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Homegrown terrorist Jeffrey Leon Battle considered America the “land of the kaffirs,” or unbelievers, and the American people “pigs.” He once lamented to an acquaintance—who happened to be a government informant—that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks did not sufficiently damage the U.S. economy. “This is the land of the enemy,” he said of his own country in a May 8, 2002, conversation secretly recorded by the government. He explained to a friend how his “burning desire” to become an Islamic martyr had inspired his aborted quest to join forces with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where he could kill American...

FBI affidavit alleges imam bankrolled plot 08/23/03 LES ZAITZ One of six men charged with trying to join the Taliban and kill U.S. soldiers said Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, leader of Portland's largest mosque, funded the overseas trip with $12,000 that came from mosque members, according to a newly released FBI affidavit. Defendant Jeffrey Battle also was secretly recorded telling how Kariye, religious leader of the Islamic Center of Portland, participated in a prayer session at the mosque with the group just before the men left and later directed them to return if they couldn't get into Afghanistan, the affidavit said....

PORTLAND, Ore. — A software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of aiding the Taliban (search), agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. Maher "Mike" Hawash (search), one of the so-called "Portland Seven," will serve at least seven years in federal prison under the deal, which was approved by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (search). Hawash pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism. "You and the...

Maher 'Mike' Hawash holds his five-month-old daughter Sarra Hawash in their family home in Hillsboro, Ore., in this May 1998 family handout photo. Hawash, a software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003, to a charge of aiding the Taliban, agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. (AP Photo/Hawash Family) Ore. Engineer Pleads to Terrorism Charge By ANDREW KRAMER, Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Ore. - A software engineer who unsuccessfully tried to enter Afghanistan to fight against U.S. troops pleaded guilty Wednesday to aiding the Taliban and agreed to testify against other...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of aiding the Taliban, agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. Maher "Mike" Hawash, one of the so-called "Portland Seven," will serve at least seven years in federal prison under the deal, which was approved by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Hawash pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism. "You and the others in...

PORTLAND - Maher "Mike" Hawash, one of the so-called "Portland Seven" charged with terrorism related crimes, pleaded guilty this morning to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban, but will not face other charges in exchange for testimony against other suspects. Hawash, a 39-year old software engineer who worked for Intel, had initially pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to wage war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida and conspiracy to contribute services to al-Qaida and the Taliban. In exchange for testimony, federal prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted seven people from the Portland area accused of conspiring to join the al-Qaida and Taliban terrorist organizations to wage war on the United States in Afghanistan. Six people were charged last fall and the seventh, Maher "Mike" Hawash, was taken into custody as a material witness last month before he was charged. The indictment lists Hawash along with Jeffrey Battle, Patrice Lumumba Ford, brothers Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal, Habis al Saoub and October Martinique Lewis. All but al Saoub are in federal custody. The indictment issued Friday supersedes previous indictments...

April 28, 2003 Mike Hawash charged with terrorism related crimes PORTLAND - A Hillsboro man is the latest from our area to be charged with terrorism related crimes. Mike Hawash, an independent contractor who had been working for Intel was charged this morning with conspiracy to wage war on the US and support terrorism. Hawash has been detained for more than a month. The charges against him are related to the so-called "Portland Six" terrorism case, in which several men from our area went to china in an attempt to enter Afghanistan and join with al Qaeda and the Taliban...

PORTLAND — Federal prosecutors on Monday (April 28) charged a former Intel Corp. engineer with allegedly conspiring to aid Al Qaeda and the Taliban, as part of a move to “levy war” against the United States, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News on Tuesday (April 29). The ex-Intel engineer, Maher “Mike” Hawash, was arrested in March and has been held by the U.S. government without charge as part of what the report called a “secret investigation.” Hawash, 38, a U.S. citizen of Arab descent, worked for Intel from 1992 to 2001, when he was laid off....