Posted on 08/11/2005 1:40:02 PM PDT by epluribus_2
don't have time to elaborate - see for yourself. This guy was the one Able Danger team briefed who decided it was not worthy of inclusion into the 9/11 report or even to the ears of comittee members since it did not fit their conclusions about Atta. THIS NEEDS TO P*O*P!
Thanks!--more good stuff.
Published: 9/25/01
GREG B. SMITH
Terrorist told of plan to crash into CIA's HQ
Two years ago, federal prosecutors turned down a cooperation offer from a terrorist who claimed he was part of a well-financed 1995 plot to crash an airplane into the CIA headquarters.
Abdul Hakim Murad said he got his pilot's license after training at several American flight schools, including one that is now under scrutiny in the terror investigation. Murad was convicted in 1996 for his role in a highly choreographed scheme to blow up 12 U.S.-bound jetliners flying out of Southeast Asia.
The Pakistani-born man said that in addition to the jetliner bomb plot, he and his co-conspirators were looking into using his flying skills to crash an aircraft into the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.
"It was not something that we focused on. It was something that he said," recalled Dietrich Snell, the ex-prosecutor who convicted Murad. "We took seriously what he was telling us, but what we were focused on was the plot to blow up the 12 airliners."
U.S. Attorney Said No Deal
Snell, who left office in 1998, did not recall Murad coming forward to offer information in return for leniency in sentencing. But court papers and two sources familiar with the situation confirm that Murad did try to cooperate with Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White's office. He was turned down, the sources said.
It's not clear whether Murad's claims of a plan to fly a jet into the CIA buildings have any ties to the Sept. 11 attack on America. Murad gave investigators information that both resembles and bears no resemblance to the Sept. 11 attack.
His plan to blow up jetliners collapsed when bomb-making chemicals that he and his co-conspirator, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, were mixing caught on fire inside a Manila apartment.
Murad was captured in January 1994 in Manila, where he told Philippine interrogators about a plot he called "bojinka," or "big sound." In that scheme, he, Yousef and at least 10 others planned to get off the planes at stops along the planes' routes. The bombs would be detonated by timers in sequence over the Pacific, and none of the terrorists would be killed.
Got Pilot Training Upstate
"The whole crux of bojinka was to have timed explosions and the operatives to be off the flights and escaping," Snell said. "That's a fundamental difference between what happened two weeks ago at the World Trade Center and bojinka."
But there are similarities. Snell recalled that Murad told investigators about the suicide mission to crash a plane into the CIA building. "I remember him saying he thought about maybe getting a small plane or somehow get access to a small plane and crash it into the CIA," Snell said, adding, "There was never any mention of hijacking." And Murad noted that he got his commercial pilot's license after training at several U.S. flight schools, including ones in upstate Schenectady and North Carolina.
Last week, FBI agents showed up at the same Schenectady flight school, asking questions about a student who trained there. And several of the suspected hijackers are believed to have studied at flight schools around the U.S.
Snell said he has no way to know whether Murad could have provided investigators with information that would be relevant to the probe of the Sept. 11 attack. "I think it's pretty unlikely, but I don't know," he said. "I'd be guessing like everyone else."
Published: 9/25/01
GREG B. SMITH
Terrorist told of plan to crash into CIA's HQ
Two years ago, federal prosecutors turned down a cooperation offer from a terrorist who claimed he was part of a well-financed 1995 plot to crash an airplane into the CIA headquarters.
Abdul Hakim Murad said he got his pilot's license after training at several American flight schools, including one that is now under scrutiny in the terror investigation. Murad was convicted in 1996 for his role in a highly choreographed scheme to blow up 12 U.S.-bound jetliners flying out of Southeast Asia.
The Pakistani-born man said that in addition to the jetliner bomb plot, he and his co-conspirators were looking into using his flying skills to crash an aircraft into the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.
"It was not something that we focused on. It was something that he said," recalled Dietrich Snell, the ex-prosecutor who convicted Murad. "We took seriously what he was telling us, but what we were focused on was the plot to blow up the 12 airliners."
U.S. Attorney Said No Deal
Snell, who left office in 1998, did not recall Murad coming forward to offer information in return for leniency in sentencing. But court papers and two sources familiar with the situation confirm that Murad did try to cooperate with Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White's office. He was turned down, the sources said.
It's not clear whether Murad's claims of a plan to fly a jet into the CIA buildings have any ties to the Sept. 11 attack on America. Murad gave investigators information that both resembles and bears no resemblance to the Sept. 11 attack.
