In early November, the Pentagon confirmed the identity of one of four prisoners who escaped from a U.S. military jail in Afghanistan in July as suspected al-Qaida leader Omar al-Farouq, considered one of Osama Bin Laden's top lieutenants in Southeast Asia.(U.S. confirms break from military jail Suspected al-Qaida leader among escapees) This annoyed Indonesian officials, who captured him in 2002 before turning him over to U.S. authorities, and found out that he had escaped because he had appeared, gloating about his escape, in a video broadcast Oct. 18 on Dubai-based television station Al-Arabiya.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales described the apparent breakdown in communication as a "serious problem" and told CNN in an interview that it would be investigated.

So, it seems clear to me -- these guys broke out of our jail, and we knew Indonesia would be cranky about it, so we didn't tell them until forced to. We screwed up and, in trying to avoid consequences for the first screw up, screwed up again. There's really no good spin you can put on this. Or...is there?

Al-Farouq's escape 'staged': Ex-BIN chief

A.M. Hendropriyono, former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) director (and responsible for al-Farouq's transfer to U.S. custody), told The Jakarta Post on Friday that he had strong grounds to suspect a hidden agenda behind the escape of al-Farouq.

"Following his escape, al-Farouq appeared in an interview with an Arabian TV station brandishing an automatic rifle. It is impossible that a terrorist group would trust and give him a gun after three years in U.S. detention. It is possible that he was prepared by his users to conduct a special mission.

"Second, it is quite strange that Washington remained silent about al-Farouq's escape. It can be assumed that U.S. security authorities were informed of his escape from the prison in July, but until now, President George W. Bush has not explained it, at least not to the American public," he said.

Asked about the public outrage toward him for handing al-Farouq over to the U.S. three years ago, Hendropriyono said the Indonesian authorities had no legal basis to charge him for terrorism because the country had not enacted an applicable law.

Oh, I see. It was all part of our secret plan all along. Hands up everybody who is convinced.

Anyone? Anyone?