Bronx33
04-28-2006, 05:21 PM
Iam not real familiar with thi blogger so take it for what it's worth.
http://thomasjoscelyn.blogspot.com/2006/04/guantanamo-detainee-caught-at-border.html
As the nation continues to debate what to do about our southern border, I thought I would point out a piece of informaton I found in a cache of documents released by the Pentagon in early March. In connection with a lawsuit brought by the Associated Press, the Pentagon released thousands of pages of documents transcribed during tribunal hearings for the hundreds of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There is a lot of interesting information in those documents, including the allegations against one detainee who was caught while trying to sneak across the Mexican border.
The name of the detainee was not given in the original two-page transcript I reviewed. Just recently the Pentagon released the names of hundreds of Guantanamo's inmates, but I haven't been able to match one of those names to this suspect, yet.
The U.S. government alleges that the detainee “attempted to be smuggled into the United States” and “traveled with forged travel documents, including a passport and other travel documents.” The detainee admits that he was caught while attempting to illegally enter the U.S., but claims that he “was going to find a job to make some money.”
What the government thinks the detainee was really up to is not clear. The transcript does not contain any allegation that the detainee belongs to a terrorist organization or that he was attempting to carry out a terrorist plot. However, many of the details surrounding the detainees at Guantanamo remain classified and its possible that the government has more specific terror-related information about this detainee.
The details of the detainee's travels and the smuggling operation that attempted to sneak him into this country are especially noteworthy.
The government alleges, “The Detainee left Pakistan ten months previous to his detention by paying a smuggler in Pakistan twenty-five thousand dollars (US) to be smuggled into the U.S.” The detainee does not deny this allegation, but claims that the fee “was paid in Pakistani currency, one million rupies, about sixteen to eighteen thousand dollars. This would get paid when I got to the United States.” He adds, “My father owns an oil tanker, which he would sell to make the payment. Also, it was only eight months after I left Pakistan to when I was captured.”
There is no indication of what the detainee was allegedly doing during the eight to ten months between his departure from Pakistan and his capture. But the government alleges that he traveled in a vessel that “is believed to be a special interest vessel, which was the focus of Operation Southern Watch.”
The detainee explains his travels thusly:
I did not take a boat from one country to another. I did take a small boat to cross rivers inside Mexico. I do not know all the countries I went to. I did take a plane from Pakistan to Guatemala. From there I traveled by foot and vehicle to Mexico.
The most intriguing aspect of the transcript concerns the allegations surrounding the smuggler responsible for getting the detainee across the border. The government alleges:
The smuggler responsible for the above-mentioned vessel has close business ties with an individual known to help coordinate smuggling operations for members of Hizballah and al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya; Hizballah and al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya are known terrorist groups.
Hezbollah is, of course, an Iranian-backed terrorist group that targets primarily Israel from its base of operations in southern Lebanon. But, it would be a mistake to assume that the group only targets Israel. Many terrorism analysts will tell you that Hezbollah is one of the most, if not the most, lethal terrorist organizations ever. It is an especially significant threat to this country given the current tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
The group’s activities have been detected around the globe, including in the Western hemisphere. For example, the group is widely thought to be responsible for attacks on Jewish targets in Argentina in 1994. The worst of these attacks occurred when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Jewish community center. The attack killed almost ninety people and wounded hundreds more. In recent years, additional evidence indicating that the group has infiltrated Latin America, including Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, has surfaced.
Al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya (IG) is an Islamist opposition group that has historically targeted Egypt’s government. One of the group’s senior leaders signed al Qaeda’s infamous February 1998 fatwa calling for jihad against the “jews and crusaders,” but later rescinded his group’s support due to internal squabbling. Still, according to the State Department’s 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism, “The Egyptian Government believes that Iran, Osama Bin Laden, and Afghan militant groups support the organization.” The group may also “obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations.”
The State Department reports that “the IG never has specifically attacked a US citizen or facility but has threatened US interests.” But, the group is best known for the role of its spiritual leader, Shaykh Umar Abd al- Rahman (aka “The Blind Sheikh”), in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Rahman is currently serving life in prison following his conviction in 1996.
The two-page transcript does not say that the detainee was associated with either Hezbollah or the IG. But given the detainee’s desire to enter this country and the allegations concerning the network that was assisting him, it would be interesting to learn more. It is possible, I guess, that there is nothing more to this story and the detainee simply got mixed up in a smuggling operation associated with two terrorist groups. It is more likely that more details concerning the detainee’s plans for America are contained in the classified files not released by the Pentagon.
