Intelwire Weblog

John McCain's Affiliation with the U.S. Council for World Freedom

2008-10-05T23:28:00.003-04:00

Headline

Paul Begala speaking on "Meet the Press" this morning mentioned John McCain's association with the United States Council for World Freedom, an organization linked to the Iran-Contra scandal.

1984 990-Form, United States Council for World Freedom, listing John McCain as member of the board of advisors

Aafia Siddiqui Indictment

2008-09-03T11:49:00.002-04:00

The Justice Department indicted alleged al Qaeda member Aafia Siddiqui in New York yesterday. According to the indictment, she was carrying handwritten notes on a "mass casualty attack" at the time of her arrest, including notes on chemical and radioactive dispersal devices (dirty bombs), along with photos of U.S. landmarks (a familiar-sounding list including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and more).

She was also carrying a thumb drive with "correspondence that referred to specific 'cells' and 'attacks' by certain 'cells.' Other documents referred to 'enemies,' including the United States, and discussed recruitment and training."

The date of that arrest, as stated in the indictment, was July 17, 2008, despite numerous claims to the contrary. The government has, at this point in time, several non-prosecutorial options for dealing with prisoners. Given that it's now fairly unusual to introduce al Qaeda suspects into the criminal justice system, it would be logical to play such cases strictly by the book.

Of course, we've seen some notable lapses in logic over the last seven years, so take that with a caveat. For instance, why introduce someone carrying detailed information about terrorist cells into the criminal system so swiftly, when other similar suspects have been detained for years of interrogation?

Indictment of Aafia Siddiqui

Yet More Awakening Worries

2008-09-03T02:01:00.002-04:00

The New York Times rings in. See previous posts here and here.

OKBOMB Documents: Strassmeir, Gamaat Islamiyah And More

2008-09-02T01:46:00.001-04:00

The FBI's investigation of Andreas Strassmeir as a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing began just days after the arrests of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, according to a document received from the State Departmnet under the Freedom of Information Act.

4/28/1995: State Department OKBOMB Query to Bonn

The redacted document is believe to refer to Strassmeir. It reports the results of criminal history and police and federal intelligence checks on the subject. The date of the cable is April 28, nine days after Oklahoma City. The investigation was sparked by an April 27 e-mail and telephone call from an FBI Special Agent, whose name has been redacted.

Military records and other checks were in process but had not been completed as of April 28. Additional records may be forthcoming from the State Department.

An affidavit submitted by Strassmeir to McVeigh's defense team was provided to INTELWIRE by Salt Lake City Attorney Jesse Trentade (story).

2/29/1996: Affidavit of Andreas Strassmeir

In the affidavit, Strassmeir briefly describes his history in the U.S. and claims only minimal contact with extremists, notably omitting any mention of his time with the Texas Light Infantry militia group (story).

Strassmeir said he met McVeigh at an April 1993 gun show in Tulsa, Okla. According to Strassmeir, that was the only meeting between the two men.

INTELWIRE has obtained several other documents relating to Oklahoma City.

Of particular interest is a State Department cable dated April 4, 1995 which requests information from authorities in Hong Kong concerning a woman there whose name appears in a telephone book obtained from Timothy McVeigh.

4/27/1995: State Department OKBOMB Query, Hong Kong

A search of trial records and INTELWIRE database materials revealed no leads on this woman, or any connection between Hong Kong and either McVeigh or Nichols.

Other documents released in response to INTELWIRE's FOIA request include:

4/20/1995: Gamaat Islamiya call on OKC

An April 20 call to the U.S. Embassy in Paris claimed responsibility for the Oklahoma City bombing on behalf of Gamaat Islamiyah, the terrorist group led by the "blind sheikh," Omar Abdel Rahman.

Rahman was on trial in Brooklyn at the time of the bombing. While some circumstantial correspondences surround Gamaat Islamiyah and the OKC bombing, the phone call was not specific enough to carry any special credibility.