His plan to blow up jetliners collapsed when bomb-making chemicals that he and his co-conspirator, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, were mixing caught on fire inside a Manila apartment.
Murad was captured in January 1994 in Manila, where he told Philippine interrogators about a plot he called "bojinka," or "big sound." In that scheme, he, Yousef and at least 10 others planned to get off the planes at stops along the planes' routes. The bombs would be detonated by timers in sequence over the Pacific, and none of the terrorists would be killed.
Got Pilot Training Upstate
"The whole crux of bojinka was to have timed explosions and the operatives to be off the flights and escaping," Snell said. "That's a fundamental difference between what happened two weeks ago at the World Trade Center and bojinka."
But there are similarities. Snell recalled that Murad told investigators about the suicide mission to crash a plane into the CIA building. "I remember him saying he thought about maybe getting a small plane or somehow get access to a small plane and crash it into the CIA," Snell said, adding, "There was never any mention of hijacking." And Murad noted that he got his commercial pilot's license after training at several U.S. flight schools, including ones in upstate Schenectady and North Carolina.
Last week, FBI agents showed up at the same Schenectady flight school, asking questions about a student who trained there. And several of the suspected hijackers are believed to have studied at flight schools around the U.S.
Snell said he has no way to know whether Murad could have provided investigators with information that would be relevant to the probe of the Sept. 11 attack. "I think it's pretty unlikely, but I don't know," he said. "I'd be guessing like everyone else."
Snell was a staffer on the 9/11 committee?
I wouldn't count on Lance's assertions about what Snell may or may not have known or did. All the Google hits on Snell I followed seemed to come back to Lance. I don't trust any of this.
ML/NJ
Did the name "Dietrich Snell" come up today on Rush, Hannity or other radio talk shows, or in the MSM? Sorry to be so clueless... was busy and away from the computer today and only heard a few minutes of both Rush and Hannity. Trying to catch up on the news now... Thanks. :o)
I didn't hear Snell's name mentioned on Rush but I only listened for one hour. Never heard his name mentioned on FNC either.
The only people who seem to have info on him are freepers.
Thanks for the ping!
New thread as of an hour ago: STATEMENT BY CONGR. CURT WELDON REGARDING OMMISSION OF ABLE DANGER FROM THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT
***
* My note: I suspect, due to the vast knowledge we had of the Qadeer Khan network, that Able Danger was involved in tracking the network on that, too. So, did that briefing occur on this trip?:
OCTOBER 6, 2003 : (PAKISTAN : US DEPUTY SEC OF STATE ARMITAGE MEETS PRESIDENT MUSHAREF CONCERNING KHAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM) Richard Armitage, the US deputy secretary of state, met Gen Musharraf at his official residence in Rawalpindi on Oct 6 [2003] last year. Mr Armitage came armed with evidence compiled by the CIA and MI6. Gen Musharraf was "stunned" by the detail. Khan's meetings with dealers in controlled weapons technology had all been tracked. Bank accounts holding payments made for nuclear secrets were recorded. The Americans had tracked every journey Khan had made outside Pakistan. A senior Pakistani official said the evidence against the scientist was "mind boggling".
The Americans increased the pressure. A few hours after Mr Armitage departed, Gen John Abizaid, the head of US Central Command, repeated the unequivocal message that action must be taken against Khan. "We were told that failure to take action will most certainly jeopardise [Pakistan's] ties with the US and other important nations of the world," said the official.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed the allegations by passing on evidence from inspections of nuclear facilities in Libya and Iran.
"Both the US government and the IAEA separately reminded Pakistan that its failure to pin the responsibility of proliferation activities might lead to sanctions by the US and the United Nations," another Pakistani official told The News.
Nonetheless, Gen Musharraf did not capitulate immediately. He ordered Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency to conduct an inquiry. When this verified many of the major American claims, he placed Khan under house arrest last November [2003]. - "How US put rogue atom scientist out of business," By David Blair in Islamabad, The Telegraph (UK) (Filed: 09/02/2004)
***
Former commission spokesman Al Felzenberg told The New York Times in Thursday editions that Atta was mentioned to panel investigators during at least one meeting with a military officer. That briefing came in July 2004, less than two weeks before the commission's final report was issued to the public.
Felzenberg said the information about Atta was considered suspect because it didn't jibe with many other findings. For example, the intelligence officer said Atta was in the United States in late 1999, but travel records confirmed that he did not enter the country until late 2000.
