Title: US Converts to Islam
Description: Working for the FBI
Description: Working for the FBI
Troubadour - November 28, 2006 12:17 PM (GMT)
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| Jew, turned Muslim, offers knowledge of Al Qaeda By Marc Perelman / International Herald Tribune Published: November 27, 2006 Daveed Gartenstein-Ross was a Jew who became a Muslim and is now a Christian. WASHINGTON: Many college students go through a spiritual crisis but rarely does it turn out as it did for Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a Jew who converted to Islam and went to work in a small town in Oregon for a charity that has since been linked to Al Qaeda. Gartenstein-Ross, 30, has now changed tacks again, converting to Christianity and using his background as a former Islamist insider to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation crack down on Islamist terror networks in the United States. A rising star in the counterterrorism community, he testified before Congress in September about the dangers of radical Islamist indoctrination in U.S. prisons and the recruitment of potential terrorists among inmates. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut praised him as a key player in the government's efforts against the U.S. arm of the Haramain Islamic Foundation, a large Saudi charity, that was shut down in 2004 by the U.S. authorities after the U.S. Treasury Department designated it a terrorist-supporting entity with ties to Al Qaeda. Gartenstein-Ross describes his unusual journey in "My Year Inside Radical Islam," a memoir of the nine months he spent with Al Haramain to be published in February. While a growing number of former terrorist operatives and counterterrorism officials are publishing insider accounts of their shadowy battles, Ross offers a troubling testimony on the lure of radical Islam for Westerners. This is not merely an academic proposition, since Western converts like him pose a major challenge to law-enforcement officials in their fight radical Islamist networks. "I thought it was significant to tell people how a reasonably intelligent Westerner would work for a radical Islamic charity," Gartenstein-Ross said in an interview, "and end up not being disgusted by it but actually feeling, 'Wow! There is something to these guys' ideas.'" He said he had initially embraced a moderate version of Islam before being drawn to his job with radical Islamists in Ashland, Oregon, his hometown, seduced by the appeal of belonging to a close-knit community and the "ready answers" provided by his superiors. Adopting Wahhabism, the Saudi rigorist interpretation of Islam, he stopped shaking hands with women, listening to music, wearing shorts, and playing computer games. He grew a full beard, endorsed the gay-bashing and conspiracy theories of his mentors, and found himself praying for the victory of mujahedeen, or Muslim holy warriors, around the world. From that point, Gartenstein-Ross might well have followed the path taken by two other West Coast teenagers drawn to radical Islam: Adam Yahiye Gadahn, 28, who last month became the first American to be charged with treason in more than half a century for his role as a propagandist for Al Qaeda, and John Walker Lindh, now 25, who was sentenced in 2002 to 20 years in jail for fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. "We all grew up in homes where answers were not given to us, and we were looking for a sense of direction that we initially found within Islam," said Gartenstein-Ross. Raised by "New Age Jewish" parents in Ashland, a small southern Oregon town infused with hippie culture and boasting a well-regarded Shakespeare theater festival, Gartenstein-Ross went to college at Wake Forest University, a conservative campus in North Carolina. He felt out of a place there until he bonded with a Kenyan-born Muslim leftist activist who inspired him with his moderate religious beliefs. He converted to Islam in 1997 during a semester abroad in Venice after meeting local Muslims whose free-flowing manner appealed to him. The following year, just before graduating in communications, he was on a family visit home when he was recruited by a Muslim activist named Pete Seda to work for a local Islamic not-for- profit organization that had just received significant funding from Al Haramain and went on to become its American head office. Gartenstein-Ross started work for the office in December 1998, running day-to-day operations and overseeing special projects. In one, a prison outreach program, Al Haramain handed out Wahhabist-annotated Korans to prisoners and maintained a database with the names and whereabouts of inmates who received the foundation's material. He was a true believer when he left Al Haramain amicably in the summer of 1999 to pursue a law degree at New York University. The change of setting and the lifting of the peer pressure helped him realize he had gone astray, he said. Resuming a relationship with a Christian girlfriend, who became his wife, helped prompt him to convert to Protestantism. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, then hastened his estrangement from leftist ideals. After graduation in 2002, he clerked for Judge Harry Edwards at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and worked briefly as a lawyer before deciding to work as a counterterrorism consultant. He is now advising police departments and writing academic papers about Islamist terrorism. He has also become a regular commentator on Islamic and security affairs in conservative U.S. media, notably the Weekly Standard. When Gartenstein-Ross testified before the Senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs on Sept. 19, Lieberman told the panel that Al Haramain had been closed "in large part due to Mr. Gartenstein-Ross's cooperation with the FBI." However, a law-enforcement source familiar with the case countered that he had been merely a "piece" of the puzzle and "definitely not some kind of star witness." Gartenstein-Ross declined to characterize his role but said that he had cooperated with law-enforcement officials in 2002, and then again after the charity was raided and its assets frozen in February 2004. Al Haramain, which denies the allegations, was designated by Treasury as a terrorism-supporting organization in September 2004. Two of its officials - Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty, and Soliman Hamd al-Buthe of Saudi Arabia - were indicted in February 2005 for illegally funneling $150,000 to Islamic combatants in Chechnya. Both men are abroad and are challenging the charges in court. Gartenstein-Ross insists that his latest conversion - religious and political - did not turn him into an enemy of Islam. One of his projects, he says, is to write a book about moderate Islam, the kind he initially embraced. |
I think I remember a big fuss being made about links between British Islamic "terrorism" and Oregon, USA.
