The FBI is investigating whether the Saudi Arabian government — using the bank account of the wife of a senior Saudi diplomat — sent tens of thousands of dollars to two Saudi terror runners students in the United States who provided assistance to two of the September 11 hijackers. A smoking gun seems almost redundant at this point...
THE BUREAU, THEY SAY, has uncovered financial records showing a steady stream of payments to the family of one of the runners students, Omar Al Bayoumi. The money moved into the familyâs bank account beginning in early 2000, just a few months after hijackers Khalid Almidhar and Nawaf Alhazmi arrived in Los Angeles from an Al Qaeda planning summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Within days of the terroristsâ arrival in the United State, Al Bayoumi befriended the two men who would eventually hijack American Flight 77, throwing them a welcoming party in San Diego and guaranteeing their lease on an apartment next door to his own. Al Bayoumi also paid $1,500 to cover the first two months of rent for Al Midhar and Alhazmi, although officials said it is possible that the hijackers later repaid the money. Gotta have that contact on the ground to slip into the target area...
Sources familiar with the evidence say the payments — amounting to about $3,500 a monthâcame from an account at Washingtonâs Riggs Bank in the name of Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, the wife of Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and the daughter of the late Saudi King Faisal. Prince Bandar is the voice is sweet reason, who just lo-o-o-o-ves the U.S. of A. I wasn't aware that the Soddies were in the habit of in-breeding marrying close relatives, but that fits in with the way they process logic. Guess it's why they get along with the Pashtuns and the Yemenis so well...
After Al Bayoumi left the country in July 2001âtwo months before the September 11 terror attacksâpayments for roughly the same amount began flowing every month to Osama Basnan, a close associate of Al Bayoumiâs who also befriended the hijackers. A federal law-enforcement source told NEWSWEEK that Basnanâwho was recently convicted of visa fraud and is awaiting deportationâwas a known âAl Qaeda sympathizerâ who âcelebrated the heroes of September 11â at a party after the attacks and openly talked about âwhat a wonderful, glorious day it had been.â "Welcome back to Soddy Arabia, Mr Basnan. And may I compliment you on how fraudulent your visa is?"
Administration officials stressed repeatedly in interviews that they do not know the purpose of the payments from Princess Haifaâs account. It is also uncertain whether the money was given to the hijackers by Al Bayoumi or Basman. White House sources also raised a number of other cautionary notes, saying that it was not uncommon for wealthy Saudis to provide financial assistance to struggling Saudi families in the United States. âThe facts are unclear, and thereâs no need to rush to judgement,â said one administration official. "Allow me to poo-poo this story. The witnesses are all dead, the tracks are all covered, so it's obviously a complete falsehood..."
But other sources describe the financial records as âexplosiveâ and say the information has spurred an intense, behind-the-scenes battle between congressional leaders and the Bush administration over whether evidence highly embarrassing to the Saudi government should be publicly disclosedâespecially at a time that the White House is aggressively seeking Saudi support for a possible war against Iraq. âThis is a matter of the foreign-policy interests of the United States,â said another administration official, who cited the need to prevent a rift in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. He means an overt rift. If all of us stuck with open-source information can see the pattern, you know damned well that the guys reading intel every day have even stronger opinions than we do...
A spokesperson for Princess Haifa said âshe will cooperate fully with the United States.â The princess hasnât been asked about the payments by any representatives of the U.S. government, and she wasnât aware of the allegations until today, her spokesperson said. "That's right. I just walked back into my apartment and eleven guys jumped out of the closet, waving a NEWSWEEK story and hollering 'Surprise!'"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:10 am ||
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Now, the question is, will Bush have the balls to act against the Soddies or will he continue to coddle his former "friends." I agree with you that this "smoking gun" is in a sense a yawn, but it will push the public and the press to force our government and our pathetic FBI to act.
#3
my guess is US-Saudi relations will start to turn nasty shortly after Saddam is squashed and Iraq is at least somewhat stable. Doing anything sooner would throw too many more variables into the mix.