***
* My note: Could that briefing have had something to do with this guy, Ali Mohamed Al Mosaleh?
JULY 7, 2004 : (MINNEAPOLIS, MN : AIRPORT SECURITY : ALI MOHAMED ALMOSALEH IS ARRESTED- HAS SUICIDE NOTE & SUSPICIOUS DVDS ) Customs and Border Patrol agents arrested the passenger, Ali Mohamed Almosaleh, on July 7 in Minneapolis after he was picked randomly for a search, sources said. Agents found Almosaleh to be carrying what they described as a suicide note and DVDs containing "anti-American material," officials said.---Excerpted - click for full article ^------ "Plane passenger with suicide note arrested," by Kelli Arena and Kevin Bohn, CNN, July 14, 2004, http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/07/14/airport.arrest/index.html
***
(* Freeper Dog notes: To: Shermy Shermy tweak his name.. Ali Mohamed Almosaleh Now this.. Ali Mohamed Saleh Now do a search. 22 posted on 07/14/2004 4:40:46 PM PDT by Dog)
***
JULY 7?, 2004 Wednesday : (MINNEAPOLIS, MINN : ALI MOHAMED ALMOSALEH IS ARRESTED AFTER TRAVELING FROM SYRIA VIA AMSTERDAM ; HE IS CARRYING A SUICIDE NOTE, CDs AND DVDs) The war on terrorism is again at Minnesota's front door. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has discovered federal authorities arrested a man who they suspect has terrorism ties. Federal sources tell us the man was arrested last Wednesday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Sources here in the Twin Cities and in Washington D.C. say that he arrived on a flight and was taken into federal custody. Along the way, customs agents found disturbing items in his possession.
The U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirms to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Ali Mohamed Almosaleh is in federal custody here in the Twin Cities. He's being detained on an immigration law violation. But federal sources confirm, there is much more than that to this investigation. Sources confirm, when Almosaleh was arrested he was carrying a suicide note indicating a specific time and date for carrying out some sort of public suicide. [* one that already happened on Sept 11, or one that hasn't happened yet?] He was also carrying CD's and DVD's, which federal sources say contained anti-American material. A source also confirms Almosaleh had something with him indicating a connection with at least one known terrorist. [* What known terrorist? Could it be Atta?]
Bill Michael is a terrorism expert. He says "One of the first things that comes to mind is is he actually going to do something that's the first concern. Second, if law enforcement believes he is, and now rightly so they take an overly safe approach and they try and determine what activity he might actually be planning to engage in."
Almosaleh arrived on a KLM flight last week. A source confirms he began his travels in Syria, stopped in Amsterdam before continuing to the Twin Cities. A federal source would not say where Almosaleh's final destination was, but that source did indicate it appears Almosaleh had plans to travel beyond the Twin Cities.
One federal official in Washington noted, this is a "very sensitive" investigation. --------- "Man arrested with suicide note on flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul International," 5EyewitnessNews, Updated: 07/14/2004 Wednesday 01:30:11 AM]
If my guess- made in the post above- is correct or just close, then it might explain a lot about Berger. Berger was involved in Chinagate, and China of course was in on the Qadeer Khan proliferation ring.
*** Was not Sandy Berger a paid lobbyist for China? 81 posted on 07/19/2004 5:31:10 PM PDT by rhombus*** Sandy Berger Worked for the Chinese Government 314 posted on 07/19/2004 6:16:07 PM PDT by hope
Berger's had problems handling classified info before:
This is the second time now that we have a documented case of Berger mishandling classified information, said Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), recalling a 1999 incident that led him to take to the floor of the House to criticize the outrageous and curious behavior of our so-called national security adviser.As a member of the Cox Committee charged with investigating the transfer of high-tech secrets to China during the Clinton administration, in January 1999 Rep. Weldon sent an advance copy of the committees report to Mr. Berger for his review. After seven months of closed-door, bipartisan hearings with no leaks to the press, the committee of five Republicans and four Democrats had unanimously recommended some three dozen steps that should be taken to protect Americas national security.
Within days, however, Sandy Berger issued a statement to selected members of the media putting the White House spin on what was still a classified document, congressman Weldon recalled. He did that without asking any member of the committee. Before the CIA director could even read our report, Berger was already spinning. That sets the pattern for what may have occurred in the Archives case, Rep. Weldon believes.
