Head of Congressional 9/11 Probe Quits
— -- Head of Congressional 9/11 Probe Quits
The head of a joint congressional investigation into why U.S. intelligence agencies failed todetect the plot that led to the Sept. 11 attacks on America hasresigned, U.S. government sources said on Monday.
Britt Snider, a retired CIA inspector general, was hired inFebruary to conduct the review for the Senate and Houseintelligence committees.
Some members of the panels had objected to his selection,saying Snider was too closely tied to the spy agency and CIADirector George Tenet to conduct an impartial review.
Snider resigned on Friday and his deputy Rick Cinquegranawill fill in as the acting head of the investigation, sourcestold Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Snider's parting was not amicable and resulted from aconfrontation with the congressional committees over hishandling of a personnel matter, sources said.
Snider was apparently aware of an issue of potentialwrongdoing regarding one of the members of his team and did notinform the committees about it, sources said.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham, aFlorida Democrat, would not comment on Snider's departurebecause it was "an internal personnel matter," his spokesman,Paul Anderson, said.
Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican who is committeevice chairman, also declined to comment. "He [Snider] has lefthis position and because it is a personnel issue we're notcommenting," Shelby's spokeswoman, Andrea Andrews, said.
Congressional aides said Snider's departure was notexpected to affect the pace of the investigation and thecommittees still hoped to hold the first hearing next month.
Snider could not immediately be reached for comment.
The House and Senate intelligence committees took theunusual step of agreeing to conduct a joint investigation asthe least disruptive method of inquiry at a time of war, sotestimony and information would not have to be presented twice.
The goal of the investigation was to review intelligencefailures and establish remedies for the future.
In the Sept. 11 attacks, four planes were hijacked andcrashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagonnear Washington, and a field in Pennsylvania, killing about3,000 people.
The attacks were widely viewed as an indictment of theintelligence agencies, which failed to detect the plot. Sincethe attacks, funding for intelligence operations is increasingand agencies are under pressure to fix shortcomings.
The United States has blamed Saudi-born militant Osama binLaden and his al Qaeda network for the attacks and launched awar on terrorism to wipe them out.
—Reuters
Atlanta Federal Buildings Fail Security Test
W A S H I N G T O N, April 29 — Four Atlanta federal buildings have flunked security tests by congressional investigators working undercover.
The investigators were able to easily sneak briefcases and packages past security checkpoints.
One investigator was able to obtain two different security badges and a guard's after-hours access code. One pass allowed the investigator to carry a firearm in the buildings.
The findings are contained in a General Accounting Office report obtained today by media outlets.
The report will be discussed Tuesday at a congressional hearing in Atlanta.
The chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on homeland security, Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, called the report "pretty alarming."
The General Services Administration is responsible for security at federal buildings.
A spokesman said the GSA wants to work with Congress and other agencies to improve security.
—The Associated Press
Concerns About Four Flights
P H I L A D E L P H I A , April 29 — A jet that took off for Florida was forced to return to the airport because several passengers of Middle Eastern appearance had purchased one-way tickets for cash, passengers said today.
"The FBI had a list. They knew who the people were. They were trying to track the people to their seats," said Jack Clark, who was sitting next to one of the people removed.
The incident was one of four Sunday in which air travelers of Middle Eastern appearance or descent were questioned by the FBI. The other flights were in Houston, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
In all cases, the passengers were freed after questioning.
In Philadelphia, passenger Glenn Mattes said five or six men were escorted off the US Airways jet bound for Orlando, Fla. Clark said a federal agent told passengers the men had purchased one-way tickets for cash "and that's what alerted them."
"The agent explained to us what was going on. At that point everyone is clapping and cheering," Clark said.
FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi wouldn't confirm the passenger accounts but said the suspicious passengers were interviewed and released early today without being charged.
"We were able to determine their travel plans were legitimate and their identities were legitimate," Vizi said. "We have checked out the documentation of these individuals and everything is in order."
In Houston, several staff members from the Saudi Embassy were detained when they tried to board a flight at Bush Intercontinental Airport. They were released after they produced diplomatic passports, Houston FBI spokesman Bob Doguim said today.
The men said they had come to Houston on a day trip for the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who was in the state for a meeting with President Bush. The flight was delayed.
Pete Gulotta, an FBI spokesman in Baltimore, said airport security officials asked his office to check the names of seven Middle Eastern men boarding a plane at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. After checking, airport officials were told there was no reason to detain the men, who were going to Dallas,Gulotta said.
A group of 11 Pakistani musicians was pulled off a UnitedAirlines plane and questioned at Washington's Dulles InternationalAirport, which caused them to miss their flight to Los Angeles, FBIspokesman Chris Murray said today.
