009 I- 1-
Congress of The United Statues
Washington,
January 29, 2003
The Honorable George J. Tenet
Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, DC 20505
Dear Director Tenet:
As you know, the final report of the Joint Inquiry into the events of September 11 has been submitted to the Intelligence Community for declassification review. We look forward to early release of the public report so that efforts at reforms can be
accelerated.
Having been privileged to lead this bipartisan, bicameral investigation last year. we are committed to working in the current Congress to help secure implementation of Its recommendations. In furtherance of that goal, we are waiting to the President and heads of departments and agencies about portions of the Joint. Inquiry's recommendations that may be of particular concern to them.
Our first recommendation calls for establishment of a Director of National Intelligence, or DNI, who in addition to being the President's principal intelligence adviser "shall have the full range of management, budgetary and personnel responsibilities needed to make the U.S. Intelligence Community operate as a coherent whole." To help promote both strong leadership of the entire Intelligence Community leadership and an effective CIA. the Joint Inquiry also recommended that Congress provide that the DNI not simultaneously serve as director of the CIA or any other agency. In considering this recommendation, the Congress will certainly, we believe, benefit from learning of your views about the strengthening of the role of head of the intelligence Community.
A number of the recommendations that follow address proposed tasks of the Director of National Intelligence, but as that reform will require study and deliberation. for the Immediate future those further recommendations are directed to the Director of Central Intelligence as the present statutory head of the Intelligence Community.
The Joint Inquiry found that prior to September 11 neither the U.S. Government as a whole nor the Intelligence Community had a comprehensive counterterrorist strategy. One of our recommendations calls on the National Security Council, In conjunction with key agency and department heads, to prepare such a strategy for the President's approval. The recommendation states that the strategy should be
The Honorable George J. Tenet
January 29. 2003
Page 2
"government wide.' apply both 'home and abroad," and include 'the growing terrorism threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and associated technologies.' The recommendation asks that this strategy identify and fully engage the Intelligence as well as foreign policy, economic, military and law enforcement elements that are "critical to a comprehensive blueprint for success in the war against terrorism." The Director of Central Intelligence's full participation in this overall process will be essential, as will the DCI's development of the Intelligence Community component of the full strategy. The Joint Inquiry recommended that the Intelligence Community's component of the overall strategy include a number of important items, among them development of human sources to penetrate terrorist organizations and networks.
To provide to the Congress and Executive Branch policymakers intelligence estimates on terrorism, the Joint Inquiry has recommended establishment on the National Intelligence Council of the position of National Intelligence Officer for Terrorism. The recommendation suggests that the person holding this position also assist the Intelligence Community in developing a program for strategic analysis.
Another recommendation addresses the need for Congress and the Administration to ensure development within the Department of Homeland Security of art effective all source terrorism information fusion center, as mandated by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The success of that fusion center will depend, as the recommendation states, on the center's 'full and timely access to all counterterrorism-related intelligence information, including 'raw' supporting data as needed." Your action to ensure full cooperation between the entire Intelligence Community (including, of course, the CIA) and the Department of Homeland Security will be fundamental to the success of this vital reform. We applaud the President's announcement of the establishment of a new Terrorist Threat Integration Center, which we understand will be located under the Director of Central Intelligence. The important challenge, we believe, is to assure the full and harmonious implementation of both the information fusion requirement of the Homeland Security Act and the center that the President announced.
The recommendations include a list of significant reforms that the Intelligence Committees believe are essential for strengthening the FBI's domestic intelligence capability. In regard to these critically needed reforms, the Joint Inquiry has recommended that Congress should direct that the head of the Intelligence Community, together with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, should report to Congress on the FBI's progress. The report should include 'the specific manner in which a new domestic intelligence service could be established in the United
The Honorable George J. Tenet
January 29, 2003
Page 3
States, recognizing the need to enhance national security while fully protecting civil liberties.'
The Committees expressed their strong conviction that 'the Intelligence Community's employees remain its greatest resource.' They recommend that the head of the Intelligence Community 'should require that measures be implemented to greatly enhance the recruitment and development of a workforce with the intelligence skills and expertise needed for success in counterterrorist efforts.' Several particular actions are set forth in the recommendation. One is that Intelligence Community agencies should expand and Improve counterterrorism training, including about information sharing among law enforcement and intelligence personnel, the use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and watchlisting. The recommendation includes steps to improve Intelligence Community language capabilities and the utilization of the skills and experience of retired personnel. It calls on the Intelligence Community to 'enhance recruitment of a more ethnically and culturally diverse workforce.'
A further personnel recommendation proposes, in part, that Congress enact legislation, modeled on the landmark Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, to help instill the concept of jointness" throughout the Intelligence Community and ensure that its components will work more closely together than has been the case. The mechanisms identified in the recommendation Include such things as joint tours for intelligence and law enforcement personnel as well as incentives for joint service throughout the Intelligence Community. In developing these ideas, Congress would benefit from the Administration's detailed proposals.
The Joint Inquiry identified several important objectives concerning classified information, including expanding access by federal agencies outside the Intelligence Community, by state and local authorities, and by the American public. To this end, we recommended that the Director of Central intelligence, in consultation with the heads of key components of the Intelligence Community, including the Attorney General, should report to the Intelligence Committees on "proposals for a new and more realistic approach to the processes and structures that have governed the designation of sensitive and classified information.' The report should also address 'proposals to protect against the use of the classification process as a shield to protect agency self-interest.'
The Congress and the Nation as a whole will be grateful for your attention and response to these and other matters identified in the course of the Joint Inquiry. Further, we are confident that the Congress will benefit from other recommendations
The Honorable George J. Tenet
January 29. 2003
that you might have for legislative or administrative action to Improve the Nation's
counterterrorist capabilities.
Page 4
Porter G
Chairman, House Intelligence Committee, 107th and 108th Congresses
Sincerely,
Bob GrahamChairman, Senate Intelligence
Committee, 107th Congress
Richard Shelby
Vice Chairman, Senate Intelligence
Committee.107th Congress
Enclosure: As stated
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Nancy Pelosi
Ranking Minority Member, House
Intelligence Committee, 107th Congress
and Member ex officio (as Minority
Leader). 10e Congress
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S. REPT. No. 107 I 07 TH CONGRESS, 2D SESSION H. Fin. No. 107
JOINT INQUIRY INTO
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
BEFORE AND AFTER THE TERRORIST ATTACKS OF
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
REPORT
OF THE
U.S. SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
AND
U.S. HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT committe ON
INTELLIGENCE
TOGETHER WITH ADDITIONAL VIEWS
DECEMBER 2002
PART FOUR—FINDING, DISCUSSION AND NARRATIVE REGARDING CERTAIN
SENSITIVE NATIONAL SECURITY MATTERS
70. Finding: While in the United States, some of the September II hijackers were in contact with, and received support ur assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government. There is information, primarily from FBI sources, that at least two of those individuals were alleged by some to he Saudi intelligence officers. The Joint Inquiry's review eonfirmed that the Intelligence Community also lies information, much of which has yet to be Independently verified, indicating that individuals associated with the Saudi Government in the United States may have other tics to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups. The FBI and CIA have informed the Joint Inquiry that, since the September 11 attacks, they are treating the Saudi issue seriously, but both still have only a limited understanding of the Saudi Government's ties to terrorist elements. In their testimony, neither CIA nor FBI witnesses were able to identify definitively the extent of Saudi support for terrorist activity globally or within the United States and the extent to which such support, if it exists, is knowing or inadvertent in nature. The FBI's Washington Field Office created a squad devoted to
. Only recently, and at least in part due to the Joint Inquiry's focus on this issue, did the FBI and CIA establish a working group to address the Saudi issue. In the view of the Joint Inquiry, this gap in U.S. intelligence coverage is unacceptable, given the magnitude and immediacy of the potential risk to U.S. national security. The Intelligence Community needs to address this area of concern as aggressively and as quickly as possible.
