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American universities rank among the best in the world, but they also boast another, more dubious distinction: They are home to some of the world’s most radical academics. Last month, one of these select individuals, UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian, brought his hate-filled show to two extremist Islamic Centers in South Florida. Both of these institutions are in the process of building large-scale mosques in their respective cities. And, given that their guest had previously called for attacks on the United States, the question naturally arose: Were these institutions looking to make friends in the community or to start a holy war?Past...

One year ago, I wrote a piece exposing radical Islam within Florida Atlantic University (FAU). My goal was twofold: [1] to bring awareness concerning a growing problem within FAU [2] to push the university to take action so that this problem ceases to exist. Unfortunately, only the first part of my goal was accomplished, as FAU is continuing to allow radicals on its campus, the latest being this Saturday'S (Jan.22, 2005) return engagement of potential co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Siraj Wahhaj. The Enemy Thrives at FAU In recent times, a fairly large list of...

While I was heartened to hear that USAF Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi, like Army Chaplain (Capt) James Yee before him, had been cleared of charges of espionage and treason, I am nevertheless still deeply disturbed by the lack of media attention given this case. Granted, the allegations made a huge splash when they first surfaced in the fall of 2003, fueled to a white hot frenzy by prosecutorial whisperings of possible death sentences. At that time, the government was happy to have us believe that the tentacled reach of Al Qaeda extended all the way to the ranks of...

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — A Muslim interpreter convicted of mishandling classified documents from the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay was given a bad-conduct discharge Thursday — but won't have to spend more time behind bars. A military judge announced the sentence after a hearing in which Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi , 25, made an impassioned plea for leniency. He told the judge keeping the documents was a mistake and said he would never do anything to hurt the Air Force or the United States. There was no immediate reaction from Al Halabi or military prosecutors to...

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE - Travis airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi pleaded guilty Wednesday to three minor charges in what began as a high profile military espionage case, ending a yearlong effort by the government to prove that the naturalized U.S. citizen attempted to spy for his native country of Syria. Al Halabi, who once faced charges that could have resulted in the death penalty, agreed to a plea bargain that involves substantially reduced charges, admitting he was guilty of illegally taking photographs, lying to investigators and improperly handling sensitive materials. Al Halabi was expected to be sentenced to the...

U.S. Drops Charge Against Accused Spy September 22, 2004 2:50 p.m. EST By KIM CURTIS, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - The military on Wednesday dropped an espionage charge against a Muslim interpreter accused of spying at the camp for terror detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The development marks the third Guantanamo spy case to fall apart this year, despite vows by Attorney General John Ashcroft and military officials to prosecute the men for jeopardizing the nation's security. The charge against Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi was dropped in exchange for his guilty plea to four "minor infractions," said defense...

The U.S. Air Force is defending its position to prevent a senior airman from Dearborn from worshiping in a mosque as he awaits a September trial on attempted espionage charges. Ahmad Al-Halabi, who worked as a translator at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is accused of attempted spying and mishandling classified information. He was arrested in July 2003. Since May 12, he has been detained at Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento, Calif. There is no mosque on base and officials have refused to allow him to pray in one in the community. The 25-year-old Muslim maintains his innocence, but government officials...

3/26/2004 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi is escorted from the court room building here March 24 after a pretrial hearing. Air Force Circuit Judge Col. Barbara G. Brand is hearing government and defense motions in the Air Force translator's court-martial on espionage charges. The hearing, referred to as an Article 39a session, was still under way March 26. Airman Al Halabi was on temporary duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nine months serving as an Arabic translator at the time of his alleged offenses. His trial is scheduled for April 27....

<p>TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — A military judge refused to dismiss charges Thursday against an Air Force translator who worked at the military prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba. Col. Barbara Brand said dismissal of the 17 counts including espionage, lying and misconduct against Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi was too severe a remedy for his lawyers’ claims that the government isn’t providing them with enough information.</p>

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (Reuters) - A U.S. military judge denied a motion on Thursday to dismiss the case against a Syrian-American airman accused of spying at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo, Cuba. A civilian lawyer for Ahmad al Halabi asked a military court on Wednesday to dismiss the case because he did not have access to important documents he needs to defend his client. At a hearing at Travis Air Force Base 50 miles north of San Francisco, Military Court Judge Barbara Brand denied the request but said she would allow Halabi's defense team greater access to...