Though he planned to remain silent on the current controversy until more facts came to light, a reminder of Mr. Bergers record was enough to change Rep. Weldons mind. I remember this vividly now, he told WORLD in his first interview on the subject. I went through it in a detailed way on the floor of the House. Theres absolutely no doubt in my mind that Berger pre-released classified information to benefit the White House. ----- "Bergers secret," by Bob Jones, World Magazine, 7/26/04
Berger's a Kerry campaign staffer who was hoping to land a positionin his White House should Kerry have been elected- and Kerry, too, has ties with China:
May 2004 - Is Chinagate old news? Water under the bridge? Something for the 9/11 Commission's Democrat partisans to pooh-pooh and ignore as they recklessly paint their anti-Bush pastiche?Not if you continue to mourn the thousands dead on that grim September morning. And not if you consider what other reflexively anti-Defense politician currently angling for the Presidency has financial ties to some of the same scandalous campaign donors as Bill Clinton: John Kerry is today's victorious campaign-donation choice of Chinagate's Huang-linked George Chao-Chi Chu, described as having "unusual access to high-ranking Communist officials in China" [6].
And that is old news, in a way: for in 1996 John Kerry received cash from Johnny Chung and Liu Chaoying, daughter of a powerful Chinese military official, for providing high-level access to Federal securities regulators. Kerry's cash came from transfers sent to Chung on orders from the chief of Chinese military intelligence [7]. --- "Did Gorelick's infamous memo provide the missing link between Chinagate and 9/11?," http://www.newaus.com.au/040305gorelick.html
Berger was involved in the Los Alamos spy case.
Remember, Able Danger's findings weren't the only things hidden from the administration- the NSC's March 2000 post millenium plan, the Millenium After-Action Review, detailing the extensive network of al Qaeda and foreign terrorists within the US and making recommendations on dealing with them, was not among the thirty other items Janet Reno briefed John Ashcroft on when the new administration took over during the abbreviated transition period.
Who ordered Richard Clark to write the NSC Post-Millenium plan that the Clinton administration never bothered to implement?
Sandy Berger.
2003 : (CLINTON ASKS BERGER TO REVIEW AND SELECT ADMNISTRATION DOCUMENTS THAT WOULD BE TURNED OVER TO THE 9/11 COMMISSION) Clinton asked Berger last year to review and select the administration documents that would be turned over to the [9/11] commission. --- "AP: Clinton Adviser Probed in Terror Memos [Sandy Berger, is the focus of a criminal investigation," John Solomon, AP via Yahoo, July 20, 2004Remember, these documents were NSC documents.SEPTEMBER? 2003 : (SANDY BERGER REVIEWS COPY OF POST-MILLENNIUM REPORT IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES- IT WOULD DISAPPEAR, EVIDENTLY INTO HIS PANTS OR SOCKS) --- "AP: Clinton Adviser Probed in Terror Memos [Sandy Berger, is the focus of a criminal investigation," John Solomon, AP via Yahoo, July 20, 2004
JANUARY 2004 : (BERGER'S HOME SAFE & OFFICE SEARCHED BY FBI AGENTS WITH WARRANTS; THEY FIND CLASSIFIED NOTE CARDS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE TALKS IN HIS BUSINESS OFFICE, BUT FAIL TO FIND THE OTHER MISSING DOCUMENTS) The FBI searched Berger's home and office with warrants earlier this year after employees of the National Archives told agents they believed they witnessed Berger put documents into his clothing while reviewing sensitive Clinton administration papers, officials said.... In the FBI search of his office, Berger also was found in possession of a small number of classified note cards containing his handwritten notes from the Middle East peace talks during the 1990s, but those are not a focus of the current criminal probe, officials and lawyers said. ... in January the FBI executed search warrants of a safe at Berger's home as well as his business office where he found some of the documents. Agents also failed to locate the missing documents. ... --- "AP: Clinton Adviser Probed in Terror Memos [Sandy Berger, is the focus of a criminal investigation," John Solomon, AP via Yahoo, July 20, 2004
FEBRUARY 27, 2004 : (UCLA, CA : JOHN KERRY SPEECH CONCERNING AIRPORT AND PORT SECURITY - SPEECH WOULD BE REMOVED FROM HIS WEBSITE WHEN SANDY BERGER NATIONAL ARCHIVES DOCUMENT THEFT NEWS BREAKS - COULD IT CONTAIN TELL-TALE PHRASES LIFTED FROM STOLEN DOCS?)JULY 13, 2004 : (PRESS REPORT REFERS TO SANDY BERGER AS A CHIEF FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR TO JOHN KERRY)...In a wide-ranging and exclusive interview with Bisnow on Business, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, now a chief foreign policy adviser to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry,... ----- Bisnow interview reported in The Hill
JULY 21, 2004 10:50AM : (KERRY'S SUDDENLY DISAPPEARING WEB DOCUMENTS [07/21 10:50 PM] ) Various Kerry Spot readers are calling attention to the fact that the Kerry web site appears to have removed the press release that used to be here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0227a.html
But can still be seen in the Google cache here, and has been posted on the FreeRepublic.com discussion board here:
The date of the event is February 27, 2004. The event was a speech at UCLA about homeland security, mentioning port security and airline security.