Sinclair - November 28, 2006 01:56 PM (GMT)
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| links between British Islamic "terrorism" and Oregon, USA. |
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| Last Updated: Monday, 8 August 2005, 11:33 GMT 12:33 UK Court remands terror camp suspect A Briton deported from Zambia to the UK and accused of trying to set up a terror training camp in the US has been remanded in custody by magistrates. Haroon Rashid Aswat, of Dewbury, West Yorks, is suspected by US officials of trying to set up the camp in Oregon. Mr Aswat, 30, was arrested by police on Sunday after landing at RAF Northolt. He appeared before magistrates sitting at Belmarsh prison to face a US extradition request, and was remanded until 11 August. Mr Aswat was arrested in Zambia on 20 July on immigration charges and was held for two weeks before being deported. The US authorities want to question him about an alleged attempt between October 1999 and April 2000 to set up a training camp in Bly, Oregon, to train people to "fight jihad" in Afghanistan. The US warrant alleges that he "conspired with others to control and manage an association of persons in Bly, Oregon, who would be organised and trained, or organised and equipped, for the purpose of enabling them to be employed for the use or display of physical force in promoting a political object, namely to make hijrah to, and to fight jihad in, Afghanistan." A second claim was that he conspired with others so that any training would "arouse reasonable apprehension" that people were being prepared to "fight jihad" in Afghanistan. source: BBC News report of 8th August 2005 |
Note the dates of Aswat's arrest 20th July 2005 & the date of the above report 8th Aug 2005. The papers were full of the July 21st non-bombs stories then. On 8th Aug, the papers were full of reports of a number of arrests of July 21st non-bomb 'suspects'
Aswat was arrested in Zambia. Questions re the deportation of Aswat from Zambia & why he wasn't deported direct to the USA are raised at SpyBlog here:
http://p10.hostingprod.com/@spyblog.org.uk...shid_aswat.html
A question asked by Michael Meacher in the HoC re Aswat is here:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=20...43197.h&s=aswat
Also note the Zambian connection with another shady character Mohammed Afroze. See the Mohammed Afroze thread on this forum here:
http://z13.invisionfree.com/julyseventh/in...p?showtopic=943
Sorry, it is not Afroze, but another name who was linked to Zambia - Rashid or similar??? I' will edit later..........
The Antagonist - November 28, 2006 02:45 PM (GMT)
This Gartensten Ross character's story is rather like the story of Adam Gadahn.
Bridget - November 29, 2007 12:39 PM (GMT)
Babar Ahmad, Noor Kahn & Hassan Abu-Jihaad:
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| Aiding Terrorism By ALISON LEIGH COWAN Published: November 29, 2007 NEW HAVEN, Nov. 28 — A former American sailor accused of helping support terrorism by leaking classified information about the whereabouts of Navy vessels in early 2001 told jihadist supporters that if they were not going to do anything with his information to “just destroy it,” a government witness told a federal judge here on Wednesday. The comment made by the witness, William Crisman, was one of several revelations in the government’s case against Hassan Abu-Jihaad, 31, the defendant. Known as Paul R. Hall before his conversion to Islam, he has been in federal custody since his arrest in March in Phoenix, where he lived. Wednesday’s evidentiary hearing before Judge Mark R. Kravitz, expected to last the rest of the week, was convened to decide what information can be admitted at his trial next year. Investigators began looking into his activities after British authorities raided the home of Babar Ahmad, a British citizen, in London in December 2003 and found password-protected information on a computer about a group of battleships that were scheduled to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on or around April 29, 2001. Connecticut has been seeking to extradite Mr. Ahmad for prosecution since 2004 on charges that he provided material support to terrorist organizations and causes. The authorities say that the information about the Navy’s movements, and its vulnerability to attack, ultimately came from Mr. Abu-Jihaad while he was stationed on the guided missile destroyer Benfold and serving primarily as its signal man. The document containing the information about troop movements ends with the caveat “please destroy message.” E-mail messages between Mr. Abu-Jihaad and a group of pro-jihadi Web sites run by Mr. Ahmad show that the sailor bought jihadi videos from the organization and shared with Mr. Ahmad’s group details of a briefing that he had received on board the Benfold after the bombing of the Cole, another Navy vessel, six months earlier. In one message, Mr. Abu-Jihaad refers to that bombing as a “martyrdom operation.” He is being prosecuted in Connecticut because one of the Internet service providers involved in e-mail traffic between him and the jihadi groups was based here, in Trumbull. At the hearing, federal prosecutors played audiotapes of phone conversations they had gathered through wiretaps, and audiotapes of conversations gathered with the help of the government witness, Mr. Crisman. In one tape where Mr. Abu-Jihaad is recommending jihadi literature to a friend, he utters the words “under the black leaves,” and counsels the friend to consider the first letter of each word. On the stand, David G. Dillon, an F.B.I. agent, testified that he took the comment to be a coded reference to Usama bin Laden, the head of Al-Qaeda. Mr. Crisman, a former gang member who converted to Islam and speaks Arabic, said he had offered himself as a government informer after being denied military service because of prior felony convictions. He said he eventually befriended, with the government’s blessing, Derrick L. Shareef, a former roommate of Mr. Abu-Jihaad, and to a lesser extent, Mr. Abu-Jihaad himself. He said that he often conversed with them in code. “J” was short for “Jihad,” and “7” was a reference to the highest level of paradise achievable by martyrs on the battlefield. He also testified that Mr. Shareef told him Mr. Abu-Jihaad had indicated he was the one who provided the information to the overseas group about the Navy vessels shortly after Mr. Ahmad’s own arrest made news in 2004. Mr. Crisman testified that Mr. Shareef said Mr. Abu-Jihaad told the person who received the information that if they were not likely to act on the information to “just destroy it.” Mr. Shareef, whose voice was heard on many of the audiotapes, is not likely to testify at this week’s hearing. