text:
* Al Qaeda anthrax lab technician tells DXer that he realizes that by addressing these issues he may "jack myself up" but says that the "plan is on the way" — what does he mean when he says the "plan is on the way"?
Posted by DXer on May 1, 2012
223 Responses to "* Al Qaeda anthrax lab technician tells DXer that he realizes that by addressing these issues he may "jack myself up" but says that the "plan is on the way" — what does he mean when he says the "plan is on the way"?"
March 9, 2017 at 1:42 pm
A global pandemic could kill more people than nuclear war, former VP candidate Lieberman warns
Matthew J. Belvedere
The United States needs to sharpen its biodefense strategy to guard against the possibility of a global pandemic and the potential of a terrorist attack using a virus, Joe Lieberman, a former longtime U.S. senator, told CNBC on Thursday.
"Two things keep me up. One is that a group like ISIS will develop a synthetic form of the flu, a powerful flu, and move it into our population," said the 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate. "The second, which is probably the more likely, [with] similar effect, is that there be an infectious disease pandemic."
In 1918, there was a global flu … pandemic that killed 50 million people. I must say that my father's mother was killed in her 20s," he said. This type of event could kill more people than nuclear war and "change history."
Lieberman said they hope to convince current Vice President Mike Pence to add this to his growing portfolio of responsibilities."
Using an infectious virus (like the flu) would violate the hadiths and send the jihadists to hell under their own belief system.
I appreciate that is insufficient deterrence — as illustrated by the use of chemical weapons against women and children in Mosul. But I do think it bears pointing out and putting at the forefront of discussion. (It is routinely overlooked).
I agree with Lieberman and Ridge that Vice-President Pence would be well-suited to oversee biodefense. I don't represent any monied interests. I don't know about others who advocate the position (but it is always worth considering).
On many summer days, I am the lone resident of a 70-acre island. Zombies, bring it. So long as there are drones available to deliver pizza, I'm set for life.
Not even the CIA would be able to find my ham radio shack.
Anthrax, Al Qaeda and Ayman Zawahiri: The Infiltration of US Biodefense
February 14, 2017 at 5:55 pm
With respect to the death of a man at the Kuala Lumpur airport, I might ordinarily offer up Yazid Sufaat's lovely daughter, very hardworking and learned in chemistry, as a Kuala Lumpur expert on how little of something it takes to kill you.
"Soraya Yazid Retweeted
Shower Thoughts @TheWeirdWorld Feb 1
The more I learn about Chemistry, the more I realize how little of something it takes to kill you"
But I think she's been busy FN, I vaguely understand, with some sort of chemical competition that may involve development of a perfume.
Two North Korean female agents are suspected by pundits. It makes sense that the #1 North Korean fellow would want to kill this half-brother. He had previously killed a powerful uncle in 2013.
Soraya | #iChem4U Retweeted
IERA | #ichem4u @azmahiera 7h7 hours ago
Bau perfume elliadore ni mmg sampi ke esok x hilang ke cane #pcc17 #ichem4u
• Soraya | #iChem4U @sorayaanur 9h9 hours ago
It was hectic today but fun and enjoyable nonetheless!!! Two… https://www.instagram.com/p/BQfpIXCDL_9OS0geWwdIZz6lNRm_r9o3X5XLl00/ …
February 14, 2017 at 6:10 pm
Yazid Sufaat can tell you better than me whether the plan was to use ricin rather than cyanide in the perfume, or whether they had experimented with both.
Qaeda Trying to Harness Toxin for Bombs, U.S. Officials Fear
By ERIC SCHMITT and THOM SHANKERAUG. 12, 2011
Months after the initial ricin intelligence reports surfaced last year, Saudi intelligence officials revealed a twist to the ricin plot: Qaeda operatives were trying to place the toxin in bottles of perfume, especially a popular local fragrance made of the resin of agarwood, and send those bottles as gifts to assassinate government officials and law enforcement and military officers. There is no indication that Al Qaeda ever succeeded with this approach, intelligence officials said.
February 15, 2017 at 6:20 am
Kim Jong-nam: Malaysia investigates apparent poison attack
1 hour ago
Police are studying security camera footage from the airport. Images circulating in the media have focused on two women seen alongside Mr Kim, who were later seen leaving the scene in a taxi.
Kim Jong-nam was attacked at about 09:00 (01:00 GMT) on Monday while waiting at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport for a 10:00 flight to Macau, Malaysia's Star newspaper reports, quoting police.
Exactly how the attack unfolded is still unclear. Officials and witnesses have variously said he was splashed with a chemical or had a cloth placed over his face. Earlier reports spoke of a "spray" being used or a needle.
He later spoke out against his family's dynastic control of North Korea and in a 2012 book was quoted as saying he believed his younger half-brother lacked leadership qualities.
Was this an assassination?
Unnamed US government sources have said they believe he was poisoned by North Korean agents.
The director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Lee Byung-ho, told South Korean MPs that Pyongyang had wanted to kill Kim Jong-nam for several years, but that he was being protected by China.
Mr Kim was reportedly targeted for assassination in the past. A North Korean spy jailed by South Korea in 2012 is said to have admitted trying to organise a hit-and-run accident targeting him.
The secretive state has a long history of sending agents overseas to carry out assassinations, attacks and kidnappings.
- February 14, 2017 at 6:10 pm
August 23, 2016 at 5:52 pm
See the chapter "Point of View Inside the Mind of a Bioterrorist" in
T Ewin – Biological Threats in the 21st Century: The Politics, …, 2016 – books.google.com
edited by Filippa Lentzos
February 18, 2015 at 4:54 am
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen never obtained US custody of either Raud Ahmad or Yazid Sufaat.
The FBI first interviewed Yazid Sufaat in November 2002 — and was mainly focused on how he knew Zacarias Moussaoui.
What has Yazid Sufaat said after being rearrested?
How to Get Terrorists to Talk
A former CIA interrogator on the "do's" and "don'ts" of interrogation.
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen
February 18, 2015
November 18, 2014 at 7:08 pm
Could a 13-year old terror plot be the reason the Malaysian jet went missing?
By Kelly Riddell – The Washington Times – Monday, March 17, 2014
In 2001, al Qaeda operatives discussed a sinister mission: They wanted to recruit a Malaysian commercial pilot for a terrorist operation.
The 13-year-old plot is relevant once again as U.S. officials search for leads that may uncover why Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing 11 days ago.
Malaysian officials on Monday offered a new timeline that posits the last voice transmission from the missing airliner's cockpit came before any communications systems were shut down.
SEE ALSO: USS Kidd abandons search for missing Malaysian plane
The search for the plane — and the 239 people aboard it — has expanded deep into the northern and southern hemispheres. Australian vessels scoured the southern Indian Ocean and China offered 21 of its satellites to help Malaysia in the unprecedented hunt, the Associated Press reported.
After the 9/11 attacks, leaders in al Qaeda and the Malaysian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah strategized ways to use pilots and planes to crash into U.S. assets, according to "The Second Front," a book by Kenneth J. Conboy examining militant groups in Southeast Asia.
Yazid Sufaat, a then-Malaysian student, proposed crashing a commercial airliner into a passing American warship, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, according to a Malaysian intelligence report cited in the book.
With foul play suspected in the vanishing of the Malaysian jumbo jet, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies are focusing on criminal plots. And Malaysian officials are investigating Flight MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, noting that the plane was flown deliberately from its Kuala Lumpur-to-Beijing course.
The Malaysia-Indonesia region has long been a hotbed of terrorist activity. In 2002, more than 200 people were killed when Jemaah Islamiyah set off three bombs in and around nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia.
According to the British tabloid The Telegraph, an al Qaeda informant last week told a court that four or five Malaysian men had been planning to take control of a plane, using a bomb hidden in a shoe to blow open the cockpit door.
The chaotic search-and-rescue effort for the plane and contradictory statements by Malaysian authorities have fueled speculation.
"It was an intentional, deliberate act to bring down this airplane," Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday."
Mr. McCaul, like U.S. intelligence officials, said no evidence suggests terrorism so far, but that possibility shouldn't be ruled out.
The FBI attache office in Malaysia is working with authorities investigating the pilots and passengers to see if any terror or militant connections can be drawn. U.S. law enforcement officials are only playing a supportive role in the investigation, with Malaysian authorities taking the lead.
Terrorists have long focused on planes in their operations. From 9/11 to "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, terrorists have learned from their plots, even those that were thwarted, counterterrorism analysts say.
In 2006, British and Pakistani intelligence authorities thewarted a network of about 50 self-identified terrorists who were in the "final stages" of an operation to blow up as many as 10 jets leaving London for the U.S. The plotters planned to mix a British sports drink with a gel-like substance to make an explosive that could be detonated with an MP3 player or cell phone, according to reports at the time.
That plot was inspired by the so-called 1995 Bojinka plan, an al Qaeda mission to blow up several airliners over the Pacific Ocean en-route to the U.S. Before the plot was disrupted, terrorists detonated a test bomb on Philippine Airlines Flight 434 that killed one person and caused the plane to lose its control systems, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.
In 2012, a CIA informant posed as a would-be suicide bomber to foil a plot in which he was to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner. The bomb the undercover agent was supposed to wear was designed to go through airport security undetected — a device was sewn into his undergarment so that it would not be discovered by a pat-down.
With regard to Flight MH370, officials say more facts must be gathered before any definitive answers can be reached.
"We need to give time to allow the investigation to come together and obtain all the relevant facts before rushing out to conclusions," FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said in an email. "We'll just have to wait and see."
October 14, 2014 at 11:54 am
Some Captured Terrorists Talk Willingly and Proudly, Investigators Say
By BENJAMIN WEISEROCT. 13, 2014
It is counterintuitive — and I understand that," Mr. Bharara said, "that people one morning want to do everything they can to kill everyone who looks like an American, and destroy cities, and in some cases, prepare to engage in suicide missions or help others engage in suicide missions, and then the next afternoon, when caught, snitch on their plans, snitch on their colleagues, snitch on intelligence that otherwise would have been unavailable to the very same people that they were dedicated to killing."
"However, it is true; it happens all the time," he said, adding that a willingness to talk was "something that should be considered a little bit more by people who fight really hard in these debates."
The phenomenon of international terrorists' providing information goes back at least to 1995, when Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who orchestrated the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, spent six hours answering questions as he was flown to the United States from Pakistan. On the last leg of his journey, as a helicopter carried him along the East River and an F.B.I. official pointed at the twin towers and observed that they were still standing, Mr. Yousef famously replied, "They wouldn't be, if I had had enough money and explosives."
Ali H. Soufan, another former F.B.I. agent, said that in his experience, the "higher the operatives are in the pyramid of the terrorist organization, the easier it is to talk to them."
Many terrorists "feel what they are doing is an extension of their jihad, is part of their cause," he said. "They are willing to die for it, so if given the right opportunity, they are not going to deny it."
Mr. Soufan said there was no "cookie cutter" approach to terrorism interrogations.
"What works on one subject does not necessarily work on the other," he said. "But if you know how to do it and you know what buttons to push, intellectually and mentally, these guys will talk."
September 24, 2014 at 3:52 am
FBI Director Comey: I've spoken up about Al Qaeda anthrax lab director Yazid Sufaat's comment to me that the plan is on the way and all I got in response was an email from a DOJ prosecutor who said I was never going to get any more documents under FOIA about the experiment Dr. Ivins was doing with the 52 rabbits — explaining why he was spending those hours doing the night and weekend checks.
Inside the Beltway, it is still about CYA for some and not protect and serve.
Everyone makes mistakes. There are no secrets. History will only favor those who correct their missteps and the missteps of their friends.
Anthrax, Al Qaeda and Ayman Zawahiri: The Infiltration of US Biodefense
FBI director emphasizes counter-terrorism
September 24, 2014
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A week after a Rochester man was charged with supporting Islamic terrorists, FBI Director James Comey says counter-terrorism remains the bureau's top priority but threats in the Internet age range from al-Qaeda offshoots to the angry loner downloading bomb designs. Comey, visiting the FBI's Albany Field Office, met Tuesday with his agents and local authorities. He said afterward that finding the next threat will likely depend on someone who notices something amiss and speaks up.
(WASHINGTON) — American airstrikes in Syria overnight halted the threat of terrorist attacks in the U.S. homeland from organized groups like ISIS and al Qaeda, but raised the specter of angry lone-wolf sympathizers carrying out an attack on their own, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The American airborne offensive could potentially embolden self-radicalized terrorists to strike inside the homeland, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI say in a joint bulletin issued to local, state and federal law enforcement late Tuesday.
While "single events generally do not provoke an immediate response" from homegrown extremists, "[W]e believe these strikes will contribute to homegrown violent extremists' … broader grievances about U.S. military intervention in predominantly Muslim lands, possibly motivating Homeland attacks," according to the bulletin.
Less likely in the near-term, the bulletin says, is an attack "in direct response to the strikes in Syria" by organized terrorist groups, including core al Qaeda or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the brutal terrorist group that has seized vast swaths of territory in Syria and neighboring Iraq and was a target of the airstrikes overnight.
The bulletin notes ISIS' prolific online campaign and cites a recent audio message from ISIS that called for "lone offender attacks in the Homeland in retaliation for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria," as the bulletin put it.
And though "in the near term" most homegrown terrorists will try to join groups overseas rather than carry out their own attacks in the U.S., authorities "cannot rule out the possibility…that some [homegrown terrorists], acting alone or in small groups, could attempt simple attacks with little or no warning," according to the bulletin.
August 10, 2014 at 4:00 am
If Yazid Sufaat is freed after the upcoming trial, hopefully he will write the book and make the disclosures and answer all the questions — as he promised me.
I share a love of words, coffee, books and cats with Yazid Sufaat's thoughtful daughter. Religious differences are something to be shared and discussed over scrabble or food.
Today she defiines
accismus – feigning disinterest in something while actually desiring it.
"It is wonderful to be able to liberate these words from the purgatory of dictionaries," he said.
Hundreds of word enthusiasts gather in Buffalo for the 25th National Scrabble Championships
My friend, who runs our club's website, is helping to run one of the divisions at the scrabble tournament here. Nigel Richards, a champion of Scrabble representing Malaysia, suffered a serious setback yesterday and seems poised to lose to GI Joel.
I'm rooting for Nigel, who stayed over when the championship was at Las Vegas because he had heard it had a good library.
July 17, 2014 at 5:57 am
The distraught family members and JI members and others who want Yazid Sufaat freed should take heart. Procedurally, the Court's rejection of the defense's legal argument related only to timing. It was roughly akin to what in the US might be a denial of a motion for a directed verdict while expressly permitting the argument to be renewed at aty time during the trial. This does not bode well for the prosecution — which has not provided any details of Yazid Sufaat's alleged encouragement of the young men alleged plan to travel to Syria.
On the other hand, despite the smile on Yazid Sufaat and his cafeteria assistant's face in this linked photo, I believe Halimah, another defendant, is still a fugitive. Atmospherically that plays right into the prosecution's hands of portraying Yazid Sufaat as a danger to Malaysians.
NYT MH370: "Yazid Sufaat, a Malaysian who studied biochemistry at California State University and experimented with biological weapons for Al Qaeda before Sept. 11, proposed crashing a commercial airliner into a passing American warship, the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, according to a local intelligence report cited in Mr. Conboy's book on Jemaah Islamiyah," The Second Front."
Posted by Lew Weinstein on March 17, 2014
Yazid, Muhammad Hilmi kembali dibicara di Mahkamah Tinggi, July 16 (see photo with Yazid Sufaat and Hilmi with broad grins)
I do not recall when the picture in the above photo was taken but he sure looks happy — and he sure is loved by his wife and daughters.
I would think that if Yazid Sufaat told all he knew about Dr. Ayman's anthrax program (for example, if he identified the strain he was using), it would be good for his prospects. He has told me that the CIA would not hear it from his lips. But I don't think that is the best strategy. Everyone loves a truthteller.
Al Qaeda anthrax lab tech says he had been part of Malaysian Armed Forces biological weapons program
Posted by Lew Weinstein on March 23, 2012
2014 Straits Times report : Into what weapons did Yazid Sufaat attempt to load anthrax?
Posted on February 23, 2014
July 6, 2014 at 7:02 am
"Conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency are far more likely to have taken place between ordinary Internet users than legally targeted terror suspects, according to a published report.
The Washington Post reported late Saturday that while some intercepted messages were a source of valuable intelligence, many more missives contained nothing more than intensely personal details of people's lives, including more than 5,000 private photos. In most cases, the information was retained despite being marked as useless by NSA analysts."
Approximately 160,000 intercepted e-mail and instant message conversations and 7,900 related documents taken from more than 11,000 online accounts were provided to the Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The material was captured between 2009 and 2012, almost the entirety of President Barack Obama's first term."
I used to correspond with the former Al Qaeda lab director Yazid Sufaat in order to ask him detailed questions about Al Qaeda's anthrax program, ask him whether he was responsible for the anthrax mailings etc. (He never denied it).
But given that I had no confidence that NSA would share with the FBI, I would post and email highlights.
My sense is that DOJ knew far more about the prosecutor's personal life than the personal life of the Al Qaeda anthrax lab director and his two assistants.
July 6, 2014 at 7:18 am
I've given up trying to get substantive answers from the Al Qaeda anthrax lab director and now never do more than forward empathetic words of encouragement to his thoughtful daughter as she awaits his court date on the 18th. (I share her love of cats, coffee and reading).
I had encouraged her and her mother that it was in her father's interest to open up about Al Qaeda's anthrax program and the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings. I don't think my reasoning was thought persuasive.
Today she tweets/retweets:
–What do you know when you know nothing?
–The mind makes and makes, spinning its web.
–I need to fix this bad habit of mine
–Well I need to do something about it
- July 6, 2014 at 7:18 am
April 16, 2014 at 8:59 am
Mr. Yazid's thoughtful daughter tweeted on Monday (of no one in particular):
"Do you know what it takes to be a filial* daughter?"
We can be devoted, affectionate and loving family members while urging that they do the right thing.
All I am asking that Mr. Yazid do what he told me he would do:
"I will tell everything, let people judge."
• 1.
of or due from a son or daughter.
"a display of filial affection"
synonyms: dutiful, devoted, compliant, respectful, affectionate, loving
"a display of filial affection"
March 30, 2014 at 3:25 am
Malaysia Airlines MH370: Terrorist theories grow as MI6 and CIA involvement confirmed
March 30, 2014 – 1:46PM
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/malaysia-airlines-mh370-terrorist-theories-grow-as-mi6-and-cia-involvement-confirmed-20140330-zqop8.html#ixzz2xQqjg4hs
British secret services are investigating the disappearance of flight MH370, Malaysia's transport minister said on Saturday.
The disclosure that MI6 as well as the CIA are helping the Malaysian authorities will add to speculation the aircraft was hijacked by terrorists.
Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's acting transport minister, said on Saturday that MI6 and the CIA were working with Chinese spy agencies to determine what happened to the 239 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 777. Mr Hishammuddin stopped short of plumping for one theory over any other. He said the disappearance was due to "terrorism, hijacking, personal and psychological problems, or technical failure".
"These scenarios have been discussed at length with different intelligence agencies," he said.
Crash investigators believe the disappearance of the plane and the decision to disable the communications system appear to have been deliberate. But they have found no evidence of a motive.
MI6 is understood to have helped with extensive background checks on each of the 239 passengers and crew on the plane but nothing suspicious has emerged.
"Now that we are talking about satellite data and imagery, the CIA has been on board, Chinese intelligence has been on board, MI6 has been on board," Mr Hishammuddin said.
March 21, 2014 at 3:36 am
I don't favor any hypothesis over another. But I think they all need to be pursued in parallel, to the extent resources permit. Deployment of investigative resources would not conflict with the allocation of search vessels/vehicles to a particular search grid. Given the US has been the target of Al Qaeda's previous attacks, I would allow the FBI to question Yazid Sufaat in detail about his whereabouts from December 2008 up until his rearrest.
It is my understanding that Yazid Sufaat went to Pakistan after his release in December 2008. Someone at the CIA's CTC, I believe, forwarded a local news article reporting his arrival. If that is true, it is especially important that the US be allowed direct questioning of Yazid Sufaat. The contradictions in information provided by Malaysian authorities highlight the risk of factual error. That uncertainty is especially great when an individual is motivated to conceal crimes and a government is defensive about the country being seen as a launching pad of terrorism.
When there is still the logical possibility that the plane has been hijacked for later use as a weapon, cooperation should extend to allow FBI interviews. In the investigation of Fall 2001 anthrax mailings, access after his December 2001 was first allowed in November 2002. IMO that was an extreme and unnecessary delay (even assuming CIA was allowed access and I don't know that it was).
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-smoke-in-cockpit-2014-3#ixzz2waEZp56U
The prevailing hypothesis is that the plane was stolen or hijacked and then flown for seven hours on either a bizarre suicide mission or to a secret destination somewhere, perhaps to be used on a future mission.
But given the level of planning and execution required to carry out such a plan, as well as the lack of any obvious motives, other theories also have to be considered.
Yesterday, we described one such theory — a fire on the plane that overwhelmed and incapacitated the pilots. This theory fits many of the facts, and it is a much simpler explanation than the "intentional commandeering" hypothesis. But this theory, too, doesn't fit all the facts, especially now that it is being reported that the plane's course changed before the co-pilot said "Good night" to Malaysia air traffic control, a routine call that made it sound as though everything was fine.
The smoke-in-the-cockpit theory also isn't sitting well with some pilots we have talked to, including one who has flown the same type of plane as the one that disappeared, the 777-200ER.
These pilots point out that smoke in the cockpit is one of the most common emergencies that pilots train for and that 777s are equipped with full-face oxygen masks that the pilots would have put on before they did anything else. They also say that, unless the pilots ignored their training, they would then have run through a checklist of tasks that would have included descending rapidly and making an emergency radio call.
[quoting Captain]
"Finally, a fire that incapacitated everyone onboard would have, in every scenario I can logically come up with, destroyed the aircraft soon thereafter. I reference the Swissair Flight 111, an MD11 that crashed off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Sept. 2, 1998. From the time of initial cockpit indication of smoke until the crew was completely incapacitated was 14 minutes; the aircraft crashed soon thereafter. In this incident, the crew had ample time to communicate with ATC, and was running checklists until the very end. Indeed, the crew elected to stay airborne and continue running checklists while dumping fuel, instead of landing immediately; this decision has been credited with the loss of all passengers and crew, and is exactly why landing immediately is the primary goal in an airborne fire."
"I don't know what happened to MH370 any more than anyone else who wasn't aboard. But here's how my head works with this. I try to find the simplest, least complex explanation that works with ALL THE AVAILABLE FACTS/INFORMATION, and that doesn't need "added" leaps or assertions or events to have happened that we do not have any info about.
For instance, several things point to an "event," not an "accident." The lack of communication, the programmed turn, the climb to FL450 and descent to FL250, and the continuation of the aircraft's existence as a whole object, powered and uncrashed, for about seven-plus hours after the disappearance."
Comment: One hypothesis is that a small shoe bomb was used to open the cockpit door but that it knocked out communications and incapacitated the pilots — allowing only for a change in course.
Another hypothesis is that the plane was under the control of a hijacker and they were looking for a US Aircraft to target in the Indian Ocean but then ran out of fuel.
March 21, 2014 at 4:05 am
The defensivenss of the Malaysian government should not be allowed to interfere with a full investigation of the alternative hypotheses. In mid-August of last year, I wrote:
"DXer said
August 12, 2013 at 8:09 am
Someone at the CIA once forwarded to me a local Pakistani news article indicating that Yazid after his release had travelled to Pakistan and then gone missing.
Is that right? Was the news story true? If so, how on earth could Malaysian authorities have allowed it?"
In January 2012 I had posted an inquiry on his whereabouts:
Where is Yazid Sufaat?
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 20, 2012
At the time, I posted a 2009 news article at the time indicating that he had arrived in Pakistan. (FBIS reported via DIALOG consists of public translation of foreign articles and is available to the public; after 911 access was shifted to the pay service of DIALOG which I found very annoying). Such inconveniences lead to faulty analysis and sometimes makes it necessary to depend on the kindnesses of strangers and new friends to provide information.
Yazid obliged by giving interviews to the press and even at one point posting his GPS coordinates — which I believe were the food stall.
December 19, 2012 at 6:22 am
Yazid Sufaat sent a map location due east of KL yesterday to subscribers of his Facebook feed.
" You have received a map location. http://maps.BlackBerry.com/?lat=3.11707&scr_z=5&lon=101.93646 "
I posted:
"DXer said
February 11, 2013 at 11:07 am
When Yazid sent this map
lat 3.11707 and long 101.93646,
it perhaps was the food stall he operated with his wife. I haven't checked the coordinates."
He was then arrested at the food stall.
It's after those public , unrepentant interviews that I had contacted him using Facebook and Chomel so graciously introduced me to his Facebook Friends. He was publicly justifying mass murder.
Yazid should be required to detail for the FBI how he has spent his time, who he has met, and where he has gone for the US FBI — given he has shown no repentance for being associated with the plot that kill 3,000 Americans. Planning related to that attack occurred in Kuala Lumpur.
Yazid Sufaat says the queue of supporters of Bin Laden is long — the narrow urgent inquiry is who, if any, he has encouraged to be part of the queue could fly an aircraft.
Of course, if Yazid Sufaat never went to Pakistan upon his release, the interview by US FBI agents would allow him the opportunity to explain that.
Both Chomel and Soraya Nur know whether he left the country after his release. They too could be interviewed by reporters and respectfully asked that question.
Pakistan: Security Agencies Looking for Suspected Malaysian Al-Qa'ida Operative
Report by MANSOOR KHAN: "Qaeda suspect present in country: Report"
The Nation
Saturday, February 28, 2009
KARACHI – The secret service agencies who are looking for a suspected Malaysian national Al-Qaeda (Al-Qa'ida) operative believe that he has arrived in Pakistan, The Nation learnt here on Thursday (26 February).
According to the report, one of the masterminds of the 9 /11 and expert of Anthrax, namely Yazid Bin Sufaat who is believed to have close links with Osama Bin Laden and professionally a microbiologist has reached Pakistan.
A letter written by an intelligence agency revealed to this scribe that Yazid Bin Sufaat, an operative of Al-Qaeda had vanished since his release from the custody of Malaysian authorities.
In the letter written by a joint director of a secret agency asserted that Sufaat, who was born on January 20, 1964 at Johor, Malaysia, bears a passport number A-10472263 and Malaysian ID card number 640120-015529, has disappeared after serving a seven-year detention in Malaysia.
It is believed that Sufaat could be in Pakistan, therefore it has also been asserted, "The individual is a concrete and significant security threat and has been at the watch-list of western countries." It was also pointed out that the said suspect has links with various terrorist groups, head a group name "Jemaah Islamiyah" and has been masterminding the Al-Qaeda's Anthrax programme.
It has also been asserted that he may also try to conduct a terror attack in Pakistan.
In the letter, authorities have sought information about Sufaat's whereabouts and directed to freeze his financial assets. The letter stated that it was requested that any information of Yazid including his previous visits to Pakistan must be shared with SRHQ-IB for necessary action. The said agency has dispatched the said letter to the Home Secretary Sindh Arif Ahmed Khan and Inspector General Sindh Police Salahuddin Baber Khattack.
(Description of Source: Islamabad The Nation in English — Conservative daily, part of the Nawa-i-Waqt publishing group. Circulation around 20,000.)
- March 21, 2014 at 4:05 am
March 19, 2014 at 1:04 pm
'Everything's possible' in missing jet conspiracy theories, experts say
By Joshua Rhett MillerPublished March 19, 2014FoxNews.com
"To [former NTSB investigator] Yurman, citing the facts that no wreckage has been found and questions circulating on the crew's background, the aircraft is "more than likely" at a remote site to be reused at a later date. If that's the case, Yurman said the plane would be repainted, given new identifying characteristics and be prepared to fly as a new entity.
"If it was a hijacking, then it was well planned," he said. "You had to get the right people onto the flight, it had to be planned in advance, they had to know what they're going to do with it and where to go."
[ Comment: I don't know anything about aviation, but it seems that to most effectively be used in a subsequent attack — say, on a nuclear facility after being loaded with a fertilizer bomb — it seems that they would want to spoof the transponder. ]
Yet another theory asserts that the plane could have cracked its lap joints, leading to sudden depressurization and knocking the pilots unconscious.
[Have you seen the photo of the plane missing the tip on its right wing? I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion exploring the nature of that repair.] As a passenger, I would have been unnerved that the plane wasn't "like new" out of the factory.]
John Cane, an aviation expert and retired Marine, told FoxNews.com he believes a "criminal act" led to the plane's disappearance, but stopped short of saying it was likely hijacked to be used later, perhaps as a weapon of mass destruction
"The reason I don't lean toward it being hijacked and then landed in a foreign country to be used later is that you've already advertised that there's a missing aircraft out there now," Cane said. "Why would you allow your potential targets to raise their defenses? That's not the way terrorists operate."
Comment: That's a sensible point. Obama is scheduled to visit KL in April. What defenses would there be from a plane taking off from an island off Java?
Hey, I've got an idea. Let the FBI have full access to interrogate Yazid Sufaat.
March 19, 2014 at 10:54 am
Malaysia Turns to F.B.I. for Help in Plane Inquiry
I wrote the US Department of Justice on March 11, 2014. After describing my correspondence with Yazid Sufaat in which he did not deny responsibility for the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings, I asked that the depositions further confirming Dr. Ivins innocence be emailed rather than mailed.
I noted that one never knows when "time is of the essence."
Well, time IMO remains of the essence.
I wrote to the Attorney-in-Charge James K.:
"Your group's efficiency in processing the Little, Worsham, Andrews, Adamovicz, Byrne, Friend, Welkos, Friedlander (and the pending Robinson and Lynn requests) — and for other requestors the Jahrling and Eitzen — proves my confidence that DOJ Civil has a well-run FOIA operation was justified. I wanted to thank you personally for your expertise and encyclopedic knowledge of FOIA law. If it is just as convenient, an electronic copy such as provided other requestors would be preferable. A CD works but an emailed copy would shave off a day on delivery. And in life one never can be sure when time is of the essence.
When you have a chance, I will call to ask whether Colonel Elliot's civil deposition would be sealed. I believe the parties may have meant to lift the protective order in mid-October 2011 when they moved to eliminate numerous documents and the associated depositions from the protective order (e.g., Arrison, Robinson, Salerno, Wade). He was behind the IG report like Salerno was behind the Sandia report."
March 19, 2014 at 11:14 am
The FBI is going to help with computer forensics on several deleted games from the Captain's flight simulator. But as I understand it, people delete things to free up memory and to clear clutter — to get rid of things that they don't need.
'Speculation is killing the family': Friends and family of missing Malaysia Airlines jet Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah rally to his defense; YouTube tribute calls him 'loving, reflective, generous'
Supporters and loved ones of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah were speaking out in his defense amid speculation that he or his co-pilot may have intentionally hijacked Flight 370 with 239 people aboard.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/friends-family-missing-malaysia-airlines-jet-captain-rally-defense-article-1.1724049#ixzz2wQQTIxbT
Girlfriend of Malaysia Airlines co-pilot is 'pillar of strength' for missing fiancé's family
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/girlfriend-malaysia-airlines-co-pilot-comforts-family-article-1.1725449#ixzz2wQI9HnT7
Neighbor of Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight
- March 19, 2014 at 11:14 am
March 19, 2014 at 6:16 am
深度:应答器何时关闭 马当局为何推翻自身说法
长期以来,东南亚一直与基地组织和恐怖主义图谋存在联系,调查人员也在关注这一点。2002年,印尼巴厘岛的夜店发生了两起爆炸案,共导致200多人丧生。那次袭击是与基地组织关系密切的武装组织"伊斯兰祈祷团"(Jemaah Islamiyah)所为。
随着调查人员把注意力集中在飞行员身上,并且开始研究劫机的可能动机,基地组织和伊斯兰祈祷团数年前考虑的一些手段可能会被重新纳入考虑范围。专门研究东南亚激进组织的美国作家肯·孔博伊(Ken Conboy)曾在2006年的一本书中说,2001年,这两个组织的领导人曾进行讨论,打算招募马来或印尼商用飞机飞行员来执行恐怖主义任务。
9·11袭击的头号策划者哈立德·谢赫·穆罕默德(Khalid Shaikh Mohammed)也曾考虑利用此类飞行员,对美国的大楼或地标建筑发动第二轮袭击。孔博伊在关于"伊斯兰祈祷团"的书《第二战线》(The Second Front)中引用了一份当地的情报报告。该报告称,曾在加州州立大学(California State University)学习生物化学、并曾在9·11之前为基地组织测试生物武器的马来西亚人耶齐德·苏法特(Yazid Sufaat)曾经提议,用一家商用飞机去撞击经过的美国战舰"小鹰号"航母(Kitty Hawk)。
March 15, 2014 at 11:06 am
Yazid Sufaat's plan was to have a suicide operative crash an airliner into a US warship. Undated report from a regional intelligence agency. "Pendedahan Yazid Sufaat Berkaitan Projek Keganasan di Indeonsia dan Singapura."
Time is of the essence.
Failure is not an option.
March 15, 2014 at 1:45 pm
Yazid Sufaat's plan was to have a suicide operative crash an airliner into a US warship. A warship has been sent to participate in the search.
Not too long ago Yazid told me the plan was on the way. His colleague, Halimah, was a religious teacher indicted along with Yazid for recruiting young men to jihad at a house in Ampang, a suburb of KL. She was an older attorney. She is on the lam.
