As part of its investigation into the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation departed from what had been their previous custom, by releasing to a select group of private businesses in the United States and abroad a Watch List of terrorism suspects wanted for questioning.
As the Wall Street Journal reported on November 19, 2002:
"Shortly after Sept. 11, the FBI had entrusted a quickly developed watch list to scores of corporations around the country.
"Departing from its usual practice of closely guarding such lists, the FBI circulated the names of hundreds of people it wanted to question. Counterterrorism officials gave the list to car-rental companies. Then FBI field agents and other officials circulated it to big banks, travel-reservations systems, firms that collect consumer data, as well as casino operators such as MGM Mirage."
The exact nature of the assembled list of names and ancillary information was always somewhat questionable. The Journal described it as containing the names of "many people the FBI didn't suspect but just wanted to talk to." The Journal article went on to say
"The FBI credits the effort, dubbed Project Lookout, with helping it rapidly find some people with relevant information in the crisis atmosphere right after the terror attacks.
However, the Journal editorialized that "Project Lookout, is in many ways a study in how not to share intelligence."
"The watch list shared with companies -- one part of the FBI's massive counterterrorism database -- quickly became obsolete as the bureau worked its way through the names. The FBI's counterterrorism division quietly stopped updating the list more than a year ago. But it never informed most of the companies that had received a copy. FBI headquarters doesn't know who is still using the list because officials never kept track of who got it.
"We have now lost control of that list,'' says Art Cummings, head of the strategic analysis and warning section of the FBI's counterterrorism division. "We shouldn't have had those problems."
"The bureau tried to cut off distribution after less than six weeks, partly from worry that suspects could too easily find out they had been tagged. Another concern has been misidentification, especially as multipart Middle Eastern names are degraded by typos when faxed and are fed into new databases."
If the FBI's goal was "to talk" with the people whose names appeared on the list, than it would serve that purpose for the "suspects" to realize they had been officially "tagged," for questioning. But aside from confusing this information sharing partnership with other undercover intelligence gathering, the FBI couldn't keep the information privledged, having distributed the list without first establishing any standards for possessing the information
Apparently the list was discontinued after having served its purpose. One Texas university news wire reported the agency's view that
"We had a watch list -- it was not called a watch list, it was called Project Lookout," FBI spokesman Steven Berry said by phone. "We exhausted it. We got all the information from individuals on the list."
However, several versions of the "Project Lookout" terrorist list are still available online, nearly ten years afterward. Together with numerous mentions of the list made at the time in the news media, the history, and the efficacy of the effort can be traced with some accuracy, which allows us to make some rare independent judgments concerning this out-of-the-ordinary tactic from the annals of federal law enforcement.
The concern over making possible "misidentifications" was an especially valid one, but perhaps not in the way officials intended. A core component from the earliest beginnings of the list consisted of the names of the 18 or 19 hijackers said to have taken control of the four airliners in order to effect their kamikaze missions. These names were presented heavy with supporting facts and useful details for making concrete identifications possible: addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, Social Security numbers, along with various aliases and AKA's---as well as the hopeful designation: "Possibly Deceased"
And for the first week following the attacks the process of identifying the hijackers was presented as being a straight-forward matter by the Justice Department. FBI Director Robert Mueller was widely reported on the 12th, saying
"We have, in the last 24 hours, taken the (passenger) manifests and used them in an evidentiary base," said . "And have successfully, I believe, identified many of the hijackers on each of the four flights that went down." [CNN 9/12/01]
An extensive article in the Los Angeles Times on September 13 elaborated:
"The former head of the FBI's New York office, who led investigations into the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, said that within hours of Tuesday's attacks federal agents had talked to the families of nearly every passenger listed on the four airliners' manifests, isolated those who could not be vouched for by their friends and relatives, and pulled their bank, credit card and phone records, as well as their immigration and naturalization papers if they were from another country.
"Lewis Schiliro, the former assistant FBI director in charge of the New York field office from 1998 to April 2000, said hundreds of agents in cities nationwide used that information to develop background "on those who stood out: who they were, where they stayed, who they called, who sponsored them, what phone calls they made."
"Schiliro said agents have pulled INS files, looked for links between the passengers listed on the hijacked planes and examined footage from dozens of cameras at the three airports where the terrorists boarded the aircraft."
The Independent reported on 9/14 that
"According to FBI investigators, the hijacking teams made only minimal efforts to cover their tracks in the days immediately preceding the attacks. Aircraft passenger lists quickly turned up the names of those who died, and showed they had reserved seats in business and economy class, presumably with a view to taking control of the whole aircraft without delay.
"Within hours of the attacks, the FBI had taken the names of the suspects and pulled their bank, credit card and phone records, as well as their immigration and naturalisation papers."
By September 17th, the reporting in the Independent had shifted gear substantially
"Many of the most promising leads so far have led straight into brick walls because of a spider's web of decoys, stolen identities and false documents that appear to have been a crucial part of the hijackers' modus operandi.