#5
France? Why France? What the hell do they have that we would want? EuroDisneyland? Bad hygiene, attitudes and asshole waiters? Arab-immigrant public housing ghettos? I'll pass. The wine's overrated too....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/23/2002 15:04 Comments ||
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...and I'll bet the lawyers for the Victims of 9/11 are grinning ear too ear. Where's my affidavit?
Posted by: John ||
11/23/2002 18:49 Comments ||
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Fred:
This revelation could shock me to death. Not the Soddy thing. I just discovered that Pepe Escobar lacks good grooming: www.globaldevelopment.org/pepe.jpg
A Kuwaiti policeman who is accused of shooting two American soldiers was extradited from neighboring Saudi Arabia, where he fled after the attack, the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry said Saturday. Khaled Al-Shimmiri was handed over to Kuwait at the Salmi border point just before midnight, said Maj. Adel al-Hashash, spokesman for the ministry. Interior Minister Sheik Mohammed Khaled Al Sabah, said in a statement that investigators had begun questioning Al-Shimmiri, who was detained Friday in Saudi Arabia's Hafr al-Baten region near the Kuwaiti border. Guess he was too hot even for the Soddies. Or maybe he really is just a nutbag...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:34 am ||
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Kuwait would not be Kuwait but for us. That makes them the equivalent of France.
Posted by: Anna ||
11/23/2002 9:23 Comments ||
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but with shorter memories
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/23/2002 13:59 Comments ||
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Nah, if they were French, they'd refuse to let us talk to the guy, they'd try him in a court system that is already predisposed to releasing him, and they'd have sympathy for his "rage." I think the Kuwaitis are going to work this guy over and dump what's left out back.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2002 14:41 Comments ||
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Three Chechens suspected of being accomplices in the seizure of hostages in the Theatre Center on Dubrovka were taken into custody for 10 days. Saturday, the Zamoskvoretsky court of Moscow upon the representation of the Moscow prosecutor's office ruled to take the three suspected persons into custody for ten days. Three natives of the Chechen republic were arrested the day before within the framework of the investigation of the criminal case. The prosecutor's office reported that they were suspected of being "accomplices in seizure of hostages". I know the Moscow coppers have been getting lonely. It's nice they've got someone to talk to for a few days...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 12:11 pm ||
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Or as Ummah News puts it: Dozens dead in Nigeria riots after newspaper abuses Prophet
Riots raged on in the northern Nigerian city Kaduna after violence there forced beauty pageant organisers to abandon plans to stage Miss World in Nigeria. Fighting which began as protest by Muslim thugs youths against a newspaper article on the pageant has now degenerated into a bloody street war between Muslims and Christians. An AFP journalist was forced to join around a 1,000 refugees hiding in the Kronenbourg brewery in the south of the city near the main road to Abuja, protected by troops and an armoured car. "We had to run for our lives. They came to my house in two cars and tried to burn it. We really don't know what is happening," 20-year-old Julie Adabo told AFP. Allow us to explain...
Another woman said that a gang came to kill her after burning her home and only let her live when she lied and claimed to be a Muslim. One man said he had seen his brother cut down before him. As she spoke, gunfire could be heard from the Trikania district around the plant and several buildings could be seen in flames. Rioting in Kaduna on Thursday claimed at least 100 lives. Many more are since thought to have perished. "Fighting continued until 11.30 pm (2230) GMT in this area. It started again at 6.30 am. We hear gunfire permanently," said the plant's French manager Regis Bouffartigue. "The soldiers shoot and the demonstrators return fire. According to the soldiers, the demonstrators even have AK47s (assault rifles)." Y'see, AK47s are one of those things you get issued when you become a wahhabi. And once you've got a large enough Muslim population in an area, you take those AK47s out and start waging your holy war. Once all the infidels have been killed, run out of the neighborhood, or forcibly converted, you can move on to the next area. That's because Muslims need their lebensraum...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:10 am ||
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Interesting. This is part of a post I made at IMAO earlier..."OR, perhaps they have just not attained "critical mass" yet. I note the increasing problems some of the EUnuch nations are beginning to have and it makes me wonder if they are still too much of a minority here (and, as others noted above, their neighbors are too well armed) to feel safe indulging in "proper" behavior..."