Who was co-pilot's Fariq's religious teacher? (He lived in a different suburb that I estimate to be 20 minutes on a motorbike.)
I have an email into Yazid's daughter to ask.
US Navy Sends Destroyer to Help in Plane Search
WASHINGTON March 8, 2014 (AP)
- March 15, 2014 at 1:45 pm
March 15, 2014 at 9:01 am
KSM's plan for an airlines plot involving a Malaysian cell, that included a pilot, was thwarted upon the arrest of one of the members in Asia. Was Yazid Sufaat's arrest in December 2001 what had disrupted the plot, then still in preliminary stages?
Malaysian Group Plotted Plane Hijacking in 2001, Convicted Terrorist Says, March 12, 2014
By way of background, Author Pater Conboy, in the 2006 The Second Front: Inside Asia's Most Dangerous Terrorist Network, at p. 138, writes:
"According to Malaysian intelligence sources, during the first quarter of 2001, Yazid Sufaat, who had just arrived in Afghanistan for training, was asked to help identify four Indonesian commercial pilots who might be enticed into giving their lives on a mission. "
Back in 2002, I posted a February 2, 2002 essay by "Dollah X" about Yazid's posts in a Summer 2000 forum.
I believe it discusses Yazid's travels when he left his family to find himself in Indonesia. (Posters in 2002 thought of Yazid as unstable — which was the reaction to his recent adventures with the press a couple years ago before his rearrest).
Yazid Sufaat Si-badot Lemah, FBI, & Amerika yang Nampak Sangat Nak Balun Malaya
As for the travels he embarked upon in Fall 2000, "Dollah X" writes (please excuse the rough translation):
"Yazid had to find someone knowledgeable to indon medicated, and began to wander from Dumai (likely-its), taking the bus or any other vehicle, but look like he stopped in several cities in
Sumatran and Javanese, on the road to a place on the island of Java not mentioned."
Was Yazid Sufaat involved in the 2001 plotting?
Was he looking for a remote place to land a plane as early as 2000? (He already had been interviewing a prospective anthrax scientist in 2000).
Sufaat's condo was then used to by the 911 hijackers. There had been a Southeast Asia component that was called off because Bin Laden thought it would be too much to pull off at the same time as the attack in the United States.
I think the concern needs to be at this plane is going to be loaded with explosives and used in an attack. By way of example, at one point, Yazid Sufaat had bought 4 tons of ammonium nitrate and hid it on a plantation.
I believe they have now entered the pilot's homes and will have the benefit of computer hard drives etc.
Sufaat does not deny to me responsibility for the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings.
March 15, 2014 at 10:13 am
What Kuala Lumpur suburbs did Malaysian airlines pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid and Yazid Sufaat respectively live? I presume Yazid Sufaat was an imam at a mosque different than the one attended by Fariq Abudl Hamid. Is that correct?
Fariq Abdul Hamid, has been described him "as a quiet, humble and respectful man, who lived with his deeply religious parents in a middle-class home."
"One man at the mosque in his neighborhood said that Fariq's attendance was spotty due to his job, but that he attended regularly, even several times a day, when he was in town.
Ahmad Sarafi Ali Asrah, head of the community mosque, told The Associated Press that Fariq's family was distraught."
Fariq also attended occasional Islamic courses, said Ahmad Sharafi Ali Asrah.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/missing-malaysia-airlines-jet-friends-defend-cockpit-casanova-pilot-20140314-hvihr.html#ixzz2w2lQyVZX
The mosque is in a middle-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur about 100 meters from Fariq's home.
Neighbour Ayop Jantan said he had heard Fariq was engaged and planning his wedding.
Yazid Sufaat was imam of his neighborhood mosque.
Yazid Sufaat's house was in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
The former captain, Yazid Sufaat, has allegedly been recruiting mercenaries from his home in a Kuala Lumpur suburb…
Sufaat is tied to a biological and chemical weapons program for Al Qaeda. …
The national Malaysian news agency Bernama stated on Thursday, tha unidentified sources had said, that the couple had tried to recruit young people to be trained for missions that include suicide bombings.
March 15, 2014 at 10:22 am
Yazid Sufaat was recruiting young men at religious classes at a house in Ampang, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. Religious teacher Halimah, charged with him, is still on the lam.
From whom did the Malaysian air pilot of the missing 777 take his religious classes? Was it Halimah?
"The Star
Jun 18, 2013 – Halimah and Muhammad Hilmi were later charged with abetting Yazid at a house in Ampang between August and October, last year."
Yazid Sufaat's daughter a few days ago published a picture of a pilot taking a selfie — reaching out of the open window of the cockpit. Soraya likely would be able to confirm that the pilot was not a student of Halimah and did not know her father.
March 15, 2014 at 10:42 am
March 15, 2014 at 10:41 am
Fariq's home apparently is in Shah Alam.
The Star
2 hours ago – KUALA LUMPUR: Police searched the home of Captain Zaharie Ahmad… of officers were at co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid's home in Shah Alam.
Delaying a search and letting the items be removed — as removed — IMO was negligent.
Missing MH370: Police search homes of pilots – Nation | The Star …
From whom did he receive religious instruction? Receiving instruction from Halimah/Yazid would not have been particularly convenient.
Forum discussing commute between Ampang and Shah Alam.
- March 15, 2014 at 10:13 am
March 15, 2014 at 3:28 am
Judge Denies Defense Request to Dismiss Bin-Laden Kin's Case (1)
By Patricia Hurtado March 14, 2014
A U.S. judge denied a defense request to dismiss a terrorism case against Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, saying the evidence is "dramatically more than merely sufficient" to convict him.
Sulaiman Abu Ghayth, 48, is on trial in Manhattan federal court on charges that he helped bin Laden recruit terrorists and knew of plots to attack Americans, including a scheme to detonate shoe bombs on airplanes after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan today rejected a defense request to dismiss the case, which Abu Ghayth's lawyers made after the prosecution rested. Abu Ghayth is accused of conspiracy and providing material support to a terrorist group.
"The motion is denied in all respects," Kaplan said after jurors left the courtroom. The government's proof of conspiracy "is dramatically more than merely sufficient, and I'll just leave it at that."
He cited testimony from two witnesses who are cooperating with prosecutors after admitting they worked for al-Qaeda. Saajid Badat, a U.K. man, testified that bin Laden dispatched him to blow up a commercial jetliner using a shoe bomb in late 2001.
The defense said it will present its case next week.
Comment: Where is Malaysian airlines 777 ?
Badat says he gave one of his shoe bombs to a Malaysian cell. He understood the bomb for the purpose of entering the cockpit. Were the Malaysian cell members captured? Where are they now?
Yazid Sufaat is from Kuala Lumpur. He has facilitated bombing of innocents (for example, by purchasing 4 tons of ammonium nitrate through his company) and promoted an airline plot in Southeast Asia (even after 911). What does Yazid think happened to Malaysian airlines 777?
Yazid does not seem to have been reformed at all. Does the passage of time since 2001 provide any comfort at all? Or are men like Yazid and Ayman Zawahiri on the same course they charted years ago.
March 15, 2014 at 4:56 am
Malaysia Flight 370: Amid a sea of questions, 28 of the most compelling
By Tom Watkins and Michael Pearson, CNN
updated 9:28 PM EDT, Fri March 14, 2014
March 15, 2014 at 5:24 am
Flight 370 Vanished Through 'Deliberate Action,' Malaysia's Leader Says
Last Communication Came From One of Two Possible Corridors, Prime Minister Najib Razak said it was the result of "deliberate action."
In the Malaysian government's first definitive comments on how Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 came to vanish March 8,
Have air defenses been raised? What would keep an explosive-laden 777 from destroying Wall Street or the Capitol? Numerous of my loved ones plan on visiting DC this month in time for the cherry blossoms. I'm beginning to feel uneasy.
I saw Liam Neeson this past week in NON-STOP, an action film involving a plane and riveting mystery as to what is unfolding, and thought that it was very suspenseful and well-worth the price of admission. I definitely recommend it.
Abu Ghayth, the Al Qaeda spokesman headed for a well-deserved conviction, promised a storm of planes.
Failure of analysis is not an option.
Police by now should have entered the pilots' homes — they should have done so immediately given the lives at stake regardless of "probable cause" considerations and studied the computer records including the flight simulator — under a public safety exception.
p.s. For $5, you get a 3-month trial of WSJ, delivered daily to your mailbox by the mail carrier. That's quite a bargain so long as you remember to cancel.
- March 15, 2014 at 4:56 am
March 9, 2014 at 9:37 am
I am still trying to find my cite to the effect that after 9/11, Al Qaeda anthrax lab director Sufaat met Hambali and renewed the idea of a Planes Operation in Southeast Asia. But I can't think of where I saw it.
February 14, 2014 at 1:45 pm
The innocent mute swans in New York State subject to being killed have not joined Al Qaeda — Adnan El-Shukrijumah, said to be Al Qaeda's head of external operations, did.
Kill El-Shukrijumah in self-defense if you must. He is planning a mass attack. The DOJ attorneys might want to avoid continued delay in their review of the Pentagon's recommendation.
Even long before Adnan El-Shukrijumah joined Al Qaeda and from Pakistan tribal region planned to blow up the NYC subway, he was appropriately deemed an enemy combatant and lost right to such protection.
But if you plan to kill the mute swans in New York State, you better have your legal ducks in order.
The science will not support your position in litigation.
These mute swans are immigrants from London and became permanent residents a century and half ago. We brought them here. Indeed, four tame swans were given to Thomas Jefferson. The larger Trumpeter swans, in contrast — which eat twice or four times as much — first began breeding in New York State in the 1990s. (When introduced, trumpeter swans have proved non-migratory — and thus they eat that much more throughout the year.) The mute swans are protected under our laws against arbitrary and capricious decision-making.
Please support Assembly Member Cymbrowitz' proposed moratorium of the killing of the mute swans in New York State. / S.6589
Read more: http://bit.ly/1jclmCz
The legislation text can be read here: http://bit.ly/1fdEgVR
February 14, 2014 at 5:55 pm
U.S. Senator Schumer: With respect to keeping New York City safe from Adnan El-Shukrijumah, tell DOJ to avoid unnecessary delay.
And while you are at it, speak up for the mute swan.
Swan eradication plan for the birds: State Sen. Tony Avella
'I was horrified to learn that our state wildlife agency would make such an extreme, unfounded proposal,' says Avella.
- February 14, 2014 at 5:55 pm
February 5, 2014 at 1:02 pm
BioSocieties , (27 January 2014) | doi:10.1057/biosoc.2013.38
The risk of bioweapons use: Considering the evidence base
Filippa Lentzos
There are some weapons deemed so abhorrent that the international community has agreed to eliminate them completely. The first of these was biological weapons. Their use was banned in 1925; their development, production and stockpiling in 1972. Yet concerns about these weapons have not gone away. Indeed, post 9/11 and the anthrax letters, the political attention to them has increased despite what seems to be a very weak evidence base. This roundtable asks four leading biological disarmament and non-proliferation experts their views on the risk of bioweapons proliferation and use, the strength of the taboo and prohibition against the use of biology to sicken and kill people, and the responsibility of life scientists in this regard.
We would have a stronger evidence base if Yazid Sufaat or Samar Al-Barq were to write their memoirs.
January 15, 2014 at 11:07 am
Yazid Sufaat's daughter a few days ago posted:
Co Exist @coexist 11 Jan
Stop hoping for things to happen, and make them happen.
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
Given she is such an avid reader, Soraya likely is a good writer also. She and her father could author a book and hopefully it is the sentiment expressed above about co-existence that would be the theme. A father can be influenced as much by a daughter as the other way around.
Given that I think Mohamed Atta wrote the letters (and thus Yazid Sufaat did not), I have asked Soraya for a sample of his printing to make the comparison.
January 11, 2014 at 10:05 am
Yazid, you once told me: "i will tell everything, let people judge." I believed you.
But what timeline are we talking about here? When are you going to "tell everything" and "let people judge."
Are you embarrassed because you did not have approval from The BIg Kahuna? Is that how you want the history to be written?
Organizational versus Individual Attribution: A Case Study of Jemaah Islamiyah and the Anthrax Plot (published 18 Dec 2013)
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 11, 2014
Do you want to go down in the history books like your pal Zacarias — dismissed as an out-of-control, loose cannon?
What approval process did you think was needed? I mean, I recognize that Hambali was the JI military commander, after all.
Besides, you were working under the auspices of Al Qaeda in the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2001.
According to some accounts, you were already brainstorming on the subject of who would lead Al Qaeda's anthrax program back in 2000. So no one doubts your initiative and your nature as a take-charge kinda guy.
December 29, 2013 at 6:48 am
During his 8 year prison stay, Yazid Sufaat used blood from the swarms of mosquitoes attacking him to write passages from the koran.
Exclusive Interview With Yazid Sufaat,
"The Experience In The Thaghut Prison"
March 30, 2012
If her father approves, his thoughtful daughter could write his story with some help from her mother. Her mother had spent a couple of months in prison in Spring 2002 as authorities tried to gain some leverage over him to get him to talk about his time studying biological weapons.
Microbiology student (Saeed Mohammed) helping with procurement in Karachi — who was rendered to Jordan in October 2001 — had criticized Yazid's lab technique. Yazid, in contrast, reports that he had worked at a secret (since abandoned) state-run program. He tells me that he could perform magic.
One question I have: Was his blood testing company after leaving the military a cover for a continued bioweapons project? (His client was the military.) Why else would he feel so betrayed by his government when he was arrested. It was that sense of betrayal that caused him to be so stubborn in refusing to share with his questioners. In a public interview, Yazid explained that in February 2002 a "friend" had told his interrogators of his previous day-job.
Was the continuation of the hematology lab at Omar Hospital in Afghanistan just an extension of the cover he had used in KL at his company Green Lab? The email he gave Zacarias Moussaoui was greenlab [ at ] usa.net .
Yellow folder The CTI Specialist containing 1 Hotel Indah Permai Solo envelope with handwritten notes: infocus …, yazids2000 … greenlab [ at ] usa.net and 2 numbers; 5 letters on InFocus Tech letterhead addressed to Mr. Moussaoui Zacarias appointing him as a marketing consultant, dated 10/5/00 and signed by Yazid Sufaat; marketing information; and 1 photocopy of letter of Infocus Tech letterhead addressed to Mr. Moussaoui Zacarias and appointing him as a marketing consultant
That email was accessed by the FBI on September 18, 2001.
Yazid's blood testing company Green Labs was separate from his wife's computer company called Infocus.
The profilers at Quantico perhaps totally missed that Moussaoui's cover was Sufaat's company Green Lab and the sender was Greendale School — with school being code regularly used by jihadis. If true crime analysis is an art, profiling is drawing with crayons.
Yazid has an articulate and well-read daughter who loves books and coffee and has some free time off from studies. Someone needs to finish telling the story Yazid started to tell before he was interrupted.
Ahmad Muizz Billah
*every semester break*
Eat like hell now. Hate yourself later.
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
The scent of coffee never fails to put me at ease.
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
December 29, 2013 at 7:04 am
When Yazid's wife, Chomel, was detained in an attempt to gain leverage over Yazid, he was described as a "former army captain and later a pathologist."
[Note: Snowden didn't go to college. Is there any comfort to be taken from Yazid's lack of an advanced degree given his training in a state-run bioweapons program?]
The family has a work ethic that tends to good results in their studies and success in their business endeavors.
Chomel arrested to pressure husband to admit his militant involvement: affidavit
YS Tong
10:56AM May 9, 2002
Sejahratul Dursina, the first woman detained for alleged militant activities under the Internal Security Act, was arrested last month to pressure her husband Yazid Sufaat to admit to the police charges leveled against him.
Her mother, Tuminah Kasmuri, 58, said this in a habeas corpusapplication filed at the Shah Alam High Court at 3.30pm today.
She is seeking for the release of Sejahratul, also known as Chomel Mohamad, on the ground that her arrest was politically motivated and done in bad faith.The date of hearing has yet to be fixed.
Tuminah named the Malaysian government, Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai as respondents in her 12-page affidavit, claiming that "…[They] want to justify the detention of Yazid".
She said a day after her daughter's arrest, Yazid who has been placed at the Kamunting detention centre in Perak since late January was brought to a remand centre in Kuala Lumpur for unknown reasons.
Yazid, an alleged al-Qaeda operative, is serving a two-year detention order under the ISA. He was among the 23 people rounded up by the police and detained under the controversial security law which permits indefinite detention without trial since late last year.
They were alleged to be involved in the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM), said to be part of a regional network planning to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state in their respective countries.
Yazid strongly denied the allegations before a three-member review panel at a defence hearing early last month. Among the allegations was that he hosted two al-Qaeda terrorists at his condominium in Kuala Lumpur in 2000, and bought explosives for sectarian violence against Christians in Indonesia.
Not armed activities
He told the review panel that he was not involved in any armed activities but had participated with his wife in religious classes and in a registered Islamic group. Nearly all the alleged KMM detainees were from the same group.
Sejahratul, 37, an executive director of a local computer company, and her husband Yazid, 38, a former army captain and later a pathologist, are both graduates from a university in United States. The couple have four children.
Sejahratul was among a group of 14 people arrested for their alleged involvement in KMM on April 17.
Tuminah claimed that her daughter was arrested for organising wives and families of other alleged KMM members to fight for the release of the detainees.
"Her arrest was mala fide (done in bad faith) and politically motivated," Tuminah claimed.
She argued that since her daughter has been cooperative in providing whatever information she had to the police after Yazid's arrest, there was no basis for the authorities to claim that the arrest was to facilitate their investigation.
She said she is worried that her daughter may have been tortured by police during interrogation as reported by many domestic and international human rights groups.
"Women are not exempted from this mental and physical torture as evident in the statements by those who were detained under the ISA in the 1987 Operasi Lalang," she said.
She was referring to four woman activists — Dr Cecilia Ng, Lim Chin Chin, Dr Chee Heng Leng, and Irene Xavier — who endured inhumane treatments that included solitary confinement, physical abuse, and prolonged hours of interrogation during their detention.
No legal access
Tuminah said the lawyers have yet to gain any legal access to Sejahratul despite a written request which was submitted to IGP Norian Mai on May 3.
"This has violated Sejahratul's rights for defence and to challenge the lawfulness of her arrest as provided under the Federal Constitution," she said.
The detainee "looked pale and was quiet" when she was visited by her parents and children during a family visit on April 26, added the mother.
"She only said she had been instructed by police not to talk or discuss about her arrest … we don't even know where she is now," said Tuminah.
Meanwhile, lawyer Edmund Bon told malaysiakini that he was surprised that the date of first hearing was not fixed today as thehabeas corpus application was a matter of urgency.
Habeas corpus is a writ of law issued to compel the authorities to bring a party before the court.
"I waited for an hour but I was told that I could not meet the registrar (who is in charge of fixing the date) because the office needed to process the document," he said.
Asked if Sejahratul had a strong case, Bon said the ISA is still "unsettled" as there are many constitutional arguments surrounding the use of the law. "It [the decision] depends on how the judge interpret the law."
Last year, Keadilan leaders Abdul Ghani Haron and N Gobalakrishnan, who were among the 10 pro-reform figures arrested by police under the ISA in April and had applied forhabeas corpus, were ordered to be released by the Shah Alam High Court judge Hishamuddin Yunus in a landmark ruling.
Two other detainees were freed unconditionally. The remaining six were however sent to the Kamunting detention centre and their application for habeas corpus was struck out by the Kuala Lumpur High Court. The six appealed and are expecting a judgment from the Federal Court.
December 29, 2013 at 4:29 pm
Yazid's daughter tweets today a picture of a cat in front of a computer cam. (The cat is a double for my beloved cat Maurice, even down to the stupid expression):
true! @damnitstrue17h
whenever you accidentally open the front cam pic.twitter.com/e7lK4sSyAT
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
And she wonderfully posts this Gary Larson-esque picture of a mouse and rabbit experimenting on a human.
World Reversed! (@WorldReversed) December 26, 2013
Soraya, my sweet, ask Chomel what anthrax strain your father was using so I can show blogger Ed the value of asking questions respectfully.
Transfer to Cornell and I'll prove that we Americans like books, coffee and a good movie and laugh too.
It seems that the Syria charge — given the absence of any detail at all to date — could eventually result in your father's acquittal. Halimah jumping bail shouldn't be held against Yazid — that was her decision (assuming that is what happened).
Then if Yazid would fill his heart with warm thoughts of kittens and family — and he is forthright about Dr. Ayman Zawahiri's anthrax program — his assets could be unfrozen and you could take me out to a fine dinner in Ithaca. We could laugh at the horror this last year has been due to the present unexplained charges.
Otherwise, Hambali, Hawsawi, Bin Al-Shibh, KSM, Abu Ghayth and others are going to play all of the cards that Yazid (for a short time) has to still play. Abu Ghayth has already cooperated with the CIA at the hotel and the FBI on the plane ride home.
Better yet, we could share the $25 million reward currently offered — you can have the half I promised my graphics artist (who was a federal undercover).
(The FBI may have worried that I kept referring to Aafia's pious doe eyes.)
I have to admit to being ignorant of any details of the 2000 church bombings, or related bombings, but I consider the matter resolved by the 8 years Yazid served (if that is what Malaysian security officials determined). The key is simply to get the Malaysian government back to where it was in December 2008 when it deemed that Yazid had been rehabilitated. (He is so affable and relaxed I can understand why they may have thought that).
Your goodness is his last, best hope. Show him the way. He can keep his religious values — he just has to drop the "kill the infidels" part.
Sometimes the young have to find the strength to lead their parents. Sometimes the answer to how to lead's one's life isn't found in a book. It needs to be found in your heart.
December 29, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Call Girl Claims Eliot Spitzer Liked To Choke Her
Eliot Spitzer was my year on Harvard Law Review. In a generation raised on back-to-back SVU episodes (at least I just watched two or three), this is really unfortunate PR. It was bad enough that we had learned that he did it with his socks on.
In the campaign for President of Law Review, I chose the other fellow over Eliot. It was a good choice for me. He let me end a piece asking a question about an era of good will and cooperation in labor relations: I asked "Who will be its harbingers?"
My editor on the piece was my friend who went on to clerk for the Chief Justice Burger — and he was being merciless and IMO was out of line in insisting that a question was inappropriate.
I would have voted for Obama. He would have been a very cool Law Review President. I still remember the article in the NYT that came out about his being elected Review President. There was a man with a future, I thought.
Eliot was an early riser — and bagels were provided. Whereas I was just there for the free food, he struck me as a hard worker. So I was always rooting for him to be President of the US, even if not for the Law Review.
I didn't know Silda, but my classmates who knew her (she was a HLS student too) thought she was great and deserved better in light of how things turned out.
The fantasy role play described is no big deal — and I think he was a good politician. But he should give up his political aspirations. I thought the news advocacy on his prostitute scandal during his recent election was overblown. But the fact remains he had been a prosecutor handling cases involving mafia. Using prostitutes potentially gave the mafia leverage over him which made his resignation as Governor a no-brainer.
The public should at least be able to have the illusion that its politicians are clean-cut and wholesome and not subject to blackmail.
But we shouldn't lose track of the fact that he was a man of real substance and seemed to be trying to do important things for the right reason.
I hope both Eliot and Silda find happiness in their respective private lives.
- December 29, 2013 at 7:04 am
December 20, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Federal judge sentences Syracuse native to 15 years in prison for terrorism plot
Abukhdair has admitted to plotting violent acts in the United States, hoping to form an al-Qaeda branch in the U.S. and working to join a terrorist movement abroad.
Alabama men convicted on terrorism charges get 15-year prison terms
Reuters – 4 hours ago
Federal authorities said Wilson and Abukhdair, both in their mid-20s, met online in 2010. Abukhdair, a resident of Syracuse, New York, moved in with Wilson and his family in Mobile in 2011 after having been in Egypt,
According to prosecutors, Abukhdair moved from his home in Syracuse, N.Y., to Egypt and struck up an online friendship with Wilson in 2010 centered on their extremist views of Islam.
Attorney Dom Soto, who represented Wilson, noted that authorities had stationed sharpshooters near the courthouse and taken other extraordinary security measures Friday.
"There's a lot of external stuff driving this …"
December 20, 2013 at 9:09 pm
He was headed here last year after the fragrance business stunk. I should have asked that nice woman selling the basbousa at the craft show whether she or Mohammed knew this angry young man's story.
Failed Mobile fragrance store: Was it legitimate business or terrorist ruse?
"Business was slow and me and the bro had some disagreements about things," Wilson wrote on July 9 last year, referring to Abukhdair. "He is leaving soon to NY."
Abukhdair previously had lived in New York before moving to Egypt, where authorities jailed him on suspicion of supporting terrorism. After the country deported him, Abukhdair moved to Mobile.
- December 20, 2013 at 9:09 pm
December 18, 2013 at 2:45 pm
Yazid Sufaat's co-defendant, Halimah (Chomel's religious instructor), "is still on the run", having apparently jumped bail.
It seems absent evidence related to flight there's always an outside logical possibility that she was rendered by the CIA or killed by Al Qaeda. I suspect that Yazid has shared a lot with her. Halimah is trained as an attorney. Yazid came to be so devout under the influence of his mother-in-law who thought he had been a moral slacker while at Sac state.
"The Act also allows police and other enforcement agencies intercept communications of suspected individuals without prior approval from the public prosecutor's office," added Gani.
However, he said it would be difficult for his office if investigation officers failed to carry out thorough probes.
"It does not end with just making arrests. My officers only can carry out their tasks if all of you carry out your investigations effectively," concluded Gani.
Religious Teacher Charged Under Sosma Still On The Run – AG
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 (Bernama) — Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail confirmed today that religious teacher Halimah Hussein, the first woman to be detained and charged under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), is still on the run.
He said a warrant of arrest issued by the Court of Appeal on May 31 was still pending on her and that ongoing efforts by police in tracking her down had been futile so far.
"Sosma is drafted in such way that only in special circumstances bail can be granted, but when the court used its discretion in allowing bail application, the accused took advantage by jumping bail," said Abdul Gani when delivering a talk on Sosma to more than 300 officers from the military and various enforcement agencies at a hotel here Wednesday.
"Initially the High Court ruled against the prosecution by releasing her and two others. However, we reverted the decision at the Court of Appeal and now we are having to pursue further on the matter since we don't have the person in our custody," lamented Gani.
Halimah, 52, was arrested with former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Yazid Sufaat and cafetaria helper Muhammad Hilmi Hasim and were charged respectively for promoting and abetting in terrorist activities in Syria.
On May 20 this year, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur acquitted and discharged Yazid, Muhammad Hilmi and Halimah after allowing their application to have the charges against them struck out.
High Court judge Kamardin Hashim ruled that the Sosma could not be used against the three, as it was ultra vires Article 149 of the Federal Constitution.
Gani's talk entitled "Sosma 2012: It's Implications on Defence and Security" lasted nearly two hours with the AG explaining in detail on the Act which came into force in June 2012.
He said during the Lahad Datu intrusion incident early this year, the Act facilitated police in carrying out their investigations and the security forces to conduct military operations on the intruders.
"When the intruders were eventually charged in court under Sosma, the prosecution only tendered the search list of documents and exhibits seized during the cause of investigation compared with any normal criminal proceedings.
"Furthermore, no court can compel how the evidence is to be gathered or tools used in their task. In nutshell, Sosma is a much more comprehensive Act compared with what actually people perceived," stressed Gani.
On the other hand, the Act could also be used against individuals identified to be detrimental to parliamentary democracy, he said.
He added that Sosma allowed detention of up 28 days whereby the next-of-kin should be informed within 48 hours with right of legal representation provided.
"The Act also allows police and other enforcement agencies intercept communications of suspected individuals without prior approval from the public prosecutor's office," added Gani.
However, he said it would be difficult for his office if investigation officers failed to carry out thorough probes.
"It does not end with just making arrests. My officers only can carry out their tasks if all of you carry out your investigations effectively," concluded Gani.
December 8, 2013 at 8:19 am
Terrorism and the growing threat of weapons of mass destruction: Al-Shabaab (2013)
By Maria Kelley
"In 2001, very shortly after the 9/11 attacks, several letters laced with anthrax spores were sent to individuals throughout the U.S., including two U.S. Senators. This attack killed five people and injured seventeen others. As of today, the attacker(s) has not been positively identified and because of legal technicalities, the case will never truly be closed (Spiers 2010). The main suspect Bruce Ivins, an Army microbiologist, committed suicide before he could be fully tried in a court of law (UCLA 2008; Ryan)
December 6, 2013 at 8:34 am
The charming and enigmatic Soraya advertises her ask.com again: "Ask me a question." Showing her around New York City and the 911 memorial would be A Walk To Remember.
Soraya, what strain of anthrax was your father using?
"Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur 1h
And you know we're on each others' team
"I was always attracted not by some quantifiable, external beauty, but by something deep down, something absolute."
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur 1h
Ask me a question | http://ask.fm/sorayaanur
Give more than you take. Love more than you hate. Befriend and never forsake.
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
Thank you Allah for another day to live and another day to breathe.
from Ampang, Ulu Langat
Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald 12h
Nelson Mandela: a noble reminder that those declared "criminals" by an unjust society are often the most just.
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
You are very cunning aren't you?
from Ampang, Ulu Langat Reply Retweet Favorite More
Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur 4 Dec
"Have more than you show, speak less than you know."
from Ampang, Ulu Langat"
November 19, 2013 at 12:10 pm
What does Al-Barq, one of Yazid Sufaat's assistants, say about Yazid Sufaat? Sufaat says he was training Al-Barq. Barq was one of his two assistants. The other was a PhD.
Family Al Qaeda Terrorist Held by Israel Denies Charges
Terrorist's mother claims son 'just wanted to study microbiology'; officials say he planned to release anthrax into urban center.
By Tova Dvorin
First Publish: 11/19/2013, 11:31 AM
Illustration: Islamist fighters in N. Africa
The mother of Samer Halmi Abdel Latif Al-Barq, the Senior al-Qaeda terrorist revealed to have been held in Israel for the past three years, has insisted in an interview with Israeli media that her son was "never" involved in building biochemical weapons.
Al-Barq, 39, was detained by security forces as he attempted to enter Israel from Jordan via the Allenby Bridge. He faces allegations of planning a large-scale biological weapons attack against Jews via Jordan, and officials say he had elaborate plans to recruit a suicide bomber to release anthrax in a major urban center.
Al-Barq's family – Kuwaiti nationals – lives in the Palestinian Authority settlement of Jayyous, near Qalqiliya. While reports have been surfacing across the nation of her son's capture, Al-Barq's mother vigilantly denies his involvement, Channel 10 / Nana revealed Monday.
"I know my son," Al-Barq's mother claims. "If he only got the chance to say his side of the story, there would be no reason to continue the administrative detention he is in now."
Al-Barq's family claims that the terrorist's odyssey from Arab country to Arab country was a quest to learn the best biology at local universities – nothing more. In his youth, he left Kuwait for Pakistan, ostensibly to study, then continued to Afghanistan.
There, officials say, he began to prepare biochemical weapons. Al-Barq has reportedly told Israeli investigators that he performed initial tests in Afghanistan, using nerve gas on a dog. "Within seconds, the dog died," he told them coolly. "I began talking to friends about possible plans to go back to the West, and use weapons like this against Israel."
Al-Barq also described how he was recruited into the terror organization, Nana reports, by the organization's leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri. "I met him in Afghanistan. He said I should be in touch with him to learn about producing anthrax," al-Barq stated. "We talked about the possibility of a suicide attack by releasing anthrax into a major urban center."
While he has yet to be charged with a specific crime in Israel, al-Barq can be legally detained indefinitely if shown that he poses a threat. On Monday, the State told the High Court that the terrorist must remain in jail for the time being.
November 18, 2013 at 9:50 am
For nearly a decade, I've described Barq's role many times to include this 2007 article. But where is the other technician who was assisting Sufaat and was vaccinated with his colleagues to protect them in their work with virulent anthrax? GAO should be sure to obtain the transcripts of his interrogations also. We've really heard all we need to about stained panties and First Graders.
Anthrax Letters Still Being Sorted 6 Years Later
Ross E. Getman, Esq. – 9/21/2007
"One technician was named Barq. Another was named Wahdan."
October 21, 2013 at 5:30 am
"Black Wind To America": A Deadly Terrorist Bioweapon Program Agenda?
More recently there has been chatter of a "black wind to America". After the attack in Spain, the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri said, claiming to speak for al-Quaeda, "We announce the good news for the Moslems in the world that the strike of the black wind of death against America, is now at its final stage, 90 percent ready and it is coming soon, by God's will."
Some have interpreted this as a reference to a bio-attack. Again, we can't be sure that's what they are referring to, but it would be a mistake not to plan for every contingency.
The use of "winds" by Bin Laden after the anthrax attacks was also interesting in light of his use of "looming towers" prior to 9/11. See famous Looming Towers book.
I'm working on buying myself a nice little island with electricity and am going to get myself a fan.
October 18, 2013 at 7:41 pm
The media is picking up this claim in this report that Yazid Sufaat was arrested entering Syria. It is important that the report is promptly corrected and so these reports — in advance of Yazid's November 2013 court date — do not continue. If Yazid is going to be convicted, it likely will have to be based on the conversations he had with the young men en route to Syria. In public reports, his counsel denied that he did more than have meals with the young men at his family's food stall. (A different legal issue would be presented if Yazid had travelled.)
When mistakes are made in an uploaded pdf or online e-book, there simply is no reason not to make the correction and re-upload the document.
I'm not a subscriber to the Times and so do not have ready access to the full report, but I think the mistaken assertion was also made in The Times.