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Chicago to plotting to ignite grenades at a mall full of holiday shoppers last December in Rockford, Ill. He was arrested on Dec. 6 when he attempted to trade some stereo speakers to an undercover agent for four grenades and a handgun. Mr. Abu-Jihaad’s lawyers, Dan E. LaBelle and Robert G. Golger, have argued in recent court filings that much of the government’s evidence was gathered illegally or is hearsay and inadmissible. The lawyers argued in a newly unsealed brief that Mr. Shareef’s comments to federal authorities also support their client by corroborating that the two had a falling-out in the fall of 2006. They cite an F.B.I. report from the Chicago case in which Mr. Shareef complained to agents that he was frustrated with Mr. Abu-Jihaad because “it would take 20 years before Abu-Jihaad would be ready to do anything for the cause.” Mr. Crisman, a self-described farmer, said he had allowed Mr. Shareef to come live with him, his three wives and their houseful of children. Prompted by the prosecutor, Stephen Reynolds, Mr. Crisman said that only one of his marriages was recognized by the State of Illinois, although the Koran allows men to take four wives at a time. “Still looking for wife No. 4?” Mr. Reynolds asked. “If God permits,” Mr. Crisman answered. IHT |
J7 - code for Islamist terrorism!!
The Antagonist - November 29, 2007 01:34 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Bridget @ Nov 29 2007, 12:39 PM) | ||
Babar Ahmad, Noor Kahn & Hassan Abu-Jihaad:
J7 - code for Islamist terrorism!! |
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 The Director for Operational Plans and Joint Force Development, J-7, provides assistance to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by enhancing joint force development through war plans, doctrine, education, training, exercises, and the assessment of each through the observation of Commanders in Chief and CJCS exercises and real world operations. Through its four subordinate divisions, the J-7 acts as functional agent to support and facilitate the Chairman’s transformation efforts, and to pursue joint force development through joint doctrine; joint tactics, techniques and procedures; joint education; joint training; war plans; and assessments. Using the Joint Training System, J-7 executes the joint exercise and CJCS assessment programs. It reviews conventional war plans, assisting the combatant commands, Joint Staff, Services, and Office of the Secretary of Defense to exercise and improve the capability of U.S. forces and combat support agencies to achieve strategic goals. The directorate facilitates addressing warfighting requirements needed in war plans, joint education, joint training, and joint doctrine. Finally, J-7 formulates Joint Professional Military Education policy and programs; conducts the Process for Accreditation of Joint Education; coordinating periodic review of all JPME curricula; and providing Joint Staff oversight to Centers for Regional Security Studies. |
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| Introduction In today’s changing information technology market J7 (MIS) Ltd, ("J7"), brings you a new way to obtain the computer expertise you require direct from the professionals in Scotland. Management Information Services are key to any businesses' success. Let J7 unlock your success. J7 meets the increasing desire in the computer market place to buy direct from the manufacturer, to achieve the largest cost savings available, compared to using a conventional computer reseller. Unless you have a dedicated buying and installation team, where do you start? J7 provides a unique range of services from planning, procurement, installation, and management, through to support. The costs are considerably lower because J7 enables you to deal directly with the people you require and excludes the expensive middleman. J7 delivers the independent experts from across Scotland to deliver the IT solutions you require. As it makes sound financial sense to obtain your hardware direct, there is an even greater saving in using J7 to deliver the expertise direct to you and your organisation. J7 uses only the highest quality personnel who are fully vetted to the highest industry qualification levels. |
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| J7 Architecture Ltd J7 Architecture Ltd provides an architecture and interior design service of a high standard combining design flair and commercial awareness. |
Bridget - February 24, 2008 02:43 PM (GMT)
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| The 'Unremarkable' Life Of A Sailor Turned Terror Suspect February 24, 2008 Dec. 24, 1975: Hassan Abu-jihaad, then named Paul R. Hall, is born. 1995: Hall converts to Islam, legally changing his name to Abu-jihaad, which means "father of jihad." December 1997: Abu-jihaad enlists in the Navy. Jan. 6, 1998: Abu-jihaad gains "secret" security clearance. Late 2000: Abu-jihaad allegedly begins an e-mail correspondence with those at a collection of websites in London run by Azzam Publications. Some e-mail allegedly originates aboard his ship, the USS Benfold, which becomes part of the Constellation Battle Group. March 2001: Classified Navy ship movements, eventually dubbed the battle group document, allegedly are transmitted by Abu-jihaad to Azzam. Spring 2001: The Constellation Battle Group leaves San Diego for the Persian Gulf. The group is scheduled to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, leading from the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf, on or about April 29. July 2001: Abu-jihaad allegedly e-mails Azzam regarding the military reaction to the October 2000 terror attack on the USS Cole. The e-mail says the attack has caused "psychological anxiety" to "set in on America's forces everywhere." Jan 25, 2002: Abu-jihaad is discharged from the Navy and settles in Phoenix. 