Four days after this call was received, the judge in the Rahman case -- Michael Mukasey, now attorney general of the United States -- told jurors on April 24, 1995 that the Oklahoma City bombing "cannot possibly be connected in any way with any defendant in this case."

Whatever one thinks of possible links between the Oklahoma City bombing and Islamic extremism, which have never been proven, this admonition grossly overstated the state of the OKBOMB investigation as of April 24.

Other calls received in the wake of the bombing were grimly comical in their ineptitude.

4/20/1995: Brussels call on OKC

A caller to the U.S. embassy in Brussels, for example, attempted to claim responsibility on behalf of the Nation of Islam.

CALLER: I AM CONFIRMATION OF ISLAM (?).

STATION REP: YES.

CALLER: THE BOMBING WHICH OCCURRED IN OKLAHOMA CITY JUST A FEW HOURS AGO WAS MADE BY US.

STATION REP: IS IT THE NAME OF THE SECT OF WACO?

CALLER: IT MIGHT HAVE LINK... IN FACT, SOME GUYS OF WACO BUT IT IS NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT WACO, TEXAS. THE STUFF WITH DAVID KORESH IN WACO TEXAS HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

The caller claimed a second bombing was planned, among other less coherent points. The embassy employee who took the call was inexplicably polite.

STATION REP: FROM WHERE DO YOU CALL US?

CALLER: WE CALL. WE ARE IN EUROPE. I AM IN EUROPE ACTUALLY.

STATION REP: IN BELGIUM?

CALLER: NOT IN BELGIUM, BUT IN EUROPE. WE HAVE... THE NATION OF ISLAM IS NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES.

STATION REP: THANK YOU.

CALLER: YES. (Hangs up.)

4/23/1995: Riyadh call on OKC

Another call to the U.S. embassy in Riyadh was explained by the embassy there:

"RSO and AFOSI receive many reports of odd calls to residences/offices orginated by bored females who are desirous of talking to an American male. We cannot rule out a similar basis for this call."

Additional documents were provided to INTELWIRE by Jesse Trentadue.

5/18/1995: FBI, FD-302, FEMA Report

A FEMA official near Dallas, Texas, interviewed by the FBI reported a curious incident. Prior to the bombing, he "received a copy of two 'National Militia' identification cards from FEMA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.. At the top of the copy was the warning, 'These are not official credentials. If spotted, challenge the holder.'"

The official said he believed the information had originated with the Defense Department.

5/31/1995: FBI, FD-302, Murrah Building Demolition

This simply reports the implosion of the Alfred E. Murrah federal building, which had been irreparably damaged in the bombing.

3/28/96: FBI, FD-302, Wayne Green

This simply records the death of Wayne Green, an employee of Burns Security at the Regency Tower Apartments. The apartment building was near the Murrah building and its security cameras picked up an image of Terry Nichols' truck driving by the building on the Sunday before the bombing. The document -- which was obtained by Trentadue from defense investigator's files -- contains some provocative but nonsensical notes scrawled on the margin which don't appear to be particularly significant.

Rumbles Around Awakening

2008-09-01T11:13:00.002-04:00

You may recall my March post on the Awakening movement in which I commented on some of the looming (and unfortunately predictable) problems that our alliance with former Sunni insurgents. An Iraqi journalist last week echoed those concerns, with some added perspective (Arabic, English). Look for this issue to grow as the U.S. increasingly moves toward withdrawal.

The Legacy of the Order and the Failure of the Profile

2008-08-28T18:40:00.004-04:00

Media reports have connected Aryan Nations and The Order to a group of would-be assassins allegedly targeting Presidential candidate Barack Obama (story).

The Order traces its roots back to the 1980s. The group has been the subject of a series of revivals and survivals. For the story of one such group (or rather collection of groups), see Intelwire's exclusive report on the PATCON operation.

Members of both the original Order and the so-called Second Order are still very much alive and active. Very few of the wider network's top leaders have ever been charged with a crime.

