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The year was 1997, and one of Osama bin Laden's trusted aides, Wadih El-Hage, had just returned to Kenya from a meeting with bin Laden, who was known as "the contractor." His instructions were to "militarize" the Kenyan network of al-Qaida operatives, the men who would carry out the suicide bombing of the America Embassy in downtown Nairobi.

El-Hage carried with him a seven-page report from al-Qaida's military commander that detailed the group's new ties to the Taliban leaders of Afghanistan. Days later, according to Kenyan phone records, he faxed the document to three men in the U.S. with the suggestion that it be shared with the "brothers in work."

One fax went to a Florida man later identified in court testimony as an al-Qaida member and pilot. A second copy was sent to California, to Ali Mohammed, an intimate of bin Laden's who was involved in planning the embassy attacks.

And the third went to Lake Oswego, to the fax machine of a civil engineer named Farid Adlouni.

Records show the two men had extensive contact. Over 16 months in 1996 and 1997, El-Hage called Adlouni in Oregon 72 times, sometimes just before or after meeting with bin Laden. Adlouni's home phone and fax numbers were listed in two personal phone directories and one notebook kept by El-Hage. The directories also contained coded entries for al-Qaida leaders.

Adlouni, 38, has not been charged, but he is one of at least three Portland-area men the FBI has focused on in its investigation of suspected terror links to Oregon and the Northwest. He runs an online Muslim business directory in Southwest Portland..... MORE