Double Agent of the Day [UPDATED]

No, it's not Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The would-be suicide bomber sent by the Yemen branch of al Qaeda to blow up a U.S.-bound plane in April was actually a double agent who infiltrated the most dangerous of al Qaeda affiliates, in the Arabian Peninsula, American officials revealed today.

The agent provided to the CIA, Saudi, and other foreign intelligence agencies the innovative, "custom fit" underwear bomb designed for his air attack, as well as critical information on al Qaeda leaders; the latter resulted in Sunday's drone strike that killed a top al-Qaida operative and suspect in the 2000 bombing of the destroyer Cole.

The agent's identity, nationality, and intelligence service have not been disclosed, and he and his family have been moved to safe locations.

UPDATE: CBS News reports that the double agent has now been removed from Yemen and is safe, and that he may have been working with the CIA all along. The tipoff about the underwear bombing plot apparently originated from a Saudi intelligence source.

[nyt]