Authorities have tried to downplay the threat presented by the three would-be killers -- Tharin Gartrell, Nathan Johnson and Shawn Robert Adolf -- who were arrested on a traffic stop after driving erratically with a carload full of guns, ammo and drugs. On the basis of the latter factor, apparently, federal authorities have publicly dismissed the seriousness of the threat.

Indictment of Tharin Gartrell

Indictment of Nathan Johnson

Indictment of Shawn Robert Adolf

However, Timothy McVeigh was at least casually acquainted with methamphetamine. McVeigh was also arrested after a similarly careless traffic stop. He was in custody for hours before the police even realized he was connected to the Oklahoma City bombing.

In short, these suspects clearly match the historical precedent and any reasonable profile of a terrorist.

If they had been Pakistanis, the country would be whipping itself into an unparalleled frenzy over the latest terrorist threat (as noted earlier today by Mark Hosenball, investigative correspondent for Newsweek, on NPR's Talk of the Nation).

This is a critical error, in my view.

These three suspects were certainly capable of carrying out the threat -- at least from an armaments point of view. The drug use is not a disqualifying factor. In fact, meth has some history as a deliberately chosen inciting device for planned violence.

The operating pattern for U.S. white supremacists groups is decentralized "leaderless resistance" which is essentially identical to the structure of the current "Al Qaeda movement" and very similar to the modus operandi in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

For all these reasons, the cavalier law enforcement posture in this case is troubling. The response to this event should be the same as if the three men had been Egyptians or Saudis or Sudanese.

Racism and sloppy assumptions are not just wrong -- they're dangerous.

It Was 20 Years Ago Today...

2008-08-11T10:10:00.003-04:00

While many experts (including myself) will give you a wide range of possible dates when Al Qaeda became meaningfully functional as a terrorist/jihadist organization, there is only one date that is crystal clear.

Twenty years ago today, Osama bin Laden (Abu Abdullah) and Mohamed Loay Bayazid (Abu Rida Al Suri) held a meeting regarding "the establishment of the new military work" -- including the general terrorist training camp, the special camp and above them both, "The Base," or in Arabic, Al Qaeda.

8/11/1988: Tareekh Osama memo

It's telling that the media -- usually obsessed with anniversaries -- has not spent much capital on the observance of this landmark meeting. Seven years after 9/11, the mainstream media is still woefully uneducated as far as Al Qaeda is concerned.

According to the memo, written by Abu Ridah, "initial estimate, within 6 months of Al Qaida (the Base), 314 brothers will be trained and ready."

Within a few weeks of the meeting, more than 30 people had been recruited, according to subsequent documents (included in the PDF above).

The follow-up memos discuss taking over the infrastructure of Abdullah Azzam's Makhtab al-Khidamat (The Services Office), an organization which had managed foreign fighters during the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan and the organization from which Al Qaeda was splitting.

A little more than a year later, Azzam would be assassinated by a car bomb, after which Al Qaeda completely absorbed the operations of the Services Office.

There are also several references in the documents to seizing control of Al Jihad magazine, which had just a few months earlier published a jihadist manifesto by Azzam entitled "The Solid Base" -- in Arabic, Al-Qa`idah al-Sulbah. This remains the most likely explanation of Al Qaeda's name, although alternative theories abound.

The document linked above was provided by the Motley Rice law firm, as part of its lawsuit on behalf of the victims of the September 11 attacks.

Anthrax documents

2008-08-06T16:59:00.002-04:00

Two key documents from the 440-page FBI anthrax release today:

Affidavit in support of search warrant, 10/31/2001

Affidavit in support of search warrant, 10/31/2007

Hamdan Trial Documents

2008-08-06T11:46:00.003-04:00

Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, was found guilty of material support of terrorism today by a military tribunal, but acquitted of conspiracy charges for aiding al Qaeda.

I'm posting a few of the more interesting primary source documents, culled from several thousand pages of filings in the case. The most interesting material, not surprisingly, has been redacted.

