The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

June 2, 2004 -- Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi leader and U.S. ally who has recently fallen out of favor with the Bush administration, allegedly revealed to an Iranian official that the U.S. government had broken the secret communications code of Iran's intelligence service, news organizations reported today. Last month, the Bush administration cut off funding for Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress and raided his home in Baghdad following reports that Chalabi had shared U.S. intelligence secrets with Iran.

And a Justice department official announced yesterday that Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen arrested in 2002 as he returned to the United States from Pakistan and accused of plotting to blow up radioactive "dirty bombs," had been trained at an al Qaeda weapons camp in Afghanistan and had met repeatedly with top leaders of the terrorist network, who helped finance and equip his plans, the Washington Post reports.

THE WAR IN IRAQ

Chalabi Reportedly Told Iran That U.S. Has Code

Ahmad Chalabi told an Iranian official that the U.S. had broken the communications code of Iran's intelligence service. (NY Times)

U.N. Draft Gives Iraq More Control Over Army

U.N. draft gives Iraq more control over army, but some Security Council members still unsatisfied. (AP)

Powell Presses C.I.A. On Faulty Intelligence On Iraq ArmsSecretary of State Colin L. Powell has pressed the Central Intelligence Agency for several months to account for the faulty intelligence that led Mr. Powell to tell the United Nations last year that Iraq definitely possessed illicit weapons, several senior administration officials said Tuesday. (NY Times)

Turkish, Egyptian Man Kidnapped in Iraq

Turkish, Egyptian man taken hostage, armed kidnappers say on video. (AP)

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS

U.S.

Padilla Targeted High-Rise Apartments

Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen arrested in 2002 as he returned to the United States from Pakistan and accused of plotting to blow up radioactive "dirty bombs," had been trained at an al Qaeda weapons camp in Afghanistan and had met repeatedly with top leaders of the terrorist network, who helped finance and equip his plans, a Justice Department official announced yesterday. (Washington Post)

Theft of Propane Trucks Raises Terrorism Fears

FBI agents in Texas issued a nationwide alert for two stolen propane tanker trucks, laden with thousands of gallons of the volatile liquefied gas. (LA Times)

Database on U.S. Visitors Set for Huge ExpansionReston firm's contract worth up to $10 billion. (Washington Post)

U.S. Raids N.Va. Office of Saudi-Based Charity

Federal agents have raided the U.S. branch of a large Saudi-based charity, founded in Northern Virginia by a nephew of Osama bin Laden, in connection with a terrorism-related investigation, law enforcement sources said. (Washington Post)

Saudis, U.S. to Take New Steps on Terrorism FinancingSaudi Arabia and the U.S. are taking new steps to freeze the assets of charities suspected of funding the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Agence France-Presse said, citing unidentified U.S. government officials in Washington. (Bloomberg)

Statement by Adel Al-Jubeir, Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Crown Prince, at Press Conference, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia(Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia)

Saudi Arabia

U.S. Military Attacked in Saudi Capital

Gunmen attacked American military personnel in the capital Riyadh on Wednesday, slightly injuring the driver, while police killed two militants in an unrelated incident in the kingdom's west. (AP)

Germany

Berlin Terror Trial Witness Names Saudi Diplomat, Journal Says

A Saudi diplomat who left Germany abruptly last year was yesterday named in evidence during the trial in Berlin of suspected al Qaeda member Ihsan Garnaoui, the Wall Street Journal reported. (Bloomberg)

Guantanamo

Australian May Face U.S. Tribunal

The Australian government says that one of its citizens imprisoned at the American naval base in Guantánamo, Cuba, will be charged by the United States this month and is expected to go before a military tribunal sometime in August. (NY Times)

Lebanon

Military Tribunal Interrogates Al Qaeda Suspects

A military tribunal on Tuesday interrogated two Australians, a Lebanese and a Palestinian on charges of "involvement with the Al-Qaeda organization," weapons possession, "planning terrorist acts in Lebanon and abroad and creating a network for that purpose. (Daily Star)

Liberia

AP: Al Qaeda Bomb Suspects Hid in Liberia

Al Qaeda suspects in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies took shelter in West Africa in the months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, converting terror cash into untraceable diamonds, according to findings of a U.N.-backed court obtained by The Associated Press. (AP)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

New Info on Padilla Not Part of Court Case

New allegations against dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla aren't part of Supreme Court case. (AP)

Transcript of news conference on Jose Padilla (CNN)

Profile: Jose Padilla

Jose Padilla (also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir) had a number of run-ins with the authorities before achieving fame — or infamy — as a "dirty bomb" suspect. (BBC)

Turkey Bomb Suspects Deny Al Qaeda Link

Attorneys for suspected members of a Turkish al Qaeda cell accused in last year's suicide bombings in Istanbul acknowledged Tuesday that several of their clients traveled to Afghanistan and Chechnya, but denied they were linked to al Qaeda or the Istanbul attacks. (AP)

Defense Lawyers Question Legality of Yemen Terror Trial

Defense lawyers in the trial of 14 militants suspected of terrorist activities in Yemen yesterday questioned the legality of proceedings in the trial and urged the court to enable them to review records of the case before continuing. (Arab News)

ON THE WEB

Article About Assassinations Discusses Plot Against Saudi Interior Minister As Example

In the 11th issue of the online magazine "Al Battar Camp," an article by Abdul Aziz Al Muqrin, the alleged leader of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and the number one suspect on the Saudi most wanted list, studies assassination techniques and discusses and critiques a detailed plot presented by "some brothers" to assassinate the Saudi interior minister Nayef bin Abdel Aziz as an example. The new issue also includes an article allegedly written by al Qaeda leader Seif Al Adl about cover-up and disguise techniques. (ABCNEWS Investigative Unit)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Into the Unknown

George Bush's grand plan to bring democracy to Iraq underwent a shambolic start with the charade that accompanied the selection of a new Iraqi president yesterday. (The Guardian)

New Iraqi Government

Iraqis want peace and stability. (Arab News)

Many Hurdles Ahead for U.S. Success of U.N. draft resolution may be pivotal for Bush. (Washington Post)

The Fog Persists in Iraq

As the military and security situation in Iraq has deteriorated, the United States and the United Nations have pinned ever-higher expectations on the appointment of a new interim government. (LA Times)

Iraq's Interim Government

Iraq's new government must be endowed with as much credibility and sovereignty as possible if it is to establish a workable democracy. (NY Times)

Hopeful Omens in Iraq

In his prime-time speech last week, George W. Bush hit all his familiar themes — we must show resolve, stay the course, finish the job, etc. But it masked a very different reality. (Washington Post)

The Story Behind Chalabi, Feith and Company

There's a story behind the story. And it is a messy tale of deceit, cronyism and corruption. (Arab News)

Denying Al Qaeda Space in a Modernizing Saudi Arabia

A sitting duck makes an easy target. This is one lesson the Saudi royal family can learn from the latest bout of violence which visited the eastern city of Khobar on Saturday. It is a lesson that should have been learned before now, as "wake-up calls" have been sounded at irregular intervals since a Saudi National Guard facility in Riyadh was car-bombed in 1995. (Daily Star)

The Terrorist Next Door?The U.S. warns of a major attack and reminds Americans that terrorists can be homegrown. (Time)

Attacks Leave Many Questions Unanswered

With the worst now over and the body count completed, the injured are being treated and the traumatized hostages are working hard to bring their lives back to normal. (Arab News)

The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and the war in Iraq. The DTR is edited from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The outside views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.