Posted on 06/22/2003 8:21:09 PM PDT by blam
Captured al-Qa'eda man was FBI spy
By David Rennie in Washington
(Filed: 23/06/2003)
The American al-Qa'eda operative unmasked last week as having planned to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge was first detained in March, and has been used by the FBI for months as a double agent, it was reported yesterday.
Iyman Faris
US authorities waited until last week to announce a plea bargain struck with Iyman Faris, a Pakistani-born lorry driver ordered to scout out terror targets, including the New York landmark.
They did not say that Faris, who was also ordered to study ultralight aircraft, and the possibility of derailing a train into a chemical storage facility in Washington, had been under FBI control for months.
Justice Department officials told Time magazine that Faris was secretly detained about two weeks after the dramatic capture on March 1 in Pakistan of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qa'eda's chief of operations.
Installed in a safe house in Virginia, Faris sent messages to his terrorist commanders by mobile phone and email. "He was sitting in the safe house making calls for us. It was a huge triumph," a senior Bush administration official told Time.
After pleading guilty to offering material support to al-Qa'eda, Faris will be sentenced in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
(snip)
According to Faris’ admission, the operational leader then told Faris that al Qaeda was planning two simultaneous attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. The senior al Qaeda leader spoke with Faris about destroying a bridge in New York City by severing its suspension cables, and tasked Faris with obtaining the equipment needed for that operation - described as “gas cutters” but to be referred to as “gas stations” in future coded communications. The leader also explained that al Qaeda was planning to derail trains, and asked Faris to procure the tools for that plot as well.
to this : APRIL 2002 - MARCH 2003 : (OHIO TRUCKER/BROOKLYN BRIDGE CASE : FARIS SENDS CODED MESSAGE VIA ONE PERSON TO FRIEND IN PAKISTAN SAYING HE WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL IN OBTAINING EQUIPMENT) Between April 2002 and March 2003, Faris sent several coded messages through another individual to his longtime friend in Pakistan, indicating he had been unsuccessful in his attempts to obtained the necessary equipment. - "OHIO TRUCK DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO AL QAEDA," Dept. of Justice press release, WWW.USDOJ.GOV , THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003
****
Mr. Ashcroft conceded that recent speculation, including some of his own, about a plot to simultaneously blow up U.S. gas stations grew from Faris' use of "gas stations" as a code word for the acetylene torch to be used for cutting the bridge cables but had not confirmed it. "That's an assumption. If you write that, you write that at your own peril, not me. But you know, that's the only gas cutter I know of," Mr. Ashcroft said yesterday. When asked about secrecy in this case and 15 others that remain sealed, Mr. Ashcroft said the Faris developments were kept secret to avoid "impairing very important interests." He gave no hint what interests were involved nor would he discuss whether any other recent arrests were related to the Faris case. - "U.S. citizen secretly pleads guilty to scouting hit sites for al Qaeda ," by Frank J. Murray, Washington Times , 6/20/03
(* My note: Of course, this refers to "recent" speculation, so maybe the Padilla case is not in any way related to the Ohio trucker Case via these code words.)
Here's the not-so-recent Padilla case refereces to "gas stations" for the record:
MARCH 2002 : (PADILLA TRAVELS TO PAKISTAN, MEETINGS ON PLOTS TO ATTACK "GAS STATIONS & HOTELS") At Abu Zubaydah's request, Padilla traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, in March to meet several senior al-Qaida officials and discuss bombings of U.S. gas stations and hotels, officials said. U.S. Nabs 'Dirty Bomb' Suspect, AP
In 2002, [Padilla] he and al-Qaida officials discussed the possibility of blowing up gas stations or hotels in a series of coordinated attacks on the United States, the memo states. Some of that information has been corroborated, the memo says, but some "confidential sources have not been completely candid. ... - AP, by Christopher Newton, 8/27/02 via NJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/740362/posts
I was wondering too especially when I saw 'David Rennie in Washington'. The Telegraph is a pretty good newspaper, center to right.
Read it again. It doesn't say he was sentenced or even will be sentenced to 20 years. It says he faces up to 20 years.
