German Secret Service: U.S. Warned of 9/11 Attack

guardian.co.uk/usa/ ^ | Jan 24, 2004 | Ben Aris

[CMClay]

German Trial Hears How Iranian Agent
  Warned U.S. of Impending al-Qaida Attack
  By Ben Aris
  The Guardian

  Saturday 24 January 2004

  The United States was warned of impending September 11 terrorist attacks by an Iranian spy, but ignored him, German secret service agents testified yesterday in the trial of an alleged al-Qaida terrorist.

  The spy, identified as Hamid Reza Zakeri, tried to warn the CIA after leaving Iran in 2001, but was not believed, two German officers who interviewed him told the Hamburg court.

  Zakeri worked in the department of the Iranian secret services responsible for "carrying out terrorist attacks globally", one of the officers said. Prosecutors called the spy as a surprise witness against a Moroccan man, Abdelghani Mzoudi, who is on trial for being a key aide to three of the September 11 hijackers.

  He is said to have handled money, covered for absences by members of the al-Qaida cell based in Hamburg and trained in an Afghan al-Qaida camp himself. He is charged with 3,066 counts of aiding and abetting murder, one for each of the victims of the New York and Washington suicide attacks.

  Mzoudi is one of a clutch of suspected al-Qaida operatives being held around the world.

  Iran said for the first time yesterday it was planning to try a dozen suspects who have been detained in the country. The Bush administration, which has accused Iran of harbouring al-Qaida militants, countered by saying Tehran should send the suspects to their home countries for judgment.

  The US has long suspected that the detainees slipped into Iran from neighbouring Afghanistan following the American-led invasion in 2001. We want to see action, and the action we want to see is that they turn over those al- Qaida members in their custody to their country of origin," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

  Western intelligence officials believe that among the Iran-held figures could be an Egyptian, Saif al-Adel, the security chief of Osama bin Laden's network. A son of Bin Laden and a spokesman for the network chief could also be in Iran, Saudi sources said.

  The testimony at the Hamburg trial could heap more embarrassment on the US state department and secret services, which have denied allegations that they were forewarned of the attacks.

  The White House and US intelligence agencies have been plagued by accusations of a catastrophic failure since the four planes were hijacked to such devastating effect in 2001.

[archy]

Which German *secret service* agency? The BND at Pullach?

-archy-/-

[jnarcus]

Ah once again a vague threat of carrying out terrorist attacks globally....that's not very specific and certainly didn't say Hey planes into buildings sometime in September by a bunch of Saudis...For years we have received these warnings how can anyone know exactly when and where with these types of statements????

[archy]

Which German *secret service* agency? The BND at Pullach?

-archy-/-

[Eastbound]

Exactly! I've heard many reports of pre-warnings, but not one of them had the three elements necessary to prevent the attacks. When, Where, and How. It would have been near impossible to prevent the attacks if even one element were missing.

[Calvin Locke]

I've heard many reports of pre-warnings,

I get annoyed at the post-attack pre-warnings myself. Or maybe its the claims of pre-warnings posted post-attack that annoys me.

[Mike Darancette]

The United States was warned of impending September 11 terrorist attacks by an Iranian spy, but ignored him, German secret service agents testified yesterday in the trial of an alleged al-Qaida terrorist.

If I remember correctly this came out within days of 9-11. Seems that this Iranian guy was about to be deported by the Germans and he told the Germans about the Cell. The Germans told the CIA but said the Iranian was not to be believed so we didn't.

[My Dog Likes Me]

I tend to believe Germans when it comes to intelligence matters.

Remember the character in the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora!," - the U.S. Navy commander. The poor guy spent half the movie running around trying to make people believe him that something bad was about to happen.

I'm sure that there is a mid-level career guy at CIA much like this navy commander. We'll have to wait for his book. Oops, they can't write books after retirement.

[Eastbound]

Dittos. I think we lost a couple of posters because of their constant assertion that Bush had pre-warnings, but they were not able to substantiate the warnings had the three elements. Mattered not to them. It was, 'BUSH KNEW, BUSH KNEW, BUSH KNEW,' ad nauseum. There are even some dumb dems who are still spouting this.

[Jaysun]

This is ridiculous. What if we find out a few months from now that there was a crumpled napkin found in President Bush's waste basket that had, "ATTACK AGAINST USA ON 9/11/01" scribbled across it in lipstick? So what? All of the unclear and vague "warnings" in the world are meaningless. For the DEMS to constantly suggest that the President was somehow negligent or in any way involved is demented. If that brainsick dullard Ted Kennedy goes into one more sozzled harangue and lets another false accusation roll past his whiskey soaked tongue and into the airwaves, I'm driving to D.C. to kick him in his soiled trousers.

[fire_eye]

"sozzled harangue"... "whiskey-soaked tongue..." LMFAO

[Jaysun]

Cause I think a warning like the kind you suggest would be very damning indeed, considering no precautions were taken.

I'm being dramatic with my example. Some Democrats are suggesting that the White House knew that the attacks were going to take place. They insinuate that the President "let it happen". Even if my example were true, what kind of precautions could have been taken? Ground all planes? We had no idea that they were going to use planes on New York and the Pentagon.

[longjack]

There was a thread last week about this issue, here:

FreeRepublic....Germany Delays 9/11 Verdict, New Witness Found"

longjack