Now, Kerry wouldn't need any secret documents from March 2000 to make a speech saying port and airline security should be improved in February 2004. So it's hard to buy the most sinister theories running around, that Kerry was using the classified documents to put together his homeland security policy proposals.
Unless, perhaps, the 2000 memo mentioned something about airport perimeter security and airliner's vulnerability to shoulder-fired missiles, and somehow that inspired Kerry release's plan to "increase perimeter inspections of U.S. airports and work with international aviation authorities to make sure the same standards are in place at all international airports. He will work with our allies to crackdown on the sale of shoulder-fired missiles that could be used in an attack on civilian aircraft, and are sold on the black market." But would Kerry really need a secret memo to think of that threat?
Either way, it is odd that this event appears to have been deleted from Kerry's web site.
UPDATE: Another reader wonders if the language in Kerry's speech in New Hampshire on December 17 or at UCLA is from the security memo. Well, if that could be proven, it would be pretty damning. --- "KERRY'S SUDDENLY DISAPPEARING WEB DOCUMENTS [07/21 10:50 PM]" NRO.com, http://www.nationalreview.com/kerry/kerryspot.asp via GrampaDave & Smonk on FRJULY 20, 2004 : (REPORT : BERGER & MISSING DOCS ON VULNERABILITIES AT US ARIPORTS & SEAPORTS) Government and congressional officials familiar with the investigation, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the probe involves classified materials, said the investigation remains active and no decision has been made on whether Berger should face criminal charges. The officials said the missing documents were highly classified, and included critical assessments about the Clinton administration's handling of the millennium terror threats as well as identification of America's terror vulnerabilities at airports to sea ports. --- "AP: Clinton Adviser Probed in Terror Memos [Sandy Berger, is the focus of a criminal investigation," John Solomon, AP via Yahoo, July 20, 2004
1998 : (CLINTON AFRICA TRIP INCLUDES SANDY BERGER & JOSEPH WILSON, NSC DIRECTOR FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS) Samuel Berger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs ... Joe Wilson Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for African Affairs --- "Official Delegation Accompanying the President to Africa March 20, 1998," NARA.gov (They both accompanied Clinton on his 1998 Africa trip)Don't be suprised to find out the Qadeer Khan nuclear proliferation network had dealings with Niger.
Well, we all know about Joseph Wilson an Niger... and there's the report the CIA never followed up on from the navy, where a source in the country of Benin, from which Niger's uranium is shipped, told the Navy that Iraq had a uranium shipment stored in a warehouse there. That contact said the CIA never called or met with him on what he knew. I presume the report was ignored because it didn't fit in with the conventional wisdom that Iraq didn't need to buy uranium since it had so much stored up under IAEA seal. Nevermind that that uranium was being monitored by inspectors while smuggled uranium would not be.
ping # 191, 192
Many thanks-- I'll link to that information. What a mess!
bttt
The Afghan Northern Alliance leader Massoud's assassination was ordered by a guy sitting in jail in connection with the 1993 bombing who used his attorney as a messenger.
And that is old news, in a way: for in 1996 John Kerry received cash from Johnny Chung and Liu Chaoying, daughter of a powerful Chinese military official, for providing high-level access to Federal securities regulators. Kerry's cash came from transfers sent to Chung on orders from the chief of Chinese military intelligence [7]. --- "Did Gorelick's infamous memo provide the missing link between Chinagate and 9/11?," http://www.newaus.com.au/040305gorelick.html
Excellent find, piasa. The whole post is tremendous.
And the stuff about Berger, Wilson and Clinton on the trip to Africa is new to me. I hadn't realized that all three were on a trip like that together.
Thanks. Putting Wilson and Berger together with Clinton and Chinagate is interesting. . .
BUMP
I think you either need to reread and address what I wrote, or to go away with your disinfo.
ML/NJ
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