AP: FBI Illegally Seized Ramzi Yousef Documents From OKC Reporter's Mail

Associated Press ^ | 3/13/2003 | Associated Press

[JohnBerger]

The FBI illegally seized a package sent between two Associated Press reporters working on an investigative series about the Oklahoma City bombing. The package contained documents related to Ramzi Yousef's al Qaeda cell in Manila, according to the Associated Press.

The package contained a laboratory report on items seized from a Manila apartment where Yousef and his conspirators, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, plotted a September 11-style attack on America. The package was part of reporter John Solomon's investigative series on possible warnings given to the U.S. about a terrorist attack sponsored by Islamic militants just prior to the Oklahoma City bombing. The FBI told AP the package "contained sensitive information that should not be made public."

According to research published on this site and elsewhere, and extensive courtroom documentation, Terry Nichols traveled to the Cebu, the Philippines, in November 1994, on a 60-day visa that expired on Jan. 21, 1995, the exact date Yousef was planning to launch Project Bojinka, a series of attacks on U.S. bound aircraft. According to "The New Jackals" by Simon Reeve and other verified information revealed during various criminal trials, Ramzi Yousef made at least one and possibly several trips to Cebu during Nichols' visit.

One phase of Bojinka involved the simultaneous detonation of a series of bombs over the Pacific, while a second phase would have had suicide pilot(s) crash commercial aircraft into U.S. landmark(s) such as the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and CIA headquarters. The plot was foiled after an accidental fire exposed the conspiracy.

[NeoCaveman]

GWB and this administration, is not protecting Clinton, he is protecting the Office. this needs to be understood, because he takes a lot of flack for not chasing Satans spawn down like the worm that he is...

I do understand this but the costs of protecting the office of president are beginning to be outweighed by the cost of the security of the American people.

Besides, when the truth comes out, won't those who cover look as bad/worse than the actual perps like Johnson and Clinton.

[_Jim]

McVeigh was from Buffalo.

The keyword being 'from'.

Read his book for a better, more complete and accurate picture of the events and rationale he used in committing the OKC bombing ...

[mabelkitty]

I agree and I understand.

However, Clinton is a criminal, and he is getting a free pass. I could accept that if Hillary weren't hell bent on getting the office to perpetuate their sick fantasies. If this were used to destroy her political career, rather than protect it, then I would move on.

Not only that, how come the FBI can track down a package being shipping via a private company, but has trouble picking up the 500 suspected al-Quaeda folks roaming around this country?

[_Jim]

Let me give you a head start on his book 'American Terrorist' -

- an excerpt from the Introduction

This book, in many ways, could not have been written without MeVeigh's cooperation - which, it must be stressed, was given without condition, compensation, or any right of review or approval. But neither could it have been completed without the cooperation of scores of others who have figured in his life. Whenever possible, we have sought out corroborating information that would either support or dismiss MeVeigh's claims, and many people have been helpful in clarifying aspects of the case that have heretofore remained obscure. Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier, the two other men convicted in the bombing, were at the top of our list of desired interviews from the start, but a number of attempts to obtain their cooperation proved unsuccessful; McVeigh remains the first and only principal involved in the bombing to cooperate with journalists.

Still, in the countless hours of interviews we conducted with law-enforcement officials; relatives of McVeigh, Nichols, and Fortier; and friends and acquaintances of the suspects and bombing victims, we found that each new piece of the puzzle meshed with the rest, and with McVeigh's own self-portrait, into a coherent and consistent picture of the man who finally, with the publication of this book, becomes the confessed bomber of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.

Who is Timothy McVeigh? We finally have the answers.

What our society does with this information remains to be seen. Surely we can learn from this tragedy; surely a better understanding of the mind behind this act can help us all come to terms with humankind's capacity for evil-and our even more remarkable capacity for healing.

    -Lou Michel

[Nita Nuprez]

It took you a full 30 minutes to get here, Jim. You're slipping.

[bmwcyle]

No freedom of the press there.

[Cicero]

The FBI had penetrated the organizations that were involved in the OKC bombing. In fact Ambrose Evans-Pritchard suggests that there was nobody involved in blowing up the building who wasn't a double agent or an FBI informer.

For this reason, clinton and others knew about the bombing before it happened. Either the FBI deliberately let it happen, or a plan to stop it at the last minute was screwed up.

The same FBI higher-ups who enabled the OKC bombing are still in place, or have been promoted for their good work in this and other cases such as Ruby Ridge and TWA 800.

Just last fall, Mueller gave a medal to the FBI legal adviser who blocked the investigation of Moussaiou's (sp) computer.

