The White House confirmed that Abu Zubaydah, allegedly a key recruiter and operational planner for al-Qaeda, was in U.S. custody.
"Al-Qaeda has many tentacles, but one of them was cut off," said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. "This represents a very serious blow to al-Qaeda."
Zubaydah was captured last week in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in a raid by Pakistani authorities working with the CIA and FBI. He was among 50 suspected terrorists captured in the early-morning raid on Thursday.
Ari Fleischer
He was shot three times in the raid, but his injuries "seem not to be life-threatening," said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "He's being given exactly the excellent medical care one would want if they wanted to make sure he was around a good long time."
American officials allege the 31-year-old Saudi-born Palestinian was in Pakistan trying to reconstitute the terrorist network following the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan.
U.S. officials said investigators had tracked financial transfers and intercepted communications that led them to believe he was trying to direct more attacks against the United States.
Abdel Rassam
In his role as a senior organizer for al-Qaeda, Zubaydah assigned new recruits to training camps, and then assigned them to overseas cells once they graduated, captured al-Qaeda operatives have said.
Last year, convicted millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam described Zubaydah's role to a U.S. court:
"He receives young men from all countries," Ressam testified. "He takes care of the expenses for the camps. He makes arrangements for you when you travel."
U.S. officials also allege he was a key planner for several terrorist plots, including the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
A court in Jordan convicted him in absentia in 2000 on conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks and sentenced him to death.
A member of Osama bin Laden's inner circle, U.S. investigators believe Zubaydah is potentially a goldmine of information.
"Being a very senior al-Qaeda official who has been intimately involved in a range of activities for the al-Qaeda, there is no question that having an opportunity to visit with him is helpful," said Rumsfeld Tuesday.
Whether he'll be helpful in answering such questions as where bin Laden might be hiding has yet to be seen.
Whether bin Laden is even alive is another question, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday.
"He could be dead or alive, I don't know," he said. "But if you ask my view, maybe he's dead."
U.S. officials won't say where Zubaydah is or where he is going.
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