CASE CLOSED … what really happened in the 2001 anthrax attacks?

* How was the FBI able to exclude Abderraouf Yousef Jdey as the mailer if the FBI doesn’t know where he was and, according to former top CIA analyst Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Jdey was released before the mailings? Did Jdey know Aafia? Did Jdey know Al-Timimi? Did Jdey know Slahi?

Posted by DXer on April 27, 2011

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12 Responses to “* How was the FBI able to exclude Abderraouf Yousef Jdey as the mailer if the FBI doesn’t know where he was and, according to former top CIA analyst Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Jdey was released before the mailings? Did Jdey know Aafia? Did Jdey know Al-Timimi? Did Jdey know Slahi?”

  1. DXer said

    This is the nugget on which Ken Dillon is premising his FOIA lawsuit. Could Rolf Mowatt-Larssen simply have been mistaken? I wrote him at the time of the WMD report to ask but he did not reply.

    If so, no correction was ever made.

  2. DXer said

    Yes, Jdey was in Slahi’s Montreal cell.

    The detainee assessment of the Montreal cell leader, Mohamedou Ould Salahi [Slahi], S E C R E T / / NOFORN / / 20330303, mentions his training by Abu Khabab in the use of poisons. His cell included Abderraouf Jdey.

    Click to access us9mr-000760dp.source.prod_affiliate.91.pdf

    b. (S//NF) Reasons for Continued Detention: Detainee is an admitted member of al- Qaida who swore bayat to UBL, trained at al-Qaida camps, served as a key member of al- Qaida’s network in Europe, and was prepared to be a martyr. Detainee is an associate with and probable recruiter of several 11 September 2001 terrorist attack hijackers. Detainee is a cousin, brother-in-law, and probably former assistant to Abu Hafs al-Mauritani, a member of al-Qaida’s leading Shura Council and personal religious advisor to UBL. Detainee was the leader of the al-Qaida cell in Duisburg, GM, and later became the leader of the Montreal- based al-Qaida cell that was responsible for the foiled Year 2000 “Millennium bombing” plot targeting Los Angeles International Airport and possibly other US-based targets. …

    ␣ (U//FOUO) Detainee admitted receiving training from Abu Khabab al-Masri, aka (Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar), at al-Faruq from January through March 1991.15 (Analyst Note: Abu Khabab was the main chemical and explosives trainer for al-Qaida in Afghanistan. A handwritten document recovered in Afghanistan near the Duranta Camp is assessed to be a training manual written by Abu Khabab for the synthesis of various poisons and chemical warfare agents.16) ,,,

    • (S//NF) Detainee is an acknowledged al-Qaida recruiter and recruited key participants in the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.18 …

    ○ (S//NF) During custodial debriefings, 11 September 2001 terrorist attack coordinator Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, ISN US9YM-010013DP (YM-10013), stated in Germany, detainee recruited YM-10013 and three of the suicide hijackers: Muhammad Atta, the overall mission commander and pilot of the aircraft that crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC); Marwan al-Shehhi, the pilot of the aircraft that destroyed the South Tower of the WTC; and Ziad Jarrah, the pilot of the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania. …

    ␣ (S//NF) YM-10013 explained detainee facilitated his initial introduction to UBL and senior al-Qaida military commander Abu Hafs al-Masri, aka (Muhammad Atif), in Kandahar.22 (Analyst Note: YM-10013 also intended to participate in the attacks but was prevented from obtaining a visa for travel to the US. YM-10013 instead became the coordinator for the hijackers and the contact for Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, aka (KSM), ISN US9KU-010024DP (KU- 10024), the mastermind of the 11 September 2001 operation.23)

    • (S//NF) Detainee is assessed to be the leader of the Montreal-based al-Qaida cell responsible for the foiled “Millennium bombing” plot targeting Los Angeles International Airport and possibly other US-based targets in December 1999.
    ○ (S//NF) Detainee arrived in Montreal, CA, from Duisburg on 26 November 1999.

    ○ (S//NF) Four days after his arrival in Montreal, detainee met with “Millennium bomber” Ahmed Ressam. Ressam left shortly thereafter for Vancouver, CA, where he prepared the explosive device he planned to detonate at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) during the Millennium celebrations. Ressam was arrested attempting to enter the US from Canada on 14 December 1999. Detainee fled Canada on 21 January 2000, after being questioned about Ressam by RCMP officers on 20 and 21 December at the Montreal safe house.45

    ○ (S//NF) Ahmed Laabidi identified himself as detainee’s former roommate at the al-Sunnah Mosque. Laabidi reported detainee was the leader of the cell and served as the key intermediary between senior al-Qaida through detainee’s cousin, Abu Hafs al- Mauritani. Following the disruption of the Montreal cell, Laabidi entered the US illegally, was arrested by INS agents, and deported to Tunisia in September 2003.46

