The Muslim Brotherhood's Long-Standing War On The West (US Politicians)

In the United States, one individual maintained a pretense of "moderation" which would later embarrass the left and the right. According to the testimony of Dr. Michael Waller to the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Abdurahman Alamoudi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. A man born in Eritrea in 1951, he arrived in the US in 1979 and became a naturalized US citizen on May 23, 1996. From 1985 onwards he became involved in many Muslim groups. In 1990 he founded the Washington DC-based American Muslim Council (AMC), which Waller states "has been described as a de facto front of the Muslim Brotherhood." The AMC was an affiliate of the American Muslim Foundation, which was also headed by Alamoudi. Despite this, in June 2002 the FBI called the AMC "the most mainstream Muslim group in the United States."

What is of concern is the manner in which Alamoudi persuaded US authorities under two administrations of his reliability. Around 1993, he was an adviser for the Pentagon on which Muslim chaplains should serve in the US military. He continued this role until 1998. From 1997 he acted for the State Department as a "goodwill ambassador" to Muslim countries. He was regularly at the Clinton White House and had advised Hillary Rodham Clinton on managing iftar dinners since 1996. Alamoudi had made donations to the Democrat party but was open to wooing the opposition.

In 1998, as Frank Gaffney recounted, Republican Grover Norquist formed the Islamic Institute, which aimed to recruit Muslim and Arab Americans to support the GOP. Alamoudi made contributions both to the Islamic Institute and later, in 2000 and 2001, he made payments to a lobbying firm connected with Norquist.

Alamoudi's Brotherhood connections were not touted openly, but in August 1997, he was publicly proclaiming on Fox TV that Hamas was a "freedom fighting organization". Hamas had started its first bombings of Israeli civilians in February 1996, a year earlier. On October 28, 2000, Alamoudi attended an anti-Israel protest at Lafayette Park outside the White House, where he was caught on video proclaiming "I have been labeled… as being a supporter of Hamas. Anybody supporters of Hamas here? Hear that, Bill Clinton. We are all supporters of Hamas. I wish they added that I am also a supporter of Hezbollah. Anybody who supports Hezbollah here?"

Shortly after the White House outburst, Hillary Clinton returned a donation of $1,000 to her election war chest, which Alamoudi had presented on May 25 of that year. Alamoudi embarked upon at least 10 clandestine trips to Libya. On September 28, 2003, after returning from a multi-stage excursion he was arrested at Dulles International Airport. He was handed a 19-count indictment on October 23, on charges including money laundering and dealing with a prohibited nation.

Alamoudi had been stopped at Heathrow on August 16, 2003 before boarding a flight to Syria, and had $340,000 of Libyan money seized. On July 30, 2004, he pleaded guilty to three charges - violating conditions barring transport to, and commerce with, prohibited nations (Libya), failure to disclose to IRS his income, and lying to ICE federal investigators. On October 15, 2004, Alamoudi was given a jail sentence of 23 years. He had told officials that he provided Libyan money to London-based Saudi dissidents to finance a plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

Politicians may have been fooled by Alamoudi, who headed sixteen US-based Islamist organizations, but despite what is known of the Muslim Brotherhood's support of terrorism and extremism, US politicians are now openly courting the Brotherhood. On April 5 this year in Egypt. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met with Mohammed Saad el-Katani, the leader of the Brotherhood's 55 members within the Egyptian parliament. Hamdi Hassan, the Brotherhood's spokesman, said Hoyer met with el-Katani once at the parliament building and later at the home of the US ambassador to Egypt.

On May 27, a delegation by four members of the House of Congress again met with Mohammed Saad el-Katani in Egypt. The delegation was led by David Price, a Democrat who represents North Carolina....[...]