"Of the 100 names of people wanted for questioning by federal authorities and distributed to police departments across the United States, several appear to be false leads."
The Washington Post reported on the 20th that
"FBI officials said yesterday that some of the 19 terrorists who carried out last week's assault on New York and Washington may have stolen the identities of other people, and their real names may remain unknown.
"Saudi government officials also said yesterday that they have determined that at least two of the terrorists used the names of living, law-abiding Saudi citizens. Other hijackers may have faked their identities as well, they said..
"FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said Friday that the bureau had "a fairly high level of confidence" that the hijacker names released by the FBI were not aliases. But one senior official said that "there may be some question with regard to the identity of at least some of them."
"The uncertainty highlights how difficult it may be to ever identify some of the hijackers who participated in the deadliest act of violence on American soil. Most of the hijackers' bodies were obliterated in the fiery crashes.
"This operation had tremendous security, and using false names would have been part of it," said John Martin, retired chief of the Justice Department's internal security section. "The hijackers themselves may not have known the others' true names."
The opinion of John Martin seems exactly backwards to my way of thinking. There is no rational or justification for the hijackers to use false identities if every action they took, up until the moment they stormed the cockpits, was legal, legit, and above board. Even the pair of hijackers who were placed on an international no-fly list several weeks before 9/11 weren't handicapped by their notoriety. When you factor in the ideological motivation necessary for 19 individuals to engage in political action that required a coordinated mass suicide, it's unlikely if the group consciousness would benefit from personal anonymity---in fact, just the opposite would be true.
So why would Arab hijackers disguise themselves as Arab flight students? Wouldn't that represent an unnecessary risk? Wasn't the fact that the pilots had studied in the U.S. somehow seen as central to the plausibility of the undertaking? Why was this the case? Is the only place one can learn how to fly big Boeings in the United States?
Of the several versions of the FBI Watch List that have come down to us, by far the most enlightening is one that has been nicknamed The FinnList. It was distributed through the U.S. Justice Department to European Banking entities with the intent of gaining assistance for building financial money-laundering cases against those named. The list was mistakenly posted online for a brief moment by the the Rahoitustarkastus---the RATA, or Financial Supervision Authority of Finland. When the error was recognized, the list was immediately taken down, but the damage had been done. This constituted an unprecedented security breach into what are normally the secretive inner workings of the FBI.
The list is a 22-page spreadsheet printout dated October 3, 2001. It attempts to present 370 primary identities in a line-item format, with many of these primary identities ascribed with multiple aliases and AKAs. Data is entered in columns given over to Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Place of Birth, Address, Phone/email, and lastly, a "SID," or Social Identification Number.
A SID may also refer to
"a framework for building computer system simulations. Specifically, a simulation is comprised of a collection of loosely coupled components. Simulated systems may range from a CPU's instruction set to a large multi-processor embedded system."
For me, this bit of information has been key in making comparisons and analyzing between the different lists, as it provides a definite marker for narrowing down an identity to a manageable entity.
Not all the names are given an SID number, and this is evidence of late arrivals to the list, and, in my opinion, insufficiently individuated and developed personas.
As an American unfamiliar with Arabic names in general, or with the transliteration and transcribing niceties of composing such a list for English speakers in particular, I am more baffled by what is an obvious lack of professionalism on the part of the FBI compilers; the inconsistency, and the failure to proofread and correct simple errors that is on display within these lists is appalling. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the FBI had mobilized 4,000 agents and 3,000 support personnel in what he called "perhaps the most massive and intensive investigation ever conducted in America," but apparently none of them are trained in basic secretarial skills.
This is not a minor point. One begins to get the impression that these "terrorists" were never meant to be found, and the whole operation starts to reek of a fundamental fraud on the scale of a Bernie Madoff.
A case in point: within the first four pages are four sets of duplicated names. There is no attempt to hide the errors; an identical name and SID number simply repeats twice in consecutive order. You certainly can't say then, that this is a list of 370 names---we know at a glance it's more like 366. I believe this kind of gross and obvious error was introduced at the beginning of the document in order to cast doubt on the contents in toto.
Al-Din, Mohamed Khayr 005
Al-Din, Mohamed Khayr 005
Al-Ghamdi, Hamza 011
Al-Ghamdi, Hamza 011
Al-Ghamdi, Saeed 013
Al-Ghamdi, Saeed 013
Al-Hazmi, Albadar 017
Al-Hazmi, Albadar 017
The FinnList consists of approximately 315 names in roughly alphabetical order, with another 55 names running from A to Z tacked on at the end. This is another indicator which can place the document at a particular moment in time. But even this addendum is flawed:
It contains a name which subsequently became very well known
Abu Zubaida
as well as its inverted form
Zubaydah, Abu
a good name to Google is
Darkazanli, Mamoun 209
But the B version of this name is wrong
Barkazanli, Mamoun
An interesting distinction is made between the FinnList and another version of the terrorist list, dated October 11, 2001, and put out by
National Infrastructure Protection Center, which was founded in February 1998---in the clear run up to 9/11. The NIPC is
A federal agency based in Washington, D.C., the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) is the primary governmental organization charged with safeguarding the infrastructure networks and systems of the United States from attack, including computer-generated attacks such as hacking and viruses. The NIPC, housed in the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), defends from compromise everything from telecommunications networks and financial systems to energy, transportation, and governmental infrastructures.