<p>TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE -- Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi, the 24-year-old Syrian-born translator accused of espionage at the Guantánamo Naval Base in Cuba, was arraigned Tuesday amid complaints from his attorneys that the Air Force is blocking them from representing him adequately. Al Halabi, who was arrested in July while en route from Guantánamo to his planned wedding in Syria and charged with spying, did not enter a plea Tuesday. His attorneys have said he is not guilty.</p>

Case opens for accused Guantanamo spy January 14, 2004 BY KIM CURTIS TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A court-martial opened Tuesday against an Arabic translator for the Air Force who is accused of spying at the Guantanamo Bay military prison camp. Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi, 24, is accused of trying to deliver more than 180 written and e-mail messages from Guantanamo detainees to Syria. The government says he stored the messages on his laptop and planned to carry them overseas. He also is accused of trying to deliver secret documents about prison camp operations and names and...

<p>The Syrian-born Arabic translator accused of trying to spy on the Guantanamo Bay prison was arraigned before a military judge in California yesterday.</p> <p>Air Force Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi is accused of attempting to deliver more than 180 written messages from suspected terrorists being detained at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to an unidentified citizen of Syria. He faces life in prison if convicted.</p>

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) -- A court-martial opened Tuesday against an Arabic translator for the Air Force who is accused of spying at the Guantanamo Bay military prison camp. Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi, 24, is accused of trying to deliver more than 180 written and e-mail messages from Guantanamo detainees to Syria. The government says he stored the messages on his laptop and planned to carry them overseas. He also is accused of trying to deliver secret documents about prison camp operations and names and other personal information about detainees to Syria with "reason to believe...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- While some of the most serious charges against the Arabic translator accused of spying at the Guantanamo Bay have been dropped, he still faces court-martial for charges including espionage counts. Proceedings against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi were scheduled to begin Tuesday morning at Travis Air Force Base, military officials said. U.S. Air Force officials last month dropped some of the most serious charges, but al-Halabi still faces 17 of the 30 charges filed following his arrest in July after nine months at the Cuba prison. They include espionage counts, disobeying an order, making false official...

Guantanamo chaplain charged with porn offences A Muslim chaplain who served at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay has been charged with adultery and storing pornography on a government computer. Army Captain Yousef Yee, who served at the prison camp for terror suspects, was released from pre-trial confinement after being served with the additional charges, said Raul Duany, a spokesman for US Southern Command in Miami. Adultery is a crime under the uniform code of military justice. He was arrested earlier this year in Florida and confined to the military brig in Charleston, South Carolina. Military officials brought the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force translator who worked at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for al Qaeda and Taliban suspects will face a court-martial on charges of spying and aiding the enemy but will not be sentenced to death if convicted, the Air Force said on Friday. Reuters Photo   The general who ordered the espionage trial for senior Airman Ahmad al Halabi of Detroit, Michigan, "did not refer the case as a capital case," the Air force said in a statement. Capital cases may carry the death penalty. Al Halabi, 23, is being held at Vandenberg Air...

<p>WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) &#8212; An interpreter at the U.S. prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, who was arrested last month carrying classified documents, had government clearance to access the information, his attorney said in court yesterday.</p> <p>But federal prosecutors, while acknowledging Ahmed Fathy Mehalba was cleared to see classified documents, said he was forbidden to transport any information.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP)--An Air Force officer has made a secret recommendation of what charges should be pursued against a translator accused of espionage at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terrorist suspects, the translator's lawyer said Tuesday. The report from Col. Anne Burman suggests to Air Force officials which of the 32 charges against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi should go to trial. Air Force generals will decide whether al-Halabi will face a court-martial on the espionage and other charges--and whether military prosecutors can seek the death penalty if al-Halabi is convicted of the most serious counts. Burman's entire report is...

