Tiassa
11-04-03, 11:14 PM
Sources: FBI seeks new suspect as 20th hijacker on 9/11
Toni Locy reports, in USA Today, that "The FBI has identified an al-Qaeda operative who agents believe tried as late as August, 2001, to join the 9/11 terrorist plot. An unnamed official has stated, "We are fairly confident we know who number twenty is."
The unnamed federal law enforcement official and "a top Justice Department official" have both confirmed that the would-be terrorist is neither Zacarias Moussaoui or Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, both the focus of ongoing efforts to prosecute terrorist action.
The timing of the revelation raises a flag, but not a serious one. It is worth noting that the Justice Department has pretty much lost its case against Moussaoui as the twentieth 9/11 hijacker, though their case for conspiracy to commit terrorism remains sound. However, what is curious is that the Justice Department has recently been handed a setback insofar as they cannot charge Moussaoui with certain crimes unless they allow him to interview and depose certain terrorist suspects, including Ramzi Bin al-Shibh.
And so it is that, as one "twentieth hijacker" accusation comes to rot, a new flower opens.
We'll see how it plays out.
Links
- Locy, Toni. "FBI has new 9/11 hijacking suspect." USA Today Online, November 4, 2003. see http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-11-04-hijacker-usat_x.htm
- see also Sciforums.com: "How the Moussaoui Case Crumbled" (topic) - http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=29751
Toni Locy reports, in USA Today, that "The FBI has identified an al-Qaeda operative who agents believe tried as late as August, 2001, to join the 9/11 terrorist plot. An unnamed official has stated, "We are fairly confident we know who number twenty is."
The unnamed federal law enforcement official and "a top Justice Department official" have both confirmed that the would-be terrorist is neither Zacarias Moussaoui or Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, both the focus of ongoing efforts to prosecute terrorist action.
The timing of the revelation raises a flag, but not a serious one. It is worth noting that the Justice Department has pretty much lost its case against Moussaoui as the twentieth 9/11 hijacker, though their case for conspiracy to commit terrorism remains sound. However, what is curious is that the Justice Department has recently been handed a setback insofar as they cannot charge Moussaoui with certain crimes unless they allow him to interview and depose certain terrorist suspects, including Ramzi Bin al-Shibh.
And so it is that, as one "twentieth hijacker" accusation comes to rot, a new flower opens.
We'll see how it plays out.
Links
- Locy, Toni. "FBI has new 9/11 hijacking suspect." USA Today Online, November 4, 2003. see http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-11-04-hijacker-usat_x.htm
- see also Sciforums.com: "How the Moussaoui Case Crumbled" (topic) - http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=29751