turned over to the Defence Department and relocated to Guantnamo, where about 450 detainees are being held in the war on terrorism.

Bush's announcment came on the same day the Pentagon bowed to international pressure and ordered the military to treat all detainees, including Mohammed, Zubaydah and Binalshibh, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

'We're now approaching the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the families of those murdered that day have waited patiently for justice,' he said. 'They should have to wait no longer.'