<p>The Muslim organizations that certify chaplains for the U.S. military have come under renewed scrutiny since the arrest of Army Chaplain Yousef Yee and two Muslim translators who worked with al Qaeda prisoners in Guantanamo Bay — and that's all to the good. The Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences (GSISS) and the American Muslim Foundation (AMF) were already being investigated, and it may well be that somehow Mr. Yee picked up his radical Islam from some contact with these groups. But so far another possibility has been overlooked, perhaps because its political incorrectness quotient is positively off the scale: The possibility that Yee was sincere when he denounced the September 11 attacks, and that his mind was changed by the Guantanamo prisoners themselves.</p>

ASHINGTON, Oct. 6 — American interpreters at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who are under suspicion of espionage may have sabotaged interviews with detainees by inaccurately translating interrogators' questions and prisoners' answers, senior American officials said on Monday.It is unclear in how many cases, if any, this may have happened, the officials said. But military investigators are taking the issue seriously enough to review taped interrogations involving the Arabic-language interpreters under scrutiny to spot-check their accuracy.If the investigators' worst fears are realized, officials said, scores of interviews with suspected Qaeda or Taliban prisoners at the Cuban detention center...

THE news last week that two Muslim military personnel, James Yee and Ahmad al-Halabi, had been arrested on suspicion of aiding Al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantnamo Bay (with another three Muslim servicemen under watch) seemed to prompt much surprise. It should not have. It has been obvious for months that Islamists who despise America have penetrated U.S. prisons, law enforcement, and armed forces. In February, a milestone Wall Street Journal article established that imams who consider Osama bin Laden "a hero of Allah" dominate the Islamic chaplaincy in the New York state prison system. In March, I documented the case of...

WASHINGTON -- The spying charge against an Air Force translator at the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, underscores the U.S. government's shortage of Arabic language specialists at a time when the war on terrorism demands their skills.To offset the shortage of U.S.-trained Arabic translators, U.S. intelligence officials were relying on Syria-born airman Ahmad al-Halabi to carry out sensitive assignments involving the terrorism suspects.Al-Halabi, 24, who emigrated from Syria to Dearborn, Mich., in 1996 and joined the Air Force after high school graduation in 1999, faces 32 military charges, including some that could involve the death penalty, for alleged...

<p>WASHINGTON -- The probe into alleged spying by U.S. troops assigned to a high-security camp in Cuba that houses al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners now includes two new suspects, Pentagon and FBI officials said Thursday.</p> <p>Navy and Air Force investigators are closely watching a Navy cook and an airman who once were assigned to Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Neither has been detained or charged, military officials said, but their activities raised suspicion among investigators in the wake of the recent arrests of a senior airman and an Army chaplain who had contact with detainees at the camp.</p>

<p>September 26, 2003 -- WASHINGTON - The Air Force translator accused of espionage at the terrorist prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was likely working for Islamic extremists connected to al Qaeda, The Post has learned. U.S. officials said yesterday that investigators have traced e-mail communications from senior airman Ahmad al-Halabi, a Syrian-born translator from Detroit, to a handful of "individuals" in Syria, including one man - whom they would not identify - suspected of ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network.</p>

The Air Force translator charged with spying at the U.S. military's prison camp for terrorists was under investigation even before he arrived at Guantanamo Bay, court records show. Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, 24, who was born in Syria, had been under scrutiny since November 2002, apparently days before he began an assignment as a translator at the prison camp for some of the world's worst terrorists. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations began investigating al-Halabi "based on reports of suspicious activity while he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base and while deployed to Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay," a...

<p>The Pentagon yesterday ordered a review of how it recruits military chaplains, particularly Muslim clerics endorsed by two groups with ties to radical Islam.</p> <p>Pentagon officials yesterday informed senators of the review as Sens. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, and Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, announced upcoming hearings on whether the radical Wahhabi sect has infiltrated the U.S. military chaplain corps.</p>

Damascus expressed its surprise yesterday on the Pentagon's arrest of an American soldier of Syrian origin who worked in the prison of Guantanamo, based on charges of espionage for Syria and leaking classified information. Syria's Minister of Information Ahmad Al Hassan said that this accusation against Ahmad Al Halabi is "baseless." He wondered how a person could be appointed for a total secrecy job and then be discovered as working for another party? "This doesn't make sense," he said. The arrest of Al Halabi, who is an Air Force translator who worked in Guantanamo, was simultaneous to the arrest of...