    ○ (S//NF) According to Laabidi, other members of the Montreal cell included Raouf Hannachi, who was probably detainee’s deputy and a possible suicide operative; Abd al-Majid Dahoumane, Ressam’s accomplice; Raouf Jdey, a probable suicide operative whose martyrdom video were found at al-Qaida senior military commander Muhammad Atef’s house and whose will was recovered from Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Muhammad Omar’s house; Abd al-Ghani Meskini, also a Ressam accomplice; Mustafa Labsi, Ressam’s former roommate and an associate of senior al-Qaida facilitator Zayn al-Abudin Muhammad Husayn, aka (Abu Zubaydah), ISN US9GZ-10016; and Imad Abid, a roommate of detainee and an associate of Jdey48

    b. (S//NF) Placement and Access: Detainee’s close association with Abu Hafs al- Mauritani and his role in major al-Qaida operational plans gave him an extraordinary degree of knowledge and access to key al-Qaida operatives around the world. Detainee traveled to Afghanistan, participated in training, and had access to multiple senior al-Qaida personnel. He is assessed to have recruited for al-Qaida and facilitated the travel and training of 11 September 2001 terrorist attack participants. Detainee is assessed to have had prior knowledge of the “Millennium plot” and contact with extremist cells in Canada planning for that attack.

    From Wikipedia:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamedou_Ould_Slahi

    Slahi was subjected to isolation, temperature extremes, beatings and sexual humiliation at Guantánamo. In another incident, he was blindfolded and taken out to sea for a mock execution. Lt. Col Stuart Couch refused to prosecute Slahi in a Military Commission in 2003. He said in 2007 that “Slahi’s incriminating statements—the core of the government’s case—had been taken through torture, rendering them inadmissible under U.S. and international law.”[7] …

    According to the Wall Street Journal, Slahi had his last Federal Bureau of Investigation interrogation on May 22, 2003.[7] His FBI interrogator warned him “this was our last session; he told me that I was not going to enjoy the time to come.” Three month later Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”. Among other techniques Slahi was subjected to isolation, temperature extremes, beatings and sexual humiliation. In one incident he was blindfolded and taken out to sea for a mock execution.[7][30] …

    What was not revealed until 2008 was that in a March 14, 2003 legal opinion memo issued by John Yoo of the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, to the General Counsel of DOD, Yoo advised DOD that federal laws related to torture and other abuses did not apply to interrogations overseas.[32] At that point the Bush administration contended that Guantanamo Bay was outside US jurisdiction. DOD used this memo to authorize the use of enhanced interrogation techniques at Guantanamo and in Iraq.[32][33] Also, by 2005, the New York Times reported that by an April 2003 memo from Rumsfeld to General James T. Hill, he authorized 24 specific permitted interrogation techniques to be used.[34]

  3. DXer said

    GAO: Note that US Attorney Taylor says he was able to exclude Jdey as the mailer even though the FBI reports that they had no idea where he was. That’s a neat trick. See what Yazid Sufaat has told questioners in Malaysia this past month and also David Relman’s article in SCIENCE.

  4. DXer said

    I was seriously remiss in grabbing the screen image above in inadvertently failing to include footnote 38, a citation to Richelson’s DEFUSING ARMAGEDDON (2009). That is cited for proposition that Moussaoui was with Jdey and El-Shukrijumah at McMasters University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I need to get that book and upload the relevant page. Does that make it more likely that Jdey was detained at same time at Ramada Inn as al-Attas and Moussaoui?
    Yesterday my hypothesis was that he had been detained elsewhere but now — if Moussaoui in fact was at McMasters with El-Shukrijumah and Jdey, then it seems it would make sense that Jdey had come to Minnesota.

    Separately, was El-Shukrijumah ever in Norman, Oklahoma? Did he take flying lessons there? What is the timeline for his whereabouts in 2001.

    See
    FBI Issues Alert for Four Terror Suspects; Men Suspected of…
    Washington Post – ‎Sep 6, 2003‎
    US authorities previously said they had linked an alias used by [Adnan G. El Shukrijumah] to an Oklahoma flight school where Zacarias Moussaoui, …

  5. DXer said

    I just left a message for FBI Agent Harry Samit. My daughter at a spelling bee recently was asked who she would most like to meet. Well, I have a lot of personal heros but I would say that FBI Agent Harry Samit would top the list. And so when I realize that Agent Samit’s insights were borne directly from his in-depth, on-point experience in the Navy in Naval intelligence, I thought that was very cool.

    And so, hey, I picked up the phone and called him to ask him where Jdey was arrested. See above for passage by former CIA CTC director claim that Jdey was arrested at same time with biology books.

    The FBI can decide for itself whether it is part of the problem or part of the solution.

    But I can assure them that there are no secrets. And they can be assured that all the time I posted the Unstoppable trailer “Unstoppable” refers to Denzel and his colleague, not to the train. So if the CIA CTC director is spinning things to save his ass you might want to keep pace.

  6. DXer said

    Note: Mowf says the speculation that they were intended to be part of a “second wave.” How can he describe it as unconfirmed when, for example, the detainees such as pilot Zaina, confirms that he was one of the pilots slated for teh “second wave” along with Moussaoui and Jdey?

