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Clinton FBI Rejected Would-Be 9/11 Hijacker's Confession Before Attack
Sunday Times of London ^
| May 9, 2004
| Christina Lamb
Posted on 05/10/2004 9:22:06 PM PDT by AJFavish
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-523-1103315,00.html
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The Times of London
May 09, 2004
Briton trained as 9/11 hijacker
Christina Lamb
A FORMER waiter in a Manchester curry house was recruited by Al-Qaeda and trained as a hijacker in preparation for the September 11 attacks.
The British Muslim was enlisted at a mosque in Oldham and attended terrorist training school in Pakistan. But he had second thoughts about his suicide mission as he flew to America and surrendered to the police after gambling away thousands of pounds given to him by Al-Qaeda.
The FBIs counter-terrorism taskforce questioned the 29-year-old man for three weeks at Newark, New Jersey, in the spring of 2000. There, agents refused to believe his claim that terrorists were planning to fly passenger jets into buildings, even though he passed lie detector tests.
[more of story at Times of London Web site]
Second Story:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,2-523-1103398,00.html
May 09, 2004
Gambling habit led Briton into deadly clutches of Al-Qaeda
Christina Lamb
THE disastrous journey that led a waiter at a curry house in Manchester to the United States to hijack a plane for Al-Qaeda began not in a mosque but at a roulette table.
Every night when we closed up at the Sher Khan, we would drive around the casinos, he said.
One night I thought I would go in with the others to see what it was like.
His decision that rainy Manchester night seven years ago was one that he believes he will always regret. Soon he was gambling almost every night and ran up debts that allowed Al-Qaeda to recruit him with an offer to pay them off.
He now believes that had he not given himself up to the FBI in 2000, he would have become the only British hijacker among those who crashed planes in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, killing nearly 2,800 people.
[more of story at Times of London Web site]
Regards,
Allan J. Favish
http://www.allanfavish.com
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 911; 911hijacker; alqaeda; clinton; fbi; missedopportunity
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To: Preachin'
He was approached at his local mosque by a recruiter who offered him money in return for carrying out a job. He accepted, even when he realised what was involved.
If your life has no colour and a mullah says you can be a hero by dying, why not? he said. I think there are a lot of frustrated Muslim youths in Britain who feel the same way.
He travelled to Lahore, where he was taught how to carry out a hijacking and familiarised with the inside of a Boeing cockpit. I knew they wanted me to do some kind of operation in which I would die but my life was such a mess that in my mind I was already dead, he said.
At that time if they had told me to strap a bomb to my body and blow myself up I would have done it as easily as taking a glass of water to drink, he added.
On his return to Britain, he was given a further £5,000 and sent to New York, where he was told he would be met at the airport.
But he had got married and during the flight thoughts of his wife and baby helped to change his mind. He gave his contact the slip and instead of going through with his mission, he took a bus to Atlantic City, where he lost his money in casinos and then gave himself up.
21
posted on
05/11/2004 3:34:39 AM PDT
by
kcvl
To: blackdog
It also gives a fascinating insight into how Al-Qaeda recruits its members in Britain. Far from searching out the religious fanatics who might be known to the authorities, the terrorists talent-spotters frequent mosques to seek out those involved in petty crime or those who are in such trouble that they might feel their lives are not worth living. Al-Qaeda preys on these weaknesses.
The young man who had dreamt of becoming a cricketer but instead found himself drowning in debt was in many ways an ideal candidate. Short and mild-mannered, he has handsome, almost pretty, features and a British passport that allowed him to enter the United States with no visa.
Born in Burnley, Lancashire, the third of four children, he was still a baby when his family moved back to their home village near Attock in Pakistan. Not far away across the Indus River is the Haqqania madrasah, the religious school where many of the Taliban leadership studied.
His father, who described him as a quiet, well-behaved child, earned a living transporting goods and sent him to a secular school.
snip
Although he had never been religious, he often attended Friday prayers at Werneth mosque in Oldham. It had a radical new imam, Shafiq ur Rehman, and for the first time the unemployed waiter found himself listening.
He still has the tapes he recorded of diatribes against the sex-craving pig Bill Clinton and calls for Muslims to go to fight jihad in Kashmir or Afghanistan. Afterwards the mullah asked for money for the Taliban and everyone used to give money £2, £5, £10 which was sent to Karachi, he said. It used to be very open.
snip
We were taught all about the cockpit of a 767 plane, shown a model with all the switches and what they did. We were given some physical training about the best way to attack someone, and also some religious instruction about the situation in Afghanistan and other places.
snip
He was not considered dangerous and was never handcuffed. The agents even played cricket with him. We always felt he was a nice guy who got caught up in all of this, said the retired agent.
Had this been after September 11 it would have been very different. We would have put him in a maximum security prison.
