FBI Profilers to Probe Guantanamo Suspects

— -- ‘Getting into the Minds’ of Al Qaeda Suspects

W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 9 — The FBI has sent a team of behavioralscientists to create psychological profiles of suspected al Qaedaimprisoned at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, seniorU.S. counterterrorism officials say.

The effort is aimed at helping agency directors and field agentsunderstand the new generation of young terrorists who have beenrecruited by the group blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We are trying to get more cultural knowledge and get into theminds of radical fundamentalists," said one official, speaking oncondition of anonymity.

The results of the interviews will be compiled, analyzed at FBIheadquarters and shared with the CIA and the National SecurityAgency, the official said.

The behavioral scientists have full access to those suspected ofbeing al Qaeda members and are asking questions designed to uncoverthe detainees' personal histories, why they joined forces with theterrorist group and how they view the United States.

Another law enforcement official, also speaking on condition ofanonymity, said several detainees already have been profiled. The profiling is still under way and the results have not beenused in any law enforcement effort.

U.S. intelligence efforts initiated after Sept. 11 indicateal Qaeda stepped up its recruiting efforts during the past decade.The profiles would be used for developing ways to disruptrecruitment and in hunting terrorists within the United States.

"This is an important piece of our plan to look beyond todayand tomorrow and think about preventing attacks even further downthe line," the official said.

The United States is holding 564 people at the base inGuantanamo Bay, most of whom were captured in Afghanistan. How muchvaluable information has been gleaned from them is unclear.

It's not the first time the United States has attempted toprofile prisoners of war. Government contractors conducted similarinterviews with Viet Cong prisoners during the Vietnam War andenemy soldiers in the Korean War.

That data was used for propaganda pamphlets dropped over enemycities aimed at undermining support, according to severalresearchers.

Some experts who study terrorism say the government must developa better understanding of young Islamic extremists. They say thepopulation is growing because of an ongoing backlash againstglobalization and Western culture.

"We've seen an enormous rise in Islamic extremism in theyoung," said Emilio Viano, a terrorism expert and professor atAmerican University. "We are seeing the rejection of the Westernworld — an attempt to find an identity in a world that has beendenied to them. Al Qaeda offers religion, nationalism and a way tostrike back against feeling powerless against the United States."

The law enforcement official also said the profiling effort wasaimed at fostering a better understanding of what the "Sunni sideof radical fundamentalism is about."

The two major factions of Islam are Sunni and Shia. Al Qaeda isled by Sunni Muslims.

U.S. counterterrorism has its roots in combatting Shiitefundamentalism in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Al Qeida leader Osama bin Laden is credited with giving rise toanti-U.S. extremism among Sunnis in the early 1990s, gainingallegiance from groups in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

While the number of formal al Qaeda members has remained fairlyconstant at about 200 since 1990, the fruits of that recruitmenthave led to a large increase in the number of young men who arewilling to carry out directives from the group.

Stephen Zunes, a professor at the University of San Francisco,said he was skeptical of the government's profiling effort anddoubted it would lead to any change in efforts to deal withextremists.

"Much of the public comment from the government has reflectedthe idea that they hate us because of our freedom and democracy,"Zunes said. "I'm as proud as any American but the unfortunatetruth is they are angered by a policy in the region, which hasnothing to do with freedom and democracy. I don't think theprofiling will lead to a better understanding of that by thegovernment. They don't want to acknowledge it."

— The Associated Press

Moussaoui Sought Minnesota Crop-Dusting Program

S T. P A U L, Minn., Aug. 9 — Barely two weeks before his arrestoutside an Eagan hotel, Zacarias Moussaoui inquired about theUniversity of Minnesota's crop-dusting program, according to theSt. Paul Pioneer Press.

The newspaper reported today that Moussaoui e-mailed theuniversity's Crookston campus on July 31, 2001, seeking informationon a "short course you offer to become a crop duster (6 month, 1years max.)."

Moussaoui is a former Norman, Okla., resident charged as aconspirator in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Moussaoui made a fleeting reference to the e-mail in a courtfiling late last month in Alexandria, Va., where he is representinghimself against charges he conspired with Osama bin Laden andothers to plot the attacks.

Moussaoui, who faces the death penalty, has said he is a loyalmember of al Qaeda but denies a role in Sept. 11 attacks.

In the e-mail, Moussaoui said he was in the United Statesworking toward a commercial pilot's license and that he hopedsomeday to start a crop-dusting business in Morocco or France. Hismessage also asked for advice on setting up such a business, thePioneer Press reported.

"I am interested to know what type of aircraft, material,equipment, something in detail, a kind of business plan," hewrote.

Larry Leake, director of the university's agricultural aviationprogram, said he didn't pay much attention to the note. The writer,who identified himself only as "Zacarias," was looking for a muchshorter course than the university's two- and four-year programs.

"We didn't have what he was looking for," Leake told thenewspaper, "so I just sort of disregarded it."

Authorities have said crop-dusting information was found onMoussaoui's computer after his August arrest. Officials later twicegrounded all crop-dusting planes following the attacks.

Immediately after Sept. 11, federal agents talked to Leake aspart of their nationwide canvassing of flight schools. The e-mailnever came up, because Leake said he didn't know whom it was fromuntil agents discovered Leake's name in a notebook or computer fileof Moussaoui's. When agents contacted Leake a second time, heprovided a copy of the e-mail.

