Immigrant, Journalist, Iraqi Spy

The Weekly Standard ^ | 07/11/03 | Stephen F. Hayes

[Pokey78]

The strange case of an Iraqi agent caught operating on American soil. His arrest may be the first of many.

KHALED DUMEISI, a newspaper publisher in northern Illinois, was surprised when federal agents showed up at a modest condominium in suburban Chicago to arrest the man known to his colleagues in Iraqi intelligence as "Sirhan."

He shouldn't have been shocked. First, the FBI, according to a complaint unsealed Wednesday in Illinois, had the goods on Sirhan. Among his offenses: supplying false press credentials for Iraqi intelligence agents; spying on Iraqi opposition leaders--at times, using a mini-camera implanted in the end of a pen--and providing the intelligence to the Iraqi regime; obtaining phone records and schedules of Iraqi opposition meetings; and training in intelligence techniques with the Mukhabarat (Iraqi Intelligence Service) in Baghdad.

Second, Khaled Dumeisi, the newspaper publisher, is "Sirhan."

The Dumeisi case is instructive because, if true, it supports claims made for years by Iraqi opposition groups that Saddam Hussein maintained an active intelligence presence in the United States. More important, according to government officials with knowledge of the Iraqi intelligence network in this country, the charges brought against Dumeisi are the first in what will be a succession of similar cases in the coming months.

The 31-page affidavit--United States of America vs. Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi--is fascinating. The charges read like the product of a crazed spy novelist. Dumeisi is a Jordanian citizen who came to the United States in 1993. Five years after he arrived, he established an Arabic-language monthly, Al Mahjar. Shortly thereafter, according to the complaint, he began working with Iraqi intelligence officers stationed in the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations (IMUN).

The government's case is based on information obtained from at least six informants, including at least one Iraqi intelligence officer now in U.S. custody. One of them, an individual who "assisted Dumeisi in the publication of Al-Mahjar, from 1996 to 1999" and who "had significant contact with the IMUN on behalf of Dumeisi and Al-Mahjar" reported on conversations that he had with Dumeisi about his activities. According to the affidavit, this individual claims that "Dumeisi told him/her that the Iraqi Intelligence Service had trained him to use a pen which contained a hidden camera and microphone. Dumeisi showed" the informant the pen and told the informant "that he used the pen to record an interview of an Iraqi opposition member. During the interview, Dumeisi wore the pen clipped to the center of his shirt near the buttons for it to work better." Another informant, described as a "close friend of Dumeisi's" told the FBI that she had told Dumeisi about a romantic relationship she was having with "a possible future president of Iraq." This informant, who worked for a long-distance provider, gave Dumeisi the phone records of the opposition leader--records that were later recovered from the Iraqi Intelligence headquarters in Baghdad during Operating Iraqi Freedom.

Along with those telephone records was a detailed report about how the records were obtained. Again, according the affidavit, the file reports on the activities of an Iraqi agent "code-named" Sirhan, who "is identified as having a pro-Iraqi/Arab newspaper in Chicago called Al-Mahjar." The file further details the relationships between "Sirhan," his female friend--identified by name--and the Iraqi opposition leader.

Because he did not pass classified information to the Iraqi government Dumeisi is charged only with failing to register as an agent for a foreign government. "While Khaled Dumeisi is not alleged to be an actual intelligence officer and is not charged with espionage, the charges are nonetheless serious," explained U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, in a statement explaining the charges.

U.S. authorities continue to sift through the mountains of documents recovered in post-war Iraq in a painstaking effort to piece together sometimes disparate bits of information that, taken as a whole, provide a clearer picture of the covert activities of the Iraqi regime on American soil. And the Dumeisi case is just the beginning.

According to one official reviewing the information: "There's a lot more where this came from."

[Old Sarge]

One each Glock. One each copper-jacket to the base of the skull. Coroner calls it before the barrel cools down.

I'm more efficient than the gummint...

[Support Free Republic]

A Recall AND a Fundraiser? I'm toast.

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[piasa]

fyi

[piasa]

The 31-page affidavit--United States of America vs. Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi--is fascinating. The charges read like the product of a crazed spy novelist. Dumeisi is a Jordanian citizen who came to the United States in 1993. Five years after he arrived, he established an Arabic-language monthly, Al Mahjar. Shortly thereafter, according to the complaint, he began working with Iraqi intelligence officers stationed in the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations (IMUN).

[Cindy]

GOOGLE Search Term: "Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Khaled+Abdel-Latif+Dumeisi%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0

Some Interesting GOOGLE Results:

[PDF] US v. Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
... 03 CR 664 ) KHALED ABDEL-LATIF DUMEISI, ) Violations: Title 18, United States
also known as Abu Walid, ) Code, Sections 371, 951(a), 1621 also known as ...
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/usdumeisi71603ind.pdf - Similar pages


[PDF] US v. Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
Page 1. Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. Page 5. Page 6. Page 7. Page 8. Page 9. Page 10.
Page 11. Page 12. Page 13. Page 14. Page 15. Page 16. Page 17. Page 18. Page 19.
Page 20. Page 21. ...
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/usdumeisi70803cmp.pdf - Similar pages

UNITED STATES v KHALED ABDEL-LATIF DUMEISI - Legal Case Documents
Search. New Visitors. Get Adobe Reader. UNITED STATES v KHALED ABDEL-LATIF
DUMEISI, Click to find out why . . . Keywords & Phrases. CaseNo ...
http://www.legalcasedocs.com/120/255/245.html - 22k - Cached - Similar pages

[Squantos]

I'm of the opinion that individuals such as this should be "monitored" 24/7 as they WILL contact or be contacted by those already in the CONUS or enroute. This was a worm on the hook and the feds cut the line.......damn.

Stay Safe Piasa......

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Pro-Bush]

Bag this Saddam spy and get him over to gitmo immediately! (Don't forget the earmuff's,per Geneva)

[piasa]

Well, at least they have more legroom than I did on that last American Airlines flight I took.

[piasa]

Here's a more interesting thread on the guy which brings up his newspaper's sponsorship, along with the usual leftwing suspects, of an anti-israel/pro-palestinian demonstration in Chicago- and someone brought up the possibility of a connection to the "terror charity" Benevolence International ...

Agent of Saddam Arrested in Chicago

[harpseal]

I agree about the monitoring. During WWII the British were quite effective by turning German agents and using them to feed false intel to the Germans.

While the monitoring is a good start when a few big fish are caught then it becomes time to arrest try and execute the agents in the USA.

[sarcasm]

And where have you been?

[harpseal]

I saw some family over the Thanksgiving weekend. It is the first time I have been able to travelsince I was limited by the MD's.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Wow. And I thought --I--- had it bad crumpled up in coach class, unable to move for 12 hours transiting across the Pacific Ocean.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the link, piasa! Hugs!

[Squantos]

Seeing how in the USA they will never be executed or tried for their crimes, due to socialist PC courts, I say we keep monitoring till they lead to others. Money better spent IMHO. Glad ya got out to enjoy your Holiday. Missed yer smiling wit around here......thought we were gonna have to go drain the hot tub to find ya .......:o)

Stay Safe !!

[harpseal]

I agree about the PCX Courts but eventually we will have to get serious about fighting these Islamic terrorists or we will wind up with a whole lot of dead Americans. I realize you know that and we both know that the intel gleaned from careful monitoring can be more valuable than an execution is satisfying.

[sarcasm]

Welcome back - I was worried about you.