1. Omar Saeed Sheikh planned the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, who was then murdered by al-Qaeda. Now his convictions were overturned.
One can only hope the U.S. is tracking this story (even with everything else going on) and making a determination on the proper response.
One can only hope the U.S. is tracking this story (even with everything else going on) and making a determination on the proper response.
2. According to media reports, the Pakistani court didn't find that Omar Saeed Sheikh was innocent or wrongly convicted of kidnapping Pearl. Instead, related charges were dropped and the kidnapping charge was reduced.
3. This story always had ramifications for our understanding of al-Qaeda, its close relations with other jihadist groups inside Pakistan, and the role played by (elements of) the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment.
4. There is evidence showing that all of the following groups, in addition to al-Qaeda, were involved in Pearl's kidnapping and murder: Lashkar-e-Janghvi (LeJ),Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI), Harkat ul-Mujahideen (HUM), and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP).
5. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the chief planner of 9/11, then assumed control of the operation after Pearl was kidnapped. KSM later boasted that he personally killed Pearl -- and investigators found this wasn't an empty boast.
6. From 2002 onward, we've tracked the other Pakistani jihadist groups mentioned above. There is considerable evidence that each of them has had noteworthy ties to al-Qaeda in the years since. One way AQ replaced fallen operatives is by poaching from these groups.
7. During his review tribunal at Gitmo, here is how KSM explained his role in Pearl's murder. "It's not related to al-Qaeda," KSM said. "It was shared in Pakistani. Other group, Mujahideen." Note that KSM was clearly part of AQ at the time - he had already pulled off 9/11. 
8. KSM's testimony points to a key aspect in all of this - al-Qaeda is intertwined with other Pakistani jihadist groups, making it more difficult to judge the extent of AQ's own influence and the extent of its operations.
9. During his combatant status review tribunal at Gitmo, KSM admitted responsibility for a string of terrorist plots. KSM was eager to make sure that he got credit for killing Daniel Pearl. Here is what he said (according to the transcript):
