How Does al Qaeda Send Terror Tapes Without Getting Caught?

After al Jazeera broadcasts a terror tape, questions arise: How did the tape wind up at the Qatari news channel? Is there a way to follow the trail back to bin Laden? US intelligence has asked these questions repeatedly. Last May the arrest in Pakistan of Abu Faraj al Libbi, one of al Qaeda’s operational commanders, shed light on the courier system used to transport messages from terrorist leaders to al Jazeera’s offices. The process takes six to 12 weeks, during which the tapes are handed from one runner to another, moving from country to country, with neither knowing the other’s identity, the origin or message of the tape. Although the Pakistani government infiltrated the system in 2005, attempts to trace messengers back to bin Laden were unsuccessful. There has also been speculation that a “back channel” relationship exists between al Qaeda and al Jazeera. Most likely, however, bin Laden and his group use the network’s global reach to further their own designs, which are not necessarily supported by al Jazeera. – YaleGlobal