The group that vetted accused terrorist spy James "Yousef" Yee to serve as a US military chaplain isn't talking to reporters. Meanwhile, news of the arrest of a second US serviceman who dealt with al Qaeda detainees at the US naval base in Guantanamo has people asking just how deeply the terrorist enemy has penetrated the United States armed forces. Response from the Wahhabi Lobby so far is typical: a combination of (1) hiding from reporters, (2) complaining that the alleged spies were being picked on because they are Muslim, and (3) changing the subject. The American Muslim Armed Forces...

UNDER GUARD AT GUANTANAMO Gitmo GIs converting to Islam? Algerian lawmaker claims prisoners influencing U.S. security personnel Posted: September 25, 2003 5:00 p.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com In the wake of the arrest of two U.S. Muslim troops at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp on espionage charges, an Algerian lawmaker is claiming the terror-related detainees at the facility have convinced several of their guards to convert to Islam. Hassan Aribi says eight Algerian arrestees whose freedom he negotiated told him of the development, reports Islam Online. "They told me that the American guards were very sympathetic with them to the...

WASHINGTON - An investigation into possible security breaches at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terror suspects has expanded to a third member of the military, Pentagon (news - web sites) officials said Wednesday. The arrests of an Air Force translator and a Muslim Army chaplain — both worked at the Cuban base and have apparent ties to Syria — have shaken Defense Department officials. About 660 suspected Taliban or al-Qaida members are being held at the high-security base. "We don't presume that the two we know about is all there is to it," Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of...

The accused allegedly mailed documents to his home base. Inside the box, agents with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations found 60 pages of documents, including some classified as "Secret," as well as another document typed in Arabic, according to search warrant information obtained by The Bee after the Pentagon revealed al-Halabi had been charged with espionage. ... In addition, he is accused of illegally possessing secret documents on military movements in and out of Guantánamo and classified information on cellblocks housing alleged terrorists. Al-Halabi also is charged with lying to U.S. officials about his citizenship, allegedly claiming he...

<p>September 25, 2003 -- Less than a week after Army Chaplain Capt. James J. Yee was detained on suspicion of espionage, a second U.S. serviceman stationed at the Guantanamo Bay terrorist camp - Air Force translator Ahmad al-Halabi - has been arrested and charged with the same crime. Moreover, three other military personnel at Guantanamo are said to be under investigation for possessing classified information, and for having improper contact with prisoners.</p>

The United States is investigating the extent of Syria's role in alleged espionage at the Guantanamo detention center for hundreds of Afghan war prisoners, a top general said, as a probe widened to other US services.An Air Force translator, Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, was arrested July 23 on charges of espionage and aiding the enemy by attempting to send intelligence, names and serial numbers of prisoners to Syria, and carrying a laptop computer with 180 classified notes for delivery to Syria."If it turns out that this guy is guilty, and it turns out that he was talking to Syria...

<p>September 25, 2003 -- WASHINGTON - An Air Force translator at the terrorist prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was caught downloading secrets from the military's ultra-secure computer network and e-mailing the files to Syria, Pentagon officials revealed yesterday. The brazen act of betrayal by Syrian-born Air Force Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, 24, was among new details that emerged in the spy scandal at the high-security prison that could involve four other officers.</p>

<p>Ahmad al Halabi liked to fiddle with robots in high school. He grew up in one of America's biggest Arab communities, and went straight into the Air Force after graduation.</p> <p>He planned to marry his fiance days after his tour as an Arabic translator ended at Guantanamo Bay.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON — Military investigators were looking Wednesday for links between a Syrian-born U.S. Air Force airman accused of espionage and a U.S. Army Muslim chaplain who has personal ties to Syria and is being held in detention.</p> <p>The U.S. military was also searching for other service members who may be part of a suspected espionage ring operating at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, where about 660 suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban members are currently imprisoned.</p>

<p>A U.S. Air Force enlisted man has become the second service member to be accused of espionage at the U.S. naval base prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he translated interrogations of Arabic-speaking Taliban and al Qaeda terror suspects.</p> <p>Also yesterday, a Pentagon policy document revealed that the military appointed its Muslim chaplains based on suggestions or training from three U.S. Muslim groups, each of which was linked to radical elements of Islam.</p>

Ahmad I. al-Halabi liked to fiddle with robots in high school. He lived in one of the nation's biggest Arab-American communities, and went straight into the Air Force after graduation. He planned to marry his fiancee days after his tour as an Arabic translator ended on Guantanamo Bay. But now al-Halabi, a senior airman - once honored as ``Airman of the Year'' - is in custody at an Air Force base in California, facing allegations of espionage that could bring the death penalty for the 24-year-old son of Syrian immigrants. The supply clerk-turned-translator is the second member of the U.S....

