Al Qaeda again threatens America (Thread 3) Daily Terror Threat

Thanks for the link. I haven't figure out yet how to convert the link to the text of the title.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/traffic/traffic_breakingstory.html for Blasting Cap on Highway Story...

Another story from today regarding explosives...

PORTION OF INTERSTATE IN WYOMING CLOSED AFTER EXPLOSIVES FOUND 02/17/2004

Cheyenne, Wyoming (AP) -- A stretch of Wyoming interstate has been closed after explosives were discovered in a trailer.

Two men were arrested after police pulled over the driver of a sport utility vehicle for driving erratically. The S-U-V was pulling the trailer.

A state trooper called in a search dog after allegedly finding drugs. Traffic on Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne has been detoured while westbound traffic continues normally.

Police have given few details -- but they say the two men were just traveling through the state. They haven't said where the men were headed.
http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=16824

Pak Opposition questions pardon to Khan

V. Mohan Narayan

Islamabad, February 17

Questioning President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to grant pardon to Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan in “haste”, Opposition parties have said it raises several doubts about his intentions and asked the government to clarify.

Shooting questions during a debate in the Senate on the nuclear proliferation issue, PPP’s parliamentary leader Raza Rabbani asked why Khan was granted pardon in “such a haste” when government had at that stage stated that investigations have not been completed.

Rabbani’s remarks come close on the heels of comments by party chief Benazir Bhutto in US media that Khan was being made a “scapegoat” and pointed to the involvement of the army top brass in the clandestine transfer of nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.

Seeking to put the government on the mat, the Opposition members moved 10 adjournment motions on the issue.

Going through the developments following the sensational expose, Rabbani wanted to know why, the President had announced a pardon on February 5, government went about the damage control exercise saying it was conditional. Was it because of a telephone call Musharraf received from US Secretary of State Colin Powell on February 6? he asked.

The Opposition fired pointed queries under what provision of law the President had pardoned the nuclear scientist and why he had firmly declined to permit handing over documentary evidence collected against the scientists, thereby scuttling moves for independent investigation under UN supervision.

Opposition members wanted to know whether the statements made by Khan and others as also the findings of the probe team would be shared with the IAEA.

If the proliferation process was going on for over a decade, why had the USA imposed sanctions on the Kahuta Research Laboratories only last year? they asked.

While it was being made out that Khan and others had acted on financial considerations, the scientist in his televised speech made no reference to this and only spoke of “an error of judgment,” they pointed out.

In the lengthy debate, Rabbani sought the government’s explanation on why the first information report lodged against Khan had been kept in a sealed cover.

The Opposition members said the Government had to clear the air of suspicion both in Parliament and among the people. — PTI

Experts aghast at scale of Khan’s ‘nuke market’

Ashish Kumar Sen

WASHINGTON: It was the International Atomic Energy Agency, rather than the administration of President George W. Bush, that first put pressure on Pakistan to force Abdul Qadeer Khan to reveal his role in the nuclear-weapons proliferation network.

According to Newsweek, which reported the news yesterday, US officials had to swallow hard while Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf only mildly disciplined Dr Khan — dismissing him from his ceremonial role as adviser.

Following Dr Khan’s televised confession of his involvement in the proliferation racket, officials say the disgraced father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme passed on equipment and know-how to Iran and Libya, and made offers to Iraq and most recently, Syria. He also helped advance North Korea’s covert programme.

Nuclear experts are aghast at the magnitude of Dr Khan’s involvement in a nuclear weapons “black market” they believe extends from Switzerland to Japan and Dubai. Over 30 years, Dr Khan strung together what the IAEA Director, Gen Mohammed El Baradei, called “a veritable Wal-Mart” for nuclear-weapons buyers.

Newsweek quoted a senior US official as saying that Dr Khan’s role in destabilising the 21st century would “loom up there” with Hitler and Stalin’s impact on the 20th century. The rogue scientist even held nuclear-related symposiums. “The horse is out of the barn. At this point, we can’t stop the technology from spreading,” former Clinton aide Gary Samore told the magazine.

Earlier this month, Dr El Baradei admitted that considerable light on the global network had come from the IAEA’s ongoing verification of nuclear programmes in Iran and Libya.

“What we are seeing is a very sophisticated and complex underground network of black market operators not much different from organised crime cartels,” he said. “It is vital that we keep making progress in combined efforts against illicit trafficking, and to keep upgrading security to effectively prevent sensitive nuclear material and technology from falling into wrong hands.”

Despite this realisation, officials in Washington concede most of the Khan network’s key operatives are likely to escape punishment, saying that Dr Khan benefits from the delicate politics of the war on terror.

