APRIL 1993 : (ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH MAY HAVE BEEN ORGANIZED BY IRAQI FAROUK HIJAZI) [Iraqi ambassador/ Mukhabarat Intelligence service director of internal affairs Farouk Hijazi] Hijazi... was the man the Washington believes organized the April 1993 assassination attempt on President Bush's father during a visit to Kuwait. - "COWED SYRIA YIELDS SADDAM'S SPY BOSS," by NILES LATHEM, New York Post, 4/26/03
DECEMBER 1998 : (BIN LADEN MEETS IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, FAROUK HIJAZI) Osama bin Laden reported to have met Farouk Hijazi, Iraqi’s ambassador to Turkey and an intelligence officer (Information from the Wisconian Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a Washington-based think tank. Gary Milhollin, its director and Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconian Law School, gave evidence to US International Relations Committee on 4 Oct 2001). http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:P4fOFA3WkHAC:www.atranaya.org/News/AIJ/AIJSep16a.htm+%22Information+from+the+Wisconian+Project+on+Nuclear+Arms+Control,+a+Washington-based+think+tank.+Gary+Milhollin,+its+director+and+Professor+Emeritus+of+the+University+of+Wisconian+Law+School,+gave+evidence+to+US+International+Relations+Committee+on+4+Oct+2001%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
1998 (near year's end) : (AFGHANISTAN, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, HIJAZI, MET WITH BIN LADEN IN KANDAHAR ) The source added that Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which has now effectively merged with al-Qaeda, maintained regular contacts with Iraq for many years. He confirmed the claims first made by the Iraqi National Congress - that towards the end of 1998, Farouk Hijazi, Iraq's ambassador to Turkey and a key member of the Mukhabarat leadership - went to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where he met bin Laden.
1998 : (IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY FAROUK HIJAZI MEETS WITH BIN LADEN IN AFGHANISTAN) While serving as Iraq's ambassador to Turkey, Hijazi traveled to Afghanistan in 1998 and met with terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. - "COWED SYRIA YIELDS SADDAM'S SPY BOSS," by NILES LATHEM, New York Post, 4/26/03
DECEMBER 21, 1998 : (IRAQI HIJAZI & BIN LADEN TARGET LIST MADE) "Terrorist cells belonging to the network organized by Osama bin Laden...are ready go into action in the countries of the Persian Gulf and Europe...The list of targets is ready. It was agreed in Kandahar 21 December by Osama himself and Farouk Hijazi... The new recruits, together with the veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia, form the secret army that is expected to use its weapons against all those who oppose the rais of Baghdad. In order to make them even more dangerous, traditional training has been supplemented with training in the use of chemical weapons, toxins and viruses." [Corriere della Sera, February 1, 1999 (Italia)] see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743697/posts?page=51#51
APRIL 2001 : (PRAGUE, CZECHOSLAVAKIA : FUTURE 9/11 HIJACKER ATTA REPORTEDLY MET WITH IRAQI DIPLOMAT/MUKHABARAT OPERATIVE FAROUK HIJAZI) Newsweek magazine also reported Hijazi met with Mohammed Atta - the suspected organizer of the Sept. 11 terror attacks who died on one of the hijacked planes - in Prague in April 2001. But other sources have cast doubt on that report. - "COWED SYRIA YIELDS SADDAM'S SPY BOSS," by NILES LATHEM, New York Post, 4/26/03
APRIL 2001 : (911 HIJACKERS: ATTA & IRAQI INTELLIGENCE OFFICER AL-ANI & IRAQI AMBASSADOR & AL HIJAZI MEET IN CZECHOSLAVAKIA) Mohamed Atta visited Prague, Czechoslavakia at least twice, and perhaps four times during 2000-2001. Czech officials say that a meeting took place with an Iraqi intelligence agent, Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir Al-Ani on his second trip in April 2001, several weeks before Al-Ani was expelled from the country.*
* U.S. intelligence officials that Atta was spotted in Prague in April 2001 meeting with an Iraqi agent. - The Miami Herald, "Atta faced questions about visa at MIA-INS,Police blew 4 chances to deport ringleader" , 10-19-01,| Alfonso Chardy *
* Czech Interior Minister Stanislav Gross has also confirmed that Atta met with al-Ani in early April 2001 in Prague. - Patrick E. Tyler with John Tagliabue, “Czechs Confirm Iraqi Agent Met With Terror Ringleader,” The New York Times, October 27, 2001.*
* Atta also reportedly met with Iraqi ambassador to Turkey and former Iraqi deputy intelligence director Farouk al-Hijazi in Prague sometime in early April 2001. - Evan Thomas, “The Manhunt: Cracking The Terror Code,” Newsweek, October 15, 2001.*