Ahmad I. al-Halabi liked to fiddle with robots in high school. He lived in one of the nation's biggest Arab-American communities, and went straight into the Air Force after graduation. He planned to marry his fiancee days after his tour as an Arabic translator ended on Guantanamo Bay. But now al-Halabi, a senior airman — once honored as "Airman of the Year" — is in custody at an Air Force base in California, facing allegations of espionage that could bring the death penalty for the 24-year-old son of Syrian immigrants. The supply clerk-turned-translator is the second member of the U.S....

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syria denied Wednesday it had any links to a U.S. Air Force translator of Syrian descent who has been charged with espionage during an assignment at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi, 24, has been detained for allegedly sending e-mail with information about the prisoners at Guantanamo "to unauthorized person or persons whom he, the accused, knew to be the enemy," according to the U.S. military. The U.S. Air Force indictment does not say who "the enemy" is. Al-Halabi is also accused of planning to give classified information about the...

<p>September 24, 2003 -- WASHINGTON - A U.S. airman who spied for Syria is among five Americans suspected of espionage at the terrorist prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military sources revealed yesterday. Senior airman Ahmad al-Halabi, who worked as an Arabic translator, has been arrested and charged with espionage, the Pentagon said.</p>

In a widening spy hunt, a US Air Force airman who served as a translator at a detention center for Afghan war prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy, a Pentagon spokesman said. The man, who was detained July 23 on his return from the base at Guantanamo and is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, was identified by the Pentagon as senior airman Ahmad I Al Halabi, a 24-year-old Muslim from Detroit. NBC News reported that an indictment charges Al Halabi was sending intelligence, names and serial numbers by...

Sep 24, 2003 Air Force Translator Charged With Espionage at Guantanamo Bay Prison By Matt Kelley Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Military officials have charged an Air Force translator at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terror suspects with espionage and aiding the enemy for allegedly trying to send information about detainees to Syria. The Pentagon's disclosure of the case against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi of Detroit comes three days after officials said a Muslim chaplain at the base had been arrested. The chaplain, Army Capt. Yusef Yee, has been held without charge since his Sept. 10 arrest....

Two held over US fears of radical cell in forces By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 24/09/2003) The United States military is urgently investigating a potential radical Muslim cell among its own servicemen at the Guantanamo Bay prison as it emerged yesterday that two more members of the garrison are in custody. Senior Airman Ahmad I al-Halabi, an Arabic language translator, was secretly arrested a month ago, Pentagon officials said last night. He is being held at an air base in California and is charged with more than 30 counts of espionage, aiding the enemy, disobeying a lawful order and...

Guantanamo man charged with spying By Rupert Cornwell 24 September 2003 An American serviceman who worked as a translator at the Camp Delta prison for al-Qa'ida and Taliban terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay has been charged with spying, the Pentagon said yesterday. Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, who worked as an Arabic language translator at the camp in south-eastern Cuba where 660 people are in custody, was arrested two months ago. He is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. He is facing 32 charges, including nine counts relating to espionage and others including disobeying orders and making false...

WASHINGTON (AP) - An air force translator at the U.S. prison camp for suspected terrorists has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy, counts that could carry the death penalty, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, facing 32 criminal charges, spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said. Al-Halabi worked as an Arabic language translator at the prison camp for al-Qaida and Taliban suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Shavers said. The air force enlisted man knew the Muslim chaplain at the prison who was arrested earlier this month,...

<p>WASHINGTON — An Air Force airman who worked at the U.S. prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (search) has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy, a military spokesman said Tuesday.</p> <p>Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi worked as an Arabic language translator at the prison camp for Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects, spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said. The Air Force enlisted man knew the Muslim chaplain at the prison arrested earlier this month, but it's unclear if the two arrests are linked, Shavers said.</p>