Posted on 06/12/2002 2:43:37 PM PDT by dennisw
FBI claims Bin Laden inquiry was frustrated Officials told to 'back off' on Saudis before September 11
Greg Palast and David Pallister
GuardianWednesday November 7, 2001
FBI and military intelligence officials in Washington say they were prevented for political reasons from carrying out full investigations into members of the Bin Laden family in the US before the terrorist attacks of September 11.
US intelligence agencies have come under criticism for their wholesale failure to predict the catastrophe at the World Trade Centre. But some are complaining that their hands were tied.
FBI documents shown on BBC Newsnight last night and obtained by the Guardian show that they had earlier sought to investigate two of Osama bin Laden's relatives in Washington and a Muslim organisation, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), with which they were linked.
The FBI file, marked Secret and coded 199, which means a case involving national security, records that Abdullah bin Laden, who lived in Washington, had originally had a file opened on him "because of his relationship with the World Assembly of Muslim Youth - a suspected terrorist organisation".
WAMY members deny they have been involved with terrorist activities, and WAMY has not been placed on the latest list of terrorist organisations whose assets are being frozen.
Abdullah, who lived with his brother Omar at the time in Falls Church, a town just outside Washington, was the US director of WAMY, whose offices were in a basement nearby.
But the FBI files were closed in 1996 apparently before any conclusions could be reached on either the Bin Laden brothers or the organisation itself. High-placed intelligence sources in Washington told the Guardian this week: "There were always constraints on investigating the Saudis".
They said the restrictions became worse after the Bush administration took over this year. The intelligence agencies had been told to "back off" from investigations involving other members of the Bin Laden family, the Saudi royals, and possible Saudi links to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Pakistan.
"There were particular investigations that were effectively killed."
Only after the September 11 attacks was the stance of political and commercial closeness reversed towards the other members of the large Bin Laden clan, who have classed Osama bin Laden as their "black sheep".
Yesterday, the head of the Saudi-based WAMY's London office, Nouredine Miladi, said the charity was totally against Bin Laden's violent methods. "We seek social change through education and cooperation, not force."
He said Abdullah bin Laden had ceased to run WAMY's US operation a year ago.
Neither Abdullah nor Omar bin Laden could be contacted in Saudi Arabia for comment.
WAMY was founded in 1972 in a Saudi effort to prevent the "corrupting" ideas of the west ern world influencing young Muslims. With official backing it grew to embrace 450 youth and student organisations with 34 offices worldwide.
Its aim was to encourage "concerned Muslims to take up the challenge by arming the youth with sound understanding of Islam, guarding them against destructive ideologies, and instilling in them level-headed wisdom".
In Britain it has 20 associated organisations, many highly respectable.
But as long as 10 years ago it was named as a discreet channel for public and private Saudi donations to hardline Islamic organisations. One of the recipients of its largesse has been the militant Students Islamic Movement of India, which has lent support to Pakistani-backed terrorists in Kashmir and seeks to set up an Islamic state in India.
Since September 11 WAMY has been investigated in the US along with a number of other Muslim charities. There have been several grand jury investigations but no findings have been made against any of them.
Current FBI interest in WAMY is shown in their agents' interrogation of a radiologist from San Antonio, Texas, Dr Al Badr al-Hazmi, who was arrested on September 12 and released without charge two weeks later. He had the same surname as two of the plane hijackers.
He was also questioned about his contacts with Abdullah bin Laden at the US WAMY office.
Mr Al-Hazmi said that he had made phone calls to Abdullah bin Laden in 1999 trying to obtain books and videotapes about Islamic teachings for the Islamic Centre of San Antonio.
http://www.rense.com/general16/conn.htm
- PALAST: In the eight weeks since the attacks, over 1,000 suspects and potential witnesses have been detained. Yet, just days after the hijackers took off from Boston aiming for the Twin Towers, a special charter flight out of the same airport whisked 11 members of Osama Bin Laden's family off to Saudi Arabia. That did not concern the White House.
- Their official line is that the Bin Ladens are above suspicion - apart from Osama, the black sheep, who they say hijacked the family name. That's fortunate for the Bush family and the Saudi royal household, whose links with the Bin Ladens could otherwise prove embarrassing. But Newsnight has obtained evidence that the FBI was on the trail of other members of the] Bin Laden family for links to terrorist organisations before and after September 11th.
