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Posted on 06/10/2002 8:46:40 AM PDT by The Energizer
Government announces arrest of man suspected of plotting a terrorist attack
By TED BRIDIS=
Associated Press Writer=
WASHINGTON (AP) The government arrested a man with an alleged al-Qaida connection and suspected of plotting to build and detonate a radioactive ``dirty'' bomb in an attack in the United States, possibly against Washington.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said that Abdullah Al Mujahir, also known as Jose Padilla, was in the custody of the U.S. military and was being treated as an enemy combatant. This suggests plans for the first military tribunal of an alleged terrorist since the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon were struck Sept. 11 by hijacked commercial airliners.
The attorney general, who was in Moscow on other business, made the announcement through a television hookup.
Ashcroft said that Mujahir was arrested May 8 as he flew from Pakistan into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
``We have disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive dirty bomb,'' he said, adding that the government's suspicions about Mujahir's plans came from ``multiple, independent, corroborating sources.''
A senior administration official speaking on condition of anonymity said Mujahir was trained by al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan to wire explosives and to research radioactive dispersal devices. He was not believed to have had a bomb at the time of his apprehension.
``We don't believe it went beyond the planning stages,'' the official said.
Mujahir was taken Monday morning to a high-security U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Rivers Johnson, who said Mujahir was transferred from Justice Department custody in New York City.
Military officials have not decided whether to charge Mujahir or what charges to file, the military spokesman said.
Mujahir had a lawyer in New York but his access to a lawyer probably will be severely restricted now that he is in military custody, Johnson said. He said the alleged al-Qaida operative was being held separately from other prisoners at the brig.
Ashcroft said Mujahir had served prison time in the United States in the early 1990s, then traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan during 2001 and met with al-Qaida officials. Ashcroft said Mujahir ``trained with the enemy, including studying how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion devices.''
Ashcroft said al-Qaida apparently believed that Mujahir would be permitted to travel freely within the United States because of his U.S. citizenship and because he carried a U.S. passport.
The probable target of Mujahir's plans to detonate the bomb was Washington, according to a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another government official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the intelligence that led to Mujahir's arrest came from captured al Qaida leader Abu Zubaydah during recent interrogations.
This official said Mujahir is a former Chicago street gang member who converted to Islam after serving time in the United States, and met with an al-Qaida leader in 2001, before returning to the United States.
Said Ashcroft: ``We have acted with legal authority both under the laws of war and clear Supreme Court precedent, which establishes that the military may detain a United States citizen who has joined the enemy and has entered our country to carry out hostile acts.''
Mujahir discussed several terrorist plans with Abu Zubaydah, the bin Laden lieutenant now in U.S. custody, according to a U.S. official.
Mujahir first met with Abu Zubaydah in Afghanistan in 2001, and traveled to Pakistan at Abu Zubaydah's request, the official said, adding that he was one of a group that traveled with Abu Zubaydah to several locations in Pakistan.
Mujahir and another unidentified associate researched dirty bombs in Lahore, Pakistan, the official said.
``The radiological device plan articulated by (Mujahir) Padilla and his associate was in the planning stages, and no specific time was set to occur,'' the official said.
At Abu Zubaydah's behest, he also traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, to meet with several senior al-Qaida operatives, to discuss the plan, the official said. Mujahir also was interested in plans to bomb hotel rooms and gas stations in the United States, the official said.
It was unclear whether any of these meetings took place after Sept. 11.
President Bush, based on recommendations from Ashcroft and White House councel Al Gonzales, designated the suspect as a combatant in papers signed late Sunday. That designation allowed the Department of Defense to take custody of Mujahir from the Department of Justice.
``Based on the facts in this case and the importance of protecting sources who helped us get him, the determination was made that DOD is best for his detention,'' an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. This official said the administration does not know how close the suspect was to obtaining a so-called ``dirty bomb.''
These flights should be stopped immediately.
LOL
...and they don't have any copies of the plans, any of the other planners under arrest or any hardware, apparently. What they do have is a non-case they can milk for publicity: "Sam Smith told us Joe Brown is going to blow up Washington."
Maybe there's more evidence than this article reports but what we're told doesn't incline me away from my usual cynicism.
I'm tempted to believe it's real only because it's so transparently bad if it's supposed to be a PR/spin thing. Of course, then I'd have to believe that Clinton's al Qaeda cruise missile attacks were real too, and I just don't think I could get my head around that.
Perhaps we'll hear more about the timing of this announcement as the day progresses.
It is interesting that the Justice Dept. was able to keep this secret with no leaks.
Interesting in that since 9/11 there hasn't been a single ARAB Muslim that has committed, or has been arrested or stopped from committing, a terrorist attack against the United States.
Really? I'm tempted to believe that the plot was a lot further along then they want us to know. As a matter of fact, I would be willing to bet that these guys already have their hands on the material. We won't be told about that because everyone would panic. The fact that this guy is being held for a military tribunal tells me that this is far more serious then we are being led to believe.
Neither the FBI nor the CIA is involved in the reorganization of government (Homeland Security Department) therefore the timing has absolutely nothing to do with it being released now. However, with the announcement being made from Moscow by Ashcroft today tells me that he received some kind of confirmation from the Russians that pertain to this.
Or maybe it's just that they feel they can milk it for better PR if they don't have to produce any of their 'evidence' in public?
Gee, ya think?!?
Isn't this the same guy that "warned" us about the banks in NY & DC, Memorial Day weekend, subways, divers etc? A real credible snitch.
For all of the same reason, the John Lindh fellow should have been treated this way. I think the US govt. knows that, and is, therefore, changing course.
With his trial in a US courtroom, the French-Morrocan is going to get the forum these folks desire, and that is not good.
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