Starving thousands escape ten-month Damascus siege
The Times (subscription)-Oct 15, 2013
Al-Qaeda's primary biological weapon expert, Yazid Sufaat, was arrested in February while trying to enter Syria. His arrest is all the more …
An example of another media report:
But the HJS report, released on Tuesday, says that jihadists in Syria are actively seeking to gain control of the regime's biological weapons' stockpile and, chillingly, suggests they may already have done so.
The report claims that the Assad regime is losing control of its bioweapons arsenal, in part because it was never centrally-controlled in the way the country's chemical weapons stockpile has been.
"Unlike chemical weapons, maintained in military designated stockpiles which are generally identifiable and which Assad maintains command and control over, the structure of Syria's biological warfare programs are latent, compartmentalized and spread across its remaining bio-pharmaceutical infrastructure. The programs are designed to be highly agile to allow swift production if required."
Worryingly, the report suggests that the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front may already have possession of "biological pathogens or weaponized agents either of which would pose a threat to the international community."
It points to the widespread looting of bio-pharmasuitical laboratories throughout the country, and cites a "credible eyewitness" as claiming to have personally witnessed "a looted pharmaceutical laboratory," near Aleppo, where Syria's biological weapons program is concentrated, "which was probably a cover for a biological weapons production site."
The fact that a Malaysian Al Qaeda operative named as Yazid Sufaat, identified as "Al Qaeda's primary biological weapon expert", was arrested in February as he attempted to enter Syria, was said to indicate the clear interest that the group has in developing such a program in the country.
October 18, 2013 at 5:01 am
Starving thousands escape ten-month Damascus siege
The Times (subscription)-Oct 15, 2013
Al-Qaeda's primary biological weapon expert, Yazid Sufaat, was arrested in February while trying to enter Syria. His arrest is all the more …
Yazid's daughter, a diligent and earnest student, might be an interesting interview. I believe you can now send private messages using Twitter even where the Twitter user is not following you.
Yazid's religious teachings have taken hold of her — and yet she is thoughtful and open to the human experience.* She is hardworking and fluent in English. She is an avid reader and loves books.
She and the family got to see Yazid in prison recently. She might at least be able to share how Yazid is faring in advance of his November court date, what he thinks of the charges and his prospects, etc.
Yazid is highly religious and I don't think he has any regrets. One key substantive issue in the secular world that needs resolving is what anthrax strain he was using. When I asked, he said he would have to "plead the Fifth."
He told KSM — see the interrogation reports leaked — that he and his assistants were vaccinated and so it was safe for them to be using a virulent strain.
Signing up on Facebook to his page might gain access to updates from his wife Chomel. I closed my Facebook account finding I spent too much time playing EA Scrabble.
Murakami_fan @haruki_tweets16 Oct
"You don't have to judge the whole world by your own standards. Not everybody is like you, you know."
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
• Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur15 Oct
People interpretations are never wrong, they have their own opinions anyway. But it shows who you are.
• Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur15 Oct
It is all about perspective. How do you think and how do you interpret things.
October 7, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Vahid Majidi, in his new book on Amerithrax, writes:
"At the beginning, the FBI was unaware of the anthrax strain used in the attacks and we were highly sensitized to the presence of Al Qaeda in the Homeland."
Okay, then why didn't the FBI interview Yazid Sufaat in December 2001 when he was captured — why did it wait until November 2002… then spending 20 minutes asking how he knew Moussaoui.
And why did the FBI allow itself to be satisfied with tea and cookies from Rauf Ahmad, who had already established himself to be a liar? You knew, right, that Rauf was visiting conferences with all the leading Ames researchers, right? Bringing money for equipment, vaccine and samples of virulent anthrax? Indeed, the annual conferences were sponsored by the leading Ames researchers. Bruce was there each time.
October 7, 2013 at 12:39 pm
The suggestion by Dr. Majidi that all case information was produced is total crock
In his new manuscript, Dr. Majidi writes:
"Attribution, as I often preached at the Bureau and intergovernmental meetings, is a confluence of information gathered from investigation, intelligence sources and forensic evidence. We had plenty of each, and our job was to identify key information resulting in unambigous attribution."
Dr. Majidi should be asked by a reporter what strain Yazid Sufaat says in interrogation that he was using. Also the identity of the lab he visited (after the first lab only had avirulent anthrax) — after which he wrote to Dr. Ayman that he had achieved his objectives. Yazid can be stubborn but at the end of the day he is a very expressive fellow.
Dr. Majidi should also be asked what precisely was taken from Rauf Ahmad's luggage by MI5.
October 7, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Dr. Majidi writes: "To assign attribution, it is prudent to look at the information in each channel independently and bring the best set of data together to arrive at a conclusion."
Dr. Majidi, the strain that Yazid Sufaat says he was using is an important data point.
- October 7, 2013 at 12:41 pm
August 28, 2013 at 11:28 am
It seems that the US should seek the best evidence of attribution while it relates to use of such an agent in Syria rather than in Europe or elsewhere.
'Terrorists' will hit Europe with chemical weapons: Syria
Damascus, 2 hours, 10 minutes ago
Syria's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday that the US, Britain and France helped "terrorists" use chemical weapons in Syria, and that the same groups would soon use them against Europe.
Speaking to reporters outside the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus, Faisal Maqdad said he had presented U.N. chemical weapons inspectors with evidence that "armed terrorist groups" had used sarin gas in all the sites of alleged attacks.
"We repeat that the terrorist groups are the ones that used (chemical weapons) with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and this has to stop," he said. "This means these chemical weapons will soon be used by the same groups against the people of Europe," he added.
US intervention in Syria 'would be disaster'
Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said U.S. intervention in Syria would be "a disaster for the region", the ISNA state news agency reported, as Western powers made plans to hit Damascus over a chemical weapons attack.
August 28, 2013 at 11:43 am
Experts say UN inspectors will painstakingly scour the soil for evidence of nerve agents as they investigate last week's alleged chemical attack.
Craters where munitions exploded and shell fragments could provide clues as to who was behind the incident. The meticulous evidence-gathering process is likely to be filmed and exact locations where samples were found will be recorded using GPS technology.
A "chain of custody" will ensure the samples cannot be tampered with. Several witnesses will watch as evidence is placed in sealed containers. They will not be re-opened until they reach the laboratory. Samples are likely to be sent to several sites in the U.S., U.K., Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland.
Professor Alastair Hay, a U.K.-based chemical weapons expert who has conducted six investigations into alleged incidents, said that once the evidence has been gathered the testing process could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
August 28, 2013 at 1:45 pm
Sarin kills by blocking the breakdown of acetylcholine, which transmits signals from nerves to muscles. This causes muscles to spasm – including respiratory muscles. Jean-Pascal Zanders, formerly of the European Union Institute of Security Studies in Paris, sees evidence of sarin exposure in images from Damascus: animals dead in the streets, and convulsing humans with pinpoint pupils and the red and blue discolouration of asphyxiation.
So if the agent was sarin, the UN inspectors now in Syria should find it, or its unique breakdown products, in people and the environment. Traces persisted for years at Halabja, the Iraqi town attacked with chemicals including sarin in 1988, says Blair. Knowing this will inform what the future holds for survivors (see "Iraq offers grim lessons for Syrian gas survivors").
Comment: One grim lesson of Halabja is that if Prince Bandar were concerned with the release of such agents,, he would not have paid for the 100 combat helicopters armed not only (illegally) with TOW missiles but armed with quick release spray drying mechanisms. (see transcript of their meeting at Beni Hana between Bandar and Sarkis Soghanalian). It was all the more abhorrent that the cover story (maintained by Tariq Aziz) was that they were for agricultural spray drying missions.
Large bribes were paid to company and government officials. It was the standard operating procedure of the late arms trafficker Sarkis Soghanalian.
As in Amerithrax, there needs to be very solid proof of what happened in the case of Syria and the alleged use of sarin — to include the issue of attribution in light of. for example, the disputed claims that islamists were captured a few months ago in Turkey with sarin.
In addition to the intercepts reported by Israel, what did the NSA pick up, if anything, in connection with the issue?
August 28, 2013 at 3:29 pm
The United Nations is calling on the United States and its allies to wait longer on a potential military strike against Syria.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that a team of U.N. chemical weapons inspectors needs a total of four days to complete its investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus in which Syrian activists say 1,300 people were killed.
Brahimi backed Ban's assertion that any possible military strike should go through the Security Council first.
"What they (Obama administration) will decide I don't know. But certainly international law is very clear – the Security Council has to be brought in," Brahimi said, according to CBS News, adding that the Obama administration was "not known to be trigger-happy."
"The options that we are considering are not about regime change," Carney told reporters at the White House press briefing. "They are about responding to the clear violation of an international standard that prohibits the use of chemical weapons."
The United States first and foremost needs to stand for the rule of law.
- August 28, 2013 at 11:43 am
August 25, 2013 at 6:26 pm
(Reuters) – Days after a suspected poison gas attack killed hundreds of people in crop-growing suburbs, residents of the Syrian capital say they are afraid their food and water supplies may be contaminated.
Western countries believe President Bashar al-Assad's forces carried out the worst chemical weapons attack since Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in 1988. Syria's government denies any role in the deaths and blames rebels.
Whoever is to blame, grandmother Hana said her three daughters were now fretting about what to feed their children.
"They keep calling me throughout the day, and they are frantic. They ask: 'Mum, what about the watermelon? Does it absorb the chemicals? What about the milk?' I try to calm them down, but I'm very worried myself. What if it takes years for any effects to show up in the children?" she said.
The poison gas hit the Ghouta area, where acres upon acres of agricultural land supply the capital of 3 million people with fresh vegetables, meat and dairy.
August 20, 2013 at 1:43 pm
13 August 2013|
Malaysia warns biological, toxin weapons serious threats to international peace,
New Straits Times
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has warned that the existence of deadly biological and toxin weapons as well as their potential misuse constitute serious threats to international peace and security.
This was expressed by the Malaysian delegation at the meeting of experts of states party to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday.
According to a statement made available to Bernama by the Foreign Ministry here, Malaysia believed the threats were also growing with the rapid advancement in the field of science and technology.
Therefore, the statement said, there was a need for scientific and technological cooperation between states party to the convention to fight against infectious diseases and to address the threats of bio-terrorism.
"We are of the view that we must develop oversight frameworks for bio-security. We must also develop preparedness efforts to detect and respond to potential bio-threats," said the statement.
In this regard, Malaysia will be conducting a workshop entitled "Collaboration Across Sectors to Prepare for and Respond to Biological Incidents" that will be held from Aug 19-22 in Melaka.
The workshop is in collaboration with the United States Department of Defence through the established Cooperative Biological Engagement Programme (CBEP), of the Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the United States, in the field of biosecurity.
The statement said Malaysia will be hosting the Biological Weapons Convention Regional Workshop for South and Southeast Asia that will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 3 and 4.
This regional workshop is in collaboration with the European Union (EU) Council's decision in Support of the Biological Weapons Convention at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva and the BWC
August 17, 2013 at 6:17 am
After his release from prison and before his arrest this Spring, Yazid ever use encrypted communication?
Al-Qaida Members Seen Using Chat Rooms to Plan Attacks
By Global Security Newswire Staff
August 16, 2013 | 2:02 p.m.
Al-Qaida members have been using encrypted Internet forums and closed chat rooms to plot out and organize terrorist attacks, such as the recently alleged scheme to attack U.S. diplomatic outposts in the Middle East, the New York Post reported on Thursday.
Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and his senior deputy in Yemen, Nasir ul-Wuhayshi, were believed unlikely to have taken part in the Internet conversations themselves, as they would likely wish to avoid doing anything to tip off the U.S. intelligence community to their whereabouts. Rather, the men used a multifaceted encoded system to deliver messages and orders to al-Qaida fighters, according to unidentified U.S. officials.
The Internet activity, which was monitored by U.S. intelligence analysts, led the U.S. government to order the shuttering of a number of Mideast and African embassies and consulates for more than seven days as a precautionary measure.
August 11, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Suspected lethal nerve agent discovered at JFK Airport mail facility; two customs agents given emergency treatment
• By PHILIP MESSING
• Last Updated: 4:00 PM, August 11, 2013
• Posted: 2:08 PM, August 11, 2013
G.N. Miller
The highly lethal nerve agent VX — used in weapons of mass destruction — appears to have been discovered in a mail facility at JFK Airport where two US customs agents were sickened this morning, a law-enforcement source said.
Both victims suffered respiratory distress and were taken for emergency treatment after being overcome while inside the US Postal Service facility on North Boundary Road at 9:40 a.m., the source said.
Initial testing after the incident revealed the presence of "chemical-grade weapons and nerve gas," and subsequent testing produced a positive reading for VX, the source said.
VX is a synthetic substance that is the most potent of all known nerve agents and can cause death through skin contact or inhalation.
The Port Authority Police Department, NYPD and FBI have Hazmat teams at the scene, and various tests have all produced consistent results, the source said.
An FBI spokesman said the bureau's Hazardous Response Team was working to verify the results to determine if they were valid or a "false positive."
"We're re-screening and re-testing the package and the individuals who became ill," spokesman J. Peter Donald said.
Preliminary protocols call for the suspicious package to be sent to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware pending further investigation, the source said.
The scene of the incident is a giant facility that processes overseas mail bound for the eastern United States, and a source said the package involved appears to have come from China.
The building and a US Customs facility about a quarter-mile away have both been quarantined, but airport operations so far remain unaffected.
August 11, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Phosphoric acid sickens 2 JFK Airport workers
The workers quickly recovered. At first, it was believed the package at the post office might have contained nerve gas.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/nypd-investigating-mail-nerve-gas-jfk-airport-article-1.1423812#ixzz2bhV3Bgr1
August 11, 2013 at 5:09 pm
There Was No Nerve Gas Found at JFK
"The package from China tentatively tested positive for VX nerve gas, which can be used as a weapon of mass destruction, according to a law enforcement source," the Daily News reported, while ABC News was much more cautious: "Field tests showed an initial finding of nerve gas, though authorities believe it's a low likelihood that it's actually nerve gas," they said. Terrifying, right? Everyone's still on edge because of the terror threat situation, and this played right those fears.
But after the FBI performed more tests on the package, tension subsided when it was revealed there was no nerve gas at all. "There were initial reports that the package contained nerve gas, but officials have said it's unlikely that the substance is the chemical weapon," CBS New York reports. It turns out what made the two men sick was actually organophosphate, an ingredient in soda pop. "Phosphoric acid is a colorless liquid with a syrupy consistency used as an acidifying agent to give colas their flavor," CNN explains. Newsday reports Port Authority officials dropped the package into a 55 gallon drum, just to be safe.
- August 11, 2013 at 5:04 pm
July 14, 2013 at 9:11 am
Ursula Rozum: Are they watching every move you make?
What difference would it make whether a camera is in humming bird or mounted on a telephone pole or wire? Although aerial drones have not been used in Syracuse (except by me and a few others), mounted cameras are common and a good thing, not a bad thing. They deter crime — and help solve crimes.
Syracuse City Council has more important things than drones to address — for example, the problem of the old infrastructure for delivering water and the recurring leaks.
Conflating the issue of fracking and drones merely undermines advocacy on the merits of both issues.
Of course, if constitutional standards are violated by government, suit should be brought by the activists. Lawyers should offer free help to bring suit in federal court. Undercover operations involving activist groups are indeed worth scrutinizing and judging.
In connection with Snowden, however, I am still waiting for Mr. Greenwald to reveal surveillance that was in fact illegal.
It is looking more and more like a rehash of the revelations about ECHELON decades ago.
That's what the NSA does. It's a spy agency. Duh. Whether the FISA orders justify what has been done will require careful review by the courts.
But the biggest crime Snowden could commit — given the fascinating subject — is to bore us.
July 9, 2013 at 2:30 pm
NJ Homeland Security Speaker Requests Residents Call 211 to Report Suspicious Activity
Carolyne Volpe Curley
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Anthrax Attacks
One week after the September 11 attacks, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed from Trenton and processed throught Hamilton to media outlets in New York City and Florida. Several weeks later, two other more potent letters postmarked from Trenton were sent to then Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota and Senate Judiciary Committee chair, Patrick Leahy in Vermont. At least 22 people developed anthrax infections and five of them died. The FBI believed the letters were originally mailed from Princeton University.
Included with the anthrax spores were letters that read:
Kleinkauf detailed that the Hamilton mail processing facility was closed for more than three years and the decontamination clean up cost millions of dollars.
8 Indicators of Terrorism
Kleinkauf went through a list of eight specific elements known to be indicative of the behavior of terrorists:
• Surveillance
When terrorists are targeting a specific area, the speaker expressed that they often will survey in detail the area that they are planning to attack. "If you see someone videotaping an unusual or unauthorized area, or people sitting for long periods of time taking notes and drawing photos, let police know." He reminded the audience that the 2007 "Fort Dix Pizza Plot" was solved on a tip and that "nothing is too insignificant to report."
• Elicitation
Terrorists seek information, the Homeland Security liason explained, and to get it they attempt to make inquiries from unsuspecting parties by email, phone or in person. "They call businesses asking how many people work for a company, during what shifts the most people are on staff, etc.," commented Kleinkauf. He warned the group never to give out sensitive information unless they are authorized to do so.
• Tests of Security
Terrorists have been found to test local security to see how many officers they send to respond to an emergency, how long it takes them to arrive at a location and how far they will allow people wander into unauthorized areas. "They conduct 'drive-bys,' they want to see what routes security take to get to a scene. They leave empty vehicles in certain areas just to see how long it takes local police to investigate them," the speaker said.
Kleinkauf showed a 2004 video taken by Dhiren Barot as he was casing the New York Stock Exchange. "He had conducted surveillance work in Newark, New York City and in DC," he explained. "When they searched his home they found photos and videos from financial buildings and tourist locations – including a detailed amount of information regarding the three weeks he studied the Prudential Building in Newark." Kleinkauf explained that Barot determined where vehicles could travel in the underground parking lot and the distance to the nearest fire stations. Barot also studied where to place secondary incendiary devices so that first responders would be killed as they approached the emergency.
The video showed a close up of the security system people went through at the New York Stock Exchange door and the security camera over the entrance. Listeners could hear Barot speaking to passersby as if he was a tourist. In 2007, he admitted to plotting a NYSE attack and planned to employ limousines packed with explosives and radioactive bombs. He was involved with seven other conspirators, all from Pakistan, all tied to Al-Qaeda's Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
• Acquiring Supplies
Kleinkauf explained that federal regulations are now in place which make it much harder to purchase explosives and some weapons. However, some bomb-making purchases such as fertilizer or carpenter nails should also be noted as suspicious when an unusual amount is purchased by someone who does not normally buy those items. Law enforcement and military equipment, uniforms and identification would also be very useful to a terrorist; any of those items would make it easier to get into a prohibited areas.
The speaker recounted the incident of three men in Virginia who stole three license plates from the Federal Motor Pool facility. The men put one of the licenses on their car and went out on a burglary spree. Police would drive past them because they would see the motor pool license and not suspect the driver as a burglar. Ultimately, an officer realized that no motor pool license plate would be on such an old, dilapidated car. When he pulled the car over, the policeman found stolen property from the most recent burglary plus the two other stolen plates in the backseat.
Suspicious People Who Do Not Belong
Someone should be noted if they have a demeanor which does not fit with the people around them; in a workplace, neighborhood, shopping center, sports event – not profiling their race or appearance – but noting how their behavior is different from those people around them.
Dry Run
One element found in many terrorist plots is a "try-out" period. Before the actual operation takes place, a practice session often is involved to work out any unanticipated problems. Kleinkauf expressed that these are "rehearsals." He recounted the July 2005 London Bombings which were a series of coordinated suicide attacks during the morning rush hour aboard the London Underground trains and a double-decker bus, as they traveled throughout the city. Over 700 people were injured, and 56, including the four suicide bombers, were killed. The bombers left video confessions which described them as al-Qaeda members; three were of Pakistani descent born in Britain and one was a convert to Islam, from Jamaica. This was the first suicide attack in the British Isles. Kleinkauf described how it was revealed that, ten days ahead of time, the bombers performed a trial run. "All of the bombs were carried in backpacks. We all see thousands of backpacks everyday. They did a rehearsal and who would know?"
Terrorism Funding
Terrorists make use of a variety of ways to raise, launder and transport funds for their organization including:
• Charities
• Credit card fraud
• Narcotics and cigarette smuggling
• Human smuggling
• Counterfeit goods
• Bulk cash smuggling
Kleinkauf discussed the concept of "Zakat." Within the Islamic religion, Zakat is the compulsory giving of 2.5% of one's wealth each year to benefit a charity for the poor. It is regarded as a type of worship and of self-purification. The speaker cautioned that many charities that may appear to benefit good causes may instead be money laundering vehicles for terrorist organizations.
The public should be alert to:
• Suspicious credit card applications
• Suspicious spending
• Multiple surnames living at the same address
• Illegal drugs
• Bulk purchases of cigarettes or other counterfeit goods
Kleinkauf quoted Sheikh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, who in 2007 commented, "As for the needs of the Jihad in Afghanistan, the first of them is financial. The Mujahideen of the Taliban number in the thousands, but they lack funds. And there are hundreds wishing to carry out martyrdom-seeking operations, but they can't find the funds to equip themselves. So funding is the mainstay of Jihad."
• Getting Into Position / Deploying
This would be the last chance an observer has to alert authorities before a terrorist act occurs
The most important thing Kleinkauf wanted to impress on the audience was that if they see anything in anyway suspicious, they need to let law enforcement know. The Home Security liason recounted the incident about a NJ hardware store clerk who became suspicious after a young boy made a purchase of a pipe, nails, duct tape and a pipe caps. The buyer didn't appear to know much about the items and it concerned the clerk enough to note down the license plate of the car as he drove away in. The clerk alerted police, who went to the boy's home and met with the mother who said her son was down in the basement working on a school project. Downstairs, police found the boy and his friend attempting to make a bomb, following instructions that they had found on the internet.
NJ's Homeland Security office goes through each and every call made to their hotline at 211, extension 55. Tips can also be reported through their web form found online here. "Don't spy on your neighbors. Do not put yourself in any danger. But do know your surroundings, remember the description of what you are seeing and just make that call," Kleinkauf reiterated.
June 27, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Yazid has a haircut but is still smiling.
If contentment in life is a key goal — as I think it is — Yazid's affability is a powerful example.
June 24, 2013 at 7:38 am
KUALA LUMPUR (June 24, 2013): Former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Yazid Sufaat and cafeteria assistant Muhammad Hilmi Hasim claimed trial at the High Court here today to a charge of being members of the Tanzim Al-Qaeda Malaysia terrorist group.
Yazid, 49, who operated the cafeteria at the Jalan Duta Court Complex here, and Muhammad Hilmi, 33, appeared calm when the charge was read to them.
The trio's case which had been ordered to be transmitted back to the High Court by the Court of Appeal was fixed for mention on Sept 17 by Justice Datuk Mohd Azman Husin today.
Meanwhile, the court also granted deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria's request for both accused to be remanded at the Sungai Buloh prison. – Bernama
If the US does not have the sense to extradite Yazid, I would indirectly seek his cooperation on the anthrax program in exchange for his release.
How exactly were his conversations over tea with the young men going to Syria different than sending arms to Syrian rebels? Everyone should stop the killing.
June 18, 2013 at 11:36 am
Exposure of NSA surveillance draws attention to Mueller remark about real time email tracking
By Catherine Herridge
Published June 17, 2013
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/17/exposure-nsa-surveillance-draw-attention-to-mueller-remark-about-real-time/?cmpid=GoogleNewsEditorsPicks&google_editors_picks=true#ixzz2WaKprYyQ
The FBI, then, knows that Yazid Sufaat does not deny Al Qaeda's responsibility for the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings which makes an Ivins Theory especially ill-conceived. (In IM chat and/or Facebook posts, Yazid pled the Fifth in response to my questioning).
The AUSAs Ken and Rachel reported directly to FBI Director Mueller.
I think we should be slow to fault the FBI where they are acting in good faith — and they seem to be. As Ronald Kessler reports from his interviews with senior FBI officials, they sometimes feel damned if they do and damned if they don't.
But if they still think Dr. Ivins is guilty, it seems that they are not well-suited to the task of "connecting the dots" presented in light of, for example, the documents relating to the rabbits that would have been available to them. The conclusions they reached in July 2008 in the rush of events are one thing. They didn't even have confirmation that Dr. Ivins attended his group therapy sessions on the dates of mailing until after the early August 2008 press conference. But the investigators and prosecutors owed it to the country to roll up their sleeves and kick the tires prior to February 2010.
How could Ken Kohl do that given the serious allegation of prosecutorial misconduct he faced in late 2008 and throughout 2009 in the Blackwater investigation? How could US Attorney Taylor do that given he promptly took a high-paying job? How could FBI Field Office head Persichini do that given he resigned in the wake of the scandal involving cheating on an open book test relating to how to conduct a national security investigation. (It appears that the NSA, if they had been interested, could monitor in real-time the fact that the prosecutor was texting him the answers.) Lead investigator Lambert retired — and has said he was "comfortable" with an "Ivins Theory."
Who at FBI was in charge of assessing its conclusions prior to closing the case?
There has been an ongoing IC investigation into who screwed up Amerithrax and why.
The only bad guys that need focusing on are Dr. Ayman and Adnan. The threats are too real to be unduly distracted.
June 18, 2013 at 6:33 am
Who Is the Target of NSA Surveillance?
June 17, 2013, 12:58 pm
By Jeanne Theoharis
The FBI assistant director described the man as "demagogic" and "the most dangerous … to the nation … from the standpoint … of national security." Earlier in the spring, the U.S. Attorney General had signed off on intrusive surveillance of the subject's living quarters, offices, phones, and hotel rooms, and those of his associates.
That immense threat to national security was not Anwar al-Awlaki, Bradley Manning, or Edward Snowden.
The demagogue was Martin Luther King Jr., and the attorney general who OK'd the surveillance was Robert F. Kennedy. It was 1963, and King had just given a powerful speech at the March on Washington where he talked about how America had given black people "a bad check" and they had come to demand "the security of justice." FBI surveillance of King expanded after the march and under the Johnson administration, particularly after King denounced U.S. policy in Vietnam, and continued until King's assassination in 1968.
While the bureau could find no proof of the Communist influence it had been looking for, it did gather evidence of King's adultery, which it passed along to journalists and other government officials, hoping to discredit his leadership. No one in government ever intervened to halt or divulge the surveillance. No journalist ever exposed the monitoring. The surveillance of the civil-rights movement only began to be revealed to the American public after activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pa., took records, and sent them to various news-media outlets, some of which were willing to publish them.
A CBS reporter is complaining of a computer that turned itself on and off in the middle of the night. Better her computer than her hybrid car. :0)
May 20, 2013 at 5:23 am
20 May 2013| last updated at 06:10PM
Former ISA detainee discharged
By Jennifer Gomez
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Internal Security Act detainee Yazid Sufaat, who was charged with promoting an ideology intended to incite the people of Syria, and two individuals who were charged with abetting him, succeeded in getting the charges against them struck out by the High Court.
Judge Kamardin Hashim, in setting free Yazid and his friends Halimah Hussein and Muhammad Hilmi Hasim yesterday, said that Article 149 of the Federal Constitution was only applicable to acts of threat in Malaysia.
"As such the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) which is enacted under Article 149 of the Federal Constitution, cannot be used to prove the charges against them," the judge ruled.
He added that if the case against the three using procedures under Sosma was allowed to go on, it would be ultra vires Article 149, and as such the court had to use its power to stop the prosecution.
Attorney General's Chambers head of prosecution Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed then applied for the three to be detained pending an appeal of the High Court's decision.
However, counsel for the trio Amer Hamzah Arshad objected to the application for the continued detention of his clients, saying that they should be set free and allowed to be reunited with their families.
The judge then rejected the prosecution's application for continued detention of the three.
Halimah, Yazid and Muhammad Hilmi were detained on Feb 7 under Sosma.
Yazid, 49, who operated a stall at the Jalan Duta court complex cafeteria, and Halimah, 52, who was charged with abetting him, had claimed trial at the High Court on Feb 20.
They were alleged to have committed the offence at Yazid's house in Taman Bukit Ampang between Aug 1 and Oct 20 last year.
On Feb 25, Yazid's stall assistant, Muhammad Hilmi, 33, had pleaded not guilty in the High Court to abetting Yazid.
When asked by reporters after court proceedings if the three would be re-arrested, Abdul Wahad said that he would need to consult higher authority on the matter.
Earlier during submissions in the application to strike out the charges, lawyer Edmund Bon, who is assisting Amer, submitted that it was wrong to use Sosma to prove the charges in this case involving alleged incitement of the people of Syria.
"The prosecutor can use the Criminal Procedure Code to prove the charges, but it cannot be through Sosma", he said, when applying for the charges to be struck out.
Abdul Wahab meanwhile submitted that the trial should be allowed to go on with witnesses testifying, adding that the defence team could then cross-examine the witnesses.
Read more: Former ISA detainee discharged – Latest – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/former-isa-detainee-discharged-1.282664#ixzz2TpL1T5t1
May 15, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Yazid Sufaat's court date on narrow charges terrorism charges is May 17, 2013.
There are about a half dozen affidavits that have been provided to defense.
We can wish Yazid well in forthrightly defending his right to share his religious views with the young men at the cafe who were leaving for Syria.
The integrity he showed, for the most part, in addressing his work with virulent anthrax was refreshing. He simply declined to answer those questions he did not want to answer at the time — while promising to answer everyone's questions in time.
He says that it was in prison that he found the strength to address issues head-on and leave the rest to his God.
I don't know his daughter, who seems very sweet, well enough to suggest it , but I would urge the family that his best strategy would be to address all the issues honestly and then argue freedom of religion and free speech. He can argue that he has already served time for his anthrax work in Afghanistan.
It's not like the US has shown any effectiveness in obtaining extradition.
Yazid will find his redemption for any transgressions, if not in Allah's eyes, in the love of his family.
Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur 2h
Hey there migraine, after such a long time. Please be nice
Soraya Yazid @sorayaanur 11 May
Everything is subject to change
May 2, 2013 at 4:58 am
Lone Wolf Terrorism: Understanding the Growing Threat by Jeffrey D. Simon
Research has indeed been done, albeit too little. That is surprising, given that what one expert dubbed "first-wave terrorism", anarchism (followed by anticolonial, "new Left" and, since 1979, religious waves), was typically the work of individuals. In one shocking instance, at least 33 people died and hundreds were injured on 16 September 1920 in the first-ever car bombing, near Wall Street in New York City. Mario Buda, widely seen as the most likely suspect, was never caught or tried, nor in fact seen again, so it should lead to some speculation as to whether this was a lone-wolf attack, as it should in the cases of the Fort Hood shooting in 2009 (for which Nidal Malik Hasan is awaiting trial) and the 2001 anthrax attacks (a suspect, Bruce Ivins, killed himself in 2008), both of which are perhaps overzealously treated here as cold cases.
With about a half dozen affidavits provided defense counsel last week in the pending terrorism prosecution of Al Qaeda lab director Yazid Sufaat, anyone who thinks the Amerithrax investigation is appropriately viewed as a cold case is uninformed. Yazid Sufaat in written exchanges with me pleads the Fifth Amendment regarding his work with anthrax and the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings.
While we should go light on the criticism of the FBI and CIA (given that no critic has ever demonstrated that he or she could do better if they were in the driver's seat), we should go where the evidence takes us. GAO and Congress should not let the FBI and CIA continue to play the Beltway game known as CYA.
Yazid Sufaat, who is a gracious and witty fellow, should be extradited to the United States and respectfully asked what strain of virulent anthrax he was using. (He and his assistants told KSM that he was vaccinated for his work with virulent anthrax). The commentators who say that Al Qaeda had not obtained a virulent strain are mistaken.
In Have We "Met the Enemy"?, Science 3 February 2012: Vol. 335 no. 6068 pp. 540-541, by Dr. David Relman
May 2, 2013 at 5:11 am
The DOJ and FBI is continuing to withhold documents exculpatory of Dr. Ivins from the GAO.
Senator Grassley: The individuals who continue to withhold and delay production of documents should be identified and face consequences.
- May 2, 2013 at 5:11 am
May 1, 2013 at 8:16 am
Police question reporter over Yazid interview
11:26AM Mar 2, 2013
Police yesterday questioned former Malaysiakini journalist Aidila Razak over an interview she did last year as part of its investigation against Yazid Sufaat, who is facing terrorism charges under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act , or Sosma.
The two-person team led by Inspector S Manivanan of the Counter-Terrorism Unit questioned at the Malaysiakini office in Bangsar Utama for about two hours.
According to Aidila, the officers asked her about the three articles published in Malaysiakini on March 20, 21 and 22 [2012], which were based on an interview with Yazid (left) as part of the news portal's series on the Internal Security Act.
She said that the police had quizzed her on portions of her articles which touch on Yazid's activities in Afghanistan, his alleged ties to deceased al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his views on the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
She said that the police had quizzed her on portions of her articles which touch on Yazid's activities in Afghanistan, his alleged ties to deceased al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his views on the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
M'kini stand on terrorism questioned
"They also asked how Malaysiakini set up the interview,Malaysiakini's stand on terrorism and whether the articles can be viewed as promoting terrorism.
"They indicated that they may want to speak with other Malaysiakini journalists involved in the interview," said Aidila, who is now attached to Malaysiakini's associate portal KiniBiz.
Yazid, the first person to be charged under Sosma, was interviewed at his home by a team of three, including the portal's chief editor Fathi Aris Omar and journalist Salhan K Ahmad.