- This document is marked "Secret". Case ID - 199-Eye WF 213 589. 199 is FBI code for case type. 9 would be murder. 65 would be espionage. 199 means national security. WF indicates Washington field office special agents were investigating ABL - because of it's relationship with the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, WAMY - a suspected terrorist organisation. ABL is Abdullah Bin Laden, president and treasurer of WAMY.
- This is the sleepy Washington suburb of Falls Church, Virginia where almost every home displays the Stars and Stripes. On this unremarkable street, at 3411 Silver Maple Place, we located the former home of Abdullah and another brother, Omar, also an FBI suspect. It's conveniently close to WAMY. The World Assembly of Muslim Youth is in this building, in a little room in the basement at 5613 Leesburg Pike. And here, just a couple blocks down the road at 5913 Leesburg, is where four of the hijackers that attacked New York and Washington are listed as having lived.
- The US Treasury has not frozen WAMY's assets, and when we talked to them, they insisted they are a charity. Yet, just weeks ago, Pakistan expelled WAMY operatives. And India claimed that WAMY was funding an organisation linked to bombings in Kashmir. And the Philippines military has accused WAMY of funding Muslim insurgency. The FBI did look into WAMY, but, for some reason, agents were pulled off the trail.
- TRENTO: The FBI wanted to investigate these guys. This is not something that they didn't want to do - they wanted to, they weren't permitted to.
- PALAST: The secret file fell into the hands of national security expert, Joe Trento. The Washington spook-tracker has been looking into the FBI's allegations about WAMY.
- TRENTO: They've had connections to Osama Bin Laden's people. They've had connections to Muslim cultural and financial aid groups that have terrorist connections. They fit the pattern of groups that the Saudi royal family and Saudi community of princes - the 20,000 princes - have funded who've engaged in terrorist activity.
- Now, do I know that WAMY has done anything that's illegal? No, I don't know that. Do I know that as far back as 1996 the FBI was very concerned about this organisation? I do.
Was this on paper? by telephone? Who are these nameless named by the nameless?
Allegations have been made that this Jose Padilla from Al Qaeda was recruited by the WAMY Muslim organization.
What did Clinton know and when did he know it?
Of course there is only one nameless one, "Deep Throat" after all these years.
Now, I hope that Bush has changed his mind about these folks. A friend who stabs you and your country in the back is not a friend, especially when he refuses to apologize or help make up for his mistake.
The jury is still out on this. It would be foolish for Bush to jump on the Saudis until we are well prepared to handle this difficult matter and see it through to a successful conclusion. It would be foolish for him to tip his hand, as well. But I devoutly hope that Bush has learned his lesson, not only from 9/11 but from the behavior of the Saudis since that time. I think Bush is genuinely religious and genuinely patriotic. I hope he understands that he may have to put his country before this old friendship.
By extension, then, c) the Saudi sheikhs, for all our diplomacy, have been secretly into a terror war against the United States the objective of which would be the goals enunciated by OBL: to fight against us infidels until we renounce our own beliefs and convert to Islam.
At Bush Pledges Fight Against Evil AP White House Corespondent, AP, June 11, 2002 (posted by TheOtherOne).
From the story ---
[Bush] acknowledged intelligence lapses at the FBI prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Acknowledged.
"I wasn't surprised that the FBI wasn't fully prepared for the war against terror. Because after all, the FBI's major job up until Sept. 11 was to make cases against people who committed crimes already in America. White collar crimes, spies.
He knew that the F.B.I. was not fully prepared to gather intelligence and investigate; but that is among his responsibilities to ensure and direct.
They really weren't focused on preventing attacks. And so we needed to change the culture," Bush said.
"Focus" --- indeed, that is the crux of the new department, a Cabinet Level Department of Focus; but then again, that work is his responsibility to ensure, as it is a part of his duties as Commander-in-Chief, for which operations, the capacity is entirely available within the malleable framework of the Constitutionally authorized war department of our federal government.
