US govt leak hurts company monitoring Al-Qaeda: report

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A leak from the White House or US spy agencies about a video from Osama bin Laden sabotaged a private intelligence firm's secret ability to intercept Al-Qaeda communications.

The Washington Post reported that

SITE Intelligence Group had covertly developed access over several years to Al-Qaeda's communications network but that the access was lost after the administration of President George W. Bush let out that the company had obtained the bin Laden video early last month ahead of its official release.

"Techniques that took years to develop are now ineffective and worthless," SITE founder Rita Katz told the Post.

SITE monitors websites and public communications linked to radical Islamist groups and organizations deemed terrorist by...