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--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector- Oops, dissonance; According to the cooperativeresearch timeline Turki al-Faisal was sacked from SA intel on Aug. 31st, 2001 and replaced with a rookie. Cosmetics? :::::Aug. 31~~ Turki al-Faisal, head of Saudi Arabia's intelligence service for 24 years, is replaced. No explanation is given. He is replaced by Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, his nephew and the king's brother, who has "no background in intelligence whatsoever." [AFP, 8/31/01, Seattle Times, 10/29/01, Wall Street Journal, 10/22/01] FTW The Wall Street Journal later reports, "The timing of Turki's removal�August 31�and his Taliban connection raise the question: Did the Saudi regime know that bin Laden was planning his attack against the US? The current view among Saudi-watchers is probably not, but that the House of Saud might have heard rumors that something was planned, although they did not know what or when. (An interesting and possibly significant detail: Prince Sultan, the defense minister, had been due to visit Japan in early September, but canceled his trip for no apparent reason less than two days before his planned departure.)" [Wall Street Journal, 10/22/01] Turki is later sued for his role in 9/11 (see August 15, 2002) and appointed ambassador to Britain (see October 18, 2002). --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/chi- 0403310198mar31,1,1606179.story?coll=chi-printnews-hed > > > 2 firms linked to Al Qaeda, Saudi intelligence agency > > By John Crewdson, Tribune senior correspondent. John > Crewdson reported from Germany, and Viola Gienger > contributed from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania > > March 31, 2004 > > HAMBURG, Germany -- Two private Saudi companies linked > with suspected Al Qaeda cells here and in Indonesia > also have connections to the Saudi Arabian > intelligence agency and its longtime chief, Prince > Turki bin Faisal, according to information assembled > by German intelligence analysts. > The Twaik Group and Rawasin Media Productions, both > based in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, have served as > fronts for the Saudi General Intelligence Directorate, > according to an inquiry by Germany's foreign > intelligence service, the BND. > Twaik, a $100 million-a-year conglomerate, has diverse > holdings inside and outside Saudi Arabia. Rawasin > reports earnings of about $4 million a year from > producing and selling audio and videotapes promoting > the Wahhabi version of Islam that is Saudi Arabia's > dominant religion. > The conclusions reached by the BND inquiry were > presented to the office of German Chancellor Gerhard > Schroeder late last year and subsequently circulated > within the German intelligence community. > The inquiry determined that Twaik, like Rawasin, was > what one source described as "an organ of Saudi Arabia > intelligence." > In the late 1990s both Twaik and Rawasin employed Reda > Seyam, a 44-year-old Egyptian suspected by Indonesian > authorities of having helped finance the Bali > nightclub bombing. Germany's federal prosecutor is > investigating Seyam on suspicion of supporting a > foreign terrorist organization, namely Al Qaeda. > The German inquiry also discovered that, during 1999 > and 2000, Seyam took several flights from Saudi Arabia > to destinations in Europe on aircraft operated by the > Saudi General Intelligence Directorate, or GID. > The Tribune reported last year that between 1995 and > 1998, Twaik deposited more than $250,000 in bank > accounts controlled by Mamoun Darkazanli, a > Syrian-born Hamburg businessman and longtime Al Qaeda > associate with close ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers > during their years in the northern port city of > Hamburg. > Abdulrahman Al-Fahhad, then the Twaik executive > responsible for the company's rental-car operations in > the Balkans, acknowledged hiring Darkazanli in 1995 to > supply cars from Germany for Twaik's branch office in > Albania. The money, Al-Fahhad said, had been for > Darkazanli's use in purchasing those cars. > Rental-car job > Al-Fahhad also acknowledged hiring Seyam to manage > Twaik's rental-car office in nearby > Bosnia-Herzegovina. In telephone interviews last year > and earlier this month, Al-Fahhad continued to > maintain that he could not remember how he met either > Darkazanli or Seyam. > Twaik's founder and owner of record, Saudi businessman > Saleh Abdulaziz Al-Fahhad, did not respond to several > written requests for comment on his company's > purported connections with Saudi intelligence, Rawasin > and Seyam. > Rawasin did not respond to e-mailed requests for > information beyond stating, "You can find our products > in Islamic cassette shops." > The BND inquiry has concluded that Seyam, one of whose > specialties was videotaping Muslim fighters in action > around the world, was sent to Indonesia by Rawasin a > year before the October 2002 Bali bombing that killed > 202 people and wounded more than 300. > It is not clear whether Seyam was working on his own > or on behalf of Rawasin while he was distributing what > Indonesian investigators