Noting that Pakistan, not Iraq, is probably the world’s most dangerous breeding ground for both weapons of mass destruction and terror, these officials point out that Pakistan is also a key US ally.

Incidentally, on November 7, 2001, BBC TV and the Guardian of London reported that the Bush administration had thwarted investigations of Dr Khan.

According to that report, the National Security Agency stymied the probe of Khan Research Laboratories. The Central Intelligence Agency and other agents could not investigate the spread of Islamic bombs through Pakistan because funding appeared to originate from Saudi Arabia.

Reporter Greg Palast says sources and documents given to him show the Bush administration “spike” of the investigation of Dr Khan’s lab followed from a wider policy of protecting key Saudi Arabians, including Osama bin Laden’s family. “The intelligence agencies had been told to ‘back off’ from investigations involving other members of the Bin Laden family, the Saudi royals, and possible Saudi links to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Pakistan,” Palast reported in the Guardian in 2001.

Meanwhile, Bukhari Sayed Abu Tahir, a Sri Lankan Muslim whom Mr Bush has called the “chief financial officer and money launderer” of Dr Khan’s network, appears to have been given a clean chit by Malaysian authorities.

A Malaysian Government official absolved Kuala Lumpur’s Scomi Precision Engineering plant, supposedly a supplier to Libya’s nuclear-weapons programme, saying that “the parts produced ... were of a generic nature.”

7 girl schools burnt in Pak

Gilgit (Pakistan), February 17

A group of armed men, angered over increasing activities of foreign-funded charity organisations, set fire to seven girls’ schools in northern Pakistan, damaging buildings and furniture, a government official said today.

Saeed Ahmed Khan, Home Secretary in Pakistan’s Northern Areas, said the attack yesterday did not injure anybody in Dyamir district, about 150 km east of Gilgit, because the schools were closed at the time.

“So far we only know that some local clerics incited people for the attack because they think these schools are being funded by foreign charity organisations to harm Islam,” he said.

Saeed gave no other details and only said they were still investigating.

Many hardline clerics in Pakistan’s remote tribal and scenic regions are against girls’ education. They are also against allowing charity organisations to work in their areas. — AP

A new alert regarding an IMMINENT terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia has been raised by international intelligence agencies...

On or about 12.26.2003 Sean stated unequivically that AQ was going to attempt to overthrow the Saudi government within the next 24 hours, and we had to let the Saudis know ASAP. The basis for his belief was something that EOM or Daleel wrote in a post on a BB that virtually no one reads. Sean was in a real panic over this. To the best of my knowledge, however, the House of Saud still stands. Yes, there have been terrorist incidents in the last seven weeks and I predict there will be more in the coming months and years. Don't ask for my source, just trust me on this: AQ will -- I repeat --- will -- commit one or more acts of terror in Saudi Arabia in the near future. How's that for going out on a limb?

Thanks for the link. I haven't figure out yet how to convert the link to the text of the title.

Paste the url in bewteen the following:

the less than symbol followed by a href="url">

and type in the less than symbol followed by font color="your desired color"greater than symbol

then type in or paste the title of the article followed by the less than symbol, backslash, the letter: A, and then greater than symbol.

Hope you can follow that.

"I fear he (Sean Osborne) may have been captured by Russian agents who have infiltrated the U.S., up to the Supreme Court, and who long ago hatched a plan to fake the downfall of the Soviet empire so that they could fulfill world domination in accordance with the Communist manifesto. (Its all there, you just have to read it).

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was to convince the world he does not exist.

I'm beginning to think this thread has outlived its usefulness. It's been nice talking to you all. Have fun.

Thank you but I was posting about the link to the article that freeperfromnj posted, not abc's.

Thanks. I'll give it try next time.

Sounds like Convertino is a loose canon:

Terror case prosecutor is probed on conduct
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

January 17, 2004

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible misconduct by the lead prosecutor in last year's terrorism trial in Detroit, a development that could force a new trial.

Department officials told the Free Press this week that U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins requested the investigation in November after discovering possible ethical violations involving the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino. The inquiry is being conducted by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions.

They said Collins told the department that Convertino:

Tried to persuade a pretrial services employee at U.S. District Court to dig up damaging confidential information about a federal prisoner, Omar Shishani, so Convertino could discredit him at the terrorism trial. Shishani testified that Convertino's star witness, Youssef Hmimssa, was lying about the defendants in the terrorism case.

Failed to inform another federal prosecutor before he approached a drug defendant to assist in the terrorism case. The other prosecutor wasn't aware of what Convertino had done until the man's lawyer asked for a reduction at sentencing, catching the other prosecutor off guard.

