Posted on 12/07/2006 7:59:07 PM PST by STARWISE
Triple Cross: How bin Laden's Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI--and Why Patrick Fitzgerald Failed to Stop Him
This is the most dangerous man I have ever met. We cannot let this man out on the street."
—Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, 1997
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In the years leading to the 9/11 attacks, no single agent of al Qaeda was more successful in compromising the U.S. intelligence community than Ali Mohamed.
A former Egyptian army captain, Mohamed succeeded in infiltrating the CIA in Europe, the Green Berets at Fort Bragg, and the FBI in California—even as he helped to orchestrate the al Qaeda campaign of terror that culminated in 9/11.
As investigative reporter Peter Lance demonstrates in this gripping narrative, senior U.S. law enforcement officials—including the now-celebrated U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who personally interviewed Mohamed long before he was brought to ground—were powerless to stop him.
In the annals of espionage, few men have moved between the hunters and the hunted with as much audacity as Ali Mohamed.
For almost two decades, the former Egyptian army commando succeeded in living a double life. Brazenly slipping past watch lists, he moved in and out of the U.S. with impunity, marrying an American woman, becoming a naturalized citizen, and posing as an FBI informant—all while acting as chief of security for Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
Known to his fellow terrorists as Ali Amiriki, or "Ali the American," Mohamed gained access to the most sensitive intelligence in the U.S. counterterrorism arsenal while brokering terror summits, planning bombing missions, and training jihadis in bomb building, assassination, the creation of sleeper cells, and other acts of espionage.
Building on the investigation he first chronicled in his previous books, 1000 Years for Revenge and Cover Up, Lance uses Mohamed to trace the untold story of al Qaeda's rise in the 1980s and 1990s. Incredibly, Mohamed, who remains in custodial witness protection today, has never been sentenced for his crimes. He exists under a veil of secrecy—a living witness to how the U.S. intelligence community was outflanked for years by the terror network.
From his first appearance on the FBI's radar in 1989—training Islamic extremists on Long Island—to his presence in the database of Operation Able Danger eighteen months before 9/11, this devious triple agent was the one terrorist they had to sweep under the rug.
Filled with news-making revelations, Triple Cross exposes the incompetence and duplicity of the FBI and Justice Department before 9/11 . . . and raises serious questions about how many more secrets the Feds may still be hiding.
Curt Weldon talked about this today at the final Armed Services Committee hearing in this Congress and said this was why Able Danger went nowhere, because Mohamed's name was all over the Able Danger database, and it was too embarrassing.
Shocking and sickening .. all of it.
America don't complain. This is Multiculturalism and Diversity at its best!
Ping
BUMP!!
Until he came across Scooter Libby.
Thanks for the ping!
While I was deciding how I should start a review of Peter Lance's new book - I remembered a quote from Monica Gabrielle, one of the 9/11 widows, in a documentary about 9/11: "The one thing that I personally was hoping for was another Woodward and Bernstein with regard to 9/11. Someone, anyone that was willing to put their teeth into this."
Well, we have found that person, and his name is Peter Lance. In his third book on the origins of the 9/11 plot and the failures of the FBI and others to stop the attack, Lance focuses on Ali Mohamed - yet another figure relegated to footnotes in the "9/11 Report" who Lance shows played a central role in Al Qaeda's plan of attack.
Not only did he help create the "Brooklyn Cell" which supported the 9/11 hijackers, but he wrote the training manual for Al Qaeda and created training camps for hijackers, all while the FBI thought he was on their side as an informant!
The best part of Triple Cross is the way Lance weaves together the different strands of the 9/11 story and enhances them with his own original reporting on each. For example, the book quotes from numerous interviews Lance conducted with Tony Shaffer, Curt Weldon, and other members of the Able Danger team. While not a full history of Able Danger, it has by far the most complete version in any book published to date.
Some have expressed frustration at the delays in publication, but I can attest to the fact that Lance needed the extra time in order to include all of the latest details from the interviews National Geographic conducted for their documentary based on his book, and the latest developments in the Able Danger and Greg Scarpa Jr. scandals. It is a great read, and uncovers a lot of new information about the 9/11 plot.
I have a replay of the Armed Services hearing on TV right now...
Weldon got a minute a while ago and was talking about someone named Murray, who works for the CIA..who has supposedly been telling lies about "Reyes"...
When he finished...Duncan Hunter was chuckling..and went back to talking to the military that were in the panel.
I have a feeling that Curt and Duncan agreed before this hearing that since Curt lost...and this is his last hearing...that he will get his chances to say what needs to be said.
I hope I haven't missed the Able Danger part yet...
Thanks for the heads up about the book...are your going to get it??
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I'm only rating this as 5-stars to balance the other reviewer. I heard Peter Lance interviewed on the radio about 6 months ago; even then he was extremely unsure about when our government would allow the book's release. Apparently the Patriot Act makes censorship a great deal easier.