A former ISA detainee, he pleaded not guilty to the charge of having "knowingly promoted the commissioning of terrorist acts with the intention of advancing an ideology, and this can be reasonably construed to be intended to threaten civilians in Syria".
Personally, I think Yazid Sufaat should be extradited to the United States and spend the rest of his life in prison for being an accessory before the fact of 911 and part of a conspiracy to use anthrax against US targets. FBI Director Mueller's failure to accomplish his extradition will be an important part of his legacy — all the more important if some day the United States is attacked in a mass attack by Dr. Zawahiri with anthrax.
I think Yazid's graciousness under pressure represents a real personal strength. But he should man up on anthrax and address the substantive issues. To not do that is simply cowardly (IMO in the eyes of the Allah he loves). He specifically told me that he would answer all the questions regardless of the consequences — that he had gained courage in his earlier 7 years in prison.
But don't fault Malaysiakini for getting a terrific journalistic scoop. As one poster commented in response to the article: "They [the police] are learning from Malaysiakini on how to conduct interviews..!"
As for confidentiality of sources, the reporters did a good job of getting their source on the record in a filmed interview. They deserve a Pulitzer, not a hassle.
The story is far far stronger precisely because they got Yazid to go on the record.
By all means, if permitted under Malaysian law, grab their footage and study the out-takes to see what else Yazid said. The key issue that will advance analysis is identification of the genetic strain. (The strain used in the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings was Ames).
Last week I went to a seminar run by someone at Newhouse school of journalism on using cryptography in contacting sources (part of a group called "Hacks and Hackers") — to include video, email, chat etc. I didn't take notes because in the role of blogger keeping such secrets or creating the misimpression that you have secrets is unwise. (Sometimes I mess with my friend who is an undercover but that is just having some fun).
I asked my detailed substantive questions openly of Yazid. He showed great personal integrity in politely declining to answer (rather than lying).
I am putting aside whether he told a whopper about the January 2000 planning summit in KL about whether he was there. Authorities say he was; he denies it. I think he is guilty as an accessory before the fact re 911 and a conspiracy to use WMD regardless whether he was there.
While I empathize with the stress and sadness his daughter reports regularly (on Twitter) , I think she has been brainwashed so as to abide by the murder of innocents celebrated by her father.
If there is evil in this world, murdering innocents is it.
May 1, 2013 at 5:59 am
I believe Yazid Sufaat is receive pro bono assistance because the prosecution is the first prosecution under new legislation relating to security. The balance of civll liberties and security is often the subject of debate and wrangling in the courts in Malaysia as it is in the United States. The civil liberties lawyers do important work.
Isteri bekas tahanan ISA terkejut penahanan suami
8 Februari 2013
KUALA LUMPUR – Chomel Mohamad, 48, isteri kepada Yazid Sufaat, yang dituduh di mahkamah hari ini kerana disyaki terlibat dalam aktiviti keganasan, masih terkejut dengan penangkapan suaminya.
Beliau masih sukar untuk mempercayai suaminya, Yazid, 49, masih terlibat dalam aktiviti tersebut setelah pernah ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) selama tujuh tahun sejak 2001 kerana disyaki mempunyai kaitan dengan rangkaian kumpulan militan Jemaah Islamiyah.
"Saya tahu segala gerak-geri suami saya, kerana kami berdua sudah lama mengusahakan gerai makanan di Kompleks Mahkamah, Jalan Duta, di sini setiap hari dari pukul 7.30 pagi hingga 4 petang," katanya kepada pemberita ketika ditemui
di perkarangan Mahkamah Majistret Ampang, di sini hari ini.
Yazid dan Halimah Hussein, 52, dituduh di Mahkamah Majistret Ampang hari ini kerana disyaki menggalakkan keganasan bagi mengugut orang awam di Syria tahun lepas mengikut Seksyen 130G(a) Kanun Keseksaan (Akta 574) dibaca bersama Seksyen 109 kanun sama.
Ia membawa hukuman penjara maksimum 30 tahun dan denda, jika sabit kesalahan.
Chomel, yang berpakaian serba hitam, juga menegaskan bahawa suaminya tidak mengenali Mohd Noor Fikrie Abd Kahar, 26, rakyat Malaysia yang mati ditembak polis Filipina di Davao, Disember lepas.
Ibu kepada empat orang anak itu berkata, selepas suaminya ditahan semalam, polis menyerbu rumahnya di Taman Bukit Ampang dan mengambil buku-buku agama, komputer dan telefon bimbit.
Sementara itu, anak lelaki Yazid, Zufar Arif, 21, berkata beliau akan menguruskan perniagaan di Kompleks Mahkamah Jalan Duta bersama ibunya sepanjang ketiadaan ayahnya.
Zufar yang merupakan pelajar Diploma Kejuruteraan Kimia di sebuah pusat pengajian tinggi awam berkata berita penangkapan ayahnya hanya diketahui kira-kira pukul 3 petang semalam menerusi telefon.
Beliau merupakan anak lelaki tunggal daripada empat beradik. Kakaknya berusia 24 tahun dan dua adik perempuannya berusia 19 dan 15 tahun.
Tinjauan Bernama mendapati perniagaan menjual kuih dan air minuman yang diusahakan Yazid bersama isterinya sejak tujuh tahun lalu di kafeteria Kompleks Mahkamah Jalan Duta berjalan seperti biasa.
Beberapa media asing dan tempatan berada di sekitar kawasan terbabit untuk mendapatkan ulasan berhubung penangkapan Yazid yang merupakan tahanan pertama didakwa mengikut Kanun Keseksaan (Pindaan) 2003 selepas ISA dimansuhkan pada 31 Julai tahun lepas. – Bernama
April 28, 2013 at 5:38 am
If you want greater insight into Amerithrax, obtain and study the affidavits presented this week in connection with the prosecution of Yazid Sufaat in Malaysia.
Amerithrax represents the greatest (ongoing) failure in counterintelligence analysis in the history of the United States.
April 22, 2013 at 11:16 am
May 6 hearing to strike out terrorism charges
• Bernama
• 4:50PM Apr 22, 2013
• http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/227669
"We need time to study the affidavits handed over by the respondent today," he said.
April 18, 2013 at 8:32 am
Ricin scares reminiscent of anthrax attacks for mail handlers
By Brad Bell April 17, 2013
Ricin was found in air filters and the hazmat crew had to search for the source.
Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/04/ricin-scares-reminiscent-of-anthrax-attacks-for-mail-handlers-87655.html#ixzz2QozLEchI
April 18, 2013 at 1:59 pm
Ricin suspect long known for angry online screeds
Published April 18, 2013
"Curtis reportedly wrote that he is on the "hidden front lines of a secret war" on his Facebook page hours before federal agents arrested him at his home in Corrinth Wednesday. …
Curtis reportedly wrote that he is on the "hidden front lines of a secret war" on his Facebook page hours before federal agents arrested him at his home in Corrinth Wednesday. He is being held in the Lafayette County Detention Center.
"My mother wants me to SHUT UP. My brothers fear me. My sister hates me. . . . I have lost most of my friends," he wrote. "I have spent more than $130,000 on legal fees in 13.5 years. . . . They destroyed my marriage, they distracted my career, they stalked, they trolled, they came into my home, took my computers, had me arrested 22 times and guess what? I am still a thorn in the corrupt annals!"
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/18/ricin-suspect-long-known-for-angry-screeds/#ixzz2QqJTbsjM
April 19, 2013 at 8:22 am
Family Says Accused Ricin Mailer Is Mentally Ill
"He is bipolar, and the only thing I can say is he wasn't on his medicine," his ex-wife, Laura Curtis, told The Associated Press.
Jim Waide, an attorney for the Curtis family, said Paul Kevin Curtis was prescribed medication three years ago. "When he is on his medication, he is terrific, he's nice, he's functional," Waide said. "When he's off his medication, that's when there's a problem."
Waide represented Curtis in a lawsuit he filed in August 2000 against North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, where he had worked from 1998 until he was fired in 2000. Waide said he withdrew from the case because Curtis didn't trust him. The suit, claiming employment discrimination, was dismissed.
"He thought I was conspiring against him," Waide said. "He thinks everybody is out to get him."
Curtis also posted similar language on his Facebook page. The documents indicate Curtis had been distrustful of the government for years. In 2007, Curtis' ex-wife called police to report that her husband was extremely delusional and felt the government was spying on him with drones.
Laura Curtis said she doesn't believe the allegations against him. "He just likes to speak out."
"What they say he did is so unlike him, it's unreal," she added. "Until I hear him say he did it, I would not … I could not believe it."
During their 10-year marriage, the couple lived in Booneville in north Mississippi. Laura Curtis said she moved to a house next door after the split. Her ex-husband moved to Birmingham, Ala., but eventually back to Mississippi, most recently the small town of Corinth, where he was arrested Wednesday. Laura Curtis said he would visit their four children — ages, 8, 16, 18 and 20 — almost every day. He recently bought his youngest child a bicycle.
"He started beating on the windows and screaming and hollering," Daniels said. "I thought he was kidding, but he was serious. He was throwing a fit like I've never seen a grown man throw before."
Daniels said Curtis was holding a beer bottle and threatening him with it. Daniels said he pointed the pistol he kept in his car: "I told him, 'If you try to hit me with that bottle, Kevin, I'm going to shoot you.'"
But he said Curtis stayed by the vehicle for as long as 15 minutes. "He was screaming and ranting and raving about body parts being sold," Daniels said.
Daniels eventually filed simple assault charges and he said the judge who handled the case was Sadie Holland — one of the three people who received a letter suspected of containing ricin, according to authorities. Records show she sentenced Curtis to six months in the county jail.
Daniels was an assistant district attorney at the time. "He launched a smear campaign against me, saying I attacked him and tried to shoot him," Daniels said.
"It made my life miserable for almost two years, having to deal with this guy," he said.
On Thursday, North Mississippi Medical Center confirmed Curtis' employment and said in a statement he was not terminated in response to allegations about the facility.
The hospital's statement says it works with an agency that specializes in harvesting organs and tissue from donors, and then immediately transports those organs for donation. The hospital says it does not receive payment for the donated organs.
April 19, 2013 at 8:04 pm
FBI agent testifies in ricin-mailing case
7:35 p.m. EDT April 19, 2013
April 20, 2013 at 3:57 am
Curtis was arrested by Moody police at 4:35 p.m. Oct. 31, 2009 just after he finished a performance at Moody's Oktoberfest event at Moody City Park, said St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor, citing court records.
Moody police had received information from Monroe, La., law enforcement that Curtis would be performing at the Oktoberfest event and that they had a warrant for his arrest for cyberstalking, Minor said. Curtis was taken into custody and later to the St. Clair County Jail in Pell City on a fugitive charge, he said.
Louisiana authorities had seen a message Curtis had posted on Facebook or other social network site that he was going to perform in Moody that weekend, said Moody Police Chief Thomas Hunt, who at the time was the sergeant who arrested Curtis.
Hunt said that police waited until the performance was over before approaching Curtis because they did not want to cause a scene. "He did not know we were watching him," he said.
Hunt said Curtis was polite and wasn't belligerent. "He had his wife and child with him. … His wife took the car back (home)," he said.
Louisiana law enforcement did not provide Moody police with any details of the cyberstalking charge, Hunt said.
On Nov. 25, 2009 the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office recalled the warrant and Curtis was released from jail, court records show.
April 20, 2013 at 6:40 am
Affidavits: Suspect in ricin case 'delusional'
Curtis, arrested Wednesday at his home in a public housing development in Corinth, was "extremely delusional, anti-government" and believed the government was using drones to spy on him, his ex-wife, Laura Curtis, told Booneville, Miss., police in 2007, according to an affidavit by the FBI and the Secret Service.
"He is bipolar, and the only thing I can say is he wasn't on his medicine," Laura Curtis told the Associated Press this week.
The federal affidavit accuses Curtis of sending letters suspected of containing ricin to Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and to Lee County, Miss., Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland. "All three letters contained the same verbiage, font, style and paper color (yellow)," the affidavit states.
The FBI Thursday confirmed the presence of ricin in the letters to Obama and Wicker and said further forensic tests were being done. The affidavit says Curtis mailed the letters from April 8 until Wednesday. …
"What I discovered changed my life forever! There were dismembered body parts and organs wrapped in plastic. A leg, an arm, a hand, a foot, hearts, lungs, tissue, eyes and even a severed human head!" He said he rushed out of the morgue and told a doctor what he'd seen "and asked him what they did with so many body parts."
"He looked very strange & did not answer me. Instead, wrote something down on a piece of paper. I suddenly became a prime 'person of interest' where my every move was watched and videotaped."
The lawsuit was dismissed.
I know a fellow who invented an imaginary First Grader and for 10 years has insisted that he is 99 percent sure that the First Grader was recruited to write the Fall 2001 anthrax letters. His reasoning? The block lettering looks like it was written by someone who just learned to write English.
The blogger has dedicated his life to insulting those who reason that the evidence against Dr. Ivins does not establish he was behind the Fall 2001 mailings (such as leading scientists like David Relman, the NAS panel vice-chairman who published his view in SCIENCE etc. (in "Have We Met The Enemy?") and the leading anthrax expert Martin Hugh-Jones, co-founder of Pro-Med)
You can't make this stuff up.
With Dr. Ayman Zawahiri still alive and plotting attacks, we cannot suffer fools gladly.
April 20, 2013 at 7:09 am
According to the department, all three letters were typed on yellow paper and read as follows:
"No one wanted to listen to me before.
There are still 'Missing Pieces'
Maybe I have your attention now
Even if that means someone must die.
This must stop.
To see a wrong and not expose it,
is to become a silent partner to its continuance
I am KC and I approve this message"
Capitol Police learned from Wicker's staff that Curtis had sent similar messages to the senator and that Curtis had posted on his blog in 2010 that he was writing a novel about black-market body parts titled "Missing Pieces," the affidavit says.
Letters to Obama and Holland also cited the book, it adds.
A similar letter — bearing no return address and postmarked April 8 — was sent to Holland at her office in Tupelo. It too contained a "suspicious granular substance" that has yet to be tested, the affidavit says.
[Note: I believe this was the State Court judge who heard the case involving his confrontation with the ADA in connection with which I think he was sentenced to 6 months. I appreciate that people might think that a harsh sentence under the facts (loud talk after drinking after a music event and pounding on a car window). But coming from a family of ADAs, I hope people appreciate that given the number of potentially violent criminals we rely upon our ADAs to prosecute, there can be no tolerance for unruly, threatening behavior. The shootings in Texas illustrate that well.]
Upon finding body parts in a morgue, Curtis might better have considered that you shouldn't go looking for something to drink in the morgue refrigerator.]
A similar substance found Tuesday in an envelope addressed to Obama tested positive for ricin in a field test, it says.
The three letters all contained "the same verbiage, font, style and paper color," it says.
The letters were postmarked Memphis, Tennessee, which is typically the postmark that letters mailed from northern Mississippi bear, it says.
[Note that the mail processing center in Tupelo was closed in late January 2013]
On his Facebook page, Curtis posted the same quote: "To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner in its continuance," the affidavit says.
Sgt. Corrie Robbins of the Booneville Police Department in Mississippi told investigators that Curtis had been investigated several times since 2007, the affidavit says. It adds that Curtis' ex-wife reported to police in 2007 that he was "extremely delusional, anti-government, and felt the government was spying on him with drones."
Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/04/19/letter-with-suspicious-substance-sent-to-obama/#ixzz2R0HaoXca
I have no trouble with the defense counsel's point that we should now await the FBI's forensic evidence. (It takes time to process and analyze; they will also be closely studying his computer).
In the meantime, however, under the circumstances there is ample grounds for holding Mr. Curtis without bail. Defense counsel faces a "Catch 22". He will find it awkward to simultaneously argue that Mr. Curtis is mentally ill and yet not a potential danger to others.
April 21, 2013 at 6:25 am
McCoy peppered the agent with questions in an attempt to show the government had little hard evidence, but Grant said lives were at risk and it wasn't like a fraud investigation in which authorities could gather more evidence before making an arrest.
Grant testified that Curtis' family had become increasingly concerned by his behavior.
Grant said Curtis' ex-wife told authorities that he fought with his daughter around Christmas and told her, "Maybe I should go ahead and kill you."
The daughter, 20-year-old Madison Curtis, said after the hearing that she loves her father and stands by him, without directly addressing the accusation.
Grant also testified that Curtis' ex-wife said Curtis once told her that he was in hostage situation in Chicago in 1991 after a breaking up with a former girlfriend. He threatened suicide and shot a gun in the air, the agent said.
However, the agent said they haven't been able to find a record of that.
By any chance, were the letters photocopied? If so, I believe the photocopier can be identified to a 99% certainty. Indeed, now the photocopy machines have record of what was copied in the hard drive — just as a scanner does.
THe FBI will be able to compare the ink on the envelopes to other things he has written.
The FBI will also be able to compare the paper.
And of course look for DNA under the stamp.
But all these tests require time.
It would be nice to see a full list of the 22 times he reports he has been arrested.
Coming from the small town of Corinth, the number of photocopy machines etc. to check may be much smaller than if he lived in a big city.
Perhaps his kitchen drain will have traces of castor beans down the disposal.
April 21, 2013 at 6:56 am
If this is the image of the ricin letter, it doesn't seem photocopied. If not, though, the typewriter used, if found, could conclusively be established to have been the one used (upon magnification at 200X letters begin to look very distinct).
April 21, 2013 at 4:12 pm
TUPELO, MISS. — The ex-wife of a man accused of mailing a poison-laced letter to the president says she and all of his family and friends are sure he is innocent. Laura Curtis of Booneville says she gave the FBI the names of people she thinks might have tried to frame him. …
She said the FBI has been easy to work with and she believes investigators will find whoever sent the letters.
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/21/4609016/ex-wife-husband-innocent-of-ricin.html#storylink=cpy
She said the FBI has been easy to work with and she believes investigators will find whoever sent the letters.
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/21/4609016/ex-wife-husband-innocent-of-ricin.html#storylink=cpy
April 21, 2013 at 4:17 pm
Paul Kevin Curtis due back in court Monday; his ex-wife claims he's innocent
Curtis contacted The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal on Saturday to speak out for 45-year-old Paul Kevin Curtis, who is accused of sending letters containing powdered ricin to President Barack Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker of Tupelo.
April 22, 2013 at 4:12 am
Hearing to continue Monday in ricin letter case
By HOLBROOK MOHR, Associated Press | April 22, 2013
U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Allan Alexander continued the hearing when it ran into the evening and attorneys said it could go on for hours.
After the hearing, Curtis' attorney said the federal government had produced little physical evidence to link her client to the crime.
She is likely to ask during Monday's hearing exactly what the searches uncovered over the weekend.
Grant testified Friday that authorities tried to track down the sender of the letters by using a list of Wicker's constituents with the initials KC, the same initials in the letters. Grant said the list was whittled from thousands to about 100 when investigators isolated the ones who lived in an area that would have a Memphis, Tenn., postmark, as do some places in north Mississippi. He said Wicker's staff recognized Curtis' name as someone who had written the senator before.
The letters also contained lines that were on Curtis' Facebook page, including the phrase, "I am KC and I approve this message," Grant said.
Grant also testified that there were indentations on the letters from where someone had written on another envelope that had been on top of them in a stack.
The indentations were analyzed under a light source and turned out to be for Curtis' former addresses in Booneville and Tupelo, though one of the addresses was spelled wrong, Grant said.
McCoy said the evidence linking the 45-year-old to the crime has hinged on his writings posted online, which were accessible to anyone.
So far, Curtis is the primary focus for investigators and the only person arrested in connection with sending the letters, but Grant testified Friday that authorities were still trying to determine whether there were any co-conspirators.
Family and acquaintances have described Curtis as a caring father and enthusiastic musician who impersonated Elvis and others but struggled for years with mental illness.
His writings show he was consumed by trying to publicize claims of a conspiracy to sell body parts on the black market.
Curtis' adult daughter, Madison Curtis, and bother Jack Curtis, both said after Friday's hearing that they'd never heard him criticize President Obama, though he was vocal in his feelings about many politicians.
His ex-wife, Laura Curtis, has said she does not believe he sent the letters.
April 22, 2013 at 1:20 pm
How do computer fonts compare?
The reporters using laptops in the courtroom to cover the ricin proceeding (for wordprocessing) might do an experiment.
Rebecca (NY Post), Gordon (ABC News), Holbrook (AP), Pat (Journal Pub) and Coleman (WTVA) could all type the note sent in a standard, agreed upon format using an agreed upon font style and size.
Then overnight they could print the note on a printer of their choice.
Then the reporters could see (upon magnification) if they could detect differences based on the computer used.
April 22, 2013 at 1:33 pm
OXFORD, Miss. – Investigators say they haven't found any ricin in the house of Mississippi man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a local judge.
FBI Agent Brandon Grant, testifying in federal court Monday, said a Friday search of Paul Kevin Curtis' house in Corinth, Miss., did not turn up ricin or ingredients for the poison. A search of Curtis' computers has found no evidence so far that he researched making ricin.
Federal investigators believe the letters were mailed by Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who family members say suffers from bipolar disorder.
Through his lawyer, Curtis has denied involvement in letters sent to Obama, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Lee County, Miss., judge.
Curtis' lawyer suggests in court that an enemy may have framed Curtis.
April 22, 2013 at 1:51 pm
OXFORD – Kevin Curtis' attorney suggested today that threatening letters to elected officials could have been sent by someone else, such as J. Everett Dutschke of Tupelo, indicted in Lee County on child molestation charges.
Dutschke, a martial arts instructor out on bond awaiting trial, and Curtis apparently had a long-running email feud. Curtis' parents also emailed Dutschke to tell him to back off.
Defense counsel Christi R. McCoy of Oxford pressed FBI investigator Brandon Grant on Friday to tell the court what direct links and direct evidence he had to show Curtis was responsible.
Grant said he did not have any, although he expected evidence from a far-flung investigation into the allegations.
Over the weekend, investigators scoured Curtis' home, his vehicle and his ex-wife's home and reportedly failed to discover any incriminating evidence, McCoy said late Sunday.
Read more:Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal – UPDATE Curtis attorney offers judge another possible suspect
What do the forensic reports on the paper show? In Amerithrax, the reports were withheld but were exculpatory of Dr. Ivins
What do the forensics report on the handwriting? In Amerithrax, the reports were withheld but were exculpatory of Dr. Ivins.
What do the forensics on the ink (if used) show? In Amerithrax, the reports were withheld but were exculpatory of Dr. Ivins
What do the forensics on the photocopier (if used) show? In Amerithrax, the reports were withheld but were exculpatory of Dr. Ivins
What do the forensics on the typewriter or computer (if used) show? In Amerithrax, the reports were withheld but were exculpatory of Dr. Ivins
How were the envelopes addressed? May we see them?
How was Mr. Curtis spending his time during those days? In Amerithrax, the documents relating to the research with killing the 52 rabbits explaining why he was in the lab were withheld but were exculpatory of Dr. Ivins
Certainly, the FBI has acted appropriately in acting quickly and in detaining Mr. Curtis but now it is time to develop this forensic evidence — and that may require obtaining correspondence he has sent to third parties (and may take some time).
April 22, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Jeff Amy of the Associated Press (as published by Fox Carolina) further reports:
"All the envelopes and stamps were self-adhesive, Grant said Monday, meaning they won't yield DNA evidence. He said thus far the envelopes and letters haven't yielded any fingerprints.
McCoy said the evidence linking the 45-year-old to the crime has hinged on his writings posted online, which were accessible to anyone."
Were the addresses typed or handwritten? Can we see them? Were the letters photocopied? While continuing to hold Mr. Curtis and developing all the various lines of potential forensic evidence, the FBI should not feel bashful of considering alternative theories to the extent necessary to preserve evidence. This would make a great Law and Order episode. The beautiful long-legged ADA comes to the detectives and says: "You have 24 hours or else the judge is going to make us cut him loose until you come up with more evidence." Given the nature of all the circumstances, the federal court judge may want to give the investigators plenty of time. The circumstances include the involvement of a judge, senator and President, a dangerous pathogen, someone whose family says is mentally unstable when off his medication, someone who has engaged in unruly behavior underlying the assault charge etc. The absence of finger prints is certainly not surprising. Nor is the use of self-adhesive envelopes. In the meantime, I vote that we ask the defendant's indulgence and patience while the investigators develop the forensic evidence bearing on the issue. If his counsel is correct, letting the FBI do a job using sophisticated processes likely will weigh in his favor. Mass spec on the ink is an example.
One issue they are working on is the precise location of mailing. It apparently is knowable from the bar code.
In the meantime, I hope they are seeking to preserve film from cameras (to the extent any still exists). Even cameras on main streets away from mailboxes might prove important. These FBI investigators certainly have a cool and interesting job!
April 22, 2013 at 3:00 pm
April 22, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Has he ever used the same yellow paper? Has anyone else?
No Ricin Found at Poison-Letter Suspect's Home, FBI Says
Bloomberg-2 hours ago
No ricin was found during a search of the Mississippi home of the man charged … All three letters were on yellow paper and bore Memphis, …
Show more
April 22, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Wikipedia –
As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,559,with the surrounding counties of Lee, Pontotoc and Itawamba supporting a population of 146,131.
The city is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. As an infant in Tupelo in 1936, Presley survived a tornado
Comment: 40,000 is pretty small. The paper likely is not sold by many outlets locally.
April 22, 2013 at 4:39 pm
San Francisco Chronicle
FBI: No ricin found in home of Mississippi man accused of sending …
Fox News-1 hour ago
… had written on another envelope that had been on top of them in a stack. … though the street name in one of the addresseswas spelled wrong, Grant said.
Comment: Under a defense counsel's reasoning, the indentations of handwriting of Mr. Curtis' past addresses, with one of the streets spelled wrong, is suggestive that someone was researching where Mr. Curtis lived. Thus the indented writing is reasoned to be exculpatory.
The FBI now should find earlier correspondence from Mr. Curtis with the earlier return address (and defense counsel should also) to establish whether Mr. Curtis knew how to spell the street he lived on.
On some standardized test at some point, he scored in the 98th percentile. So the odds are that he is not an atrocious speller.
The game's afoot!
April 23, 2013 at 4:14 am
Kevin Curtis says he's done with Facebook, computers
Curtis told a courtroom of reporters and attorneys that he's done — no more computers, no more Facebook, no more activism.
During the hearing, FBI Special Agent Brandon Grant told the court that U.S. Postal Service officials had traced the tainted envelopes as originating from Tupelo.
In addition, email correspondence between Paul Kevin Curtis and a pastor in Tupelo indicated a possible threat, according to the prosecution.
The email itself was a forward of a 2003 email Curtis sent asking to speak to the congregation and give his story. He was never contacted, so six years later, he sent a reply saying nobody ever did. And he included an attachment, a news article from Illinois about a pastor there being murdered.
Whether that means Curtis has violent tendencies, the prosecution said, should be left for a grand jury to decide.
"There continues to be more and more evidence, or lack of evidence, that's being fleshed out," said defense attorney Christi McCoy.
McCoy said there are still too many loopholes.
"The big part that we took from the testimony is that thorough and complete searches were done of Mr. Curtis's residence, his former wife's residence, as well as his vehicle — the vehicle he was driving at the time of the stop — and there was nothing found on anything that linked him to these crimes," added McCoy.
In addition, Grant testified that agents didn't find anything having to do with ricin on Curtis's computer as well, but they're now conducting deeper testing.
"This is not your typical case. And we're here after that to determine whether a bond should be set or whether he should be detained," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Lamar.
Grant said the ricin found in the envelopes looked like it had been made from crudely chopping castor beans in a food processor or blender.
He also noted that none of those appliances were found during searches of Curtis's Corinth home.
Meanwhile, McCoy suggested in court that the lack of evidence against her client shows anybody — even James Everette Dutschke of Tupelo — could have been responsible for sending the letters.
Prosecutors said there had been a correspondence between the two.
Dutschke, who was recently indicted on state charges of child molestation, denied he had any involvement with the poisoned letters.
He issued a statement to WTVA Monday evening after being contacted by several news agencies.
"The reporting of her reckless and desperate finger pointing has immediately put my family at great danger and great risk," Dutschke said.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to resume Tuesday at 9 a.m.
April 23, 2013 at 4:23 am
In March 2013, Kevin Curtis was posting online about James Everette Dutschke, of Tupelo.
Mr. Curtis claimed:
• Kevin Curtis Live · Singer-songwriter at Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
This man, James E Dutschke stalked & terrorized me online and offline for years until I went to attorney and presented a paper trail a mile long showing PROOF of his trolling/stalking…still don't have clue WHY he did it. Hope to find out in coming weeks/months in court.
March 25 at 7:04am
Kevin Curtis · Follow · Singer/Entertainer at My own business
I have info on James Everett Dutschke that may assist the Sheriff's and/or police investigation. Also contact Alex Hale, a former martial arts student of Mr Dutschke's from North Carolina.
March 3 at 10:24am
In the twitter account, Mr. Dutschke favors Ayn Rand and Glenn Beck and promoting home businesses that involve almost no work. Pictured in front of the Lincoln Memorial, he thinks of himself as "a philosopher trapped in the body of an insurance agent."
In another video on YouTube, he reports is in hot pursuit of a political sign thief, follows him the parking lot of a social security lawyer, and zooms in on his license plate.
In videos, Mr. Dutschke describes himself as a problem solver and emphasizes the importance of perseverance.
Of the child molestation charges (apparently based on fondling of three female students, Dutschke said these accusations have been blown out of proportion.
"This very small molehill has been blown way out of proportion and has become a mountain of insurmountable proportions. I'm very eager to clear my name," said Dutschke as he was leaving Lee County Justice Court in handcuffs after his appearance.
He pled not guilty a few days ago. He previously had bond reduced from $1 million to $25,000.
On his YouTube, his second video is on the choice between McCain v. Obama. It is a reasoned explanation of him, while driving, that people should make their choice based not on party labels but based on their intellect — and they should avoid appeals to emotion.
He does what he calls a comedy video of democrat candidate Steve Holland consisting of actual quotes from the candidate — edited in a way intended to make the candidate look bad.
- April 22, 2013 at 2:57 pm
April 22, 2013 at 9:36 pm
"A search of a computer belonging to the man, Paul K. Curtis, found no evidence that he researched making ricin, Agent Brandon Grant said."
Mississippi: No Ricin Found in Suspect's Home
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 22, 2013
What about computers belonging to family members to which he had access?
Does his library car record, if it exists, show he used library computers?
April 23, 2013 at 3:10 am
Dutschke denies any involvement with ricin-letter plot
byPatsy R. Brumfield / Daily Journal
TUPELO – Former Tupelo martial arts instructor J. Everett Dutschke insists he had nothing to do with a ricin-letter plot against President Obama and other officials for which a Corinth man is under investigation.
"I categorically deny it," he told the Daily Journal about 4:15 p.m., a few hours after a break in a federal court proceeding to present evidence against Kevin Curtis.
"I met the guy on two occasions," Dutschke said in a telephone conversation. "I wasn't going to be pulled into his fantasy world."
He did, however, admit he met with the FBI last Thursday, saying agents came to his house and he gave them permission to search it.
Dutschke said he had worked with Curtis' brother, Jack, but not with Kevin.
"He almost had my sympathy," the former legislative candidate said, alluding to his own legal problems with three Lee County indictments against him on fondling charges.
He also admitted to what he termed a brief confrontation with Curtis in 2010, claiming Curtis posted a Mensa certificate on his MySpace site. Dutschke said it was a fraud and ultimately was removed.
• • •
On the documentation and requirements of Mensa, the woman I corresponded with in November was Mary Spencer MaryS @americanmensa.org.
Previously recognized by Johns Hopkins as a talented youth, my 7th grade child just last night was asking last night if she could take the SAT. Given I would have to drive her to meetings, I had asking Mary if a 40-year-old perfect 800 on the LSAT would serve for me. (It would). You would be surprised at the long list of tests that qualify.
For the FBI to have acted on the suggestion by Mr. Curtis last Thursday — in covering bases — is to their credit.
April 23, 2013 at 5:25 am
To avoid making this blog too complicated and unwieldy, with me continuing to post off-topic posts under inapplicable threads, posts on the different subjects of my personal interest will be made instead on my blog here or on blogs of others maintained on a particular subject. I thank Lew very much for his wonderful help over many months.
- April 18, 2013 at 1:59 pm
April 18, 2013 at 5:33 am
Paul Kevin Curtis and the Weird History of Domestic Ricin Terrorism
By Michael CrowleyApril 17, 2013
Among their ranks may now be Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth, Miss., whom a local newspaper describes as a celebrity impersonator of everyone from Johnny Cash to Prince to Bobby Chesney. He appears to be the same Curtis who claimed, in a comment under this article on an Elvis website, to have gone "undercover" to expose corruption in Elvis impersonation contests. The comment suggests that its author may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer: "Consumer-reports mag published article last year stating Mississippi as the most corrupt state in all 52 states in the U.S. so go figure!"
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/17/yemenis-militias-and-angry-truck-drivers-the-strange-story-of-ricin-as-a-terror-tool/#ixzz2QoGNicPj
April 18, 2013 at 7:42 am
While laboratory testing confirms whether or not it was ricin, here are Mr. Curtis' impressions of Buddy Holly and Elvis. If laboratory tests find that earlier tests were a false positive, then you might want to book him for your next party.