Discussion: One reason for the limited understanding is that it was only after September 11 that the U.S. Government bee= to aggressively investigate this issue. Prior to September 11th, the FBI apparently did not focus investigative resources on
Saudi nationals in the United States due to Saudi Arabia's status as an American
"ally." A representative of the FBI testifiled that, prior to
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September 11, 2001, the FBI received "no reporting from any member of the Intelligence
Community' that there was a presence in the I United States.
According to venous FBI documents and at least one CIA memorandum, some of the September 11 hijackers, while in the United States, apparently had contacts with individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government. While the Joint inquiry uncovered this material during the course of its review of FBI and CIA documents, it did not attempt to investigate dud assess the accuracy and significance of this information independently, recognizing that such a task would be beyond. the scope of. this Joint Inquiry. Instead, the Joint Inquiry referred a detailed compilation of information uncovered by the inquiry in documents and interviews to the FBI and CIA for further investigation by the Intelligence Community and, if appropriate, law enforcement agencies. A brief summary of the available information regarding some of these individuals is illustrative for purposes of this report
Omar al-Bayoumi. The FBI has received numerous reports from individuals in the Muslim community, dating back to 1999, alleging that al-Bayoumi may be a Saudi intelligence officer. FBI. files suggest that al-Bayoumi provided substantial assistance to hijackers Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi after they arrived in San Diego in February 201)0. Al-Bayoumi met the hijackers at a public place shortly after his meeting with an individual at the Saudi consulate and there are indications in the ales that his encounter with the hijackers may not have been accidental. During this same timeframe, al-Bayoumi had extensive contact with Saudi Government establishments in the United States and received financial support from a Saudi company affiliated with the Saudi
Ministry of Defense. According to FBI files, at the company said that al-Bayoumi received a monthly salary even though he had been there on only one occasion. This support increased substantially in April 2000, two months after the hijackers arrived in San Diego, decreased slightly in December 2000, and stayed at that same level until August 2001. That company reportedly had tics to Usama Bin Latin and al-Qa'ida. In addition, the FBI determined that al Bayoumi Was in contact with several individuals under FBI investigation and with the Holy Land Foundation, which has been under investigation as a fundraising front for Hamas;
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Osumi. Bassnan. Bassnan may have been in contact with al-Milidhar and al-HaLmi during their time in San Diego. Bassnan was a close associate of al-Bayoumi and Omar Bakarbashat, another one of the hijackers' close assoctates. He also lived across the street from the hijackers, and made a comment to an FBI asset that he did more than al-Bayounti did for the hijacker.. According to an FBI document, Bassnan told another individual that he met al-Hazmi through al-13ayounai and later that he met two of the hijackers through al-Bayoumi. He also told the asset that al-Bayoumi was arrested because he knew al Hazmi and el-Mihdhur very well. The document go= nn m state that Bassnan and al-Bayoumi have been "close to each other for a lung time." Bessnan has many tics to the Saudi Government, including past employment by the Saudi Arabian Education Mission, referred to in FBI documents as
The FBI also received reports from individuals in the Muslim community alleging that Bassnan might be a Saudi intelligence officer. According to a CIA memo, Bassnan reportedly received funding and possibly a fake passport from Saudi Government officials. He and his wife have received financial support from the Saudi Ambassador to the United States and his wife A CIA report also indicates that Bassnan traveled to Houston in 2002 and met with an individual who was
The report states that during that trip a member of :he Saudi Royal Family provided Bassnan with a significant amount of cash. FBI information indicates that Bassnan is an extremist and supporter of Usama Bin Ladin, and has been connected to the Eritrean Islamic Jihad and the Blind Shaykh;
Shaykh al-Thumairy. According to FBI documents and a CIA memorandum, al-I Hazmi and al-Mihdhar may have been in contact with Shaykh al-Thumairy, an accredited diplomat at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles and one of the "imams" at the King Fahad mosque in Culver City, California. Also according to FBI documents, the mosque was built in 1998 from funding provided by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdulaziz. The mosque is reportedly attended hy members of the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles and is widely recognized for its anti-Western views;
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Saleb al-Hussayen. In September 2001, Saleh al-Hussayen, reportedly a Saudi Interior Ministry official, stayed at the same hotel in Herndon, Virginia where al-Hazmi was staying. While al-Hassayen claimed after September 11 net to know the hijackers, FBI agents believed he was being deceptive. He was able to depart the United States despite FBI efforts to locate and re-interview him; and
Abdullah Bin Ladin. Abdullah Bin Ladin claims to work for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. as an administrative officer. He is identified by the FBI as Usama Bin
Ladin's half brother. He is a close friend of Quadir-Harunani, a possible associate of Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi prior to September 11, 2001.
The Joint Inquiry also found ether indications that individuals connected to the Saudi Government have ties to terrorist networks, including:
The CLA and FBI have identified the Ibn Tamiyah Mosque in Culver City as a site of extremist-related activity. Several subjects of FBH investigations prior to September 11 had close connections to the mosque and are believed to have laundered money through this mosque to non-profit organizations overseas affiliated with Usama Bin Ladin. In an interview, an FBI agent said he believed that Saudi Government money was being laundered through the mosque;
Another Saudi national with close tics to the Saudi Royal Family, , is the
subject of FBi counterterrorism investigations and reportedly was checking security at the United States' southwest border in 1999 and discussing the possibility of infiltrating individuals into the United States;
According to FBI documents, several of the phone numbers found in the phone hook of Abu Zubaida, a senior al-Qa'ida operative captured in Pakistan in March 2002, could be linked, at least indirectly, to telephone numbers in the United States. One of those U.S. numbers is subscribed to by the ASPCOI Corporation, which is located in Aspen,
41K
Colorado, and manages the atTairs of the Colorado residence of the Saudi Ambassador Bandar. The FBH noted that ASPCOL has an unlisted telephone number. A November 18, 2002 FBI response to the Joint Inquiry states that "CHA traces have revealed no direct links between numbers found in Zubaida's phone hook and numb= in the United Stares."