said was tens of thousands of > dollars to militant Islamists in Indonesia, including > the convicted mastermind of the Bali bombings. > Neither Seyam nor Darkazanli, both of whom emigrated > to Germany in the early 1980s and subsequently became > naturalized German citizens, has been charged with any > crime in Germany. Darkazanli is the target of a > separate investigation by the federal prosecutor into > the suspected laundering of Al Qaeda funds. > In 2002 and 2003 Seyam served a 10-month jail sentence > in Indonesia for violating that country's immigration > laws. Darkazanli was accused in a Spanish indictment > last year of having served as Osama bin Laden's > "financier in Europe." > Link established > According to information gathered by the BND, the > relationships between Twaik, Rawasin and the Saudi > General Intelligence Directorate were established > while the GID was headed by Prince Turki bin Faisal al > Saud, the eighth and last son of the late Saudi King > Faisal and currently the Saudi ambassador in London. > Prince Turki served as the chief of Saudi intelligence > from 1978 until 2001. The Twaik Group was formed in > 1985, and Rawasin in 1998, according to business > records on file in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. In a > March 18 letter faxed to the Tribune, Prince Turki > stated only that "I have not developed any > relationship with either group." > Less than two weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks > on the United States, the prince surprised observers > by resigning after 23 years as head of Saudi > intelligence. The official Saudi news agency said the > resignation had been the prince's decision. > In a February 2002 speech to an alumni reunion at > Georgetown University, his alma mater, Turki recalled > having met with Osama bin Laden on five occasions in > the late 1980s, at a time when both the Saudis and the > U.S. were supporting bin Laden and other Muslims > battling the Soviet army in Afghanistan. > Turki described bin Laden, whom he met in Saudi Arabia > and Pakistan, as "a relatively pleasant man, very shy, > softspoken." > If the BND's conclusions are correct, the linkage of > Twaik to Saudi intelligence may resolve a question > that has puzzled criminal investigators: Why would a > conglomerate that then ranked 67th among all Saudi > corporations choose a Muslim ideologue with no > apparent business experience to manage its struggling > rental-car operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina? > Those conclusions may also explain why a company whose > operations within Saudi Arabia range from waste > removal to the management of government hospitals > undertook not one but two risky business ventures in > the strife-torn Balkans, where several Saudi-based > Muslim charities were spending tens of millions of > dollars to aid the Muslim population. > Frayed relations > Relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been > frayed by the Bush administration's contention that > wealthy individuals, companies and Islamic charities > in that country may have contributed, consciously or > otherwise, to the support of Islamic terrorist > organizations, including Al Qaeda. > There has been no indication thus far that any agency > of the Saudi government or member of the Saudi royal > family played a conscious role in supporting terrorist > activities. A source familiar with the BND > investigation said Saudi government officials outside > the GID "probably" had no idea of the relationship > among Rawasin, Twaik and the GID. > The BND's conclusions might also raise questions about > whether at least some of the Saudi government's > acknowledged support for armed struggles by Muslims in > Afghanistan and elsewhere may have been diverted to > attacks on Western interests. > No direct link > No direct connection between Saudi money and the Sept. > 11 plotters in Hamburg has been found, though > investigators here and in the U.S. continue to search > for one. A senior FBI official acknowledged recently > that the agency still did not know the "ultimate > source" of the estimated $500,000 that financed the > Sept. 11 hijackings. > Though both men are free, Seyam and Darkazanli are > being kept under surveillance while the federal > prosecutor's investigation of their activities > proceeds. > The investigation of Seyam has been hampered by the > fact that, until two years ago, supporting a foreign > terrorist organization like Al Qaeda was not illegal > in Germany. > That loophole, which also has caused problems for the > prosecutions of two accused Sept. 11 conspirators in > Hamburg, has since been closed. The loophole is not an > issue in the Darkazanli investigation, which is > focused on ordinary criminal statutes that prohibit > money laundering. > The new anti-terrorism statute, forbidding support for > any organization foreign or domestic, is not > retroactive. A decision on whether to arrest Seyam and > to indict him on terrorism charges will depend on what > prosecutors learn about his activities after the law > was changed in August 2002. > Under German law, intelligence information like that > collected about Seyam by the BND cannot be