Withheld evidence that defense lawyers could have used to attack the credibility of Hmimssa's trial testimony. Then, he threatened to launch a baseless criminal investigation against the lawyer when the lawyer threatened to report Convertino's conduct to the judge.

Failed to get approval before arranging plea deals and sentence reductions for several criminal defendants. Collins wouldn't discuss the investigation.
Convertino said Collins and two of Collins' top assistants are trying to destroy his reputation and career.

"This is so untrue, one-sided and about as low as it gets," Convertino said Friday.

His lawyer, former federal prosecutor William Sullivan of Washington, D.C., said "Obviously, I can't comment on the existence of an OPR investigation. But to the extent such allegations exist, we categorically deny them as untrue and unsubstantiated.

"The fact that anyone would approach the media with information relating to the purported existence of such an investigation is highly suggestive of reprisal and retaliation. It's unethical, illegal and improper," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he is disturbed that the names of government informants were disclosed, jeopardizing their safety. He said he will request an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General.

Defense lawyers for the convicted terrorism defendants said the charges are alarming.

"If this all turns out to be true, then they've got a rogue prosecutor on their hands," said deputy federal defender Richard Helfrick, who is defending a suspect in the terror case.

He said the allegations, if proven, could affect whether the terrorism defendants get a new trial.

The allegations surrounding Convertino also raise questions about whether the terrorism case -- despite being a high-profile matter within the Justice Department -- was being monitored closely by people up the chain of command. A department lawyer sent from Washington last year to monitor the case said at a hearing last month that Convertino and his direct supervisor had frozen him out.

Controversial trial
The OPR, the internal affairs section of the Justice Department, will issue findings, which Collins can use in deciding whether to discipline Convertino. The discipline, if any, could range from a reprimand to dismissal. The OPR has asked Convertino to respond.

Convertino, 42, a prosecutor since 1990, was the lead prosecutor in last year's U.S. District Court trial in Detroit. Two men were convicted of conspiring to support terrorism. The Bush administration hailed the verdicts as a major victory in the war against terror.

The trial has produced controversy and acrimony.

Defense lawyers repeatedly complained that Convertino and his boss,Keith Corbett, head of the office's Organized Crime Strike Force Unit, concealed witnesses, held back evidence favorable to the defendants and engaged in other improper tactics that prevented the suspects from receiving a fair trial. The prosecutors denied doing anything wrong.

Corbett could not be reached for comment.

The trial judge, Gerald Rosen, criticized the prosecutors at a hearing last month for withholding evidence that defense lawyers might have used to impeach Hmimssa's credibility. Corbett's boss, Alan Gershel, chief of the criminal division, told Rosen that he had ordered Corbett to turn over the evidence. Corbett said he couldn't recall receiving such a directive. Rosen is expected to decide within weeks whether to order a new trial.

Collins removed Convertino and Corbett from the case in early September, just days before Convertino and Hmimssa testified before the Senate Finance Committee in Washington about document fraud. Insiders said Convertino failed to clear the trip with the Justice Department. It's rare for line prosecutors to address Congress.

Convertino saidhe received a subpoena from the committee on short notice and couldn't ignore it.

At the hearing, Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, praised Convertino as "a model public servant. And as far as I am concerned, you should be hailed as a hero." Grassley has accused Collins and Attorney General John Ashcroft of trying to retaliate against Convertino for appearing before the committee.

Collins hasn't responded publicly to Grassley's charges or explained why he removed the prosecutors from the case. This month, Convertino went to work for Grassley's Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control for up to a year. He remains on the Detroit office'spayroll.

Called a competitor
People who know Convertino describe him as a tough, no-nonsense, competitive prosecutor who is well-liked by federal agents. Defense lawyers say his determination to win has caused him to break court rules.

"I do not believe anyone in the United States Attorney's Office is attempting to ruin his reputation -- I think he's well on the road to accomplishing that himself," said Detroit lawyer Robert Morgan, a former federal prosecutor who won the only acquittal in the Detroit terrorism trial.

Morgan said Convertino's conduct "is in no sense representative of the other prosecutors in his office, who conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the highest professional standards."

Detroit criminal lawyer Steve Fishman added: "Nothing that comes out about his conduct surprises me because he believes in trial by ambush."

Last year, Fishman defended basketball star Chris Webber against charges of lying to a federal grand jury. Convertino prosecuted the case.

Officials said much of the OPR investigation focuses on Convertino's dealings with Marwan Farhat, 34, of Dearborn who was indicted in March 2001 on cocaine distribution charges.