Unclassified Hamdan Affidavit

Allegations against Hamdan

Summary of expected testimony

List of detainees sought by defense as witnesses

Letter from prosecutor Maj. Robert Preston protesting irregularities in Gitmo cases in general

The Origin of 'Bojinka'?

2008-07-27T10:43:00.005-04:00

Detail-oriented students of terrorism have often contemplated a minor mystery concerning "Operation Bojinka," a 1994-1995 plot to bomb a dozen U.S.-bound airlines by Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. The mystery: What does the name mean?

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed told U.S. interrogators that he had heard the word "Bojinka" while serving on or near the front lines in Bosnia and said it came from the Serbo-Croatian language (spoken by all three Bosnian peoples).

The problem is -- no one in Bosnia has ever heard of it.

However, I noticed a interesting possible explanation when I was in Bosnia this month doing interviews and research for "Sarajevo Richochet," a forthcoming documentary about the Bosnian mujahideen and their relationship to both al Qaeda and the U.S. intelligence community.

The Serbo-Croatian word for soldiers is vojnika (voy-nee-kah). Not particularly similar, of course. But if it's rendered in Cyrillic type (used by the Serbs), it looks like this:

KSM or some of his peers could easily have seen the word "soldiers" rendered in Cyrillic -- on a transport, document, barracks, etc. -- and simply read it off as it one might sound it out from its Latin-looking characters.

All this is highly speculative, of course. I haven't had it confirmed by a source ... yet. But it's the best explanation I've seen so far -- which isn't saying all that much, I grant you.

"Sarajevo Ricochet" is expected to be released in spring 2009.

D.C. Madam Investigative Files

2008-07-08T07:54:00.002-04:00

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has released about 40 pages of material under the Freedom of Information Act related to its investigation of Deborah Jean Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam" who died in an apparent suicide earlier this year.

The USPS refused to release information on the D.C. part of the case, citing a FOIA exemption that allows case files to be withheld if there is a "reasonable chance they will interfere with ongoing law enforcement proceedings." According to ABC News and other sources, several well-known and senior government officials were among Palfrey's clients.

However, Palfrey was arrested and convicted as the result of an earlier investigation in California, during the 1990s. Information on that case was released, including copies of checks and correspondence related to Palfrey's California prostitution ring and a fairly graphic affidavit in support of a search warrant, describing informant accounts of what life was like as a prostitute working under Palfrey's direction. Informants who worked as prostitutes for Palfrey said they charged $200 an hour for a regular call, half of which went to Palfrey.

"Palfrey told (the informant) she didn't have to do 'kinky stuff ' like being 'tied up or beaten up', if she didn't want to, but if she did, it would cost the client extra," the affidavit states.

Another informant showed up for a job interview after responding to an ad for an escort service.

The informant "was told by Palfrey that hers was a full service escort service, and then was asked by PALFREY, 'How open minded are you?' Palfrey told (the informant) she would be sent to male clients and her job was to make the men happy and not let the men be disappointed." The second informant became involved in violent encounters while working for Palfrey, many details of which are redacted.

Click here for the files

Wagdy Ghoneim Arrested

2008-07-03T09:52:00.006-04:00

Egyptian cleric Wagdy Ghoneim has been arrested in South Africa, according to Ikhwan Online (via the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report).

No reason was given for the arrest. Ghoneim is a highly controversial figure who has nevertheless been a featured speaker at various U.S. events. A declassified State Department cable obtained by INTELWIRE describes some of the views of this "avowed Muslim Brother." An excerpt follows:

The message propagated by Ghoneim is bluntly anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-Western.

Observant muslims are admonished to avoid Western clothes, Western music, even to avoid shaking hands with non-Muslims.

Christian beliefs are mocked in a crude fashion -- for example, Ghoneim, in one tape, snarlingly asks how anyone can worship a savior who had bodily functions and odors.