The list that NIPC disseminated was called in pithy Bush style, the "FBI Sept. 11 Wanted List." It described itself this way: "The NIPC wishes to advise recipients that the FBI is seeking the following individuals who may have information related to the ongoing investigation of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon complex." This list was sent to the Virginia Rural Water Authority, lest some swarthy Arab attempt to spike the water supply with hallucinogenics. The
NIPC list at VRWA Page is maintained at archive.org,"
This is the only other list which also incorporates SID numbers, and as such it adds immeasurably to our knowledge base. However, there is an interesting difference between the FinnList and the VRWA list in how they are alphabetized. Fully a third of all the names on these lists begin with the letters AL. The FinnList separates the Al-hyphen names, from the Al space names, and from the AlGhamdi-type of no-space names. That is why the FinnList could have an error like
Alshahri, Khalid 157
an obvious duplication arising from splitting the two spellings
Al-Shahri, Khalid Ali 157
However the VRWA list dispenses with hyphens entirely, although we can tell where they once went by a vestigial capitalization, such as AlGhamdi, versus Alghamdi, so the alphabetization, I think, is more realistic and less obtuse.
The VRWA list ascribe SID numbers to all of a primary names many associated aliases and AKA's. This starts to get really interesting in collections like number 275, which apparently is a birthing chamber for simulated identities:
275 AlJanubi Abu
275 AlFaiz Tariq
275 AlFilistini Abu
275 Falistini Abu
275 Hassan Zain
275 Hassan Zayn
275 Batuki Hazatul
275 Billah El Mouataz
275 ani
275 Hanni
275 Khan Zain
275 Samak Abu
275 Mukhtar Tareq
275 Musa Abu
275 Mohammad Zeen
275 Tarek Tariq
275 Sweden Osama
275 Ustad [see 241] USTAD {NO FURTHER INFORMATION}
275 Yakrab Muad
275 Zubaida Abu
275 Zubayda Ayn
275 Zubaydah Abu
275 Zubeida Abu
275 Zubeida Zin
275 Zar Abu
275 Hilal Abu
275 Iobal Mohd
275 Iqbal Mohammed
275 Iqbal Mohd
275 Iqbal Muhammad
I've begun to play around with these various lists over at a
Google Doc: FinnList Worksheet.
Once you've dispensed with the
obvious and
suspected name repetitions and duplication, you can begin to explore the
Morphs, Blends, Splits, and Family Extensions between these various "Arab sounding names." For what the VicSim Report is to the CNN Memorial Victims list, I believe many of the SID-established identities found on the FinnList and VRWA lists represent the same sort of encoding for a simulated product---in this case SimVillians! AKA Pseudo-Evil.
The great value of the VRWA list is that it captures the residue of the name morphing software.
A terrific example is this series where we see the birth of the name "Zacarias Moussaoui" at position number 93, after first shedding the errant Q Zacarias once shared with Khaled Moussaqui over at the nearby position number 91.
90 Moqed Majed
90 Moqed Majedmashaan
90 Moqed Majid
91 Mousa Khaled
93 Mousaqui Zacarias
91 Moussa Khaled
93 Moussaoui Zacarias
91 Moussaqui Khaled
Can anybody really claim after skimming the associated names on the VRWA list that these variations represent true "aliases," or even the sort of clumsy misspellings that can sometimes appear on somebody's credit report?
So, "Zacarias Moussaoui" is a concept, a role fleshed out by an operative, who maybe sits it out in a Federal Max facility---or maybe not. Who knows?
Having waded through the nonsense thus far, we can start to do a little deep Googling. If we do so, we find that
Sadda Al-Ghamdi in the coveted number 12 spot isn't/wasn't/never had been developed as a truly differentiated soul. The best Sadda can hope for is as an alias for Saeed at number 13.
Al-Ghamdi, Sadda 012
Sadda is an established alias for Saeed
Al-Ghamdi, Saeed 013
Now for some weirdness:
Why does Flight 11 victim and Israeli national Alona Avraham's name appear on the FinnList terrorist list addendum? And why is this the only name with an erroneous "Possibly Deceased" label which is otherwise strictly reserved for THE HIJACKERS!
Why did two other airplane victim fatalities appear on one or another of these lists? Waleed Iskander and Rahma Salie appeared on the The
NIPC list at NJWA page at archive.org, (same idea, but different New Jersey Water Authority.) That list is dated September 23, 2001, and it has appended to it a subgroup, "The following 21 names have been deleted from earlier versions of this list," which include Salie and Iskander, as well as the Bukari boys, (here spelled Bokari) and the Abdulrahman Al-Omari also rans.