OH good! Glad you heard that, too. Reyes, Murray .. that
was curious. And Hunter was definitely laughing AT him.
The Path to 9/11 - frought with negligence and duplicity.
Shall I hold my breath waiting for Peter Lance and Curt Weldon to be interviewed by Diane Rehm?
At first I was offended that Hunter would laugh at Weldon..but, having read this ...and about how Weldon mentioned Able Danger today...
I am almost positive that Hunter is just giving Weldon the forum to get his "points" on the Congressional Record.
So...I thank Duncan Hunter for doing that.
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Ali Abdul Saoud Mohamed, also known as Ali Mohammed (b. 1952) is an acknowledged Al Qaeda operative who was charged with the August 7, 1998 bombings of the United States' embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In October 2000, he pled guilty to five counts of conspiracy to kill nationals of the United States and officers or employees of the U.S. government on account of their official duties, to murder and kidnap, and to destroy U.S. property.
Mohamed is former officer in the Egyptian army's military intelligence units. In the 1980s, he cross-trained with the United States Army military unit, the Green Berets. He left the Egyptian army in 1984.
He moved to the United States in 1985, became a U.S. citizen and joined the U.S. Army, serving at Fort Bragg until 1989.[1] Mohamed's path to citizenship was helped by the fact he married an American woman from Santa Clara, California after a 6 week courtship.[2]
According to Cooperative Research, Mohamed was a Drill sergeant at Fort Bragg, and conducted clandestine military and demolition training through the Al Kifah Refugee Center. Cooperative Research asserts that Mohamed trained some of those involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
After leaving the Egyptian army, he apparently became an agent for the CIA (supporting the Afghanistan jihad) and an agent of Al Qaeda, which used him as an infiltrator into the U.S. He was very successful — he was hired to teach courses on Arabic culture at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center.
While in the United States, he helped train a number of jihadis, like El Sayyid Nosair (who killed Rabbi Meir Kahane, head of the militant, terror linked Jewish Defense League in New York City) and Mahmud Abouhalima, who assisted Ramzi Yousef in his 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.
Ironically, at the time he was training bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden, associating with clerics like Abdel-Rahman, and casing embassies in Africa (like the one in Nairobi, Kenya), he became an FBI informant.
While he was subpoenad in Rahman's trial, Ali Mohammed was not arrested until years later — on 10 September 1998, when he attempted to flee to Egypt after being subpoenaed in the aftermath of the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania. After eight months of imprisonment, Ali Mohammed entered a guilty plea in May 1999.
What happened after that is unclear.
The trial proceeded, but there is no record of any sentencing or even a conviction. As late as February 20, 2002, CBS News reported that "Mohammad pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing."[3] There has been no further news of his specific whereabouts or sentencing but he is currently in federal custody at an unspecified location.
Patrick Briley, an American op-ed journalist writing for NewsWithViews.com, has reported that Ali Mohamed was given an early release from prison by direct order from the Bush Administration's DOJ, specifically USAG Alberto Gonzalez.
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As stunning is this .... from the US Dept. of State:
Mohamed's plea agreement with the government remains secret.
In his October court appearance, Mohamed told the judge that the objective of his activities with Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda was "to attack any Western target in the Middle East, to force the governments of the Western countries just to pull out from the Middle East."
Mohamed explained to Judge Sand that that "based on the Marine [barracks] explosion in Beirut in 1984 and the American pull-out from Beirut," the group planned to use the same method to force the United States to leave Saudi Arabia.
Was it true that the plans "included conspiracy to murder persons who were involved in government agencies and embassies overseas?" the judge asked. "Yes, your honor," Mohamed said. "And to destroy buildings and properties of the United States?" the judge said. "Yes, your honor," Mohamed answered.
Detailing his activities with the alleged terrorist organizations in the Middle East and Africa, Mohamed said that during those activities he "understood that I was working with al Qaeda, [Usama] bin Laden, Abu Hafs [and] Abu Ubaidah, and that al Qaeda had a shura council which included Abu Hajer al Iraqui."
Mohamed told the judge that in the early 1980s he became involved with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization and in the 1990s was introduced to al Qaeda through the Egyptian organization. In the early 1990s Ayman Al Zawihiri made two visits to the United States to raise funds for Islamic Jihad, Mohamed said, and he helped Zawihiri do that. Zawihiri was also indicted in the bombing but remains at large, as does bin Laden.
"In 1991 I helped transport Usama bin Laden from Afghanistan to the Sudan," Mohamed said. "In 1992 I conducted military and basic explosives training for al Qaeda in Afghanistan," training among others Harum Fadhl and Abu Jihad, and also conducted intelligence training for al Qaeda, teaching trainees how to "create cell structures that could be used for operations." He described his work in helping al Qaeda set up "a presence in Nairobi" and enumerated work done by different individuals.
