THE OKLAHOMA CITY -- 911 CONNECTION

http://twa800.com/news/mastalk-10-10-02.htm ^ | 10/13/02 | Michael Smerconish

[JohnFiorentino]

The Okla. City-Sept. 11 Connection By Michael Smerconish mas@mastalk.com

I'M NOT A conspiracy guy. I think Oswald killed Kennedy, and that he acted alone. And, like all Americans, I figured that the tragic bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was the work of two sick ex-Army guys, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Now I'm not so sure. Last night, my radio station, the Big Talker 1210, brought three speakers to town for a remarkable presentation: Jayna Davis, a reporter from Oklahoma City; Larry Johnson, ex-deputy director of the State Department's office of counterterrorism, and Patrick Lang, Mideast expert formerly of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

In a spellbinding presentation, they made the case for a connection between Mideast terrorism, the Murrah bombing - and the attacks on the Twin Towers. Now I know why former CIA Director James Woolsey has been quoted as saying that when the full truth is known about these acts of terrorism, the nation will owe Davis "a debt of gratitude."

Why her name is not already a household word is the greatest mystery of all. Just this week, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that U.S. intelligence has "bulletproof" evidence of links between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. Rumsfeld didn't offer specifics. But here is what we know from the work of Davis.

When the Murrah bombing occurred at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, Davis was a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City. She was among the first journalists to broadcast that an enormous truck bomb had rocked the heartland, killing 168 and injuring hundreds.

In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, the FBI launched an international pursuit of several Middle Eastern-looking men seen fleeing the Murrah Building in a brown Chevy pickup right before the blast. Without explanation, that all-points bulletin was later canceled. Two days later, Timothy McVeigh was a household name. So was Terry Nichols. And that's where most of us left the tale. Stunned, but convinced that two Army buddies, homegrown terrorists, acted alone.

Thankfully, Davis didn't close this book as quickly as most of us did. She pursued the APB and set off to track reports of multiple sightings of McVeigh with an elusive dark-haired accomplice. The infamous sketch of John Doe No. 2 was always tucked firmly in her grip.

Davis soon uncovered that several employees at an Oklahoma City property- management company said they had seen a brown Chevy truck like the getaway vehicle aggressively pursued by law enforcement parked outside their office in the days before the bombing. The company's owner was a Palestinian with a rap sheet and suspected ties to the PLO.

Davis learned that, six months before the bombing, the Palestinian hired a handful of ex-Iraqi soldiers to do maintenance at his rental houses. Eyewitnesses told Davis that they celebrated the bombing.

She was also made aware that these same men were absent from work on April 17, 1995, the day McVeigh rented the Ryder truck that carried the bomb. While pursuing the story of these Middle Eastern men, Davis also became aware of another ex-Iraqi soldier in Oklahoma City named Hussain Hashem Al-Hussaini. She was taken aback to see that Al-Hussaini's picture, when overlaid with the government sketch of John Doe No. 2, was arguably a perfect match. He even sported a tattoo on his upper left arm indicating that he likely had served in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard. Davis then set about looking for a connection to McVeigh, Nichols, Al-Hussaini and other Iraqis. It came when a colleague located two eyewitnesses who claimed to have independently seen Al-Hussaini drinking beer with McVeigh in an Oklahoma City nightclub just four days before the bombing.

This convinced her station to run with the Iraqi-connection story. It was met with some controversy.

The Justice Department responded that the identification of John Doe No. 2 was merely a case of mistaken identity. Al-Hussaini contacted local reporters, claiming to be falsely accused. Davis did not back off because she believed she could repudiate Al-Hussaini's alibi.

AND SHE LOCATED two dozen witnesses who identified eight specific Middle Eastern men, the majority of whom were ex-Iraqi soldiers, who were seen with McVeigh and Nichols. Two witnesses named Al-Hussaini as the dark-haired, olive-skinned man they observed one block from the Murrah Building just before daybreak on the day of the blast.

She also uncovered evidence that implicated several of Al-Hussaini's co-workers. One of these men was identified as sitting in the driver's seat of a Chevy pickup at an Oklahoma City apartment complex hours before the truck was abandoned on the lot and towed to the FBI command post. According to police records, the truck had been stripped of its vehicle identification numbers and identifying body molding.

The story gathered steam. Here, it would appear, was the deserted pickup that was the same vehicle that was seen speeding away from the vicinity of the Murrah building with two Arab-looking occupants.

And there was more. Five witnesses independently fingered several of Al-Hussaini's associates as frequent visitors to an Oklahoma City motel in the months, days, and hours leading up to 9:02 a.m. on April 19. On numerous occasions, the subjects were seen in the company of McVeigh, and during a few instances, associating with Nichols - at the same motel!