In either case it is disturbing to learn that the government has found a smuggling network associated with two prominent terrorist groups just south of our border. The allegations against this detainee also raise interesting questions concerning what, exactly, Hezbollah and the IG are planning.
http://thomasjoscelyn.blogspot.com/2006/04/guantanamo-detainee-caught-at-border.html
As the nation continues to debate what to do about our southern border, I thought I would point out a piece of informaton I found in a cache of documents released by the Pentagon in early March. In connection with a lawsuit brought by the Associated Press, the Pentagon released thousands of pages of documents transcribed during tribunal hearings for the hundreds of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There is a lot of interesting information in those documents, including the allegations against one detainee who was caught while trying to sneak across the Mexican border.
The name of the detainee was not given in the original two-page transcript I reviewed. Just recently the Pentagon released the names of hundreds of Guantanamo's inmates, but I haven't been able to match one of those names to this suspect, yet.
The U.S. government alleges that the detainee “attempted to be smuggled into the United States” and “traveled with forged travel documents, including a passport and other travel documents.” The detainee admits that he was caught while attempting to illegally enter the U.S., but claims that he “was going to find a job to make some money.”
What the government thinks the detainee was really up to is not clear. The transcript does not contain any allegation that the detainee belongs to a terrorist organization or that he was attempting to carry out a terrorist plot. However, many of the details surrounding the detainees at Guantanamo remain classified and its possible that the government has more specific terror-related information about this detainee.
The details of the detainee's travels and the smuggling operation that attempted to sneak him into this country are especially noteworthy.
The government alleges, “The Detainee left Pakistan ten months previous to his detention by paying a smuggler in Pakistan twenty-five thousand dollars (US) to be smuggled into the U.S.” The detainee does not deny this allegation, but claims that the fee “was paid in Pakistani currency, one million rupies, about sixteen to eighteen thousand dollars. This would get paid when I got to the United States.” He adds, “My father owns an oil tanker, which he would sell to make the payment. Also, it was only eight months after I left Pakistan to when I was captured.”
There is no indication of what the detainee was allegedly doing during the eight to ten months between his departure from Pakistan and his capture. But the government alleges that he traveled in a vessel that “is believed to be a special interest vessel, which was the focus of Operation Southern Watch.”
The detainee explains his travels thusly:
I did not take a boat from one country to another. I did take a small boat to cross rivers inside Mexico. I do not know all the countries I went to. I did take a plane from Pakistan to Guatemala. From there I traveled by foot and vehicle to Mexico.
The most intriguing aspect of the transcript concerns the allegations surrounding the smuggler responsible for getting the detainee across the border. The government alleges:
The smuggler responsible for the above-mentioned vessel has close business ties with an individual known to help coordinate smuggling operations for members of Hizballah and al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya; Hizballah and al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya are known terrorist groups.
Hezbollah is, of course, an Iranian-backed terrorist group that targets primarily Israel from its base of operations in southern Lebanon. But, it would be a mistake to assume that the group only targets Israel. Many terrorism analysts will tell you that Hezbollah is one of the most, if not the most, lethal terrorist organizations ever. It is an especially significant threat to this country given the current tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
The group’s activities have been detected around the globe, including in the Western hemisphere. For example, the group is widely thought to be responsible for attacks on Jewish targets in Argentina in 1994. The worst of these attacks occurred when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Jewish community center. The attack killed almost ninety people and wounded hundreds more. In recent years, additional evidence indicating that the group has infiltrated Latin America, including Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, has surfaced.
Al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya (IG) is an Islamist opposition group that has historically targeted Egypt’s government. One of the group’s senior leaders signed al Qaeda’s infamous February 1998 fatwa calling for jihad against the “jews and crusaders,” but later rescinded his group’s support due to internal squabbling. Still, according to the State Department’s 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism, “The Egyptian Government believes that Iran, Osama Bin Laden, and Afghan militant groups support the organization.” The group may also “obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations.”
The State Department reports that “the IG never has specifically attacked a US citizen or facility but has threatened US interests.” But, the group is best known for the role of its spiritual leader, Shaykh Umar Abd al- Rahman (aka “The Blind Sheikh”), in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Rahman is currently serving life in prison following his conviction in 1996.
The two-page transcript does not say that the detainee was associated with either Hezbollah or the IG. But given the detainee’s desire to enter this country and the allegations concerning the network that was assisting him, it would be interesting to learn more. It is possible, I guess, that there is nothing more to this story and the detainee simply got mixed up in a smuggling operation associated with two terrorist groups. It is more likely that more details concerning the detainee’s plans for America are contained in the classified files not released by the Pentagon.
In either case it is disturbing to learn that the government has found a smuggling network associated with two prominent terrorist groups just south of our border. The allegations against this detainee also raise interesting questions concerning what, exactly, Hezbollah and the IG are planning.