Embassy in Washington, DC, who some have alleged may be a
was also found in Abu Zubaida's possessions; and
being Al-Qudhaccin was involved in a 1999 incident aboard an America West flight, which the FBI's Phoenix office now suspects may have been a "dry run" to test airline security. During the flight, al-Qudhaeein and his associate, asked the flight attendants a variety of suspicious questions; al-Qudhaeein then attempted to enter die cockpit on two occasions. Al-Qudhaeein and his associate were flying to Washington, D C. to attend a party at the Saudi Embassy, and hoth claimed that their tickets were paid for hy the Saudi Embassy. During the course of its investigations, the FBI has discovered that both al-Qudhaeein and the other individual involved in this incident had connections to terrorism.
Finally, the Committees arc particularly concerned about the serious nature of allegations contained in a CIA memorandum found by the Joint Inquiry Staff in the files of the FBI's San Diego Field Office That memorandum, which discusses alleged financial connections between the September 11 hijackers, Saudi Government officials, and members of the Saudi Royal
Family, was drafted by a CIA officer , relying pnrnamily on
information from FBI files. The CIA officer sent it to the CPC to determine whether CIA had additional information. lie also provided a copy to the FBI agent responsihle for the investigation of one of the individuals discussed in the memorandum. Despite the clear national implications of the CIA memorandum, the FBI agent included the memorandum in an individual idual case file and did not forward it to FBI Headquarters. FBI Headquarters, therefore, was unaware
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of statements in the memorandum until the Joint Hnquiry brought the memorandum's implications to the Bureau's attention [Censored]
Passible Saudi government Connections to Terrorists and Terrorist Croups
While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who maybe connected to the Saudi
Government Theme is information, flout FBI sources,that at least two of the indivisuals were
alleged to be Saudi intelligence officers. The Joint Hnquiry's review confirmed that the intelligence Community also has information, much of which remains speculative and yet to be independently verified, indicating that Saudi Government officials in the United States may have other ties to aI-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups.
The Committees are particularly concerned about the serious name of allegations contained in a CIA memorandum found within the files of the FBI's San Diego Field Office That memorandum, which discusses alleged financial connections between the September 11 hijackers, Saudi Government officials, and members of the Saudi Royal Family, was drafted by a
CIA officer , relying primarily on information from FBI files.
In their testimony before the Joint Inquiry, neither the CIA nor the FBI was able to definitively identify for these Committees the extent of Saudi support for terrorist activity globally or within the United States and the extent to which such support, if it exists, is intentional or innocent in nature. Both the FBI and CIA have indicated to the Committees that they are now aggressively pursuing Saudi-related terrorism issues.
Prior to September 11th, the FBI apparently did not focus investigative.
Saudi nationals in
the United States due to Saudi Arabia's status as an American 'ally".
A representative of the FBI's testified in closed
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hearings that, prior to September 11 th, the FBI received "no reporting from any memher of the
Intelligence Community" that there is a presence in the Unted States.
It should be clear that this Joint Inquiry has made no final determinations as to the reliability or sufficiency of the information regarding these issues that we found contained in FBI and CIA documents. It was not the task of this Joint Inquiry to conduct the kind of extensive investigation that would be required to determined the true significance of any such alleged connections to the Sandi Government. On the one hand, it is possible that these kinds of
connections could suggest, es indicated in a dated July 2, 2002, "incontrovertible evidence that there is support for these terrorists within the Saudi Government." On the nther hand, it is also possible that further investigation of these allegations could reveal legitimate, and innocent, explanations for these associations.
Given the serious national security implications of this information, however, the leadership of the Joint Inquiry is referring the staff's compilation of relevant information to both the FBI and the CIA for investigative review and appropriate investigative and intelligence action.
Possible Connections Between the September 11 Hijackers and Saudi Government Officials in the United States
In reviewing FBI documents and the CIA memorandum, the Joint Inquiry Staff has examined information suggesting that:
One individual who provided assistance to Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar may he connected to the Saudi Government. A second individual who may have been in contact with al-Hlazmi and AI-Mihdhar also has ties to the Saudi Government, including connections to the Sandi Am bassador to the United States. There is There is reporting in FBI files that persons have alleged that both of these individuals may be Saudi intelligence officers;
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The September 11 hijackers may have been to contact with other Saudi Government officials in the United States pnor to the September 11 attacks; and
Saudi Government officials in the United States may have ties to Usama Bin Ladin's terrorist network.
Omar al-Bayoumi and Osama Bassnan
Two individuals known to the FBI prior to September 11, - Omar al-Bayoumi and Osama Bassnan - may have provided assistance or support to al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar while the two hijackers-to-be were living in San Diego, While the documentary evidence that al-Bayoumi provided assistance to al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar is solid, the ideas contain only limited evidence that Osama Bassnan had contacts with the two individuals.
When al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar moved to San Diego, al-Bayoumi provided them with considerable assistance. Before the hijackers moved in with the long-time FBI informant. they stayed at al-Bayoumi's apartment for several days until al-Bayoumi was able to find them an apartment. Al-Bayoumi then co-signed their lease and may have paid their first month's rent and security deposit.t After al-Hazmi and AI-Midhar moved into their own apartment, al-Bayoumi threw a party in weleninc them to the San Diego Gomrnur.ity He also tasked Medlin. Abdullah, another individual from the Hslamic Center of San Diego (ICSD), to help them get acclimated to the United States. Abdullah served as their translator, helped them net drivers' Licenses, and assisted them in locating Right schools.
' The FBI notes, al its November id, 20C2 response that "financial records indicate a cash depose of the =net amount as the cashier's check into al-rizymuni s bank acenteat on the same day, whid suggests that the hijackers reimbursed him." FBI November 18 Response, 3. However, another FBI document, dated October 14, 200?., appears io reach a slightly different conclusion This document states that "a review of Khalid AI-litilacthar and
Nawaf bandt records indicate there is co bienk do,;:urreatation that supports the reimbursement of (the rent motteyl„ or any monies to Dinar Al-Bayeamn nom al-Hazrai or Al-Midbar."
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Daring the post-September 11 investigation, the F131 discovered that al-Bayourni had far more extensive ties to the Saudi Government than previously realized. In fact, according to an
October 14, 2002 FBI document, al-Bayoumi has "extensive ties in the Saudi Gcocriuncnt." The connections identified by the FBI are:
Al-Bayoumi had been an accountant at the Saudi Civil Aviation Administration from 1976 to 1493, when he relocated to the United States;
According to the FBI, al-Bayou:in was in frequent contact with the Emir at the Saudi Ministry of Defense, responsible for air traffic control;
The FBI has also located records, indicating that al-Bayourni received 520.000 from the Saudi Ministry of Finance at one point;
When al-Bayoumi applied to schools in the United States in 1998, he had a letter from the Saudi Embassy, which stated that he was getting a full scholarship from the Government of Saudi Arabia; and
While in San Diego, al-Bayouun was receiving money Erna) the Saudi Ministry of Defense through a Saudi company called "Ercan." 11 of that company informed the FBI after Septemher II , 2001 that, although al-Bayoumt only sltovad up at the company on one occasion, he received a monthly salary arid allowances. 11111M stated that, at first, he attempted to refnst to pay al-Bayounii a nionthiy salary, but he was told that his company would lose their contract if he did not pay informed dm FBI that at the time, he attrihured this Saudi corruption.
