Report: 9/11 Probe Eyes Fifth Hijacking
— -- Report: 9/11 Probe Eyes Possible Fifth Hijacking
N E W Y O R K, Oct. 11 — Authorities interviewing an alQaeda member in custody overseas are probing a new theory ofthe Sept. 11 plot: that suspect Ramzi Muhammad Abdullah binal-Shibh was planning to pilot a fifth hijacked plane tostrike the White House, The New York Times reported today.
The plan was disrupted when bin al-Shibh, who was capturedlast month in Pakistan, failed to obtain permission to enterthe United States, where he had planned to attend flight schoolin Florida, senior government officials said, the Timesreported.
Evidence that there were plans for a fifth hijacking teamhas also come from the debriefing of John Walker Lindh, but thepossibility that bin al-Shibh was to be the leader of the fifthgroup has not been previously disclosed, the Times reported.
This theory has gained momentum in recent weeks asinvestigators have assembled new details about bin al-Shibh'smovements around Europe in the months before the attacks, the Times reported. Investigators have also compiled a fullerpicture of his relationship with Mohamed Atta, whom officialscall the ringleader of the plot, and uncovered freshinformation about the breadth of al Qaeda's original plan forthe attacks, according to the Times.
More specific information about bin al-Shibh's role in theplot could emerge as a result of the arrest today in Germany ofa Moroccan, Abdelghani Mzoudi, who the local authorities sayshared an apartment in Hamburg with bin al-Shibh, Atta and atleast one other hijacker, the Times reported.
The officials said bin al-Shibh has provided onlyfragmentary information about the hijackings and al Qaeda'sactivities since the war in Afghanistan, the Times reported.The officials said bin al-Shibh had not said he planned to leadanother hijacking group, according to the Times.
—Reuters
State Department Warns Americans Abroad of Terror Threat
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 11 — Americans overseas should remain vigilantbecause of "the continuing threat of terrorist actions" againstU.S. interests worldwide, including possible suicide attacks aimedat U.S. civilians, the State Department says.
The government "continues to receive credible indications thatextremist groups and individuals are planning additional terroristactions against U.S. interests," the department said Thursday in aglobal alert.
"American citizens may be targeted for kidnapping orassassination," warned the department.
The alert comes a day after the FBI issued a similar alert tostate and local authorities across the country.
Both alerts cited as a reason for concern a recently releasedtaped statement attributed to Osama bin Laden and separateinformation obtained from al Qaeda detainees indicating possibleattacks against U.S. targets.
Still, the official color-coded national terrorist alert levelremains at code yellow — "significant risk" — because officialsdo not have any specific information detailing where and when anattack might occur. Yellow is the third-highest of five threatlevels.
Meanwhile, authorities in New York increased security Thursdayat the city's landmark buildings, bridges, financial centers andtourist attractions in response to the FBI warning.
Harbor patrols kept a closer watch on bridges linking Manhattanto the city's other boroughs, police said. Tunnels were also undercloser scrutiny, and police presence was increased throughout lowerManhattan where the World Trade Center once stood.
In an audio taped message that aired Sunday on the Arabsatellite TV station al-Jazeera, a voice believed to be that of binLaden refers to al Qaeda "targeting key sectors of the U.S.economy." On Tuesday, another audio tape, purported to be thevoice of bin Laden's senior deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, repeated thethreat.
The State Department alert issued late Thursday said, "Weremind American citizens to remain vigilant with regard to theirpersonal security and to exercise caution." It said that U.S.government facilities worldwide also remained at a heightened stateof alert.
The alert said targets "may include facilities where Americansare generally known to congregate or visit," including clubs,restaurants, houses of worship and outdoor recreational events.
The alert was aimed at Americans worldwide and not limited toany specific country or region.
—The Associated Press
Jihad Manual Helped Crack Alleged Ore. Terror Cell
P O R TL A N D, Ore., Oct. 11 — A holy war manualendorsed by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden helped prosecutorscrack an alleged Oregon "terrorist cell" that had also beenpenetrated by an undercover mole, according to court documentsreleased Thursday.
Prosecutors claimed they found a book titled Join theCaravan, described as a call-to-arms to jihad and with ajacket endorsement by bin Laden, inside the car of a couplecharged in a six-person indictment last Friday.
And after neighbors of the couple, October MartiniqueLewis, 25, and her ex-husband, Jeffrey Battle, 32, reportedtheir allegedly violent anti-American views, federal agentsplanted a mole, or "corroborating witness," close to thesuspects, court filings show.