His impression of Buddy Holly
His impression of Elvis
April 18, 2013 at 9:59 am
Even apart from laboratory tests, if the letters contained language like "Now someone must die" and white powder — and he is shown to be the mailer — then he is looking at long sentence. If someone were stupid enough to sign the letter I expect that there will also be DNA etc. I especially ilke his Johnny Cash impression. In posting the videos, the URLs resulted in the same video being posted all 3 times. But at his YouTube page there are numerous other videos featuring different artists.
Test results due in ricin scare; Mississippi entertainer arrested
By Ed Payne. Matt Smith and Carol Cratty, CNN
updated 10:24 AM EDT, Thu April 18, 2013
Sadie Holland, a judge in Lee County, Mississippi, told CNN on Wednesday night that she received an envelope containing a suspicious substance and a letter similar to the ones sent to the offices of Obama and Wicker.
Holland said the letter included the line, "Now someone must die."
On April 10, the judge received and opened the envelope — postmarked from Memphis, without a return address — that included "suspicious content," Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson told reporters. The letter had "great consistencies and similarities" to the letters sent to Obama and Wicker, he said. Investigators were testing the contents of the envelope to determine whether it held ricin, he said.
Holland told CNN the letter initially tested negative for ricin but was retested Wednesday, with results also expected Thursday. Local authorities were awaiting the test results to determine whether to file state charges, Johnson said.
- April 18, 2013 at 7:42 am
April 17, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Federal agents on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the mailing of letters to President Barack Obama and a U.S. senator that initially tested positive for the poison ricin.
The suspect was identified as Kenneth Curtis of Tupelo, Miss., federal officials told NBC News. They said he may appear in court as early as Wednesday night.
Both letters carried an identical closing statement, according to an FBI bulletin obtained by NBC News on Wednesday.
According to the FBI bulletin, both letters, postmarked April 8, 2013 out of Memphis, Tenn., included an identical phrase, "to see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."
In addition, both letters are signed: "I am KC and I approve this message."
April 17, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Report: Daily Journal has confirmed Lee County Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland received letter similar to one sent to Senator Wicker and President Obama.
April 17, 2013 at 7:32 pm
"Tupelo's mail is routed through Memphis.
"Wicker, a Pontotoc native who has an office in Tupelo, has been assigned a protective detail."
April 17, 2013 at 7:45 pm
Kenneth Curtis Arrested In Ricin Letters Case In Tupelo, MS
8:35 PM, Apr 17, 2013
When the results came back from the Ft. Dietrick lab Wednesday, various officials have described them as "weak," "low-grade" and "less than one percent toxin." ..
In addition to the letter sent to Obama this week, two letters being tested for ricin were sent to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. At least one of the letters addressed to Wicker tested positive in a preliminary field test for ricin.
The envelope addressed to the White House, the FBI said in a statement Wednesday, also initially tested positive for ricin and was immediately quarantined by U.S. Secret Service personnel. A coordinated investigation with the FBI was initiated. Field tests are regularly inaccurate; therefore, the FBI is conducting more thorough tests on the letters.
At a press briefing Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney referred questions about the letters to the FBI, adding, "The president has of course been briefed on these letters. He was briefed last night and again this morning."
All three letters came from the Memphis area, and all three were sent the same day, April 8. The letters, CBS News has confirmed, said in part, "No one wanted to listen to me before. This must stop. To see a wrong and not expose it is to become a silent partner to its continuance. I am KC and I approve this message."
April 17, 2013 at 7:53 pm
Mail processing for Tupelo mail was shifted to Memphis in late January 2013 as the result of the closing of the Tupelo mail processing center.
Mail processing leaving Tupelo facility this week » Knoxville News …
http://www.knoxnews.com/…/mail-processing-leaving-tupelo-facility-this/Jan 28, 2013 – TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Tupelo's mail processing center is closing this week and the workload is being transferred to Memphis, Tenn.
April 17, 2013 at 7:59 pm
Federal agents took a man from Corinth, Mississippi into custody on Wednesday evening under suspicion of sending letters covered in ricin to the president and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker. Citing an FBI bulletin, NBC News reports that the suspect's name is Paul Kevin Curtis, and anyone who's been following the story will immediately realize that the suspect's initials match those in the sign-off on both letters: "I am KC and I approve this message." Both letters also contain the phrase "to see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance," and both were sent from Memphis, Tennessee on April 8, 2013.
Open and shut case right? We'll see. It's so far unclear if there's a harmful amount of ricin on the letters. To give the suspect the benefit of the doubt, one federal official told NBC News that the sender of the letters "may have stumbled onto something." We're not sure exactly what it means, but it sort of sounds like they're not ruling out the possibility that this person wasn't exactly a seasoned terrorist.
A few suspicious packages remain on Capitol Hill, and this is obviously the early stages of a longer investigation and, eventually, trial. One thing's for sure, though. If Paul Kevin Curtis is the guy, he's not the brightest crayon in the box for signing his real initials at the end of the letter. Then again, people want to get caught sometimes.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story cited an NBC News report that identified the victim as a Kenneth Curtis from Tupelo, Mississippi. The FBI has since confirmed that the suspect in custody is Paul Kevin Curtis from Corinth, Mississippi. As such, NBC News has updated its story, and so have we.
April 17, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Guy With Same Name As Ricin Letter Suspect Wrote Long Screeds About An Illegal Marketplace In Human Body Parts
Joe Weisenthal | 32 minutes ago
April 17, 2013 at 8:53 pm
Anyway, someone with the same name, Paul Kevin Curtis, who is also from Mississippi, and who ends his writing with a similar tagline, has posted widely on the internet about a supposed human body parts conspiracy.
In this letter, posted to Ripoff Report, he also talks about interactions with Senator Wicker.
The whole thing is below the dotted line, but here's how it ends:
I personally sent out more than a million emails in one year detailing what happened to me when I found the body parts at NMMC. In 2004, 4 arrests were made in New York City. In 2006, another illegal body parts scam was discovered in North Carolina. I am confident that although no local media has agreed to put in print what happened to me in Tupelo or the trigger-happy, intoxicated assistant DA, I know in my heart that my coming forward has brought national attention to this terrible and illegal black market.
This is Kevin Curtis and I approve this report.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-kevin-curtis-2013-4#ixzz2Qm9n0hX8
April 17, 2013 at 9:00 pm
The lengthy message on consumer site Ripoff Report claimed he was fired after stumbling upon body parts while cleaning a Tupelo hospital. He claimed "countless court battles, cops harassing me weekly, death threats, personal & financial losses, several thefts, my home burned down, car exploded, marriage dissolved & bankruptcy" followed.
"I sent letters to State Representative Roger Wicker, Senator Trent Lott and Thad Cochran. I never heard a word from anyone. I even ran into Roger Wicker several different times while performing at special banquets and fundraisers in northeast, Mississippi but he seemed very nervous while speaking with me and would make a fast exit to the door when I engaged in conversation leading up to my case against NMMC," the poster calling himself Kevin Curtis wrote.
He confirms in that post that he's also an Elvis impersonator.
April 17, 2013 at 9:15 pm
"the only duo Elvis Presley Tribute act in the world."
- April 17, 2013 at 7:31 pm
April 17, 2013 at 6:05 pm
Yemenis, Militias and Angry Truck Drivers: The Strange Story of Ricin as a Terror Tool
By Michael CrowleyApril 17, 2013Add a Comment
Even as authorities scramble to determine who bombed Monday's Boston Marathon, they are also investigating who recently sent ricin-laced letters to President Obama and Senator Roger Wicker. In a statement Wednesday, the FBI said there is "no indication of a connection" between the letters and the Boston attack. But even if they're not related to the terror on Boylston Street, and while no one has yet fallen ill, poisonous letters sent to the President and a U.S. Senator are cause for real alarm. So who might the ricin terrorist be?
Ricin is known to interest al Qaeda operatives as a possible terror weapon. But the substance crops up with surprising frequency among anti-government radicals and militias here in the U.S. And, it turns out, ricin letters were sent to both Congress and the White House several years ago by a person angry about federal regulations—a person who was never caught. …
Then there's the last visit ricin paid to official Washington, almost 10 years ago. First came a letter mailed to the Bush White House in November 2003, which complained about pending regulations on the long-haul trucking industry: "If you change the hours of service on January 4, 2004, I will turn D.C into a ghost town," warned the author, who identified himself as "Fallen Angel." The letter was postmarked in Chattanooga, Tennessee and intercepted before it reached the White House. It contained ricin of a relatively non-lethal grade, and no one was sickened. (Three months later, a mail processing machine in the office of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist tested positive for trace amounts of the substance, though no letter was actually found.)
The feds had heard of Fallen Angel before. In October 2003 workers at a Greenville, South Carolina postal facility found a container with a label warning, "Caution[:] ricin poison enclosed in sealed container. Do not open without proper protection." An accompanying letter also complained about federal rules mandating rest periods for long-haul truckers. In February 2004, the FBI posted a $100,000 reward for Fallen Angel. But no arrest was ever made.
Could Fallen Angel be back? The ricin letters to Obama and to Wicker were both postmarked in Tennessee, just like the 2003 letter to the Bush White House.
There is no indication that the new letters mention trucking or regulation, however. The letter to Obama reportedly states, in part, that "to see a wrong and not expose it is to become a silent partner to its continuance." It was signed not by Fallen Angel, but by a "KC." ("I am KC and I approve this message.") And the man arrested outside the White House, 44-year-old Krzysztof Wasik, lives in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, not Tennessee, and has the initials KW, not KC.
On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri told reporters on Wednesday that Capitol Police have a suspect in the mailings—someone who "writes a lot of letters to members." If so, it may turn out that the ricin terrorist is nothing more than an unusually dangerous crank.
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/17/yemenis-militias-and-angry-truck-drivers-the-strange-story-of-ricin-as-a-terror-tool/#ixzz2QlStVfIf
April 17, 2013 at 6:37 pm
The Memphis postmark was Monday, April 8. I believe that means it could have been mailed Sunday, April 7 or Saturday after the pick-up at the particular mailbox (assuming there was a pick-up).
Mr. Wasik would drive loads of wine to Virginia a few times a week. And that's where they were headed Tuesday night, April 16. Adam asked Wasik to ride together. "He seemed really tipsy, he said 'no' kind of in a rude way. And he said 'No, I'm leaving at midnight,'" Swieciaszek said.
Adam would know: When was the trip to Virginia prior to that? Was it Friday? Was it Saturday? When did Adam see Mr. Wasik during the period Friday, April 5, Saturday April 6, and Sunday April 7?
Mr. W's logbook taken from his cab by authorities will have the date and time of the previous delivery of wine to Virginia.
April 17, 2013 at 6:44 pm
Now Monday, April 10, we know he was in Hazle and acting extremely disturbed.
"[O]n Monday evening when she was told she had a visitor.
"It was my husband waiting for me. He said that he has our daughter in his truck and she was sick and needed to see me immediately," she wrote in the petition. When she got to the truck, their daughter wasn't there. That's when, she said, her husband grabbed her and tried to push her into the truck, according to the petition.
"I wrestled to break free of his grasp," she wrote.
Teresa Wasik said she asked her husband what he was doing, and he replied that he wanted to take her away for a few days to show her "we can … live without food."
"I need to mention at this point that he was going through mental problems … (for) some time he is not taking his medications. He refuses to do so," she wrote.
April 17, 2013 at 6:48 pm
errata – It was Monday, April 8 p.m. that he showed up and tried to kidnap his wife.
- April 17, 2013 at 6:48 pm
April 17, 2013 at 7:04 pm
Adam Swieciaszek of Scranton is the fellow who drove with Mr. Wasik. A likable and approachable younger man, he could explain Mr. Wasik's whereabouts Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, to the extent he knows.
Pennsylvania man arrested for bomb threat at The White House …
privateofficernews.wordpress.com › Uncategorized
6 days ago – Yesterday he was actually walking around grabbing things for no reason, papers, napkins," said Adam Swieciaszek of Scranton Swieciaszek …
Adam Swieciaszek of Scranton has overcome his anger issues apparently and is contrite about an earlier mishap in which he angrily said that America sucks and should be bombed. He offered to volunteer at a VFW.
SCRANTON – A Green Ridge section man faces simple assault, public drunkenness and other charges after allegedly jumping a pedestrian early Wednesday on Green Ridge Street.
Police said Adam Swieciaszek, 28, of 415 Marion St., was uncooperative and combative after his arrest, telling officers, "This is why America sucks and it should be bombed," and identifying himself as "Adam bin Laden."
According to arrest papers, Patrolman Jeffrey Vaughn was on patrol at 2:35 a.m. when he saw Mr. Swieciaszek exit a car and start punching a man who was walking in the 200 block of Green Ridge Street.
Bin Laden Surfaces In Scranton by Steve Corbett , posted May 18 2010 1:43PM
As soon as I read the story in the newspaper, I knew that Adam Swieciaszek was in for big, big trouble.
Getting into a fight in Scranton is one thing. Even battling the cops when they try to arrest you at the scene is easily explained away in some neighborhoods. But making the crack that Adam made is never a good idea in hard coal country.
"This is why America sucks and it should be bombed," police report Adam as saying as they took him into custody.
Then, when police asked his name, he identified himself as Adam Bin Laden.
The 28-year-old Green Ridge man is lucky that officers didn't Taze him or just shoot him outright. Scranton cops do not respond well to taunts to their nation. But give the officers credit here. Nobody delivered Adam to an emergency room or a hospital morgue.
Still, Adam dug himself into a very big hole in America.
If his story made national news, as weird stories like this often do, he could become one of America's most despised loudmouth drunks. Adam could become more hated than some of the nation's more despicable desperadoes. I could see busloads of combat veterans making pilgrimages to his house, outlaw motorcycle gangs trailing his every move and maybe even Al Qaeda or the Taliban using him as a poster boy in recruiting videos.
That one for the road could easily put Adam on the path of destruction.
As I mulled Adam's fate in my mind Thursday afternoon and readied myself to talk about his situation on "Corbett," I received a surprise e-mail message from Adam.
"I would like to apologize for comments that were made by me, what I said about America. I am not anti-American or a terrorist in any way shape or form. Many people know me and know that I am not like that. I just wanna apologize to American families that have service men or women in their families. I can go on air and make my apology live on air."
Adam ended his message with his phone number.
I called during the break and reached a contrite young man with a permanent hangover who said he wanted to talk with me on the air even though he worried that I might go too hard on him.
But I already knew that he didn't have to worry.
Of all the criminals caught up in the ongoing federal public corruption probe in Northeastern Pennsylvania, not one defendant has publicly apologized. Not one of these gangster judges, school board members or anybody else among the thus far dirty 21 has come on the air and said that he or she is sorry.
But a young guy with some obvious anger and alcohol issues has the decency to call the show and take his lumps? Sometimes people deserve the benefit of the doubt just for trying.
When he came on the air he said he had been drinking that night. And, yes, he probably said what cops say he said although he doesn't remember everything all that clearly. No, he can't get into all the details because he's trying to decide how to handle the charges that include simple assault, public drunkenness and other offenses.
Throwing himself on the mercy of the court of public opinion, Adam apologized for his hurtful words and said he truly appreciates living in Scranton, where he has resided for the past 17 years. Adam said that he lived in Poland before moving to Scranton and said that he took very seriously the oath he swore when he became an American citizen.
Listening to Adam, despite his wild statements on the street that drunken night, I felt a little sorry for the guy. I've had my share of irrational drunken early morning rows. I understand violence and booze as well as anybody. I also understand that repentance is part of the challenge of conquering anger and alcohol.
When Adam hung up, I emailed him that he did fine. I also said he might want to speak to somebody about his drinking and his propensity for violence. I shared something about my own wild background and told him to keep me posted. I'll help Adam if I can. His conscience has already stepped in on his behalf. But at 28, he's at a crossroads. Adam can turn the corner to maturity or he could fall deeper into brutal drunken despair.
This incident could help save him.
Or we might yet lose him to the frenzied netherworld of violent alcoholism.
Adam emailed me again before the show ended.
"Thanks for taking it light on me, Mr. Corbett," he wrote. "Can you give me the number of a VFW that I can volunteer my time? If you know one that will let me volunteer, can you call me back or email me back with the info? Again, sorry for the anger I have caused anyone with my ridiculous and coward comments."
I'll see what I can do to help.
Isn't changing hearts and minds what the war on terror is all about?"
- April 17, 2013 at 6:44 pm
- April 17, 2013 at 6:37 pm
April 17, 2013 at 12:13 pm
Below (after a post about Awlaki's ricin planning) is what I posted last week about ricin, the ricin sent to the White House in 2003, the Fallen Angel" trucker who was angry about the regulations governing semi-trailers, and the trucker who was angry about the regulations governing semi-trailers who threatened to blow up the White House. I called the ricin 2003 hotline for the $120,000 reward and recommended that they compare the handwriting in his logbook to the 2003 letters.
April 12, 2013 at 6:10 am
Anwar Awlaki at one point, as I recall, asked the undercover informant to help get a refrigerator that they needed to transport ricin. A secret government task force — you know, the type that are subject to New York Times articles — was addressing the risk.
see generally
But rather than large quantities of castor beans, is it castor pulp that needs to be considered?
Were there paper making companies in Hazle Township for which Mr. Wasik, the trucker angry about semi-trailer regulations, delivered?
I don't think he got his liquor license (to deliver wine) until 2006. (I don't have it in front of me but it is online).
In any event, over time, what products did he deliver? For what companies? Where did he travel?
Al Qaeda's use of violence is as irrational as expecting to change trucking regulations by telling the nice Secret Service lady that there is a bomb in a truck parked nearby — but you won't tell her where unless she lets you speak to the President. Officers then checked his wallet and promptly found the vehicle parked nearby with Pennsylvania plates.
US concern grows over Qaeda poison threat-NY Times
WASHINGTON | Sat Aug 13, 2011 4:12am BST
Aug 12 (Reuters) – The Obama administration is concerned that a dangerous regional arm of al Qaeda is trying to produce the deadly poison ricin to use in attacks against the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Citing unnamed intelligence officials and classified intelligence reports, the newspaper said al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen has been trying to acquire large quantities of castor beans, used to produce ricin.
It said the apparent intent was to pack the poison around small explosives that could be exploded to disperse the ricin, a white powdery substance so deadly that a speck can kill if inhaled or taken into the bloodstream.
The Times said the apparent intent was to detonate the explosives in enclosed spaces like a shopping mall or airport.
President Barack Obama and top security aides were briefed about the threat last year, the report said, and have received updates since then but added that senior American officials said there was no indication an attack was imminent.
The Times noted that there were limits on ricin's utility as a weapon because it loses its potency in dry, sunny conditions — like those in Yemen — and is not easily absorbed through the skin like some other nerve agents.
Senior administration officials said ricin was among the threats being tracked by a secret government task force created after printer cartridges packed with powerful explosives were found in cargo bound for Chicago in October 2010, according to the Times report.
It said the task force was working with Saudi officials and with the remnants of Yemen's intelligence agencies to counter the threat. It said regional al Qaeda affiliates, especially al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, were seen as a menace to the United States and U.S. interests abroad.
The virtual collapse of Yemen's government has enabled al Qaeda to widen its control in the country and strengthen its operational ties with al Shabab, the Islamic militancy in Somalia, the Times said. (Editing by Todd Eastham)
April 9, 2013 at 6:17 am
UK spies point to more diverse terror threats
And the threat of a biological attack had now to be taken seriously. "Biological attacks are easier than those involving other forms of weapons of mass destruction," Farr said. He added that university science departments held materials that were essential for academic research but could also be used in mass impact attacks. There had been routine "chatter" by jihadist groups on internet sites relating to such attacks for many years.
Comment: More jihadists are reading that chatter in mass media than on jihadi forums. What message was sent by the failure to extradite Yazid? Where was the deterrence?
April 10, 2013 at 5:53 am
For example, Krsytoff Wasik says he has a bomb in his car near the White House.
April 10, 2013 at 5:59 am
Is Krsytoff Wasik angry he got the wrong weekend for the Easter Egg roll?
April 10, 2013 at 6:12 am
Is that how you spell it?
It seems that it might be a variant such as Krzysztof Wasiak.
April 10, 2013 at 8:32 am
- April 10, 2013 at 6:12 am
April 10, 2013 at 12:49 pm
One of the last times there was an angry trucker it involved a package containing ricin.
FBI offers $100,000 reward in Greenville ricin case
By From Wire Reports
GREENVILLE, S.C. — The FBI on Thursday offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest of anyone responsible for leaving a package containing the deadly poison ricin at a post office in October.
No suspects have been arrested and no illnesses have been reported since the package was found Oct. 15 at the facility serving Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
A letter enclosed in the package said the author was "a fleet owner of a tanker company," according to information released by the FBI and other federal agencies Thursday.
The letter signed "Fallen Angel" complained about new federal trucking regulations that took effect Jan. 4 requiring more rest for drivers. The author said if the mandatory rest hours were not kept at current levels "I will start dumping."
The package was labeled "CAUTION RICIN poison" and warned "Do not open without proper protection," the FBI statement said. Inside the package was a small metal vial containing ricin.
The discovery triggered a terrorism investigation and the postal center was temporarily closed while health officials tested it. No signs of contamination were found.
In light of Awlaki's plan to use ricin, it is worth knowing something about. I don't know how much Dick Destiny was paid to serve as an expert for the defense in the case in Europe, but I don't think Al Qaeda's aspirations regarding ricin are seriously subject to dispute.
Local scientists developing tests for vaccines against bioterror threats
Scientist Robert Parkhill works in the lab at VaxDesign. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel )
April 8, 2013|By Richard Burnett, Orlando Sentinel
VaxDesign won a $15 million contract last month from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to develop tests for vaccines that could be used against deadly viruses such as tularemia, ricin and Venezuela equine encephalitis, among others.
April 10, 2013 at 2:59 pm
According to the woman who recently separated from him, Mr. Wasik is a nice guy and is not anti-government. He however has mental issues, is into the bible and religion and may be off his medication. At his home or business, are there any instructions on making ricin?
April 10, 2013 at 3:01 pm
The dba is Gromnik is based on grom. A picturesque village in southern Poland, "grom" means "thunderbolts" and also refers to Polish special forces.
April 10, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Mr. Wisak started Gromnik in 2003. He may have found the regulations, if they applied to him, upsetting after investment in his rig. Does he ever use the construct "Fallen Angel" in his religious discussions?
2007 update – Ricin Letters Still A Mystery.
Despite the ongoing mystery into why someone sent two ominous letters with the deadly poison ricin to Capitol Hill, the Russell Senate Office Building was to reopen Thursday. The Hart building was scheduled to open Friday, and Dirksen on Monday.
CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr reports Marines in haz-mat suits were methodically scouring Capitol Hill buildings, collecting unopened mail and sorting through trash, in a wide-ranging search for clues.
However, investigators say they have found nothing to explain how the potentially deadly powder wound up in the offices of the Senate Majority Leader.
"There has been no smoking letter information that helps tie this thing together," said Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer.
The investigation is focusing on a mysterious "Fallen Angel" who threatens to use ricin as a weapon unless new trucking regulations are rolled back.
Three senior federal law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity Wednesday, said the FBI and Capitol Police Department were investigating the possibility that the same person or persons who made those earlier threats sent ricin-laced mail to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
The typewritten letters, addressed to the White House and Transportation Department and signed by "Fallen Angel," warned that more ricin would be used unless some trucking regulations that went into effect Jan. 4 were scrapped.
Hazardous materials teams from the FBI and Capitol police continued the search Wednesday night for a letter or parcel that might have carried the ricin powder found Monday in a mail-sorting room in Frist's personal office suite. No such parcel was immediately found.
Gainer said investigators have found "no obvious direct connection" between the Frist case and the letters signed by "Fallen Angel." Those letters were discovered in mail facilities that serve the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina and the White House.
They were found Oct. 15 and Nov. 6, respectively, but the existence of the White House letter was not disclosed by the Bush administration until Tuesday.
The letters, described as nearly identical, claimed that the author owned a tanker truck fleet company and demanded that rules governing the numbers of hours truckers can drive remain unchanged, according to the FBI.
The FBI said the South Carolina letter was in an envelope with a typewritten warning "Caution RICIN POISON." The letter included claims that the author could make much more ricin and would "start dumping" if the new regulations weren't abolished. There was no delivery address and no postmark.
No one has fallen ill in any of the incidents.
There is no known antidote for ricin, a strong toxin which is relatively easy to make from castor beans. Ricin is considered a less effective weapon for causing mass casualties than anthrax, which was mailed to Senate offices in late 2001, because it is more difficult to make airborne and requires inhalation of large quantities to be fatal.
The FBI focused on ricin in its weekly intelligence bulletin to 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies. The confidential bulletin, obtained by The Associated Press, said no threat of any kind had been received in the Frist case. It concentrated mostly on the dangers of ricin and how police should respond to potential contamination.
The trucking industry has been working with the FBI and Transportation Department inspector general's office on the investigation. The American Trucking Association has sent bulletins to its members urging them to be aware of people "displaying aggressive behavior" or engaging in suspicious activity.
One association bulletin asked that members "be alert for either a potential disgruntled trucking company, trucking company employee or person purporting to be from the trucking industry" who has made threats in the past against government agencies.
The regulations at the heart of the "Fallen Angel" letters were four years in the making and drew some 53,000 comments when first proposed, trucking association spokesman Mike Russell said. Many truckers and companies worried about lost pay and productivity because of stricter rest requirements.
"It was controversial," Russell said.
While the South Carolina letter's existence was made public shortly after it was found, the Bush administration delayed acknowledgment of the White House letter by nearly three months. It was intercepted Nov. 6 by the Secret Service at an offsite mail facility.
Secret Service spokeswoman Ann Roman said the FBI and other agencies were notified after the letter tested probable for ricin on Nov. 12. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Homeland Security officials held a Nov. 13 conference call with the FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Postal Service and other agencies to discuss what to do.
Ultimately, the ricin in that letter was deemed to be of a low grade and not a threat to public health, so no announcement was made. President Bush was not immediately informed, McClellan said.
"We share information appropriately, if there is a public health risk," McClellan told reporters.
The al Qaeda terror group has threatened to use ricin, but officials have found no indication that the two "Fallen Angel" letters or the Frist incident are connected to international terrorism.
The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the "Fallen Angel" case.
April 10, 2013 at 3:10 pm
You can compare Mr. Wisak's handwriting to this handwriting.
April 10, 2013 at 3:14 pm
He transported foodstuffs. Did the foodstuff items he transported include castor pulp or did he otherwise have easy access at the food company whose goods he shipped?
A letter stated:
"To the department of transportation: I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company. I have easy access to castor pulp. If my demand is dismissed I'm capable of making Ricin. My demand is simple, January 4, 2004 starts the new hours of service for trucks which include a ridiculous ten hours in the sleeper berth. Keep at eight or I will start dumping.You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me.
Fallen Angel["
April 10, 2013 at 3:21 pm
SAFER Layout
Entity Type: Carrier
Operating Status: AUTHORIZED FOR Property
Legal Name: KRZYSZTOF WASIK
DBA Name: GROMNIK
Physical Address: 370 GOSHEN AVE
Phone: (570) 455-2892
Mailing Address: 370 GOSHEN AVE
USDOT Number: 1467318 State Carrier ID Number:
MC/MX/FF Number(s): MC-554269
DUNS Number: —
Power Units: 1 Drivers: 1
MCS-150 Form Date: 08/06/2011 MCS-150 Mileage (Year): 125,000 (2010)
April 10, 2013 at 3:32 pm
There used to be a tattoo parlor 30 miles from Hazle Township in Pottsville. Did Mr. Wisak get his tattoo there? Its advertisement would feature the Joker (from Batman).
April 10, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Fallen Angels is open today until 8 p.m.
April 10, 2013 at 6:37 pm
There will be an article about Mr. Wasik in the Hazleton newspaper tomorrow morning.
FWIW, he had $5,000 in cargo insurance through United Financial Casualty Company that was effective 3/29/2013 with a termination date of 4/15/2013.*
If a carrier is in compliance, the amount of coverage will always be shown as the required Federal minimum ($5,000 per vehicle, $10,000 per occurrence for cargo insurance. The carrier may actually have higher levels of coverage.
April 10, 2013 at 6:44 pm
In the early years, in successive years, the listed agent support for his policy through Canal Insurance was in Greenville, South Carolina which is where the ricin was left.
Stupid question: When a trucker gets this insurance policy would he actually have travelled to Greenville, SC?
The information for the different insurance companies over the years and associated contact information is here.
Attn: AGENT SUPPORT
Address: P O BOX 7
Telephone: (864) 527 – 6700
Fax: (864) 679 – 2557
April 10, 2013 at 6:55 pm
The ricin mailer who called himself "Fallen Angel" was in Greenville, SC in October 2003.
Then he was in Chattanooga, TN in November 2003, as indicated by a postmark of a letter with ricin sent to the White House.
Ewa or Teresa, did Mr. Wasik travel that route in Fall 2003?
Without knowing anything about trucking, I believe DOT and the insurance file would have ample documentation of states travelled.
As federal investigators try to trace the origin of suspected ricin found Monday in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, ABCNEWS has learned of an earlier, undisclosed incident in which a ricin-laced letter was intercepted on its way to the White House.
In November, a letter postmarked Chattanooga, Tenn., and addressed to the White House was intercepted at an off-site mail sorting facility in the Washington area, sources told ABCNEWS.
The powdery substance in the letter tested positive for ricin. However, the tests indicated that the poison was in a low-potency, granular form that posed no health risk, the sources said.
According to two law enforcement sources, the intercepted letter addressed to the White House was signed "Fallen Angel."
That sign-off was also used in a letter that was part of a package containing ricin that was left at a post office in Greenville, S.C., in October 2003.
That letter complained about new federal trucking regulations requiring more rest for drivers. The letter described the author as "a fleet owner of a tanker company" and contained this threat: "If my demand is dismissed I'm capable of making Ricin … I will start dumping."
The Greenville package contained a small metal vial packed with ricin. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest in the incident. No illnesses were reported in the Greenville case and an FBI spokesman in Columbia, S.C., said the sender's motivation may not have been to kill.
"When you use a poison like ricin you obviously have to be concerned that it could kill, but if you look at the language in the letter, it seems that this individual was more concerned with seeking a repeal of the new legislation," said the spokesman, Tom O'Neal.
Late on Monday, authorities discovered a suspicious powder in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
A number of tests have identified the substance as ricin, a potentially deadly poison derived from castor beans, although final confirmation is still under way. Government health officials hope to have those results Wednesday.
Federal investigators are trying to establish whether the Senate incident is connected to the two earlier packages.
April 10, 2013 at 7:14 pm
You ask:
What was the motivation of the fellow threatening a bomb? Well, he was mad about regulations on semi-trailers.
What was the motivation of the truck company owner threatening ricin? Well, he was mad about regulations on semi-trailers.
(You can be pretty sure that the FBI profiler pictured an independent trucker and not the owner of a fleet of trucks).
The FBI needs to search his residence and business for instructions on making ricin and also consider his location in October and November 2003.
As with the anthrax mailers, sometimes if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a duck.
Form 34 filed at DOT in 2003 may be illuminating to include the date and location it was signed.
But most illuminating would be a sample of Mr. Wasik's handwriting.
Man angry about regulations threatens to bomb White House
April 10, 2013
By TheCountyPressEditor
By Julian Hattem – 04/10/13 03:43 PM ET
A man arrested on Wednesday morning for making bomb threats near the White House was angry about regulations, according to published reports.
Around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Krzysztof Wasik, 44, approached a guard office near the White House and claimed to have a bomb in a nearby truck, according to reports.
The Secret Service and police closed down nearby streets for two hours, investigated the truck and found no cause for concern. Police arrested Wasik on charges of making felony threats.
According to the Washington City Paper, the bomb threat was a way for the man to complain about regulations on semitrailer trucks.
"He was upset about the rules and regulations concerning semi-trucks and was angry about fines that he had to pay," wrote a Secret Service officer in an affidavit, according to the City PaperThe newspaper reports Wasik hoped the threat would allow him to speak with President Obama.
Wasik reportedly made two attempts to speak with the president. On his first try, moments previous, Secret Service told the man to send his complaint to the relevant government agency. He returned shortly afterwards and threatened to explode a bomb.
"I know what it takes to get things done around here," he reportedly told the Secret Service agent. "I have a bomb in my truck parked 500 feet from here."
April 10, 2013 at 7:19 pm
Without knowing DOT regulations, did Mr. Wasik get fined for violating the 10 hour rule that was the subject of the ricin mailer's anger?
April 10, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Truck Driver Arrested For D.C. Threats
Posted on: 5:55 pm, April 10, 2013, by Bill Wadell
A woman who answered the front door said she is married to Wasik and claims they recently separated. She believes he likely stopped taking medications for a mental illness.
"Yesterday, actually he looked a lot worse. I never actually saw him like that, in that kind of a mood. Usually he`s quiet. Yesterday he was actually walking around grabbing things for no reason, papers, napkins," said Adam Swieciaszek of Scranton
Swieciaszek works with Wasik as a contractor for Kane Trucking in Scranton. He says he and Wasik were both assigned to the same route for a delivery to Virginia Tuesday night but Wasik refused to follow him.
Swieciaszek didn't hear about the bomb threat until another trucker for Kane told him to turn on the TV this morning.
"I actually thought the truck broke down. He`s at work every day, he works really hard, he`s actually a really nice guy if you get to know him. So, very surprised."
Neighbors who say they've known Wasik for years in the Chapel Hill Estates development say he's a religious man and a good father of two teenagers.
"Nothing out of the ordinary at all. No warning at all," said Leonna Seginak of Hazle Township.