Mohamed said that:
Abu Ubaidah was in charge in Nairobi until he drowned in a ferry accident in Lake Victoria;
Khalid al Fawwaz set up the office and a car business was opened to create income;
Wadih el Hage created a charity organization to help provide al Qaeda members with identity documents; and
Khalid al Fawwaz paid for his surveillance expenses and photo enlarging equipment when scouting possible bomb targets. "I personally helped El Hage by making labels in his home in Nairobi. I personally met Abu Ubaidah and Abu Hafs at Wadih's house in Nairobi," he said.
"We used various code names to conceal our identities. I used the name 'Jeff;' El Hage used the name 'Norman,' Ihab used the name 'Nawawi.'"
After having been asked by bin Laden to conduct surveillance of American, British, French, and Israeli targets in Nairobi, Mohamed said, he looked at potential targets: the American Embassy in Nairobi, the U.S. Agency for International Development Building in Nairobi, the U.S. Agricultural Office in Nairobi, the French Cultural Center and the French Embassy in Nairobi.
"These targets were selected to retaliate against the United States for its involvement in Somalia," he said. "I took pictures, drew diagrams, and wrote a report.
"I later went to Khartoum, where my surveillance files and photographs were reviewed by Usama bin Laden, Abu Hafs, Abu Ubaidah, and others," he said. "Bin Laden looked at the picture of the American Embassy and pointed to where a truck could go as a suicide bomber."
In 1994 bin Laden also sent him to Djibouti to do surveillance on several facilities, including French military bases and the American Embassy, Mohamed said.
In 1994, he said, while in Nairobi, he met with Abu Hafs and another man "in the back of Wadih El Hage's house" and "Abu Hafs told me, along with someone else, to do surveillance for the American, British, French, and Israeli targets in Senegal in West Africa."
"At about this time, in late 1994, I received a call from an FBI agent who wanted to speak to me about the upcoming trial of United States v. Abdel Rahman. I flew back to the United States, spoke to the FBI, but didn't disclose everything that I knew," Mohamed said.
"I reported on my meeting with the FBI to Abu Hafs and was told not to return to Nairobi," he said. He added that in 1995 he obtained a copy of the co-conspirator list for the Abdel Rahman trial and sent the list to El Hage in Kenya "expecting that it would be forwarded to bin Laden in Khartoum."
After an attempt to assassinate bin Laden, Mohamed said he went to Sudan in 1994 to train bin Laden's bodyguards and security detail working in the interior of the bin Laden compound and coordinated their activities with the Sudanese intelligence agents who were responsible for exterior security.
While in Sudan, Mohamed said, he also did surveillance training for al Qaeda. One of the people he trained was Ihab Ali, also known as Nawawi, who was supposed to train others. Nawawi is also in U.S. custody, but did not testify in the current trial.
In 1996 Mohamed learned from El Hage that Abu Ubaidah had drowned, he said. He said that in January 1998 he received a letter from Ihad Ali that said El Hage had been interviewed by the FBI in Kenya and gave him a contact number for El Hage.
"I called the number and then called someone who would pass the message to Fawwaz for bin Laden," he said.
"After the bombing in 1998, I made plans to go to Egypt and later to Afghanistan to meet bin Laden," Mohamed said. "Before I could leave, I was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury in the Southern District of New York. I testified, told some lies, and was then arrested."
Mohamed's arrest on September 10, 1998, was kept secret for eight months, apparently while he and the government attempted to negotiate a deal.
However, he was publicly indicted in May 1999 and joined the four currently on trial, along with another defendant who will stand trial in July for attempted murder of a prison guard, in public arraignments and hearings. Nevertheless, Mohamed remained distant from the rest of the group, including remaining in solitary confinement after the others were allowed to rotate as cellmates.
Mohamed faces the possibility of life in prison. His sentencing date has been tentatively set for July 2001.
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We really are mushrooms in the dark, in the back corner, being fed gruel.
Thanks for the ping, Starwise!!
I've heard Peter Lance on the radio too. The most recent was just this past Saturday night. During the interview he mentioned a timeline on his website. I haven't yet taken the time to check it out. Hopefully its still on his site. I'd love to get his latest book.
Here is a link to his website:
http://peterlance.com/Peter%20Lance/Home/Home.html
The following link from his site is information on Able Danger. It includes a link to a timeline on Able Danger, too. Not sure if this was the timeline Peter Lance spoke of during his Saturday night interview.
http://www.peterlance.com/PLable.htm
We lost several good guys in the last election. Curt Weldon being one of them. :( :(
Okay...I read all of that...but the part that stands out to me...is the wikipedia last line...that he was released from custody by order of Alberto Gonzalez????
Please tell me THAT isn't true...
I am thinking this is all a plot...so many of the good guys lost...and the weinies are left. LOL
Scary...
That one has stumped me, as well. Weldon said in the hearing tonight that he was in prison in Colorado.
Thank you very much, pepper.
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