July 8, 1999:

FBI Told KSM Is Living in United Arab Emirates
Edit event -

In 2008, the website Intelwire.com will obtain a declassified FBI document from this date. The content is heavily redacted, including the title, but the full title appears to be, “Summary of information obtained from the United Arab Emirates with regard to Manila Air fugitive Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.” The document appears to detail a briefing by United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials from the General Department of State Security to FBI officials visiting the UAE -

It mentions that KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED (KSM) “who was reported to be in _____ during mid-1998, is still currently living in Sharjah, UAE, with his family.” The report also mentions that “in July 1998, authorities from ______ based on information probably obtained from Qatar, located KSM living and working in ____. After questioning him about his activities with the [MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD], he was deported to Bahrain.” [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 7/8/1999 pdf file]

The 9/11 Commission will later mention this document a single time, and reveal that one of the redacted sections discusses KSM’s links to the ABU SAYYAF MILITANT GROUP IN THE PHILLIPPINES. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 488]

Sharjah is a major hub of al-Qaeda activity at this time (see Mid-1996-October 2001), and one of the 9/11 hijackers, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, is from the emirate of Sharjah (see 1980s and 1990s). 9/11 plot facilitator MUSAFA AHMED AL-HAWSAWI WILL BE BASED IN SHARJAH in the MONTHS BEFORE THE 9/11 ATTACKS, AND some of the 9/11 hijackers will pass through there and visit him (see Early-Late June, 2001). It is not known what action US intelligence takes in response to this briefing.”

If the previous history is anything to go by - they did zip.

Early 2000-December 2001:

Al-Zarqawi Operates Independent Militant Training Camp in Afghanistan -

In early 2000, Islamist militant leader MUSAB ABU AL_ZARQAWI starts a new training camp in Afghanistan, near the town of Herat. Osama bin Laden reportedly does not like him, but AL-ZARQAWI gets some help from al-Qaeda leader SAIF AL-ADEL, who serves as a liaison between al-Zarqawi and al-Qaeda.

His [AL ZARQAWI] camp starts with only a dozen or so followers, but it rapidly grows and eventually numbers several thousand. His group consists mostly of JORDANIANS and SYRIANS, and is HELPED BY LINKS TO THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

According to the Atlantic Monthly, bin Laden repeatedly asks al-Zarqawi to come to him and take an oath of allegiance, but each time al-Zarqawi refuses. “Under no circumstances did [al-Zarqawi] want to become involved in the battle between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban. He also did not believe that either bin Laden or the Taliban was serious enough about jihad.”

But in October 2001, the US begins bombing Afghanistan, and al-Zarqawi’s camp is targeted. He is reportedly wounded in the chest when a ceiling falls on him. But in December 2001, he manages to escape to Iran with about 300 followers and is based there for several months while regrouping. [Atlantic Monthly, 6/8/2006]

April 2001:

Al-Qaeda Intelligence Intercepts Lead to Closure of Al Taqwa’s Bahamas Branch -

The charters of the Bahamas branch of the Al TAQWA BANK and the related AKIDA BANK are revoked. Al Taqwa’s headquarters in Switzerland will be shut down after 9/11 following accusations that it helped fund al-Qaeda and other Islamist militant groups (see November 7, 2001). [Randal, 2005, pp. 225]

The US Treasury Department will later state that the BAHAMAS branch of “Al Taqwa and Akida Bank are not functional banking institutions in the conventional sense. They are shell companies lacking a physical presence and sharing the same address in the Bahamas where they were licensed.” [US Department of the Treasury, 8/29/2002] Press reports at the time say the closure is the result of Jordanian, French, and US intelligence reports indicating al-Qaeda money coming from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates had been channeled through Al Taqwa. [Forward, 10/17/2003]

Journalist Jonathan Randal will later note that US intelligence on Al Taqwa was solid enough before 9/11 to lead to this closure. “Egyptian, US, and other Western specialists had long suspected this well-known Muslim Brotherhood bank had ties to al-Qaeda as well as to radical Algerian, Egyptian, and Palestinian Islamist groups.

One persistent rumor suggested Osama had been bugged telephoning the bank in Nassau, [Bahamas,] in 1996 to discuss rearranging his finances at the time of his departure from Khartoum, [Sudan.]” [Randal, 2005, pp. 225]

So, why didn’t they shut-down the money flow? Again, there are some whose goals coincide with the Muslim Brotherhood.

August 16, 2001:

Roommate Interview Strengthens Case against Moussaoui -

Hours after Zacarias Moussaoui is taken into custody in Minnesota, his friend and roommate Hussein al-Attas is interviewed by the FBI. The two men had recently driven together to Minnesota from Oklahoma (see August 10-11, 2001).

According to a summary of the interview written at the time, “Al-ATTAS indicated that MOUSSAOUI believes that it is acceptable to KILL CIVILIANS who harm Muslims and that he approves of martyrs.”

