Al-Qaida Operative Faris’ Motivation Remains A Mystery

The al-Qaida operatives who recruited Columbus trucker Iyman Faris into their fold prefer to find collaborators who share their ideological beliefs, an expert on terrorism said.

Failing that, anyone will do —as long as they can provide the information or materiel the terrorist network needs, said Todd Stewart, director of the Ohio State Program for International and Homeland Security at Ohio State University.

But it isn’t known what motivated Faris to research torches that al-Qaida might use to cut through cables on the Brooklyn Bridge, buy sleeping bags for a terrorist camp, or help deliver money and cellphones to terrorists.

"There are a lot of motivations," said Stewart, a retired Air Force major general. "In some cases, it’s ideological, or maybe a strong need for recognition and acceptance from somebody they admire."

In other cases, less likely with al-Qaida, people will do it for money, he said.

Faris, 34, a Pakistani native who became a U.S. citizen in 1999, never espoused anti-American opinions, according to his friends and former family.

Stewart said, "It’s probably inappropriate to call someone a terrorist groupie, but there are those people out there. They do the footwork, they’re the eyes on the ground, making assessments. The evidence so far is he is not . . . a major player."

U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Faris appears typical of the type of person al-Qaida would recruit: A troubled loner seeking meaning in his life. DeWine has heard briefings about profiles of typical terrorists, but he wouldn’t disclose details from the private hearings.

Faris spent a lot of time on the road as a truck driver and brought few friends over to the house, according to his former stepson, Michael Bowling.

Now that Faris has pleaded guilty to being an al-Qaida scout, at least one of his former neighbors in Dublin is kicking himself for not putting two and two together sooner.

"You never want to believe that the guy living 15 feet from you could actually turn out to be a terrorist planning to topple the Brooklyn Bridge," John Brown, 64, said of Faris, whom he and neighbors knew only as "Mohammed." "But it all should have made sense to me."

The goings-on at the two-story rental house on Curtis Knoll Drive seemed odd to residents on the quiet everyone-knows everyone street.

Brown had long suspected the man was up to no good. Faris lived there off and on with a woman and a young girl about 2 since before Sept. 11.

At all hours of the night he could see the man in a secondstory window using a computer. FedEx and UPS packages arrived almost daily. Several used cars without license plates were parked in the driveway, and the man would rotate a single set of plates among the cars, depending on which one he was driving. Men dressed in business suits waited for hours every day in the front yard for Mohammed to arrive.

When Mohammed came out, he and the men would sit in a car and talk for hours. The times they drove off, Faris was always at the wheel.

No one knew who the other men were. Neighbors did not know the name of the woman living with him.

The FBI has said that Faris acted alone, that there is no terrorist cell in central Ohio.

Neighbors said Faris frequently left the country for months at a time, and the woman and child rarely came outside when he was gone.

The family that moved into the house after Faris left was surprised to find an elaborate network of phone and computer lines in the basement.

"We were really baffled by it until we heard the news. Now, we’re just freaked out," Brian Steinberger said.

Some of Faris’ odd behavior — the packages and late-night computer work — might be explained by his involvement in an import-export business.

He and Ayman B. Saed, who formerly lived on Schrock Road, began operating Aymanes Imports in February 1997, according to Ohio secretary of state records. The business let its license lapse in February 2002.

Saed, who moved to Florida in 2001, told The Washington Post the company imported clothing from Pakistan but quickly faltered.

He told the newspaper he was surprised Faris pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

Federal records showed that Faris also operated a trucking business, Kashmir Transportation Service, out of a Riverview Drive address on the Northwest Side.

Federal agents say his years spent in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Middle East, 2000-02, and the frequent trips around the United States when he returned were at the bidding of al-Qaida. The overseas trip had even included a meeting with Osama bin Laden.

Michael Bowling said Faris’ interest in computers did seem to grow after his return from Pakistan.

Faris surrendered to federal authorities in April and later pleaded guilty, facts that had been kept under wraps until U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced them at a news conference Thursday.

"It’s not clear to me why this was unsealed unless they feel like they’ve gotten about as much knowledge as they can" and that Faris’ cooperation isn’t going to hamper other investigations, Stewart said.

This is really spooky. This guy lived about a block away from me. The article is right, nobody in the neighborhood knew the guy other than to see him around, coming and going, things going on at odd hours in that house. But, what can you do? I'm not going to call the cops just because my neighbor acts differently than me, as long as what he's doing isn't obviously illegal. We're taught to leave people alone and not bother them. These sleepers know that and take advantage of it.

Sorry if this is a duplicate post, I did a search on the right keywords and didn't turn anything up. Sorry, but I'm a bit freaked out by this one...

My chief area concern is who all of his visitors were. I somehow doubt that a trucker is going to be meeting with all of these men in business suits as part of his cover, my gut tells me that these were US al-Qaeda operatives.

I live in Dublin (not far from the islamo-scout). Ever wonder if he delivered pizza to you when he was at Pizza Hut?

On another thread, I suspected a possible connection between this guy and the Arizona state "student" arrested in '99 on a flight to Columbus from Arizona. He was suing for beinng profiled, but was recently and abruptly invited to an undisclosed location in Virginia as a guest of AG Ashcroft. Isn't our Columbus al Qaida a guest in the same general area? And haven't both of these developments occurred since KSM was picked up in Pakistan?

Gives me the creeps.

If your neighbor is a MUSLIM AND acts strangely, it's time to call the cops.

Like it or not, all these terrorists ARE Muslims, so Muslims should receive extra scrunity. The lives of the 99% of Americans who aren't Muslims depends on it.

Ever wonder if he delivered pizza to you when he was at Pizza Hut?

Is that the one off of Martin Rd. and W. Dublin-Granville Rd.? I use that one a lot. Its bad enough I drive by the guy's house all the time and my son and I ride our bikes up that street. You're freaking me out, here.

But the dude couldn't have selected a better area for "blending in". Its just an idyllic neighborhood, quiet, kids playing in the yards, everyone minds their own business. And what's Dublin's claim to fame other than the home of Dave Thomas and Wendy's, and the Memorial Tournament for the golfers out there? Nothing likely to draw attention. But it's only a 600 mile ride to the NYC area, and someone who is a driver by profession can do that with their eyes closed.

SOME LAW ENFORCEMENT IDIOT (EITHER STATE OR FED) JUST SAID ON WTVN THAT ALL THE EVIDENCE INDICATED THIS GUY ACTED ALONE AND THAT THEY HAVE NO REASON TO DISPUTE THAT CONCLUSION.

All the rest of the muslims in this country are totally innocent.

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