Insider 01/04/05: Holding Suspects
Jan. 4, 2005 -- U.S. administration officials are preparing long-range plans for indefinitely imprisoning suspected terrorists whom they do not want to set free or turn over to courts in the United States or other countries, according to intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials, the Washington Post reports today. And Sunday's New York Times magazine takes a look at the fledgling Arab news network Al Arabiya: news director Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed is trying to turn Al Arabiya into a new kind of Arab news channel, with fewer hostage tapes and more moderate voices. But that's hard to do when his employees aren't sure they want to change, American troops occasionally arrest his reporters and his anchors get personalized death threats from Iraqi insurgents.
INVESTIGATIONS
U.S.
Long-Term Plan Sought For Terror Suspects
Administration officials are preparing long-range plans for indefinitely imprisoning suspected terrorists whom they do not want to set free or turn over to courts in the United States or other countries, according to intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials. (Washington Post)
FBI, DHS Report Details Al Qaeda Surveillance of Targeted Buildings
A new government intelligence bulletin describes in the greatest detail yet al Qaeda's techniques for assessing potential targets, extolling the lethal power of flying, shattered building glass and advising that kerosene and tires are effective for a deadly arson attack. (AP)
Gonzales Torture Memo Controversy Builds
Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales' confirmation hearing this week may become more contentious because the White House has refused to provide copies of his memos on the questioning of terror suspects. (AP)
Kuwait
Kuwait Detains Soldiers for Plot Against U.S. Forces
Kuwaiti security forces have detained up to eight Kuwaiti soldiers suspected of plotting to attack U.S. forces in the Gulf Arab state, a security source said Monday. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Terrorists Identified
Saudi authorities Monday identified the third terrorist who attacked the interior ministry last week as a Saudi national belonging to al Qaeda. The Arab newspapers Asharq Al Awsat and Al Hayat had reported that one of the militants killed was the actual leader of the al Qaeda cells in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, a Yemeni called Ibrahim Ahmed Al Rimy, who was not on the list of 26 most wanted. Al Hayat says he had a close relationship with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and was responsible for communications between him and the terror cells in Saudi Arabia. (UPI)
Jordan
Terror Cell Members Arrested in Jordan
A cell which planned attacks on the intelligence building in the northern Jordanian city of Erbid was uncovered by Jordanian authorities and its 17 members arrested according to local press reports. It was led by Abd Shehada Al Tahawi, who's close to the Jordanian terror chief Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi. Al Tahawi had recruited the cell members to join al Zarqawi in Iraq and carry out attacks against U.S. forces. They changed their mind however and decided to attack the intelligence building, a hotel with Israeli tourists and members of an American band that participated in the Jarash festival. (Al Bayan)
Guantanamo
Fresh Details Emerge On Harsh Methods at Guantánamo
Sometime after Mohamed al-Kahtani was imprisoned at Guantánamo around the beginning of 2003, military officials believed they had a prize on their hands — someone who was perhaps intended to have been a hijacker in the Sept. 11 plot. (NY Times)
Guantanamo Briton 'in Handcuff Torture'
British Guantanamo detainee alleges he was suspended by his wrists as punishment for reciting the Koran while in U.S. military custody. (Guardian)
Pakistan
Two Turks Suspects Extradited
Pakistan on Sunday extradited two Turks suspected of links to al Qaeda who were immediately arrested and charged by Turkish authorities. (Pakistan News Service)
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
France
Six On Trial In Paris Over U.S. Embassy Attack Plot
A French-Algerian and five other men suspected of plotting to blow up the U.S. embassy in Paris went on trial on Monday in a French court, charged with criminal conspiracy aimed at committing an act of terrorism. Djamel Beghal, who is suspected of having links to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and the five others face prison sentences of up to 10 years if found guilty. (Reuters)
U.S.
Iraqi Abuse Military Trials to Begin at Texas Base
The suspected ringleader of abuse in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison is among two U.S. Army soldiers scheduled for court-martial this week over wartime actions. (Reuters)
U.K.