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has joined leaders of NATO partner states at the alliance's summit in Prague, despite being told he would not be welcome.
There are 'suspicions' among US and British officials that he sold radar equipment to Iraq. Kuchma found the seating arrangements at the meeting changed, so that he would not have to sit near his main accusers. "Put him next to the kitchen. And make sure he has the waiter that walked into the door this afternoon..."
Although Ukraine is a member of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which includes countries ranging from Ireland to Uzbekistan, he was given strong hints by NATO leaders that it would be better if he stayed away from Prague. "Lenny, don't you have to get your oil changed or something?"
In an effort to snub Kuchma, NATO downgraded its bilateral meeting with Ukraine at the summit to the foreign minister level. But, as president of a partner country, Kuchma has the right to attend meetings of the Euro-Atlantic Council, when they are conducted at the head-of-state level. On Thursday, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told reporters he was uncertain Kuchma would show up at the summit. "The president of Ukraine knows the problem, knows that there is a shadow over him in relation to the export, the possible export, of Kolchuga radar systems to Iraq," he said. "Normally, when you've been caught trying to stab someone in the back, you don't want to get too close to them. Too much chance they'll hit you or something..."
But Kuchma came to Prague anyway, turned up at an official dinner Thursday night, and joined the other leaders at the summit on Friday. NATO protocol experts found a way to prevent Kuchma from sitting next to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and one seat away from President Bush. They chose not to use the English alphabetical order for seating, the system that is normally used at the alliance summits. Instead, they arranged the seating in French alphabetical order, which meant that Kuchma was placed at the end of the table, with the Turkish president on one side and nobody on the other. See? The Frenchies are still good for something...
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko told reporters Friday his country is ready to cooperate with the United States and Britain to defuse what he described as their groundless criticism of Kuchma's involvement in the purported radar sales to Iraq. But he said Ukraine cannot give full access to bilateral arms sales deals, because that is privileged information. "We are open to our American counterparts, except for the information as for the Kolchuga transferred to some countries," said Anatoly Zlenko. "You must understand that we're obliged to protect this information and the bilateral agreements. "We're ready to cooperate fully, as long as we don't have to give any details. We have our sovreignty to consider, y'know. And no, you can't come into any presidential palaces to look for evidence..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:10 am ||
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Lenny was a good idea, back when the Soviet Union broke up. Like so many "fathers of his country," he found being in power more fun than getting the country moving. More money in it, too. You know what they say about absolute power and corruption...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2002 11:14 Comments ||
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Pakistani President Pervez Mushrraf handed over his executive powers to the newly elected Prime Minister and his 21-member cabinet following a swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace here Saturday, November 23. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and his new cabinet took charge of Pakistanâ affairs from the military President and his cabinet who ruled the country for three years. "Okay. Let's see if this works..."
While General Musharraf, who overthrew an elected government in October 1999 in a bloodless coup, would continue to serve as President of the country for another full five-year term, most of the members of his cabinet resigned from there offices. However, two of the important ministers in Musharraf cabinet, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Education Minister Mrs Zubaida Jalal made their way back in the government. Zubaida, who was elected member of the Parliament in last monthâs election sworn in as the federal minister while Aziz was appointed as Prime Ministerâs advisor. Another senior advisor to President Musharraf was declared as the senior advisor to the Prime Minister. Portfolios of all the ministers and advisors are to be announced later. The coalition includes a breakaway of the PPPP, which got three federal ministries. The Millat party and the Sherpao faction of PPP got ministries. PML-Q has eight ministries.