Ghoneim accuses the [Egyptian government] of favoring the Christian minority by allowing the building of fifty new churches per year (a figure that would surprise several local priests who cannot even obtain permission to repair, for example, caved-in roofs).

Ghoneim also charges that Copts are using monasteries and convents to hide arms that eventually will be used against Muslims. The increasingly obvious problem of drug abuse is depicted not only as a straying from god's established rules, but as the result of a Zionist-American conspiracy against the Islamic "Umma."

Al Qaeda's Palestinian Problem

2008-05-30T02:41:00.004-04:00

A new report from the NEFA Foundation points up an interesting aspect of what's going on with Al Qaeda these days. It's from an ongoing series in which Zawahiri answers questions from his jihadist audience. The question:

O honorable Shaykh. I wish to depart and participate in the jihad. I'm a fifth year medical student in Europe. and come from the (GazaJ Strip in Palestine. I'm 29 years old. Should I now go to Afghanistan. given the chance. or wait this year to finish my studies and then go? I'm at a loss: the situation of the Muslims is breaking my heart and I cannot concentrate on my studies. and I would like to get your advice. May Allah reward you well. Allah willing. I will follow you to the death. [...]

Zawahiri's answer:

I advise you to finish the fifth year of medical school and then go to Afghanistan. Only Allah knows. May Allah reward you well for you kind thoughts.

You might wonder why Zawahiri would advise a Palestinian dreaming of jihad to go to Afghanistan and not Palestine. When you counterpose this against Osama Bin Laden's recent message concerning Israel (essentially vowing to destroy it and giving lip service to the Palestinian struggle), it highlights an internal contradiction that affects al Qaeda's standing among potential allies.

Al Qaeda and its idealogues have long neglected the Palestinians -- both in terms of rhetorical and operational focus. In fact, about the only time they ever turn to the issue is when they're cynically trying to shore up their base.

This may, in part, have something to do with Bin Laden's Mahdist tendencies, involving prophecies that state the army of the caliphate will arise out of Afghanistan and then proceed to its final battle in Palestine. Although he's been knocked off message pretty effectively, there's nothing to indicate that he's abandoned this line of thought.

Regardless of "why" al Qaeda has neglected this issue, it's a weakness. The U.S. has been stepping up its propaganda war on al Qaeda with some degree of success. The barrage of critical questions posed to Zawahiri for these answer sessions is a good example (regardless of who's actually writing those questions).

The wholesale embrace of the Palestinians as heard in the last OBL message can be viewed -- or painted -- as blatant hypocrisy and political opportunism. There's a real opening here to drive a wedge between the moderate-to-radical Islamist movements focused on Palestine and the radical-to-insane al Qaeda movement.

LET At Last...

2008-05-27T16:48:00.002-04:00

Somewhat belatedly, the Treasury Department has added Lashkar-e-Tayyiba to its list of blocked organizations. The group is a Pakistani jihadist movement primarily concerned with waging jihad in Kashmir, a conflict that is very high on the radar of the jihad movement but which has been rather substantially neglected by Western pundits and policymakers until now.

Suicide bombing in Khost

2008-05-12T01:17:00.003-04:00

Below are two images released by al Qaeda of a recent suicide bombing against a U.S. military target in the Khost area of Afghanistan (a longtime al Qaeda stronghold). The first image is the actual bombing, the second is purportedly the bomber.

J.M. Berger on Al Jazeera

2008-05-07T20:58:00.001-04:00

Excerpt from "A Hidden Face in a Hidden War," an al Jazeera documentary featuring an interview with J.M. Berger, discussing the life and death of Mohammed Jamal Khalifa. Click here for related stories and featured documents.

A Hidden Face in a Hidden War

2008-04-25T09:37:00.006-04:00

Al Jazeera will air the English-language version of its documentary on Mohammed Jamal Khalifa during the coming week with the title "A Hidden Face in a Hidden War."

The Arabic version of the program featured myself, Peter Bergen, Lawrence Wright and others discussing the Khalifa case. The English version is half an hour (compared to an hour for the original).

