Al-Qaeda Claims It Kidnapped US Man in August

Al-Qaeda announced on Thursday that it is behind the kidnapping of 70-year-old American aid worker Warren Weinstein, who was seized on August 13 by eight armed men from his house in Lahore in eastern Pakistan. Weinstein, who is is fluent in Urdu, was the country director in Pakistan for JE Austin Associates, a US-based firm advising a number of Pakistani government sectors and businesses. Warren was working on US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects and has lived in Pakistan for the past five years. The US government has not said who they think is holding Weinstein.

Via a video message posted on militant websites, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said that Weinstein would be released if the US ended airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded that all al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects around the world — including the 1993 World Trade Center bombers — be released and told Weinstein’s family “not to believe any claim by US President Barack Obama that he would try to free the hostage.”

Zawahiri became al-Qaeda’s leader after US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May.

Twelve days after Weinstein was abducted, police in Lahore said he had been freed, only to retract the claim. The US embassy in Islamabad said that it had no evidence at the time that Weinstein had been freed. Three security guards and Weinstein’s driver were detained and questioned for three months by police, to see if anyone who knew him had leaked details of his movements. All four have been released and, in mid-November, police said they had no leads.

The BBC says that, “while the abduction of Pakistanis for ransom is common, only a few foreigners have been targeted by militant and criminal groups.” Among them was Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in 2002 and beheaded.

In August, the Christian Science Monitor spoke to a number of Pakistanis who had worked with Weinstein to develop the country’s dairy and gem trades. Gemologist Ehtesham Ullah Khan said that Weinstein had helped to set up scholarships for students living in tribal areas to study the gem trade. 20 students received US scholarships; all have jobs or even their own businesses. Weinstein also helped to import dairy chillers to increase the productivity of Pakistan’s milk industry; according to his company, his efforts led to a $63 million new investment to Pakistan and at least 2,150 new jobs. Khan said he was “really shocked to hear” about Weinstein’s kidnapping, saying that “He was a very nice person and, to me, he made many friends as compared to no enemies.”

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Photo of Al-Qaeda training manual found in 2001 by the Central Intelligence Agency (Al-Qa’ida Training Manual) via Wikimedia Commons

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Jonathan Y.

3:46PM PST on Dec 6, 2011

Very bad news if they have him. AQ and the Taliban are not merciful to captives of any nationality. Good news is those kind of tactics backfire in the long run; the recent spate of ethnic violence is not winning them friends. People are actually begging U.S. forces to stay longer.

USAID and the Peace Corps are made up of very idealistic people willing to risk their lives in dangerous places for what they believe in. You can die very quickly from war, crime or disease or be maimed for life. They do critical development work for the host country which is an arm of U.S. foreign policy. To say they are CIA is absurd; each Embassy has agents who work incognito, as do all embassies of all countries. USAID and Peace Corps are required to go out among the people to do their work; we nor any other major power would ever put intelligence assets at such risk.

Pakistan and the U.S. have a very serious long-term relationship dating back to the 1950s. We were partners before Al-Qaeda and will be after their insanity has left the world. Like all such relationships, it has its ups and downs but we are supporting a democratic Muslim government in a country of 170 million people. That is a strategic plus for both our countries.

send a green star

tara l.

2:40AM PST on Dec 4, 2011

This just goes to show how little Al-Qaida cares about the people in Pakistan if they kidnap someone who it helping them.

Marianna B M.

2:07AM PST on Dec 3, 2011

thanks

David A.

10:56PM PST on Dec 2, 2011

Send a Green Star to Marianne C.

Sending a Green Star is a simple way to say "Thank you"
You cannot currently send a star to Marianne because you have done so within the last week.

Dominic C.

10:54PM PST on Dec 2, 2011

I just do not understand certain people who want to go to a country where they are not wanted. If we all had seen on TV - Pakistanis basically deplore the West. They are saying that the West came and propagate their agenda and diluting their Islamic beliefs and way of life. Aid, what aid do the Pakistanis want...? Pakistan is not that poor... A country where they divert their funds into nuclear development and wanting to annihilate its neighbors is not poor. There are certain minorities in Pakistan that perhaps require a voice not aid. We have not done much in the position of voicing out for these minorities like the Christians and ethnic groups in Baluchistan. And with voice we do not need to be physically in Pakistan only to rally support groups who are already there to give them that added assistance.

Marianne C.

Oh, so it take 8 big, bad terrorists with gun to overwhelm and kidnap one 70-year-old aid worker. It certainly shows how tough THEY are, doesn't it? Bunch of lousy cowards.

timothy m.

10:52PM PST on Dec 2, 2011

"Via a video message posted on militant websites"

No, Kristina. Al-Qaeda are not "militants." They are terrorists. Drop the political correct doublespeak and call a terrorist a terrorist.

Lynn C.

8:44PM PST on Dec 2, 2011

Thank you Sue J. for the perceptive comment.

Siusaidh C.

4:48PM PST on Dec 2, 2011

US AID is largely CIA.

Vivianne M.

4:30PM PST on Dec 2, 2011

I hope Mr. Winestein will be released. But I'm not really going to hold my breath.
All this killing needs to be stopped.