This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1155
October 13, 2005
MIM: The Virginia born Abu Ali, a 'valedictorian' at the Islamic Saudi Academy, which was raided by law enforcement in a terrorism probe, went on to continue his 'studies' in Saudi Arabia, where he was recruited by Al Qaeda to set up a cell America. His father's employment at the Saudi Embassy, which appears to be crucial to the case, received scant attention in the mainstream media. As Dr. Daniel Pipes pointed out when he asked the question
"...Are the Saudis Diddling the Americans?
The Ahmed Omar Abu Ali case has many intricacies, but what stops me short is reading this sentence by Michael Isikoff in Newsweek:
Abu Ali's Virginia-based parents—his father works as a computer analyst for the Saudi Embassy—say their son was tortured [while kept in a Saudi jail] into confessing to lies, and sued the federal government last year [to have him brought back to the United States].
Not only that, but the parents are utterly venomous on the subject of Saudi Arabia: His father, Omar, said, "The Saudi government are slaves of the Americans."His mother, Faten, stated outside a federal courtroom that her son "was tortured on orders of the USA; they are monsters."
Excuse me, but what is going on? Since when does an employee of the Saudi embassy publicly abominate the monarchy and turn to the U.S. government for redress? Is there something more here than meets the eye? (February 27, 2005) http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/411
MIM: Wahhabist funded Islamist groups in the US, such as CAIR and MAS, are rallying to the support of Abu Ali, claiming him 'as one of their own'.
The Abu Ali case is a textbook study of how homegrown Jihadi's with insider's knowledge of America, will be the new generation of Al Qaeda in America. Which begs the question as to why the school in which Abu Ali as a star student, that was termed a 'part of Saudi Arabia'by Dr. Daniel Pipes, has still not been closed down. "...In the tape publicly shown for the first time, Abu Ali said that when an al-Qaida operative suggested bringing violent jihad to America, "I immediately accepted because of my hatred of America."
He said the men discussed either mounting a major martyrdom operation or starting a sleeper cell by blending into American society and marrying an American woman.
When the al-Qaida operative, Sultan al-Qahti, inquired about potential targets where large numbers of Americans gathered, Abu Ali said he suggested stadiums or amusement parks. Abu Ali also described receiving training in weapons, explosives and forging documents..."
MIM: The crucial question still remains to be asked, and answered, as to what role Abu Ali's father played in the Bush assassination plot or the plans to set up an Al Qaeda cell in America.
Ali's father Omar, who is employed as a computer analyst for the Saudi embassy, has publicly expressed his hatred for the the Saudi government, a sentiment shared with Al Qaeda.
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Judge views 'jihad' tape
It's unclear if it will be admitted in trial of terror-case defendant
BY PAUL BRADLEY TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Wednesday, October 12, 2005
ALEXANDRIA -- Federal prosecutors showed a judge their most potent piece of evidence yesterday in their effort to convict a Falls Church man of joining al-Qaida and plotting to assassinate President Bush.
But whether a jury ever gets to see the 13-minute videotape of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali professing his hatred of America and desire to bring violent jihad to American soil remains uncertain.
Defense lawyers are trying to get the tape and other incriminating statements Abu Ali made tossed out of court on the grounds they were the result of torture at the hands of Saudi Arabian authorities. Their efforts were the focus of a suppression hearing that began yesterday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The hearing is expected to last six days.
In the tape publicly shown for the first time, Abu Ali said that when an al-Qaida operative suggested bringing violent jihad to America, "I immediately accepted because of my hatred of America."
He said the men discussed either mounting a major martyrdom operation or starting a sleeper cell by blending into American society and marrying an American woman.
When the al-Qaida operative, Sultan al-Qahti, inquired about potential targets where large numbers of Americans gathered, Abu Ali said he suggested stadiums or amusement parks. Abu Ali also described receiving training in weapons, explosives and forging documents.
Taped about six weeks after his arrest, Abu Ali appeared calm, twice interrupting his statements with yawns. He read aloud a statement he had written on longhand at the behest of his Saudi interrogators. At other times, he smiled and laughed. Speaking rapidly in Arabic -- the tape featured English subtitles -- he sipped a cup of water and scratched his beard.