Al-Bayoumi also had frequent contact with Saudi establishments in the United States. hi a review of telephone toll records, the FBI learned that al-l3ayourni called Saudi Government establishments in the United States almost 100 times between January and May of 2000. According to the FRI, al-Baynumi was in contact with at least three individuals at the Saudi
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Embassy in Washington. DC; two individuals at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Washington, DC; and three individuals at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles. In a search of
Bayoumi's [censored] they also discovered that he had the phone number for an
individual at the Sausi Consulate in London.
Two former San Diego agents addressed the issue of whether at-Bayoumi was an intelligences officer at the October 9,2002 closed hearing. The former case agent who handled Muppet testafied
[Al-Bayoumi] acted like' a Saudi intelligence officer, in my opinion. And if be was involved with the hiiackers, which it looks like he was, if he signed leases if he provided some sort of financing or payment of some sort, then l would say that there's a clear possibility that there might be a connection between Saudi intelligence an UBL.
A Former Assistant Special Agent in Charge in San Diego testified that the FBI received "numerous, I, would say half a dozen" reports from individuals who believed that al-Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence officer. The FBI's November 18th sponse is inconsistent as to whether the-FBI currently is designating al-Bayoumi as a suspected Saudi intelligences officer. hr. its
response. the FBI notes that al-Bayoumi [censored] until after
September but the response also states that "there is no evidence" to conclude that al
Bayoumi is a Saudi intelligence officer.
The FBI had received reporting from a reliable source well prior to September I I, 2001 indicating that Bayoumi might be a Saudi intelligence officer. Al-Bayoumi was known to have access to large amounts of money from Saudi Arabia. despite the fact that he did not appear to hold a Job On one occasion prior to September 11. the FBI received information that al-Bayoumi had received $400,000 from Saudi Arabia to help fund a new mosque in Sim Diego. The FBI conducted a counterterrorism investigation on al-Bayoumi in 1995 and 1999, but closed the investigation at that point.
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Since September 11, 2001 FBI investigation revealed that al•Bayourni has some tics to terrntist elements. Pasquale J. D'Arnuro, the Executive Assistant Director for Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence testified in the October 9, 2002 hearing that
Lwie've been talking with the Government about collection on an individual
named MEI who has ties to al-Qa'ida, who has ties to Bayourni
In addition, the FBI reported the results of their search of al-Bayou:Ili' that, "after an exhaustive translations of Bayoumi's documents, it is clear that in Bayoumi's con espondence he is providing guidance to young Muslims and some of his writings can be interpreted as jihadist."
According to information acquired by the FBI after September d I, 2001, al-Bayourni also noted on one of his school applications that he worked for a company called "DallablA,vco." According to die FBI, Erna is a San Diego subcontramer of Dallah/Avco. According to a sepwateEldoctiment, Dallah and Avco are under the same umbrella company, Ave() Dallah Trims Arab, which is a subsidiary of Al Barakaat Investment and Development Company. Avco Dallah reportedly holds the contracts for cleaning and maintenance at the three major airports in
Saudi Arabia. The. document states that 1111111111111111111111111...
the company has links to Usama Bin Ladin FBI Headquarters was informed of the affiliation between Dallah/Aveo and Al l3arakaat in February 2001, but the San Diego Field Office apparently never got this information.
According to FBI documents, al•Bayourni's pay increased during the time that al-Hazrni and al-Milidliar were in the United States. According to a recent Illimalysis of ties between the terrorist atiari,:q and elements of the Saudi Government, before al-Hiremi and al-Miltrlhar arrived in the U.S., al-Bayoumi generally received approximately 5445 per month in "allowances." According to the• document, in March 2000, a month after al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar arrived in San Diego, his 'allowances" jumped to over 33700 a month and stayed constant until December 2000, when al-Hremii left San Diego. Al-Bayourni's allowances were then decreased to approximately $3,200 a month and stayed at that rate until al-Bayourai left the United States in August 2001, approximately one month before the September Ilth attacks.
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TIRMilmemoranduni dated July 2, 2002. incorrectly noted that al-13ayoumi's wife, white living in San Diego, was receiving S1200 a month from P•mcess Haifa Butt Sultan, the
wife of Prince Bandar. the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. The has now confirmed
that only Osama Bassnan's wife receit ed money directly from Prince Bandar's wife, but that al-Bayourni's wife attempted to deposit three of the cheeks front Prince Bandar's wife, which were payable to Bassnan's wife, into her own accounts.
The Joint Inquiry also found, in 1-13: files, information suscsting, that Osamu Baiii.in.tn may have also heen in contact with al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi. including:
Busman was a very close associa:e of Omar al-Bayourni-s and was in telephone contact with ai-Bayourni several times a day while they were both in San Diego. Bassnan also has close ties to a number of other individuals connected to the hijackers, including Omar Bakarbashat. discussed below, who is referred to in FBI documents as Bassnan's brother-in-law;
According, to an October In, 2001 FBI docement. Bassnan informed an asset that he had met Nawaf al-Hazmi through ai-Bayoumi. He went or. to say that he met two or the nineteen hijackers threutth Omar al-Bayoumi. Accord:tig to the FBI document, he also 131d the asset that al-l3ayoumi was arrestvl because he knew al-Hay:Ili and ai-Nlihdhar t ery well. The document cue= on to state that 13assnan and ai•Bayourni have been -dose to each tither for a long time."
Bassnan lived in the apartment conplex in San Diego across the street from al Haerr.i and al-Mihdhar;
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The FBH is aware of contact between the hijackers and a close friend of Bassnan's, Khaki al-Rayed, a commercial airline pilot and certified slight instructor living in San Diego. Al-Klycd admitted to the FBI that in May 2000. al Ivtihtiliar and al-Haznii contacted him about learning to fly Boeing jet aircraft;
FBI documents speculate that Osama Bassnan
111MMEMIIIMIMI The FBI's November 18, 2002 response contends that this was an early investigative theory based on asset reporting which the FBI has not been able La corroborate. However, there is also additional information possibly tying Bassnan ix=
In 1992, while he was living in Washington, DC, Bassnan listed his employment as the Saudi Arabian Education Mission FBI documents state that
Bassnan also has other ties to the Saudi Government. Bassnan's wife received a monthly stipend from Princess Haifa. In a recent search of Bassnan's residence, the 1131 located copies of 31 cashiers checks totaling 574,000, during the period February 22, 1999 to May 30, 2002 These checks were payable to Bassnan's wife and were drawn on the Riggs Bank account of Prince Bandar's wife. The FBH has determined that there has been a standing order on Princess Haifa's account since January 1999 to ser.d 52000 a month to Bassnan's wife. Bassnan's wife was allegedly receiving the funding for "nursing services," but, according to the]. document, there is no evidence dint Bassnan's wife provided nursing services.
