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| Key bin Laden aides met in Tucson in 1980s |
| 2004-07-23 |
| Two key al-Qaeda operatives apparently became acquainted in Tucson in the late 1980s, when the Islamic Center of Tucson admits it was a magnet for extremists. Osama bin Laden's top agent for procuring weapons of mass destruction lived in Tucson during that time, according to the 9/11 commission's final report, released yesterday. In Tucson he became acquainted with Wadi al Hage, the report said. Al Hage is in federal prison for al-Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa. The highly anticipated, 567-page report also refers to more than a dozen other people who lived in Arizona from the 1990s through Sept. 11, 2001, and who were targeted in terrorism investigations after hijackers smashed jetliners into the Pentagon and World Trade Center. A footnote alludes to "a number of important al-Qaeda figures" who "attended the University of Arizona in Tucson or lived in Tucson in the 1980s and early 1990s." Some of the links to Tucson were already public. New references in the report direct readers to footnotes that say the information is based on intelligence reports, including 2002's "Arizona: Long- Term Nexus for Islamic Extremists," done jointly by the CIA and the FBI. That report and other intelligence sources used to elaborate on the Tucson connection have not been made public. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 Where was the vaunted BORDER PATROL when you really need them? Cruisin' 'round in their Hummers lookin' tough methinks... |
| Posted by: borgboy 2004-07-23 8:36:40 PM |
| #2 Wny of course, where do you think those "I just stayed at a Holiday Inn" commericals sprang from. |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-07-23 8:29:12 PM |
| #1 Wow. I was in Tucson during this time. Scary... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2004-07-23 10:33:41 AM |