    My present conjecture is that Jdey was arrested in Canada rather than Minneapolis. But to test the hypothesis, I have called the Sherburne County Jail in MN. The nice woman there referred me to INS — noting that the FBI or INS brought anyone to them they would not be able to release any info.

    So I called INS and the nice woman at INS explained that a FOIA records could be submitted. But separately she also recommended I call a Mr. Neudaueur in Public Affairs. Getting his answering machine, I left a message explaining the reason for the inquiry.

    I recommend someone call CSIS and someone call the former CIA CTC person who says Jdey was arrested at the same time as Moussaoui.

    No agency is going to be faulted for releasing Jdey. But the American public has a right to know where he was arrested and when he was released etc.

    When there are heros like Harry Samit in our heartland, understand that maybe the surest way to get such basic information answered is to call and ask.

    • DXer said

      Same goes for the lab that Rauf Ahmad visited in connection with which he told Dr. Ayman that he had achieved the targets.

      I expect BBC will crack that nut.

    • DXer said

      I called Rolf Mowatt-Larssen at Harvard to ask but his mailbox is full.

      • DXer said

        The top national security reporter in Canada Stewart Bell just reminded me that CSIS doesn’t have detention powers. Was Jdey detained at the border analogous to detention of al-Marabh? (Al-Marabh, as I recall, was found hiding in a truck carrying freight. He was an AQ associate who smuggled gems but that’s a sidebar.) Check out Stewart Bell’s BAYOU OF PIGS if you want an interesting slice of life in this genre. Am looking forward to it being made into a movie.

  7. DXer said

    A poster named Adam Tansley lucidly addressed the issue of handwriting and Jdey in a post commenting on Frontline’s excellent show.

    Any typos are mine. He wrote:

    “I feel the FBI was too ashamed to admit that Abderraouf Jdey is the prime suspect for the case. Mailed only 7 days after 0911/2001 this attack is the 2nd wave in the 9/11 attacks. The letter themselves hold clues.

    ‘THIS IS NEXT’ they begin… the letters are handwritten in a english-as-a-second-language style writing. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said himself that there would be multiple waves reflected of the earlier planned “Bojinka” plot, the 3rd wave the bombing of American Airlines Flight 583 (some say and evidence can go either way) on 11/12/2001 and the attempted bombing of American Airlines 62 on 12/22/2001. Jdey is one of the seven al Qaeda terrorists listed in the FBI’s plea for information from the public in May, 2004. He had emigrated to Canada in 1991, gained citizenship in 1995, and then travelled where he trained as one of the ten substitutes for the 911 attackers. Jdey was slated for pilot training and was to be in the third wave of attacks. Jdey recorded a martyrdom statement in a video later found by American forces in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has a history of interest in biological weapons. There is evidence that the 9/11 attackers had anthrax in their possession during the months preceding September 11, 2001. They were evidently seeking a way to use a cropduster to spread anthrax over an American city. A medical doctor who treated a future hijacker for a skin lesion has stated that the lesion he treated was consistent with one caused by anthrax. A pharmacist reported to FBI that Mohammed Atta, leader of the 9/11 attacks, had sought a remedy for skin irritation on his hands, which were red from the wrists down. An accompanying fellow terrorist sought a remedy for a cough. The first mailings too place in September soon after the 9/11 attacks. The second mailings, to Senators Daschle and Leahy, occurred in October and included high-quality anthrax. Driving hundreds of miles from Montreal to Trenton to mail the letters made sense because it perfectly disguised Jdey’s Canadian base. The presumed trip to Portland indicates that such a long cross-border drive to reduce the likelihood of surveillance was the modus operandi of Jdey.

    The anthrax letters do not show any obvious Gallicisms that would betray that they were from a fluent French-speaker, which Jdey presumably was. But they are consistent with a person who has acquired English as a second language, and there is nothing in them that is inconsistent with Jdey as author. In fact, Jdey is a highly believable author of the anthrax letters. Various objections that have been raised to Al Qaeda authorship of the letters can be readily met. For instance, the concept of warning the target that he/she was being attacked was standard al Qaeda procedure in keeping with an injunction from the Prophet Mohammed. One of the main characteristics or anomalies of the Anthrax Mailer has been how remarkably elusive the Mailer was both during his period of activiity in autumn, 2001 and therafter. Despite a massive FBI investigation backed by hundreds of thousands of tips from the American public, the Mailer has succeeded in hiding his tracks. Being based in Canada, contrary to every expectation, would nicely explain his elusiveness during his period of activity.

    The recently leaked Canadian intelligence report from 2002 provides a plausible explanation for the lack of information about Jdey’s whereabouts since then (as well as for the cessation of the anthrax mailings): Jdey committed suicide on Flight #587 pm November 12, 2001 (Shoe bomb similar to Richard Reids.

    But as for the handwriting of the hijacker who tested positive for Ames, here is Haznawi’s visa application.

  8. DXer said

    Where was Jdey detained?

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