I
On at least one occasion, Bassnan received a check directly from Prince Bandar's account. According to the FBI, on May 14, 1998, Bassnan cashed a check from Bandar in the mount of 515,000. Bassnan's wife also received at least one check directly from Bandar She alm received one additional check from Bandar's wife, which she cashed on January S, 1998. for 510,000.
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In the October 9, 2002 hearing FBI Executive Assistant Director D'Amuro commented on this funaing:
believe that we do have money going from Bandar's wife, 52,000 a month up to about 564,000. What the money was for is what we don't !claw."
testified:
She gives money to a lot of different groups and people from around the world. We've been able to uncover a number of these...but maybe if we can discover that she gives to 20 different radical groups, well, gee, maybe there's a pattern here.
The FBI has also developed additional information clearly indicating that Bassnan is an extremist and supporter of Usama Bin Latin. In 1993, the•FBI became aware that Bassnan had hosted a party for the Blind Shaykh at his house in Washington, DC in October 1992. Bassnan has made many laudatory remarks to FBI assets about Bin Ladin, referring to Bin Iadin as the official Khalifate and the ruler of the Islamic world. According to an FBI asset, Bassnan spoke of Bin Ladin "as ifhe were a god." Bassnan also stated to an FBI asset that he heard that the U.S. Goverranent had stopped approving visas for foreign students. lie considered such measures to he insufficient as there are already enough Muslims in the United States to destroy the United. States and make it an Islamic state within ten to fifteen years According to FBH documents, Bassnan also knew Bin Ladin's family in Saudi Arabia and speaks on his mobile
telephone with members of the family who are living in the United States. •
Phone Numbers Linking Abu Zubaida to a Company in the United States and a Saudi Diplomat in Washington
On March 28, 2002 U.S. and coalition forces retrieved the telephone book of Abu Zubaida, whom the U.S. Government has identified as a senior al-Qa'ida operational coordinator According to an FBI document, "a review of toll records has linked several of the nut abets found in 2abaida's phonebook with U.S. phone numbers." One of the numbers is unlisted and subscribed to by the ASPCOL Corporation in Aspen, Colorado. On July 15, 2002,
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FBI Headquarters sent a lead to the Deliver Field Office requesting that It investigate this connection. OD September 19, 2002 agents of the Denver Field Office responded, stating that they had completed their initial investigation.
According to the Fk3I's Denver Office, ASPCOL is the umbrella corporation that manages the affairs of the Colorado residence of Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the United States. The facility is protected by Scimitar Security. Agents of the Denver Field Office noted that neither ASPCOL nor Scimitar Security is listed in the phone book or is easily locatable. in addition, tho Colorado Socrotory of State'r office has no record cf ASPC01-. The Denver office did not attempt to make any local inquiries ahout ASPCOL, as they believed that any inquiries regarding ASPCOL would he quickly known by Prince Bandar's employees. Due to the sensitivity of this matter, they decided to hold then investigation of ASPCOL in abcyantc until they received additional guidance from FBI Headquarters,
According to the FBI, the phone number of an individual named of
McLean, Virginia was found within the effects of Abu Z.ithaida. MIN is reportedly a bodyguard at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC. The FBI now suspects that he may be a
. In a September 17, 2002 document, the FBI notes that the Bureau is
opening an investigation on due In the size and value of his residence and his suspicious
activity in approaching U.S. Intelligence Community personnel. It also appears tin
has been in contact with which is located MO
in McLean, Virginia. The FBI has identified this address as the address of
Prince Bandar. According to the FBI, is offic ially a driver for the Saudi Embassy. Illituinber was also !Inked to ASPCOL, Prince Bandar's umbrella company located in Colorado.
It should be noted that the FBI's November l S, 2002 response states that "CIA traces have revealed no direct (emphasis added) links between numbers found in Zuhaide3 phone book and numbers in the United States."
' "'-'11111111 "s-.4• 427
The U.S, Government also located another Virginia number at an Usama Bin Laclin safehouse in Pakistan. The number is subscribed to by an individual named
was interviewed by the FBI in June
2002. He could not explain 'why his number ended up at a safehouse in Pilidstan, but stated that he :egularly provides 3er:ices to a couple who are personal assistants to Prince Bandar This couple's driver is an individual named.11.11111111.111. who is assigned to the Sau.b
Embassy in Washington, DC. According to regularly called
business and frequently travels back and forth to Pakistan.
Other Saudi Government Officials in the United States Who May Have Been in Contact with the September l I Hijackers
Arnang the individuals who may have been associates of the al-Ilamni and al-Mihdlittr was Shaykh al-Thurnairy. According to theillmernorandum reviewed by the Joint Inquiry Staff, "initial indications are that al-Thumairy may have had a physical nr financial connet:ion to al-IJazmi and al-Mihdhar, but we arc still looking at this possibility." Al-Thumairy is an accredited diplomat at the Saudi Consulate in Lae Angeles and is also considered one of the "imams" at the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California.
According to FBI documents, the King Fahad mosque was built in I 99S from funding from the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdulaaiz. The mosque is attended by members of the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles and is widely known for its anti-Western views. FBI documents indicate that Mohdliar Abdullah drove al-Hazini and al-Mihdhar to the King Fahad Mosque, before al-ivlihdhar returned to Saudi Arabia.
Several individuals on the East Coast wham the hijackers may have met may also had comiections to the Saudi Government. After the terrorist attacks, the FBI discovered that, during September 2001, an individual named Saleh ?J-Ifussayeri stayed at the same hotel in Herndon, Virginia where al-Hateni was staying at the time. According to FBI documents al-Hussayen is apparently a "Saudi Interior Ministry employee/on-mini." He claimed not to know the hijackers,
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but agents in the FBI's Washington Field Office believed he was being deceptive. The interview was terminated when al-Hussayea either passed nut or feigned a seizure requiring medita:: treatment. He was released from the hospital several days later and managed to depart the United States despite law enforcement efforts to locate and re-interview him.
Said al-II ussayen is the uncle of Sarni Ontar al-liussayen. Semi al-Hassayen is connected to the Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA) and is the subject of an FBI counterterrorism investigation. The FBH has also discovered that Saleh al-1{u.ssayen is a major contributor to the IANA, a non-profit organization based In Michigan that is dedicated to the spread of Islam worldwide. According to the FBI, the IANA's mission is actually to spread Islamic fundamentalism and Salafist doctrine throughout the United States and the world at large. The IANA solicits finds from wealthy Saudi benefactor, extremist islamtc Shaylths, and suspect non-governmental orpnizations. According to PBI documents, 'ANA' has solicited money from Prince Bandar, but the documents are unclear as to whether Bandar actually combined money to this organization.