Davis spoke to the motel owner and a maintenance worker who said the men came within feet of a large Ryder truck parked on the west side of the parking lot at 7:40 a.m. on April 19. An unexplained odor of diesel fuel emanated from the rear carriage. Minutes later, McVeigh entered the motel office and returned the room key. The motel owner then saw McVeigh drive off the lot with a man identified as Al-Hussaini.

To this day, the Justice Department has refused to return the original registration logs for the motel.

Davis has 80 pages of affidavits and 2,000 supporting documents, and they suggest not only an Iraqi connection to the Murrah bombing, but also to the attacks against the Twin Towers.

For example, Nichols was a man of modest means. Yet he traveled frequently to the Philippines. Davis discovered that Nichols was there, in Cebu City in December 1994, at the same time as the convicted mastermind of the first World Trade Center attack, Ramzi Yousef.

She has also found evidence that Islamic terrorists boasted of having recruited two "lily whites" for terrorism.

Al-Hussaini had a very American response to Davis' investigation. He sued for defamation. In a ruling on Nov. 17, 1999, federal Judge Timothy Leonard dismissed the case.

In 1995, the federal grand jury proclaimed in the official indictment that McVeigh and Nichols acted with "others unknown." And several members of the Denver juries who convicted the two said publicly that they thought they had help.

Since 1997, Davis has repeatedly tried to interest the FBI in her investigation. She has been rebuffed.

As for Al-Hussaini, after leaving Oklahoma City, he went on to work at Boston's Logan International Airport, the point of origin for several for the 9/11 hijackers, including Mohammad Atta.

One more thing. That motel where McVeigh, Nichols and Al-Hussaini were seen together was later visited (pre-9/11) by Atta, Zacharias Moussaouy and Marwan Al-Shehi.

[DoughtyOne]

I just taped some very good sequences that show what I'm talking about. I'd be interested in seeing alternative opinions regarding what I believe I saw.

John, I know the government says there was no disruption left rear. I don't believe it. It has been challenged by other folks. Consistant with what I saw in the video I'm referencing, I don't see how there could possibly not been major blowout in the left rear area of his head.

I'll try to develop a video sequence of this and altert you when I have it posted.

[JohnFiorentino]

You are welcome to do as you wish. I'd be happy to look at it. But I can assure you, that there was absolutely NO disruption to the left rear of the President's head.

[expatpat]

Perhaps the threat of disclosing what Clinton did is more valuable as a lever than wasting it by disclosing it now.

[IncPen]

I've read some reasonably convincing things here on FR (articles, opinions) that lead me to believe that OKC was not just the work of home-grown nuts.

I also believe Flight 800 was knocked down by a missle.

And I believe that JFK was murdered by 3 or more people and that Oswald was nothing more than a patsy. Watching the Zapruder film I find it impossible to believe that those last gruesome frames were the result of a shot from above or behind.

But I have an open mind on the subject, and if you have a book that makes a convincing case I'd probably read it.

Good luck with it.

[Brian Allen]

<< The ugly secret is that it was the cli'ton "administration" that had to have McVeigh and Nichols as the only perpetrators. >>

It was actually the cli'ton re-erection campaign that forced the "inquiry" to be limited to the white males, McVeigh and Nichols.

And Rush Limbaugh.

And the cli'tons' crime-family "administration" that executed that strategy.

[Asmodeus]

You added your own agreement in #6 to the article author's statement: "I'M NOT A conspiracy guy" with the following comments:

"I am also not much for conspiracies, but I continue to look into Oklahoma City, and TWA Flight 800, among other things."

You also included TWA Flight 800 in the keyword subjects of this thread, an invitation for the readers to discuss, debate, comment and ask questions about that subject too.

You earlier also posted the following elsewhere related to both TWA 800 and the conspiracy theories about that disaster:

Yahoo TWA800 forum - April 12, 2002
From: John Fiorentino
Subject: Re: [twa800] Kabofovic revisited
[excerpt][quote][emphasis added]
Most here are convinced a "missile" did the dirty deed. I'm not, not yet at least. The initial assessment was "bomb". I thought so to. I still do. [end quote]

TEN metallurgists reportedly examined the wreckage of the 747 (four from the NTSB, three from Boeing, two from the FBI Laboratory, and one scientist consultant) and found no evidence of a bomb (or missile) in the wreckage of TWA 800 [Source]. Once again, please clarify for the readers whether you believe those ten metallurgists were incompetent or part of a coverup conspiracy?

[Asmodeus]

 

BONES OF CONTENTION
by Enid Gray, Australia  (Copyright - March 1999)

Why do authors continue to print Autopsy photograph No. 44 displaying the skull defect in President Kennedy's head the wrong way around?

Recently, I borrowed two books written by different authors, who are regarded by many assassination researchers as experts in their field. This is indeed high praise.  Yet both men who are profilic writers, make the identical mistake by reprinting autopsy photograph numbered 44 incorrectly.  Agreed, they are not the only writers who have done so, but as a former nurse who has witnessed autopsies first hand, I find this re-occurring error infuriating.  It's also inexcusable, for the outcome is far too important to allow any author to continually print anatomical errors that misdirect us all.