* His friends call him Abu Amin, 'the father of honesty'. At 43, he is one of Iraq's most highly decorated intelligence officers: a special forces veteran who organised killings behind Iranian lines during the first Gulf war, who then went on to a senior post in the unit known as 'M8' - the department for 'special operations', such as sabotage, terrorism and murder. This is the man, Colonel Muhammed Khalil Ibrahim al-Ani, whom Mohamed Atta flew halfway across the world to meet in Prague, five months before piloting his hijacked aircraft into the WTC. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/568298/posts *
APRIL 17, 2001: (IRAQI INTELLIGENCE OFFICER AL-ANI EXPELLED FROM CZECHOSLAVAKIA, 911 HIJACKERS, ATTA, AL-SHAHRI, JARRAH) (double check this) the Czechs expelled al-Ani, who had diplomatic cover, as a hostile spy. (OK, on what did they base the idea that he was a spy?) A senior US diplomatic source told The Observer that Atta was not the only suspected al-Qaeda member who met al-Ani and other Iraqi agents in Prague. He said the Czechs monitored at least two further such meetings in the months before 9/11/2001. The senior US intelligence source said the CIA believed that two other hijackers, al-Shehri and Jarrah, also met known Iraqi intelligence officers outside the US before the 9/11 attacks. It is understood these meetings took place in the UAE - where Iraq maintains its largest 'illegal', or non-diplomatic, cover intelligence operation, most of it devoted to oil exports and busting economic sanctions. See this http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/568298/posts"
SEPTEMBER 2001 : (IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, FAROUK HIJAZI, DISAPPEARS FROM HIS EMBASSY ) Mr Hijazi also disappeared from his embassy last month after the first reports of his meetings with al-Qaeda ...- "Hijacker 'given anthrax flask by Iraqi agent'," by DANIEL MCGRORY, The London Times, SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 2001, Additional reporting by Roger Boyes in Berlin; Richard Owen in Rome and Andrew Finkel in Istanbul
OCTOBER 2001 late : (IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, FAROUK HIJAZI, IS BELIEVED TO HAVE RETURNED TO TURKEY, BUT THERE ARE NO AIRPORT RECORDS OF HIS RETURN AND THE IRAQI EMBASSY CLAIMS HE IS "RESTING") Mr Hijazi also disappeared from his embassy last month after the first reports of his meetings with al-Qaeda, and he is believed to have slipped back into Ankara [Turkey] earlier this week. The Foreign Ministry in Turkey says it has not been told that the Ambassador had returned, although the Iraqi Embassy says that he is “resting”. What puzzles Turkish officials is that there are no airport records of his return. - "Hijacker 'given anthrax flask by Iraqi agent'," by DANIEL MCGRORY, The London Times, SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 2001, Additional reporting by Roger Boyes in Berlin; Richard Owen in Rome and Andrew Finkel in Istanbul
2003 : (IRAQI MUKHABARET OFFICER/FORMER AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY & TUNISIA FAROUK HIJAZI FLEES TO SYRIA AFTER THE FALL OF BAGHDAD TO US/UK LED COALITION FORCES) The United States had evidence that Hijazi was among the regime figures who had fled to Syria in the aftermath of the fall of Baghdad, and his continued presence in that country was high on the list of complaints the Bush administration had made against the Syrian government for its backstage role in helping Saddam.
Hijazi, who most recently served as Iraq's ambassador to Tunisia, was the man the Washington believes organized the April 1993 assassination attempt on President Bush's father during a visit to Kuwait. - "COWED SYRIA YIELDS SADDAM'S SPY BOSS," by NILES LATHEM, New York Post, 4/26/03
APRIL 15, 2003 : (CNN INTERVIEW WITH JAMIE RUBIN ON SYRIA; ALSO INFO ON IRAQI OFFICIAL HIJAZI)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: "Good morning, Aaron. Well, U.S. administration officials are saying that a senior -- a former senior Iraqi intelligence chief, a man named Farouk Hijazi, may in fact be in Syria. Now, Farouk Hijazi most recently served as Iraq's ambassador to Tunisia. Before that, he was Iraqi ambassador to Turkey.- "View From Syria; Interview with Jamie Rubin, Former Secretary of State," CNN NEWSNIGHT AARON BROWN, Aired April 15, 2003 - 23:19 ET,
He was also believed by U.S. administration officials to perhaps have been involved in the plots of the early 1990's plot to assassinate the first President George Bush. He was also Saddam Hussein's point man with Osama bin Laden in the late 1980's, a contact which began at the instigation of bin Laden at a time when the United States was making nice with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Bin Laden thought he might get kicked out. He was looking for some place else to go. And it was Hijazi who Saddam Hussein designated as the person for bin Laden to talk to. Those contacts are believed to have foundered on grounds of mutual suspicion and distrust.