The Pioneer Press reported that Moussaoui used the same e-mailaccount and screen name he used when corresponding with AirmanFlight School in Norman in the fall of 2000. He arrived there inFebruary 2001 and logged nearly 60 hours of flight time but neverflew solo and left after two months without earning a license.

Moussaoui arrived in Minnesota about Aug. 12 to train on a747-400 jet simulator owned by Northwest Airlines and administeredby Pan Am International Flight Academy in Eagan.

Flight school officials have said Moussaoui was unqualified forthe training he requested. They described him as insistent onlearning how to steer a jetliner in the air rather than how to takeoff and land. His behavior prompted a school official to contactthe FBI and Moussaoui was taken into custody Aug. 15, beforelogging any simulator time.

He was booked into the Sherburne County Jail on an immigrationcharge two days later and stayed there until Sept. 14, when federalauthorities transferred him to a New York City detention center.

— The Associated Press

Appeal Over Disclosure of Detainee’s Names

W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 9 — The Bush administration is appealing a judge'sorder that the Justice Department must reveal the names of allthose held in the investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Federal attorneys are also asking for a temporary stay of theorder, which would allow the government to keep the names secretuntil after the appeal. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled last week that theJustice Department has not proven the need for a blanket policy ofsecrecy about more than 1,000 people picked up since the jetlinerattacks. In the documents filed late Thursday, the government said thatKessler had missed the point about keeping the names secret. Kessler ordered the government to release the names in 15 days,in part because she rejected the Justice Department's argument thatit would tip al Qaeda to the extent of the U.S. investigation. In her opinion, she said that al Qaeda would likely already beaware of all those cell members who have been captured by theUnited States. But government lawyers argued in court documents that many ofthose detained are not believed to be al Qaeda members, but ratherwere illegal immigrants who were suspected of having knowledge ofterrorist activities. Therefore, releasing the names would give al Qaeda significantinformation that it might not already have, the government argued. "While some information may have been available to our enemies,a compendium of the entire universe of information regarding theidentities of detainees has never been provided, much lessofficially confirmed," the government said in its notice ofappeal. The ruling by Kessler did provide for exceptions to the releaseof names: if an individual detainee objects or if the governmentcan show that separate court orders prohibit release of informationabout someone held as a material witness in a terrorisminvestigation. A material witness allegedly has substantial information about acrime but is not charged with it. Such witnesses may be arrested,but they may not be held indefinitely. Those arrested apparently are all foreign citizens, and manyhave been charged with immigration violations. Some have alreadybeen deported. The department has said nearly 1,200 people were swept up byfederal, state and local authorities following the Septemberattacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon that tookmore than 3,000 lives. The government disclosed that 752 people were arrested ordetained on immigration charges between Sept. 11 and June 24.Others were held on different charges. In late June, the Justice Department reported that at least 147people still were being held, including 74 on charges involvingimmigration infractions. Prosecutors have not said how many peopleare being held as material witnesses.

— The Associated Press

Free Fort Lauderdale Hotel Rooms on Sept. 11

F O R T L A U D E R D A L E, Fla., Aug. 9 — Fort Lauderdale tourism officialsare using the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks to lurevisitors, offering a free night's stay in Broward County on Sept.11.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureauannounced the promotion Thursday, two days after FortLauderdale-based Spirit Airlines said it would offer free flightson Sept. 11.

Visitors to the Fort Lauderdale area carrying an airline ticketand booked for at least two nights at one of the county's 38participating hotels, can stay the night of Sept. 11 for free,officials said.

Customers snapped up the free seats being offered by SpiritAirlines in eight hours, officials said.

Spirit's offer was a response to travelers' reluctance to fly onthe anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

American and United, the nation's two biggest carriers, havesaid they are cutting back their Sept. 11 flight schedules based onweak bookings. No. 3 Delta is trimming flights for the entire workweek of Sept. 9-13. Several European airlines also have canceledflights to the United States on Sept. 11.

— The Associated Press

Oscar Mulls a Move to New York

N E W Y O R K, Aug. 9 — Could Oscar be coming to New York?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a group ofNew York leaders have been talking about moving part of next year'sAcademy Awards show to New York City to help the city recover fromthe Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The group of New Yorkers — including Gov. George Pataki, MayorMichael Bloomberg and Miramax Films Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein —asked the academy to consider bringing at least a portion of theMarch 23 event to New York.

"New York City is the entertainment capital of the world andthere's no better way to demonstrate that than to hold the premierevent in show business," Bloomberg administration spokesman EdwardSkyler told The Associated Press today.

The academy is seriously considering the idea as a one-time nodto New York, academy President Frank Pierson told The New YorkTimes and the Los Angeles Times.

He said an early proposal from Weinstein to move the entire showto New York was "out of the question" because the show is aHollywood staple and because of the academy's contractualobligations.

But "New York will be a huge presence in next year's show," hesaid. "America wouldn't be America without New York and the moviebusiness wouldn't be the movie business without New York. Just likethe movies, it's part of our culture and our lives."

He said any decisions would have to come after a producer isselected for next year's show, most likely by next month.

The Oscars ceremony returned to Hollywood last year for thefirst time since 1960, to its new home at the Kodak Theatre. Foryears the event was held at the Shrine Auditorium and the DorothyChandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles.

— The Associated Press