Al-Attas says Moussaoui talked about HOLY WAR every day when they roomed together.

When asked if he had ever heard Moussaoui make a plan to kill those who harm Muslims, “Al-Attas admit[s] that he may have heard him do so, but that because it is not in [al-Attas’] own heart to carry out acts of this nature, he claimed that he kept himself from actually hearing and understanding.”

Al-Attas says Moussaoui holds strong anti-American views and might be willing to act on his beliefs.

Al-Attas describes Moussaoui as so secretive that he refuses to give his full name, identifying himself only as “Shaqil.”

He also says that Moussaoui told him “true” Muslims must prepare themselves to fight and they should understand the suffering of Muslims in places like PALESTINE and KOSOVO.

He mentions that he and Moussaoui are carrying fighting gloves and shin guards to practice martial arts as part of Moussaoui’s philosophy that Muslims should be ready to fight nonbelievers.

He has not heard Moussaoui mention any specific terrorist plot, but says that Moussaoui “is suspicious to me, too.”
FBI agents interview al-Attas again the following day, then charge him with violating the terms of his student visa by working at a mosque in Oklahoma, and arrest him.

During the second interview, al-Attas says that Moussaoui follows the teachings of a sheikh whose name he would not disclose to him (see August 17, 2001). The agents contact FBI supervisors in Washington to seek approval to get a warrant to search Moussaoui’s computer. The supervisors are aware of what al-Attas said in the interview, but nevertheless they tell the Minnesota FBI agents that they do not want to attempt to get the warrant because it has not been shown that Moussaoui is an agent of a foreign power.

The New York Times will note that the content of al-Attas’ interview “raise[s] new questions about whether top [FBI] officials… were aggressive enough in responding to that information.” [Washington Post, 1/31/2002; New York Times, 5/24/2002; Associated Press, 3/21/2006]

Al-Attas will be arrested shortly after 9/11 and held as a material witness. He will later plead guilty to lying about Moussaoui. He lied in claiming that he did not know Moussaoui’s real name, lied about plans to go with Moussaoui to New York City in late August 2001, lied about Moussaoui’s desire to participate in holy war, and lied about a planned trip to speak to religious scholars who would encourage al-Attas to participate in holy war.

He will be sentenced to time served, but will be kept imprisoned until the conclusion of Moussaoui’s trial in 2006 (see March 6-May 4, 2006). [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 7/22/2002; Associated Press, 10/22/2002]

It is also later revealed that Moussaoui had recently convinced al-Attas to fight in CHECHNYA in order to prepare for holy war. [Wall Street Journal, 2/4/2002]

Furthermore, the person who attempts to post bond for al-Attas had been the subject of a full-field FBI international terrorism investigation in OKALHOMA. This unnamed person was a recruiter for a radical Palestinian group and a member of the MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. [US Congress, 7/24/2003]

In post-9/11 media accounts, al-Attas is generally portrayed as someone who had been innocently and accidentally caught up with Moussaoui. But it appears that in the weeks before 9/11, US intelligence will consider the possibility that al-Attas may have been plotting with Moussaoui. For instance, a CIA cable that will be sent on August 24 is titled “Subjects Involved in Suspicious 747 Flight Training,” (see August 24, 2001) one that will be sent on August 28 has Moussaoui and al-Attas’ names as the title. [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 7/22/2002; Associated Press, 10/22/2002; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 540]

More “bumbling” or another coverup by the FBI Supervisors?!

August 23, 2001:

FBI Agents Visit Moussaoui’s Former Flight School; Fail to Make Connections

Two agents from the Oklahoma City FBI office visit Airman Flight School in Norman, OKLAHOMA, to learn about Zacarias MOUSSAOUI’s training there earlier in the year. One of these agents had visited the same school in September 1999 to learn more about IHAB ALI, an al-Qaeda agent who trained there in 1993.

