Posted on 08/10/2004 11:10:45 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
INTELLIGENCE
ASHINGTON, Aug. 10 - The federal authorities, on heightened alert over the prospect of another Al Qaeda attack, are conducting a terrorism investigation into an illegal immigrant from Pakistan found with videotapes of downtown buildings and transit systems in four Southern states and of a dam in Texas, officials said on Tuesday.
Officials acknowledged that they had no direct evidence linking the suspect, a former Queens resident named Kamran Shaikh, to terrorism. But they said they remained keenly interested in determining why he made the extensive videos, which included narratives in Arabic.
"These were not your normal tourist videos," said a senior law enforcement official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation. "This could turn out to be something legitimate and innocent, but it's raised our suspicions, and we think there's something else going on here. We don't like the look of it."
The arrest underscored the increasing nervousness among federal counterterrorism officials about the possibility of a terrorist attack in the near future, perhaps before the November election. Ten days ago, the Department of Homeland Security declared a high risk of a terrorist attack against financial institutions in Washington, New York and Newark after receiving information from Pakistan about detailed reconnaissance missions conducted at possible targets three or four years ago.
Officials said on Tuesday that they were still uncertain whether any active plots were under way, but they continued to search for information on anyone who may have been involved in collecting what they described as alarmingly detailed information on the financial sites.
In recent weeks, there have been more than 30 arrests in Pakistan and England of suspected Qaeda associates who American authorities say may be part of an influx of new mid-level operatives from the terrorist group. American law enforcement officials are also pursuing a number of leads within the United States, including the case of a Muslim woman with a South African passport who was jailed last month in Texas, but no clear terrorist links have emerged.
Mr. Shaikh, 35, who officials said was also known as Kamran Akhtar and listed a Queens address, was arrested three weeks ago on immigration charges in Charlotte, N.C., after local police officers questioned him about where he was going and why he was videotaping the downtown area. He agreed to speak with the Federal Bureau of Investigation but gave false statements about his immigration status and his history, officials said.
A search showed video footage of the Bank of America and Wachovia buildings in Charlotte's busy financial center, which officials said caused particular concern in light of the recent intelligence about the financial institutions in Washington and New York.
Eloise Hale, a spokeswoman for Bank of America in Charlotte, said Tuesday that the company was taking "all necessary security measures" and working with local and federal authorities to monitor the situation. "The security of our associates and our customers is our top priority," Ms. Hale said.
Other videos in Mr. Shaikh's possession showed buildings and transit systems in Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston and Austin, Tex., as well as what appeared to be Mansfield Dam in Austin, according to an affidavit from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. It was not clear when the other videos were taken.
The tapes included audio of someone speaking in Arabic, but investigators said they were awaiting a translation from the F.B.I. Officials could not explain the apparent delay, which comes at a time when the bureau has faced sharp questioning from lawmakers about its ability to provide quick and accurate translations in terrorism cases.
Mr. Shaikh, who appeared in federal court in Charlotte on Tuesday and was ordered detained, was charged with being in the United States illegally and with making false statements to the authorities about his immigration status. He has not been charged with any terrorism-related offenses. Associates of Mr. Shaikh are also being questioned by federal counterterrorism officials.
A second law enforcement official said that beyond the information in the court papers, the investigation turned up other details about Mr. Shaikh's activities that were considered suspicious, but the official refused to detail that information.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, federal officials have questioned and detained a number of people whose videotaping of buildings in New York City and elsewhere was initially thought to be suspicious but turned out to be benign. Arab-American leaders charge that Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent have been unfairly singled out for such scrutiny, a charge that law enforcement officials deny.
Officials said Mr. Shaikh's last known address was in the Elmhurst section of Queens. The apartment where he lived sits on the top floor of a brick building in a quiet residential neighborhood. The name "K. Shaikh" still appears on the door, but a superintendent at the building said Tuesday that he did not think Mr. Shaikh or his wife and young son had lived there for about eight or ten months.
Oren Yaniv contributed reporting from New Yorkfor this article.
If the Feds busted the AQ first-stringers who were going for the mega-financial institutions in New York city, they might be falling back on their bench. The enemy may have secondary targets in the way the USAAF had alternates back in WW2. Same pattern. Truck bombs on landmarks, infrastructure and banks, except instead of NYC it will be in places like Charlotte, Rochester or Cleveland.
We need to get the information we need out of people like this...
...and then disappear them.
Let's see. Mideastern male between the ages of 19 and 40. Nope, no reason to start profiling.
Just an amateur photographer with a lot of money and a lot of time on his hands.
Turn him over to Pvt England. She'll get to the bottom of this.
She'll get to the bottom of his? Or this? ;>)
[snip]U.S. District Judge Carl Horn declared that Akhtar should be held in the Mecklenburg County Jail until his detention hearing Friday. After Akhtar told Horn he had recently transferred $60,000 into his wife's account and an additional $50,000 into the accounts of his children, the judge ordered him to provide his own attorney.
[snip]
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, along with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens and Officer Danny Maglione, announced Akhtar's arrest during a news conference Tuesday morning.Maglione said he was driving uptown in his patrol car when he noticed Akhtar filming the bank towers.
"Once I slowed down to take a closer look at him, he started to act a little irrational," Maglione said. "He turned away from me, trying to be kind of evasive."
When Maglione stopped his vehicle, Akhtar began walking away.
"That's when I got out and addressed him," Maglione said. "His statements were all over the place, from taking these videos for his brother to visiting around town. He said he had to hurry up and get back to the bus station" even though Akhtar was headed away from the downtown bus terminal.
Red
I would suspect they are probably having it backtranslated and retranslated to check the accuracy of the first translation. I hope so, at least. It's time consuming, but when accuracy is vital, it's the only way to go.
One thing about these types is they don't seem to hold up well with our law enforcement. This reminds me of the story about the one who got caught coming into Seattle with the explosives.
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