Posted on 06/22/2002 12:22:41 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Saudi Arabian intelligence officials warned the FBI about an Iraqi plot to attack federal facilities in 1995, including the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, according to an Oklahoma lawyer teaming up with a noted Washington, D.C., public-interest law firm.
Mike Johnston, co-counsel for Judicial Watch, said Thursday that on April 19, 1995 – the day of the Oklahoma City bombing – Saudi intelligence alerted CIA officials in Washington, who in turn advised FBI agents at the Washington Metropolitan Field Office.
"Vincent Canastraro, who is the former chief of counter-terrorism for the CIA … called Special Agent Kevin L. Foust and informed him that one of his best sources from Saudi Arabian intelligence specifically advised him that there was a squad of people currently in the United States, very possibly Iraqi, who, and I'm quoting, 'have been tasked with carrying out terrorist acts against the United States,'" Johnston said during an interview on the "Judicial Watch Report" radio program.
"The Saudi informant, who's part of the Saudi counter-terrorism service, told [federal officials] that he had seen the list and that 'first on the list was the federal building in Oklahoma City, Okla.'" Johnston continued.
Johnston said the Saudi agent reported that an Internal Revenue Service building in Houston, Texas, was "second on the list," followed by the FBI's field office in Los Angeles.
The FBI facility was targeted because, according to Johnston, it was the bureau's main counterintelligence operation at that time.
Johnston also said that documents obtained by Judicial Watch show that about a year later, on April 16, 1996, the FBI filed a follow-up report claiming the initial information gleaned from Saudi sources was most likely accurate.
"Even though the government has consistently maintained that no credible evidence exists linking McVeigh to international terrorists," Johnston said, "the FBI generated a follow-up 302 report one year later … where a supervisory special agent, name blacked out, contacted another source regarding the original information from Canastraro."
The special agent "was told that the information was confirmed as generated from a general within the Saudi Arabian Intelligence Service," said Johnston. "The FBI 302 memo went on to conclude that this information appears to have validity, citing Canastraro's former position within the CIA."
An FBI spokeswoman told WorldNetDaily the bureau had no comment on Johnston's allegations. CIA officials could not be reached for comment prior to press time.
When asked why the government did not do more to press McVeigh before his death if he was working for another government, Johnston said such a strategy" was apparently not in the game plan for the Justice Department …"
Johnston says some of his information came from documents ordered sealed by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch, the presiding judge in McVeigh's initial trial, which took place in Denver, Colo.
He went on to note that Matsch has never lifted the order, though "it’s kind of hard to see how it would affect Tim McVeigh now."
"The federal government continues to seek the maintenance of that sealing order on the basis of privacy concerns," he said.
Johnston's disclosure comes on the heels of a report Wednesday that said the U.S. government was warned before the bombing that Islamic extremists were planning attacks.
Islamic terrorists were planning to "strike inside the U.S. against objects symbolizing the American government in the near future," said one warning memo, according to The Associated Press.
That report did not mention Saudi Arabia, but said only that U.S. officials were tipped by evidence "gathered across the globe from Iran and Syria to the Philippines."
AP said documents show the warnings became progressively more specific as to the time, place and type of attack.
Stephen Jones, McVeigh's attorney, was reportedly upset by the disclosure.
"We specifically asked on the record for all evidence, documents and tangible objects to show whether the government had received a warning of acts of terror against federal buildings. We didn't receive this," he told AP.
As WorldNetDaily reported in March, Johnston and Judicial Watch have filed suit against Iraq, charging that Baghdad masterminded and financed "in whole or in part" the OKC bombing.
Chris Farrell, investigative director for Judicial Watch, told WorldNetDaily that the suit has yet to be served on the Iraqi government, but that it is "trudging along" in its process. He said the suit is being handled "through diplomatic channels" in the State Department, which will hand it off to the Polish government.
The U.S. maintains a section in the Polish Embassy in Baghdad, and will serve the Iraqi government through it, with Polish assistance, Farrell said.
As to whether the U.S. government has responded to reports of the suit, Farrell said, "We haven't heard anything."
McVeigh and accomplice Terry Nichols were eventually charged and convicted for differing roles in connection with the OKC bombing. McVeigh was executed June 11, 2001; Nichols has been sentenced to life in prison, but could face state death penalty charges in Oklahoma.
Johnston, in his radio interview, also said there was some evidence suggesting that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed – a top al-Qaida lieutenant whom federal authorities believe may have masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks – trained Nichols for the OKC bombing in the Philippines.
Mohammed "was not only involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, he was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center attack" as well, Johnston charged. "He was in the Philippines at the same time as Terry Nichols, by the way, in the last trip that he made down there before the Murrah building bombing."
U.S. officials believe Mohammed was also in charge of transferring the funds used by the Sept. 11 hijackers.
"There's lots of links that tie him to 9-11," one government official told AP June 5. "He was intricately involved."
Mohammed is also believed to be an accomplice of Ramzi Yousef, who is currently serving a life sentence in the U.S. for his alleged role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Upon his arrest, Yousef was found in possession of plans to blow up a dozen U.S. airliners. Prosecutors also believe he had planned to crash a plane into the Pentagon.