— The Associated Press
Oklahoma City Manual for Dealing With Terror Attacks
O K L A H O M A C I T Y, April 29 — Within hours of the Sept. 11 attacks,federal officials wanted advice from the city that lived throughwhat had been the worst act of terrorism on American soil. That's when rescue workers, city leaders and families ofOklahoma City bombing victims realized how much they had to say. Their suggestions have turned into a 45-page booklet detailingwhat other cities should do if terrorists attack. "If, God forbid, something like this happens again, you couldgrab that book," said retired U.S. Army Gen. Dennis Reimer,director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for thePrevention of Terrorism. The guide is the latest project for the institute, which isfunding research to develop a faster anthrax vaccine and sensorsthat could set off a shrieking alarm if they detected biologicalchemicals. The book offers advice on everything from dealing with familiessearching for loved ones to creating a memorial to honor the dead.The institute published its first copies of the guide April 19, theseventh anniversary of the bombing, and plans to make severalhundred more for cities across the country. "Oklahoma City — Seven Years Later: Lessons for OtherCommunities" tells cities to develop a plan and hold drills incase terrorists strike. It describes how to set up centers for themedia and donation collection. And it suggests setting up a familyassistance center — out of sight of the disaster — where relativeswill "first deal with the medical examiner and funeral directors. "There may be continued hope for survivors. Do not treatvictims' families as if the death of their loved ones is a foregoneconclusion until it truly is." Other projects funded by the institute include the developmentof an anthrax vaccine that would be lifesaving if the personexposed took it within 72 hours. Scientists at the University ofOklahoma Health Sciences Center, Harvard University and otherschools received a $2.48 million grant from the terrorismprevention institute for the three-year project, which began beforethe anthrax mail scare last fall. The current anthrax vaccination requires six shots during 18months. "That's a little bit too little too late if you're reallyfacing a serious threat of anthrax," Reimer said. "I think werecognize that after the very serious scare that took place after9-11." Another project has an Oklahoma State University researchercreating sensors that could detect dangerous chemical or biologicalagents, including nerve gas or anthrax spores. The devices wouldsit inside city water lines or in building air ducts. "If it sensed something that was extremely harmful, it would belike a fire alarm," Reimer said. "It would let people know theywere in a danger area." Other researchers at OSU are trying to create battery-cooledfirefighter uniforms so firefighters could withstand heat longer.And a University of Tulsa professor is developing a way to protectthe 911 system. The institute began operating in 2000 after receiving a $15million appropriation from Congress. As a nonprofit organization,it also accepts donations.
—The Associated Press
Long Investigation Led to Postman’s Arrest
N E W Y O R K, April 29 — For years, Ahmed Abdel Sattar seemed a friendly,mild-mannered postman — who happened to know a lot of terrorists.Now the government says there was a reason for that: He was aterrorist, too. Sattar is being held without bail on charges of helping a blindEgyptian cleric deliver a message of hate across the world frombehind bars. But while the charges are new, Sattar is a familiarface to government investigators. Nearly a decade ago, the government suspected Sattar used hispostal job to track down the home address of an FBI terrorisminvestigator. In recent years, the government now alleges, heexchanged phone calls with a "who's-who" of Egyptian extremiststo coordinate terrorist directives. All of this is beyond belief to Sattar's wife and friends, whosay the 42-year-old father of four has led a law-abiding life inStaten Island. Any associations Sattar had with people thegovernment considers extremists, they say, were a reflection of hisMuslim beliefs and an assertion of his constitutional rights. "I know my husband better than anybody. All the stuff they saidis not true," said his American-born wife, Lisa. "My phone has been ringing nonstop with people who are preparedto come forward on behalf of my client," said his lawyer, KennethPaul. Among those friends, he said, are a pediatrician, auniversity professor, a real estate executive and a retired cityhousing official. In an indictment filed this month, authorities allege Sattardelivered messages from the federal prison cell of Sheik OmarAbdel-Rahman. The blind cleric, a leader of the Egyptian-basedIslamic Group terrorist organization, is serving a life term oncharges of conspiring to blow up New York landmarks in 1993. Sattar is accused of relaying directives from Abdel-Rahman'sMinnesota prison cell, under the guise of serving as an interpreterfor the sheik's lawyers. One of those lawyers, Lynne Stewart, andtwo others have also been charged, and Abdel-Rahman has been movedto an undisclosed federal prison. All four defendants were charged with conspiring to providematerial support and resources to the terrorist organization. Ifconvicted, they could face 5 to 20 years in prison on each count. The government says the jailhouse messages included an edict"mandating the bloodshed of Israelis everywhere." ProsecutorJoseph Bianco said court-ordered telephone wiretaps found Sattartalking with "a virtual who's-who of the Islamic Group's topleadership." Sattar's relationship with the sheik dates back a decade. Hehelped Abdel-Rahman speak publicly after his 1993 arrest, and heattended the sheik's 1995 trial on off-days from work. He also translated jailhouse interviews for journalists andarranged for Abdel-Rahman to preach to his followers from prisonuntil the government restricted the sheik's communications. Sattar arrived in the United States in 1985, became a citizen in1989 and joined the postal service a year later. Investigators havebeen tracking him since Middle East terrorism arrived on U.S.shores with the assassination of extremist rabbi Meir Kahane onNov. 5, 1990. As the government tells it in court papers, Sattar was amongseveral men who regularly attended the trial of El Sayyid Nosair,the man charged with shooting Kahane. Prison records showed Sattar visited Nosair in jail seven times,including once with Mahmoud Abouhalima, a man later convicted inthe February 1993 World Trade Center bombing. After Nosair was acquitted of all but gun charges, Sattar wasamong a group of men at a victory celebration at a Brooklyn mosque,according to an FBI informant. The party included two other menlater convicted in the 1993 trade center bombing, the governmentsaid. The government also suspects Sattar used his job to track downan FBI investigator. At a mosque meeting in 1993, Sattar said heknew the home address of Agent John Anticev, the informantreported. Anticev confirmed that he was approached by a uniformed Sattarnear his home, court records show. The agent said the incidentdisturbed him enough that he moved his family. Yet none of the charges against Sattar accuse him of any role inthe 1993 trade center attack, or in the plot to blow up New Yorklandmarks. And the government has said the charges do not allegeany involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Sattar's lawyer also noted that the government does not allegehis client relayed any instructions to commit specific terroristacts. "To use the government's own theory of this case," Paul said,"my client is in the middle, communicating from party to party."