Yes, there is a tendency for presidents to protect the office, and therefore their predecessors. The real smoking gun in the Pentagon Papers was the fact that JFK ordered the assassination of our ally, Ngo Din Diem. Not only was this a moral disaster, it was also the chief mistake that lost us the war. This little factoid was buried in the full version published by the NY Times, although needless to say the press has never called much attention to it.

Even if they decide never to let these conspiracies see the light of day, the least Bush can do is to get rid of Mueller and the whole clintonoid coven in the FBI that he is protecting. Otherwise we'll have more of the same down the road: more OKCs, more Wacos, more Ruby Ridges. And less real protection from the enemies of our country.

[_Jim]

Abstract above is from http://www.whoisjohndoe2.com

Are you the same "John Berger" (with e-mail address "john@fuckedworld.com") listed at the bottom of these websites:

http://www.fuckedworld.com/johndoe2.shtml
http://www.whoisjohndoe2.com/

[_Jim]

"Coffee break"

[_Jim]

The FBI had penetrated the organizations that were involved in the OKC bombing.

Really?

I'm, sure that would come as news to Nichols and Fortier ...

Have *you* read McVeigh's book?

You may not *even* have to but a copy - you can find it in a lot of public libraries now!

[JohnBerger]

Yep. I included the whoisjohndoe2.com link above. Those two URLs are the same page. I got the whoisjohndoe2.com so that I could overlay a polite URL on my server.

[daviddennis]

What puzzles me is that as soon as you admit Yousef has connections with Iraqi intelligence, you get a sold gold link between Iraq and none other than Osama bin Laden and his Al Queda pals.

Shortly after his 1993 WTC attack, Yousef stayed at an Al Queda safe house and I believe he even met Mr bin Laden. At the least, bin Laden knew of him and supported his actions. And, of course, they had a common target. Since Yousef was involved in other aviation-related plots, I always felt this connection implied a planning role in 9/11 or at least assistance.

You would think someone in our government, now allegedly desperate to make such connections to ensure political support for the war, has not done so.

The links between Yosef and Iraqi intelligence are a little tenuous, at least in my reading.

Laurie Myronie, a person who has done very extensive research in the issue, believes that the preponderence of the evidence indicates that Yousef was a planted Iraqi intelligence agent. I happen to believe she was correct, but there are still plenty of loose ends that deserve to be checked out before this is reported as solid fact.

The New Jackals, the other major book I know of that covered the 1993 WTC attack, has many statements that Yousef had connections within Iraq. The author doesn't spell out that he's an Iraqi intelligence agent, but certainly the book did nothing to disprove the theory.

I recommend reading both the Myronie book and The New Jackals for a fuller perspective of the Yousef story.

D

[baseballmom]

Bump.

[mabelkitty]

My great hope is that with the creation of the new Homeland Security Department, we now have the means to dismiss those agents, if we want to. Key is "if we want to".

[hobbes1]

Nixon did.

[_Jim]

I got the whoisjohndoe2.com so that I could overlay a polite URL on my server.

Clever ... it probably gets by more screening/nanny-ware/site-blocking software too ...

[mabelkitty]

Okay, now it is starting to make sense. Disregard everything I've said so far.

There are things in the Iraq-al-Queda link that can't be released yet, which is why Colin Powell had so much trouble telling what little he could.

I think this goes back to that arrest in Pakistan last week, and how there are those that the FBI is watching and waiting to catch. Maybe some high level people from foregin countries.

[JohnBerger]

Clever ... it probably gets by more screening/nanny-ware/site-blocking software too ...

That too. I may eventually move it to its own server, but for now that's a luxury expense I prefer to avoid.

[JohnBerger]

The links between Yosef and Iraqi intelligence are a little tenuous, at least in my reading.

I tend to agree with this, but not so much as to get into a big debate over it. From my research, it looks a lot easier to draw a direct line to al Qaeda than to Iraq.

I also recommend "New Jackals," which provides a pretty rounded picture of Yousef's activities, as well as a fairly extensive discussion of the Iraq angle.

[Teacher317]

Ummm, exactly how did the FBI know what the contents were, and how did they get in place to intercept the package?

The highly unlikely story from the article: The Customs Service said its agents opened the package from Manila after selecting it for routine inspection when it arrived at a Federal Express hub in Indianapolis. Agents did not open an identical package addressed to the AP's United Nations office.
Both packages contained an FBI laboratory report on materials seized from a Filipino apartment rented by convicted terrorist Ramzi Yousef. The reporters were working on a research project that resulted in stories published last month about the government's concerns before April 19, 1995, that white supremacists might bomb a federal building.
"The job of Customs is to intercept smuggled contraband and collect import duties," said Tomlin, who is an attorney. "Customs has no authority to seize private correspondence where there's no suspicion it contains contraband. There certainly wasn't any such suspicion here."

So, _Jim, what gives them the right to go through our mail? Isn't that a federal crime when done by anyone else?