Didn't the FBI tell us that they had called and spoken with the friends and family of everybody on the airplane manifests? Even if they were exaggerating a tad, doesn't this group of 21 names prove good faith and timely corrections?
No, not really. In various news reports the FBI claims they "worked through" the names on these lists, sometimes updating the lists four times in one day. This sort of blather is akin to the old fireman's bucket brigade saw. If you examine the four extant lists you'll find no rational pattern that would speak to a timeline of evolving events. The different lists seem constructed to serve different echelons of quasi-public insiders---with some just less inside than others.
For example, the "Bokari" from Vero Beach Florida figured mightily in the first few days of news reporting. The Feds were convinced that the names of the two "Bokari" were on the manifests for Flight 11 or 175. One small detail though, one of those "Bokari" had already died in a small plane crash---on September 11th, 2000!
According to the UPI on October 11th, 2001
"Forty-seven of those named on the list apparently lived at one point in Vero Beach, Fla., the location of the Flight Safety International Academy."
(Fun Fact: The number of times "Vero Beach Florida" is mentioned in the exhausting 9/11 Commission Report? Zero.)
An article in The Hindu on October 18, 2001, "
Kerala airports alerted on terrorists," is relatively short and bares reposting in full:
KOLLAM, OCT. 18. The Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin and Kozhikode airports in Kerala which operate international flights have been alerted by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security's (BCAS) Chennai zonal office to maintain a tight vigil on the arrival, transit or departure of at least 27 internationally wanted suspected terrorists.
A list containing 27 names and marked "sensitive security document'' has been sent to the three airports. Copies of the same have in turn been handed over to the Emigration and Immigration counters and other travel agents based at these airports.
The authorities of the three airports have been asked to detain and contact the competent authorities immediately in case they come across anyone tallying with the description in the list.
The fact that the addresses of most of those in the list is shown as the Verdo [sic] Beach area of Florida in the U.S. reveals that they are wanted in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
There were others who were residing in Washington, Milwaukee in Wisconsin, North Carolina and at Phoenix in Arizona in the United States.The list also contains the name of one person who resided at Hamburg in Germany.
While most of them are basically from West Asia, the list also shows the name of a Pakistani, Afghan, Egyptian, German and U.S. national. All of them have vanished from their addresses in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks.
Since the three international airports in Kerala operate a good number of flights to the Gulf countries, the BCAS suspects the possibility of these airports being used as a getaway point by some of those mentioned in the list.
After Mumbai, it is the Thiruvananthapuram Airport with 54 flights a week which operates the highest number of flights from India to the Gulf countries. While the Kozhikode airport operates 29 flights to the Gulf sector, the Cochin airport operates 20 flights to that sector each week.
The list was handed over to the airport authorities in the State on October 12. The e-mail address, fax and telephone numbers maintained by some of those in the list in the United States has also been shown.
Those names mentioned in the list are Abdulaziz Binladah (24) from Saudi Arabia, Adnan Bokhari (42), Ameer Bokhari and Furnal Bokhari (43) who were residing at Florida, Jagish Bugulu (25) who resided at Milwaukee, a Syrian national Mamoun Darkazani (41), who resided at Hamburg, Mark Allen (43) from North Carolina, H.M. Alef (51) from Egypt, Elanin Mohammed, Eldimiati Alexander (26), Ekheir Ahmed Mohammed (28), Ahmed Shawish (31), who resided at Florida, Abdulla Shardil (32) from Afghanistan, who resided at Arizona, Shmuel Aron, Shubali Abdulla (42), Shubali Ageel (26) from Saudi Arabia, Waheeb Adel (25) from Saudi Arabia who resided at Washington, Souheil Seddik (26), Salam Suqami, Pir Rahim Shah Syed from Pakistan, Rabla Tahil, Tshabay who resided at Florida, Ubald, Wahib Hatim, Allen White, Yakoub Iyas and Mannar Yasin.
Well, here are the "Bokhari" turning up on a short list of "internationally wanted suspected terrorists," on October 12, even though they had been officially removed from the FBI terrorism list timestamped September 23 (and even though CNN had officially apologized to them on September 14th.) Not only is the dear departed---read: cold, dead and lifeless---Ameer Bokhari listed, but reappearing is the entirely specious Bokhari---Furnal, aka Fursal, aka Faisal, who has been rebirthed from seafoam off the forehead of the FBI's list to rend the fear of terror into the hearts of good Hindus on their subcontinent homeland.
Might not this list be comprised of just any old names left lying around? I mean, how important is it? It's unlikely that the information could ever make its way back around the globe ten years later, and even if it did---it was all done in good faith, I'm sure!
Abdulaziz Binladah (24) from Saudi Arabia,
Adnan Bokhari (42), On Listado: Adnan Bokhari;On NJWA as Adrian Bokhari; The name is spelled Bukhari
Ameer Bokhari Ameer Bukhari died in a plane crash on September 11th, 2001.
