Guantanamo Translator Had Hundreds of Secret Files

Reuters ^ | 10/15/03 | Greg Frost

[kattracks]

Wed October 15, 2003 01:07 PM ET

By Greg Frost

WORCESTER, Mass. (Reuters) - A civilian translator at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for al Qaeda and Taliban suspects had hundreds of documents labeled "secret" in his possession when he was arrested last month, an FBI agent said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors accused Ahmed Fathy Mehalba last month of lying to federal officials about classified information he was carrying when he arrived in the United States from Egypt, where he had been visiting relatives.

The arrest of Mehalba, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Egyptian descent, brought to three the number of people detained after being assigned to work at the U.S. naval base in Cuba where more than 650 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members are held without being charged.

At a probable cause hearing before a federal magistrate judge in Worcester, Massachusetts, FBI Special Agent John Van Kleeff testified that government computer experts had since determined that 368 of 725 files found on a computer disc in Mehalba's possession were labeled "secret."

Some of those 368 files were also labeled "secret/noforn" -- a security term that means no representative of a foreign government is allowed to see the contents, Van Kleeff told Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ricciuti.

Neither Van Kleeff nor Ricciuti described in more detail what information was contained in the "secret" files, which were found alongside personal documents, photographs and other files stored on one of more than 130 computer discs Mehalba was carrying when arrested at Boston's Logan International Airport.

Ricciuti submitted into evidence several security clearance forms indicating Mehalba was authorized to access classified information as part of his job at Guantanamo Bay, but was not authorized to travel with it.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Swartwood said he would determine by the end of the week whether there was probable cause for charging Mehalba, who is being held without bail.

Mehalba's attorney, Michael Andrews, said the translator has no idea how the information came to be stored on the disc.

[William McKinley]

String him up!

[Support Free Republic]

Hi mom!

[dead]

This will not stop until we start executing spies again.

What liberal dumbass ever managed to change that policy?

[george wythe]

Ricciuti submitted into evidence several security clearance forms indicating Mehalba was authorized to access classified information as part of his job at Guantanamo Bay, but was not authorized to travel with it.

Mehalba's attorney, Michael Andrews, said the translator has no idea how the information came to be stored on the disc.

The fact that his guy's stash was discovered by a random customs check, not the FBI, makes the "setup" argument more difficult to sell.

I'm still waiting for other shoes to drop. This conspiracy seems to be larger than anticipated

[holyscroller]

String him up twice! Once for good measure. (And hang him right beside the turncoat West Point graduate "chaplain.")

[Sacajaweau]

The guy has to have a trail...hoping we have it, too. Think we've been tailing these three dudes for a while. They're all inter-connected. Sounds like al queda. We're too damn trusting aren't we.

[Montfort]

"Prosecutors accused Ahmed Fathy Mehalba last month of lying to federal officials about classified information he was carrying when he arrived in the United States from Egypt, where he had been visiting relatives."

This is so outrageous it would be funny if lives were not at stake.

They hire people like this as translators for an important interrogation/detention operation? Are there so few non-Muslims who have studied Arabic and related langauges to a high level?

[AmericanInTokyo]

SHAME ON THE USA. WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING.

OK, ACTION ITEMS:

1) Immmediately re-emphasize the importance of FOREIGN LANGUAGES in curriculum from junior high school into university. No graduation without a second foreign language, fluent.

2) Phase out Islamist or immigrant Arab citizens who serve as translators of Arabic, Urdu, Pashtoon, Hindi, Farsi and other troublesome/hotspot areas languages, etc. for our intelligence agencies and military.

3) Begin crack intensive language immersion for thousands of US military and intelligence agents who are native born citizens who have long since proven their loyalty the othe United States.

Bottom Line: Do NOT make English translators out of immigrants or particularly Arabs/fundamentalist or even moderate Islams nor converts to Islam.

INSTEAD, make Middle East and South Asian language specialists out of native born, proven patriotic American citizens already in federal service.

We ramped up with the Monterey school, DLI, etc. during World War II to urgently teach Americans Japanese, Chinese, German, etc., we can do the same.

How in the hell can a native 'Merikan who does not know Arabic be able to double-check the translation quality, integrity and accuracy of Arabic language-based interviews and prisoner debriefings.

Sheesh. You would think we would have learned already, considering the global reach of America and how we are in the every nook and cranny worldwide spreading democracy, and accordingly wide open for attacks from our enemies, including this kind of clever, nefarious sabotage designed to make us look like abject retards.

[wildbill]

Mehalba's attorney, Michael Andrews, said the translator has no idea how the information came to be stored on the disc."

Not only no idea how the information came to be stored, but why he took it out of the country.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

What is very strange about this case is that the files were discovered on his computer (or disk) ON HIS WAY BACK FROM EGYPT. One would think, if he were involved in some nefarious plot to transfer these files to hostile hands that he would have flushed them after delivery, rather than BRINGING THEM BACK HOME where they could be discovered by a random inspection like this.

The whole thing smells a bit ripe to me. Might be enough to get him fried in an Islamanazi country, but I think his lawyer has a good basis for questioning the reasonableness of the government's case "prime facie" (unless something else less obviously questionable shows up - - - it could be, after all, that the guy is just a careless and/or incredibly arrogant espionage agent). So, he might be guilty, but "proved beyond a reasonable doubt"? I think they have a long way to go even on a "preponderance of the evidence" basis, other than sanctioning him for having authorized files, but in an unauthorized place. For that, even if he was just careless, the sanctions would be warranted.

[CyberAnt]

"the translator has no idea how the information came to be stored on the disc"

ROTFLOL!! It must have just jumped up on that disc when he wasn't looking.

[Choose Ye This Day]

A civilian translator at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for al Qaeda and Taliban suspects had hundreds of documents labeled "secret" in his possession when he was arrested last month, an FBI agent said on Wednesday.

Why is this FBI agent telling anyone about this? Is anyone else bothered by the fact that this Fibbie is spouting off to the media about evidence thus far collected in a possible espionage case? Does this puke of a translator not deserve a FAIR trial BEFORE we string him up? Shouldn't this wait until he gets before the grand jury?

Call me old fashioned, I still like the Rule of Law...