The program features documents from the Mohammed Jamal Khalifa Sourcebook, Vol. 1 and other exclusive documents obtained by INTELWIRE. I expect Volume 2 to publish later this year, and Volume 3 will hopefully appear in 2009 in conjunction with other projects.

Here are the air times (EDT) (times below are most current, but have changed since the first posting).

Click here for most current schedule information.

Click here to watch online.

Title: A Hidden Face in a Hidden War

Channel: Al Jazeera English
Times:


     Tuesday              9:30 a.m.
     Weds                 7:30 a.m.
     Thurs                1:30 a.m. 
     Thurs               11:00 p.m.
     Fri                  6:30 a.m. 
     Fri                 12:30 p.m.
     Sat                  2:30 a.m.

Below are some images from the Arabic version. That's me at the top left and bottom left.

New OKC Document Claims Prior Knowledge of Bombing

2008-04-21T18:24:00.003-04:00

Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue filed a new document last week in his ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FBI seeking documents related to the Oklahoma City bombing.

The filing submits an FBI FD-302 record relating to Mark Thomas, a former Christian Identity minister and Aryan Nations member, pleaded guilty in 1997 to conspiring with the Aryan Republican Army (ARA) bank robbery gang, which was led by white supremacists Richard Lee Guthrie and Peter Langan. The source of the document is not specified in the filing.

According to the document, Thomas' former girlfriend approached the FBI in early 1997 and told agents that Mark Thomas made the following statement to her in February 1995:

"We are going to get them. We are going to hit one of their buildings during the middle of the day. It's going to be a federal building. We will get sympathy if we bomb the building. ... [T]he people who will lose their loved ones, will realize how bad it feels."

The new filing reinforces a scenario described in documents obtained by Trentadue and posted here in March. An informant quoted in those documents claimed to have heard from a third party that Thomas indicated having prior knowledge of the Oklahoma City bombing.

The contents of the document have been previously reported by the Associated Press and others. According to the AP story, Thomas said he did not recall making the comments described herein.

Playing Catch-Up On Yahya Al-Libbi

2008-04-04T09:36:00.003-04:00

In September, the Washington Post noted the rise of Al Qaeda's charismatic Yahya Al-Libbi. Today it's the New York Times' turn (they're spelling it Libi). You read it here 11 months ago.

The Perils of Awakening

2008-03-22T14:32:00.002-04:00

I've been wondering for some time just what U.S. authorities think the Awakening Councils will get up to once we leave Iraq. Unfortunately, I may have been too optimistic in assuming that the Sunni groups -- recruited by us for their anti-Al Qaeda tendencies -- were a potential problem for after we leave. An apparently serious U.S. misstep today may change that calculus.

Obviously, there are some things to like about the development of Sunni groups who wish to aid the U.S. in fighting al Qaeda. Just like there were things to like about the development of jihadist groups who wished to help us fight the Soviets in Afghanistan back in the 1980s. You remember how that worked out.

The Awakening Councils -- trained, armed and empowered by the Iraqi government and our own -- have evolved into an ad hoc army with between 60,000 and 100,000 members. Their prima facie purpose is to expel al Qaeda from Iraq. But that's not a mission statement and it's not a philosophy, it's simply a task.

There are two risks involved with this task-oriented approach. First, there's the risk they will succeed. We have an obvious interest in their success, of course, but once the task is accomplished, we find ourselves with a 100,000 strong Sunni army in the middle of a Shi'ite dominated political scene. Given the sectarian situation in Iraq over the last four years, it's not hard to guess what could happen next.

The second risk should be apparent after today's news that the U.S. military may have inadvertently bombed an Awakening checkpoint, killing six. It's difficult to estimate the political ramifications of this development. We can -- and should -- hope that it will taken as an unfortunate accident, which it almost certainly was.