APPARENTLY, THIS AGENT FORGETS THE CONNECTION WHEN HE VISITS THE SCHOOL TO LOOK INTO MOUSSAOUI. HE LATER ADMITS HE SHOULD HAVE CONNECTED THE TWO CASES. [Boston Globe, 9/18/2001; US Congress, 7/24/2003, pp. 322]

The staff director of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry later states, “No one will ever know whether a greater focus on the connection between these events would have led to the unraveling of the September 11 plot.” [New York Daily News, 9/25/2002]

The Oklahoma City office also does not connect Moussaoui to a memo that had come from its office in May 1998 warning that “large numbers of Middle Eastern males” were receiving flight training in Oklahoma and could be planning terrorist attacks (see May 15, 1998).

Furthermore, Moussaoui’s Oklahoma roommate Hussein al-Attas is also under suspicion at this time (see August 16, 2001). One of the people who attempted to post bond for al-Attas, WILLIAM WEBB, had previously been the subject of an extensive investigation by the same Oklahoma City FBI office.

Webb is a member of the extremist group the Muslim Brotherhood and is also Vice President of Overseas Operations and Recruiting for the Palestinian group Fatah. Further, Webb is connected to ANWAR AL AULAQI, an imam who has frequent ties with some of the 9/11 hijackers and is suspected of involvement in the 9/11 plot (see March 2001 and After).

Al Aulaqi was the subject of an FBI counterterrorism inquiry the year before (see June 1999-March 2000). These connections are also not noticed. [US Congress, 7/24/2003, pp. 322; US Department of Justice, 11/2004, pp. 134-5 pdf file; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 pdf file]

I don’t believe they’re the “keystone cops” so obviously there was something else going on...facilitated comes to mind thereagain maybe they are that idiotic...I’d feel a lot safer with regular people who have more COMMON SENSE in their pinkie than ten educational degrees.

November 7, 2001:

Al Taqwa Bank Shut Down

Italian police raid Youssef Nada’s villa in Lugano, Italy.Italian police raid Youssef Nada’s villa in Lugano, Italy. [Source: Keystone]

The US and other countries announce the closure of the Al Taqwa Bank and the Al Barakaat financial network. President Bush says,

“Al Taqwa and Al Barakaat raise funds for al-Qaeda. They manage, invest and distribute those funds.”

US officials claim that both entities skimmed a part of the fees charged on each financial transaction it conducted and paid it to al-Qaeda. This would provide al-Qaeda with tens of millions of dollars annually. Additionally, Al Taqwa would provide investment advice and transfer cash for al-Qaeda. Al Taqwa is based in Switzerland while Al Barakaat is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Over 100 nations are said to be cooperating with efforts to block the funds of these two groups. [New York Times, 11/8/2001]

Swiss authorities raid Al Taqwa-related businesses and the homes of bank leaders Youssef Nada, Ali Himmat, and Ahmad Huber, but no arrests are made.

In January 2002, Nada will announce that the Al Taqwa Bank is shutting down, due to bad publicity after the raids. He will maintain that he and his organization are completely innocent. [Newsweek, 11/7/2001; Reuters, 1/10/2002]

Days after 9/11, Huber called the 9/11 attacks “counterterror against American-Israeli terror,” the World Trade Center a “the Twin Towers of the godless,” and the Pentagon “a symbol of Satan,” yet he will claim to have no ties to the attackers. [Playboy, 2/1/2002; Newsweek, 3/18/2002]

In searching Nada’s house, Swiss authorities discover a document entitled “THE PROJECT,” which is a strategic plan for the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate and defeat Western countries (see December 1982).

By late 2002, both the US and UN will declare Al Taqwa Bank, Nada, and Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, another founder and director of the bank, supporters of terrorism. All of their accounts will be declared frozen worldwide. [US Department of the Treasury, 8/29/2002] However, while Al Taqwa itself will be shut down, later reports will indicate that other financial entities operated by the directors will continue to operate freely (see June-October 2005).”

<<<<<“Al Taqwa and Al Barakaat raise funds for al-Qaeda. They manage, invest and distribute those funds.”

US officials claim that both entities skimmed a part of the fees charged on each financial transaction it conducted and paid it to al-Qaeda.>>>>>

That’s exactly what the global-planners do with our money. Did any of the people from those banks go to jail? NO! Do any of the global-planners go to jail? NO!

December 4, 2001:

Holy Land Foundation Shut Down -

The Holy Land Foundation is shut down and its assets are seized. Holy Land claimed to be the largest Muslim charity in the US. It claimed to raise millions for Palestinian refugees and denied any support for terrorism.