"A grand jury investigating Chandra Levy's homicide and whether Rep. Gary Condit obstructed justice in the case has heard from the congressman's top aide. Police also have found more of Levy's bones. Mike Lynch, Condit's California-based chief of staff, answered questions Friday in front of a District of Columbia Superior Court grand jury, Beth Wilkinson, Lynch's lawyer said Wednesday. "He cooperated fully with the investigators and prosecutors and answered all questions in a candid and forthright manner," Wilkinson said.
Lynch last year publicly denied Condit and Levy were having an affair. A month later, Condit told investigators that he and Levy were romantically involved, according to.."
Sadly, I doubt it. The thwarted efforts of OKC Submariner and others makes me think this was a cover-up from the top down, and may involve both the former and current administrations. It was in Clinton's interest to point the finger exclusively at the VRWC, and it may have been in the Bushs' and other interests to not have the finger point at Saudi Arabia and Iraq (this may very well have been a collaborative effort of the two).
The purposeful refusal to acknowledge Saudi Arabia's complicity in 9/11, and the downplaying of Israeli documents proving their financing of Hamas and other terrorist entities underscores how very much our "national interests" trumps terrorism -- not to mention the crisis of faith in government that would ensue if the truth were revealed.
I don't think it's out of character for any politician to convince themselves (especially now) that squelching OKC is "for the good of the country."
Thanks OKCSubmariner for all!
It's just speculation, but once the John Doe I & II sketches were published, the liklihood that it was not an attack by Mid East terrorists became rather high.
Once McVeigh was identified, and his prior history known, the finger of suspicion pointed directly at the so-called "right-wing militia groups".
From a political standpoint, this development was golden for a sitting president who had become "irrelevant" in the wake of the Republican tidal wave in the Congress just sworn in that January.
Once the blame could be credibly attached to the right-wing, it was no longer necessary to investigate or seek other possible culprits. The Clinton administration and the Reno Justice Department had the scenario they needed.
That the scenario may have been subsequently found to be only partially correct would rate as a.) irrelevant and b.) mildly embarrassing, therefore c.) not worth pursuing.
It is difficult to imagine any administration taking such a devious and duplicitous approach to such an important event. But, if anybody could, the Clinton administration could.
I find this explanation very logical.
It will eventually be proven that Judge Matsch was just sucking up political points by doing the bidding of Janet Reno, who used this national catastrophy to further obscure her bloody fingerprints found all over WACO. In the process she also supported her boss (Krinton) by keeping the public focus/anger/condemnation solely on the angry-white-guys/Redneck Militia types.
If I'm not mistaken, Krinton was even quoted later on how the whole OKC incident really saved his political butt at the time.
All in all, I'd say it worked out quite well for the Krinton Mafia ... though it appears to be coming a bit unraveled these days despite President Bush's cooperation/refusal to look into ANY of the acts of criminality and treason by the former administration.
Sure hope George isn't too surprised in the future by the effect upon the character of our American leadership, who were standing by and witnessed the flagrant lack of ethics and accountability exhibited throughout government during the Krinton years, and the following whitewash by President Born-Again, Princeling George.
What a pathetic display of lack of character ... America continues in her downward spiral.
James Patterson knows about it.
Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion.
The Indianapolis Star
March 23, 2002
Pg. 12A
Ex-CIA agent believes in a John Doe 2
By James Patterson
Though the U.S. government clings to the notion that Timothy McVeigh, acting alone, set off the horrendous explosion on April 19, 1995, that pancaked the nine-story Oklahoma City federal building, a former high-ranking CIA official says there's solid evidence to indicate he worked with an Iraqi John Doe No. 2.
Larry Johnson, former CIA officer and deputy director of the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism, told a network news show this week the FBI had failed to properly investigate significant eyewitness accounts of McVeigh meeting with the man believed to be a former Iraqi soldier.
Johnson made those comments on The Big Story with John Gibson, a Fox news program airing nightly at 5 p.m., which delved into an extensive dossier on the case compiled by former Oklahoma TV reporter Jayna Davis. The program aired just days after a lawsuit filed by the watchdog organization Judicial Watch that alleges Iraqi involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing and seeks compensation for victims from frozen Iraqi assets. Davis, who reported from Ground Zero in Oklahoma City for NBC-affiliate KFOR, broadcast a series suggesting a possible accomplice to the bombing who had been seen with McVeigh on the days leading up to and the day of the bombing. Gibson unabashedly reported Davis' work to a national TV audience on three consecutive days this week.
On Monday, Gibson relayed that Davis' evidence is based "on the simple proposition that Tim McVeigh's John Doe 2 was an Iraqi, a former Iraqi soldier from the Gulf War, paroled into the U.S. under a claim of political asylum, known to be in Oklahoma City as of November of '94 almost a year before the Murrah bombing, spotted with McVeigh by multiple witnesses, and who in recent years was working at (Boston) Logan airport," where the Sept. 11 hijackings originated.