The work --- the focus --- is provided for already; a new Department of Focus is not necessary; rather, a new Bush is required, to direct that focus shall happen and at offices designated and by people designated within the war department.
The war department has always been a domestic and global business, each of which missions have always been the prime areas of operation; now, both related to the third major area, space, in "more modern times."
The war department has reorganized, both vertically and horizontally, as required by the times, since its inception; it has such flexibility; it is a phenomenally capable and malleable department within of our form of limited government.
What we need is a new Bush who has the willingness to discover there; but he will have to explore beyond what is "all - on - one - page" - his bottleneck style of information flow, his own design, which is preventing him from knowing more of what capabilities actually are within the war department. (Not to mention what the limits of government power are, as enumerated in our Constitution.)
Here is an excellent observation by FRPR gunshy, Reply 115, at Poll: Four in Five Americans Would Give Up Some Freedom for More Security (MORON ALERT), referring to a Tampa Bay Online / AP story by Jennifer R. Brown, June 11, 2002 (posted by Boonie Rat):
I grew up during WWII, to young for military service but old enough to remember civil defense wardens coming through the neighborhoods telling us to close our blackout shades. I remember detention camps for suspected fifth columnists, shore batteries up and down the west coast, rationing of strategic materials and a constant barage of propoganda about keeping security. I remember that anyone that spoke a foreign language or with a foreign accent were immediately suspect. I also remember that we weren't searched when we travelled by car or train or bus, airplanes were not available. The US government asked of americans many sacrifices and their support. Our current government has done none of these things, all it has wanted is to spy on americans in secret and to ignore the Constitution in the name of security.
He has it correct.
What made us something to reckon with, was that we used our freedom and such personal initiative and individual responsibility, as teams, as weapons --- which great strength is being eschewed by the Bush [still running 75% of the Clinton] Administration ... in the federal government's flight to prove itself at our expense(s).
"The other thing we are doing a better job of is having the CIA, which collects information overseas, coordinate with the FBI," the president said.
Again, that has always been the responsibility of a commander-in-chief to affect.
Bush noted that FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director George Tenet now brief him jointly.
An aware Commander-in-Chief would have insisted on this, on the very first day of his/her taking office.
His plans for the new department include a division that would analyze intelligence from the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency and others, but without any direct authority over the gathering of the information.
The requirement for intelligence gathering and centralizing the results, is as old as Team A taking on Team B. The Central, repeat Central Intelligence Agency has ALWAYS been tasked with centralizing the info and briefing the President.
"Squabbles" between agencies and departments is a matter for a leader to address and resolve by direction, "Cut that out!"
In a speech at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Bush said, "We'll have people whose job it is to analyze everything we see and assess everything we hear.
We already have such people, but somebody has not informed the President by placing this gem in a one-page memo; therefore, he is apparently not going to know about it because he will not call a cab, go over to the Pentagon, the C.I.A., and the F.B.I. ... and find out for himself.
Though he actually already knows this; see Ray Cline's work, for starters.
And to make sure it's all in one area, so we can get a clearer picture of what may or may not be happening to America."
Again, the need for focus; it is not a "new paradigm;" see Caesar, et al; and the necessary capacity is ALREADY within the Executive Branch, if only Bush would use the tools he has ... if only he knew that he has such tools ... if only he would gather himself up and apply himself to using them.
________
At Bush Wants Domestic Law Enforcement Agencies "Under One Roof.", Dow Jones Newswires, June 12, 2002 (posted by mconder).
"Therefore, it is important to align authority and responsibility to create accountability," Bush said.
Mr. President, they are all, already accountable; it is up to you to enforce; but you delay.
Didn't catch the same report on MSNBC,CNN, etc.., lamestream broadcast media...what else is new!
The more the sh#t starts floating to the surface...the Saudis' camel prints are all over it.
Best FReegards...Mustang sends.
Who was President in 1996? Bill Clinton.
This isn't the first I'd heard and read of these accusations. I had read them back in 1999 here on FR (going for the archives now...)
It's about time this started getting more play in the media. And it's high time WAMY made the terrorist organization list and got shut down. WAMY recruited Padilla, and WAMY is reported to be a "talent spotting" arm of Al Qaeda.
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