2003: Abu-jihaad befriends Derrick Shareef at the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix. Shareef lives in Abu-jihaad's Phoenix home for about seven months. The FBI says they began discussing "the terms and justification for jihad." December 2003: British officials find the battle group document while searching a London house belonging to the parents of Babar Ahmad, one of two men who run Azzam. Oct. 6, 2004: A federal grand jury in Bridgeport indicts Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan, both British citizens, along with Azzam Publications, on charges of providing support to terrorists. Late 2004: Shareef moves to the Chicago area but remains in telephone contact with Abu-jihaad. Among other things, they allegedly discuss ways to maximize casualties during an attack on a military base near San Diego. September 2006: Shareef befriends Muslim convert William Chrisman in suburban Chicago. Unbeknownst to Shareef, Chrisman is an FBI informant. Shareef introduces Chrisman to Abu-jihaad. Authorities say they then link Abu-jihaad, through recorded conversations, to the battle group document and plans to mount terror attacks. Nov. 22, 2006: The FBI records Abu-jihaad and an "associate" discussing a video depicting an Iraqi insurgent known as the "Juba sniper" killing U.S. military personnel. Dec. 6, 2006: Shareef is arrested and charged with conspiring to attack Christmas shoppers with hand grenades at a suburban Chicago shopping mall. March 7, 2007: Abu-jihaad is arrested in Phoenix and charged with supporting terrorism with an intent to kill U.S. citizens and transmitting classified information to unauthorized people. Feb. 25, 2008: Abu-jihaad's trial in U.S. District Court scheduled to begin. article |
Bridget - February 25, 2008 11:05 PM (GMT)
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| Trial Starts for Terror Case Against Ex-Sailor from Phoenix February 25th, 2008 @ 12:34pm by Associated Press The trial of a former Navy sailor on terrorism charges opened Monday with British investigators describing how they found details about the vulnerability of the sailor's Navy battle group in the London home of an alleged terrorism supporter. American prosecutors allege that the sailor, Hassan Abu-Jihaad, sent those details to suspected terrorism supporters in London. Abu-Jihaad, 32, of Phoenix, has pleaded not guilty to charges he provided material support to terrorists with intent to kill U.S. citizens and disclosed classified information relating to the national defense. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison. Abu-Jihaad was charged as a result of an investigation that led to the 2004 arrest of Babar Ahmad, a British computer specialist accused of running Web sites to raise money, appeal for fighters and provide equipment such as gas masks and night vision goggles for terrorists. Ahmad is awaiting extradition to the U.S. Three British investigators testified Monday that agents who searched Ahmad's parents' house, where he had a room, in 2003 found a computer floppy disk. Computer expert Samantha Miller testified that the disk contained information on U.S. Navy ships and planned ship movements. The information on the disk included statements such as "They have nothing to stop a small craft with RPG (rocket-propelled grenade), etc., except their SEALS' stinger missiles." The ship details included the makeup of the Navy battle group, its planned movements and a drawing of the group's formation when it was to pass through the Straits of Hormuz on April 29, 2001. It also included the number and type of personnel on each ship and the ships' capabilities and ended with instructions to destroy the message. Abu-Jihaad, an American-born Muslim convert formerly known as Paul R. Hall, was a signalman before he received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 2002. Prosecutors acknowledge they don't have direct proof that Abu-Jihaad leaked details of ship movements. But Abu-Jihaad exchanged e-mails with Ahmad in 2000 and 2001 while on active duty on the USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer that was part of the battle group formation, according to an FBI affidavit. In those e-mails, Abu-Jihaad discussed naval briefings and praised Osama bin Laden and those who attacked the USS Cole in 2000, investigators say. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of the USS Cole before and after the attack. The photo after the attack showed a large black mark in the side of the ship. Prosecutors displayed numerous pages from the group's Web site, including bin Laden's declaration of war against Americans and an article, "How do I train Myself for Jihad." The Web site was not illegal to access at the time and could be readily found, Evan Kohlmann, a terrorism expert called by prosecutors, said under-cross examination by Abu-Jihaad's attorneys. Kohlmann gave the jury a crash course in numerous conflicts around the world involving Muslim fighters, including Bosnia, Chechnya and Afghanistan. Abu-Jihaad also purchased videos promoting violent jihad from the group. Prosecutors plan to play portions of the graphic videos. Prosecutors say the videos and Web pages are important evidence because they must prove not only that Abu-Jihaad leaked the ship details but intended to kill Americans by sending the information to those who promoted terrorism. They say the videos depict martyrdom, explaining why Abu-Jihaad would allow his own ship to be targeted. Prosecutors also hope to bolster the case by playing intercepted phone calls to show what they say is Abu-Jihaad's coded speech and obsession with security. Authorities said Abu-Jihaad spoke of "hot meals" and "cold meals" in conversations with associates to refer to intelligence that would be useful to strike American military targets. Abu-Jihaad's attorneys say the statements are irrelevant and the government's case is weak. The trial is expected to last one to two weeks. and the government's case is weak. |
Bridget - March 6, 2008 10:50 AM (GMT)