It is not necessary to have a degree in forensics or be a brain surgeon to appreciate that the skull is a remarkable rigid structure that encloses the brain completely.  There are countless clear photographs, illustrations and plastic models available for us to see what it looks like.  Some are detailed enough that they show us exactly where on the skull a bone is situated.

To understand what happens at an autopsy during the procedure to remove the brain it will be necessary to read David Liftons book "Best Evidence".  Illustrated on page 441 (of Best Evidence) is a diagram showing the head with a dotted line.  This is the area on the scalp that the skin is cut by the pathologist.  The skin is then peeled over the forehead where it sits above the eyes not unlike a roll of pastry.  Knowing that, you'll realise that the correct way to orientate the autopsy photograph is to turn the page around so what was once on the left side of the page is now against the midriff, i.e. the photo is to be turned 90 degrees anticlockwise.  You're now looking into the cavity of the empty of the empty skull.  The fractured head bones are clearly visible as is the bevelled edge of an exit hole caused by a bullet.  The photograph was taken from an anterior-superior position, which means from the front to the back.  What both authors describe as the left hand side of the head is actually reflected scalp sitting on the forehead.
 
 

Using your powers of observation re-examine the photo the right way around.  You will notice a ruler measuring the defect and gloved fingers which appear to be supporting the back of the skull very near the blurry outline of a shoulder.  The cranium is empty so it's important to remember that this is how the skull looked after the pathlogists removed the brain.  The thickness of the cracked skull bones demonstrates that they are more likely situated at the rear of the head.  Now look at the area below the bone containing the semi-circular notch and notice the reflected scalp.  This roll of skin is a very important feature.  Because it's the practice of pathologists to reflect the scalp over the face when removing the brain at an autopsy and not sideways, this feature clearly establishes that this autopsy photograph, when oriented correctly, was taken from the front.  Any other placement makes no sense.

It's no bloody wonder that the autopsy of President Kennedy still remains clouded in confusion.  Maybe in the future, authors will consult with a few medical experts before leaping into print and re-arranging the human body.  They may even be concientious enough to observe an autopsy in progress.  Maybe then they'll stop printing their version of Autopsy photograph 44 that leads us all astray.

[Asmodeus]

Source.

[M. T. Cicero II]

Gerald Ford said of the Warren Commission: "We told the truth. Just not all of the truth." I believe him (seriously).

[JohnFiorentino]

Give it up Barr, you are disruptive, repetitive, and frankly boring. You have been banned from this forum before by the moderators. Your "sources" always posted in your diatribes are your own. You operate a "cartoon page" website where you attempt to disparage anyone who doesn't agree with you. Fifty years of investigative experience? I say bunk!

[Rebelbase]

Ping.

[Andy from Beaverton]

I'd put TWA800 on that list too. I don't believe anything that came from the Clinton years, especially that the Davidians killed themselves.

[tomkat]

well, conspiracy theories or no, it's considered good form around here
to do at least a cursory search beforehand to avoid duplicate postings.

as for hawking your 'book', i suppose if jim let's it slide that's his call,
but it's hard to see the difference 'tween that and one of us self-employed types posting our wares here ...

$0.02

[Tedmeister]

It amazed me how quickly they executed McVeigh, most death row inmates wait for years. Appears to be another Clinton cover up.

[Cobra Scott]

Are you familiar with the airline flight that went down, supposedly Nixon had something to do with it (directly or indirectly). I believe it was in the midwest, in 1970.

I ask this because if this stuff is at least a passing interest to you, maybe you could throw out some good names or other keywords to track the incident? I come up blank, it was obscure at that time, even. I can't offer anything more on it, which is why it has bugged me for so long. This was way before Gore invented the internet....

[Asmodeus]

"as for hawking your 'book', i suppose if jim let's it slide that's his call, but it's hard to see the difference 'tween that and one of us self-employed types posting our wares here.

Donaldson brothers TWA 800 Bulletin Board - Subject: Ricky Raesz - January 14 2001 - John Fiorentino
[excerpt],quote] As the author of a forthcoming book on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and in my occupation as a Paralegal-- having investigated many "conspiracy" theories -- it would seem the first step would be to prove conclusively that TWA Flight 800 was IN FACT downed by a missile or missiles. [end quote][emphasis his]

Yahoo TWA800 Forum on 29 May 2001:
[excerpt][quote]John Fiorentino - Occupation: Entrepreneur, Author, Record Producer, Independent researcher & Paralegal Investigator, Author of forthcoming book on the assassination of President Kennedy. Debut release on my Indie record label due out soon! [end quote]

[JohnFiorentino]

And your point is what?.......ASMODEUS?

[JohnFiorentino]

I believe you may be referring to United Airlines Flight 553 out of Wash., D.C. which exploded while attempting to land in Chicago 12/8/72.