Bin Laden son-in-law could yield info on al-Qaeda

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, the charismatic al-Qaeda spokesman, fundraiser and son-in-law to Osama bin Laden, is likely to have a vast trove of knowledge about the terror network’s central command but not much useful information about current threats or plots, intelligence officials and other experts say.

This image made available by Al-Jazeera shows Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law and spokesman. Abu Ghaith has been captured by the United States, officials said Thursday, March 7, in what a senior congressman called a “very significant victory” in the fight against al-Qaeda. AP

Abu Ghaith pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiring to kill Americans in propaganda videos that warned of further assaults against the United States as devastating as the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Believed to be more of a strategic player in bin Laden’s inner circle than an operational plotter, Abu Ghaith would be the highest-ranking al-Qaeda figure to stand trial on US soil since 9/11. Intelligence officials say he may be able to shed new light on al-Qaeda’s inner workings – concerning al-Qaeda’s murky dealings in Iran over the past decade, for example – but probably will have few details about specific or imminent ongoing threats.

He gave US officials a 22-page statement after his Feb 28 arrest in Jordan, according to prosecutors. They would not describe the statement.