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| US sailor guilty of terror charges 10 hours ago A former US Navy sailor with links to a British computer specialist has been found guilty of terrorism charges. Hassan Abu-Jihaad, 32, was convicted of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing classified national defence information by a jury at the US District Court in New Haven, Connecticut. The court heard Babar Ahmad, a British computer specialist being held at Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes, while he fights deportation to the US on charges of raising funds for terror groups in the same case, had a floppy disk which contained details of ship movements. Abu-Jihaad faces up to 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on May 23. British investigators told the court that agents who searched Ahmad's parents house in 2003 found a computer floppy disk which contained the details of the ship movements. The investigation was one of the first to target online terrorism financiers after the September 11 attacks and experts have cited Abu-Jihaad's case as an example of how internet propaganda fuels the radicalisation process. The court heard Abu-Jihaad exchanged emails with Ahmad in 2000 and 2001 while on active duty on the USS Benfold, a guided-missile destroyer that was part of the battle group formation. In the emails, Abu-Jihaad discussed naval briefings and praised al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, as well as those who attacked the USS Cole in 2000, investigators said. But prosecutors admitted they do not have direct proof that Abu-Jihaad leaked details of ship movements. The American-born Muslim convert, who was formerly known as Paul Hall, was a signalman before he received an honourable discharge from the Navy in 2002. Last month, it emerged Labour MP Sadiq Khan was secretly recorded during two prison visits to Ahmad, who is one of his constituents. source |
The Antagonist - April 12, 2008 10:21 AM (GMT)
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| Let me give you an example. Last month, an individual named Hassan Abu- Jihaad was convicted in federal court in Connecticut on terrorism and espionage charges. Abu-Jihaad was a signalman in the United States Navy. While on active duty aboard the USS Benfold in the Middle East, Abu-Jihaad sent classified information about the movements and vulnerabilities of his Navy battle group to an extremist website based in London. This was just months after al Qaeda had attacked the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors. We learned about Abu-Jihaad from British law enforcement officers, who found a computer disk containing this classified information while searching a residence in London. That’s one connection — but there is another. Once we learned of Abu-Jihaad from New Scotland Yard, we began the process of learning everything there was to know about him. We discovered that he had been the roommate of a man named Derrick Shareef. Through monitoring court-authorized wiretaps, we learned that Abu-Jihaad and Derrick Shareef discussed attacking military targets in Phoenix and San Diego. Shareef was then arrested in December 2006 and charged with plotting to detonate hand grenades at a large shopping mall outside Chicago at the height of the Christmas season. He pled guilty this past November. This case is another illustration of both the power and the limitations of intelligence, and the need for strong partnerships throughout the global intelligence and law enforcement communities. The investigation ranged from a battleship in the Persian Gulf to a shopping mall in suburban Chicago. But the intelligence we needed to tie everything together and convict both men came from a house in London. Without New Scotland Yard, we might not have been able to unravel these plots. Our national security might have been jeopardized. And many lives — both military and civilian — might have been lost. |
Sinclair - May 8, 2008 03:26 PM (GMT)
I thought we had a thread of the US trial of Mohammad Amawi, Marwan El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum, the 3 American men who are alleged to have conspired to kill or injure people in the Middle East - including U.S. troops serving in Iraq….& also accused of providing "support and resources" to terrorists (but I can't find it....) (On edit - I found the relevant post HERE)
Anyway, another case of a Muslim Convert Agent Provacateur, who is an ex special forces soldier.....
Anyway, another case of a Muslim Convert Agent Provacateur, who is an ex special forces soldier.....
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Article published Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Informant was told not to train suspects in Toledo terror trial BEGINNING OF THIS STORY: 3 charged in terror plot; local suspects planned attacks in Iraq, U.S. says (Feb. 22, 2006) VIEW: Read the original grand jury indictment VIEW: Toledo terror trial TALK BACK: Join Forums to talk about this story. By ERICA BLAKE BLADE STAFF WRITER The Joint Terrorism Task Force emerged in the Toledo area just months before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to ferret out possible threats to the United States, a special agent with the FBI testified yesterday. The government's key witness in a terrorism trial, Darren Griffin, Special Agent Shannon Coats added, was one of the "tools" used. Agent Coats, one of the FBI agents involved in the investigation of three local men charged with terrorism-related activities, testified in U.S. District Court about the role of Mr. Griffin as a cooperating witness in the case and the instructions Mr. Griffin received throughout the investigation. The agent was the third witness to testify for the government in the trial of Mohammad Amawi, 28; Marwan El-Hindi, 45, and Wassim Mazloum, 26. Agent Coats' testimony followed a weeks-long inquiry of Mr. Griffin by both the government and the defense. Mr. Griffin testified that he used hidden devices to record interactions with the three defendants, including what he testified were requests by the three men to "train" for holy war overseas. Each of the three men is charged with planning to wage a holy war using skills they learned from Web sites. In the indictment released after their February, 2006, arrests, the government alleged that the three conspired to kill or injure people in the Middle East - including U.S. troops serving in Iraq - as well as provide "support and resources" to terrorists. Mr. Amawi and Mr. El-Hindi also are charged with "distributing information regarding explosives." During questioning by federal prosecutors, Agent Coats said Mr. Griffin was sought out by the FBI after learning about him from the Drug Enforcement Agency, where he was an informant. Agent Coats said Mr. Griffin was asked to develop himself as an Islamic extremist, attend social gatherings in the Toledo Muslim community, and interact with people of interest. The three defendants were not originally on that list of people of interest, Agent Coats said. The agent testified that the FBI's primary objectives were to keep Mr. Griffin and his family safe, to verify the veracity of the information he provided, and to collect information, and later evidence, of any criminal activity. He