Fill documents also indicate that several Saudi Naval officers were in contact with the September 11 hijackers. FBI documents state that the San Diego Field Office opened a counterterrorism investigation on an individual named Osama Nooh, a Saudi Naval officer, due to his association with Nawaf al-Haani and Khalid aI-111ihdhar. In addition, Laft
another Saudi Naval officer, was in telephonic contact with flight 77.hijackers Khalid al-Mihdhar
and Nawaf on nine occasions from March 11, 2000 to March 27, 2000.
The Jacksonville FBI Field Office is conducting an investigation to determine whether
Web Ahnicd Bedaiwi, a Saudi Naval officer within its territory was in contact with any of the hij ackers.
1 .3 Lt- AL. 1 I-11
The FBI has also discovered some more tenuous connections between Saudi Government personnel and the hijackers during the course of the PENT1130M investigation. For example, according to the FBI, an individual named Fahad Abdullah Salch Bakaia was close friends with September 11 hijackers Ahmed al-Ghamdi and Harnza al-Ghamdi. Bakala previously "worked as a pilot for the Saudi Royal family, flying Usama Bin Ladin betweca Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia during UBL's exile." In additior., an FBI source stated after Sepiernber I 1 that he/she was 50% sure that al-Mihdhar was a visitor at an apartment in McLean, Virginia that was 'occupied in July and August 2001 by Hamad Alotaibi of the Saudi Embassy Military Division. FBI documents also note that September 11 htacker Saecd Alghamdi may have also visited the address.
Connections Between Saudi Governmeut Officials in the United States and Other Possible Terrorist Operatives
The Joint Inquiry also reviewed information in FBI files, suggesting other possible connections between Saudi Government officials and terrorist operatives.
For example, according to FBI documents, there is evidence that hijackers Marwan al-Shehhi and Mohatraned AC-3 were in contact with Mohammed Rafique Quaciir Harunani, the subject of an FBH counterterrorism investieation since 1999 and a chase associate of Abdullali Bin Ladin, who is referred to in FBH documents as Usama Bin LadM's half brother. Abdullah Bin Iadin, who is the subject of several FBI investigations, is currently in the United States!'"
He claims to work for
the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, DC as an administrative officer. Ahdullah Bin Ladle has financed Quadirs company and is listed by Quadir as the emergency contact for Quadir's children. They aro m frequent email and phone contact as well
432
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According to the F131, Abdullah Bin Ladin has a mambo: of connections to terrorist organizations. He is the President and Director of the World Arab Muslim Youth Association (WAMY) and the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Scimccs in America_ Both organizations arc local branches of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According; to the FBI, there is reason to believe that WAMY is "closely associated with the funding and financing of international terrorist activities and in the past has provided logistical support to individuals wishing to fight in the Afghan War." In 1996; the DA published a paper characterizing WAMY as a NGO that provides funding, logistical support and training with possible connections to the Arab Afghans network, Hamas, Algerian extremists, and Philippine militants.
Also of potential interest, at least in retrospect, is the 1999 incident ir.vn1vingMinharruned al-Qudhaezin and Harndan al-Shalawi. Al-Qudhaeeir. and al-Shalowi were flying from Phoenix to Washington, DC to attend a party at the Saudi Embassy. After they boarded the plane in Phoenix, they began asking the flight attendants technical questions about the flight that the flight attendants found suspicious. When the plane was in flight, al-Quilhaeein asked where the hathroorn was; one of the Bight attendants pointed him to the back of the plane. Nevertheless, al-Qudhacein went to the front of the plane and attempted on two occasions to enter the cockpit. The plane made an emergency landing and the FBI investigated the incident, but decided not to pursue a prosecution. At the time, al-Qcdhacein and al-Shalawi claimed that the Saudi Embassy paid for their airplane tickets.
After the FM discovered that an individual in Phoenix who was the subject of a counterterrorism investigation was driving al-Shalawr's car, the Bureau opened a counterterrorism investigation on al-Shalawi. In November 2000, the FBI received reporting
from that al-Shalawi had trained at the terrorist camps in Afghanistan and had received explosives training to perform "Khcbat Towers"-type attacks. After the September 11, 2.001. attacks, the Phoenix Field Office attached even potentially greater significance to that 1999 incident. A Phoenix FBI communication explained the theory behind this, "Phoenix FBI now
' according to Ole FBI's November t8, ZDO2 tespoitee, although several officials in WAXY support al-Qa'ida and ether mrionst groups, the intelligence is insufficient to stow whether the orga.m.zation as a whole and its senior leadership support terromrn.
L L 1.6.1..1"..411 4 rmosimmi 433
believes both men were specifically attempting to test the security procedures of America West Airlines in preparation for and in furtherance of UBUAI Qaeda operations."
In testimony before the Joint Inquiry, the agent who drafted the "Phoenix EC" stated:
Ina post 9/11 world, I went back and looked at that as possibly being some sort of dry run. It is currently under investigation.
After September 11.2001. al-Qurlhaecinl.1111.1.1
Hn interviews, a Phoenix FBH agent stated that Phoenix
believed that al-Qudhaeein might be His profile is similar to that of al-Bayou:id and Bassnan. He is in the United States as a student and does not have a visible means of income. He is in frequent contact with Saudi Government establishments in the United States and appears to be very involved in the affairs of the local Saudi community. He runs a "Saudi Club" in Phoenix, and assists Saudi students in the area. The FBI has also developed information that ai-Qudhaecin was receiving money from the Saudi Government but, as of August 2002, had not obtained the relevant bank records for review. The FBI's Phoenix Field Office has speculated that al-Qudhacein and others may be
There are other indications in FBH files that elements of the Saudi Government may have provided atipport to terrorist nerworks. For example. the FBI had identified the Thot Tarniyah Mosque in Culver City as a site of extremist-related activity both before and after September 11. Several subjects of San Diego investigation prior to September 11 had close connections to the mosque. Based on interviews and review of FBI files, San Diego FBI agents believed at the time that these subjects were laundering money through this mosque first to Somali non-profit organizations and then to other entities affiliated with Usama Bin Ladir.
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Hn approximately 1998, the FBI became aware of millions of dollars in wire transfers from the Somali community in San Diego to Al Barak= Trading Company and other businesses affiliated with Usama Bin Ladin. At the time, the funding appeared to be originating from the local Somali community in the form of donations to various Somali non-profits. However, the FBI now believes that the some of the funding actually originated from Saudi Arabia and that both the Ihn Tamiyah Mosque in Los Angeles and the Islamic Center of San Diego were involved in laundering the money.
According to the former FBI agent in San Diego who was involved in this investigation, this scheme may allow the Saudi Government to provide al-Qa'ida with funding through covert or indirect means. Hn his October 9, 2002 testimony the for uer agent commented on the possible money laundering:
My guess Saudi-it's connected somehow with the Saudis. And knowing that probably 70-80 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia support Usama Bin Ladin, it might be an indication.
