To read excerpts from Mariane Pearl’s book “A Mighty Heart”, click here.

I sent the following letter to the author of this report…

Hello. What does it mean to be Osama Bin Laden’s “Handling Officer” for the Pakistani ISI? What is the responsibility of the person that has this particular job? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jon Gold

His response…

The handling officer of a source in Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies is the person who looks after the welfare of the source, keeps him motivated and uses him as needed. The source cannot meet anybody else other than his handling officer except the head of the agency. One source–one handling officer is the general rule. This is to prevent the exposure of the operation and maintain its deniability. I understand in the CIA they call him the Running Officer of a source.

Thanks.

Raman

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Recently, there have been many accusations against me for being some kind of “Zionist Mole for Larry Silverstein.” or someone that prohibits others from looking at information regarding Israel and 9/11. That I like to promote Pakistan’s relationship to 9/11 more to take the focus off of Israel. Hopefully, this will put that to rest.
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Source: foreignpolicy.com

Posted May 2007

The remarkable life and brutal murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is the topic of a gripping new film, A Mighty Heart, based on the book by his widow, Mariane. In this week’s Seven Questions, FP spoke with Mariane Pearl about the murder, her activism, the film, and the war on terror.

FOREIGN POLICY: Did you have any hesitations about turning your book, A Mighty Heart, into a film?

Mariane Pearl: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. This wasn’t something I considered seriously before I met Brad Pitt [a producer of the film]. It was a delicate choice to make. Only if I met someone who I felt had the same intentions in making a movie as I had in making the book, would I consider. But [Pitt] really read the book and we were in the same frame of mind. We are both people who want to have children, are aware of what’s going on in the world, and want and feel that we have to do something about it. If [the film serves] that purpose, it works for me.
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I highly recommend everyone buy this book. It seems to be very good. - Jon

Pages 27 - 30
Khawaja is a fascinating but dubious character, one of those people who seems to know everybody, at least in militant Islamist circles. A former Pakistani intelligence agent and air force officer, Khawaja loves nothing more than to entertain journalists, especially Americans. He loves to watch their faces when he tells them he is friend of Osama bin Laden. Danny and I have interviewed Khawaja several times, as has Asra, and found him to be, in Danny’s blunt terms, “Nice guy, but a bit of a psycho.”

Danny and I met with him in Islamabad shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and more recently in early January, in an office he uses in a relatively empty house in a gated district apparently reserved for military. Asra visited him at his real home in September, when she was staying at her paternal aunt’s house. “You might want to interview our neighbor,” her aunt had said helpfully. “He’s a religious man, a friend of bin Laden’s and the Taliban. He fought with the Afghan resistance.” And so, escorted by her aunt and uncle, Asra paid a call to Khalid Khawaja, and the three of them sat and listened politely as he ranted and raved about the righteousness of the Muslim jihad against America.
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