The Hunt for KSM; Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of The Real 9/11

Two seasoned journalists, Terry M. and Josh M., wrote a book titled The Hunt for KSM about a well-known terrorist from the Middle East. The terrorist, identified only as KSM, was also a businessman. After being connected to the most horrific terrorist assaults in the history of terrorism, he caught the attention of these reporters. The volumes also detail how the FBI and CIA ultimately succeeded in bringing the well-known terrorist and his associates to justice. The authors explain in details how it took long before the terrorists were capturedand how thorough the search was. The search was conducted globally where his location was finally pinpointed. His arrest was a great relieve not only to the Americans but also to the entire world.

Surprisingly, even though KSM was linked to the terrorist attack that happened in the United States’ trading centre, the United States authorities knew less about his existence. The attack was made at the World Trade Centre (WTC) in the year 1993 by Ramzi Yousef (KSM nephew) and KSM associates. His existence only became noticeable after he associated himself with Yousef. Yousef by then had successfully managed to go hiding in Manila where he established his base for arranging striking terrorist attacks. While at Manila, Yousef and KSM planned two assassinations. The first assassination was targeting Pope John Paul the second while the second was targeting the former United States president Bill Clinton. It was anticipated that both were to visit the Philippines and it is during their visit that their deaths were planned. This assassination operation was branded Bojinka Operation. The plans were to bomb a number of jumbo jets that flew over the Pacific Ocean and that had an American flag.

Their plans, however, bore no fruits. Yousef’s carelessness resulted in their failure. He conducted the operation hurriedly in January 1995, whichlead to his arrest by FBI units in Pakistan. KSM successfully managed to hide and escape, but from that moment henceforth, the search for his where about was tightened. The authors reveal that, although the search commenced officially, his significance to the overall terrorist attack was not yet fully known to the United States anti-terrorism agencies.

The 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States is one of the most spectacular attacks planned and conducted by KSM. During this period, KSM was an affiliate of Osama bin Laden. Osama liked the idea of using airliners to hit his targets in the United States. KSM had by then refused to join al Qaeda militant group officially, and therefore he was working as an independent contractor for Osama. Osama was responsible for funding and approving the plans laid down by KSM. He was later appointed by Laden as his operational manager as he exhibited competency in his every operation.

Through the years, KSM continued conducting other successful terrorist attacks. The most brutal terrorist operation ever recorded after the 9/11 attack was the abduction of an AMERICAN journalist who goes by the name Daniel Pearl. Initially, Jihadi group held the journalist captive. KSM paid an amount estimated to be $50,000 to be in possession of the prisoner. He demanded the release of Muslim prisoners who were arrested by the US government and locked at Guantanamo Bay. In his “call for action,” he beheaded pearl in front of rolling video camera and promised that more people would be beheaded if the American Government would not give in to his demands. His move captured both the public’s attention as well as that of the American Government.

As time went by, the authors interestingly lay down the dramatic events that followed and that led to the capture of KSM. The United States anti-terrorism squad successfully joined the dots that lead to his arrest. An al-Quida informer and the Pakistani security forces assisted the team. Their cooperation resulted in the apprehension of KSM who was asleep at the time of his arrest, at his house in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Although the book has an entertaining, informing, and an irresistible story about terrorism, the authors fail to connect some characters with their fate. A good example of such a character is Mohammed J Khalifa. From the book, we learn that Khalifa was a great al Queda financier. He had great connections with KSM and Yousef in the years around the 1990s. Khalifawas later arrested and charged with having an affiliation with the prominent terror groups. He was however released later after the only witness there was recanted. Later in the book, we are told that Khalifa was killed at his gemstone mine in a particular island in January 2007. We get to know nothing about his life after his release until he met his death and the possible causes of his killings.

Another instance is whereby the authors mention Aafia S. Aafia was involved with KSM after the 9/11 terrorist attack. He is another character who disappears mysteriously from the book's radar. There fail to be dialogues on how Aafia came to be arrested by the American troops in Pakistan. The book also fails to state systematically how he was handed over to the United States for trials and how the jury landed to their final decision of imprisoning him for a life sentence.

Finally, when concluding the book, the authors dismiss the relevance of Osama’s successor, al-Zawahiri to be precise. They regarded his role as being that of a propagandist more than an operational terrorist force. From a general look of things, it is practically possible that al-Zawahiri played a significant role in al Qaeda and his position in it should never be under estimated.

According to the authors, the real KSM is under the US Government custody, but his predecessor is out there masterminding attacks against the United States and Europe. In the book, it is stated that Adnan el-ShuKriJumah was KSM’s own handpicked predecessor. Adnan was born in the Middle East and had vast knowledge about engineering, as this was his field of specialization. His skills were essential in the field they were useful when designing explosives such as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The terrorist is said to have his hind outs in Pakistan where he plans and operates his terror operations. It is however noted that American troops are on the ground where they are utilizing whichever means possible to locate the whereabouts of this Jihadist. It is believed that, with the sophisticated equipment being utilized by the US task forces, it is just a matter of time before el-ShurkiJumah is arrested, just as they did to KSM.



References

McDermott, T., & Meyer, J. (2012). The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Little, Brown.