Furnal Bokhari (43) who were residing at Florida,On Listado: Bokhari, Fursal; with Furnal and Faisal as his AKA's;
Jagish Bugulu (25) who resided at Milwaukee, On Listado: Jagish Bugulu, On NJWA as Jagadish Bugulu
Mamoun Darkazani (41), a Syrian national who resided at Hamburg,On NJWA as Mamoun Darkazanli; On FinnList as Darkazanli, Mamoun,On October 15, 2004, BBC News, reported that "Germany arrests 'al-Qaeda backer,'" and then on July 18, 2005, BBC News reported that "'Al-Qaeda man' wins German appeal,"
Mamoun Darkazanli: Spain accuses him of funding the 9/11 hijackers
Mark Allen (43) from North Carolina,On Listado: Mark Allen Deuitch; Boone NC, Pompano Beach, FL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Sanibel, FL.
H.M. Alef (51) from Egypt,On NJWA as Atef H.M. Eldimiati, [no date] [perhaps father to below?]
Elanin Mohammed,Florida,On Listado: as Mohammed Elanir; with Mohammad Elanin and Muhammad Elamin as his AKA'sOn NJWA as same.
Eldimiati Alexander (26), Florida,On NJWA as Alexander H.M. Eldimiati
On FinnList as Eldimiati, Alexander H.M. 245
Ekheir Ahmed Mohammed (28), Florida, On NJWA as Ahmed Mahmoud Lofty Abou Elkheir;
On FinnList as Elkheir Ahmed Mahmoud Lotfy Abou 217
Ahmed Shawish (31), Florida,
Abdulla Shardil (32) from Afghanistan, who resided at Arizona,
Shmuel Aron, On Listado: as Yaron Shmuel, [no address]
Shubali Abdulla (42), On Listado: as Abdullah Shubaili; April 2, 1958;
Apparently Abdullah Shubaili, the charge d'affaires at the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok, who was assassinated in 1990.
Shubali Ageel (26) from Saudi Arabia, On Listado: as Ageel Shubaili
Waheeb Adel (25) from Saudi Arabia who resided at Washington,On Listado: as Waheeb Adel Sondol; April 16, 1976; Spokane Washington
Souheil Seddik (26),On Listado: as Seddik Souheil; December 3, 1975;
Salam Suqami,On Listado: as Satam Suqami, AKA Satam Alsuqami; June 28, 1976;
Pir Rahim Shah Syed from Pakistan,
Rabla Tahil,On FinnList:Talfit, Rabie 165
Tshabay who resided at Florida,On FinnList: Tshabay 113
Ubald, On FinnList: Ubaid 241
Wahib Hatim,
Allen White,
Yakoub Iyas, Googles 1
Mannar Yasin. On FinnList: Yassin, Manar 115
So it's apparent that individual vowels and consonants are entirely optional when reprinting an FBI Terrorism Watch List. Last names may be dropped in their entirety, while first and last names can easily be inverted, and then reverted back if it should so please. Allen White and Mark Allen [Deuitch] were also on the Sept. 23 list of absolved suspects.[Although Deuitch was obviously a paid faux terrorism suspect plant manqué talking-head, so don't be deceived.]
I've mentioned "Listado," which is my name for the forth FBI list to be found online, with the original at
Scribd: marked www.segured.com.
The full name is "
Listado de presuntos terroristas, enviado por el FBI a las instituciones financieras," which translates into "A FBI List of Presumed Terrorists Given to Financial Institutions,"
I've dumped the data, which contains 200 names and some other information, at a blog "
Listado de presuntos terroristas, enviado por el FBI a las instituciones financieras," at StevenWarRan Backstage
I maintain the original material from the FinnList, including searchable text and photocopies of the spreadsheet, at
The Finnlist at StevenWarRan Backstage - 22 page spreadsheet establishing 370 identities by line, dated October 3, 2001.
Some other efforts:
Reducing The FinnList to Only Names & SID Numbers at StevenWarRan Backstage
Ordering The FinnList by Consecutive SID Numbers at StevenWarRan Backstage
NJWA Numbered List: 341 Names at StevenWarRan Backstage
Listados Spanish Alphabetical 200 Count at StevenWarRan Backstage
VRWA List: 187 Identities Hidden Amongst 617 Names at StevenWarRan Backstage
A Count of Obvious Duplicate Name Pairs on the NJWA Terrorist List at StevenWarRan Backstage
Could all these names really represent synthetic role playing for advance planning scenarios?
Perhaps. Let's take number 027, Al-Marabh, Nabil A. What brought Al-Marabh to the FBI's attention so early in the list making process, before 13 of the 19 hijackers had even been listed?
The Xinhua News Agency reported on September 20, 2001, "
U.S. Arrests Fugitive on FBI Watch List for Terror Investigation."