But the story this morning is that, according to U.S. administration officials, he may be somewhere here in Syria, traveling apparently on a diplomatic passport. As I said, he was Iraq's ambassador to Tunisia. The question, of course, is whether or not he is here, whether or not the U.S. has any interest in him. One would presume if they suspect him of involvement in that assassination plot they might, though he has been a public figure elsewhere for a number of years.
And, of course, we will have to wait and see what the Syrians have to say, who have so far consistently denied any knowledge of any senior Iraqi officials here -- Aaron."
APRIL 24, 2003: (IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER TARIQ AZIZ SURRENDERS TO US FORCES) U.S. officials also reported that Iraq's high-profile former foreign minister Tariq Aziz has agreed to cooperate after surrendering to U.S. forces this week. Aziz, one of Saddam's closest advisers, returned to Baghdad this week and agreed to surrender and talk in a deal negotiated by his son, who served as an intermediary. Sources said Aziz was suffering from serious heart trouble and U.S. military commanders agreed to give him immediate medical attention and guarantees for the safety of his family in return for his peaceful surrender and cooperation. - "COWED SYRIA YIELDS SADDAM'S SPY BOSS," by NILES LATHEM, New York Post, 4/26/03
APRIL 25, 2003 : (SYRIAN-IRAQI BORDER : SYRIANS HAND IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY FAROUK HIJAZI OVER TO THE US) WASHINGTON -- A longtime Iraqi spy official, suspected of involvement in a plot to assassinate former President Bush and of having links to al-Qaida, was delivered to the Iraqi border by Syrian authorities Friday, U.S. officials said. Farouk Hijazi was taken into custody near the Syrian border, U.S. officials said, indicating new cooperation from a government that had been accused of harboring members of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime. Hijazi most recently served as Iraq's ambassador to Tunisia and was formerly ambassador to Turkey. But he is of particular interest to the CIA and the Pentagon because he was "a lifelong member of the Iraqi Intelligence Service," known as Mukhabarat, a U.S. official said. "He is significant," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "We think he could be interesting."
Hijazi is thought to have extensive knowledge of Iraqi operations and plots dating back decades. He occupied the No. 3 position in Hussein's spy apparatus in the early 1990s when Iraq tried to assassinate former President Bush in Kuwait.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey said that Hijazi's capture was "the biggest catch so far" for U.S. forces and that Hijazi is a key link between Hussein and terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida. "This man was involved, we know, with a number of contacts with al-Qaida," Woolsey told CNN.
But U.S. officials were more measured in their appraisals and expressed some skepticism about reports that Hijazi had once met with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Unconfirmed media reports have indicated that Hijazi was Hussein's liaison to anti-Western terrorist organizations and that he met with bin Laden between 1996 and 1998. "We've seen the reports," one official said. "We don't know how true they are. It certainly presents an avenue of questioning." He said U.S. intelligence analysts are divided over whether Hijazi would have met bin Laden given that the radical Islamic terror chieftain had publicly denounced Hussein's secular regime.
[* My note: that fourth paragraph is the obligatory media "anonymous source antiwar autoresponse" of which we are all by now well-acquainted after the Wilson/Niger/Kelly/BBC/Novak/Pincus/etc affair.]
APRIL 25, 2003 : (RUMSFELD BRIEFING ON THE CAPTURE OF IRAQI OFFICIAL FAROUK HIJAZI AND ANOTHER SENIOR IRAQI INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE WITH THE 'AMERICAN PORTFOLIO' ) As US officials announced the capture of an Iraqi official with suspected al-Qaeda links, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said other key prisoners were providing useful information. Farouk Hijazi, Iraq's ambassador to Tunisia and a former high-ranking intelligence official, joins Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and others under interrogation. The key questions put to them: What happened to Saddam Hussein and the rest of the Iraqi leadership? Where are chemical and biological weapons hidden? What links did Saddam have to terrorist groups?
"You can be certain that the people who we have reason to believe have information are being interrogated by inter-agency teams, and they are in fact providing information that's useful," said Rumsfeld, briefing reporters yesterday [April 25, 2003] at the Pentagon. "He is significant. We think he could be interesting," Rumsfeld said of Hijazi.
Rumsfeld said another senior Iraqi intelligence operative, who he said "had the American portfolio," was also captured. He did not identify that person. ...
If Hijazi was indeed a liaison to terrorist organisations, he would know to what extent Iraq assisted such groups, one official said. As a foreign ambassador, he may also have information on any efforts to acquire illicit materials abroad for Iraq's alleged weapons programs, the official said. Hijazi wasn't on the military's top-55 list of Iraqi leaders. -- "Iraqi intelligence agents held,"AP via TheAge.com.au, April 26 2003
Thanks Piasa.
Thanks piasa.