used to > build a criminal case, something a source familiar > with the BND's investigation of Seyam described as > "very frustrating." > Seyam still could be charged with an ordinary crime > not related to terrorism if the evidence to support > such a charge exists. His ex-wife, a German woman > named Regina Kreis, has emerged as a leading witness > in the criminal investigation, which is being > conducted by the German federal police, the BKA. > A ride to Germany > One BKA official, cautioning that his agency was not > entirely convinced of Kreis' credibility, said she had > recalled for investigators riding in a car from > Bosnia-Herzegovina to Germany with her husband and > another man sometime in 1996. > From photographs Kreis identified the mystery > passenger as Ramzi Binalshibh, who moved to Germany > from Yemen the previous year and would later become > the self-described "coordinator" of the Sept. 11 > hijacking plot. Binalshibh is now in U.S. custody at > an undisclosed location. > The journey with Binalshibh was first disclosed by the > German magazine Der Spiegel, which reported last week > that German authorities now consider Seyam "to be one > of the most important Al Qaeda agents in Europe." > Another German magazine, Focus, previously quoted > Kreis as saying Seyam had been "in touch with Al Qaeda > leaders" while the couple was living in > Bosnia-Herzegovina and had taken part in a firing > squad that executed a Serb in the summer of 1995. > Herbert Gude, a Focus reporter who interviewed Kreis > while she was in the BKA's witness protection program > earlier this year, said she had been kept in the dark > about her husband's business affairs and could not > explain how and why Seyam had been hired by Twaik. > Kreis, who converted to Islam after her 1988 marriage > to Seyam and was divorced by her husband in 2001, was > not living with Seyam in Jakarta when he was arrested > there in September 2002. > Evidence of financing > Muchyar Yara, the spokesman for the Indonesian State > Intelligence Bureau, or BIN, at the time of Seyam's > arrest, said investigators uncovered evidence > indicating that Seyam was financing several suspected > terrorists in Southeast Asia. > Yara said that when agents searched Seyam's rented > $4,000-a-month house, they recovered documents that > included the names of suspected terrorists on Seyam's > payroll. > One of those names was Omar al-Farouq, believed by the > U.S. to be a senior Al Qaeda representative in > Southeast Asia. It was al-Farouq's capture in > Indonesia in June 2002, Yara said, that led BIN to > Seyam. > Seyam's "salary list," Yara said, also included the > name of Imam Samudra, a Balinese Islamic cleric > sentenced to death last year after his conviction for > masterminding the Bali attacks. > Samudra has admitted his role in the nightclub > bombings. At his trial, Samudra reportedly declared > that he was "grateful" for the deaths of more than > 3,000 people in the Sept. 11 attacks. > In all, Yara said, Seyam apparently handed out many > thousands of dollars during his Indonesian sojourn, > including one particularly suspicious expenditure of > $74,000 for a "speedboat." > The BIN never found the speedboat, Yara said, noting > that speedboats were "not such a common thing" in > Indonesia. But he added that "we can't say directly > that the money was used for the Bali bomb." > Despite the BIN's conclusion that Seyam was "a very > high-ranking officer of the international terrorism > network," Yara said, he was convicted only of working > as a journalist while holding a tourist visa. > Seyam was not prosecuted on terrorism charges, Yara > said, partly because of loopholes in the Indonesian > anti-terrorism laws, and partly because of his German > nationality. "We decided that his case would be better > handled by Germany," Yara said. > When Seyam's jail sentence ran out in July 2003, he > was handed over to the BKA, who returned him to > Germany for questioning. > Interviewed by Der Spiegel in the small town near > Stuttgart where he now lives, Seyam said he was being > "persecuted" because of his reporting of injustices to > Muslims while working as a correspondent for Al > Jazeera, the Arab-owned satellite TV channel. > Al Jazeera's Jakarta bureau chief, Othman al-Battiri, > said in a telephone interview that Seyam had never > been an Al Jazeera correspondent, and that his > application for a job as a cameraman had been > rejected. Editors at Al Jazeera headquarters in Qatar > confirmed that the organization had never employed > Seyam. > Naturalized German > A heavily bearded man with what acquaintances describe > as a brooding manner, Seyam arrived in Germany in the > early 1980s to study mathematics in Freiberg. He > became a naturalized German citizen after marrying > Kreis. > "He was an ordinary Muslim who became a fanatic," a > senior BKA official said. > According to Abdulrahman Al-Fahhad, when Seyam took > over the management of Twaik Rent-a-Car's office in > the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in October 1997, his > instructions were to liquidate Twaik's operation. > "We hired him to close the business," Al-Fahhad said. > But Twaik's deputy manager in