"The U.S. authorities have arrested a man on the watch list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who was wanted for questioning in the terrorism investigation, the FBI announced Thursday.
"FBI spokeswoman Mary Muha said that Nabil Al-Marabh, 34, was captured Wednesday night in the suburb of Justice in Illinois.
"The man from the Middle East is being held on a warrant issued in Boston in March. He was charged with assault with a knife. The law enforcement agency has been searching for him since the attacks on September 11."
Al-Marabh was then held in isolation in New York jails for 11 months.
Nearly
a year later, the Washington Post reported that it was all apparently a mistake in the first place.
"A former Boston cab driver once portrayed as a major terrorism suspect was ordered deported to Syria today after prosecutors said the government had no evidence linking the man to terrorism.
"Nabil Almarabh, 35, was sentenced to eight months in prison for immigration violations. He has already spent 11 months behind bars and received credit for time served."
After working in a liquor store in a Chicago suburb
, Almarabh nonetheless was found with $22,000 and gems worth $25,000. "These are the things that kind of bother me," a judge said. Almarabh said that in 1992 he traveled to Pakistan at the behest of a roommate who "both worked for the FBI and fought in Afghanistan...In May 1999,
Almarabh said, the FBI approached him looking for Hijazi..."
As a law-abiding civilian, I find any record of contact whatsoever with the FBI to be extremely unusual.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R- Iowa, freaked out at the prospect of deporting Al-Marabh after time served, saying he "was at one time No. 27 on the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) list of Most Wanted Terrorists," thereby conferring a type of status on Al-Marabh because of his low number.
If you want really low numbers, look no further than the Al-Hazmi family of Texas, Albadar, Afan and Ebtehal, numbers 16, 17 and 18, who came in just before a pair of Al-Hazmi hijackers, Salem and Nawaf, numbers 19 and 20, with an Al-Haznawi, Ahmed, next up at 21.
In Deborah Sontag's sensitive telling of San Antonio physician, Dr. Al Bader al-Hazmi's story of 13 days in federal custody, in the October 21, 2001, New York Times Magazine article, "
Who Is This Kafka That People Keep Mentioning?" we gather the gist of why the FBI arrested him stemmed from the fact Dr. Al-Hazmi had bought plane tickets to fly to California with his family. Dr. Al-Hazmi's incarceration had previously been treated savagely by a rumor mongering national press corp bent on sensationalizing any action taken by the FBI. Dr. Al-Hazmi was quoted as saying of his Odyssey
"At the end I said to myself, These guys are clueless," Hazmi said later. "How can they figure out who is behind this thing? I would suggest that Americans don't rely on the F.B.I."
So who are these master terrorists, Ebtehal and Afan, numbers 16 and 18? Ebtehal is his 8-year-old daughter, and Afnan is her 6-year-old sister, and in a final act of incompetency, the FBI even misspells Afnan's name on the list.
Of course, the family was in the clear by September 24th. But the American eyes the FBI were pulling the wool over, still required culprits, if not actual suspects, and the Al-Hazmi's were reduced to just being numbers.
And let it be said that other than the trumped up charges leveled against U.S. government agent Zacarias Moussaoui, no one was charged and convicted of terrorism charges following 9/11. NO ONE.
Newsweek reported on October 1, 2001, in "
The Road To September 11," that over the decade prior to 9/11 the United States counterterrorism budget had jumped from $2 billion to $12 billion. And what did America get for its $12 billion? Play acting and criminal conspiracy on the part of the officers sworn to uphold the law.
September 12, 2000, Associated Press, "
Two killed as small planes collide near Fort Pierce," by Karin Meadows,
September 13, 2000, National Enquirer, "
Plane collision victim was experienced pilot,"
February 5, 2001, Boston Globe, "
FBI terrorism probe tracks ex-cabdrivers," by Stephen Kurkjian and Judy Rakowsky,September 13 2001, Los Angeles Times, "
Investigators Identify 50 Terrorists Tied to Plot," by William C. Rempel and Richard A. Serrano,
September 12, 2001, CNN News,
"U.S. says it has identified hijackers,"
September 12, 2001, CNN Posted: 6:00 PM EDT
"U.S. says it has identified hijackers Probe stretches around the world"
September 12, 2001, CNN News,
Flight Training: Sources: Hijackers may not have known each other,
September 12, 2001, St. Petersburg Times, "
Hijackers penetrated security with apparent ease,"
by Bill Adair, September 12, 2001, Los Angeles Times, "
Inquiry: Agents scouring the East Coast reportedly find suicide notes that some of the hijackers wrote for their parents," by William C. Rempel and Richard A. Serrano,
September 12, 2001, The Los Angeles Times, "
FBI Identifies Team of 50 Attackers," by William C. Rempel and Richard A. Serrano,September 13, 2001, Los Angeles Times,"
Source: Probe identifies 50 in terrorism plot" by William C. Rempel And Richard A. Serrano,
September 13, 2001, New York Times, "
Hijacking Trail Leads F.B.I. to Florida Flight School," by Dana Canedy and David E. Sanger,
September 13, 2001, New York Times, "
Bin Laden Tie Cited," by David Johnson and James Risen,
September 13, 2001, New York Times, "
