New news: Bush let 2 terrorists go free 2 days after 9/11!

[paulthompson]

I noticed something interesting.

If you read the latest N.Y. Times story on how the bin Laden relatives were allowed to leave the US during the air ban a couple days after 9/11, there's this interesting paragraph:

"Mr. Schumer said in an interview that he suspected that some of the Saudis who were allowed to leave, particularly two relatives of Mr. bin Laden who he said had links to terrorist groups themselves, could have shed light on the events of Sept. 11."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/politics/04SAUD.html?ex=1063252800&en=808be44ae0b6c3aa&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

These appear to be the same two bin Laden relatives mentioned in a report by Greg Palast. Here's the timeline entry I've made that summarizes the info about them:

September 11, 1996: An FBI investigation into two relatives of bin Laden, begun in February 1996, is closed. The FBI wanted to learn more about Abdullah bin Laden, "because of his relationship with the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) - a suspected terrorist organization." (Guardian, 11/7/01) Abdullah was the US director of WAMY and lived with his brother Omar in Falls Church, Virginia, a town just outside Washington. The coding on the document, marked secret, indicates the case involved espionage, murder, and national security. WAMY has its offices at 5613 Leesburg Pike. Remarkably, it is later determined that four of the 9/11 hijackers lived at 5913 Leesburg Pike at the same time the two bin Laden brothers were there. WAMY has not been put on a list of terrorist organizations in the US, but it has been banned in Pakistan. (BBC Newsnight, 11/6/01, Guardian, 11/7/01) The Bosnian government later says a charity with Abdullah bin Laden on its board had channeled money to Chechen guerrillas, something that "is only possible because the Clinton CIA gave the wink and nod to WAMY and other groups who were aiding Bosnian guerrillas when they were fighting Serbia, a US-approved enemy." The investigation into WAMY is only restarted two days after 9/11, and after the bin Laden brothers have left the US. (Best Democracy Money Can Buy, by Greg Palast, 2/03)

---

So, in short, these two are allowed to leave the US without being questioned THE SAME DAY the FBI reopens an investigation into them! How wierd is that?

Greg Palast talked last month a bit more about WAMY here:

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=15530

So not only are WAMY people delivering recent cassettes coming from Osama bin Laden, but WAMY even now is openly running a training camp in Florida!

How messed up is all that? For crying out loud, when will some journalist or prominent Democrat bring this kind of thing up to point out Bush is far from strong on terrorism?

[kainah]

1. Isn't Grover Norquist also connected to WAMY?

A google search of "WAMY Norquist" just kicked up a bunch of stuff so I'm off to refresh my memory.

Thanks, paulthompson. Incidentally, Schumer was just on C-SPAN talking about asking the Saudis to step up oil production to drive down gas prices and he said he was on (paraphrase) "something of a one-man crusade to force the Saudis to come clean about a lot of stuff." Interesting.

[Sterling]

2. Thanks Paul

I am sending this out to my friends.

[Minstrel Boy]

3. You're a great asset, Paul. Thanks.

Your research has helped me to contextualize the events of 9/11, and you've done it again.

[paulthompson]

4. Salon covers the story

Looks like Joe Conason at Salon has discovered the story:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2003/09/04/family/

He points out the Vanity Fair story confirms these two guys were the WAMY guys Greg Palast has been investigating:

"As Unger points out, at least two bin Laden male kinsmen had been probed for connections with the U.S. branch of the World Association of Muslim Youth, a suspected terrorist front group."

He also points out how bizarre it is that the Edinburgh Evening News in Scotland is the first and still one of the few media outlets to report on this story at all.

[bobthedrummer]

5. Thanks again Paul!

Bless you and keep at them, come what may:hi:

[TacticalPeek]

6. Kick the usurper back to the brush pile. n/t

[Minstrel Boy]

7. some interesting neighbours in Falls Church.

Hmm.

Abdullah and Omar bin Laden had a home in Falls Church, Virginia at 3411 Silver Maple Place, close to the WAMY headquarters at 5613 Leesburg Pike. Coincidentally, four of the 9/11 hijackers lived just down the road at 5913 Leesburg Pike.

Here are some other neighbours of WAMY, the hijackers and Osama's brothers:

Federal Bureau of Investigation USHQ
7799 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22045

Britain Defense Staff in the US
5109 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041

Navy Deployment Surveillance Team
5113 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041

Defense Information Systems Agency
5275 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041

Unification Church International USHQ
7777 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22043