Sarajevo, Haytham > Elshazli, remembers Seyam struggling to make Twaik > Rent-a-Car a going concern, albeit one with a radical > Islamic face. > Soon after taking over Twaik, Elshazli said, Seyam > fired the company's only two female employees. He also > brought a copy of the Koran to the office and began > playing religious tapes during working hours. > When Seyam discovered that Twaik had rented a car to a > woman with dual Israeli and American citizenship, > Elshazli recalled, "He said, `Why are you renting to > Israeli people, to Jews, to people like that ...? You > don't have to be in contact with Jews, with such > people.'" > Seyam's exhortations drove away another Twaik > employee, a non-observant Bosnian Muslim who spoke to > the Tribune on condition that he not be identified. > "He said, `This is not good, you must have a wife, not > a girlfriend, you mustn't drink, you must go to > mosque,'" the former employee recalled. > When the former employee told Seyam he intended to > submit his resignation to Abdulrahman Al-Fahhad, he > said Seyam replied that that wouldn't be necessary, > because "I'm the owner of Twaik now." > Once Seyam took charge, Elshazli said, Abdulrahman > Al-Fahhad's inspection visits to Bosnia-Herzegovina > ceased. At one point, Seyam brought in a dozen or so > Arabs, men Elshazli described as hard-line Islamists, > explaining that they were "accountants." > The men copied every document in the Twaik files, > Elshazli said, including the names and addresses of > clients from the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo. > Within a few months of Seyam's taking over, Elshazli > was also out the door. "He said, `The company is ours > now, and we are not satisfied with you anymore,'" > Elshazli recalled. "Six months of nightmare." > Whether despite Seyam's efforts or because of them, > Twaik's enterprise in Bosnia-Herzegovina failed, and > in 1998 Seyam disappeared from Bosnia-Herzegovina > along with Twaik. > According to the BND investigation, he turned up the > next year in Saudi Arabia, working for Rawasin Media > Productions. > In early 2001 Seyam began shuttling between Saudi > Arabia and Indonesia, where he reportedly videotaped > fighting between the Muslim majority and the Christian > minority in Indonesia's remote Moluccas Islands. That > little-publicized struggle is believed to have claimed > thousands of lives over the past four years. > While Seyam was in Riyadh, according to Der Spiegel, > "high-ranking Al Qaeda members" were seen visiting his > house. > Among Seyam's alleged visitors, the magazine said, was > Osama bin Laden. > - - - > Men investigated for links to terror, Saudi > intelligence > Two German citizens of Arab ancestry are suspected of > links to the Sept. 11 hijackers and worked for > companies believed to be affiliated with the Saudi > Arabian intelligence agency. > Profile: A 44-year-old German citizen originally from > Egypt. Specialized in videotaping Muslim fighters in > the Balkans and elsewhere. > Terror ties: Under investigation in Germany for > suspicion of > supporting Al Qaeda. Indonesian authorities suspect > him of helping finance the Bali bombing that killed > more than 200 in October 2002. > Served 10 months in an Indonesian jail on a visa > violation > before being deported to Germany in July 2003. > TERROR SUSPECT > Ramzi Binalshibh > The self-described "coordinator" of Sept. 11. Held by > U.S. authorities since his arrest in September 2002. > - LINK TO SEYAM > Seyam's ex-wife, Regina Kreis, identifies Binalshibh > as the man who shared a car ride from > Bosnia-Herzegovina to Germany with > her and her husband in 1996. > Mamoun Darkazanli > Profile: Syrian-born Hamburg businessman > Terror ties: Suspected of handling money, procuring > equipment and other activities on behalf of Al Qaeda. > He was called Osama bin Laden's "financier in Europe" > in a 2003 Spanish indictment. > TERRORISTS > 9/11 hijackers > Hijackers used Hamburg as a base to plan the attacks; > three of the four pilots attended university there. > LINK TO DARKAZANLI > Darkazanli allegedly helped recruit the hijackers. He > is a former associate of Mohamed Atta while the latter > was in college in Hamburg. > COMPANIES > Rawasin Media Productions > Saudi Arabian company sells audio and videotapes > promoting > Wahhabism, a form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia. > Allegedly affiliated with the Saudi equivalent of the > CIA. > - Link to Seyam > The company sent him to Indonesia in 2001, according > to the German foreign intelligence service. > The Twaik Group > German intelligence officials call Riyadh-based > conglomerate "an organ of Saudi Arabia intelligence." > - LINK TO SEYAM > He ran the Saudi company's rental car business in > Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997-98. > - LINK TO DARKAZANLI > From 1995-98, the company wired more than $250,000 to > German bank accounts controlled by Darkazanli, who was > hired to supply cars for Twaik's office in Albania. > Sources: Police and intelligence reports, public > documents Chicago Tribune > > Copyright � 2004, Chicago Tribune ------------------------ Yahoo! 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