Iran offers Argentina help with bombing probe (AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – An Argentine prosecutor on Saturday criticized a statement from Iran expressing willingness to help solve Argentina's worst terrorist attack.

Prosecutor Alberto Nisman said Iran's offer is just empty words unless it hands over the Iranian suspects sought by Argentina in the bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people on July 18, 1994.

The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement referring to Monday's anniversary of the attack and saying Iran condemns terrorism, expresses sympathy for the victims' families and wants to help investigate the attack.

But Iran also accused Argentine prosecutors of unfairly accusing Iranian citizens and said it has a duty to defend them. The ministry said it will issue a report soon on what it calls an "unfair process" in Argentina, but that Iran is ready now to begin a constructive dialogue with Argentine officials.

An Argentine foreign ministry spokesman said that he had no immediate comment on the Iranian statement.

But Nisman dismissed the Iranian gesture as meaningless unless the country hands over a group of Iranians, including top government officials, who are suspected of organizing the attack.

"If the Iranians and their government are ready to cooperate, they should do it once and for all and in the only way possible: handing over all those accused by the Argentine justice system of this terrible terrorist act and stop making empty declarations that never go anywhere," the prosecutor said at a news conference.

Nisman said the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association was organized by a group of Iranian diplomats and government officials including the current Iranian defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who recently visited Bolivia despite an Interpol warrant for his arrest and extradition to Argentina.

Bolivia's foreign ministry formally apologized for failing to act on the Interpol warrant.

Argentina's foreign ministry, meanwhile, promised Argentina's Jewish community that it would send a full report on the Jewish center attack as well as a bombing two years earlier that killed 29 people and destroyed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.

View the original article here

2 congressmen call for Honolulu TSA probe (AP)

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Associated Press – Tue Jun 21, 5:46 pm ET

HONOLULU – Two congressmen called Tuesday for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate lapses at Honolulu International Airport that prompted a move to fire dozens of baggage screeners.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, U.S. Reps. John L. Mica, R-Fla., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, urged a probe into why Transportation Security Administration screeners "dramatically failed" in their responsibilities.

The TSA wants to fire 36 workers, including two top officials, and has suspended 12 others after a six-month investigation found they did not properly screen baggage during one shift at the airport.

The workers facing termination are on paid leave while the TSA goes through the firing process, which employees can appeal. The 12 others are to return to their jobs after unpaid suspensions of up to 30 days.

It was the single largest personnel action for misconduct in the agency's 10-year history.

The proposed firings "highlight the conflict that exists when the TSA acts as both the operator and regulator of the aviation screening programs," the letter to Homeland Security Acting Inspector General Charles K. Edwards said.

The letter demanded a number of items, including an analysis of the failure of TSA's oversight and supervision of screening in Honolulu; past evaluations of the airport's security officers and all performance disciplinary actions; and the titles, positions and current wage level of those involved.

Mica chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure committee and Chaffetz chairs the National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations subcommittee. Both have been critical of the TSA.

"It is essential that we have a full investigation of this massive TSA lapse and ensure the nation has the most effective security system possible," Mica said in a statement. "TSA can function more effectively as a security agency if it gets out of the business of managing a bloated bureaucracy of nearly 63,000."

Mica has long urged airports to use private, contracted screeners that are supervised by the TSA, said his spokesman Justin Harclerode.

"That's a better security model than when TSA performs all roles in the security structure," he said. Mica "thinks they have a much more appropriate role as regulator, standard-setter and auditor."

Chaffetz hopes an investigation will bring change.

The investigation request came as TSA workers conclude voting to select the union to represent what would be a bargaining unit of about 43,000 people. Some of the Honolulu employees under fire have sought help from the two unions vying to represent them: American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union.

View the original article here

Activists decry probe revealed by found FBI papers (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS – When Meredith Aby met with members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2006, she asked what it would take to get them to stop fighting. Jess Sundin did the same during her trip to Colombia 11 years ago.

They returned and openly wrote and spoke about their experiences, while criticizing the U.S. government's involvement in that country.

FBI documents recently found by the anti-war activists suggest the trips may have started an investigation into apparent connections between local activists and radical groups in Colombia and the Middle East. One document says the probe expanded to include 16 people in six states.

"I believe those types of reports and public speaking that I did is what has landed me in the heart of this investigation," Aby said Wednesday.

Since Sept. 23, people in Minneapolis, Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich., have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in Illinois. Sundin said FBI agents searched the Los Angeles home of another activist Tuesday. The FBI in Los Angeles did not immediately confirm that account.

Authorities haven't revealed the targets of the investigation or its exact nature, other than to say it involves activities concerning the material support of terrorism.

No one has been charged. None of the activists have testified before the grand jury.