A federal criminal complaint says Wasik was upset over trucking regulations and told an agent he had explosives in the cab of his truck. According to the Secret Service, wasik said, "don`t touch the keys in the ignition or else something bad will happen. I don`t care if children or veterans are harmed by the bomb. I only care about speaking to the President."
No explosives were found in the tractor trailer cab and no one was hurt during the scare.
Comment: Did he just recently get notice of a DOT fine for violating the 10 hour rule? Abby at NCIS should test the key for ricin.
April 10, 2013 at 7:45 pm
Krzysztof Wasik and Adam Swieciaszek are both natives of Poland, and both are contractors for Kane Trucking in Lackawanna County.
Both drive loads of wine to Virginia a few times a week. And that's where they were headed Tuesday night. Adam asked Wasik to ride together.
"He seemed really tipsy, he said 'no' kind of in a rude way. And he said 'No, I'm leaving at midnight,'" Swieciaszek said.
Then, Adam thought about the way Wasik was acting before they headed out on the road. He seemed irritable, dazed, and distracted. …
Wasik just wasn't himself. And even more boggling, Adam says, is that Wasik never talked politics.
But a federal criminal complaint says Wasik was upset over trucking regulations and that's why he wanted to talk to the President.
April 10, 2013 at 7:50 pm
The first time he complained about regulations to a Secret Service officer by the White House fence, Wasik agreed to send his concerns about regulations to another government agency instead, according to the statement.
Comment: That would be DOT. Recall that in addition to mailing to the White House, the ricin mailer wrote the DOT.
April 10, 2013 at 8:05 pm
By Kane Trucking I believe published reports mean Kane is Able, Inc. According to Wikipedia, Kane Is Able, Inc. has a network of 18 distribution center locations in multiple states employing more than 1200 associates. KANE possesses a tractor fleet of more than 200 power units and is supported by 925 trailers. In addition to the business campus in Scranton, KANE has facilities in all U.S. major markets including Mechanicsburg, PA, Hagerstown, MD, Chicago, IL, Kansas City, KS, Atlanta, GA, and Southern California.
Did Mr. Wasik make runs to Kane's Atlanta, GA warehouse in October/November 2003 period? Greenville, I think, is about half-way between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta GA.
Kane, I think is partly owned by the husband of the Penn. State Attorney General. Perhaps the company could expedite learning on the subject based on records from 2003, if he was contracting with them then.
April 10, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Ricin and the Robertus Laboratory webpage says that castor pulp is used in making envelopes.
The DOT form linked above, as I recall it, says that Mr. Wasik carries, in addition to food and beverage supplies, paper items.
Kane Trucking: Did Mr. Wasik have access to castor pulp used in making envelopes?
… castor pulp, used in making the envelopes …
April 10, 2013 at 8:24 pm
When asked by the courtroom clerk to swear to tell the truth, Wasik responded after a long pause, "I don't know the truth."
Sam Sanguedolce, first assistant district attorney in Luzerne County, Pa., said that Wasik has no criminal record in his jurisdiction.
April 10, 2013 at 8:40 pm
Truckers Look in Their Ranks For 'Fallen Angel' Writer
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: February 05, 2004
The letter was brief and to the point.
"I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company," it said. "I have access to castor pulp," a reference to the raw material to make the deadly compound ricin. "If my demand is dismissed, I am capable of making Ricin."
The note, attached to a metal vial containing the powder and addressed to the Transportation Department, was dropped off in October at a mail-sorting office at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. A similar letter appeared in November at a mail-processing center that serves the White House. Both notes were signed "Fallen Angel," law enforcement officials said.
As investigators explore possible links between the parcels and the presence of ricin in a Senate mailroom, trucking executives and the drivers who haul the nation's goods wondered whether one of their own might have used bioterrorism to publicize opposition to trucking rules that took effect last month. The regulations, which aim to reduce accidents by reducing how long drivers can stay on the road, have roiled the industry, which is already reeling from a recessionary drop in freight and higher fuel costs.
The president of the South Carolina Trucking Association, Rick Todd, said if the person responsible for the ricin contamination was a trucker "it is certainly awful for the image of our industry, especially for the millions of hard-working truck drivers across America."
"It's hard to imagine anyone could be this upset about these changes," Mr. Todd said.
Among the road-rattled drivers who were filling their fuel tanks at a truck stop near here, passions ran high, especially among independents, drivers who own their rigs and who say the regulations lead to longer hours and less money.
"This guy must be a kook, but at least folks are going to listen to what he's saying," said Joe Thompson, who has been driving his 18-wheeler for 10 years. "The feds are killing us with their bureaucracy."
After the letter was found here, Daniel Somerson, an advocate for owner-operators whose homemade Web site criticizes the rules, said F.B.I. agents had interviewed him and his wife. A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Columbia, Tom O'Neill, would not comment on the investigation but said agents were looking into the possibility that a disgruntled trucker was responsible for the parcels.
Federal transportation officials say the rules, which took effect on Jan. 4 and have a 60-day grace period, would save 75 lives and prevent 1,300 fatigue-related accidents a year by establishing a routine for truck drivers that they say more closely mirrors natural work and sleep rhythms.
Officials say the changes are the most far-reaching for the industry in 65 years, reducing daily driving time, to 10 hours from 11.
The most contentious change involves calculating workdays. Drivers can be on duty only for 14 hours a day, meaning that if a driver spends 6 hours awaiting goods at a factory, a delay that truckers say is not uncommon, the driver can stay on the road for just 8 more hours.
Time spent stopped for fueling, napping or eating is not counted as rest time. Some drivers say that keeps them behind the wheel for longer uninterrupted periods. In some cases, drivers say, the rules make them drive faster.
"We've got to get the same work done in less time, and that makes the job more stressful," said Bob Williams, a "tanker yanker," a hauler of hazardous chemicals. "Listen, we're adults, and we know when it's time to rest. If we didn't, we'd be in a graveyard already."
Coming on the tail of higher fuel costs and a three-year recession in the industry, trucking companies and owner-operators say the rules will lead to higher costs, which will ultimately be passed on to consumers.
Not everyone is displeased over the new rules, especially those that mandate a 10-hour break after every 14 hours. Fleet drivers who receive steady salaries or hourly wages are the biggest winners. But for owner-operators who are paid by the mile, less driving time means less money and more time away from home.
"These new regs are going to put us under," said Rodney Snyder, a driver for 14 years. "I'm thinking of getting out of the business."
April 10, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Castor pulp is used in making envelopes, for example.
The cargo he shipped included "Paper Products".
Do paperboard mills use castor pulp? Does Progressive Converting in Hazle Township?
He lived 6 miles away.
What about Freedom Corrugated? Did he truck their goods?
April 10, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Castor beans are used to make castor oil and other beneficial products used for many purposes. In fact, castor oil is often used in the manufacture of paper, including paper used as envelopes.
Comment: What paper products did Mr. Wasik deliver? Did that company or companies use castor pulp? There is a $100,000 reward. Go find out.
April 10, 2013 at 10:50 pm
A second letter, addressed to the White House and processed through a postal facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee on October 17, 2003, contained similar threatening language and was directed at the United States Department of Transportation. This second letter threatened to turn "D.C. into a ghost town" if these new "hours of service" regulations went into effect and was signed "Fallen Angel". The author(s) of this letter claimed that the powder on the letter was ricin. The substance contained in the letter has been identified as containing ricin.
Attached to this release is a photograph of the exterior of the envelope processed by the postal facility in Chattanooga, TN on October 17, 2003, as well as, a photograph of the threat letter contained in that envelope. Additionally, attached is a copy of the reward flyer released on January 7, 2004.
Comment: Upload the exemplars you have of Mr. Wasik's printing.
Absent the $2.5 million reward, the reward in Amerithrax is up to $5 million under the Rewards For Justice program
April 11, 2013 at 4:55 am
By EDWARD LEWIS
By SHEENA DELAZIO
Krzystof Wasik, Hazle Township, arrested Wednesday after bomb threat outside White House.
April 10. 2013 11:18PM
HAZLE TWP. — Visibly shaking and crying, Teresa Wasik said she was awakened early Wednesday morning by the U.S. Secret Service calling to inform her that her husband, Krzystof Wasik, was arrested after he allegedly made a bomb threat outside the White House. …
Later Wednesday, Teresa Wasik filed a protection-from-abuse petition in Luzerne County Court for herself and their 16-year-old daughter, describing a downward spiral that began when her husband stopped taking medication for mental illnesses.
Teresa Wasik said she spoke with her husband on Tuesday and he seemed fine. He said he was going to Virginia for work. That evening, she was unable to get in touch with him. Wednesday morning, the Secret Service called Teresa Wasik and notified her of the incident at the White House.
Teresa Wasik previously filed a PFA against her husband. In her court petition, she said she was working at the Walmart in Pittston Township on Monday evening when she was told she had a visitor.
"It was my husband waiting for me. He said that he has our daughter in his truck and she was sick and needed to see me immediately," she wrote in the petition. When she got to the truck, their daughter wasn't there. That's when, she said, her husband grabbed her and tried to push her into the truck, according to the petition.
"I wrestled to break free of his grasp," she wrote.
Teresa Wasik said she asked her husband what he was doing, and he replied that he wanted to take her away for a few days to show her "we can … live without food."
"I need to mention at this point that he was going through mental problems … (for) some time he is not taking his medications. He refuses to do so," she wrote.
She then described calling the police and she was advised to change the locks of their home and file for a PFA. The PFA states Wasik drives a 2010 Dodge Caravan and had moved out of the couple's home and was living out of the vehicle.
A hearing has been scheduled for April 18 at the Luzerne County Courthouse for a judge to consider the PFA. A temporary PFA has been put in place.
"He's a great guy," a sobbing Teresa Wasik told a reporter earlier Wednesday from inside the couple's home on Goshen Avenue. "He just needs help.
"He is very well-liked by everybody. He just has issues when he stops taking his medication," she said. "He is into the Bible and God. He's a good citizen."
Teresa Wasik said her husband has no anti-government tendencies and did not know why he was in Washington, D.C., which is about a four-hour drive from their home. She said they separated about two weeks ago but had stayed in touch.
"My only thought is he did not take his medication," Seginak said. '"I have nothing but good to say about their family. They have a wonderful family."
Teresa Wasik said her home was not searched by authorities.
A check for court records only returned a traffic citation filed against Wasik by the Frackville Police Department in November 2011. He pleaded guilty to the citation and paid a $110 fine.
April 11, 2013 at 5:05 am
The Hazleton newspaper, The Standard Speaker, today states in part:
"Thomas Kopeskie of the Greater Hazleton Polonaise Society said the Wasiks attended Masses conducted in Polish at Stanislaus R.C. Church before the church closed.
Last year, the Wasik's son won a scholarship given in honor of the late Rev. Louis Garbacik, a former priest at St. Stanislaus.
Scholarship winners wrote essays about why they were proud of their Polish heritage, and a news article about the scholarship said the Wasik's son was the first generation of the family born in America.
"He wasn't one that was known in the neighborhood," she said.
Seven other residents of Goshen Avenue and Appian Way, a connecting street, said they didn't know Wasik.
Kingston Attorney John Pike said he hadn't heard from Wasik since representing him for a reckless driving charge in 1997. The charge was dropped when prosecutors failed to attend the hearing.
Wasik also paid a fine for failing to obey a traffic signal in Frackville two years ago.
Marguerite Benderavich remembers Wasik stopping by her office in Hazle Township to pay his garbage bill.
"He's a nice person," she said.
April 11, 2013 at 6:00 am
The logbook requiring record-keeping of time spent, to include in the sleeper berth.
There are four lines on a DOT log book:
• Off Duty
• Sleeper Berth
• Driving
• On Duty (Not Driving)
If you are living out of your truck, upon being separated from your wife, what entry gets made in the logbook required by DOT?
April 11, 2013 at 7:17 am
"The trucking industry has been working with the FBI and Transportation Department inspector general's office on the investigation. The American Trucking Association has sent bulletins to its members urging them to be aware of people "displaying aggressive behavior" or engaging in suspicious activity.
One association bulletin asked that members "be alert for either a potential disgruntled trucking company, trucking company employee or person purporting to be from the trucking industry" who has made threats in the past against government agencies.
The regulations at the heart of the "Fallen Angel" letters were four years in the making and drew some 53,000 comments when first proposed, trucking association spokesman Mike Russell said. Many truckers and companies worried about lost pay and productivity because of stricter test requirements."
Comment: The 53,000 comments are public record. Did Mr. Wasik dba Gromnik, formed in 2003, submit a comment?
April 11, 2013 at 7:26 am
White House Bomb Threat – City Desk
17 hours ago – A new affidavit from a Secret Service agent reveals the motivations of the … the rules and regulations concerning semi- trucks and was angry about fines
Revisiting Hours of Service History, Part 4: The History since April 2003
by DAVID K SCHNEIDER on APRIL 2, 2013
April 11, 2013 at 7:36 am
His log book was in his cab and was taken by authorities. Thus there is an entire notebook of pages of handwriting to compare to the writing of the ricin mailer on the envelope.
April 11, 2013 at 8:07 am
In United States of America v. Krzysztof Wasik, the COMPLAINT in Violation of: 18:844(e) states in part:
On April 10, 2013, at approximately 4:35 a.m., a man who was later identified as KRZYSZTOF WASIK (hereinafter referred to as "WASIK") approached United States Secret Service ("USSS") Officer Kara Klupacs at the north fence line of the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. in Washington, D.C. WASIK told Officer Klupacs that he wanted to speak to the "President." WASIK stated that he was upset about the rules and regulations concerning semi- trucks and was angry about fines that he had to pay. Officer Klupacs advised WASIK that he would not be able to speak to the President of the United States, but that he could contact an agency that regulates traffic. WASIK indicated that he agreed with her and walked away.
At approximately 4:46 a.m., WASIK returned to the north fence line of the White House. At that time, WASIK stated to Officer Klupacs, "I know what it takes to get things done around here. I have a bomb in my truck parked 500 feet from here." Officer Klupacs requested that WASIK provide the location of the truck, and for a description of the bomb. WASIK replied that he would not give any information about the bomb, or its location, until he spoke with the "President." At that time, WASIK was arrested.
At 4:48 a.m., a semi-cab tractor bearing Pennsylvania plates was located at the corner of Vermont and H Streets, N.W., parked directly in front of the Veterans Affairs Building, which is located approximately one block away from the White House and 200 feet away from the entry barrier to the White House complex. When the USSS Officer found the vehicle, he observed that the keys were still in the ignition. The Officer broadcast that information over the radio. Upon over-hearing that radio broadcast while in custody, WASIK stated, "Don't touch the keys in the ignition or else something bad will happen." WASIK further stated, "I don't care if children or veterans are harmed by the bomb. I only care about speaking to the President."
Based on the foregoing, Your Affiant believes that there is probable cause to believe that on April 10, 2013, within the District of Columbia and elsewhere, KRZYSZTOF WASIK, in or affecting interstate commerce, willfully made a threat, and maliciously conveyed false information knowing the same to be false concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made to injure any individual or destroy any building, vehicle or other real or personal property by means of an explosive, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e).
KARA KLUPACS Officer, United States Secret Service
April 11, 2013 at 8:24 am
At some point, the reward was increased to $120,000. Note in particular the vial that was used.
A reward payment will be made in accordance with the conditions of U.S. Postal Service Poster 296, Notice of Reward, dated June 2004.
to the department of transportation: I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company.
I have easy access to castor pulp. If my demand is dismissed I'm capable of making Ricin.
My demand is simple, January 4 2004 starts the new hours of service for trucks which include a ridiculous ten hours in the sleeper berth. Keep at eight or I will start dumping.
You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me.
Fallen Angel
April 12, 2013 at 7:04 am
Wasik worked for Kane is Able referred to in media reports as Kane Trucking. (Coincidentally, based on reports during last year's campaign, I believe it may be owned by the husband of the Pennsylvania state Attorney General).
Wikipedia explains that :
Cain and Abel were according to the Book of Genesis, two sons of Adam and Eve. … Cain was the first human born and the first murderer, and Abel was the first human to die. Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother. … A millennia-old explanation for Cain being capable of murder is that he may have been the offspring of a fallen angel or Satan himself, rather than being from Adam.[
April 12, 2013 at 7:23 am
The ricin in Mr. Frist's office was described by the FBI as "trace amounts mixed in with paper dust."
Reward in ricin inquiry increased
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/dec/22/20041222-113121-9881r/#ixzz2QFc5AKr4
Many might argue that the ricin detected in Senator's Frist's mail — for which no letter was found — should not be considered given the possibility it was a false positive. (But see Michael Mason's firm opinion otherwise).
But assuming for the sake of argument that it was from the same sender as the one left in Greenville and the one sent to the White House by "Fallen Angel," then it is worth noting that trace amounts were mixed in with paper dust.
That paper dust is available for comparison to other paper dust at locations from which the castor pulp might have been obtained.
April 12, 2013 at 7:43 am
Scientists who helped with Amerithrax on stable isotope ratios have also worked on determining the origin of the ricin.
J Forensic Sci. 2013 Jan;58 Suppl 1:S43-51. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.12000. Epub 2012 Nov 6.
Forensic applications of light-element stable isotope ratios of Ricinus communis seeds and ricin preparations.
Kreuzer HW, West JB, Ehleringer JR.
Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. firstname.lastname@example.com
Seeds of the castor plant Ricinus communis are of forensic interest because they are the source of the poison ricin. We tested whether stable isotope ratios of castor seeds and ricin preparations can be used as a forensic signature. We collected over 300 castor seed samples worldwide and measured the C, N, O, and H isotope ratios of the whole seeds and oil. We prepared ricin by three different procedures, acetone extraction, salt precipitation, and affinity chromatography, and compared their isotope ratios to those of the source seeds. The N isotope ratios of the ricin samples and source seeds were virtually identical. Therefore, N isotope ratios can be used to correlate ricin prepared by any of these methods to source seeds. Further, stable isotope ratios distinguished >99% of crude and purified ricin protein samples in pairwise comparison tests. Stable isotope ratios therefore constitute a valuable forensic signature for ricin preparations.
- April 10, 2013 at 2:59 pm
- April 10, 2013 at 5:59 am
- April 10, 2013 at 5:53 am
March 24, 2013 at 10:52 am
My intelligence source says that Yazid is cooperating.
If so, he should given an early release.
March 23, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Social Media Jihad: Mohammed al Zawahiri's new Facebook page
By THOMAS JOSCELYNMarch 22, 2013 11:21 AM
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/03/social_media_jihad_mohammed_al.php#ixzz2OOwC1ljZ
Who does Mohammed al Zawahiri think is responsible for the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings?
It's a simple matter to ask him.
March 19, 2013 at 4:59 am
One of the folks recently arrested in Malaysia allegedly has ties to Yazid. His window for getting out of jail by talking about his anthrax work is getting smaller. The time to play his get out of jail free card is now.
Malaysia goes for the 'kill,' sends more military forces to hunt Sulu Sultanate members
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 12:47:33 PM
Malaysia arrested more than 300 Filipinos who are suspected of supporting or aiding Raja Muda Agbimuddin's group under a strict anti-terrorism law. Just recently, three more men, who were acting suspiciously, had been detained in Kampung Sim-Sim in Sandakan after villagers phoned the police about the trio. Their identities were not immediately known, but one of them allegedly has links with a detained Jemaah Islamiya militant Yazid Sufaat.
March 17, 2013 at 6:48 am
Star journo called up by Bukit Aman
tags: political detention, press freedom, Royal Malaysia Police
BREAKING Tashny Sukumarn, a reporter with the Star, has been called up by Bukit Aman in connection with articles about former-ISA detainee Yazid Sufaat according to a journalist who said he received a phone call from her. She informed him she was at Bukit Aman (accompanied by her lawyer) for questioning. She is said to have been threatened with obstruction for refusing to divulge her sources in connection with her story.
A Star executive confirmed only that Tashny was giving a statement and said the appointment had been made a few days ago, at her convenience.
UPDATE Tashny Sukumaran left Bukit Aman at about 2.30pm, after about three hours, a colleague said. "She phoned and said she's fine." She was apparently questioned by Special Branch: a colleague said they refused to take her statement anywhere else but at Bukit Aman.
Yazid was arrested under the new security law that replaced the Internal Security Act and charged with "inciting terrorist acts that threatened the people of Syria".
Tashny was one of three Star journalists who covered the Yazid Sufaat story.
March 17, 2013 at 7:50 am
Yazid himself is the most interesting source — he can confirm that the genetic strain he was using was virulent Ames.
A biological warfare programme
Among the longest-serving ISA detainees in history, Yazid, currently under travel, asset and arms deals sanctions imposed by the United Nations, believes his incarceration has to do with his "expertise".
Trained as a biochemist on a government scholarship in the United States, this top student of the Royal Military College who retired as a captain with the army was part of a biological warfare programme under the Defence Ministry.
While mostly candid about his involvement with famous characters such as Sheikh Usamah bin Laden (rahimahullah),Yazid was hesitant to reveal details about the government's "secret" programme which was later scrapped, describing it "a long story".
"When they (the police) first took me in, I didn't tell them (about the government programme). I didn't want them to know, didn't want the liability to fall on the government, to pass the buck to someone else.
"Finally, they managed to get a report from their 'friend' and they wanted me to clear things up. I didn't want to clarify (anything), so they took my wife in," said the father of four.
His wife, Sejahratul Dursina @ Chomel Mohamed, was held under ISA for two months and after this was placed under a movement restriction order for six years.
"If you want to be released from ISA, just follow what they say and admit to all the charges… I refused to do so and they kept me for seven years… because I don't want to sing 'Negara-ku' (national anthem – ed.).
"I don't want to sing. Why should I (when) the country had betrayed me?" Yazid asked. …
Three of the people who stayed at the condominium were associated with the 9/11 attacks, with one – Zacarais Mousaoui – eventually employed by Yazid, purportedly to market a software developed by Yazid's company, Infocus Tech.
Infocus Tech is one of several Malaysian companies that researchers claim were shell companies set up to raise funds for al-Qaeda.
"Back then, computers and phones didn't talk to each other, so we developed software to integrate them. We developed it for call centres. That kind of thing…
"So, if you ask whether I funded (Mousaoui for 9/11), I'm not going to say yes or no. He was my employee. Let the readers think," he said.
Yazid said he hired Mousaoui when the latter, who is from a computer engineering background, asked for help, saying he needed to get a visa for the United States.
"He never told me he wanted to take lessons (in flying planes).
"He asked me if I could help him get a visa to the US. I said, 'Why not? You take my software there'. So I wrote everything, that he is representing us, etc," he said.
The other two individuals linked to 9/11 who stayed in the Sungai Long condominium were Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi – two of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which slammed into the Pentagon.
The duo, according to the United Nations, had stayed at Yazid's condominium in January 2000 to attend what the UN termed an "al-Qaeda conference" in Kuala Lumpur.
"I was not there. At that time I was in Pakistan and Afghanistan, building a hospital there," Yazid said.
Next to the hospital, he said, was a laboratory where he is accused of developing biological weapons – an accusation not levelled at him during his detention under the ISA, but earning him the moniker "Anthrax CEO". Though the US intelligence doubts that Yazid developed the anthrax strain.
Favourite bugs
But Yazid said that he was in fact "successful" in developing some "bugs", but the laboratory was destroyed when the NATO forces bombed Kandahar.
"I can still find (anthrax) if I want to, but what for? It has no commercial value. Anthrax is only good for sabotaging, it cannot kill.
"It's not my favourite bug, anyway. I'd rather use bacteria or virus that (really) hit you and give you one or two hours before you die.
- March 17, 2013 at 7:50 am
February 26, 2013 at 12:46 am
Terror trial of 2 Malaysians in Lebanon postponed to March 1
By KAMATCHY SAPPANI
PETALING JAYA: The trial of two Malaysian men detained in Lebanon for suspected links to the al-Qaeda has been postponed to Friday.
It is learned that the heavy caseload in the military court in Beirut was the reason for the postponement of the trial that was to have started on Monday.
Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 22, and Razif Mohd Ariff, 31, were arrested at Beirut airport on Oct 18 last year and charged with preparing for terrorist action and for being members of the al-Qaeda organisation.
They were suspected of trying to enter Syria on a mission to carry out suicide attacks.
February 25, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Razif, the older of the pair, reportedly was connected to a top AQ leader in Yemen, Jamal al-Badawi, who is associated with the 2000 bombing of United States navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.
Al-Attash, who Yazid knew from the terror summit in his apartment, is also said to have played a key role in the 2000 Cole bombing. Did Yazid know Razif back in 2000?
Razin, is said to be highly religious and a loner.
The former militant in the article below says recruits were commonly recruited in Facebook. Like Yazid, Razin would commonly quote the koran in conversation.
Did Yazid recruit Razin on his Facebook page? Is that what his adventure in the press last spring was all about? (I have no idea).
Yazid pled the Fifth Amendment when I asked him about the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings.
Tuesday October 30, 2012
Ex-militant: We send new recruits straight to the front lines
One of them is believed to have links with a top al-Qaeda leader in Yemen, Jamal al-Badawi, who is accused of the 2000 bombing of United States navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.
The former militant, who was once detained under the Internal Security Act, described the pair as "brothers-in-arms" and "guys with good intentions."
He said in keeping with the times, many militant groups now recruit ed on Facebook.
Tuesday October 30, 2012
Razin — a strange loner
February 25, 2013 at 12:24 pm
Look how young the youngest of the pair arrested en route to Syria looks.
If it turns out he was an Al Qaeda operative intent on blowing himself up, his recruiter should be ashamed.
Who gave him his religious instruction?
February 25, 2013 at 12:58 pm
We know it wasn't the young man's mom who led him astray. It was someone else. Who was that?
Muhyiddin demands to know how al-Qaeda-linked suspects were influenced
LABUAN: Malaysia wants to know how two of its citizens were influenced to join terrorist-related groups, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
"We hope this is an isolated case. It is regrettable that young Malaysians were involved.
"We want to know how they were influenced," he said during a visit to the international offshore financial centre (IOFC) after opening an oil and gas seminar here yesterday.
He said the Government was monitoring the situation following the arrests of Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 21, and Razif Mohd Ariff, 30.
Razin and Razif were first produced before a military court on Monday, following their arrest at a hotel in Beirut.
Malaysian Ambassador to Lebanon Ilango Karuppannan confirmed that the duo were picked up several days ago.
They are being charged in a military court instead of a civil court due to the nature of the accusation against them for allegedly being involved in terrorist activities.
The judge ordered the two to engage a lawyer before proceeding with the case today.
Karuppannan said four lawyers had been appointed to represent the duo at the military tribunal.
"The families have agreed to pay for the legal fees. We have recommended the best legal representation for them," he told Bernama.
Lebanon's Al-Joumhouria newspaper, quoting security sources, said the Malaysians were detained on charges of being al-Qaeda members.
In KUALA LUMPUR, PAS international bureau chief Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar said the party would not discourage youths from studying in religious schools in Pakistan and other countries that are allegedly used as fronts to recruit potential militants.
He reiterated PAS was against all forms of violence and acts of terror, adding that the party believed conflicts should be resolved via peaceful and democratic means.
"Parents should ensure their children would not be easily influenced by negative elements when they further their studies."
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said in a statement that Razif's father was allowed to meet his son.
February 25, 2013 at 1:58 pm
A spokesman explained that Malaysia had been keeping tabs on the pair, Razif and Razin, arrested in Beirut a year before their arrest.
Razif's father, a retired army officer with the rank of Lt Col.
Read more: Duo linked to al-Qaeda face hard labour – General – New Straits Times
The younger of the pair, Razin, had been recruited into a militant group via a social networking website. What website was that? Was it Facebook? (I have no idea). Was Razin Yazid's FB Friend? Or a subscriber to his feed?
The pair, if found guilty, face hard labour.
Read more: Duo linked to al-Qaeda face hard labour – General –
New Straits Times
"The two individuals only got to know each other early this year and Razin joined the militant group in the middle of the year. Razif had been put under surveillance for more than a year by the authorities."
Both had planned to link up with the anti-Bashar al-Assad forces, which included the Free Syrian Army, Syrian Liberation Army, mujahideen and Kurdish forces.
However, their plans were foiled when they were barred from entering Istanbul by Turkish authorities, who instead gave them the option of either returning to Malaysia or flying to another destination.
It is learnt that both men flew to Germany where an al-Qaeda operative arranged for their subsequent flight to Lebanon.
Razif, from Bukit Rahman Putra in Sungai Buloh, is believed to be a businessman in the construction industry, while Razin, from Beranang in Selangor, is a student at a private college in Trolak, Perak.
Razif had previously studied in Pakistan for several years before going to Yemen in 2010 to further his religious studies. During his time in Yemen, he attempted to make contact with al-Qaeda members there. His actions came to the attention of Yemeni intelligence agencies who arrested him. He was deported to Malaysia
Razin, who had enrolled at Kolej Yayasan Felda Trolak (previously known as Kolej Integrasi Ilmu) last year, had disappeared during his industrial placement training which began on Aug 27.
It was learnt that Razin had been placed for practical training at a Kuala Lumpur firm but had failed to show up.
According to another source, Razin was a quiet and religious student with no disciplinary problems.
"Whenever he talked, he usually quoted from the Quran or about stories of Muslim prophets."
- February 25, 2013 at 12:58 pm
February 23, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Lynne Stewart reportedly has stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to her lungs and back. If this is confirmed by an independent medical diagnosis, she should be released. She is 73 and has served 4 years of her 10 year sentence. Under the 1984 Sentencing Act, courts apparently can reduce sentences for "extraordinary and compelling" reasons such as terminal illness. The Bureau of Prisons would need to file a motion with the court for consideration of such action. The BOP should do so.
The best way to reform radicals who think that violence is acceptable is to demonstrate by example that their views are mistaken — by demonstrating compassion and mercy.
Somehow unfit parents are allowed to be deemed loving parents when they teach their impressionable children that it is okay to murder innocents. It's not. That's just religious indoctrination and immoral thinking.
Somehow these human rights organizations have become very confused — advancing the cause of unrepentant murderers like Yazid. That's right — when the lies are stripped he was an accessory before the fact in a conspiracy to murder of 3,000 innocents on 9/11. And he's quite proud of it. (Court-appointed lawyers on the other hand have a professional obligation to defend their clients, even those who are guilty of murder).
Yazid hails 9/11 attackers as 'marketers of Islam' – Malaysiakini
What about the rights of the innocents being murdered? The 3000 on 9/11?
Bombing churches to market an interpretation of some old book? Killing tourists? Kidnapping aid personnel and journalists for ransom?
In any event, in the case of Lynne Stewart, if the medical diagnosis is confirmed by BOP medical personnel, no purpose is served by not letting her spend her last days with loved ones.
She could be released subject to conditions.
Then prisoner advocates like the wonderful Kathleen Rumpf will realize that we first and foremost need to protect the rights of innocents from being murdered — that is the key human rights priority.
February 22, 2013 at 7:01 am
Chomel says that they had lunch with these men who go on trial Monday for being Al Qaeda suicide bombers but weren't "close."
For Yazid and Chomel, I guess if it is proved that this pair were Al Qaeda (wannabe) suicide bombers, the lesson is to be sure not to have lunch with Al Qaeda suicide bombers. At least make them pick up the check.
As for alleged Al Qaeda members, the lesson is not to be taped and photographed having lunch with Al Qaeda's anthrax technician who was posting each day on the subject of seeking paradise. Otherwise some intelligence agency might mistake you for being an Al Qaeda suicide bomber rather than a tourist.
Published: Friday February 22, 2013 MYT 11:25:00 AM
Feb 25 trial for 2 Malaysian men facing terrorism charges in Lebanon
By KAMATCHY SAPPANI
PETALING JAYA: The trial of two Malaysians, detained in Lebanon for suspected links to the al-Qaeda militant group, will begin on Monday.
Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 22, and Razif Mohd Ariff, 31, have pleaded not guilty to charges of preparing for terrorist action and for being members of the al-Qaeda organisation.
They stand accused of trying to enter Syria on a mission to carry out suicide attacks.
Counsel for both, Marwan Sinno, said Friday the trial would be held in a military court in Beirut and only those who were related to the case would be admitted.
The duo were detained at Beirut airport on Oct 18 after they were suspected to have been trained as suicide bombers.
They were charged before a military court in Lebanon on Nov 1 where they both claimed trial.
It was reported that when he was brought before the military court, Razif had acknowledged that he had met al-Qaeda people, admitted that he had previously been arrested in Yemen and was questioned by the special branch in Malaysia.
Razif, however, had denied meeting with a senior member of Jemaah Islamiah group – Yazid Sufaat – in Malaysia and acting as a recruiter for al-Qaeda.
Three months later, in Malaysia, former army captain Yazid and cafeteria helper Mohd Hilmi Hasim were nabbed at the Jalan Duta courts complex canteen while religious teacher Halimah Hussein was arrested at her house in Kajang.
Yazid, who was detained under the ISA in December 2001 for alleged ties to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network and released in 2008, was charged in a Malaysian court on Wednesday with Halimah.
Yazid, 49, was accused of inciting terrorist acts that "threatened the public in Syria" while Halimah, 52, was charged with abetting Yazid in inciting the act at a house in Ampang between August and October last year.
Both claimed trial, which is scheduled to begin on May 20.
The court also fixed Feb 25 to hear the habeas corpus application of Mohd Hilmi Hasim, who was also detained with the duo on Feb 7.
They are the first persons to be arrested under Malaysia's new Special Offences (Security Measures) Act 2012.
February 22, 2013 at 7:12 am
Major Bombings Since Syrian Uprising Began in 2011
By The Associated Press
BEIRUT February 21, 2013 (AP)
A list of some of the major bombings in Syria since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March 2011.
