New Evidence On Terror Links Of Yemen Charity That Received U.S. Grant

I've completely overhauled the original story on the Department of Labor's $3.5 million grant to a partnership that includes the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), a Yemen charity accused of wide-ranging links to terrorism. The update includes denials from CSSW and extensive new evidence suggesting those denials are unfounded. Many thanks to Evan Kohlmann of the NEFA Foundation and Flashpoint Partners for additional evidence of CSSW's links to Anwar Awlaki.

Click here for the updated story.

Labels: Anwar-Aulaqi, Anwar-Awlaki, Charitable-Society-for-Social-Welfare, Yemen

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Quick Notes On Newest Adam Gadahn, Yahya Al Libi Videos

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com
In around January or February, Al Qaeda's As-Sahab media operation suffered a serious setback. We don't know the details, but some key node in the media shop was taken out, with clearly visible results. Where once there were near-HD videos, now there were Webcam-quality videos. Where once there was low-quality video, now there was audio.

Over the last several days, it has become clear that whatever happened (let's say, drone attack on the studio), As-Sahab is back. Two recent videos from senior AQ leader Yahya Al Libi and American Al Qaeda Adam Gadahn (who also runs the media shop) show a return to nearly complete functionality.

Both videos are in near-HD quality, although with some compression, which suggests to me they are using a high-end consumer camcorder. Before 9/11, Al Qaeda used professional media equipment from time to time, but since then, HD camcorders are pretty much the state of the art. That's just smart business. When you're distributing over the Internet, you don't need anything bulkier or more expensive.

The Al Libi video features a CGI background. It's been quite a while since we saw that in an Al Qaeda video. So that means they're back up with a quality laptop too. Gadahn's video features a black background, but a spiffy Bill O'Reilly/Colbert Report style text sidebar.

One final note of interest. Gadahn's video was released today, June 20, 2010, and the content is noteworthy only in its failure to mention Times Square or the Gaza Flotilla. A closer look shows that the file appears to have been last modified on April 10. This might mean that As-Sahab reconstituted its camera in the spring but didn't get replace it's presumed-exploded laptop until very recently. It also means that, technically, we haven't seen Gadahn for at least two months (assuming his last video is also dated back this far). Also, April 10 is the modified date, not the create date, so it's possible the video was recorded even earlier.

P.S. Remember the reports this spring that some American named Abu Yahya Mujahdeen Al Adam had been arrested in Pakistan? That was around March 9 or 10, and the new video references the March 11, 2010, State Department Human Rights report.

So Adam II is definitely not the same guy as Adam I. But it's possible Adam II worked for As-Sahab, and his capture might have sent Adam I scrambling for the hills without his laptop. Just a thought.

Labels: Abu-Yahya-Al-Libi, Abu-Yahya-Mujahdeen-al-Adam, Adam-Gadahn, Al-Qaeda, American-Al-Qaeda, American-Terrorists, Azzam-the-American, Weblog

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Recently on INTELWIRE...

INTELWIRE Exclusives:

Flotilla Official Was Foreign Fighter in Bosnia

U.S. Gave Millions to Terror-Linked Yemeni Charity

Document Posts

Documents On Yemen Charity Funded by U.S.

Al Qaeda Financiers Arrested In New York

Robert Novak FBI files

INTELWIRE/MMG Seen on TV

National Geographic Explorer: Talibanistan

Fox News Reporting: Anwar Awlaki

Labels: Anwar-Awlaki, Bosnia, Charitable-Society-for-Social-Welfare, Gaza-Flotilla, IHH, INTELFILES, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, National-Geographic, Sarajevo-Ricochet, Taliban, Weblog

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Exclusive: Gaza Flotilla Official Was Foreign Fighter in Bosnia War

By Esad Hecimovic
SPECIAL TO INTELWIRE
A senior official with the Turkish activist group IHH who participated in the Gaza-bound flotilla boarded by the Israeli army last month served as a foreign fighter during the civil war in Bosnia.

Osman Atalay, a senior official with IHH, was on board the ship "Mavi Marmara," part of the controversial aid convoy to Gaza, which was boarded by Israeli commandos on May 31, according to published reports.