The documents were found at the Minneapolis home of longtime anti-war activist Mick Kelly on April 30 and given to The Associated Press this week. Kelly's home was among those raided by the FBI in September.

Kelly said agents went through thousands of files at his house, emptied drawers and cabinets and took away boxes of materials. When his partner was recently looking through a file cabinet, she came across the FBI documents, Kelly said.

FBI spokesman Steve Warfield said most of the papers appeared to be legitimate FBI documents and were left behind by mistake.

The activists condemn the raids and subpoenas as harassment and an attempt to stifle their rights to free speech and assembly. They have held several news conferences and rallies in protest.

Sundin said the group chose to release the documents because they provide a glimpse into the origins of the investigation. Subpoenas have only hinted at the sort of evidence authorities were seeking.

"This is the first confirmation we have of what the government is thinking, where this investigation began and how it expanded outward," Sundin said.

Bruce Nestor, an attorney representing some of the activists, said "it's clear that this investigation was initiated without evidence of criminal activity."

Warfield had no additional comment. Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, also had no comment.

The documents, which are not labeled as classified, suggest that activists' involvement with people in Colombia sparked the investigation.

"The captioned case was initially predicated on the activities of Meredith Aby and Jessica Rae Sundin in support of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a U.S. State Department designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), to include their previous travel to FARC-controlled territory," one document says. "Since opening the original investigations, an additional 16 Subjects in six FBI Field Divisions have been identified."

The document goes on to say that people in the Minneapolis, Chicago, Phoenix, Detroit, Los Angeles and Charlotte, N.C., divisions have "provided and/or conspired to provide material support to the FARC and/or the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also a U.S. State Department designated FTO."

Sundin said her trip to Colombia did not involve passing money or weapons to FARC, but visiting the people and understanding some of their demands.

At the time, FARC was negotiating with the Colombian government. Sundin said she took a Columbia military plane to a small, demilitarized town where peace talks were being held. She said people traveled to the area by busload.

"It obviously wasn't illegal in Colombia to travel there, and I wrote about it when I got back," she said. "It wasn't a secret trip. ... (The document) says they are looking into our travel. I don't understand why that should be a basis for investigation of criminal activity. It shouldn't be."

Aby said she went to Colombia in 2004 and 2006 to meet with people affected by war. On her second trip, she had the opportunity to meet with people in FARC and discuss what it would take to bring peace.

"It has enriched my activism and my ability to really be an expert in the anti-war movement in Colombia, and I don't think it should be used as probable cause for an investigation of me," she said.

The documents given to the AP also include a strategic plan for the FBI's raid, a subpoena, and a list of questions that agents would presumably use in an interview. Warfield could not immediately verify that the questions — which were typed and not on an official law enforcement document — were from the FBI.

The subpoena, which was made public previously, orders Kelly to appear before a grand jury and bring information relating to any trips to Colombia, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria or Israel. It also commands him to bring records relating to the Middle East and Colombia.

One document labeled Kelly as "dangerous" and said he had weapons in his house. It noted several agents were involved in the raid and gives detail about the weapons and ammunition they carried. Kelly said he has a rifle and a handgun, and both are legal and were not seized.

The document also says Kelly has offered to provide weapons training to other activists, which Kelly said was untrue.

The activists also took issue with the list of over 100 questions in the documents. The top of the list says the questions "pertain to a terrorism investigation." Many deal with activities of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, to which Kelly and Sundin both belong.

The group, named in several warrants, shares the Marxist ideologies of FARC and PFLP. Two groups use the name. Kelly and Sundin have said their Freedom Road is smaller, and Kelly edits its newspaper.

When it comes to the interview questions, Sundin said: "The overall impression is, `Who do you know and what do you believe?' And all along I've been saying I feel like that's what this case is all about."

View the original article here

Guyana detains US Muslim cleric in terrorism probe (AP)

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Akbar Muhammad, a U.S. Muslim cleric visiting the South American country of Guyana, was detained Thursday on suspicion of ties to drugs and terrorism, according to police.

Officers raided the Princess Hotel in the capital of Georgetown and took Muhammad to the department's headquarters for questioning, said Seelal Persaud, assistant police commissioner.

"Based on the information we have, he is involved in drugs and terrorism," Persaud told The Associated Press. He declined further comment and no further details were immediately available.

Muhammad has been a spokesman for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

He arrived in Guyana earlier this week from Illinois and was expected to attend a rally on Thursday afternoon organized by black activists in the mining town of Linden just south of the capital.

Muhammad has visited Guyana several times in recent years but had never been detained by authorities during previous visits.

It is unclear if U.S. federal authorities are investigating Muhammad. The FBI did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Messages left with the Illinois-based Nation of Islam National Center and with the Truth Establishment Institute, which handles speaking engagements for Muhammad, were not immediately returned.