What that means for sure is anybody's guess, but I bet it is a lot less than 20 years, and I suspect this guy actually disappears into the witness protection program. They may even report that he did get 20 years, but that would only be window dressing to make his disappearance easier.
OCTOBER 8, 2002 : (KUWAIT : US MARINE KILLED, ANOTHER WOUNDED, KUWAIT DISCOVERS THE PERPS HAD AN INTEREST IN US TRAINS & CROSSINGS, WHICH JIVED WITH INFO FROM OTHER DETAINEES INTERROGATED BY THE US) An attack by two gunmen who killed one U.S. Marine and wounded another on a Kuwaiti island on Oct. 8. Kuwaiti authorities who afterward raided an al-Qaeda cell believed to be supporting the gunmen found a computer hard drive with photos of American passenger and cargo trains as well as rail crossings. At about the same time, senior al-Qaeda operatives in custody told their CIA and FBI interrogators that the organization had plans for targeting railroads. - "Terror on the Rails?," Time, Sunday, Oct 27, 2002, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,384759,00.html.
OCTOBER 27, 2002 Sunday : (AS A RESULT OF FINDINGS IN KUWAIT, FBI ISSUES WARNING ABOUT POSSIBLE ATTACKS ON US RAILWAYS) The FBI has long been worried about the vulnerability of the nation's rail system to terror attack. But the threat was deemed immediate enough late last week for the agency to issue a formal warning. The alert cautioned that al-Qaeda, "possibly using operatives who have a Western appearance," might try to destroy key rail bridges, derail trains or target hazardous-material containers. What prompted the unusually specific warning? Intelligence sources tell Time it came as a result of the attack by two gunmen who killed one U.S. Marine and wounded another on a Kuwaiti island on Oct. 8. Kuwaiti authorities who afterward raided an al-Qaeda cell believed to be supporting the gunmen found a computer hard drive with photos of American passenger and cargo trains as well as rail crossings. At about the same time, senior al-Qaeda operatives in custody told their CIA and FBI interrogators that the organization had plans for targeting railroads. Counterterrorism officials are worried that security for the nation's vast rail system, which has not previously been a target of terrorists, is far weaker than it is for the airlines. - "Terror on the Rails?," Time, Sunday, Oct 27, 2002, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,384759,00.html.
2002 late : (OHIO TRUCKER/BROOKLYN BRIDGE CASE : FARIS TRAVELS TO NY CITY TO CASE BRIDGE) Faris traveled to New York City in late 2002 to examine the bridge, and... concluded that the plot to destroy the bridge by severing cables was unlikely to succeed because of the bridge’s security and structure. - "OHIO TRUCK DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO AL QAEDA," Dept. of Justice press release, WWW.USDOJ.GOV , THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003
2002 late : (OHIO TRUCKER TRAVELS TO NY TO STUDY THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE; AT SOME POINT HE WAS TOLD TO FIND TOOLS USEFUL FOR DERAILINGS TRAINS) [Faris] researched the [Brooklyn] bridge on the internet and travelled to New York late last year to examine it, concluding that the plot to sever the cables was unlikely to succeed because of the structure and heavy security. Faris, 34, sent a message to al-Qaida leaders saying: "The weather is too hot." He was also told to obtain tools that could be used to derail trains. In coded messages, the tools were referred to as "mechanics shops". - "US Al-Qaida's Brooklyn Bridge plot," by David Teather in New York, Guardian , 6/20/03
(UNKNOWN DATE)? : (OHIO TRUCKER ARRANGES FOR EXTENSIONS ON 6 AL QAEDA TERRORIST'S FLIGHTS TO YEMEN) He [Ohio trucker Faris] also said he disguised himself to visit a travel agent and obtain extensions on airline tickets for six al Qaeda agents' flights to Yemen, and delivered money and cell phones for the terrorist group. - "U.S. citizen secretly pleads guilty to scouting hit sites for al Qaeda ," by Frank J. Murray, Washington Times , 6/20/03
(* My note : Hmmm.... he obtained extensions for 6 al Qaada agents to fly to Yemen, eh? If these were the same guys, maybe they should have nixed that trip to Yemen... Hee , hee, hee... see below :)
NOVEMBER 3, 2002 Sunday : (US PREDATOR DRONE KILLS 6 AL QAEDA TERRORISTS, INCLUDING AL-HARETHI) A missile fired by a U.S. Predator drone over Yemen Sunday killed six suspected al Qaeda terrorists. One of the men killed was Abu Ali al-Harithi, one of the suspected planners of the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors. Sources said the CIA has been operating armed Predators over Yemen for months. - "U.S. Strike in Yemen Kills Six Al Qaeda, " Washington Post
As Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant in Yemen stepped into a car and pulled out of his farm in the nation's rugged northwest, Yemeni intelligence agents were watching, following and passing along every move to U.S. forces. A Yemeni security official said intelligence agents had Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi under surveillance for months before U.S. forces ordered Sunday's Hellfire missile strike that killed him and five others in the car who were also believed to be al-Qaida operatives.