No elected government in Pakistan has ever been able to complete its term of five years. Military interventions and military-backed presidents have sent home sixteen elected Prime Ministers in the countryâs 55-year history, during which military dictators have ruled the country for more than half the time. I give 'em a year and a half, outside. Perv's surprised before, but I don't think Pakland is governable. Most of the people vying for office who aren't lunatics are crooks, and Pashtunistan has way too much influence.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:23 am ||
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Lawmaking powers given to Quaid i-Azam's former bodyguard? Bet he won't touch Mushraker's Legal Framework Order.
Mushtaq Zargar, supreme commander of the pro-Pakistan Al Omar Mujahideen group, was arrested in Islamabad after he was invited there for some talks on Thursday, a spokesman for his group said. The spokesman told Dawn that Zargar, commonly known in Kashmir as Mushtaq Latram, had gone to Islamabad on the invitation of the Pakistani authorities on Thursday evening and was missing since then. "Today, it has been confirmed that he has been arrested," the spokesman said, without identifying the authorities. I wonder if there's any significance to the fact that the new government's just taken over...
Thirty-six year old Zargar was among three people who were released by the Indian government on Dec 31, 1999 in exchange for the 155 passengers of a hijacked Indian airliner. The other two included Maulana Masood Azhar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. Hangs around in the very best of company, doesn't he? Wonder how long his house arrest will be, and if he gets teevee privileges?
After release from India, Zargar arrived in Muzaffarabad and was accorded a arousing welcome by his supporters. However, his group announced that he had moved to the held Valley.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 09:38 am ||
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Maulana Fazlur Rehman is set to become the opposition leader in the National Assembly, sources close to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal told Dawn on Friday. But a Jamaat-i-Islami leader claimed that JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed would be the opposition leader as he was elected parliamentary leader of the alliance much before the election of the prime minister. A little difference of opinion here?
MMA leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said that the Jamaat-i-Islami leader was elected parliamentary leader of the alliance and would remain so. "According to parliamentary traditions one who trails in numbers game in the election for leader of the House is a natural choice for the leader of the opposition," Mr Ahmed said. Going by the principle, the PPP had lost the race for the second strongest slot in the National Assembly by losing its 10 votes to pro-government coalition led by the PML-Q, said political observers. A leader of the MMA said that Makhdoom Amin Fahim of the PPP or Makhdoom Shah Mehmud Qureshi may be nominated as deputy leader of the opposition. "Yeah. We can toss 'em a few crumbs. Send 'em some turbans, though..."
When asked whether Qazi Hussain Ahmed, being the parliamentary leader of the MMA, would not be given the slot of opposition leader, the MMA leader said, he would continue to be the parliamentary leader of the religio-political alliance as would Amin Fahim be in the case of the PPP and Javed Hashmi of PML-N. However, one thing which gives some satisfaction to the Jamali-led fragile government is that the two major opposition groups, the MMA and PPP, have so far demonstrated their agreement to disagree on making a coalition between themselves. They failed to field a single candidate against Jamali even though they had lost the vital ten votes of forward bloc in the People's Party Parliamentarians. Crooks and lunatics usually don't make a natural alliance, except for the short term...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 11:09 am ||
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The Islamic Jihad said two of its members died when they blew up their tiny fishing vessel early Saturday, November 23, alongside an Israeli naval patrol boat, in an attack that wounded four Israeli sailors. The two Islamic cannon fodder fighters, Jamal Ismail, 21, from the Maghazi refugee camp in southern Gaza, and Mohammad al-Masri, 19, from the northern town of Beit Hanun, blew themselves up alongside the Israeli vessel off the northern Gaza coast, a high-ranking member of Jihad told Agence France-Presse. "Y'see, the al-Qaeda thugs got such good result attacking the Cole and that Frenchie tanker, we thought we'd give it a try here..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:10 am ||
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Israeli forces took over Bethlehem once again last night, and have already captured about 20 wanted terrorists and terrorist leaders - including three suicide terrorists. In addition, the family home of Naal Abu Halail, who massacred 11 Jerusalem residents on a bus yesterday morning, was demolished. The forces surrounded the Church of the Nativity, thus ensuring that it would not be used as refuge for escaping terrorists, as it was this past May. The IDF captured several more terrorists elsewhere in Yesha over the night, including one leader who was planning to dispatch a car bomb into an Israeli city in the near future. They can't let up for a minute...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 08:56 am ||
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A large bomb exploded a short while ago on the road leading to the Cave of the Patriarchs adjacent to the Jewish community in Hebron. The powerful explosive device apparently was hidden on the road in order to explode tonight as Jewish worshippers walk to Friday night prayers in the ancient building housing the Patriarchsâ Cave. No injuries were reported and no damage was caused in todayâs explosion. "Mahmoud, when are you gonna learn the difference between A.M. and P.M.?"