View the original article here

FBI no-show in NYC terror probe raises questions (AP)

NEW YORK – The latest terrorism arrests in New York were announced with the fanfare of a City Hall news conference, a dramatic photo of a broad daylight takedown by the police department and reassurance from local law enforcement officials that a serious threat had been neutralized.

Only one thing was missing: the FBI.

The FBI's glaring absence at the announcement and silence since then about the arrests of two men described by police as raving anti-Semites and would-be jihadists bent on attacking a synagogue raised questions Friday about the severity of the threat and the strength of the case.

The FBI and the Department of Justice have declined to explain the New York Police Department's assertion that the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force, always a central player in past terror cases, was made aware of the investigation but decided not to get involved. And the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, known for its successful prosecution of several high-profile terror cases for nearly two decades, also declined to comment.

But a law enforcement official briefed on the case said Friday that the FBI backed away because it had "reservations" about how it was conducted by the NYPD's Intelligence Division. The FBI also concluded it "wasn't a legitimate terrorism case," said the person, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In the past, federal authorities have expressed concern about the Intelligence Division's tactics and its use of a cadre of undercover investigators like one used in the synagogue case.

The NYPD's top spokesman, Paul Browne, said Friday that any doubts about the investigation are unwarranted.

"When someone acquires weapons and plans to bomb the largest synagogue in Manhattan he can find, what do you call it? Mischief?" he said.

Rather than seek the usual federal conspiracy charges, the NYPD worked with the Manhattan district attorney's office to bring a case under an obscure state terrorism law that the office had never used before and that was viewed as symbolic when it was signed only six days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The case has been turned over to the office's Investigation Division, which has a history of prosecuting racketeering, cybercrime and money laundering cases — not terrorism.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday that there was no evidence that the suspects, Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, were linked to al-Qaida or any other terrorist organization. But officials insisted the men posed a dire danger that had to be dealt with however possible.

"In today's fight against local, unaffiliated radicalized threat as we see here, intelligence and pre-emption are our keys," District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said at the news conference. "And we must use all our tools at our disposal to neutralize these threats before local terrorists have the opportunity to act."

Ferhani and Mamdouh were arrested Wednesday on charges they wanted to strike a synagogue to avenge mistreatment of Muslims around the world. An undercover officer who investigated them reported that Ferhani wanted to become a martyr, and wiretap recordings caught the men calling Jews "rats" and other names.

Authorities say Ferhani, a 26-year-old Algerian immigrant, was nabbed in the sting buying guns, ammunition and an inert hand grenade. Mamdouh, a 20-year-old American citizen of Moroccan descent, was picked up a few blocks away.

The photo displayed at the news conference Thursday shows officers in NYPD jackets emerging from two unmarked cars to surround Ferhani's dark-colored sedan and arrest him.

Ferhani and Mamdouh were charged with conspiracy as a crime of terrorism, conspiracy as a hate crime and criminal weapons possession. Defense lawyers say the men deny the charges and claim they committed no crimes.

What's known publicly about the case so far suggests it "doesn't fit the model" of a typical federal terrorism prosecution, said Karen J. Greenberg, the executive director of the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. "This was a gun case, not a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) case."

The allegations concerning the defendants' talk of harming Jews "are hate crimes," she added. "Whether or not it rises to terrorism, we'll see when it comes to court."

Police officials described the officer who interacted with the men for six months as a foreign-born recruit who was plucked from the police academy and placed in a little-known NYPD counterterrorism program that grooms and deploys young undercover officers to uncover potential plots.

The department has used graduates of the program to pose as devout Muslims, circulate among other men with radical leanings in the New York City area and, in some instances, secretly record their radical rants about fighting a holy war in the United States and abroad.

The undercover working the synagogue case is highly regarded and respected within the department for "his ability to handle the often stressful and demanding environment of intel operations," Browne said.

Last year, another one of the NYPD undercovers was credited with helping in the arrests in New Jersey of two men accused of trying to join up with the Somali terror group al-Shabab so they could kill Americans. Another was a key witness in the 2006 trial in Brooklyn of Shahawar Matin Siraj, convicted of plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station in Manhattan, near where the Macy's flagship department store is located.

The New Jersey and Brooklyn cases landed in federal court. So did another similar case in Manhattan involving an FBI informant posing as a terrorist who offered cash to four down-and-out suspects to join a scheme to blow up synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down cargo planes at the Air National Guard base in Newburgh, about 60 miles north of New York City.

Agents arrested the men in 2009 after they planted explosive devices — fakes supplied by the FBI — in an elaborate sting operation staged in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. All were convicted last year.

Lawyers for the men had sought to get their convictions thrown out because of entrapment, arguing the government had "created the criminal, then manufactured the crime."

U.S. District Court Judge McMahon, in her ruling, said, "There is some truth to that description of what transpired here."

But the motion was denied.

___

Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.

View the original article here