said the FBI reviewed each recording Mr. Griffin made of his interactions with the defendants, and that the FBI was aware of all of Mr. Griffin's activities during the course of the investigation. Mr. Amawi's attorney, Edward Bryan of Cleveland, questioned Agent Coats about "entrapment" and asked specifically whether the FBI sought to conduct an investigation that was "objective and fair." He then characterized Mr. Griffin's information-gathering techniques as "eavesdropping" on the Muslim community during a time when the American-Arab population was tense because of what was happening overseas. "Were you concerned that [Mr. Griffin] might manipulate the fear of these men because of what was going on in the world?" Mr. Bryan asked. "No," Agent Coats responded. Agent Coats testified that Mr. Griffin was specifically told not to train the three defendants in explosives or sniper tactics. "We absolutely were not going to allow Mr. Griffin to give specific guidance on how to build an [improvised explosive device] or how to conduct a sniper attack," Agent Coats said. Agent Coats said Mr. Griffin was instead instructed to offer alternative types of "training" so as to keep the investigation going because the defendants spoke of other people who the FBI wanted to investigate as possible threats. "There were a number of indicators on the part of the defendants that they had knowledge of other people who were interested in training for violent jihad," he said. The previously recorded testimony of Jihad Dahabi was also played for jurors yesterday. Mr. Dahabi, who was not available to testify in person, was questioned by both the defense and the government during a video recording made April 24, 2007. Mr. Dahabi, who is an accountant, met with Mr. El-Hindi and Mr. Griffin in 2005 when the men tried to set up a nonprofit organization to obtain grant money. Mr. Dahabi testified he did not send in the completed paperwork because he was concerned about "fraud" and "terrorism" on the part of the two men. Mr. Dahabi said in his testimony his concerns evolved from comments made by Mr. Griffin during the meeting held in 2005. Agent Coats will return to the stand today for continued questioning by the defense. The trial will resume at 8:30 a.m. before Judge James Carr. source:Toledo Blade |
From the report Toledo Blade report of 25th April 2008, when questioned how the three defendants knew each other, it was pointed out in court that they were introduced to each other through Mr. Darren Griffin. In fact the only one instance when the three men were actually seen together was during a meeting initiated and led by ……….Mr. Griffin.
(See also a comment here)
In court, a defence attorney asked about ‘the information-gathering practices of Mr. Griffin’….it seems that he was trained to "dominate the conversations" as well as interject names such as Osama bin Laden into the conversations. "Quite often, there would be absolutely no discussion in the room and you would bring the topic up out of the blue, isn't that true?" the attorney asked.
Mr. Darren Griffin (a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces) gathered information in Toledo's Muslim community over 2½ years.
Sinclair - May 20, 2008 10:55 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Bridget @ Feb 24 2008, 02:43 PM) | ||
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Syed Talha Ahsan was arrested in July 2006:
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U.K. Webmaster accused of aiding terrorists By Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache Staff Writers, CNET News.com Published: July 20, 2006 7:13 PM PDT British police have arrested a U.K. citizen on charges that he operated Islamic fundamentalist Web sites that preached "violent jihad." The arrest of Syed Talha Ahsan on Wednesday came at the request of the U.S. government, which released a 14-page indictment (click for PDF) accusing him of selling books, videotapes, audio cassettes, and CD-ROMs that glorified "violent jihad in Chechnya, Bosnia, Afghanistan" and funneling money to groups that were deemed illegal by the federal government. The Web sites, including azzam.com, azzam.co.uk, qoqaz.net and qoqaz.co.uk, tout the virtues of jihad, primarily against the West and allied nations. One Web page posted soon after Sept. 11, 2001 saved by Archive.org includes an "Urgent appeal to defend Afghanistan" and features defiant quotes from the Taliban threatening any nation that aids the U.S. in its military operations. Another Web page describes Abu Ubaidah, who it says died on a jihad in 2000 while fighting the Russians in southern Chechnya. The indictment claims that Ahsan, a 26-year-old London resident, distributed CDs and videotapes that were illegally "eulogizing dead fighters, for the purpose of recruiting individuals and soliciting donations to support the mujahideen" and that he "possessed various materials, including literature supporting violent jihad throughout the world." The name "Azzam"--which appears in the Web sites' domain names--apparently refers to Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, who died in 1989 and is widely considered to have laid the foundation for the militant Islamic fundamentalist movement with which Osama bin Laden is commonly associated. Some of the Web sites were allegedly located in Connecticut, Nevada, Ireland and Malaysia. The federal government has requested that Ahsan, who is currently being detained without bail in the United Kingdom, be returned to the United States for trial. If extradited and convicted, he could face life in prison on charges of participating in a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; aiding others in providing material support to terrorists; and criminal conspiracy. Among other allegations, the indictment says Ahsan corresponded via e-mail with a U.S. Navy enlistee and obtained then-classified plans of a naval battle group operating in the Straits of Hormuz, between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which also discussed "the Naval Group's vulnerabilities to terrorist attack." The federal government has tried to portray Ahsan as one of several members of a broader conspiracy to aid terrorists. Another alleged member of the group, Babar Ahmad, faced similar charges from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut in October 2004. http://www.news.com/U.K.-Webmaster-accused..._3-6096818.html |
Syed Talha Ahsan was reportedly involved with Babar Ahmad/Azzam Publications.
