Benevolence Foundation Founder Added To Designated Terrorist List

By J.M. Berger

INTELWIRE.com



The Treasury Department has banned Americans from doing business with a founder of the Benevolence International Foundation, Adel Abdul Jalil Batterjee.



Batterjee was today added to the Specially Designated Nationals list maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department, a legal move that also allows the U.S. to block the assets of named "individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific."



Batterjee is a wealthy Saudi national born in Jeddah in 1946. In 1987, Batterjee founded the Islamic Benevolence Committee in both Saudi Arabia and Peshewar, Pakistan. According to the U.S. government, one of IBC’s purposes was to raise funds in Saudi Arabia to support the efforts of the mujahideen in Afghanistan.



Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, bin Laden’s former roommate and current brother-in-law, created the Benevolence International Corporation in the Philippines in 1989. BIC purported to be an import-export company and later repositioned itself as a charity, according to the Far East Economic Review.



The Far East Economic Review (a publication of the Wall Street Journal) cites BIC as the direct predecessor to BIF. The U.S. indictment of BIF’s executive director makes the same claim about IBC. Both statements are very likely correct.



Batargy, the founder of IBC, and Khalifa, the founder of BIC, were each known associates of Osama bin Laden, and moved in the same circles and cities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in Pakistan. Two BIF-related indictments (U.S. vs. Benevolence International Foundation, and U.S. vs. Arnaout) make it clear both men had very close ties to the U.S. Benevolence International Foundation.



In 1992 or 1993, Benevolence incorporated in Palos Hills, Ill., outside Chicago. where it would eventually move. Sheik Adil Abdul Galil Batargy dropped out of the organization around this time, after questions began to arise overseas about the nature of Benevolence’s operations. Benevolence opened offices in Pakistan, Bosnia, Canada and Azerbaijan, and possibly elsewhere.



With Batargy’s departure, Enaam Arnaout formally took charge of Benevolence. According to the government, Benevolence engaged in a pattern of fraud, diverting funds raised for charitable purposes to terrorist activities around the world. Arnaout pleaded guilty to misappropriating funds and received an 11-year jail sentence. As part of his plea deal, Arnaout did not admit to aiding and abetting terrorism.



Spellings and aliases, according to the Treasury Department, include: BATARJEE, Adel Abdul Jalil (a.k.a. AL-BATTARJEE, 'Adil; a.k.a. BATARJI, 'Adil 'Abd al Jalil; a.k.a. BATTERJEE, Adel).

Labels: Benevolence-International-Foundation, Bosnia, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, Sarajevo-Ricochet

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Debunking and Rebunking September 11 Conspiracy Theories

By J.M. Berger

INTELWIRE.com





You would think that everyone would be able to agree on the details of an event viewed live on television by millions of people as it happened.



But the "official story" of September 11 has been attacked in almost every particular — from the early warning signs to the identities of the perpetrators, even the very basic question of whether planes actually crashed into buildings.



Writing for the Rotten.com Library, INTELWIRE's J.M. Berger takes a hard look at some of the most-discussed September 11 conspiracy theories, ranging from the absurd to the frighteningly credible.



Read Full Story

Labels: INTELWIRE-Exclusive

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New OKC Overview Story Outlines al Qaeda Links

By J.M. Berger

INTELWIRE.com



Within hours of the Oklahoma City bombing, many observers of terrorist activity speculated that the attack may have been sponsored by Islamic extremists or other Middle Eastern interests.



When Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were arrested in the case, the media pendulum swung to the other extreme, dismissing such early speculation as the result of ethnic and religious bigotry. The U.S. government flatly stated that the attack had been carried out by domestic, right-wing American terrorists. The case, it seemed, was closed.



But new information continued to trickle out during the intervening years, and that trickle increased to a flood in the wake of the September 11 attack on America, which brought intense scrutiny of Islamic extremist "sleeper cells" operating on U.S. soil.



Based on this new information, there is good reason to re-examine our national assumptions about Oklahoma City. What follows is an all-new look at how the activities of the known Oklahoma City conspirators — McVeigh and Nichols — fit within an extremely dense and sprawling network of al Qaeda operatives known to be active in the U.S. during the early 1990s.



Everything you are about to read is documented in the public record, including court transcripts, FOIA documents, published accounts by credible authors and mainstream media reporting. There are no anonymous sources cited and no "secret files" referenced.



There are also no smoking guns... yet. Although years have passed since the OKC bombing, the real investigation has only just begun. This story provides the context to truly understand the historical setting of the OKC bombing, as we know it today. It is only the first step in uncovering the real story.





Click here for full story

Labels: American-Terrorists, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, OKBOMB

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Honduras Explosives Raid Tied To Adnan El-Shukrijumah?

By J.M. Berger

INTELWIRE.com



Officials in Honduras have seized a Canadian-owned ship carrying 900 tons of explosives, according to the Associated Press.



Loaded with illegally undeclared explosives, the owner of the MV Abdul Rahman was identified as Hassan Bachacha of Canada. The captain of the boat, an Egyptian, the Sudanese first officer and the captain have all been charged by Honduran authorities.



Several reports have placed alleged al Qaeda operative Adnan El-Shukrijumah in Honduras.



According to the Washington Times and others, Shukrijumah may have recruited Central American gang members to assist in smuggling al Qaeda operatives into the U.S.



Honduran gang members have a channel for smuggling illegals into the U.S. through Vancouver, Canada, according to a 2000 report in the National Post.



al Qaeda has also smuggled illegals into the country through Vancouver. Ali Mohammed, a top AQ operative in the U.S., smuggled illegal aliens into the country through that route during the mid-1990s.



Mohammed, Osama bin Laden's chief of security, was tied to a New York City terror cell led by Egyptian Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. Mohammed was also an Egyptian.



Shukrijumah's father was also connected to the NYC terror cell, according to reports in the Florida Sun-Sentinel and other newspapers.



The U.S. has evinced strong interest in the explosives-laden boat, including sending experts to examine the ship.



All this activity, combined with the congruence of factors listed above, suggests that the incident may be connected to Shukrijumah.



If the ship is indeed tied to the Shukrijumah network, its capture could be very good news for U.S. investigators, who have been urgently seeking the Saudi-born operative for years. The story bears watching over the next few weeks.



Related Discussion

Labels: INTELWIRE-Exclusive

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