The cooperation with the Americans this time had dramatic results, escalating the U.S. war on terrorism on Middle East soil. But joint U.S.-Yemeni efforts to fight terrorism predate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that are blamed on al-Qaida. More than 48 hours after the attack, the Yemeni government had still not officially and unequivocally confirmed al-Harethi's death, reflecting the sensitivity of the U.S. war on terror in a country where Islamic extremists enjoy a degree of public support. - "Assasinated bin Laden Lieutenant Under Surveillance in Yemen for Months," Jerusalem Post
MARCH 1, 2003 : (PAKISTAN : KSM CAPTURED, EVIDENCE THAT AL QAEDA STILL EXPERIMENTING WITH WMD FOUND) The March 1 capture in Pakistan of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Al-Qaeda’s operations chief, had provided fresh evidence that Osama bin Laden’s network was still experimenting with chemical and biological weapons. - "The biowar threat: Jordanian ‘mastermind’ sought," by Ed Blanche, The Daily Star , April 29 2003 *
* Capture on March 1 in Pakistan of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qa'eda's chief of operations- "Captured Al-Qa'eda Man Was FBI Spy (US truck driver)," by David Rennie in Washington, The Telegraph (UK) , 6-23-2003
MARCH 2003 midmonth : (OHIO TRUCKER FARIS IS ARRESTED) Justice Department officials [later in June 2003] told Time magazine that Faris was secretly detained about two weeks after the dramatic capture on March 1 in Pakistan of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qa'eda's chief of operations. Installed in a safe house in Virginia, Faris sent messages to his terrorist commanders by mobile phone and email. "He was sitting in the safe house making calls for us. It was a huge triumph," a senior Bush administration official told Time. - "Captured Al-Qa'eda Man Was FBI Spy (US truck driver)," by David Rennie in Washington, The Telegraph (UK) , 6-23-2003
But the trend of terrorists being funded by alphabet agencies is not new. Alphabet agency supposedly believes the insider is an informational source. The insider "knows" the alphabet agencies are a financial source. When terrorists wanted to strike and live to attack another day this collection of intel method was tried and true. Now that the tango knows they will die in the terrorist act they will cash Uncle Sugars cheque without hesitation IMHO. Intel agencies can't even get a dead cat bounce outta the deal these days.
I believe I'll read Enemies ,Foreign and Domestic drafts and try and find out whos the hazard to America again.
Stay Safe !
That's not what happened in this case; the guy was a terrorist all along and until caught he wasn't anyone's baby but bin Laden's. After was caught, in order to avoid being nailed for what amounts to treason, he plea bargained, IOW, like Johnny-bin-Walker, he agreed to cooperate with the US investigation upon pain of being hit with the maximaum charges. He was no employed wage-earning "spy," he just submitted to being used as a rat since his secret arrest in mid-march of this year against his buddies because he had no other options.
Thanks for correcting me. Stay Safe !
Anyway, I just thought it was amusing how the trucker had arranged for the ticket changes for six al Qaeda terrorists to go to Yemn, only to have what appears to be the same jokers get aced by a Predator. It's a good sign that people are finally getting to act on intelligence instead of getting everything nixed by the White House as "too un-PC."
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