In justifying the move, the US government presents evidence of ties between the Holy Land and Hamas. Much of this evidence dates back to 1993; the Associated Press titles a story on the closure, “Money Freeze A Long Time Coming.” [Associated Press, 12/5/2001]

Holy Land offices in San Diego, California; Paterson, New Jersey; and Bridgeview, Illinois, are also raided. [CNN, 12/4/2001] The indictment says Holy Land has been “deeply involved with a network of MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ORGANIZATIONS dedicated to furthering the Islamic fundamentalist agenda espoused by Hamas.” [Washington Post, 9/11/2004]

Holy Land is represented by the powerful law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. THREE PARTNERS AT AKIN, GUMP ARE VERY CLOSE TO PRESIDENT BUSH:

George Salem chaired Bush’s 2000 campaign outreach to Arab-Americans; BARNETT “Sandy” KRESS was appointed by Bush as an “unpaid consultant” on education reform and has an office in the White House; and JAMES LANGDON is one of Bush’s closest Texas friends. [Boston Herald, 12/11/2001; Washington Post, 12/17/2001]

The leaders of Holy Land will be charged with a variety of crimes in 2002 and 2004 (see December 18, 2002-April 2005).

Early 2002-January 2003:

Syrian Government Helps US with Al-Qaeda Intelligence until US Cuts Off Relationship Because of Iraq War Priority -

By early 2002, SYRIA emerges as one of the CIA’s MOST EFFECTIVE INTELLIGENCE SOURCES on al-Qaeda. Syria is one of seven countries on a State Department list of sponsors of terrorism. It has been on that list since 1979, mostly because of its support for Hezbollah combating Israel.

But Syria is also an OPPONENT OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, AND al-QAEDA has MANY CONNECTIONS TO THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, especially its Syrian branch.

According to journalist Seymour Hersh in New Yorker magazine,

“The Syrians had compiled hundreds of files on al-Qaeda, including dossiers on the men who participated—and others who wanted to participate—in the September 11th attacks. Syria also penetrated al-Qaeda cells throughout the Middle East and in Arab exile communities throughout Europe.”

It appears Syrian intelligence may even have penetrated the HAMBURG CELL TIED TO THE 9/11 plot, as hijacker Mohamed Atta and other cell members, such as MOHAMMED HYDAR ZAMMER, OCCASIONALLY WORKED AT A GERMAN FIRM CALLED TATES TRADING, which was infiltrated by Syrian intelligence (see September 10, 2002-June 2003).

For a time, the Syrians give much of what they know to the CIA and FBI. A former State Department official says, “Up through January of 2003, the cooperation was top-notch. Then we were going to do Iraq, and some people in the [Bush] administration got heavy-handed. They wanted Syria to get involved in operational stuff having nothing to do with al-Qaeda and everything to do with Iraq. It was something Washington wanted from the Syrians, and they didn’t want to do it.” Hersh reports, “The collapse of the liaison relationship has left many CIA operatives especially frustrated. ‘The guys are unbelievably pissed that we’re blowing this away,’ a former high-level intelligence official told me. ‘There was a great channel… The Syrians were a lot more willing to help us, but they’—[Defense Secretary] Rumsfeld and his colleagues—“want to go in [Syria after the Iraq war].’” [New Yorker, 7/18/2003]

They get information and don’t use it, so, what’s their real beef one might wonder.

International officials knew 9/11 was brewing

Evidence that may be used in terror trials suggests signals were there.

December 01, 2009

There is evidence that officials at high levels in Syria, Germany and even inside the Central Intelligence Agency had information about the 9/11 terror hijackers’ hatred for Americans and their desire to attack the U.S. before the mass murders were carried out, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Evidence suggests that authorities may not have known the specific plans to hijack passenger jets and turn them into flying torpedoes but THEY KNEW SOMETHING WAS DEVELOPING.

And some of the information, heretofore not even provided to the 9/11 commission, known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, could become available to defense attorneys for the civilian court trials Attorney General Eric Holder has planned for the confessed terrorists in New York, just blocks from where nearly 3,000 people were killed.

The INFORMATION COULD BE EMBARRASSING FOR BOTH THE US AND GERMANY, and also could create ripples through the intelligence community because of the security classifications assigned to information involving LINKS FROM GERMANY TO SYRIA TO SPAIN TO SAUDI ARABIA AND THE US.