Realistically, however, there is a significant chance it will be taken another way. The fragile Awakening alliance could split into pro- and anti-American camps. Or the majority of the alliance could turn against U.S. influence. In a worst-case (but probably unlikely) scenario, al Qaeda could exploit the situation to win back some of the support it has lost.

Hopefully, this is an unduly pessimistic view. But the complexity of the situation in Iraq continues to outpace our ability to analyze it. On the bright side, whatever ensues from this incident will probably help us get a better view of exactly where we stand with the Awakening Councils and (to a certain, limited extent) what we can expect from them down the road.

New Documents Tighten Net Around Additional OKBOMB Conspirators

2008-03-20T18:55:00.009-04:00

A figure connected to the Elohim City white supremacist compound claimed he was warned of the Oklahoma City bombing three days in advance, according to an FBI informant.

The warning is revealed in a June 1995 FBI document obtained by Salt Lake City lawyer Jesse Trentadue through the Freedom of Information Act (related story).

Several documents newly obtained by Trentadue reveal a detailed timeline of events that strengthens and corroborates the case for additional conspirators in the bombing, which killed 168 people on April 19, 1995.

Full story

National Security Letters And More

2008-03-14T12:16:00.002-04:00

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI continued in 2006 to badly mishandle letters that it uses to obtain personal records without a court order, according to a Justice Department report released Thursday.

Read the report for yourself here.

March 2008: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, UNCLASSIFIED, A Review of the FBI's Use of National Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of NSL Usage in 2006

What has received less attention, but is no less important is the accompanying report on the FBI's use of Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, allowing increased access to personal information, financial and medical records and, most notoriously, library records.

March 2008: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, UNCLASSIFIED, A Review of the FBI's Use of Section 215 Orders for Business Records in 2006

Also new on the site, the latest batch of 9/11 Commission documents:

FBI documents cited in 9/11 Report End Notes for 9/11/2001

Zarqawi Mentor Maqdisi Free Again

2008-03-12T14:56:00.004-04:00

Jordan has once again freed Sheik Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, mentor of the late and unlamented Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. This isn't the first time. They first arrested him in 2005, then released him. He promptly re-established contact with terrorist networks and was arrested again. The machinations in this case clearly illustrate the problems we have in securing consistent policies and official action on terrorism among even our closest allies.

For some background, I give you the passage below, taken from an August 3, 2005 State Department cable:

MAQDISI RE-ARRESTED AFTER BRIEF RESPITE

The state prosecutor formally charged Issam al-Barqawi (aka Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi) on July 18 with plotting subversive acts in Jordan, according to press reports. Deputy PM and GOJ spokesperson Marwan Muasher told reporters that Maqdi.si was re-arrested because "he contacted terrorist parties," which he declined to identify. A senior judicial source told the press that "State Prosecutor Mahmoud Obeidat charged Maqdisi with plotting subversive acts on Monday (July 18) and ordered his detention for 14 days pending further investigations." Jordanian officials released Maqdisi from custody on June 26, six months after the Security Court acquitted him of plotting subversive acts and possessing explosives as part of an alleged cell in Mafraq, due to "lack of evidence" (ref A) . However, the GOJ arrested him again on July 5. Islamist weekly al-Sabil reported that Jordanian authorities arrested Maqdisi at the request of "another Arab country," which allegedly accuses him of involvement in issuing fatwas sanctioning attacks on its territories. The paper quoted Maqdisi's family members who complained that the authorities did not allow Maqdisi to have an attorney present during his interrogation after his re-arrest. Considered a former spiritual mentor of Zarqawi, Maqdisi appeared to have distanced himself from certain of Zarqawi's actions in Iraq. He gave a lengthy interview to al-Jazeera upon his release in which he again repudiated some of Zarqawi's activities, such as attacks on churches and members of the Shi'a community.

As time permits, I'm working on a chart of Zarqawi's Jordanian cell network based on various U.S. government documents I've obtained. More to follow.

