This is a FASCINATING article, not only for the information on how Al-Qaeda communicated but how the information came into US hands.
A journalist, Alan Cullison, was replacing a broken computer in Kabul and purchased a stolen computer which had previously been used by top management of Al-Qaeda. It boggles the mind that such a random event provided the US with such a detailed view into that organization.
Inside Al-Qaeda’s Hard Drive [theatlantic.com]
I heard an interview with the reporter the other day, and it didn’t sound _quite_ so random. Sure the part about his computer being ruined was random, but when he found out that he could get old alqueda computers, he spent a long time traking them down knowing full-well that there could be a great story in it.
Anyway, I wonder if the guy who sold him the computer ever made it to America and has met an American girl yet…