The G2 Bulletin has uncovered evidence of LINKS BETWEEN AL-QAIDA OPERATIVES FROM SYRIA, SPAIN, AND SAUDI ARABIA, THE SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND A CELL OF TERRORISTS IN HAMBURG, GERMANY, WHERE THE 9/11 HIJACKERS PLANNED THEIR ATTACK ON THE U.S.

The ties date back to AS EARLY AS 1986, as revealed by former CIA operative BOB BAER in his book “Sleeping with the Devil.”

The 9/11 hijackers are documented to have had a SERIES OF CONTACTS WITH A CIA OPERATIVE AS WELL AS THE SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD.

The links span the globe and involve a wide range of individuals, officials and corporations. But they revolve around Hamburg.

At least one Hamburg-area company, TATEX TRADING, is believed to have been A FRONT FOR THE SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD CONNECTIONS.

This concern is supported by the fact that MOHAMED AJID SAID, A FORMER DIRECTOR OF SYRIA’S GENERAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE from 1987 to 1994, was a SHAREHOLDER of the Hamburg company OWNED BY STRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMBER ABDEL MATIN TATARI.

In addition to Tatex, Tatari also owned a second company, TRIPLE-B TRADING. Both Tatex and Triple-B were listed as export-import companies. Triple-B stands for the names of the three principal owners from SAUDI ARABIA.

The owners are Adel Abdul Jalil Batterjee, a friend of Osama bin Laden and chairman of both the al-Shamal Islamic Bank and the Saudi charity organization World Assembly of Muslim Youth; Mohammad Bahareth of the Saudi construction conglomerate Bahareth Organization; and Hassan Bahfzallah.

BATTERJEE was associated with Enaam M. Arnaout through the U.S.-SANCTIONED CHARITY Benevolence International Foundation.

ARNAOUT, who was convicted in the U.S. of terrorism, also is a member of the SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. He had DIRECT TIES TO FELLOW SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMBER MOHAMMAD ZAMMAR, CREATOR OF THE 9/11 WOULD-BE HIJACKER CELL IN HAMBURG.

German officials were monitoring the interactions and believe that the Syrian intelligence service tried to control the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood members in Hamburg, including those who would become the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Further, prior to 9/11, a known CIA operative had obtained information from federal German counter-terrorism officials monitoring the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood members.
Read more: International officials knew 9/11 was brewing http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=117631#ixzz1DFZim9qs

And the CIA blamed Bush...

March 20, 2002:

SAAR Network Is Raided

Scores of federal agents raid 14 entities in a cluster of more than 100 homes, charities, think tanks, and businesses in HERNDON, Virginia, a town just outside of Washington with a large Muslim population. NO ARRESTS ARE MADE AND NO ORGANIZATIONS ARE SHUT DOWN, but over 500 boxes of files and computer files are confiscated, FILLING SEVEN TRUCKS.

This group of interlocking entities is widely known as the SAAR network (it is also sometimes called the Safa Group). SAAR stands for Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, a SAUDI BANKER AND BILLIONAIRE WHO LARGELY FUNDED THE GROUP BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 1980s (see July 29, 1983).

He is said to be CLOSE TO THE SAUDI RULING FAMILY AND IS ON THE GOLDEN CHAIN, A LIST OF EARLY AL-QAEDA SUPPORTERS (see 1988-1989). [New York Times, 3/21/2002; Farah, 2004, pp. 152; Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004]

The name and address of Salah al-Rajhi, Suleiman’s brother, was discovered in 1998 in the telephone book of Wadih El-Hage (see September 15, 1998). El-Hage was bin Laden’s personal secretary and was convicted of a role in the 1998 US embassy bombings. [New York Times, 3/25/2002]

The raids are said to be primarily led by DAVID KANE, a Customs agent working with a Customs investigation started just after 9/11 code-named OPERATION GREENQUEST. Many of the organizations are located at an office building at 555 Grove Street in Herndon. Kane writes in an affidavit for the raid that many organizations based there are “paper organizations” which “dissolve and are replaced by other organizations under the control of the same group of individuals.” [New York Times, 3/21/2002; Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004]

Investigators appear to be primarily interested in the CONNECTIONS BETWEEN the SAAR NETWORK and the Al TAQWABANK, a Swiss bank closed after 9/11 on suspicions of funding al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups (see November 7, 2001).

