FBI reportedly interested in former state engineer Farid Adlouni

Seattle Times ^ | Sept. 14, 2002 | Hal Bernton, David Heath and Mike Carter

[ValerieUSA]

PORTLAND — A former Washington state Transportation Department engineer yesterday has found himself, his imam and his mosque swept into an unfolding investigation by Portland's joint terrorism force led by the FBI.

Farid Adlouni, a civil engineer and U.S. citizen who once worked out of the Vancouver office, was profiled in The Oregonian newspaper yesterday as a man with business ties to a top Osama bin Laden aide and who has attracted FBI scrutiny.

Adlouni, 38, yesterday said he had "done nothing wrong."

The imam, Mohammad Abdirahman Kariye, also a U.S. citizen, was recently charged with two felony counts of Social Security identity fraud. He was arrested at the Portland airport Sunday as he tried to leave the country with his four children and his brother. Traces of explosives were found on two of Kariye's bags, according to a federal prosecutor.

Adlouni was one of about 250 "unindicted co-conspirators" in the federal prosecution of the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, a source involved in that case said. The Oregonian, citing an unnamed intelligence source, described Adlouni as "a person of interest" to the FBI terrorism task force.

Adlouni has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1988 and not been arrested or charged with a crime.

A well-spoken man, he has been a public face of Islam in Portland. He spoke at the Lake Oswego Rotary Club shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

He was interviewed by the FBI in 1997. That was the year a fax was sent to Adlouni by Wadih el-Hage, one of Osama bin Laden's trusted aides. The seven-page fax, sent to two other Muslims in the United States, detailed the Taliban's activities in Afghanistan and its posture toward al-Qaida.

The civil engineer said that if he had broken any laws, he surely would have been swept up during the arrests of 1,500 mostly Arabic residents in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I am a family man," he said. "I have been here for 20 years. I have given lectures to churches, to prisons, to synagogues on how we can achieve peace and understanding of each other. This is my main concern."

Adlouni worships at the Islamic Center of Portland, a large, gray, stone mosque. Yesterday, one of its leaders told a visiting reporter, "This tornado will pass."

The indictment of Kariye has upset his followers, many of them Somalis. They staged two demonstrations outside the federal courthouse here. Many of them believe the FBI has unfairly targeted Muslim residents.

"If there were any truth to these (news) reports, the government surely knows and would have acted upon them by now," the mosque said yesterday in a statement. "Simply dredging up tired and flimsy anecdotes in an attempt to scoop law enforcement and other media outlets, these reports yield no value for news, national security or community harmony; in fact, they harm us all."

Adlouni was a business associate of el-Hage, the former personal secretary for bin Laden. El-Hage is serving a life sentence for his part in the embassy bombings.

Records of telephone calls, faxes and bank-account transfers between el-Hage and Adlouni were presented in evidence at el-Hage's 2001 trial in New York.

One fax to Adlouni, sent by el-Hage in October 1996, requested donations for a drought-relief fund. Federal agents later determined the fund was a front to provide new identities for those involved in the U.S. embassy bombings.

Adlouni, under advice from his lawyer, would not answer specific questions yesterday about his contacts with el-Hage.

Adlouni worked as a Washington highway engineer from 1991 to 1998. Since then he has opened an import business, sold alcohol-free fragrances through his online company Muskcarrier, and produced a Muslim business directory. He and el-Hage also tried selling Tanzanite gem stones.

Adlouni was born in Lebanon and graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a civil-engineering degree.

He moved to Oregon in 1988 and later began working for the state Transportation Department on projects involving re-paving and making safety improvements in the southwest highways in Washington.

"Farid was a great guy," said Mike Clark, his former supervisor. "I recognized right away that he had good managerial skills and great leadership skills."

Adlouni was also deeply religious and had a small conference room set aside for daily prayers, Clark said, adding, "I realized he was strong in his faith; my impression was that his religion was more peace and harmony. He didn't push his religion on anybody."

Joshua Draytel, one of el-Hage's lawyers in the embassy-bombing trial, said evidence from both the prosecution and defense showed a legitimate relationship between bin Laden's former secretary and Adlouni.

"It was designed to earn both of them money," he said. "Unfortunately, it earned very little."

Draytel said that at one point Adlouni was subpoenaed as a defense witness for el-Hage, but he was not called to testify.

Federal investigators knew of Adlouni since 1997, Draytel said, and "as far as I know, he's cooperated with the government whenever it has asked him to."

[cake_crumb]

"Joshua Dratel, co-chair of NACDL's Amicus Curiae Committee
NACDL = National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The NY chapter has been active on behalf of Jose Padilla - the 'dirty bomber.' "

Looks like somewhat more than a coincidence.

[ValerieUSA]

Dratel is quoted extensively in this report for the Wall Street Journal classroom edition of a year ago:

http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/tj_092601_a1.htm

Bush's New Surveillance Proposals Could Bring Information Overload

....But expanding surveillance authority doesn't necessarily lead to more effective law enforcement. Joshua Dratel, a criminal-defense lawyer familiar with terrorism cases, says the expanded powers being proposed by the White House wouldn't have addressed the fact that the FBI and other federal agencies knew before Sept. 11 that there were at least two people in the country with terrorist backgrounds -- but couldn't find them.

"This was not the failure of the ability to wiretap a guy; they didn't know where these people were," Mr. Dratel says. "To wiretap somebody, you have to find them first." The two men in question, Khalid Al-Midhar and Nawaf Alhamzi, allegedly were aboard two of the planes hijacked on Sept. 11. Both had been placed on a "watch list" by the CIA on Aug. 23 because of possible links between them and Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

The CIA had obtained a videotape of the two men meeting in Malaysia with associates of Mr. bin Laden in January 2000. But by the time they were placed on the watch list, they were already in the country.