—Feb. 21, 2013: A car bomb explodes at a security checkpoint near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party in the heart of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at least 53 people, according to Syrian state media.
—Jan. 16, 2013: Three car bombings in the northern city of Idlib kill 22 people. State media said attackers targeted a major highway and a traffic circle; anti-regime activists say the bombers were targeting security vehicles near the local security headquarters.
—Jan. 15, 2013: Twin blasts rip through a university campus in the northern city of Aleppo, killing more than 80 people, mostly students, in the government-controlled part of the city.
—Dec.12, 2012: A car bomb targets the Interior Ministry in Damascus, killing several people and wounding more than 20, including the interior minister.
—July 18, 2012: A blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers kills the defense minister and his deputy, who is also Assad's brother-in-law, and wounds the interior minister. Rebels claim responsibility for the blast.
—May 10, 2012: Twin suicide car bombers blow themselves up outside a military intelligence building in Damascus, killing at least 55 people.
—April 27, 2012: Suicide bomber in Damascus kills at least nine people, most of them security officers.
—March 17, 2012: Blasts kill at least 27 people near the intelligence and security buildings in the capital.
—Feb. 10, 2012: Two suicide car bombers hit security compounds in the industrial center of Aleppo, killing 28 people.
—Jan. 6, 2012: Blast at an intersection in Damascus kills 25 people, many of them policemen.
—Dec. 23, 2011: Back-to-back car bombs near Syria's intelligence agencies killed at least 44 in the first major attack in the capital seven months after the uprising erupted.
February 22, 2013 at 7:24 am
Malaysian's Arrest Fuels Terror Worries – Wall Street Journal – WSJ …
stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-165726/But in a telephone interview, Mr. Yazid's wife, Chomel Mohamad, said he had been in contact … ago while they were preparing to enter Syria from Lebanon, but said he hadn't recruited them. … "But we would share meals with the two guys." …
February 23, 2013 at 3:41 am
Saturday February 23, 2013
Suspects of attempted suicide attacks face terrorism charges in Lebanon
By KAMATCHY SAPPANI
PETALING JAYA: The trial of two Malaysians, detained in Lebanon for suspected links to the al-Qaeda militant group will begin on Monday.
Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 22, and Razif Mohd Ariff, 31, have pleaded not guilty to two charges of preparing for terrorist action and for being members of the al-Qaeda organisation.
They stand accused of trying to enter Syria to carry out suicide attacks.
Counsel for both, Marwan Sinno, said yesterday the trial would be held in a military court in Beirut.
Razif, however, had denied meeting a senior member of the Jemaah Islamiah group – Yazid Sufaat – in Malaysia and acting as a recruiter for al-Qaeda.
Comment: Counsel for Razif: is Chomel correct that she share means with the you two guys? Are there photographs that will get admitted at trial?
- February 23, 2013 at 3:41 am
- February 22, 2013 at 7:24 am
- February 22, 2013 at 7:12 am
February 21, 2013 at 7:19 pm
The Delicate Art of Using Terrorist Dropouts
Governments that try to co-opt rad
By SUSAN SIM
When Yazid Sufaat, an al-Qaeda bioweapons expert who hosted two of the Sept. 11 hijackers in Kuala Lumpur for a pre-attack planning summit, was released from a Malaysian jail after seven years of detention in 2008, he was deemed "rehabilitated" by the Malaysian government. For the next four years, Yazid ran a food stall in a Kuala Lumpur courthouse—until Feb. 8 this year, when he was rearrested and charged with trying to recruit Malaysians for suicide missions in Syria.
Sufaat's rearrest for promoting terrorism raises troubling questions about the effectiveness of terrorist disengagement programs. There are now more than a dozen such programs world-wide, with varying degrees of robustness, objectives and success rates. …
Yazid Sufaat would never have been invited to speak at Malaysia's "deradicalization seminars." But JI's former secretary general, Zulkifli Marzuki, has been telling his former colleagues about the "big mistake" he made killing innocents.
February 18, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Soraya @sorayaanur tweets:
"Bapak [her dad, Yazid] told me not to worry about him&he ask me to remember what he taught on last class; sikap musuh tu mcm mana, tindakan musuh tu mcm mana
Although his advice, I believe, pertained to an enemy, Soraya separately waxes poetic:
— "We all stare at the same sky and the same moon." – Soraya Yazid
She also likes book sales as much as I do. There seems no reason he could not be released this month if he just stops withholding information relating to Al Qaeda's anthrax program. I mean, really, who cares about a couple of guys headed to Syria. Yazid has told me that he would tell all — well, now's the time to write the history.
February 13, 2013 at 12:45 pm
100 armed men have been surrounded by troops as they attempted to land from sea from the Philippines. Authorities were being tight lipped on whether their arrival had anything do with the detention of Yazid Sufaat.
It would be nice if a news media outlet in reporting the news showed where the men were surrounded relative to the prison identified as housing Sufaat.
I haven't noticed more than family and personal friends adopting the #FreeYazidSufaat cause on Twitter.
In the Philippines, there was a recent article about how the captors holding some journalists as hostage liked Facebook.
February 13, 2013 at 1:01 pm
Without yet pulling up the location of the prison to which Yazid was taken, surely it was not far from KL and not in Sabah — the 100 armed men were was in the waters of Sabah in "pump boats", which is far to the East, not so far from the southern Philippines island from which they would have started. While being ignorant of most foreign affairs and geography, to include the struggles of this group, I suspect given their penchant for hostage taking they were headed to some location in Sabah where they were going to take lots of hostages. Their colleagues were rather polite to the journalists recently freed. They gave them a couple clean sets of clothes, a toothbrush, etc. at the start. Then they would entertain them by showing them videos of prisoners being beheaded. Amnesty might usefully focus on the rights of the people being beheaded by that group.
February 13, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Some background on past kidnapping on the Sabah east coast is provided here. Although these kidnappers are well-armed, they are poor. I would think that of the 100, quite a few will lay out the intended mission. It seems that if you have 100 men, the intent was to base themselves in Sabah rather than make their way back with so many hostages. They may be carrying maps and documents that reveal their intent. Indeed, many will have cell phones that they kept charged using solar panels.
Kidnappers strike again in Sabah east coast
Thomas Pi | November 16, 2012
February 13, 2013 at 2:23 pm
This doesn't have anything to do with Yazid, does it? Instead, last Fall the Moro fighters claimed Sabah as part of their ancestral homeland. This is merely an armed implementation of the declaration signed last Fall by the MILF. It is an invasion under claim of right — perhaps this background explains the robes worn in addition to the military garb.
MNLF assembly declares Sabah part of Moro ancestral land
| A A By an Arab News Correspondent
Tuesday 10 September 2002
Last Update 10 September 2002 12:00 am
.KORONADAL CITY, Philippines, 10 Sept. — Sabah is an integral and an indivisible part of the ancestral homeland of the Bangsamoro people, according to a document signed by allies of jailed Moro leader Nur Misuari.
In a press statement, the Misuari-faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) said the document known as the "Koronadal Declaration" was a result of a consensus reached during a meeting of the group's leaders in Koronadal, South Cotabato province, on Sunday.
The statement said Misuari's faction will the case of Sabah to the attention of the United Nations and the World Court in the hope of exercising once again their people's sovereignty.
"We strongly support the MNLF leadership under H.E. Dr. Nur Misuari, along with the Sultanate of Lupah Sug (Sulu) and North Borneo (Sabah), to pursue vigorously our movement's and people's claim of sovereignty and proprietary rights over Sabah in the International Court of Justice in Hague, believing, as we do, that Sabah is an integral part of our ancestral Homeland," the statement quoted the document as saying.
As claimed by the press statement, the territorial domain of the Sultanate of Sulu, a once powerful Moro nation-state in Southeast Asia, was even recognized by the great powers of the time such as China, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, Netherlands and even the United States of America, as manifested in international treaties it entered into with such independent countries.
Historians say the Sabah territory was given to the Sultanate of Sulu by the Sultanate of Brunei as reward for helping Brunei's ruler then in defeating its enemies.
It was then leased by the Sultanate of Sulu to the British North Borneo Company in the 19th century, only to be taken over by Great Britain when it ruled Malaya during colonial times.
In the words of the MNLF group, Sabah was illegally annexed by Malaysia through a fraud referendum when it became independent in 1963.
February 13, 2013 at 3:54 pm
Indeed, back in the Philippines, the Moro rebels recently are playing ball.
Soldiers, Moro rebs to see each other on Facebook
By Karlos Manlupig, Charlie C. Señase
Inquirer Mindanao
4:16 am | Tuesday, February 12th, 2013
February 13, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Rather than an invasion, the MILF fighters may have been fleeing after a couple camps were overrun by MNLF in Jolo (which is southern Philippines). MNLF, I understand, is also a rebel force but not islamic. So this has even less to do with Yazid. If this tweeted rumor proves true, there's even more reason to avoid a gun battle.
February 14, 2013 at 8:58 am
The Malaysian authorities were checking if the armed men came from the Sulu where hostilities broke last week.
It will be recalled the Moro National Liberation Front forces under Ustadz Habier Malik launched attacked on the Abu Sayyaf group under one-armed senior militant leader Radullan Sahiron to force the group into releasing foreign hostages taken by the militants.
The Abu Sayyaf group escaped with 21 followers killed but there was no sign of captive Jordanian broadcast journalists Baker Abdullah Atyani, bureau chief of the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel.
Atyani's two Filipino crewmen were freed ahead of the MNLF offensive last Feb. 2 in Patikul, Sulu.
In addition to mining their cellphones for intelligence, the Moro fighters might be asked politely to free any remaining journalists taken as hostages.
- February 13, 2013 at 3:54 pm
- February 13, 2013 at 1:17 pm
- February 13, 2013 at 1:01 pm
February 12, 2013 at 10:09 am
In terms of what Yazid Sufaat meant when he referred to Allah's plan to me, when read in context of the family's dialogue, it seems that he very likely could have been referring more broadly to Allah's plan — as many Christians would refer generally to "God's plan."
For example, Chomel this week tweets to Yazid says that "Allah has more beautiful plan than ours for the family."
Chomel Mohamad @DursinaMohamad
@marwanhadeed , Allah has more beautiful plan than ours for the family. I thus trust Allah & pray n He will light the way. #FreeYazidSufaat
Retweeted by his daughter Soraya Yazid, who despite her doubts, makes wonderful drawings and seems as charming as her mom.
In this Tweet, Chomel disputes the government's suggestion that Yazid is guilty of inciting to violence.
"Chomel Mohamad @DursinaMohamad
Hw coincident! Exactly the same taught by @marwanhadeed, hw cld this b inciting violence? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRaSMwQgwYM&feature=youtube_gdata_player … #FreeYazidSufaat"
She urges him to be strong and make them wonder how he's still smiling.
"Chomel Mohamad @DursinaMohamad
Stay strong my love @marwanhadeed and make them wonder how you're still smiling #FreeYazidSufaat"
Retweeted by Soraya Yazid
Chomel in another tweet reminds her son of his Dad's love for him.
I still see no reason, absent additional evidence, why Yazid cannot simply open the prison doors by being a truth-teller. IMO, all he needs to do is address the strain of anthrax he was using and its origin. For his purposes, the events at issue were 13 years ago! It is all ancient history for which he indirectly already has served 7 years.
Yazid told me above: "I will tell everything. Let people judge…"
Well, okay.
Now's the time to tell everything. That seems the path to an amicable resolution.
February 11, 2013 at 8:17 am
James Hookway and Celine Ferndanez, writiing for the Wall Street Journal, make an important advance in the story, based on a telephone interview with the lovely and charming Chomel.
Note to James and Celine: You should use the term "biological" rather than "chemical" because Yazid Sufaat and his two assistants were working with anthrax, which is a biological rather than chemical agent.
Note to Chomel: The information was due to come out anyway and it is an important first step in establishing Yazid as a truth-teller to admit the connection and social contact.
They write:
"Prosecutors and police officials in Malaysia declined to provide further details of the investigation. But in a telephone interview, Mr. Yazid's wife, Chomel Mohamad, said he had been in contact withMuhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal and Rafiz Mohamed Ariff, the Malaysians arrested three months ago while they were preparing to enter Syria from Lebanon, but said he hadn't recruited them.
"I wouldn't describe their relationship with [Mr.] Yazid as close, but then again how do you define 'close'?" Ms. Chomel said. "But we would share meals with the two guys."
"The last time I saw them was during Hari Raya," a festival held in August, Ms. Chomel said. "They came to the house.""During the conversation they said they were going to Syria. They didn't say what they were going to do there, or why they were going there," she added. Mr. Yazid "neither encouraged them nor discouraged them. He merely advised them to be careful, to have enough money, things like that. What can we do? We could not stop them."
"When we read they were arrested, we were shocked," Ms. Chomel said.
The two suspects detained in Lebanon couldn't be reached for comment. A lawyer for the men, Marwan Sinno, said Monday that they are still waiting for their trial to start, possibly later this month. Mr. Sinno said he expects the court to free the two Malaysians and deport them back home.
According to Ms. Chomel's account, the two first approached Mr. Yazid after reading an interview he gave to the Malaysiakini website last year in which he described meeting bin Laden and receiving combat training in Afghanistan.
Mr. Yazid played an important role in facilitating al Qaeda meetings in Malaysia, hosting several visitors in 2000, including Saudi Arabians Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hamzi, two of the hijackers of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Malaysian authorities have said. Mr. Yazid also hosted another visitor involved in the Sept. 11 plot, Zacarias Moussaoui, and provided him with documents describing Mr. Moussaoui as a marketing representative for a small computer company partly owned by Mr. Yazid's wife."
February 11, 2013 at 9:14 am
In an article today in the Wall Street Journal, the journalists adopt Yazid's public comments suggesting he was untalented. (He had two PhD assistants) The article does not mention his work as a technician in a state biological weapons program — which Yazid also notes. So one might conclude that what we have here is an incompetent state-trained bioweaponeer. That's no consolation.
More than anything, in his interview, Yazid was just alluding to the debate in the discussion of the Amerithrax investigation relating to the sophistication of the processor. Yazid privately tells me he could work magic.
The Department of Justice says the attack anthrax was simply made. A sophisticated product can be made through simple methods. See Ken Alibek's quotes. And access to state know-how helps makes things easy. Infiltrating scientist Rauf Ahmad said he had learned processing tricks from the conference sponsored by the Porton Down Ames experts. Those conferences were attended by the USAMRIID Ames researchers to include Bruce Ivins.
Below is a passage from the series of his extraordinary interviews last Spring. Yazid was knocking on the door labeled truth-telling — that opens to a place in history — but hasn't yet fully opened it.
It's up to him. He can write passages from the koran in the blood from swatted mosquitos swarming on a hot August night. Or he can be released and even collect the $5 millions available under the Rewards For Justice program.
That would be plenty to build a mighty fine religious school.
"A biological warfare programme
Among the longest-serving ISA detainees in history, Yazid, currently under travel, asset and arms deals sanctions imposed by the United Nations, believes his incarceration has to do with his "expertise".
Trained as a biochemist on a government scholarship in the United States, this top student of the Royal Military College who retired as a captain with the army was part of a biological warfare programme under the Defence Ministry.
While mostly candid about his involvement with infamous characters such as Osama Laden, Yazid was hesitant to reveal details about the government's "secret" programme which was later scrapped, describing it "a long story".
"When they (the police) first took me in, I didn't tell them (about the government programme). I didn't want them to know, didn't want the liability to fall on the government, to pass the buck to someone else.
"Finally, they managed to get a report from their 'friend' and they wanted me to clear things up. I didn't want to clarify (anything), so they took my wife in," said the father of four.
His wife, Sejahratul Dursina @ Chomel Mohamed, was held under ISA for two months and after this was placed under a movement restriction order for six years.
"If you want to be released from ISA, just follow what they say and admit to all the charges… I refused to do so and they kept me for seven years… because I don't want to sing (Negara-ku).
"I don't want to sing. Why should I (when) the country had betrayed me?" Yazid asked."
- February 11, 2013 at 9:14 am
February 11, 2013 at 7:12 am
The woman charged with him — said to be his wife's religious teacher — is reportedly a former lawyer. Both looked calm at arraignment.
09 February 2013 13:24
MAKE SENSE? Hisham charges ex-ISA detainee for inciting people of SYRIA
Written by –
AMPANG= A former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee was charged at the magistrate's court here with allegedly promoting an ideology intended to incite the people of Syria.
Yazid Sufaat, 49, who was dressed in an orange prison uniform, appeared calm and smiling when he was brought into the courtroom yesterday afternoon.
His friend, Halimah Hussein, 52, a former lawyer, was dressed in a black jubah and looked equally calm. She was charged with abetting Yazid.
February 11, 2013 at 6:24 am
In correspondence and Facebook postings, Yazid has "plead the Fifth Amendment" to me on any issues relating to the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings. He has declined to confirm to me what strain of anthrax he was using. Both he and Chomel were gracious in entertaining the detailed questions on his Facebook page.
There have been discrepancies in basic facts between Yazid Sufaat's interviews and the facts claimed by others. I cannot authoritatively resolve the discrepancies presently and so only mean to offer up sources to explore.
A key question is whether he was at the terror summit in January 2000 at his KL condo — or whether he had already gone to Afghanistan as he claimed in one of his interviews. I have suggested that I am skeptical he would have known Al-Attash (who his wife Chomel said in 2002 he admitted knowing) but not Nawaf Al-Hazmi. Attash had arrived at his condo in January just one day before Nawaf. But because I have not seen the government's photos claimed to exist, I have an open mind as to whether he attended. Hambali's interrogation might be a useful starting point.
Here is a 2010 article "An Examination of Jemaah Islamiyah 1992-2002" that looks to be carefully done. It is from the JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES SENIOR ENLISTED ACADEMY. The COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYSIS is titled: THE BALI PARADOX: AN EXAMINATION OF JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH 1992-2002. The report says Yazid Sufaat was at the January 2000 meeting. The report says that KSM was also at the meeting. He says Yazid was "a leading explosives expert, operated the Green Laboratory Medicine and would be an important conduit for upcoming attacks. The report says Sufaat was given responsibility for bombings in Medan. Medan was a large city located on the island of Sumatra. Confirmed bombs at 11 churches were enough that Sufaat and JI had carefully timed the attacks to coincide with Jakarta and Java explosions.
To the same effect, a lengthy, well-done February 2002 article in the Straits Time reports that government surveillance shows that Sufaat attended the summit with Hambali.
Now from the bombings of churches we know that Sufaat is not a moral man. Indeed, if he was a participant in planned and actual mass murder, he is not even a nice man — despite his affable front. He has been seriously misled in his religious instruction. His mother-in-law reportedly influenced his religiosity upon his return from Sacramento.
Now his wife's religious teacher has been arrested along with him. Yazid's devotion to Chomel, however at ease she is talking to reporters, may be part of the problem.
But if he was in fact at the terror summit and he publicly denied that he was, then he is a liar who cannot be believed. Malaysian authorities have pictures of attendees and so this should not be a difficult discrepancy to resolve. Malaysia should release the photos for publication.
I tend to be naive and believe what I am told by someone using an affable demeanor. But I should be at least able to resolve the discrepancy between his claim he was not at the terror summit and other reports that he was.
Yazid is not eligible for parole. He faces a substantial sentence on the current charge.
It seems that the first thing he wants to do is to establish himself as a truth-teller. He should stop lying and stop withholding. He should argue that he has already served his sentence and that with Yemen, if the charges are true, he should ask how it differs from many other actors around the world, including foreign governments.
Now in sorting out the discrepancies, let's consider learning on the subject from the February 2002 article "Unmasking radical preachers" from Straits Times. If Yazid and Chomel have documents showing he had already left for Afghanistan at the time of the January 2000 meeting, it would be helpful to Yazid if the evidence were uploaded.
From Straits Times, Singapore
10 February 2002
Unmasking radical preachers
As Malaysian authorities probe deeper into the network of Muslim
militant groups in the country, they find a growing nexus between
local recruits and a clutch of Indonesian clerics. Malaysia
correspondent BRENDAN PEREIRA reports
KUALA LUMPUR – Early last year, a bearded man with a generous girth
walked into the office of the Muslim youth movement Angkatan Belia
Islam Malaysia (Abim) with a troubling sales pitch.
After sinking into a leather sofa seat in the president's room, he
asked for money, lots of it.
He needed funds to send followers to Maluku in eastern Indonesia to
fight in the long-running war between Muslims and Christians on the
Abim president Ahmad Azam remembers the encounter like it was
yesterday: 'He was talking about blood and death. It was disconcerting
to me.'
After sending him packing, the affable leader of the influential
Islamic organisation did what he normally does after meeting any
religious expert, preacher or donation seeker.
He puts them in a pigeonhole:
a) sound theological foundation;
b) shallow knowledge;
c) simple-minded; or
d) confidence trickster.
Muhammad Iqbal scored an E. 'He was an extremist,' said Mr Ahmad.
The mother-in-law of Yazid Sufaat did not have that same insight.
Yazid spent four years in the United States, studying biochemistry at
California's State University. After graduating in 1987, he returned
home and joined the army, where he served as a technician in the
medical corp.
His mother-in-law felt that he was not religious enough.
This was the period when Islamic resurgence among Muslims in Malaysia
was gaining momentum and people were seeking religion as an antidote
to growing materialism.
She hooked him up with a religious teacher. That teacher was Muhammad
Today, both of them are being detained under the Internal Security Act
in the same centre in Kamunting, Perak. Their crimes: Islamic
Malaysian security officials have no doubt who was the more dangerous
of the two.
Muhammad Iqbal alias Abu Jibrail was part of the triumvirate of
radical Indonesian clerics who have spent years transforming small
groups of religious students into terrorist cells in Malaysia and
Their main game plan was the creation of a union of Islamic states
called Darul Islamiah Nusantara, covering Malaysia, Indonesia and
southern Philippines.
In between, they planted other ideas in the minds of their recruits
and nurtured them during monthly dinner-time prayer meetings that
stretched way past midnight.
Disciples were encouraged to go on their own to Afghanistan, Kashmir
and Mindanao in Philippines to help Muslim brethren in need.
OFFICIALS also say that cell members in Singapore had planned to blow
up Western embassies and US naval vessels in the Republic in
retaliation for the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
Says a Malaysian government official: 'The more information we unearth
about Abu Bakar, Hambali, Iqbal, the more concerned we are about the
damage they did to Muslims in the country.
'We know that there are about 200 more people that need to be picked
up and questioned. But we cannot say conclusively that no other cells
exist besides Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM) and Jemaah Islamiah. We
dare not.'
He is being brutally frank. A profile of the 47 Malaysians arrested
for suspected militant operations since May last year is troubling –
it is too wide.
Mr Militant is usually someone who perceives himself as a sinner and
needs to return to the embrace of Islam.
He could be a successful businessman or a petty trader upset with the
secular nature of the Mahathir administration.
He could be a product of political disaffection. Loosely interpreted,
that could be any of the 800,000 members of Parti Islam SeMalaysia.
He could be a family man. Just listen to Ms Chomel Sufaat, Yazid's
wife whom he met in the US.
'We are just like any other Malaysian family. We take our children to
school, go for breakfast and head to work,' she told Sunday Review.
In short, the militant in Malaysia could be anyone.
Abim's Mr Ahmad believes that only a shake-up of the religious
education system can help stop the corruption of Islam, and in turn
stop the mushrooming of terror cells.
He noted that the number of Muslims in the country 'returning to
Islam' is astounding, from the elite of society to the odd-job
He said: 'We have to take politics out of the teaching of religion. It
is too polarised at the moment between the government and those
against the government.
'We need to start highlighting the important contributions to science
and mathematics that Islam has given the world.
'Some of the preachers place emphasis on the wrong things.'
By all accounts, Indonesian clerics Nurjaman Riduan, better known as
Hambali, Abu Bakar Bashir and Muhammad Iqbal fit snugly in that
The trio arrived in Malaysia in the mid-1980s to flee the clutches of
Indonesian security forces. All products of fundamentalist Islamic
boarding schools, they became active members of the militant movement
there and wanted Indonesia to adopt Islamic law.
Security officials believe that Hambali and Abu Bakar joined hundreds
of Muslims from the region who went to Afghanistan in the late 1980s
to help the mujahidin fight against the Soviet Union.
While there, the preachers got to know Osama bin Laden and his band of
Afghan fighters. That link between them and the Al-Qaeda network
appears to have been strengthened over time, as did the esteem they
had for the world's most famous terrorist.
Upon returning home, the Indonesian-born preachers were convinced that
Muslims from around the world needed to bear arms to fight against the
enemies of Islam.
The round-faced, bearded and bespectacled Hambali began recruiting
Muslims in the region to fight in Bosnia and Algeria.
He was also becoming quite well-known to operators of the Al-Qaeda
network, especially to Kuwaiti Ramzi Yousef and Afghan Wali Khan Amin
Both men would figure prominently in terrorist attacks against the US
in the early 1990s. Ramzi and Wali Khan were convicted for their roles
in devising plans to hijack and bomb 11 US commercial planes and to
assassinate Pope John Paul II during his 1995 visit to the
Ramzi was also jailed for masterminding the first bombing of the World
Trade Center in 1993.
Security officials say that Hambali helped the two terrorists with
those plans. But the Indonesian preacher managed to evade detection
because his name was not on any of the documents recovered by the FBI
or Malaysian police officials then.
Hambali and the other two preachers continued to proselytise for
militant movements across the region. Throughout the years, these
lectures also served as recruiting sessions.
INEVITABLY, those selected for the cells had a superficial grounding
in the religion even as they lapped up the 'knowledge' that was passed
Security officials here believe that the three preachers intensified
their incubation of the cells following the economic crisis in 1997
and the subsequent political crisis in the region.
They believed that the time was ripe for the setting up of an Islamic
state spanning Malaysia, Indonesia and Mindanao.
This message was drummed home during lectures in the home of Muhammad
Sobri, a former member of the KMM. He was one of the 26 members of the
group who were arrested after a bungled bank robbery in April last
He said that Muhammad Iqbal started lecturing in his modest home in
1999 to a small group of businessmen, taxi drivers and former members
of PAS.
Very soon, Abu Bakar and Hambali started showing up. The former came
across as brash and talked incessantly about jihad, while Hambali
encouraged members to go to Afghanistan and Kashmir to learn how to
He was also paranoid about secrecy, warning members not to speak
loosely about plans.
During these sessions, members contributed to a fund known as
Al-Ikhsan. The RM100,000 collected was to have been used by Hambali to
send fighters for paramilitary training and fund their travels to
But what they collected was never enough and requests for donations
from organisations were not forthcoming.
So the KMM decided to pull off a robbery at the Southern Bank in
Petaling Jaya. They failed miserably. One man was killed, one was
injured and two were caught.
Muhammad Sobri was held for 73 days of questioning. Subsequent
investigations led police to conclude that the group was also
responsible for the murder of politician Joe Fernandez, an attack on
the police station in Guar Cempedak and the bombing of a Hindu temple.
Sunday Review also understands that some members of the cell had also
targeted US navy personnel who were on shore leave. But after scouting
for a location along a highway near Kuala Lumpur to ambush a bus
carrying the personnel, they had cold feet.
Simultaneously, Hambali, Muhammad Iqbal and Abu Bakar Bashir were also
nurturing a different cell.
Its members were different in make-up and orientation. The Jemaah
Islamiah group was made up predominantly of educated Muslims,
lecturers and business graduates.
People like Shahril Hat, an engineering graduate from the National
University of Malaysia. When he was detained last month, the
slightly-built man was the principal of the Lukmanul Hakiem religious
school in Ulu Tiram, Johor.
People like Yazid Sufaat. After leaving the army, he started Green
Laboratory Medicine, a company that had a slew of government contracts
to do health screening for foreign workers until 1998, when business
dried up.
Today, there is little activity in the office that bears a
Reformasi-style sticker on its front door.
Police believe that Hambali ordered Yazid to buy 4 tonnes of ammonia
nitrate in October 2000. The fertiliser is used to make truck bombs,
and security officials believe that the consignment was meant for the
attack on US targets in Singapore.
Yazid also gave Hambali free use of a condominium that overlooked a
golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus in the suburb of Kajang. It was
at this apartment complex that police surveillance cameras captured
him and the Indonesian preacher meeting Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf
al-Hazmi – two hijackers who were aboard the American Airlines plane
that crashed into the Pentagon.
US intelligence agencies had alerted their Malaysian counterparts to
their presence in the country.
Sources tell Sunday Review that Malaysian police did not pick up Yazid
and Hambali for questioning because there was no evidence then of
involvement in any wrongdoing.
That assessment has altered dramatically. Now, a darker image of
Hambali is emerging. He was the point man for the Al-Qaeda network in
the region, and Yazid was his trusted lieutenant.
Police believe that the preacher, who is on the run, will be able to
draw the complete map of militant cells in the region.
But Muhammad Sobri is not so sure that Hambali will talk. 'He told us
that if you are caught, hang on as long as you can without saying
On the run back to Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR – What irony. In the 1980s, droves of religious preachers
fled Indonesia to escape a crackdown on Islamic militancy in the
world's most populous Muslim nation.
Their haven: Malaysia, where religious awakening among the masses and
a shortage of qualified ulamas guaranteed red-carpet treatment and a
conveyor belt of students.
They lived like travelling salesmen, moving from one mosque to
another, one state to another, nourishing souls for a small fee.
Their anchor was the small rural community they eventually settled
into and insurance was the red card that gave them permanent
More than two decades later, some of them are on the run again. Only
this time, it is Malaysia they are fleeing from and it is Indonesia
that beckons like a sanctuary.
To some religious experts and Malaysian officials, it was only a
matter of time before questions arose about the credibility of some of
these preachers.
Says Mr Ahmad Azam, president of the influential Angkatan Belia Islam
Malaysia (Abim): 'There was no criteria used to examine whether the
preachers were qualified or whether they received religious
instructions in a proper university.
'We allowed everyone in because there was such a demand.'
Government officials tell Sunday Review that over the years, there
have been reservations about the fitness of some of these Indonesian
preachers to pass on religious knowledge.
Many of them were schooled in the ultra-conservative settings and had
little formal education. A more serious concern: Malaysians follow the
more moderate Shafie school of thought, while Indonesians generally
grow in an environment where teachings from the four schools of
thought are embraced.
At times, the mixture proved combustible.
Mr Abu Nabilah went in search of religion when he enrolled at Pondok
Pengajian al-Quran in Negri Sembilan in the 1987. The school was under
the control of Abu Bakar Bashir.
Security officials here believe that the Indonesian cleric and his
trusted lieutenants, Hambali alias Nurjaman Riduan and Muhammad Iqbal
alias Abu Jibrail planned to overthrow secular governments in the
region and create an Islamic state linking Malaysia, Indonesia and the
Muslim-dominated southern Philippines.
He recalled that the religious lectures always seemed to have a raw
'We were always talking about talking up arms and jihad,' said the
49-year-old man, who received basic training in bomb-making on the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border five years ago.
Former army officer Muhammad Sobri, 43, also recalls lectures by Abu
Bakar in his home in a modest suburb of Puchong. It was Jihad 101,
with emphasis on helping liberate Muslims who were oppressed.
Government religious officials say the three Indonesian clerics
connected to militant activities are not the only ones who strayed
from Islamic teachings.
Over the years, they have received various reports on preachers,
including one who said that Muslims who led sinful lives would turn
into pigs when they died.
For that reason, state religious authorities have in the past few
years started issuing special permits for foreign-born preachers.
In Selangor, 50 such permits have been given out. Preachers without
the stamp of approval cannot lecture in mosques or prayer halls.
But authorities acknowledge that there is a loophole. Most
foreign-born preachers operate in small circles, out of view of
security agencies.
A perfect example is the trio of Abu Bakar, Hambali and Muhammad
Iqbal. They settled initially in different parts of Malaysia but by
1992, Hambali and Iqbal moved into attap houses in a hamlet about an
hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur.
In 1997, Abu Bakar moved into Muhammad Iqbal's house. From this base,
they fanned out to parts of Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and
They avoided large mosques or public gatherings, preferring to speak
in private homes.
They became the faces of terror in the region only because a botched
bank robbery by their charges – members of Kumpulan Militan Malaysia –
last April yielded a clue.
When police searched the home of two captured robbers, they found a
photograph of Hambali.
Said a senior government official: 'I would like to say that we will
keep a more watchful eye on Indonesian preachers from now on. But in
truth, that would be a tough job.'
–Brendan Pereira
February 10, 2013 at 7:44 am
"Toward the middle of October [2001], the Federal Bureau of Investigation subpoenaed all the records of Dr. Hugh-Jones and Kimothy Smith (who had been with Dr. Hugh-Jones at LSU, asking for the names of everyone who had visited his laboratory." Did any of the people who visited his laboratory know Ayman Zawahiri as "Dr. Ayman"?
Didn't former Zawahiri associate Tarek Hamouda work at LSU? Tarek also worked alongside Bruce Ivins at USAMRIID in the B-3 and at Dugway, in which aerosol experiments were conducted.
Dr. Ivins explained that transfers made at USAMRIID were not recorded on the inventory for Flask 1029.
Given Tarek's childhood and Cairo Medical School classmates (e.g., my friend "Tawfiq" Hamid) were recruited by Dr. Ayman Zawahiri, it is important that the US extradite Yazid Sufaat to the US if necessary to learn what strain he was using.
If Yazid wants to go home, then he should tell all that he knows so can then resume his life at the cafeteria. (Blowing up churches to market islam sets a poor example for his children and he should study the moral issues).
