Big fish?

Pakistani authorities announced yesterday the arrest of a senior operative for Al Qaeda who is suspected of directing two failed assassination attempts against the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Both Pakistani and American officials described the man, a Libyan named Abu Faraj al-Libbi, as the third most senior leader in Al Qaeda's terrorist network, and President Bush called the arrest a "critical victory in the war on terror."

[...]

Pakistani officials said virtually nothing about either the circumstances of Mr. Libbi's arrest or the extent of American aid in the operation.

[...]

Both Pakistani and American officials seized on the arrest as a success in their joint efforts. "This is a big catch," Pakistan's information minister, Sheik Rashid Ahmed, said in a telephone interview. "We were looking for him for a very long time."

[...]

Pakistani officials said Mr. Libbi had succeeded Mr. Mohammed as head of Al Qaeda's operations in Pakistan, and American officials said he was involved in planning attacks in the United States.

But some intelligence officials in Europe expressed surprise at hearing Mr. Libbi described as Al Qaeda's third-highest leader, pointing out that he does not figure on the F.B.I.'s most-wanted list.

[...]

  The Ledger article

We'll expect arrests soon.

The ongoing interrogation of former Al Qaeda top leader Abu Faraj al-Libbi has yielded 18 arrests of his close associates. Reports indicate that the capture of al-Libbi was only a small part of multiple successful raids around the world, netting numerous Al Qaeda operatives.

[...]

Pakistani officials have come under scrutiny from their American allies recently for their security measures, and claims that they have been neglecting their duties in the war on terror. US media sources often report the poor state of the Pakistani armed services, and their inability to maintain order in the tribal regions of the mountainous country.
  All Headline News article

The New Republic reported that Administration officials had prodded Pakistan to apprehend Osama bin Laden or other senior Al Qaeda members during the time of the Democratic Convention. Many people were wondering whether it was coincidence, then, that Pakistan captured an Al Qaeda operative in July with the computer discs containing the information about the alleged threats to New York, Newark, and Washington.
  Progressive article 9/04

On July 29, Pakistani officials announced the capture of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, an alleged Al Qaeda operative wanted in connection with the 1998 embassy bombings. The Tanzanian suspect had been picked up a few days earlier, but for some reason the authorities chose to display him only hours before the climactic moment of the Democratic convention.
  Liberty Mulch article 8/04

We have a great relationship with Pakistan, don't we? Whenever we need a terrorist, we twist their tit. Otherwise, they're such slackers.