The Anwar Aulaqi Files

2008-03-04T11:32:00.001-05:00

Last week, the Washington Post reported that the FBI "now" believes radical imam Anwar Aulaqi -- who befriended 9/11 hijackers Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi -- knowingly aided Al Qaeda. The investigative background for this belief was substantial and isn't exactly new. INTELWIRE has obtained several FBI investigative documents related to Aulaqi, which have been added to the INTELFILES blog, including the following:

10/3/2001: FBI Status of Investigation, Omar Al Bayoumi

9/26/2001: FBI Letterhead Memorandum, Anwar Aulaqi

10/23/2001: FBI Communication, Anwar Aulaqi, Dar El Hijra mosque

10/8/2001: FBI FD-302, Associates of hijackers in San Diego

9/15/2001: FBI FD-302, Interrogation of Anwar Aulaqi

10/3/2001: FBI Communication, PENTBOMB, Omar Al Bayoumi

New OKC Docs: Informants, Surveillance, Middle Eastern Suspects, And More

2008-02-25T18:24:00.003-05:00

New information about the FBI's investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing has emerged in FBI documents recently released to Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue.

A lawsuit by Trentadue seeks to force the FBI to comply with Trentadue's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents pertaining to the Oklahoma City bombing.

Trentadue's lawsuit was prompted by the apparent murder of his brother while in federal custody, which Trentadue believes is connected to the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing (previous story). For more about that case and copies of documents released thus far, click here, here and here.

FBI Bulletin, 4/19/1995

The first document, issued on the day of the attack, alerts FBI offices around the country to the bombing and requests any current leads from all FBI offices regarding "domestic terrorism" and noting the anniversary of the Waco Siege. At this stage, the public investigation of the case had not yet ruled out foreign terrorism (and a subsequent teletype indicates several Middle Eastern suspects were being monitored).

It's worth noting that as early as 1991, FBI field agents had been warning headquarters of a domestic bombing of exactly this type (INTELWIRE, 8/27/2006). Also, a video filed in court by Trentadue as part of his FOIA case shows "a press conference given in December of 2003" at which Southern Poverty Law Center director Morris Dees stated "that about six months prior to the Oklahoma City Bombing, the SPLC had warned both FBI Defendants and Attorney General Janet Reno about an impending severe domestic terrorism attack and that within minutes following the Bombing of the Murrah Building, the SPLC had telephoned the FBI to say that the 'patriot movement' was involved in that attack, not Muslim extremists."

4/19/1995: FBI Teletype, Oklahoma City bombing

FBI Status of Investigation, 4/20/1995

This teletype is an overview of the ongoing investigation. It details efforts to track Timothy McVeigh through the identification number on the truck used in the bombing. The document also states that a person of interest was "believed to be staying in a motel room in Wichita, Kansas." According to court records, FBI Special Agent Thomas Price was conducting surveillance related to the Oklahoma City bombing in Wichita on April 20, but his team was called away from that assignment to monitor Terry Nichols. The subject of the surveillance was never disclosed.

The memo also outlines leads related to "Middle Eastern males," including a lead that appears to pertain to Onis and Assad Siddiqi. Other leads -- including one pertaining to a shipment of explosives -- were redacted by the FBI before it released the document.

4/20/1995: FBI Teletype, Oklahoma City bombing, suspects

FBI Lead, Informant Report, Cincinnati, 1/5/1996

A heavily redacted teletype from the FBI field office in Cincinnati states that a confidential informant encountered a figure involved with the Aryan Nations movement who made reference to the Oklahoma bombing. A previously released document dated January 21, 1995 and linked below, adds detail to this report, indicating subject of the report was Andreas Strassmeier, a German national linked to McVeigh. Click here and here for more documents related to Strassmeier.

According to the January 21 teletype, the informant agreed to seek more information regarding the lead and was willing to travel to the Charlotte, N.C., area in order to investigate further.

1/5/1996: FBI Teletype, OKC investigation in Cincinnati

1/21/1996: FBI Teletype, OKC investigation in Cincinnati