The Appeal Case notes on Syed Talha Ahsan's case are on BAILII HERE.
Sinclair - September 14, 2008 09:42 AM (GMT)
A report on the case of the Toledo Terror trial (featuring Mohammad Amawi, Marwan El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum), which indicates that there were FBI insiders/agent provocateurs throughout. Read the post 2 up (May 8 2008, 03:26 PM) which highlights the workings of ex US military special forces agent provocateur Darren Griffin.
Note also the mention in the article below, of apparent UK terror webmaster extraordinaire Younis Tsouli
Younis Tsouli
Note also the mention in the article below, of apparent UK terror webmaster extraordinaire Younis Tsouli
Younis Tsouli
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The Secret Agent How an undercover FBI informant busted an alleged terror ring. Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball Newsweek Web Exclusive Updated: 2:51 PM ET Jul 3, 2008 A recent federal trial in Ohio offers new details about how the FBI uses informants in Muslim communities to gather intelligence on domestic terrorist threats. Since Sept. 11, the bureau's aggressive use of such informants—including giving them the green light to spy on suspects inside mosques—has triggered concerns about potential civil liberties abuses. The issue is threatening to become even hotter: Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently confirmed he is expanding internal FBI guidelines governing the use of undercover informants in national security investigations. The proposed new guidelines, according to two senior law enforcement officials, would give FBI agents greater latitude to "task" undercover informants to collect intelligence in entire communities where potential threats are deemed to exist, rather than simply targeting specific individuals suspected of wrongdoing. But a recent counter-terrorism case in Toledo, Ohio, shows how the FBI already started down that road in the wake of 9/11. Thanks largely to the work of a well-compensated FBI undercover informant, federal prosecutors last month secured the convictions of three Islamic radicals in Toledo on charges of conspiring to kill or maim U.S. troops overseas. FBI officials have touted the case as a major success story in part because it exposed what they see as an increasingly alarming phenomenon: the emergence of "homegrown" jihadis who cook up terror plots on their own after downloading violent extremist literature and terror training manuals over the Internet. "O Mujahid brother, in order to join the great training camps, you don't have to travel to other lands," reads one of the manuals downloaded by the defendants from a Saudi Arabian website linked to Al Qaeda. "Alone in your home or with a group of your brothers, you too can begin to execute the training." It is not clear how far the three Toledo men—all of Middle Eastern descent—would have gotten in their plans to attack U.S. troops in Iraq. Defense lawyers insist their clients were convicted based on mere "talk," not any actual acts of terrorism. But federal officials say the FBI would never have learned of the defendants in the first place had it not been for the work of a former U.S. Special Forces commando named Darren Griffin, who was recruited by the FBI after 9/11 and instructed to insinuate himself into the Toledo Muslim community, posing as a convert to Islam with extremist views. "I'm profoundly disturbed that the government would send someone into the Islamic community to gather information without more specifics," said Steve Hartman, who represented one of the defendants, Marwan el-Hindi, a 45-year one-time travel agent and prison Imam. "The Islamic community should assume based on this that someone around them is working for the government. That's also disturbing." Federal officials say that Griffin, who was paid more than $300,000 for his work, had previously served as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. After the 9/11 attacks, the DEA suggested to the FBI that Griffin, who spoke Farsi and rudimentary Arabic and had been injured during a parachute jump overseas, could help the bureau in its new top priority mission of collecting intelligence on domestic Islamic extremists. Griffin spent months establishing his cover as a disgruntled ex-soldier devoted to Jihad against U.S. forces overseas. At the outset, said the sources familiar with the case (who asked for anonymity when discussing details of the investigation), Griffin was supposed to hang around a local mosque and was "tasked" with gathering information on individuals the FBI deemed "persons of interest." According to defense lawyer Hartman, the FBI originally had up to 20 intelligence targets in mind. But at least initially, they didn't name any of the targets to Griffin. Government officials said the initial targets' identities are still considered confidential. Dennis Terez, head of the Federal Public Defender's office in Ohio, who represented one of El-Hindi's co-conspirators in the case, noted: "The way the government went about this investigation raises certain questions in our minds. If our client—indeed if none of the defendants—were to be found on the list of intelligence targets, what happened to the targets? Did this investigation sidetrack the government so that the 20 targets got away?" But Griffin eventually came across other local suspects who piqued the FBI's interest. In 2002, he first met el-Hindi, a Jordanian-born US citizen, who prosecutors say had approached Griffin seeking bodyguard training. Then, in the summer of 2004, el-Hindi introduced Griffin to two Chicago "brothers"—Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed—who were supposedly also interested in such training. (The two Chicago men, of Egyptian descent, were actually cousins.) Griffin established a relationship with the Ahmed cousins. That in turn led to yet more connections. According to court documents, Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed communicated over the internet with an Atlanta man who was a U.S. contact for an international Islamic network that recruited and indoctrinated followers via the web. One key figure in this network: a London man named Younis Tsouli, who used the internet nickname "Irhabi 007"—Arabic for "Terrorist 007." Tsouli was known for posting inflammatory Jihadist messages and videos, including beheading scenes staged by the now deceased leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Moussab al-Zarqawi. El-Hindi and Griffin also met up with Mohammed Zaki Amawi, a 28-year-old Toledo man who had spent much of his