His father was horrified when he received a phone call from the FBI to say they were holding his son. To this day, he says, he does not know who his son was mixed up with. They are very hard people, not like him, he added.
snip
On September 11, 2001 he switched on the television to see two planes flying into the World Trade Center. I felt terrible, he said. I was crying, watching it over and over again.
I am sure in my mind that was what I was supposed to be part of. What else could it be? I was perfect, I had a British passport so could fly straight to America, no questions asked.
He telephoned the FBI agents who had questioned him, using the numbers on their business cards: I left messages on their answerphones, saying how sorry I was.
snip
His wife, whose English is poor, still does not know about his involvement with Al-Qaeda. Last year their first son was born and the family lives in a shabby two-bedroom flat.
A pile of post includes overdue bills and summonses for court appearances about an irregularly sold van that was used in a hit-and-run accident. Last week he was arrested for allegedly stealing a car.
He insists that he is trying to make an innocent living. My missus says it doesnt matter, even if I only make £1 a week she doesnt care.
But if I was not married I think I could do very bad things. I guess I have had an escape, but I will never stop being scared they will come back for me.
22
posted on
05/11/2004 3:44:50 AM PDT
by
kcvl
To: onyx
He still has the tapes he recorded of diatribes against the sex-craving pig Bill Clinton and calls for Muslims to go to fight jihad in Kashmir or Afghanistan.
23
posted on
05/11/2004 4:01:58 AM PDT
by
kcvl
To: AJFavish; Sidebar Moderator
If this is two separate articles, can we have them split into two separate threads, and cross-linked?
Better for bookmarking, less chance of duplicate threads being posted, maybe?
To: AJFavish
BUMP!!!
25
posted on
05/11/2004 4:03:06 AM PDT
by
jmstein7
(Real Men Don't Need Chunks of Government Metal on Their Chests to be Heroes)
To: backhoe
bookmark bump
To: Howlin
Time for Bush to assemble a legit, nonpartisan 9-11 commission and roast some pig.
To: Howlin
BTTT
To: Howlin
I wonder how long it will take our "major media" and our "esteemed senators and representatives" and "the so-called 9/11 commission" to learn about this guy and his THREE-WEEK VACATION WITH THE FBI!
29
posted on
05/11/2004 4:36:49 AM PDT
by
maica
(Member of Republican Attack Machine, RAM, previously known as the VRWC)
To: Howlin; ALOHA RONNIE; RonDog
Morning bump...
30
posted on
05/11/2004 5:07:44 AM PDT
by
Libloather
(What REALLY repulses the Beast?)
To: AJFavish
So you suppose this information was included in "The Plan" that was handed over to President-elect Bush during the transition? Nah.
Surely this wil be included in Bill Clinton's book, right? In the especially long chapter where he "apologizes" and admits all his mistakes? Nah.
31
posted on
05/11/2004 5:13:13 AM PDT
by
arasina
(So there.)
To: Howlin
The Clinton legacy lives on and on.
...and he still thinks he didnt do anything wrong.
32
posted on
05/11/2004 5:44:35 AM PDT
by
Delta 21
(MKC USCG - ret)
To: Delta 21
"and he still thinks he didn't do anything wrong."
Unfortunately so does the mainstream media. Clinton can do no wrong and Bush can do no right.
33
posted on
05/11/2004 6:05:12 AM PDT
by
AngieGOP
To: Howlin
Thanks Howlin
34
posted on
05/11/2004 6:16:11 AM PDT
by
firewalk
To: AJFavish
bttt
35
posted on
05/11/2004 6:17:58 AM PDT
by
bitt
To: Liz
The Clintons were the biggest con artists ever to hold that office.And their most brainwashed loyal followers will always adore them!
The chap in this story sounds like a pretty pathetic creature. Too bad for his wife and child.
36
posted on
05/11/2004 6:19:56 AM PDT
by
ride the whirlwind
(And we will defend the peace that makes all progress possible. - George W. Bush)
To: windchime; Howlin
Howlin, I don't think any of us will live long enough to know all that X42's administration has done to put this country in jeopardy. I don't think I really want to know the depths of corruption that X42 sunk to. Really, I think I would be sick.
37
posted on
05/11/2004 6:49:30 AM PDT
by
iceskater
(No nation or state ever taxed itself into prosperity.)
To: Howlin
38
posted on
05/11/2004 7:05:11 AM PDT
by
MeekOneGOP
(There is ONLY ONE good Democrat: one that has just been voted OUT of POWER ! Straight ticket GOP!)
To: AJFavish; GummyIII
~speechless~
Will anything come out of this at all?
39
posted on
05/11/2004 7:22:26 AM PDT
by
Freedom2specul8
(Please pray for our troops.... http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/)
To: Howlin
Thanks I think.
40
posted on
05/11/2004 7:57:14 AM PDT
by
Ernest_at_the_Beach
(The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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