Investigators sift clues: 5 Arabs' path led to Boston from Maine," by James C. McKinley Jr. and Kate Zernike, September 13, 2001, Associated Press,
US Flight Schools Trained Hijackers, by Pete Yost,
September 13, 2001, Newsbytes,
"Newspaper: Echelon Gave Authorities Warning Of Attacks," by Ned Stafford,
September 13, 2001, CNN News, "
Arrests made at New York airports"
September 13, 2001, CNN News, Posted: 11:53 PM EDT "
Feds think they've identified some hijackers,"
September 13, 2001, CNN News, 10:33 PM EDT, "
FBI: Early probe results show 18 hijackers took part,"
September 13, 2001, BBC News,
"Evidence trails lead to Florida,"
September 13, 2001, Associated Press,
"No Comfort, No Rest: Some Hijackers U.S.-trained,"
September 13, 2001, Associated Press, "
Dozens in plot: Hijacker IDs known; investigation includes Fla. flight school, " by Karen Gullo,September 13, 2001, The Orlando Sentinel,
"Two suspects linked to Fla. flight school,"
September 13, 2001, St. Petersburg Times, "
FBI seizes records of students at flight schools,"by Barry Klein, Wes Allison, Kathryn Wexler and Jeff Testerman,
September 13, 2001, The Telegraph, "
Suicide hijackers taught to fly in America, says FBI,"
by Ben Fenton and Ian Ball,
September 13, 2001, United Press International, "
Federal Agents Focus on Flight Schools,"
September 13, 2001, People's Daily, "
Two Brothers among Hijackers: CNN Report,"
September 13, 2001, GlobalSecurity.org,
Transcript: Ashcroft Briefs on Terrorist Investigation Sept. 13
September 14, 2001, United Press International,
"FBI Ignored Warnings of Fanatical Student Pilot," September 14, 2001, Associated Press, "
Thumbnails of Suspected Hijackers,"
September 14, 2001, Associated Press, "
FBI Investigates Possibility That Threat Continues," by John Solomon,
September 14, 2001, Associated Press, "
FBI Investigates Possible Fla. Links," by Brendan Farrington,
September 14, 2001, Associated Press, "
Saudi flight engineer no longer part of investigation,"
September 14, 2001, New York Times, "
U.S. Says Hijackers Lived in the Open With Deadly Secret," by Kevin Sack and Jim Yardley,
September 14, 2001, The Mirror (London, England) "
War on the World: Mr. Big on the Loose, He directed four hijacking cells Network reached across world," by Andy Lines,
September 14, 2001, Vero Beach Press Journal,
"FBI investigates 2000 St. Lucie collision," by Mark Pollio and Carla Roccapriore,
September 14, 2001, The Independent, "
Terror in America: The Investigation - FBI says 50-strong team was behind hijackings." by Andrew Gumbel and Imre Karacs,
September 14, 2001, The Scotsman,
"FBI hunts terror link holy man," by Dan McDougall,
September 14, 2001, South China Morning Post,
"FBI targets 50 suspects," by Greg Torode,
September 14, 2001, Washington Post,
"Hijack Suspects' Profile: Polite And Purposeful, Neighbors Remember Quiet Lives, Determination in Flight School" by Amy Goldstein and Peter Finn,
September 14, 2001, The Boston Globe, "
Confronting the Terror Plot May Have Been in Making for 5 Years, " by Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy,
September 14, 2001, Boston Globe, "
Hijackers' life in Florida / Terrorists lived quietly, shared interest in flying," by Farah Stockman, Matthew Carroll,
September 14, 2001, Telegraph, "
FBI tracks down the Florida lair of flying school terrorists," by Ian Ball,
September 14, 2001, WorldNetDaily.com,
"Pistol-shooting parties at terrorist safe-house Neighbors of alleged hijackers suspected drug-dealing, called police; Iranian homeowner's ex-wife from Canada," by Paul Sperry
September 14, 2001, CNN News, 2:00 PM EDT, "
FBI list of individuals identified as suspected hijackers,"
September 14, 2001, CNN News, "
Experts say hijackers needed special skills," by Mike Fish,
September 14, 2001, CNN News, "
Fla. flight schools may have trained hijackers," by Mike Fish,
September 14, 2001, CNN News, "
America Under Attack: List of Names of 18 Suspected Hijackers,"
Breaking News With Kelly Arena,
September 14, 2001, St. Petersburg Times,
"Attack suspects blended into suburbia," by Wes Allison,
September 14, 2001, The Scotsman , "
Brothers at heart of a holy war," by Dan McDougall,
September 14, 2001, BBC News,
"FBI 'ignored leads',"
September 15, 2001, CNN News,
"2nd material witness in FBI custody,"
September 16, 2001, The Sunday Herald [Scotland]
"CHAPTER ONE: The Terror Trail," by Neil Mackay,
September 17, 2001, The Independent (London, England) "
Terror in America: FBI says it has second key witness arrested in New York The Investigation." by Andrew Gumbel,
September 17, 2001, The Scotsman, "
FBI issues arrest warrants for 100-strong terror network." by Dan McDougall and John Woodcock,
September 19, 2001, The Washington Post, "
Dulles Hijackers Made Maryland Their Base; Residents Recall Men as Standoffish," by Brooke A. Masters, Leef Smith and Michael D. Shear,
September 20, 2001, Washington Post,
"Some Hijackers' Identities Uncertain," by Dan Eggen, George Lardner Jr. and Susan Schmidt,
September 20, 2001, Xinhua News Agency, "
U.S. Arrests Fugitive on FBI Watch List for Terror Investigation,"
September 21, 2001, Newsday, "
Murky Facts Plaguing Probe," by John Riley and Shirley E. Perlman,
September 21, 2001, The Birmingham Post (England) "
War on Terror: FBI net terror attack suspect,"
October 1, 2001, Newsweek, "
The Road To September 11," by
Mark Hosenball, et al,
October 10, 2001, "
FBI Issues the "Initial" Most Wanted Terrorists List."