Farhat, an illegal immigrant from Lebanon with two weapons convictions, spent nine months in custody awaiting trial in the drug casebefore Convertino arranged his release in December 2001 to become an informant in the terrorism case.

Farhat spent hundreds of hours at the U.S. Attorney's Office translating Arab tapes seized in a flat where three terror-case defendants lived. Officials said he also frequented bars in Dearborn to pick up information for terrorism investigators.

Sentencing in question
In exchange for Farhat's help, officials said, Convertino persuaded U.S. District Judge Julian Cook Jr. to sentence Farhat to nine months he already had served in prison rather than the 9 to 11 years called for by federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors almost never recommend reductions below half of the guideline range. Collins told the OPR that Convertino improperly calculated Farhat's sentence by failing to take into account all of the cocaine sales Farhat had made to agents or informants.

Convertino also persuaded Cook to forego three years of probation. Prosecutors and lawyers say it is virtually unheard of for defendants to be released without supervision.

Officials said Convertino also told Cook that he wanted to obtain a visa that would allow Farhat to stay in the United States.

At Farhat's closed-door sentencing in July 2003, officials said, Convertino justified his request for a lenient sentence by telling Cook that Farhat had turned his life around and provided invaluable assistance in the terrorism investigation.

Farhat told Cook that Convertino also had asked him to testify before Congress -- an indication that Convertino had been working with Grassley's committee at least two months before Convertino said he was subpoenaed at the last minute to testify.

Officials said Convertino failed to clear Farhat's plea deal with superiors, a procedure designed to ensure that sentence reductions are in the best interests of the United States.

They said Convertino also persuaded the Dearborn Police Department to seek the dismissal of felony charges in Wayne County Circuit Court against two defendants accused of beating a Dearborn physician outside his clinic in May 2000. Officials said Convertino told police he wanted to fold the case into a broader federal probe, but he never filed any federal charges. He also never told Cook that Farhat was a suspect in the beating, officials said.

The case was never prosecuted.

"Basically, you've got two people walking around who tried to murder a doctor and got away with it," one Justice Department official said.

Farhat's whereabouts are unknown.

Tactics scrutinized
Defense lawyers inthe terrorism trial said they weren't aware of Farhat's involvement.
"I'm astounded that with all of the interpreters they have on the payroll, they would turn to a suspect in a narcotic trafficking case to act as an interpreter," said Helfrick, the federal defender. Helfrick said he had always been led to believe that an FBI interpreter translated the tapes.

Another part of the OPR probe involves Convertino's dealings with Abed Makalda, 33, of Dearborn, who was indicted in December 2001 for allegedly conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Makalda, an illegal immigrant, pleaded guilty in September 2002 to a cocaine conspiracy charge and eventually was sentenced to 52 months in prison.

Justice Department officials said Convertino approached Makalda without telling Assistant U.S. Attorney William Sauget, who was handling Makalda'a case. It's unclear what services Makalda provided Convertino, but Sauget expressed surprise at sentencing when Makalda's lawyer asked the judge to impose a shorter sentence based on Makalda's "substantial assistance" in Convertino's terrorism case.

Sauget objected, saying Makalda had repeatedly lied to investigators about his own case, according to a transcript of the sentencing.

"Four attempts were made by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Adminstration) to debrief this individual, and four times he kept coming up with fairy tales," Sauget saidat Makalda's sentencing.

Sauget then made the kind of remark defense lawyers rarely hear from federal prosecutors. They said he told the sentencing judge that if Convertino ever called Makalda to testify, Sauget would provide defense lawyers with information to impeach Makalda's credibility.

Convertino told Rosen during a hearing last month that it is improper for one prosecutor to approach a defendant in another prosecutor's case without the other prosecutor's approval.

Contact DAVID ASHENFELTER at 313-223-4490 or ashenf@freepress.com.

Copyright © 2004 Detroit Free Press Inc.

Iron Eagle

Cal, where do you come up with this stuff? I'm sitting here, all alone, chuckling to myself, but the blinds are open and the lights are on, so I'm safe for now.

bookmark for later read

More Pearls of Wisdom from WhiteChristianCons

Most Israelies have also voiced concern regarding the use of excessive force by Israels military. Let's hope and pray that voices of reason within the Israelis government will listen and put an end to the killing in the ME. It is wanted so by the people and they must be heard.

Sounds like Convertino is a loose canon

LOL, perhaps his name should give us a clue Convertino.

I would rather YOU stay and the TROLLS go. We have been making progress, they make nothing more than excrement.

Thanks for keeping up with all of that.