....In a separate case, the FBI obtained wiretap evidence on Wadih el Hage in Kenya from July 1996 to August 1997 and heard dozens of his conversations. Mr. el Hage was convicted this year for his role in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, but investigators didn't pick up enough information beforehand to avert those bloody attacks.

Wiretaps, says Mr. Dratel, who represented Mr. el Hage, are "not a panacea. No one can say, 'As long as we have this authority, it won't happen again.'"

[MeekOneGOP]

Well, I can't figure out how to un-skew the graphics problem here......

Name	Location	Class
	Adlouni, Farid	Vancouver, WA	1986
Members: 1 of 1

[MeekOneGOP]

Good catch. You're on top of things !

[MeekOneGOP]

Hey, Grampa ! You might want to check this out. This guy and me went to UT - Arlington at the same time for 2 years. It's likely at some point our paths crossed. Since he lists Vancouver, Washington as his location on the UTA Alumni site (see #23) and this comes out of Portland, Oregon, I figured you might want to see this.

[MeekOneGOP]

Well I was sure hoping to find a picture of this Farid Adlouni, but no luck! So I sent a note to the UTA Asst Director of Alumni Membership to see what they say.....

Hello!

I graduated from UTA on December 17, 1983. I was wondering if the UTA Alumni Website might have access to photos of Alumni available. Can you please let me know if you do and if so, can you provide the link to the photo site? I looked on the UTA Alumni site but couldn't find such a link. I sure hope you do (crosses fingers).

Sincerely.......

[ValerieUSA]

There is a picture of him with the original Seattle Times article:

[MeekOneGOP]

He looks like he could be a terrorist to me !

LOL ! Thanks. I imagine that UTA doesn't have Alumni images available, but we'll see....

[ValerieUSA]

Dan Springer in Seattle just reported on Fox News about our friend Adlouni and the mosque in Portland's suspected terrorist ties.

[MeekOneGOP]

Oh, I missed it too, then. Who is Dan Springer?

My take on this is that Adlouni has been investigated by the FBI already in the 90's and they didn't come up with anything to prosecute apparently. Either they're inept (surprise!!) or he's pretty good at covering his tracks (or a combination of those). But one has to wonder about anybody that has ties to bin Laden.

[ValerieUSA]

I think Dan Springer must be a reporter with the local Fox affiliate station in Seattle and gets to be on FNC when something regional makes national news.

[MeekOneGOP]

Oh, okay. Thanks.

[dennisw]

"Adlouni was also deeply religious and had a small conference room set aside for daily prayers....."


NOT allowed for Christians or Jews of course

[Shermy]

This American "citizen" isnow selling "Tanzanite?" How very interesting - Tanzanite is Osama connected. Here's some stories on Tanzanite terrorism, plus a Daniel Pearl connection!

Diary From bin Laden Associate Shows al Qaeda Link to Tanzanite

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Thursday, January 24, 2002 | GLENN R. SIMPSON and ROBERT BLOCK

LONDON -- The diary of a former personal secretary to Osama bin Laden reveals that al Qaeda may have been using a popular blue gemstone to help finance its operations as early as 1995. The day planner of Wadih el Hage, who was convicted last year of conspiracy in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, provides the strongest documentary evidence to date of al Qaeda's involvement in the tanzanite trade.

Bought, Sold by Militants Near Mine, Tanzanite Ends Up at Mideast Souks

Wall Street Journal | November 16, 2001 | Robert Block and Daniel Pearl

A trade group called the Tanzanian Mineral Dealers Association denies that Mr. bin Laden's al Qaeda has any role in the tanzanite trade. But in the bars and cafes that dot the streets of Tanzania's mining community, the radical connections are no secret. According to miners and local residents, Muslim extremists loyal to Mr. bin Laden buy stones from miners and middlemen, smuggling them out of Tanzania to free-trade havens such as Dubai and Hong Kong.

Bin Larden benefitting from Tanzanite sales

Wall Street Journal | 11-16-01 | Robert Block and Daniel Pearl

[Shermy]

Daniel Pearl and Tanzanite-terrorists in Oregon ping. (see my post above with Pearl bylines)

[swarthyguy]

How many more cells and individuals are we going to see rounded up over the coming year.

But what do you think of this judge that dropped the case against the owner of the Benevolence charity?

There are too many naive people around and enough of them are judges.

Wonder how many people knew that Pearl was a dead man the moment he landed in Karachi?

[ValerieUSA]

Wow! How interesting! Thanks for the information.

[MeekOneGOP]

#34, just fyi......

[MeekOneGOP]

Really! My thoughts too !

[Grampa Dave]

I swear we need a Cray computer and the new Islamakazi Name program that the CIA and NSA are now using to keep track of these guys.

Do us a favor, please enter all of the appropriate names connected to this thread in the keywords section on this thread and any other thread they are involved in.

If we do that, we may be able to back track and find these guys. The al Qaeda cRat that was just arrested in Florida for smuggling in illegal aliens with Cuba's help, had about 3 ways at least to spell his name. He has been involved in all types of deals for jewelery kiosks stores in mosques to maybe one of the key guys in the planning stages of 9/11.

The Seattle/Portland al Fuqra, al Qaeda Rat connections have to be long time going back about two decades and intense. With the left wing mayors and governors of both lefty areas, anything goes for these thugs. They are protected by the left wingers.