"I dunno, Ahmed. But I can recite the Koran from memory."
"Well, that's okay, then."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 09:00 am ||
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Paleos seem to be doing a yeoman's job at trying to keep Saddam out of the crosshairs, or does this just seem to be a busy holiday season?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/23/2002 14:09 Comments ||
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One of the two bombs that blew up in Baliâs main nightlife area on October 12 was detonated by a suicide bomber carrying explosives in a backpack, a police official said Friday citing the confession of Imam Samudra. National Police Detective chief Lieutenant General Erwin Mapaseng said the alleged suicide bomber, Iqbal, had been among 10 men sought by investigators over the two blasts that killed at least 192 people. Mapaseng said Samudra, who was arrested in western Java on Thursday, told investigators that Iqbal detonated the backpack bomb with his hand at the entrance to Paddyâs Irish Pub moments before a minivan packed with explosives was blown up outside the nearby Sari Club. Detikcom online news agency quoted Mapaseng as saying Samudra told police that Iqbal had used a handphone to detonate the bomb. That's a little trick passed on by the Paleos...
Samudra told police there were two teams involved in the Bali blasts, working independently of each other. His team was responsible for the Sari Club bombing, while Iqbal's five-man team was in charge of the attack on Paddy's. Two of the people in Iqbal's team, Yudi and Rauf, were arrested on Tuesday in Serang, Samudra's hometown in Banten province, which was formerly part of West Java province.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 11:31 am ||
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Imam Samudra, is also wanted by the Barelang police in Batam, Riau province, in connection with the bombing of several churches here in 2000. Barelang Police told Antara that Imam Samudra was allegedly involved in the bombing of several churches Christmas Eve in 2000, in which about 13 people were injured. Barelang Police said that they had released sketches of the alleged perpetrators at the time, but had failed to capture them. They also disclosed information that Imam Samudra often passed through Batam in traveling to Johor Baharu, Malaysia. They couldn't catch him then, either. He was too fast for them... Whoops! There he went again!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 11:37 am ||
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Seventeen legislators on Saturday praised police for arresting two key suspects in the Bali bombing, including alleged mastermind Imam Samudra. AFP reported that legislators met Amrozi, the first suspect to be arrested, for 10 minutes at Bali police headquarters. "We congratulate the police on their success," the group's spokesman, Isaac Latuconsina, was quoted as saying afterwards. "The arrest of Amrozi and Imam Samudra demonstrates Indonesia's determination to combat terrorism, something the international community has doubted," he added. Those don't appear to be the same legislators who were suggesting the Bali bombings were the work of foreign agents...
Latuconsina also said Amrozi, who was arrested on November 5 at his home in East Java where he ran a motorbike repair shop, had told the lawmakers that police had been treating him properly. "We were not told of any use of methods which are against human rights," he said. That giggle juice works pretty well...
Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, another legislator, said Amrozi told the group that he regretted somewhat the many deaths caused by the attack, but that his ideology had compelled him to kill Americans. Oh. Well. That makes it okay, doesn't it?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 11:54 am ||
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A family member of suspected Bali bomb mastermind Imam Samudra confirmed that the police had arrested him, but maintained that Samudra was innocent. Samudra's younger brother Lulu Jamaluddin made the statement on Friday when he arrived at Cilegon Police station in Banten to ensure that the man in custody was his brother. "Nope. Nope. Dint do it. Nope. Not him..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/23/2002 12:02 pm ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