If U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee agrees to throw the statements out of court, he could dismiss the case against Abu Ali.
The 24-year-old Abu Ali, an American-born former valedictorian at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, is charged in a nine-count indictment with conspiring with al-Qaida to kill the president in a plan prosecutors claim was hatched while Abu Ali studied in Saudi Arabia in 2002 and 2003.
Abu Ali is also charged with discussed kidnapping and killing U.S. congressional representatives, blowing up naval ships in U.S. ports and mounting a Sept. 11-style attack from outside the United States so hijackers would not need American visas.
At the heart of the prosecution case are statements Abu Ali made while in the custody of Saudi authorities, who arrested him in June 2003. At the time, he was a student at a college in the city of Medina.
Clad in a green jumpsuit with "prisoner" on the back, Abu Ali watched the tape intently.
His relaxed demeanor on the tape conflicted sharply with the substance of his statement. He explained how in 2002 he met al-Qahti, who was killed in a shootout with Saudi police in September 2003. The two exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch, he said, often talking about jihad.
At the close of the statement, he said he was wrong to join the terrorist group but was motivated by American policy toward the Palestinians. He described himself as remorseful.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors sought to undermine Abu Ali's claims of torture through testimony of an FBI agent and an FBI interpreter. They said they saw no signs of abuse when they were allowed to observe and listen in on Abu Ali being interrogated about a week after his arrest.
Abu Ali was "relaxed, even jovial at times, quite smug at times," said FBI special agent Glenn D. Posto. "He laughed and smiled. He didn't seem intimidated at any time."
Posto said the FBI was not allowed to question Abu Ali directly, but did submit several questions to his Saudi interrogator. When asked why the questions included no warning about his constitutional right to a lawyer, Posto said that at the time of the questioning Abu Ali was not under criminal investigation. Instead, the questioning was aimed at gathering intelligence on a potential threat to the president, Posto said.
Defense lawyers have charged the FBI with using Saudi authorities as surrogates and should have made sure Abu Ali's constitutional rights were preserved.
FBI interpreter Elias Machalany testified that Abu Ali repeatedly sought assurances that Saudi authorities would not inform their American counterparts that Abu Ali had been arrested. That assertion undercut defense claims that Abu Ali repeatedly asked for a lawyer while in Saudi custody.
Abu Ali is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 24.
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MIM: Dr. Daniel Pipes commented on the fact that Ali's false claims of torture by the Saudi's overshadowed the fact that Ali had planned to try and kill President Bush.
Excerpts from" "The Abu Ali case balancing civil liberties,security"
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2434
Born in America to immigrant Jordanian parents, Mr. Abu Ali, 23, was indicted last week for plotting the assassination of President Bush. The prosecution asserts he was in touch with Al Qaeda and in 2002 discussed ideas of eliminating Mr. Bush by getting "close enough to the president to shoot him on the street," or by deploying a car bomb. Mr. Abu Ali's biography indicates how he might have ended up as an Al Qaeda operative.
He attended the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Va., graduating in 1999 as class valedictorian. As an outpost of Saudi values on American soil, the academy enjoys Saudi government funding, is chaired by the Saudi ambassador in Washington, and boasts a curriculum imported straight from Riyadh.
Thus, the first-grade teachers' guide at the Islamic Saudi Academy instructs that Christianity and Judaism are false religions. When one realizes that the curriculum is overseen by Saleh Al-Fawzan, who in 2003 endorsed the institution of slavery, this comes as less than a grand shock.
While still living in America, Mr. Abu Ali developed ties to the "paintball jihadists" of northern Virginia, nine of whom have served time in jail. In 2000, he went to study Islam at its source, at the Islamic University of Medina. In May 2003, a terrorist attack in Riyadh left 34 dead, nine of them Americans; a month later, the Saudis arrested Mr. Abu Ali for connections to this crime, incarcerating him until his recent transfer to America.
Conservatives focus on the hair-raising news that an Al Qaeda affiliate had plans to kill the president of the United States. Liberals hardly note this development, focusing instead on the question of whether, while in Saudi custody, Mr. Abu Ali was tortured (Justice Department officials call this an "utter fabrication"). Note the editorials in four northeastern newspapers:
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1155