October 11, 2001, UPI,
"List gives unprecedented look into scope of terror investigation," by Martin Walker and John C.K. Daly,
October 13, 2001, The Columbian (Vancouver, WA) "
Man Accused of Lying to FBI in Terror Probe," by John Soloman,
October 18, 2001, The Hindu, "
Kerala airports alerted on terrorists,"
October 19, 2001, The Mirror (London, England) "
War on Terror: FBI List 24 Fanatics in the UK.," by Jeff Edwards,
October 20, 2001, Los Angeles Times,
"Tracking Terrorist Money: U.S. Asks Countries to Freeze Assets of "Mr. Miller" by T. Christian Miller and Patrick J. McDonnell,
October 23, 2001, Counterterrorism, "
Project Lookout Watch List will be terminated by the COB 10/23/01,"
October 28, 2001, Los Angeles Times,
"At Least 70,000 Terrorist Suspects on Watch List: Inquiry: US believes an unknown number of operatives are already inside the country," by John Meyer,
November 2, 2001, Associated Press, "
Indicted man had bin Laden photos,"
November 22, 2001, NY Daily News, "
Expanded Powers Raise Concerns About Ashcroft by Bob Port,
January 17, 2002, faa.gov, "
The FBI Suspected Hijackers List,"
February 10, 2002 BBC News, "
Indian terror suspects 'to sue US,' by Omer Farooq,
April 17, 2002,
Robert J. Jordan, Federal Bureau of Investigation, "Before the United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary,"
May 13, 2002, American Free Press, "
FBI Admits: No Evidence Links 'Hijackers' to 9-11 ,"
August 26, 2002, Time Magazine, "
Hawaiian Jihadi," by Ed Finn,
September 4, 2002, Washington Post, "
Sept. 11 Detainee Is Ordered Deported; Almarabh Pleaded Guilty to Illegal Entry, Denies Terrorism Links," by Steve Fainaru,
November 19, 2002, CNN News, "
Senate Passes Homeland Security Bill; FBI Watch List of Post- 9/11 Suspects," with Connie Chung,
November 19, 2002, Wall Street Journal, "
Post-Sept. 11 Watch List Acquires Life of Its Own
FBI Listed People Wanted for Questioning, But Out-of-Date Versions Dog the Innocent," by Ann Davis,
December 10, 2002, (Daily Texan) University Wire, "
Texas terrorism links under investigation." by Jonathan York,
February 20, 2003, UPI, "
Report: Iraqi on FBI Terror List Arrested,"
May 23, 2003, The Christian Science Monitor, "
Lessons in US terror case," by Abraham McLaughlin,
June 3, 2004, Associated Press, "
Administration Freed Terror Suspect," by John Soloman,
June 27, 2004, Boston Globe, "
FBI probes 'sleeper cell' possibility," by Stephen Kurkjian and Peter DeMarco,
June 30, 2004, CBS News, "
Terror Suspect Deport Raises Fuss," by Joel Robert,
July 1, 2004, Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque) Associated Press, "
Lawmakers: Why was terror suspect released?; Grassley and others say several prosecutors and FBI agents had collected evidence for a possible criminal case."
September 1, 2005, MSNBC, "
More remember Atta ID’d as terrorist pre-9/11,"
September 16, 2005, MSNBC,
"Congressman: Atta papers destroyed on orders Pentagon denies having any documents on lead hijacker prior to 9/11," January 27, 2007, Winnipeg Free Press, "
U.S. cites personal history for keeping watch listing," by Jim Bronskill,
September 6, 2009, The Washington Post, "
Administration Seeks to Keep Terror Watch-List Data Secret," by Ellen Nakashima,