On Tuesday, Gibson posed the question to Johnson about a possible link between Iraq and Oklahoma City.
"I think this woman (Davis) has done a remarkable job of finding a link that was overlooked," Johnson said. Johnson also commented on a Justice Department review of the thousands of documents that resurfaced or were destroyed, delaying McVeigh's execution for a month.
"The FBI . . ., they still have not turned over all of the documents to the defense teams that came out of Oklahoma," he said. "In particular, the information that links, shows possible links to Middle Eastern subjects."
KFOR's reports distorted the face of one of those suspects and did not name him. However, on his own volition, a former Iraqi soldier who claims he surrendered to the U.S. in the Gulf War and who was brought to the United States from a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia, stepped forward and identified himself to two other Oklahoma City TV stations and The Associated Press as the man that KFOR had implicated as John Doe No. 2.
Hussain Hashem Alhussaini sued KFOR and Davis for defamation, saying the reports falsely identified him as John Doe No. 2. But a U.S. District Court disagreed. In ruling for KFOR, U.S. District Judge Timothy Leonard found in November 1999 that the station had taken extraordinary measures to hide Alhussaini's identity.
Leonard added that KFOR's reports were either "based on fact or a matter of opinion," and not negligence or reckless disregard for the truth. Alhussaini, who went to work at Boston's Logan International Airport after leaving Oklahoma City, continues to deny any involvement in the bombing. Former CIA Agent Johnson is unconvinced.
"I compared it to all the human intelligence I've looked at," he said. "And comparing it to classified material, this is not from just one witness, this is not from two witnesses; you're talking 23 people, you're talking at least 10 people who put Tim McVeigh with Hussain Alhussaini before the Oklahoma City bombing.
"Two people who identified Hussain Alhussaini and Tim McVeigh in a bar on April 15; three people who identified Hussain Alhussaini running from the federal building early in the morning at 5:30 as if he is practicing timing himself. You have two witnesses that put Tim McVeigh with Hussain Alhussaini in the Ryder truck; you have one witness inside the Murrah Building who sees Hussain Alhussaini eating out of the truck . . .
"The point is the FBI has not thoroughly, fully investigated this. It is an outrage. I went along for many years thinking they have covered the bases. They have not, John."
You can't say Davis didn't try. She tried to give the witness statements to the FBI in the fall of '97, but it wouldn't take them.
How the government thought they were going to cover up all these witnesses, Carol Howe, the judge that was warned, the fire and police officials that were warned, etc., I have no idea.
Well, hey! You can't say that the Clinton gang didn't give it the ol' team try.
Unresolved Deaths in Oklahoma
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3affee2e2ec9.htm
Yeah, I do too. A lot of people try to claim much more (e.g., outright FBI complicity, etc.), but I think your theory is more probable. The order to stop investigating the Iraqi angle came straight from the top, right after Bill Clinton found out the FBI had a genuine, "right-wing nutcase" in custody. I'm sure Clinton viewed it as a heaven-sent gift.
Although there may have been a few corrupt feds in on it (a necessary prerequisite for being hired in the Clinton Administration), my theory is that the rest of the agents involved had to decide if they were going to shut their mouths or end up like Terrance Yeakey, Gordon Martin, Ken Griffin, Dr. H. Don Chumley, Mike Loudenslager, et al. We can sit here and spout off about how that's no excuse, but that's easy for Keyboard Cowboys to say. Just my 2 cents.
Gee, could that serve as an incentive to someone in a position of power to keep information private?
Keep the faith.
So my recommendation is for Bush to issue a general pardon to both Clintons for a list of offenses. List each and every one of the offenses – there should be about 20 or 30 items on the list. This would clear the current WH from being apart of the cover-up and would place the blame where it belongs and at the same time, finally take care of the “Clinton Legacy” issue.
No denials, no attempt at accusations of "tin foil," no repeat of the mantra "The FBI conducted a thorough investigation and found no evidence of foreign involvement in the OKC bombing."
Don't kid yourselves, this is a HUGE change in the fed tactics.
This has come about only because of September 11, and by pressure from the media and the public.
John Gibson has known about all of this stuff for many months, if not years, and he is to be given credit. But there's still much more he could have reported.
OKCsubmariner may have done more than any one else in the country to help effect this change. But it isn't done yet. That's why people have to keep contacting congress and the media to make sure the entire truth comes out. There are a huge number of people who want to protect Bill Clinton and the FBI.
To many of us, this stuff seems really obvious, and we cannot understand why the government and the media has ignored it so long. As more comes out, more people are going to be surprised and upset for not paying more attention.
Would I be flamed too intensely if I admitted that when I first learned Wilkinson was representing one of Condit's staff that I began to wonder again about those allegations that Chandra's death was somehow connected to the McVeigh execution?
She had worked as an intern for the Bureau of Prisons, and part of her job was setting up media accomodations for the execution. Some speculated she had discovered something she wasn't supposed to have discovered.
She disappeared May 1,2001, and you know the McVeigh timeline, with the missing documents thing happening a couple of weeks later.
Probably nothing, but you never know.
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