They are ALSO INTERESTED IN CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BOTH SAAR AND AL-TAQWA AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD(see December 1982).

According to author Douglas Farah, “US officials [later say] they had tracked about $20 million from [SAAR] entities flowing through NADA’s BANK al Taqwa, but said the total could be much higher. The ties between Nada and [SAAR] leaders were many and long-standing, as were their ties to other [Muslim] Brotherhood leaders.… For a time, Suleiman Abdel Aziz al-Rajhi, the SAAR Foundation founder, worked for Nada” at Al Taqwa’s LIECHTENSTEIN BRANCH. [New York Times, 3/25/2002; Farah, 2004, pp. 154-155]

Organizations and individuals targeted by the raid include:

YAQUB MIRZA. He is the director of virtually all of the organizations targeted in the raid. The Wall Street Journal claims, “US officials privately say Mr. Mirza and his associates also have connections to al-Qaeda and to other entities officially listed by the US as sponsors of terrorism.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/18/2002; Wall Street Journal, 12/6/2002]

The SAAR Foundation or the Safa Trust, an umbrella group for the SAAR network. The SAAR Foundation had recently disbanded and reformed as the Safa Trust. [New York Times, 3/21/2002; Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2002; Washington Post, 10/7/2002]

Hisham Al-Talib, who served as an officer of the SAAR Foundation and Safa Trust, had previously been an officer of firms run by Youssef Nada. Nada is one of the main owners of the Al Taqwa Bank. [Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2002]

MAR-JAC Poultry Inc., an Islamic chicken processor with operations in rural GEORGA. [Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004]

Jamal Barzinji. An officer of Mar-Jac and other organizations targeted in the raid, he had previously been involved with Nada’s companies. [Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2002]

The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). [New York Times, 3/21/2002]

The Muslim World League. It is considered to be a parent organization for the IIRO. [New York Times, 3/21/2002]
bullet International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIRT). The IIRT had been under investigation since at least 1998. [New York Times, 3/21/2002]

Tarik Hamdi, an employee at IIRT. His home is also raided. He carried a battery for a satellite phone to Afghanistan in early 1998, and the battery was used for Osama bin Laden’s phone (see May 28, 1998). [New York Times, 3/21/2002]

ABDURAHMAN ALAMOUDI, a TOP MUSLIM LOBBYIST who formerly worked for one of the SAAR organizations (AND COURTED BY BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON). His nearby home is raided. The search yields a memo on large transactions involving Hamas, operations against the Israelis, and the notation “Met Mousa Abu Marzouk in Jordan.” Marzouk is a Hamas leader believed to be involved in fundraising for Hamas in the US for many years (see July 5, 1995-May 1997). Alamoudi is alleged to be a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. [Wall Street Journal, 6/21/2004]

SAMIR SALAH, an EGYPTIAN-BORN PRESIDENT OF THE PIEDMONT TRADING CORPORATION, which is PART OF THE SAAR NETWORK. He is also a former director and treasurer of the Al Taqwa Bank’s important Bahamas branch. Additionally, he was a founder of a Bosnian charity reportedly connected to a plot to blow up the US embassy in Bosnia. [New York Times, 3/25/2002]

IBRAHIM HASSABELLA. He is a shareholder of the SAAR Foundation and also a former secretary of the Al Taqwa Bank. [New York Times, 3/25/2002] Investigators will later find that much of SAAR’s MONEY SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR INTO OFFSHORE BANK ACCOUNTS. For instance, in 1998, SAAR claimed to have moved $9 million to a charity based in the tax haven of the Isle of Man, but investigators will find no evidence the charity existed.

One US official involved in the probe will say of SAAR, “Looking at their finances is like looking into a black hole.” [Washington Post, 10/7/2002]

In 2003, it will be reported that US investigators are looking into reports that the director of the SAAR foundation for most of the 1990s stayed in the same hotel as three of the 9/11 hijackers the night before the 9/11 attacks (see September 10, 2001).

Some US investigators had looked into the SAAR network in the mid-1990s, but the FBI BLOCKED THE INVESTIGATION’S PROGRESS. (see 1995-1998).

A lot of treason going on and in very high places.

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