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In the past five years, al-Qaeda officials have shown deep concern over the secrets held by its high-ranking members. When their finance chief was nabbed by the Saudis in 1997, there were discussions about assassinating him before he could turn information over to Riyadh and the U.S. When the head of the military committee drowned in a ferry accident in Lake Victoria in Kenya in the spring of 1996, al-Qaeda agents were sent to verify that he was indeed dead and that no secrets had filtered out. But if Salim is a big shot who knows too much, al-Qaeda doesn't have to worry about him for a while. His trial for the attempted murder of Pepe was scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 17 and has been put off until early next year because of the logistical and bureaucratic chaos in lower Manhattan, where the court system is located. His conspiracy trial has not even been scheduled. The planes that devastated lower Manhattan have made sure that whatever secrets he holds will take their time coming to light.
--By Howard Chua-Eoan. With reporting by Charles P. Wallace/Berlin