<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5709166/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098/> MSNBC.com Terrorism: Leads From a Laptop Newsweek Aug. 23 issue - As frightening as the recent terror warnings about attacks on the homeland have been, U.S. intelligence officials are still stumped by one key question: did any of the plots represent live threats or had Al Qaeda shelved the plans long ago? Raids in Pakistan and Britain over the past few weeks led to a windfall of intelligence about terrorist cells, operations and tradecraft. The major bonanza was a computer and related gear seized from captured Qaeda fixer Muhammed Neem Noor Khan-who, U.S. officials tell NEWSWEEK, was in at least indirect contact with Osama bin Laden. It was from Khan's computer disks that the Feds learned about plans to attack major financial targets in New York and Washington. But intel officials also revealed that the operatives cased the potential targets more than three years ago, suggesting the plot may not have been active. What they have not disclosed, NEWSWEEK has learned, was intelligence that strongly suggested terrorists were actively planning to strike somewhere in Britain. Sources say Khan and Babar Ahmad, a cousin in London who ran pro-bin Laden Web sites, had recently exchanged messages about such an operation. The plotters apparently researched numerous targets, but none in depth, suggesting they had not made any final decision or that, in the words of a senior U.S. law-enforcement official, "They were very flexible." (The method of attack is unclear.) Sources close to the case say that Ahmad-who was arrested by British authorities on a U.S. extradition warrant earlier this month-recently quit his job and moved to sell his house in South London, possibly in preparation for leaving the country. (Ahmad's lawyers failed to respond to requests for comment.) A British official acknowledged that authorities were aware of possible plots but said "there is no specific identification of targets-either individuals or locations." British authorities have spent nearly two weeks questioning several other suspects, one of whom is Esa al-Hindi, the high-level Qaeda operative who is believed to have written some of the surveillance reports of financial buildings in New York and Washington that were found in Khan's computer. U.S. officials say al-Hindi is the author of a jihad recruitment book published in Birmingham, England, which describes him as a Hindu convert who once served as an instructor in an Afghan training camp. A representative of the publisher told NEWSWEEK he met al-Hindi once, and that he was short and spoke with a London accent. U.S. officials, NEWSWEEK has learned, have photos of al-Hindi that they are eager to make public and show to employees in the cased buildings, hoping to jog memories, especially about possible accomplices. But they have so far been blocked from doing so by British authorities who say such premature publicity could blow their case. British law requires that al-Hindi and other suspects be released or charged early this week-at which time the photos are likely to be released. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'