9/11 book: Terror link inside FDNY

New York Daily News ^ | 9/04/03 | TRACY CONNOR

[kattracks]

A hero fire marshal killed in the terror attacks told the FBI of his suspicions about an Egyptian-born FDNY employee who associated with terrorists - but his warning was ignored, a new book claims.

The book, "1000 Years for Revenge" by Peter Lance, contends the feds missed opportunities to stop the attacks.

But New York FBI spokesman Joe Valiquette slammed Lance's book as a "rehash of old stories, gossip and speculation."

One thread of the book follows Fire Department veteran Ronnie Bucca and his suspicions about a department accountant, Ahmed Amin Refai.

Bucca began investigating Refai in 1999, after Refai filed a bogus report to get a new building identification pass for department headquarters, the book says.

Bucca was alarmed by Refai's association with Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind sheik convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The marshal uncovered TV footage of Refai escorting Abdel-Rahman through a crowd at a New Jersey mosque and learned he was also acquainted with El Sayed A Nosair, who assassinated Jewish Defense League leader Meir Kahane in 1990.

That year, Refai took a pile of Trade Center blueprints that had been tossed out by the FDNY, the book says. When the complex was bombed, Refai called in sick, Lance reports.

Now retired, Refai denied any wrongdoing. He admitted to Lance that he met Abdel-Rahman and other terror figures but said he wasn't close to them. He also denied taking the blueprints and blamed the attacks on a U.S.-Israeli conspiracy.

The FBI is now investigating Refai, the book says. Valiquette declined comment yesterday on any probe.

Originally published on September 4, 2003

[patriciaruth]

There was an author on O'Reilly today, I believe, who was talking about his new book on the war on terror, which has interesting tidbits, like the three Saudi princes that one of the captive terrorists was tricked into revealing. And then they met with 1) heart attack at 42 years of age 2) car accident 3) died of thirst.

I was going to order the book but have forgotten it's name... Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks!

[RaceBannon]

is it: Losing Bin Laden

By Richard Miniter? The new one?

[Diogenesis]

They knew in advance.
Their calendars predicted Atrocities (like 911) months in advance.

[How many were in the UN before 911, Kofi?

How many were in the State Dept. from your real "clients", Colin?

Inquiring American minds still want to know.]

[LurkingSince'98]

I believe it is call "Why Americal Slept" by Gerald Posner.

He is good..too bad O'Reilly kept cutting him off.

Regards,
Lurking'

[wayoverontheright]

Posner was interviewed on Fox and Friends this AM, he voted for Clinton twice but skewers him in this book.

[justshutupandtakeit]

If that is the Posner of "Case Closed" he is a lying POS.

[patriciaruth]

"Why America Slept" is the book I was looking for. Thanks for your help.

I thought I wouldn't forget as the title is a ripoff of John F. Kennedy's senior thesis "Why England Slept" which was a ripoff of Churchill's "While England Slept."

I didn't think I could forget all that sleeping around, so I didn't write it down...;-)

[MattAMiller]

If it's the same Gerald Posner then he's anything but a sensationalist or conspiracy nut. I'd trust his journalism.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Any careful examination of Case Closed reveals hundreds of mistakes, slights of hand and outright distortion of the evidence used to draw his conclusions. I have done just that. A few mistakes I can live with but not outright distortions and attempted con jobs.

[Miss Marple]

I remember the three princes who died in mysterious ways. There was a thread on it here at the time and mucuh speculation about it. Dog, do you remember when that was?

[Dog]

Let me do a search..

[cyncooper]

I saw Posner on with Chris Matthews last night. He claims that when we captured a senior al Qaeda operative we used interesting methods to try to get him to talk: Withholding pain meds, rewarding with the meds when he would cooperate, and even truth serum. Posner carefully set this up as our main interset (It was March 2002) was to find out if another attack was planned, and we were perfectly within international law to use extraordinary methods (not that if this became public enemies of America like the dems here wouldn't use it against us--IMO, but I digress).

He then said the man would not cooperate to their satisfaction so they wanted to fool him that he was moved to Saudi custody. The theory was that the Saudis were known to use outright torture or could kill him, so the thinking went that if he thought he was within their control he would beg to return to the Americans where he would finally tell us what we wanted to know.

Instead, Posner says, when the fake Saudi captors approached the man he was relieved and gave them the phone number for a prince and said the prince would tell them what to do. The prince (I did not get his name) is evidently well known and was educated here in the U.S. (I believe Stanford was mentioned) and his children either attended or are attending school here. Matthews said he was widedly perceived as very pro-American (actually Matthews left off the perceived and just stated "he's very pro-American", when I think the "perceived to be" should have been used.) Posner said that is what makes him the perfect "contact"---Above suspicion.

Does he have the truth nailed down? I don't know.

BTW, I also saw this Lance on CNN last night and didn't know what to make of his book. He harped on 1989---I couldn't tell if he was trying to put the onus on Bush 41 or if I'm overy sensitive. Of course, the fact is that if we knew much in '89 and then the 1993 WTC bombing happened and the subsequent bombings of the embassies and the Cole, well, it seems to me to pretty damning to the previous occupant---the one betwixt 41 and 43.