AN IRAQ-ALBANY AXIS?

New York Post ^ | 8/06/04

[kattracks]

August 6, 2004 -- The arrest yesterday of two leaders of an Albany mosque raises worrisome questions regarding the presence of a terrorist fifth column in America. At first glance, the case seemed to involve simple money-laundering — albeit with a troubling political subtext. Even Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Comey conceded that "this is not the case of the century."

Certainly it seems that the arrests are not on a par with the FBI bust two years ago of the Lackawanna Six, an al Qaeda sleeper cell based in the Buffalo suburb.

At its most basic level, this is a story of how two Islamic immigrants allegedly got caught up in a sting operation that they apparently believed was a plot to stage a murderous attack against a Pakistani diplomat in Manhattan.

But Washington sources tell The Post's Ian Bishop that one of the arrested men — 34-year-old Yassin Aref — apparently is linked to Ansar al-Islam, a vicious jihadist group operating in northern Iraq.

Indeed, U.S. counter-terrorism experts have linked Ansar al-Islam not only to Osama bin Laden, but also to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — the mastermind of the terrorist insurgency in Iraq.

Aref's name and his Albany address and phone number were listed in an address book taken from a terrorist captured in Iraq by U.S. soldiers. Chillingly, Aref is ID'd in the book as "The Commander."

[BurbankKarl]

Just last night on Coast to Coast, that Jayna Davis was telling the audience how 5000 Iraqis were let into the United States in the last ten years, among them those in intelligence in Saddam's army.

[concerned about politics]

NYC has a death wish. Bush will protect NY as long as he can, but they'd better be ready to kiss their butts goodbye when he leaves.
A Kerry win would lead to more deaths than we can imagine. 9/11 would be common. According to T'reesa, "People around the world live with terrorism. America should get used to it."

[conservative in nyc]

Aref's name and his Albany address and phone number were listed in an address book taken from a terrorist captured in Iraq by U.S. soldiers. Chillingly, Aref is ID'd in the book as "The Commander."

That can't possibly be correct. The Slimes tells me he and his partner are just hard-qorking, quiet family men sent to Albany by the United Nations (Why Albany? Why the U.N.? Well, the Slimes doesn't explain that).

[abu afak]