Posted on 06/27/2002 7:38:54 PM PDT by glorygirl
WASHINGTON — The recent arrest of a Palestinian man from Florida has convinced U.S. officials that a network of al Qaeda operatives exists in the United States, CBS reported on Thursday.
It said Adham Hassoun, arrested earlier this month, was an "important link" to accused al Qaeda member American Jose Padilla, as well as other groups based in the United States who may be awaiting orders for future attacks.
"A number of people are under surveillance. None is believed to have had a supporting role in the Sept. 11 attacks. Some may have been slated to assist Zacarias Moussaoui," it said.
Moussaoui has been charged in connection with the Sept. 11 hijacking attacks. He has been referred to as the suspected 20th hijacker.
But the CBS report said senior officials, whom it did not name, now believe Moussaoui was, in fact, not scheduled to be part of the Sept. 11 attacks but was to have carried out a separate, unknown mission.
"U.S. officials have collected intelligence that appears to confirm what they have feared most since Sept. 11, that al Qaeda is still active in the United States," CBS said.
It reported that Padilla was apparently expecting help from such a network when he returned to the United States last month on an alleged target-scouting mission.
U.S. officials said Padilla was apparently enroute to meet Hassoun when the latter man was arrested, the network said. Hassoun was arrested after his communication with Padilla was monitored.
Hassoun, a 13-year U.S. resident, is now being held on an immigration charge at an Immigration and Naturalization Service facility.
The al Qaeda network of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden is blamed by Washington for the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington ad Pennsylvania.
Unreal.
What a place to be during the attacks, though. Had to be a life-altering experience for you.
I'm not saying 100% of them are active or passive terrorists. What I'm saying is that Islam is out to overthrow our (any) system of government (that is non-Islamic).
What you say is irrefutable. Once we get beyond the knee-jerk accusations of racism, bigotry and intolerance, maybe we'll be able to figure out a way to defend ourselves against it.
At the time, I thought the big shiny jet was a beautiful sight, and only later the awful truth dawned on me. To be honest, I wish I had never seen it.
As we speak, literally dozens of Norwegians are stocking up on lutefisk, fueling themselves with hearty spirits, and using the sons of Muhammed as a cheap distraction to, you guessed it, go a-viking once more!
I insist we stop everyone who fits this profile: brown to yellow hair, eyes: brown or hazel ranging to blue, may be tall, fair-complected, although this tends to change after summer solstice or after strong drink. May be disguised as very old people of either sex or young children.
At my hometown airport, the guardians of our safety are considering using Muslims to hold the flashlight, as they conduct cavity searches of these wily and dangerous nordics.
"Bend over, Ole,"
"Over here with that flashlight, Achmed"
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