Of the six people in the indictment, four were arrestedlast week for conspiring after the Sept. 11 attacks last yearto join al Qaeda and Taliban forces fighting against the UnitedStates in Afghanistan. Another suspected member has beendeported from Malaysia to the United States and the sixthsuspect remains at large.
Authorities have said some of the suspects also attractedattention in the small, quiet town of Washougal, Wash., onthe Oregon border, by target shooting in a gravel pit.
Lewis allegedly wired $2,800 overseas to Battle as he tried in vain to reach Afghanistanshortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 hijack attacks in America thatkilled more than 3,000 people.
The United States blames bin Laden and al Qaeda for theattacks.
Lewis, Battle and alleged co-conspirator Patrice Ford, 31,have all pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to fightagainst the United States and to provide support and servicesto al Qaeda and the Taliban. If convicted they could face up to45 years in prison.
Thursday in federal court in Portland, another suspect,Muhammad Bilal, 22, an American citizen of Saudi Arabiandescent, who was arrested near Detroit last week, pleaded notguilty.
A fifth suspect, his brother, Ahmed Bilal, 24, hadunsuccessfully fought extradition from Malaysia and was now enroute to the United States.
The only non-American citizen indicted, Jordanian AbdullaAl Saoub, 36, was still at large.
The government's 14-page indictment paints a picture ofBattle, a former U.S. Army Reservist, completing physical andfirearms training to prepare for a jihad, or holy war.
In the aftermath of the arrests last Friday, many neighborsof Battle and Lewis said they had been deeply suspicious of thecouple. But Thursday, several people who knew the accusedexpressed surprise at the charges.
"He was a very average part-time, on-call officer," saidDavid Foglio, president of First Response Inc., which employedBattle as a security guard.
—Reuters
9/11 Commission Advocates Blame White House for Agreement Collapse
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 11 — Advocates of an independent commission toinvestigate the Sept. 11 attacks are blaming the White House afterthe collapse of an announced agreement to create the panel.
"They are doing everything they can to try to block this andthat's what they've been doing since day one," said Stephen Pushof Families of Sept. 11, a group of relatives of victims of theattacks.
Lawmakers announced Thursday that an agreement had been reachedamong the four leaders of the House and Senate intelligencecommittees to form a commission. The commission would have abroader scope and more time to do its work than the joint inquirythat the two committees are conducting.
But after the White House and House Republican leadership raisedconcerns about the plan, the chairman of the House IntelligenceCommittee, Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., said more details had to beworked out. He denied that a full agreement had been reached,saying only four particular issues had been resolved.
The leading House advocate for the commission, Rep. Tim Roemer,D-Ind., blamed the Bush administration for blocking the agreement.
"I worry that the White House is trying to pull the carpet overthe independent commission and do the slow roll and kill it," hesaid.
Both the House and Senate have voted for an independentcommission, though the two versions differ. The administrationinitially opposed a commission, but announced last month it wouldsupport it. Lawmakers have been meeting with White House officialsto work out the commission's structure and scope.
Lawmakers said Thursday morning that talks with the White Househad broken down. Hours later, they said intelligence committeeleaders had worked out an agreement among themselves, which theywould try to add to a bill authorizing 2003 intelligence programs.
But the White House said no agreement had been reached withthem, though they repeated their support for a commission.
"We are pleased with the progress being made and believe we areclose to reaching a consensus on the best way to proceed," WhiteHouse spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Under the plan announced Thursday, the commission would haveconsisted of 10 members with two co-chairmen, one appointed by thepresident, the other by the Democratic leader of the Senate, andhave a two-year mandate. The commission would look into issues suchas intelligence, commercial aviation and immigration.
The joint inquiry of the intelligence committees began inFebruary and has a one-year mandate. Its scope is limited tointelligence issues related to the attacks.
Many lawmakers complain the committees' work has been hamperedby difficulty in receiving information from intelligence agencies.
On Thursday, the committees met with CIA Director George Tenetand FBI Director Robert Mueller, discussing the case of an FBIinformant who was the landlord of two Sept. 11 hijackers. Lawmakershave been bothered both by the handling of the matter and theirdifficulties in obtaining information about it.
Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., declined to discuss details ofThursday's meeting with Mueller and Tenet, but said he believed ithelped ease lawmakers' doubts.
"There have been some communications problems, but I don'tdetect a systematic effort to deceive," he said.
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. BobGraham, D-Fla., said concerns about communications problems wereaired at the hearing. Asked if he was satisfied with thecooperation, he said, "I think it is allowing us to get our jobdone."
The Senate committee's top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby ofAlabama, said cooperation from intelligence agencies "has beenspotty at best. We have to extract bit by bit, piece by piece anyinformation, it seems."
—The Associated Press