Gitmo Panels Struggle to Assess Facts,” Associated Press, September 9, 2007
Rahmatullah Sangaryar stood accused of “planning biological and poison attacks on United States and coalition forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan” and of possessing anthrax powder and a liquid poison.
Where is AP getting the transcript? The transcripts seem to be released as sets. This perhaps is from Set 9. But I haven’t had the patience or facility to locate the exchange if it is available at the CRST website.
Perhaps it this the Kabul commander Rahmatullah Sangaryar who stands accused as described below. I’m not sure how the timeline is to be reconciled with not finding extremely virulent anthrax in Kandahar until Fall 2003 after Hambali’s interrogation in Jordan. It squares nicely with the Taliban interest in the vaccine lab.
* When the detainee was very young he joined the Mujahadeen to fight the Soviet Union.
* The detainee is trained in the use of hand grenades, rocket propelled grenades, the AK-47 and the Sakil machine gun.
* The detainee met with Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, on only one occasion in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
* The detainee was identified as being assigned to a 40-man team of fighters.
* The 40-man team was funded primarily by Pakistani and Syrian Non-Government Organizations with some times [sic] to al Qaida.
* The detainee was reported as being named the new Director of Hezb-E-Islami Gulbuddin [sic] cell operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan. [redacted from memo but clear on transcript]
* The detainee commanded over 500 Taliban soldiers in Kabul.
* The detainee fought the Northern Alliance and the Taliban as the Supreme Commander in Kabul.
* The detainee survived approximately 18 bullet wounds that apparently occurred during the Russian Jihad and during his time as a Taliban Commander.
* The detainee was told he would be turned over to the United States to provide information about enemies of the Afghanistan Government.
* The detainee has a strong desire to return home to family and find work as a laborer.
* The detainee believes he is being treated fairly and holds no grudge against any Americans.
* The detainee believes he was handed over to the United States Government to provide intelligence information and not for suspicion of being a terrorist.
* The detainee claimed he is not against United States Forces and he supports the new Afghanistan Government.
* The detainee reported a Taliban recruitment request to the legitimate regional governor as he was instructed.
* The detainee claimed to have fought the Taliban when the Taliban threatened Kabul’s interests.
* The detainee collected weapons from his tribesmen and turned over six small cars, one truck, two mounted anti-aircraft weapons, 39 Kalashnikovs, two RPG-7s, four PKs, two 82 series machine guns and six handheld radios to the regional Governor.
* When the United States captured Kabul, the detainee dissolved his forces and turned over his weapons and communication equipment to the new Afghanistan Government.
* The detainee refused a Taliban request and dissolved his forces.
Let’s first consider the AP story in the broader context of the Taliban interest in the anthrax vaccine laboratory.
In October 2001, the Taliban emissary to Pakistan denied any involvement in the anthrax mailings, saying “We don’t even know what anthrax is.” The Taliban had long denied having any interest in biological or chemical weapons research. The next month, however, reporters were tipped off by a senior official of the Northern Alliance to check out the Institute of Veterinary Vaccine Production in Kabul run by the Minister of Agriculture.
The lab was repeatedly targeted by bombers but the closest of 13 B-52 bombs landed 50 feet away, causing craters. There was a walk-in incubator to develop bacteria. The equipment used to make vaccines was taken away the day before the bombardment began. The cement walls of the building were cracked. Doors were blasted off their hinges. Shards of glass were strewn on the floor. At the end of one corridor on the second floor a reporter and photographer from The Mirror (UK) were led into a small office. The word “anthrax” was scribbled on an unbroken test tube. A sign read “to be safe than sorry” — the word “better” had fallen off. When AP journalist Kathy Gannon and a photographer stood in front of a glass bottle labeled in English “anthrax spore concentrate” in the two-story building, the photographer’s reflection shone back. The scientists explained that their work at the lab was intended only to develop animal vaccines. Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that “the one place where the only vial that had English on it said ‘anthrax’ kind of gives you pause.” Testing showed that it was avirulent strain used in developing animal vaccines. The scientists complained that much of the anthrax vaccine on hand had expired and that they were having trouble getting the supplies they needed to produce more. Before 9/11, private companies in India and Iran had been their main suppliers. Shipments were halted after Sept. 11, and the laboratories have had to rely on their stocks.
Mullahs oversaw the anthrax vaccine laboratory much to the consternation of the scientist in charge of the lab. The mullahs had ordered that the lab be moved to Kabul so that they could oversee it. According to one British press report, much of the laboratory staff had disappeared some months before 9/11 and their whereabouts were unknown. The Institute once had a staff of 45 and one of Afghanistan’s most modern buildings. The scientists gathered before an AP journalist and photographer pointed to a large clear container that held concentrated anthrax spores. The scientists explained that the Taliban had taken a keen interest in their work. Although he was famed for his ability to recite the koran and not scientifically inclined, the Minister of Agriculture would come and inspect what they were doing. The head of the lab explained, “He and his Taliban superiors were interested in the technical detail of what happened here, although they had no background in science.” The International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization provided the scientists technical help. The head of the lab acknowledging that the Taliban could have obtained the knowledge to handle and develop anthrax. Dr Raoufi said: “Sadly, some use what is meant to be good for their own destructive ends.”
Minister of Agriculture Mullah Qari Abdullah hated the West. Seven months before 9/11 half of the lab’s staff disappeared. “We’d rather have been running the labs on our own,” the lead scientist explained. “But the mullahs were in charge of everything and we couldn’t stop them learning about our activities. There was always a danger information could get into the wrong hands.” The lab was first built in a northern province in 1993 with equipment from India. Scientists infected three sheep to study the results in developing new vaccines. They told a reporter from the Mirror that they buried the carcasses 30 feet down away from any water supplies. “This was very dangerous work, though we knew what we were doing. We developed the technology of how to keep anthrax bacteria and how to develop it for use in vaccines.” I would be suspicious of the anthrax research and any research during the Taliban (period) because they were under the control of Osama and al-Qaida,” the deputy head of Northern Alliance military intelligence, told The Associated Press. “We have strong evidence of their involvement in chemical weapons,” he added. “We believe that they were using government facilities, like the Ministry of Agriculture, to do their research in terrorism.” A source who worked at the factory told the Mirror (UK):: “There’s no doubt the Taliban were planning chemical or biological warfare against the West. I believe anthrax might have been first on their list.” It was the American Taliban John Walker Lindh that reported the battlefield rumor tha the next wave would be chemical or biological attack.