Posted on 09/26/2003 1:51:51 AM PDT by kattracks
The Air Force translator charged with spying at the U.S. military's prison camp for terrorists was under investigation even before he arrived at Guantanamo Bay, court records show. Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, 24, who was born in Syria, had been under scrutiny since November 2002, apparently days before he began an assignment as a translator at the prison camp for some of the world's worst terrorists.The Air Force Office of Special Investigations began investigating al-Halabi "based on reports of suspicious activity while he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base and while deployed to Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay," a search warrant filed with a California court states.
It's unclear what tipped off investigators to al-Halabi, but one of the 30 charges against him gives a hint: He is accused of using false information to obtain credit cards from seven banks between Jan. 26, 2000, and Nov. 15, 2002.
Air Force officials gave no explanation yesterday why al-Halabi was allowed to work at the high-security prison despite his suspicious activity.
While stationed at Gitmo, where 660 suspected members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban are being held, al-Halabi allegedly tried to download maps, blueprints and photos of the prison compound, and sent E-mails "to the enemy" containing classified information about the detainees.
Four days before al-Halabi was arrested, investigators obtained a warrant to search al-Halabi's California home, where they found mail belonging to the detainees. They also confiscated his computer hard drive, which contained more than 180 classified files, four of which he had posted on a Web site, court papers show.
The investigation into al-Halabi and Muslim Army chaplain Capt. Yousef Yee has sent probers scrambling to interview hundreds of military, FBI and CIA officers who had once served at the base, officials said yesterday.
Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, spokeswoman for the prison, said, "I can only say the investigation is ongoing and others are being looked at."
When asked whether the Al Qaeda terror network could have infiltrated the camp or persuaded Americans to help, Hart said, "It could be any of those scenarios."
With News Wire Services
Originally published on September 26, 2003
I felt from the beginning of this story that they set him up. The "controlled environment" theory really flies for me. Anyway, they got him.
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