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.