There are also indications of Saudi governmental support for terrorist activity through charitable organizations. The Saudi-based Umm al-Qura Hslamic Charitable Foundation (UQ) is an Islamic non-governmental orgPitiPation linked to terrorist support activities. According to a May 2002 Defense Intelligence Terrorism Summary, the UQ's activities in support of terrorism include: suspicious money transfers, document forgery, providing jobs to wanted terrorist suspects, and financing travel for youths to attend jihad training. The Defense communication notes that since Septemher 2001,1.1Q couriers have transported over 5330,000 in cash, most of which they received from Saudi Embassies in the Far East. In January 2002, UQ administrator Yassir EI-Sayid Mohammed traveled to Thailand to pick up approximately 5200,000 from the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok. Hn early November 2001, the personal assistant to the UQ administrator traveled to Kuala I-umpur for a meeting at the Saudi Arabian Emhassy. He returned with tens of thousands of dollars, according to the Department of Defense.
CIA, Treasury, and FBI officials have all expressed their concern about the al-Haramain Foundation's ties to both the Saudi Government and terrorist activity According to the FBI's
435
November 1.8, 2002 response, the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (HIF) has clear ties to the Saudi Ciovernment, and intelligence reporting suggests it is providing financial and logistical support to al-Qa'ida. In 1993, HIF established its 'U.S.-based office in Ashland, Oregon, and that office has since received approximately $700,000 from the parent offices in Saudi Arabia. The FBI has a penclina investigation of HIF and the activities of the Portland HIP Office. As discussed above, the FBI has located correspondence between al-Bayourni and the HIE From the documents, it is clear that 111F was interested in appointing the itnam of the mosque in Cajon, California, that al-Bayoumi managed.
The Treasury General Counsel testified about his agency's concern ahcut the foundation:
MR. AUFHAUSER.: Second, and this is important point, it also rises out of Rick's testimony, on al-Haramain, the two branch offices that we took a public and joint action against, al-Hararnain really does represent a significant issue for the PCC and for tenotist financing and for the United States policy. It is, of course, the largest, I think the largest Islamic charity in the world. Its name is synonymous with charity in the Hslamic world. Its direct overseers arc members of the Royal Family; significant contributors are members of the Royal Family. We don't have a great deal of intelligence on the headquarters, about whether they are :Glowingly assisting people in al-Qa'ida and others; but in significant branch offices yet to be designated and under current investigation, we have ample evidence that large cash amounts are being courierr-d to those branch offices, that large wire transfers of money are being sent to those offices, that a great deal of the money is being dissipated through misspending, unaccounted for, and finally, that those offices have significant contacts with extremists, Islamic extremists.
CIA officials recently testified ;hat they are making progress on their investigations of al. Hararnain:
A year ago we had a lot of reporting suggesting branch offices were tied to al-Qa'ida...Over the last year we developed a lot of intelligence and law enforcement information and we prepared a paper about a month, six weeks ago which assembled all of that...That paper gave us the first clear indication that the head of the central office is complicit in supporting terrorism, and it also raised questions about Prince Nayef.
Finally, , the subject of Phoenix and Portland FBI counterterrorism investigations, also has close ties to a member of the Saudi royal family. =II no longer resides in the United States, but is still the subject of an FBI investigation. The FBI opened an
436
11Trgr 1.r
investigation of an employee of Saudi Arabian Airlines, in 1999 after receiving
information that Bin Iadin lieutenant Abe lubaida had been
in contact with a telephone number associated with in Portland. In May 2001, two individuals were arrested in Bahrain and later admitted they were on their way to blow up U.S. facilities in Saudi Arabia. One of them had a passport that had been issued to one ofilliM =Erne FBI's Phoenix Field Office also received source reporting in 1999 that'll." was checking security at the Southwest border and discussing the possibility of infiltrating individuals into the United States.
The FBI has developed information that has close ties with one of the Saudi
princes and accompanies him on many trips, including travel to the United States. According to
the FBI, was recently interrogated at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Tie informed the FBI that= got the job at Saudi Arabian Airlines through his contacts. He said that= did not earn much money in this job, but that he "had another MUM of income through a Saudi prince" named Khalid al-Bandar. According to
performed miscellaneous tasks for the Prince, such as handling real estate matters and assisting the Prince's grandmother. 111. traveled many places with the Prince, including
Europe, and often to the United Arab Emirates. made the cryptic comment that nobody "knew everything aboutilli" Although his name was on the State
Department's was apparently able to circumvent the Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service because he was traveling with the Saudi prince. The FBI only learned of the trip alter the fact. Agents in the FBI's Portland Field Office expressed their concern that and others were using their status as Saudi Arabian Airlines employers as a cover to enable them to transport weapons in and out of the United States.
Lack of Saudi Cooperation in Counterterrorism Investigations
In testimony and interviews, a number of FBI agents and CIA officers complained to the
Joint Inquiry about a lack of Saudi cooperation in terrorism investigations both before and after the September 11 attacks. For example, a veteran New York FBI agent stated that, from his
437
. .
point of view, the Saudis have been useless and obstructionist for years. In this agent's opinion,
the Saudis will only act when it is in their self-interest.
When a high-level". officer was asked how the September 11 attacks might have heen prevented, he cited greater Saudi cooperation, pointing to an example from the summer of 2001, when the U.S. Government requested Saudi assistance, with no success. In May 2001, the U.S. Government became aware that an individual in Saudi Arabia was in eontact with Abu Zubaida and was most likely aware of an upcoming al-Qa'ida operation. The U.S. Government pressured the Saudi Government to locate him. The Saudis informed the U.S. Government that they required additional information to do so. The U.S Government agency that had originally learned of this individual's knowledge refused to provide the Saudis with additional information because it would reveal sources and methods. The National Security Council also tried to pressure the Saudis, but the Saudis would not cooperate without the additional information.
According to some FBI personnel, this type of response is typical from the Saudis. For example, one FBH agent described one investigation after September 11 in which he provided the Saudi Government with copies of the subjects' Saudi passports. The Saudi Government maintained that they had no record of the subjects.
According to the former Chief of Alec Station, the unit in the DCTs Counterterrorist Center established in 1996 to focus specifically on Usama Bin Ladle, it was clear from about 1996 that the Saudi Government would not cooperate with the United States on matters relating to Usama Bin Ladin. There is a May 1996 memo from the DCI's Counterterrorist Center.. 1111 stating that the Saudis had stopped providing background information or other assistance on Bin Ladin because Bin Ladin had "too much information about official Saudi dealings with Islamic extremists in the 1980s for Riyadh to deliver him into U.S. hands." hi a line 1997 memo to the DC1, Alec Station reemphasized the lack of Saudi cooperation and stared that there was little prospect of future cooperation regarding Bin Ladin. The former Chief of Alec Station thought that the U.S. Government's hope of eventually obtaining Saudi cooperation was unrealistic because Saudi assistance to the U S. Government on this matter was contrary to Saudi national interests.
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439
J.
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testified on this issue on October 9,2002:
On the issue of al-Qa'ida and Saudi intelligence, that goes back to our efforts to interact with the Saudi to get them to help us on investigating al-Qa'ida...for :he most part it was a very troubled relationship where the Saudis were not providing us quickly or very vigorously with response to it. Sometimes they did, many times they didn't. It was just very slow in coming.