Britain To Start Trial of Radical Muslim Cleric Hamza In July
London judge announced Tuesday that the trial of radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri, charged with soliciting murder of non-Muslims and stirring up racial hatred, will start on July 4. (Xinhuanet)
ON THE WEB
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Al Qaeda Group Wanted to Kill Interior Minister and His Son
The "Al Qaeda Organization in the Arab's Peninsula," a group believed responsible for the attacks in Saudi Arabia, posted a statement online Tuesday claiming that the target of last week's attack on the interior ministry building was the Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz and his son. This may signal a shift in the group's strategies. Despite criticizms of the Saudi government, the militants have repeatedly insisted they only target Westerners. It may also be a response to a recent statement by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in which he harshly criticized the Saudi royal family. (ABCNEWS Investigative Unit)
IRAQ NEWS
Governor of Baghdad Assassinated
Baghdad governor Ali al Haidri has been shot dead in a roadside ambush in the Iraqi capital, the highest-profile assassination there since May. (BBC)
Key Leader of Al Zarqawi Network Captured In Baghdad
Multi-National Forces recently captured a senior member of Abu Musab al Zarqawi's terrorist network in northern Baghdad, according to a statement released Friday by Iraq's government. (CNN)
Mosul Suicide Bomber Was A 20-Year-Old Saudi — Paper
The suicide bomber who blew himself up in a U.S. mess hall at the U.S. Mosul base on Dec. 21. was a 20-year-old Saudi called Ahmed Said Ahmed Al Ghamdi, reports Asharq Al Awsat newspaper. The paper says an Iraqi insurgent group called al Ghamdi's father to tell him that his son died when he carried out that attack. Al Ghamdi was studying in Sudan before going to Iraq. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Iraq National Guards Hold 228 Suspected Insurgents
Iraqi National Guards detained 228 suspected insurgents in a series of raids this week in a lawless area south of Baghdad dubbed the "triangle of death," the interim government said on Sunday. (Reuters)
Zarqawi Group Executes Five Guardsmen In Iraq
The group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi aired a video on the Internet Saturday purporting to show the execution of five members of the Iraqi National Guard in the militant stronghold of Ramadi west of Baghdad. (Pakistan Times)
Islamic Army In Iraq Threatens Attacks In U.S.: Website
The Islamic Army in Iraq, one of the main armed groups fighting U.S. forces in the war-torn country, has threatened to carry out attacks inside the United States, according to a statement posted on a website Monday. (AFP)
Allawi Pressures Syria To Hand Over Iraqis
Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi sent a letter to the President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, urging him to handover Saddam's loyalists, saying that they are disrupting security in Iraq. (Aljazeera.com)
Tape Shows 2000 Meeting Between Udai And Former Al Jazeera Manager
Documents found after the fall of Baghdad included a videotape of meeting between a former manager of Al Jazeera Arab satellite channel and Saddam Hussein's son Udai, reports Asharq Al Awsat. In the March 2000 meeting Mohammed Jassem Al Ali is seen telling Udai he's in Baghdad to listen to his suggestions and comments. Asharq Al Awsat's report is based on a documentary which will be aired on Thursday by the Arab Al Hurra television station, which was launched by the U.S. government. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Bin Laden's Recognition of Al Zarqawi Angers Armed Groups In Iraq – Sources
Osama bin Laden's recognition of Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq upset resistance groups in Iraq, fundamentalist sources in London told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper. An Egyptian fundamentalist who preferred to remain anonymous told the paper Al Zarqawi's group may be one of the smallest compared to others like Jaysh Ansar Al Sunna and Al Jaysh Al Islami, which is why bin Laden's recent statement led to anger and jealousy amongst the groups. (Asharq Al Awsat)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
The War Inside the Arab Newsroom
Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed is trying to turn Al Arabiya into a new kind of Arab news channel, with fewer hostage tapes and more moderate voices. But that's hard to do when his employees aren't sure they want to change, American troops occasionally arrest his reporters and his anchors get personalized death threats from Iraqi insurgents. (NY Times Magazine)
Militants' Campaign Twists Logistics of Iraq Election
Workers and candidates risk their lives and limit their visibility. Voting locations are still secret. (LA Times)
Gulf States Fear Shiite Victory
The likely prospect of a Shiite victory in this month's landmark Iraqi elections is making the oil-rich Gulf monarchies apprehensive, fearing Tehran's growing influence in the region. (News 24)
Are we Winning the War On Terror? An Interview with Michael Scheuer
Michael Scheuer served in the CIA for 22 years before resigning earlier this year. He is the once anonymous author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror and Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America. He served as the Chief of the bin Laden Unit at the Counterterrorist Center from 1996 to 1999. He resigned from the CIA in 2004. (The Jamestown Foundation)
The U.S. Presidential Inauguration: A Safe Bet
As the Jan. 20 U.S. presidential inauguration nears, the security focus on Washington, D.C., will reach a fevered pitch. Stratfor expects to see the number of reports on potential threats directed toward the swearing-in ceremony at the nation's capitol to increase over the next 17 days. However, the chance of a terrorist attack occurring at the ceremony itself, or any of the peripheral events, is quite slim. (Stratfor)
Interrogating Torture Rules
Americans need to know clearly that their government abhors and abstains from the use of torture. (CS Monitor)
Terrorist Who Abducted Religion
The milestone has been turning for the past century and we still don't know its face and we still don't know where the track of its freedom is. (Al Hayat)
Al Qaeda's Unfinished Work
The al Qaeda attacks on US embassies in Africa in 1998 forced Washington to the realization that a new terror ring had emerged which was after US interests. September 11 confirmed this in no uncertain manner. Al Qaeda has much bigger plans, though, hatched many years ago on the battlefields of Afghanistan. (Asia Times)
The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Brinda Adhikari of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.