youth in Jordan. The FBI informant and the two suspects began to "discuss and plan...violent jihad training," according to court testimony. (El-Hindi's lawyer says the initial meeting between Griffin and the two men occurred at a mosque). During the course of subsequent meetings and conversations, Griffin wore a wire and recorded the two suspects discussing firearms training and building homemade bombs for supposed use against U.S. troops overseas. Beginning in 2004, El-Hindi, Amawi and a third Toledo man, 27-year-old Wassim Mazloum, allegedly began plotting to provide "one or more co-conspirators overseas" with resources—including a volatile but powerful explosive known as "astrolite"—that could be used to launch attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and elsewhere. In August 2005, Amawi and Griffin, the FBI's undercover man, traveled from Detroit to Jordan carrying five laptop computers that Amawi allegedly intended to deliver to "the brothers." The two made a second trip to Jordan a few months later. Throughout these alleged machinations, Griffin continued make audio, and in some cases, video recordings of the suspects. Finally, in February 2006, the feds arrested El-Hindi, Amawi and Mazloum. (According to his lawyer, Amawi was actually arrested in Jordan and flown back to the United States). The decision was a difficult one for the FBI because it meant that Griffin's role as an undercover informant would have to be exposed, given that he was the main witness against the defendants. The decision to bring the case to court—and expose the undercover informant's identity—"represents the challenge we face in these cases between prevention and prosecution," said Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Cleveland office. Figliuzzi told Newsweek that investigators decided that they had to blow their source's cover because they feared that "left to their own devices," the suspects either would have made their way to Iraq to join anti-American insurgents, or plotted mayhem closer to home—or both. When the case came to trial this spring, Griffin appeared for the first time on the witness stand and was grilled by defense lawyers about his actions and background, including his alleged use of cocaine and marijuana while acting as a DEA informant. Defense lawyers also tried to show Griffin had manipulated both their clients and his FBI handlers. The lawyers did not allege entrapment; instead they argued that Amawi, the most important defendant, knew all along that Griffin was an FBI informant but was trying to milk him for money. A Toledo jury didn't buy it. They convicted all three defendants of all criminal counts against them. The men still await sentencing. El-Hindi faces additional charges of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service in connection with a $40,000 grant he received to set up a tax-advice clinic. Investigators say the El-Hindi case illustrates the critical role of undercover informants in identifying potential terror suspects. That's one reason the FBI now wants to expand its use under the proposed new guidelines that Mukasey is considering. The use of undercover informants for general intelligence gathering comes at the same time as a broader bureau initiative called "Know Your Domain." Under the program, which is just starting in some cities, FBI offices will be instructed to develop detailed national security threat profiles in their communities. "It's basically threat assessment," said a senior official familiar with the program who asked not to be identified talking about sensitive matters. "Do we have a problem with the Hassidic community in New York? Do we have a problem with Muslims in Newark? Do we have a problem with rodeo guys in Montana?" URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/144517 |
Bridget - October 4, 2008 12:14 PM (GMT)
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| Ex-sailor wants new trial in terrorism case By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN – 14 hours ago NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A former Navy sailor convicted of leaking details about ship movements to suspected terrorist supporters sought a new trial Friday, saying prosecutors lacked evidence and inflamed the jury. Hassan Abu-Jihaad was convicted in March of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing classified national defense information. A signalman aboard the USS Benfold, he was accused of passing along details that included the makeup of his Navy battle group, its planned movements and a drawing of the group's formation to pass through the dangerous Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf on April 29, 2001. The ship was not attacked. Abu-Jihaad's attorneys said in their federal court motion for a new trial that there was no proof he leaked the information, and they took issue with prosecutors showing jurors videos he had bought that promoted a violent holy war. "Playing the videotapes that he purchased added nothing to the government's proof and merely inflamed the prejudices of the jury," the motion said. "Moreover, since the defendant was not on trial for committing terrorist acts, the admission into evidence of violent acts of terror (and torture) created a significant and unnecessary risk of undue prejudice." Prosecutors said they would respond in court. The leak came amid increased wariness on the part of Navy commanders whose ships headed to the Persian Gulf in the months after a terrorist ambush in 2000 killed 17 sailors aboard the USS Cole. Prosecutors said Abu-Jihaad sympathized with the enemy and acknowledged disclosing military intelligence. But they noted they did not have direct proof that he leaked details about the ship's movements. Prosecutors cited an e-mail in which Abu-Jihaad called the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 a "martyrdom operation" and praised "the men who have brong (sic) honor ... in the lands of jihad Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, etc." Abu-Jihaad's attorneys acknowledged he held what many would consider radical beliefs but said his e-mails do not prove he leaked the details of the ship movements. They said the leaked details were full of errors that Abu-Jihaad would not have made. Abu-Jihaad was charged in the same case that led to the 2004 arrest of Babar Ahmad, a British computer specialist accused of running Web sites to raise money, appeal for fighters and provide equipment for terrorists. Abu-Jihaad, who was honorably discharged in 2002, faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in December. AP |