Both FBI and CHA personnel cited an individual named Madani al-Tayyib as a specific case in which theSaudis were uncooperative. The CIA and the FBH bad been pressuring the Saudis for years for permission to talk to ai-Tayyib. According to the former head of ALEC Station, ai-Tayyib managed all of Bin Ladin's finances when Bin Ladin was in Sudan, and any expense over $1,000 had to he approved by al-Tayyib. Al-Tayyib moved to London in 1996 to work with IChalid al-Fawwaz, another important al-Qa'ida figure who has since been arrested. In the summer of 1996, al-Tayyab returned to Saudi Arabia. The Saudis continuously refused the FBH's and the CIA's requests to talk al-Tayyib, stating, in the words of an FBH agent, that al-Tayyib was "just a poor man who lost his leg. He doesn't know anything."
The former chief of Alec Station also cited the example of Mohammed Jam! Khalifa. Khalifa is Bin J-arlin's brother-in-law and an important figure in al-Qa'ida. The U.S. Government arrested Khalifa in the United States in 1994. Khali fa had been sentenced to death in absentia by the Jordanian Government for his role in a bombing in Jordan. As a result, the U.S. agreed to extradite him to Jordan. The Jordanians then returned him to Saudi Arabia. In the opinion of the CIA officer, the Saudis "bought off' the Jordanians for the return of Khalifa. According to the CIA officer, when Khalifa subsequently arrived in Saudi Arabia, he was met by at least one important government official. Khalifa nnw works for a Ti iyadh-hacert NGO and travels and operates freely.
The General Counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department testified at the July 23, 2002 hearing about the lack of Saudi cooperation with the U.S.:
There is an almost intuitive sense, however, that things arc not being volunteered_ So want to fully inform you about it, that we have to ask and we have to seek and we have to strive. I will give you one-and-a-half examples. The rust is, after some period. the Saudis have agreed to the designation of a man named lulaydin, who is notoriously involved in all of this; and his desir.ation will be public within the next 10 days. They came forward to us 2 weeks ago and said, okay, we think we should go forward with the designation and a freeze order against Mr. Julaydin, We asked, what do you have on him? Because they certainly know what we have on him, because we shared it as we tried to convince them that they ought to join us. The answer back was, nothing new.
MR. BERD_TTER: Do you believe :hat?
MR ALTFIIA.USER:No,1 think that taxes credulity, at there is another motive we are not being told.
Status of the U.S. Intelligence Community's Investigations into Connections between Terrorism and Saudi Government Officials
Both the FBI and the CIA have informed the Committees that they are treating the Saudi issue seriously. According to the November 18, 2001 FBI response, the FBI and CIA have established a working group to look into the Saudi issue. The FBI funned a squad at the
Washington Field Office to investigate this issue and
11-1'..s...o.r
However, both the FBI and the CIA still have only a limited understanding of the Saudi Government's ties to terrorist elements. In the October 9, 2002 closed hearing. Director Mueller stated:
If 1 have one preliminary note of caution, it is that at this point there are more questions than answers, and 1 would caution against jumping to conclusions hefore we know a lot more.
A document located by the Joint Inquiry Staff confirms that the FBI's Washington Field Office is still in the early stages of focusing on these investigations. In an August 15, 2002, communication, a field office agent stated that '1=11111111111
In
that same document, the Washington Field Office asked
acknowledged in his
testimony that tIn understanding of this issue is limited as well:
With regard to the specific question of have we seen the Saudi intelligence services supporting terror groups, I think the record is not clear at ail on that.
Both the FBI and CIA recognized the possibility that indiviiluals connected to the Saudi Government may be providing support to terrorists.
testified:
So there is certainly a good, good chance that there are sympathizers ur extremists, sympathizers possibly for al-Qa'ida within the security services.
MEM also noted that.
Abu Zuhaydah said he's confident that al-Qa'ida must have contact certainly with Saudis
in the United States and that al-Qa'ida and Usama Hin radio arc particularly— they
A
invest significant energy in cultivating what Abu Zubaydah called goad relationships with Saudis of all standing...He said bin Ladin is very pleased when Saudis in the military, those successful in business and those close to the royal family to lend active support to his cause. He said bin Ladin actively seeks out sech relationships.
Other CL& and FBI officials echoed these remarks in recent Congressional testimony.
stated:
What we find troubling about the cases that we learned about from FBI. both the Los Angeles cases aad some of the cases that the Washington Field Office has looked at, in which you're seeing Saudi money going to people, is tha: it fits sort of a pattern that we've seen in terms of direct payments from the Saudis, the Saudi Ciovernment's longstanding support for very fundamentalist Wahabi and Salafl charities and movements around the world, which in a sense you see the money is going to fundamentalists and you would be very surprised if some of it doesn't bleed over into terrorist
support...We've had a lot of suspicions before September 11 which we docurneuted in a number of differen: papers, and again it's a lot of smoke and the issues that come up are who kr.ows about the payments, on whose behalf are the payments being made, are they being made on behalf of the central government or are they being made by a local official or a person. Do the people who arc making the payments knew what's happening to the money? If they do know what's happening, why are they making the payments? Is it a form of hlackmail? Do they recognize the terrorist support? There's the issue of arc they regulating themselves as well as arc they doing the due diligence that they ought to.
FBH Executive Assistant Director Pasquale D'A.muro testified at that same hearing:
To date I can't sit here and tell you that those ties go back, that we can prove that the Saudi ioyal family is sponsoring terrorism. ]3ut there's enough smoke that we arc
conducting several investigations to try to determine what other information is out them
What is clear is that the FBI did not treat the Saudis as a counterterrorism.
threat prior to September 11, 2001.
0....P.•••11.0
Michael Rolince, the former head of the International Terrorism Operations Section at FBI testified:
The answer to your question is pre-9!t I there were not any significant preliminary inquiry or full investigations, with relatively few exceptions, conducted by the FBH
looking at Saudi or support to terrorism...frit not going to stand here, Ms. Hill, and tell you in any way, shape or form
The former Assistant Special Agent in Charge in San Diego confirmed this in his testimony:
Busicall They
were not a country identified by the State. Department as a state sponsor of terrorism.
And the theme or the common modus operandi that we saw in San Diego was that if there
there, their primary objective was to monitor dissidents in the interest of protecting the royal family. So they were not viewed as an inimical threat to national security.
In the October 9, 2002 closed hearing, Director Mueller acknowledged that he became aware of some of the facts regarding the Saudi issue only as a result of the investigative work of the Joint Inquiry Staff:
I'm saying the sequence of events her; I think the staff probed and, as a result of the probing, some facts came to light here and to me, frankly, that had not come to light before, and perhaps would not have come to light had the staff not probes. Thars what I'm telling you. So I'm agreeing with you that the staff probing brought out facts that may not have conic to this Committee."
Senator Dewinc: But what you're also saying, though. is that that probing then brought facts to your attention.
Director Mueller: Yes.