Yazid does not deny to me that he was using virulent Ames. He just pleads the Fifth Amendment.
Two Scientists Tracing Anthrax Family Tree Investigate Origins of Strain From Attacks
By ANTONIO REGALADO | Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
When Kimothy L. Smith heard CNN report that a man in Florida had been diagnosed with the inhaled form of anthrax, he raced to his laboratory at Northern Arizona University and "cleared out the incubator," he says. After making way for incoming samples, he then waited for the call for help from federal officials.
Locked in an unassuming two-story campus building in Flagstaff, the Arizona laboratories house the world's largest collection of specimens of anthrax bacteria, about 1,350 in all. For several years, the lab has been undertaking one of the most ambitious efforts to catalog anthrax DNA and trace the origins of different strains.
Because of that work, Dr. Smith and his boss, Paul Keim, have been crucial players in the most intensive bioterrorism criminal investigation ever in the U.S. It was here that anthrax samples recovered from American Media Inc., NBC News, Sen. Tom Daschle's offices and elsewhere were sent to be genetically dissected. Drs. Smith and Keim won't comment on their work in the investigation, but sources close to the research say the Arizona team determined that the anthrax bacteria from these different sites are indistinguishable and have "Made in the USA" stamped all over them: The microbe is a descendant of some taken from a sick cow decades ago near Ames, Iowa, and thus dubbed the Ames strain.
Investigators hope that identifying the strain will help pare the list of possible perpetrators. The Ames strain has been studied extensively by the U.S. military during the past two decades and has never been traced to Iraq or the former Soviet Union, lending support to theories that a homegrown bioterrorist is at work.
Kimothy Smith
Investigators say they still don't know where the anthrax came from, or whether the bioterrorists are foreign or domestic. They don't rule out the possibility that foreign bioterrorists or states got hold of the Ames strain, perhaps from a U.S. source. And complicating the scientists' efforts to sort out the trail of anthrax ownership is the history of anthrax research itself, confused by incomplete records and institutional secrecy.
Dr. Smith, a former practicing veterinarian in Altus, Okla., decided to move into research after the routine of tending to cows, dogs and the occasional raccoon wore thin. At Louisiana State University's Special Pathogens Laboratory, he found his niche in molecular epidemiology, the hunt for the cause of animal-disease outbreaks among the proteins, enzymes and DNA that pathogens such as anthrax use to survive in the wild and infect their hosts. In 1999, he moved to the Arizona lab, bringing with him the lab's first samples of anthrax.
Paul Keim
Since then, the Arizona lab has been building a genetic family tree of all forms of anthrax. Under a $300,000-a-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, Drs. Keim and Smith have been collecting anthrax varieties from across North America and Africa and then examining them for patterns of unique DNA markers.
The job of collecting field specimens falls largely to Dr. Smith, a 40-year-old with a long mane of silver hair who steals quick puffs from a pipe he keeps tucked in his jeans. He has made several trips to South Africa to pick anthrax specimens from animal bones, hyena dung and occasionally from local farmers who caught the skin form of the disease while preparing hides. Among his most prized acquisitions: two brown glass tubes of anthrax sealed in 1937 by Max Sterne, the South African who developed the first effective anthrax vaccine.
Telling varieties of anthrax apart isn't easy. Compared with other microbes, anthrax displays scant variety at the DNA level. Part of the reason is that anthrax takes regular breaks from evolution. After killing their host, anthrax bacteria form protective spores and enter a state of suspended animation that has been known to endure more than 150 years. That's what makes anthrax a favorite of weapons makers and terrorists: It can be stored indefinitely, in a warhead, for instance, or an envelope.
Now, as scientists and investigators try to trace the anthrax that has appeared since Sept. 11, they are running up against the shortcomings in anthrax research and record-keeping before DNA typing was developed. Until recently, microbiologists kept track of their collections with handwritten labels, and they relied on colleagues to maintain the paper trail when they shared specimens.
The original Ames strain sample came from a dead cow, but no one knows exactly when. Martin Hugh-Jones, a scientist at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, says the sample his lab obtained in the mid-1990s was marked "October, 1932." That sample came from the Center for Applied Microbiology and Research in Porton Down, England. Porton Down got its sample from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, which got its own sample in late 1980 or early 1981 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's veterinary laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The USDA doesn't know how long it has held the sample.
It also isn't clear whether the Ames strain was part of the secret U.S. biological-weapons program, to which President Nixon called a halt in 1969. Dr. Hugh-Jones has said that David Huxsoll, former head of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, told them it was. Dr. Huxsoll couldn't be reached for comment. Two scientists who were involved in the U.S. bioweapons program, Bill Patrick and Richard Spertzel, say they used a strain called Vollum, not Ames.
What is certain is that during the past 15 years, the Ames strain, particularly virulent, has become a research favorite. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refused to release its records of other U.S. labs that may have Ames, citing national-security concerns. Toward the middle of October, the Federal Bureau of Investigation subpoenaed all the records of Dr. Hugh-Jones, asking for the names of everyone who had visited his laboratory.
Soon after the first press reports that the anthrax used in the recent attacks was of the Ames strain, Iowa State University briefly became the prime suspect in a media hunt for the source. Gov. Thomas Vilsack called out the National Guard and state police to guard the anthrax stores. Iowa State researchers got rid of the problem by baking their anthrax specimens in an autoclave, a type of oven used to sterilize surgical instruments.
Iowa State says it received permission from the FBI and the CDC to destroy the anthrax. But now, no one will ever know whether the Iowa State anthrax was the Ames strain — perhaps even the original. That dismays Dr. Smith. The dusty collection would have been a precious data point for his anthrax catalog. "It sounds like a damn convenient thing to autoclave it," he says.
There are indications that the terror strain differs in some small but significant way from the Ames strain held by the U.S. military. Tom Ridge, President Bush's director of homeland security, has called the strains used in the Florida, New York and Washington attacks "indistinguishable" but not identical. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., said on Saturday that the strain was "Ames-like."
Such differences may matter in the investigation. Each time a bacterium divides, it has to make a new copy of its DNA, and there's a small chance for error in the process. In experiments two years ago, Dr. Keim and his colleagues found that Ames is exceptionally stable. After growing a sample until it had doubled 100,000 times, they found only one detectable genetic change. If the Arizona scientists and others find that the terrorist anthrax exhibits such differences, that could indicate that it has been grown in huge quantities, potentially a sign of involvement by a state-sponsored biological-weapons program.
February 9, 2013 at 7:17 pm
Government will come down hard on anyone with militant links'
By MOHD FARHAAN SHAH and STEVEN DANIEL
OHOR BARU: The Home Ministry will use the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 on anyone found to have ties with militants, warned Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
He added that ex-ISA detainee Yazid Sufaat, religious teacher Halimah Hussein and cafeteria helper Mohd Hilmi Hasim had all been detained after they were found to be linked to a militant group.
"Their links could lead to global implications for our country especially if we do not take immediate action," he said after launching the new Home Ministry Young Squad logo here yesterday.
Hishammuddin said the Government was serious in ensuring that the country didn't become a hub for terrorism-linked activities.
He said stringent action would also be taken against foreigners residing in Malaysia who were found to have links to terrorist groups.
February 9, 2013 at 2:09 pm
What is the application and effect of this extradition treaty between Malaysia and United States?
Text – U.S. Government Printing Office
EXTRADITION TREATY WITH MALAYSIA ______ MESSAGE from THE PRESIDENT OF THE … To the Senate of the United States: With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ….. Respectfully submitted, Warren Christopher.
Bilateral extradition treaties malaysia extradition treaty – International …
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick View
herewith the Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and … the Treaty accommodates the differences between U.S. and Malaysian criminal law. (Malaysia, for example …… H.E. Mr. Warren Christopher. U.S. …
February 9, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Malaysia is on the list of countries with which the United States has an extradition treaty. When is the Department of Justice going to succeed in arranging for the extradition of the senior Al Qaeda officials who actively participated in the death of 3,000 innocents. They should vindicate the rule of law embodied in any applicable extradition treaties.
- February 9, 2013 at 2:18 pm
February 9, 2013 at 10:36 am
Ensiklopedia Radikal
19 Juli 2012
Yazid Sufaat
Oleh Imam Muhlis
Nama Yazid Sufaat muncul sewaktu pembicaraan Zakaria Moussaoui, warga Perancis yang dijatuhi hukuman seumur hidup pada 2006 oleh pengadilan karena berkonspirasi dalam pengeboman World Trade Centre atau disebut juga Menara Kembar di New York, pada 2001. Ia adalah pengusaha asal Malaysia yang bekerja sama dengan Zawahiri di Afganistan untuk menyebarkan spora antraks. Rapat pada Januari 2001 antara pengebom USS Cole dan pembajak menara hasil desain arsitek asal Jepang-Amerika, Minoru Yamasaki pada 9/11 dilangsungkan di Kondominium miliknya di Kuala Lumpur.[1]
Yazid merupakan warga negara Malaysia yang lahir pada 20 Januari 1964. Yazid merupakan seorang ahli Patologi yang telah belajar Mikrobiologi di California State University, Sacramento, Amerika Serikat. Ia adalah tentara Malaysia sebagai teknisi medis, hingga mencapai pangkat Kapten Angkatan Darat Malaysia dan kemudian berhenti untuk menjadi ahli perniagaan, dan bekas kapten tersebut semakin popular tatkala dikaitkan dengan Jamaah Islamiah (JI) dan serangan dua menara kembar di Amerika Serikat pada 2001.
Sebelumnya, pada Oktober 2000 Yazid dalam pantauan PBB telah bertemu Zakaria Mousaoui—terdakwah yang telah mendanai sedikitnya 35.000 USD dalam serangan 9/11 terhadap World Trade Centre(WTC). Pengusaha asal Malaysia tersebut mengakui bahwa Zakaria adalah seorang karyawan perusahaan software. Yazid mengatakan bahwa ia telah membayar gaji Zakaria untuk memasarkan produk software, yang menghubungkan komputer ke telepon, terutama untuk tujuan call-centre, di Eropa dan AS.[2] Apartemen milik Yazid akhirnya diinfakkan untuk organisasi Islam Persatuan Al-Ehsan yang dituduh untuk digunakan aktivitas-aktivitas perencanaan serangan 9/11 yang oleh PBB disebut sebagai "KTT Al-Qaeda 2000".[3]
Yazid Sufaat atau Yazud bin Yazid Sufaat atau Shufaat adalah seorang anggota organisasi Jamaah Islamiyah Islam dari Shorty setelah berdirinya pada 1993 sampai penangkapannya oleh pemerintah Malaysia pada 9 Desember 2001. Bekas kapten tersebut diyakini menjadi salah satu atau semua peneliti utama Qaeda Antraks pada 1993. Yazid juga mendirikan laboratorium patologi atau disebut Hijau Laboratorium Kedokteran, kemudian ia mencobaweaponise antraks atas nama al-Qaeda. Pada 5-8 Januari 2000, sebuah pertemuan besar al-Qaeda dan JI diselenggarakan di Kuala Lumpur,[4], ia juga dituduh sebagai penyedia dokumentasi pekerjaan kepada Zakaria Moussaoui dan menyediakan penginapan kepada dua pembajak bernama Khalid al-Midhar dan Nawaf al-Hazmi.[5]
Posisi Yazid sangat penting dalam kelompok Al-Qaeda karena ia adalah seorang ilmuan untuk membuat sebuah program senjata biologis. Pada 2001, Yazid menghabiskan beberapa bulan untuk mengolah anthrax untuk keperluan kelompok Al-Qaeda di sebuah laboratorium di dekat bandara Kandahar. Melalui laboratorium Hijaunya, Yazid memperoleh empat ton ammonium nitrat untuk membuat bom yang akan diberikan kepada Fathur Rahman Al-Ghozi untuk melakukan aksi pemboman di Singapura, namun Al-Ghozali pada Desember 2001 ditangkap di Pines Philip.[6]
Pada 9 Disember 2001, Yazid ditahan oleh pemerintah Malaysia melalui Internal Security Act (ISA), yang tidak memerlukan seseorang itu dibuktikan sebagai bersalah atau tidak. Yazid ditahan ketika dalam perjalanan pulang dari Afghanistan ke Bangkok. Sang bekas kapten tersebut akhirnya pada 10 Disember 2008, dibebaskan dari penjara oleh pemerintah Malaysia.[7]
[1] Lawrence Wright, Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, Sejarah Teror: Jalan Panjang Menuju 11 September, (Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2011), hlm. 478.
[2] http://www.malaysiakini.com/. Pada (20/3/2012). Lihat juga dalam, http://arrahmah.com/read/2012/03/24/18972-wawancara-eksklusif-dengan-yazid-sufaat-serangan-911-meningkatkan-pemeluk-islam.html
[3] Ibid.
[4] Lihat Kuala Lumpur al Qaeda KTT, 2000.
[5] The 9/11 Commission Report About The Summit, hlm 159.
[6] Sumber; Time Untangling The Web by Simon Elegant, Kuala Lumpur, 4 Februari 2001.
[7] Thomas Joscelyn, Al-Qaeda Anthrax Scientist, 12 Desember 2008. Lihat juga, Lawrence Wright, Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, Sejarah Teror: Jalan Panjang Menuju 11 September, hlm. 478.
February 8, 2013 at 7:47 pm
2 Malaysians charged with promoting terrorism
The Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur | World | Sat, February 09 2013
The charge read in a Magistrate's Court on Friday said that Yazid "encouraged terrorist activities" at a house in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur sometime between early August and late October, while Halimah abetted him.
Prosecution documents offered scant details except that their actions could have threatened public safety in Syria.
February 8, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Upon arresting him, Malaysian authorities have seized Sufaat's laptop and modem. Maybe the context of his messages (not seen by me) will help clarify some of the ambiguities.
February 8, 2013 at 3:30 pm
One of those arrested was Yazid's worker, Hilmi.
Chomel says they also took his handphone. He would sometimes post his location (the location posted was east of KL). While I don't know anything about GPS, authorities must be able to know the location of his cellphone; they have been monitoring him closely to make sure he stays out of trouble. I think it was a Blackberry.
The two men and woman arrested will be represented by four lawyers – Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Amer Hamzah Arshad, Farida Mohamad and Afiq M Noor.
- February 8, 2013 at 3:30 pm
February 6, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Edward Jay Epsein writes of my sometimes Facebook friend Yazid Sufaat:
"In the midst of the panic that ensued in the fall of 2001, the government, which had information that it declined to make public, also became uneasy. The CIA had learned that in 1999, al-Qaeda had employed a Malaysian scientist, Yazid Sufaat, to build an anthrax lab near the Kandahar airport in Afghanistan. Had al-Qaeda used anthrax, as the letters themselves suggested? The possibility could not be neglected by the Defense Department, since most of its military personnel had not yet been vaccinated against anthrax. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld therefore dispatched a top deputy to FBI headquarters to ascertain if the anthrax puts U.S. troops at risk. The FBI considered the subject so sensitive at the time that the deputy was not allowed to bring any of his aides to the meeting. He later described the secret briefing as an eye-opener into the FBI's approach to this biological attack."
January 29, 2013 at 9:41 am
Yazid Marwan Hadeed today writes from near Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah
"Strive hard for your place in Jannah….cant get there cara lenggang kangkong, tepuk tangan dan carpet merah, brother…."
I think he may be saying you can't obtain your place in Jannah by focusing on applause and the red carpet.
January 13, 2013 at 11:20 pm
Yazid Marwan Hadeed (Yazid Sufaat) writes by Blackberry 19 hours ago:
"Silence and smiles are two powerful tools. A smile is the way to solve many problems & silence is the way to avoid many problems."
January 3, 2013 at 7:38 am
Yazid Marwan Hadeed (Yazid Sufaat) today writes:
Hari ini dlm sejarah: Di hujung hayat kuasanya, Shah Iran tabur wang dari helikopter — apalah sgt kasi rebate HP. Rakyat tak peduli & Shah tetap tumbang. Should learn from history, berjimat itu rahmat.
I don't speak the Malay language but Yazid, I think, is saying about "Today in history…." In life… something proxies, the Shah of Iran sow money from helicopters……..something something … People do not care and the Shah kept falling. Should learn from history."
I have no idea what he is talking about but I do know that Yazid just recently commented that he thinks Iran is the last hope of Islam.
And I don't know what the reference to helicopters concerns given the lousy translation.
I've previously discussed how US-supplied helicopters sold to Iraq (supposedly its Ministry of Agriculture for spraydrying missions) were used to fight off Iranian infantry during the Iraq-Iran war. And that they were funded by Prince Bandar who worked through arms trafficker Sarkis Soghanalian. See Sarkis' interviews before his death.
There's a 2013 book
A Glance Back – Myths and Facts about CBRN …
that puts Iraq's use of CBRN during the Iraq-Iran war on the timeline.
Sarkis was prosecuted by the US for equipping the helicopters with TOW missiles.
I may not share Yazid's political or religious views but I do think it pays to learn from history.
And what history teaches is that we should follow the money. We at least should understand the flow of money so as to be in a position to assess whether it is relevant in divining motive.
December 23, 2012 at 8:46 am
Most recently Yazid writes:
"Aside from their 32 brains, leeches also have 3 mouths and each of which are filled with hundreds of teeth."
I have no idea whether this is code or whether it is some sort of metaphor or just a bit of shared trivia.
KSM taught his CBRN operatives a simple code. Telephone numbers would be determined based on the difference from a "5". So for example "3" would become "7", "2" would be "8", "3" would be "7" and "0" would be 10… (perhaps hundreds…00… would be 1010. He and Al-Hawsawi most famously used the code in communicating with operative CBRN operative Al-Marri by leaving draft messages in email accounts for which they both had the password.
So if a phone number the number would be 787 1010.
Yazid may remember from his zoology course in 1984 at Sacramento State that leeches actually only have one brain. He may be referring to ganglia – they're clusters of nerve cells where signals are sorted and processed. Humans have tons of them, most of which are located along either side of the spinal column. Signals come in from the body and are processed and passed onto the brain (or responses are immediately sent back out to the muscles and skin in the case of reflexes).
I address the code I believe was used in the anthrax letters here:
December 27, 2012 at 3:54 am
The authors of a recent study in The Biologist about using animal models to track an anthrax terrorist do not address the study addressing a case of 200 dead crows near St. Catharines. There was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.
The consulting bird pathologist examine the remains of all the crows, and he confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu, to everyone's relief.
However, he determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, and only 2% were killed by car impact.
The Province then hired an ornithological behaviourist to determine the disproportionate percentages for truck versus car kill.
The ornithological behaviourist determined the cause in short order.
When crows eat road kill, they always set-up a look-out Crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
His conclusion was that the lookout crow could say "Cah", but he could not say "Truck."
- December 27, 2012 at 3:54 am
December 21, 2012 at 4:01 pm
I've received a copy of the report by William C. Patrick dated February 1999 titled "RISK ASSESSMENT OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY AEROSOLS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS FOR DECONTAMINATION." It addresses a hypothetical scenario presented based on "what is reported in current newspapers regarding the actions taken by the "first responders" to hoax events.
Among the references, I would highlight Rose, William, "Residual hazard testing of biological agents in various soils, with and without sunlight," DTIC Recovery Number AD 507-112. Relatedly, Theresa Koehler's lab in Houston, upgraded to BL-3 in March 2001, had a $100,000 grant from the CIA in 2001 to test the persistence of anthrax in soil. (The basement lab was destroyed by millions of gallons that flooded the lab, killing the animals, in June 2001.)
December 21, 2012 at 8:26 pm
USPS – Frequently Asked Questions – Anthrax – Biohazard Information
Remember, anthrax spores are stable, able to resist sunlight for several hours and able to remain …
Comment: Doesn't silicon absorbed into the coat increase the resistance to sunlight? See Japanese study.
Isn't equating "weaponization" with "floatability" overly simplistic — and misleading?
Doesn't the silica absorbed into the spore coat increase the resistance to sunlight and make the "We have this anthrax" even more ominous?
- December 21, 2012 at 8:26 pm
December 20, 2012 at 9:03 am
Biosecur Bioterror. 2012 Dec;10(4):401-411.
Public Response to an Anthrax Attack: A Multiethnic Perspective.
Steelfisher GK, Blendon RJ, Brulé AS, Ben-Porath EN, Ross LJ, Atkins BM.
Gillian K. SteelFisher, PhD, is Assistant Director, Harvard Opinion Research Program; Robert J. Blendon, ScD, is Senior Associate Dean for Policy Translation and Leadership Development, Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, and Executive Director, Harvard Opinion Research Program; and Amanda S. Brulé, MA, is a Research Assistant; all in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Laura J. Ross, PhD, is Lead Health Communication Specialist, and Bret Atkins, PhD, is Health Communications Specialist, both in the Division of State and Local Readiness, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Eran N. Ben-Porath, PhD, is Research Director, Social Science Research Solutions, Media, PA. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of their institutions and employers.
The 2001 anthrax attacks emphasized the need to develop outreach that would more effectively support racial/ethnic minority populations during a bioterrorism incident. Given the importance of antibiotic prophylaxis in a future anthrax attack, it should be a priority to better support racial/ethnic minorities in mass dispensing programs. To examine the needs and perspectives of racial/ethnic minorities, this study used a nationally representative poll of 1,852 adults, including 1,240 whites, 261 African Americans, and 282 Hispanics. The poll examined public reactions to a "worst-case scenario" in which cases of inhalation anthrax are discovered without an identified source and the entire population of a city or town is asked to receive antibiotic prophylaxis within 48 hours. Findings suggest willingness across all racial/ethnic groups to comply with recommendations to seek prophylaxis at dispensing sites. However, findings also indicate possible barriers for racial/ethnic minorities, including greater concern about pill safety and multiple attacks as well as lesser knowledge about inhalation anthrax. Across all racial/ethnic groups, roughly half would prefer to receive antibiotics at mass dispensing sites rather than through the US Postal Service. People in racial/ethnic minority groups were more likely to say this preference stems from a desire to speak with staff or to exchange medication formulation or type. Findings suggest the need for tailored outreach to racial/ethnic minorities through, for example, emphasis on key messages and enhanced understandability in communications, increased staff for answering questions in relevant dispensing sites, and long-term trust building with racial/ethnic minority communities.
Comment: I am very dubious of this study's finding. Key considerations include issues of transportation and language relating to some subpopulations. But those considerations do not warrant the findings in the study. In fact, issues of transportation point in the other direction.
The authors report "roughly half would prefer to receive antibiotics at mass dispensing sites rather than through the US Postal Service." Logistics and the efficiency of dispensing are far more important than the druthers expressed in a survey. We saw in the Oneida County drill, the gymnasium scenario aimed to dispense to 200 per hour — IMO, such an approach does not take into account that in the case of an aerosol release, people will not want to be outdoors.
The Fall 2001 anthrax mailing was not an aerosol release and is not a good model. There postal employees and workers from the Capitol were willing to stand in line waiting to receive Cipro — at the location there had not been an aerosol release in the area. There was nervousness but not panic.
In one exercise in the Pacific Northwest, having Cipro distributed at doctor's office would be a horrible idea for those cities where parking at doctor's offices is a problem.
Indeed, in the largest cities such as Boston, I think distribution of Cipro should be made from booths on the major thoroughfares leaving the City.
I don't see that the first sentence has any support in logic: "The 2001 anthrax attacks emphasized the need to develop outreach that would more effectively support racial/ethnic minority populations during a bioterrorism incident."
To the contrary, when understood in the context of Al Qaeda's anthrax plan and the CIA's conclusion about the reasons for its inquiries into cropdusting, the anthrax attacks emphasized the need to process large numbers of people in distributing antiobitics — far more than 200 per hour. That emphasizes the need for speedy distribution in which those distributing the antibiotic are themselves protected from exposure.
And although I will still need to read the article, I am not sure what medical counseling is needed that cannot be provided through media.
I am only interested in the historical whodunnit and so I will leave to public health officials the brainstorming of the best response in the case of an aerosol release by a cropduster.
But relying on survey results does not seem a sound approach.
Instead, it seems that the key is how many citizens can receive Cipro in the context of a mass citywide-panic.
I've always liked the idea of distribution at the windows of pharmacies. There is a drive through window and there are pharmacies in every neighborhood. Each store has a parking lot in which the waiting cars can line up. You would be able to distribute to 200 per hour at each local window.
November 3, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Yazid is available to be interviewed on the subject.
October 17, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Kurt Eichenwald in 500 DAYS (2012) is mistaken in his timeline relating to Sufaat. (p. 222) He is writing chronologically for the period January 2002 when he writes:
""Sufaat had fled Afghanistan for Pakistan to set up a new anthrax lab. The Americans believed they had even learned the location where the experiments were being conducted. FBI agents involved in the investigation of the anthrax attacks headed to Pakistan and searched fro the laboratory.
They were close to the truth. Sufaat was the researcher responsible for the al-Qaeda's anthrax program, he had fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan, and he had resumed his work there. But the information divined by the Americans about where he was hiding was wrong.
The FBI agents returned to the United States, convinced that the lab was in some part of Pakistan. They just didn't know where." (p. 222).
I don't see any sourcing at all for his claim about the FBI searching for Sufaat's lab in late Fall 2001 / January 2002. But if true it would be fascinating to know more.
But his timeline is mistaken inasmuch that Yazid Sufaat was captured in December 2001. In December, he was captured upon crossing into Malaysia.
It just wasn't made public until February or March 2002 at which time I began posting on Sacramento State bulletin boards looking for people who knew him.
As sourcing for the page 222, Kurt cites Detainee Assessment Jamal Muhammad Alawi.
The Alawi detainee assessment is indeed a rich source worth citing — he was a colleague assisting Sufaat in Karachi — but it is not support for the timeline advanced.
Kurt also cites CIA Director of Intelligence, "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Preeminent Source on al Qaeda," July 13, 2004.
The CIA's "Preeminent Source" document cited by Kurt mistakenly in passing says Sufaat had been in custody for "several months" before KSM's capture — KSM was captured in early March 2003. To the contrary, Sufaat had been in custody for well over a year.
He was captured in December 2001 — making the FBI's failure to interview him until November 2002 a serious issue for GAO's consideration.
Yazid says a "friend" had told his captors about his work and so then his wife was picked up in an attempt to gain leverage over him — this was early on. But he clammed up and refused to cooperate because he felt he had been betrayed by his country.
I totally appreciate that Sufaat was not talking. He still pleads the Fifth Amendment on the narrow subject of the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings. But why didn't the FBI succeed in learning from Malaysia about Sufaat's work with the Malaysian biological weapons program?
October 17, 2012 at 10:24 pm
500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars – Page 166 – Google Books Result
Kurt Eichenwald – 2012 – History
Through myriad go-betweens that disguised the real customer, Sufaat had obtained the drugs from the Bioport Corporation, the same company that supplied the …
Comment: I don't know his precise source. He cites a variety of sources for page 166 from which "some details" were obtained. And often substantive statements turn out not to be supported by the citations.
Someone should ask Yazid directly where he got his vaccine.
Did he get it from this New York City pharmacist?
What does Najmut Tariq say about suggestion that his name on a document links to him the anthrax vaccine and biological weapons. Was his pharmaceutical business simply where Al Qaeda hoped to purchase items such as Cipro?
Posted by Lew Weinstein on April 28, 2011
Does an Al Qaeda "Anthrax Operative" Own New York Pharmacies?
A detainee assessment released by WikiLeaks identifies a Pakistani pharmacist suspected of ties to terrorism.
—By David Corn
| Mon May. 9, 2011
NYC Pharmacy Chain Owner Could be Al-Qaeda Agent: U.S. Document
May 9, 2011
- October 17, 2012 at 10:24 pm
September 12, 2012 at 5:31 am
Nowadays, the FBI doesn't need a warrant. They could just "friend" Sufaat an Facebook.
August 1, 2012 at 9:30 am
Personally, I would feel better if NYPD Intelligence were able to obtain clarification as to what the former Al Qaeda anthrax lab director Yazid Sufaat meant when he told me when "the plan is on the way." I interpret it as referring generally to "God's plan" but coming from someone who that week had rejoiced in the murder of the 3000 in the trade towers, it warrants some clarification.
I know too much about the documents that the DOJ is withholding from the GAO to have any confidence that they can snap out of a CYA mode.
Inside the Beltway, it is all about CYA.
November 12, 2012 at 6:47 am
Comment: Yazid reportedly is under close surveillance and so if Razif met with him Malaysian authorities would know it.
M'sian duo held in Lebanon deny al-Qaeda link
The Star
Publication Date : November 1, 2012
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said Razif acknowledged that he had met several of the people, and admitted that he had previously been arrested in Yemen and was questioned by the special branch in Malaysia during the hearing.
Anifah said Razif was also asked if he had met with a senior member of Jemaah Islamiah group Yazid Sufaat in Malaysia and whether he had acted as a recruiter for al-Qaeda, to which he answered no.
- November 12, 2012 at 6:47 am
July 17, 2012 at 6:11 am
I can't find Yazid any longer on FaceBook. I just see the "community page" (like a wikipedia page) that someone created.
May 30, 2012 at 4:07 pm
The proposal to release during rush hour was scrapped upon public objection.
MBTA to Spread Dead Bacteria on Red Line in Bio-Terror Test
In order to test sensors that detect biological agents that terror groups could release into subway systems, Homeland Security and the T plan to release dead bacteria at three Red Line stops during off-hours.
• By Chris Helms
May 7, 2012 at 3:34 pm
The U.S. government is seeking the right to observe messages and activity on social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
If the USG gives you a good word to play on Words With Friends, is it considered cheating? Or is it still a win.
May 7, 2012 at 4:05 pm
What if the word is "pegasus" and is a 7-letter bingo?
- May 7, 2012 at 4:05 pm
May 1, 2012 at 5:02 pm
April 29, 2012 6:52 PM
Interrogations: The FBI's side of the story
60 Minutes Overtime Staff
May 1, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Ali Soufan says the key to interrogation is knowledge and empathy. People need to connect with others at a human level.
- May 1, 2012 at 5:04 pm
May 1, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Here is some of the substantive discussion:
[DXer] "After the bombing, Boston Globe once published a picture of a large brown bottle that indicated it had been harvested on about June 7, 2001. Would that have been Sterne? Or would that have been in sutbilis? Were you involved with Abu Khabab's research in August/September 2001 involving rabbits or was that at a different location?"
[DXer] "Did you go to Pakistan after your release as reported by local Pakistan newspapers? If so, when did you get back?"
[Yazid Sufaat] "I can do magic Ross~"
[DXer] "In southern Lombok, the Nyale worm festival was very special. Lots of good laughs. Even apart from religious faith, smiles and laughs are a good thing, I think."
[DXer] "The authors JB Petro and David Relman in Perils of Scientific Openness in the journal, SCIENCE, listed an article taken after the bombing that discussed growing anthrax in silica. DId you grow your anthrax in silica? I'm not a scientist and so any question I ask about science may very well be poorly asked."
[DXer] "Was your Kandahar project called Zabadi? If so, why?"
[DXer] "Yazid, the interrogation reports provided by Wikileaks provide many details of the project at Omar Hospital and Kandahar for which you, Barq and al-Sudani were vaccinated. And the US Government Accountability Office will be coming out with a report soon about the science relating to the tests that showed the Ames strain of anthrax being used. Can you confirm that it was the Ames strain of anthrax?"
May 1, 2012 at 6:12 am
Ed Montooth and Ken Kohl,
You have connected the dots differently than Yazid Sufaat does. But when he writes the history, it would still be cool if you wrote a blurb and explained why your analysis of what and his colleagues did differs from Yazid's analysis. Given how beautiful AUSA Lieber is, she would be great in television debates. Where Yazid Sufaat presents what he and his colleagues did and AUSA Lieber explains that he is mistaken.
Atta Was Coordinating With Jdey's Associate Al-Hazmi, First In Fort Lee, NJ In Late August 2001 And Then In Laurel, MD in September 2001 ; Jdey's Associate Nawaf Al-Hazmi Had Been At The Planning Meeting At Yazid Sufaat's Kuala Lumpur Condo With Anthrax Planner Hambali And Anthrax Lab Director Yazid Sufaat And Yet The FBI Never Told The Public That Jdey Had Been Detained Along With Moussaoui In August 2001 (With Biology Textbooks) And Then Released
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 25, 2012
In Late August 2001, Atta Went With Jdey's Associate Nawaf Al-Hazmi Fort Lee, NJ Main Street Location That The Particulate Mixer Had Been Delivered To Laurel, MD Where The FBI Later Has Atta On Film At KINKOS Copying; Jdey's Associate Nawaf Al-Hazmi Had Been At The Planning Meeting At Yazid Sufaat's Kuala Lumpur Condo With Anthrax Planner Hambali And Anthrax Lab Director Yazid Sufaat
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 25, 2012
Atta Made the 911 Reservation With Nawaf Al-Hazmi At Yuricom; If No Cars Were Passing And He Had Been There A Month Or Two Earlier, He Could Have Seen The Particulate Mixer Being Delivered By The Delivery Truck
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 27, 2012
In Spring 2001, Nawaf Al-Hazmi Associated With Both Anwar Awlaki And Ali Al-Timimi, Who Shared A Suite With The Ames Researchers
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 27, 2012
May 1, 2012 at 6:19 am
In writing his book, Yazid Sufaat or his co-author could interview Jason Bannan on the effectiveness of insecticide as a decontamination agent in wiping down the walls of the labs at Omar Hospital and Kandahar. Yazid could argue that it was effective in eliminating traces of virulent anthrax (except for the positive findings for Ames strain) and Jason could dispute Sufaat's claim that he was working with virulent Ames.
- May 1, 2012 at 6:19 am