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| Fifth Column | |
| Spying for Syria? | |
| 2003-09-24 | |
| More details about the curious case of GTMO Airman al-Halabi...EFL (He) was arrested July 23 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., where he was en route to Syria. The next day, military authorities flew him to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., before he was transferred to Vandenberg. The 10-page indictment accuses al-Halabi of sending intelligence, names and serial numbers of detainees by e-mail to a known enemy. He was carrying a laptop computer with 180 electronic notes to be delivered to Syria. The indictment also alleges that al-Halabi carried two handwritten notes from detainees at Guantanamo Bay with details of U.S. intelligence-gathering and planning for the U.S. war on terror. Specifically, he was carrying classified information on the interrogation of detainees, details of military flights into and out of Guantanamo Bay and detailed maps of the U.S. military installation there. It was not clear whether prosecutors believed the classified information was destined for the government of Syria or for individuals there working independently of the government.
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| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #16 Hey, there's a first. NMM is right. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-24 10:47:28 PM |
| #15 NMM Until the internet and databases existed it would have been nearly impossible to perform much of a background check on incoming recruits. Security clearance is not really necessary for a seman recruit who spends most of the day with a pneumatic needle gun chipping paint off the deck in the hot sun. The background checks are conducted when the miltary member requires access to classified material even at the lowest level. I wonder who did his background check. I also hope that everyone who performs background checks wonders whether they performed his check and treat teh next check they do as if its quite important. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-24 7:49:09 PM |
| #14 If more US students were willing to bust ass & master foreign languages & cultures, we wouldn't have to grab whoever showed up to use as translators. |
| Posted by: anonymous 2003-9-24 7:40:15 PM |
| #13 Send him anywhere, just tell all his inmates he's a pedophile. His life expectancy will be about four months... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-9-24 5:21:59 PM |
| #12 More than the false "naturalisation" -- how dare the US military recruit _Syrian_ people? someone needs to review the last 10-20 years of recruitment -- v.quickly. Don't they realize we are AT WAR with most Arab dictatorships since the end of WW II? these are the people who have attacked Israel repeatedly, sheltered and financed Paleo-terrorists, and throroughly f***ed Lebanon, among other things. They are also helping jihadists to penetrate liberated Iraq. It is time to treat the whole Arab region as we used to treat the Soviet Union: the enemy. We have one surrounded ally, Israel (think UK during WW II), and so far two liberated countries which we can use as our bases for further battles and campaigns (Iraq and Afghanistan). This is WW IV. Let's take it seriously. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2003-9-24 4:37:16 PM |
| #11 HE "lied to the Air Force by falsely claiming to have become a naturalized US citizen in 2001 !!! WTF!?--is the military a bit negligent for not checking this out!? Memo to Achmed--"Remove turban, shave beard, tell recruiter you were naturalized 3 years ago--they don't check." |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2003-9-24 1:26:13 PM |
| #10 Portsmouth closed? I'll have to tell dad - he'll be able to rest easier. He is nearing is dotage and beginning to mumble about Rocks & Shoals again. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-9-24 1:20:44 PM |
| #9 Sorry, but I don't see a big difference between a spy for Syria and a spy for Islamist terrorists. Syria is, after all, home to more terrorist movements than you can shake a stick at. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-9-24 1:20:00 PM |
| #8 He sounds like a garden-variety spy. I hope his eyeballs are floating on all the giggle juice he's filled with at this very moment, and that the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. is very pale. If I was Powell, and the press reports aren't too exaggerated, I'd be exploding this incident. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-9-24 12:51:08 PM |
| #7 The bank fraud charge involves allegations al-Halabi used false information in credit card applications for several prominent banks. Hmmm... The al'Qaeda money-man arrested in Peoria had a bunch of credit cards he got fraudulently. Another pattern? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-9-24 12:45:33 PM |
| #6 More details: Al-Halabi worked for nine months as an Arabic language translator at Guantanamo Bay, a job that ended shortly before his July 23 arrest as he arrived in Jacksonville, Fla., on a flight from the prison camp. When he was arrested, al-Halabi was carrying two handwritten notes from detainees that al-Halabi intended to turn over to someone traveling to Syria, the charging documents say. He also was carrying his personal laptop computer containing classified information about detainees and 180 messages from detainees he intended to send to Syria or Qatar, it was alleged. The documents also allege that al-Halabi: -Took pictures of the prison camp. -Had unauthorized contact with the inmates, including giving them baklava desserts. -Had contacts with the Syrian Embassy to the United States which he failed to report as required. -Lied to the Air Force by falsely claiming to have become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2001. Al-Halabi, who joined the Air Force in January 2000, is Syrian. Al-Halabi is charged with eight counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, nine counts of making a false official statement and one count of bank fraud. The bank fraud charge involves allegations al-Halabi used false information in credit card applications for several prominent banks. This guy has all the earmarks of being a Syrian mole. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-9-24 12:08:12 PM |
| #5 Portsmouth's been closed since 1974. My father was a Marine guard up there for a couple of months before he got discharged after WW2. Has some interesting stories. I think everybody goes to Leavenworth now. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-24 10:58:22 AM |
| #4 Some of those offenses can carry the death penalty. What is alleged is espionage during wartime by a uniformed member of the armed services. |
| Posted by: rkb 2003-9-24 9:17:25 AM |
| #3 He's Navy. He gets to go to Portmouth. 10 years used to be a death sentence. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-9-24 8:53:01 AM |
| #2 Unfortunately this is a Military/Fed crime, at best he'd get the needle - worst, breaking big rocks into little rocks...damn. Might be a good time to put him into the general Fla prison population and let nature take its course...oh, and hint he's squealed on others |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-24 8:10:19 AM |
| #1 Too bad they don't use the chair... as a Former Gov, I'm sure Dubya could place a call to Hunstville and The State of Texas would be quite happy to warm up Old Sparky for this fucktard. BTW... Congrats to Syrleb for its recent promotion to replace Iwaq in the Axis of Evil! Way to go Baby Asshat! And they said you'd never amount to anything! NorK.....TICK BOOM Iran.......TICK TOCK Syrleb....tick tock |
| Posted by: .com 2003-9-24 3:17:02 AM |