Posted on 09/03/2002 1:27:30 AM PDT by ppaul
Tuesday, September 03, 2002, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
'I love bin Laden ... I hate Bush': Man connected to Ujaama, hijacking suspect speaks out
By David Heath
Seattle Times staff reporter
A Swedish citizen suspected of conspiring with a former Seattle man to open a terrorist training camp in Oregon also has links to a Swede suspected of planning to hijack an airliner in Europe last week.
Oussama Kassir, 36, an unemployed engineer in Stockholm, was an unnamed and uncharged co-conspirator in the indictment of James Ujaama last week. Federal officials say Kassir and another man went to Bly, Ore., with Ujaama in late 1999 to scout out a ranch as a training camp for the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Authorities have not connected Kassir to Thursday's arrest of Kerim Sadok Chatty, who was stopped in Vaesteraas, Sweden, after a handgun was found in his carry-on bag as he was boarding a Ryanair flight to London. Chatty, 29, who trained at an American flight school in 1996, was being held yesterday pending charges for allegedly planning to hijack the Boeing 737.
But Kassir admits he is a friend of Chatty's and says he taught Chatty to pray while they were in a Swedish prison together in the late 1990s. The two were close, Kassir said, and he last talked to Chatty about a month ago.
In an interview with The Seattle Times yesterday, Kassir said Chatty is not a terrorist and that his friend probably just forgot that he had a gun in his luggage.
"The boy is nice. I don't think he would do that," Kassir said.
Kassir insisted that he, too, is being falsely accused of working for al-Qaida. The indictment of Ujaama states that one of Ujaama's colleagues — Kassir, authorities say privately — bragged publicly in Bly of being a "hit man" for Osama bin Laden.
Kassir denied the allegation and said repeatedly that his life is now in danger because of it.
"I am not the hit man of Osama bin Laden," he said. "The hit man would never be living in Sweden. He would be at his side. This is not good for my life."
Kassir added, though, that he is "a supporter" of bin Laden and his Islamic terrorist group.
"I said I am not al-Qaida. I am a supporter. I love al-Qaida. I love Osama bin Laden."
And, he said, he hates President Bush.
"I am against President Bush because he killed too many Muslims. I hate him to death. He should go to hell. I hate him with all my heart. If I can kill him, I'd kill him. But I cannot. I don't have the power to do that."
Later in the telephone interview, Kassir said that he didn't mean it and warned against publishing his comments.
Kassir was born near Beirut, Lebanon, in 1966 and fought during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Two years later, he moved to Sweden and became a naturalized citizen in 1989.
In 1998, he served time in a Swedish prison for assaulting an officer and possessing drugs and a gun. During that time, Kassir met Chatty, who was arrested after fighting with U.S. Marines at a Stockholm bar and with another American at a gym, according to a published report.
Currently, Kassir faces charges in Stockholm for assault and theft.
Kassir lived in London at the Finsbury Park mosque of radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, a noted supporter of Islamic terrorist efforts. Videotape aired on Canadian television shows the two men walking together in early 1999.
Kassir said he first went to Abu Hamza to seek advice because his wife had asked for a divorce. He said he became a close friend of Abu Hamza and knows him better than anyone.
"I feel very sorry that they say Abu Hamza is involved in al-Qaida. This is not true. I swear on Allah that this is not true. He's a kind person."
Abu Hamza also had nothing to do with Ujaama, Kassir said. But when told that Abu Hamza described himself as "being like a father" to Ujaama, Kassir said that even so, there's no proof that Abu Hamza was involved in a terrorist training camp in Oregon.
Ujaama was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to support al-Qaida and on a weapons charge. He is expected to return to Seattle this week, where he faces up to 25 years in prison.
The indictment, from a grand jury in Seattle, alleges that Ujaama in late 1999 tried to persuade Abu Hamza to establish a terrorist training camp on a remote ranch near Bly. It alleges that Abu Hamza sent two associates, Kassir and Haroon Aswat of India, to Oregon to scout out the property.
Kassir said that he doesn't know where Aswat now is and that he may be dead. Authorities say that Aswat fought in the war in Afghanistan.
Witnesses told The Times that Kassir was upset when he saw the ranch because it was so run-down and was so angry that he threatened to kill Ujaama. Kassir denied this yesterday.
He did not deny being in Bly but said there is no evidence that Abu Hamza sent him there.
The indictment also said that in February 2000, Kassir taught the preaching of Abu Hamza in Seattle and provided "urban tactical training."
When news of the probe was reported this year, Kassir allegedly called a witness in Seattle to ask if he should come back to "assess the situation."
David Heath: dheath@seattletimes.com.
"I am against President Bush because he killed too many Muslims....."Not quite enough, apparently.
Well then, he should also hate Saddam, who has killed hundreds of thousands more Muslims that President Bush has.
But somehow I don't expect consistent application of this alleged criteria. If there were consistency Bush would have to be credited with hundreds of thousands of Muslim lives to be saved over the next several years by the liberation of Afghanistan, ending of the civil war, enabling of food distribution and vacination programs, and so on.
Later in the telephone interview, Kassir said that he didn't mean it and warned against publishing his comments.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!! Too late, raghead! Now you are a target...
Kassir denied the allegation and said repeatedly that his life is now in danger because of it.
I love the idea of the Salfi sending a hit man to silence this guy, especially if the hitter dies resisting arrest right after the deed is done! No doubt al-Masri has already justified it by explaining that Kassir will be martyred for the cause. Even if Kassir decides to take the carrot now, the stick is likely to catch up to him in prison :)
"The boy is nice. I don't think he would do that," Kassir said.
Polly Walnuts swears that Tony Soprano is just another small businessman, innocently engaged in the waste disposal business.
Looks like they recruit in prisons all over the world, not only here.
Well, then, have you considered registering on the web forum Democratic Underground?
I'm sure some of them have :)
And I bet you'll find them among MADD supporters. There's no alcohol allowed in countries like SA, so I'm sure they push for prohibition everywhere they live...
Change the name Bush to Bin Laden and change the word Muslims to Americans and you might figure what I'm thinking too.
That's a good point, Fred. If you're looking for someone to do violence, it makes sense to recruit from people who've already shown that they're willing to take risks and will use violence to get what they want.
Wasn't the shoe bomber recruited in prison?
Sounds like this guy is a registered Demacrap! Quick, check if he is on one of the Rats donor lists!
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