—The Associated Press
Montana Lab Poised to Lead Bioterror Defense
H A M I L T O N, Mont., April 29 — A laboratory in Montana's BitterrootMountains is on track to become the federal government's fourthBiosafety Level 4 research facility, handling the world's mostdangerous microbes to help develop defenses against bioterrorism. Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a part of the National Institutesof Health, pioneered research into Rocky Mountain spotted fever andLyme disease. It now has been approved for a $66 million expansionfor bioterrorism research, including upgrades to the maximumsecurity level. It will be the only Level 4 lab in the West. James Musser, a biomedical researcher and a chief of one of theRocky Mountain labs, said specifics of the expanded research inHamilton have not been decided. "Because of the limited space in a Biosafety Level 4 facility,one has to carefully choose exactly what kind of pathogens we'regoing to study," he said. BioLevel 4 labs are the highest level security labs which, amongother things, require workers to wear "spacesuit" stylecontamination jumpers. The government currently has Level 4 labs atFort Dietrich, Md., Bethesda, Md., and Atlanta. The nonprofitSouthwest Foundation for Biomedical Research operates one in SanAntonio. Another Level 4 lab is planned at the University of TexasMedical Branch in Galveston. The new lab was planned before Sept. 11 and the string ofanthrax attacks that followed, administrator Pat Stewart said.Rocky Mountain already was studying organisms that could be used inbiological attacks, and Stewart said existing expertise at theRocky Mountain complex is the main reason for building the new labthere. Rocky Mountain Laboratories, in a neighborhood of well-kepthomes at the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains, began early in the20th century. It now employs about 230 people and provides some ofthe best pay in Hamilton, a onetime timber town that is rapidlygrowing as a wilderness gateway and mountain retreat. Officials have just begun conferring with architects and othersinvolved in developing the new lab. For the community, informationabout the expansion came during a town meeting lab officials heldin February. "You have to view it as a positive thing," said pharmacistWayne Hedman at Bitterroot Drug. "That is clean industry and a lotof the jobs are high-paying jobs." The new lab may add 50 to 65 positions, Stewart said. Hedman said that besides the economic impact of lab employees,he likes the intellectual enhancement that world-class scientistsand their associates bring to this community of 3,700 people. The hazardous nature of the new research does not concern him. "There's enough redundancy, enough backup, in that wholeprocess that I feel very secure," Hedman said. But bookseller Cyndy Gardner said that while she appreciates theRocky Mountain employees' impact on community life, she questionswhy the new lab must be built in the "warm, friendly,family-oriented neighborhood" where she is restoring a century-oldhome. "They need to build it away from town," said Gardner, worriedthe lab could become a target for terrorists. Stewart said there will be strengthened external security forall of the Rocky Mountain labs, with additional security featuresfor the new building. Measures for dealing with hazards inside itwill include airlock buffer zones, chemical decontamination andmicrofiltration of air. Rocky Mountain Laboratories began during a much simpler time. In 1910, a Bitterroot Valley camp served as the lab forresearchers who found that ticks transmitted the disease now knownas Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In the 1920s, ticks were ground upat an abandoned school near Hamilton to make vaccine against thedisease. Some 20 years later, workers in the buildings that are part oftoday's lab complex, which is on the National Register of HistoricPlaces, made vaccines that protected troops against typhus andyellow fever during World War II. The agent that causes Lyme disease, another disorder transmittedby ticks, was identified at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in 1982. Following the anthrax attacks last fall, the Bush Administrationagreed to spend $100 million to renovate the 35-year-old FortCollins, Colo., lab belonging to the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention by 2006. The enhanced Level 3 lab, which also operates near residentialneighborhoods, conducts research on vector-born infectiousdiseases, such as Bubonic plague, dengue fever, yellow fever, WestNile virus, encephalitis, tularemia and Lyme Disease, many of whichcould be used as biological weapons. They all are diseases spreadby arthropods, or mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, lice and flies.
—The Associated Press