The initials IHH stand for the The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief in Turkish. The charity was created the mid-1990s, according to published reports, for the purpose of assisting Bosnian Muslims caught up in the three-way civil war between Muslims, Croats and Serbs in the former Yugoslavia. The war lasted from 1992 to 1995, leaving over 100,000 dead.

Several purported charities created to provide humanitarian assistance to Bosnian Muslims during the war were, in reality, funneling weapons and mujahideen fighters into the country, according to documents obtained during the making of the documentary "Sarajevo Ricochet", which debuts at the Kortfilmfestivalen (Short Film Festival) in Oslo, Norway, later this month.

Jihadist fighters frequently posed as employees of the charities in order to secure travel papers. Some mujahideen fighters were incorporated into the regular Bosnian army. A relatively small number of foreign volunteers bypassed the mujahideen and enlisted in the army directly.

Some IHH employees served as volunteer fighters with the Bosnian army, stationed in the town of Zenica, near the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, according to a Bosnian intelligence document obtained during research on the documentary.

The report by the Sarajevo Sector of the Bosnian National Security Service is dated November 19, 1995, and titled "Citizens, Organizations and Institutions from Afro-Asian Countries Who Reside and Operate in Our Area - A Sample of What We Have Learned and a Suggestion for Measures to be Taken."

Atalay was enlisted as a soldier of the Bosnian Army from 1992 to 1994, according to the document. After serving in the war, the document states, Atalay became head of the IHH office in Sarajevo.

A CIA report from the mid-1990s, obtained for the documentary, claims a director of IHH in Sarajevo was linked to Iranian government operatives, but does not name the person in question (read the document).

Efforts to reach Atalay for comment through IHH in Turkey were unsuccessful.

Another IHH employee, Hakan Bogoclu, was enlisted in the Bosnian army during the same period. According to the document, he served in the Seventh Muslim Brigade, a unit that included some mujahideen.

The document does not specify what unit Atalay served with, but it states both men served on the same dates, Sept. 1, 1992 through July 1, 1994.

In 1995, Bogoclu moved to IHH's Sarajevo office, where he was became deputy chief, according to the Bosnian intelligence document. Bogoclu still lives in Bosnia, where he is today an influential Sufi religious figure.

He declined to be interviewed at length, but denied any connections to terrorism and said he was an activist with IHH but not an employee.

A third IHH employee is named in the document as a director of IHH in Sarajevo but is not said to have been involved in the military.

A 2006 report written by terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann described a Turkish police raid on IHH headquarters in the late 1990s:

Security forces uncovered an array of disturbing items, including firearms, explosives, bomb-making instructions, and a "jihad flag." After analyzing seized IHH documents, Turkish authorities concluded that "detained members of IHH were going to fight in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya."

According to Kohlmann, IHH phone records also showed calls to the Islamic Cultural Institute, an Islamic center linked to Anwar Shaban in Milan. Another call was recorded between IHH and Abu Maali, the leader of the Bosnian mujahideen after Shaban's assassination in 1995. Both men are believed to be linked to Al Qaeda.

Some other figures named in the Bosnian intelligence document clearly illustrate the links between foreign fighters in Bosnia and terrorism.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the September 11 mastermind, lived and worked in Sarajevo in late 1995, according to the document, which says he was employed by a humanitarian organization called "Egipatska Pomoc" or "Egyptian Help," believed to be a reference to the Egyptian Humanitarian Relief Organization (EHRA).

Mohammed is described as a "Pakistani citizen, born on April 14, 1965, in Kuwait, temporarily residing at 11 Bjelave Street, engineer by profession, residing in Sarajevo since September 25, 1995."

Esad Hecimovic is a Bosnian investigative journalist. You can follow him on Twitter. INTELWIRE's J.M. Berger and "Sarajevo Ricochet" producer Ola Flyum contributed to this report. A version of this story was published in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.

Labels: Anwar-Shaban, Bosnia, Esad-Hecimovic, Foreign-Fighters, Gaza-Flotilla, IHH, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, Mujahideen, Palestinian-Issues, Sarajevo-Ricochet

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Charity That Received Millions From U.S. Denies Terrorism Links; INTELWIRE Responds With Documentation

Yemeni government official Hamoud Hattar, left, and Al Qaeda-linked cleric Abdul Majid Zindani at an October 2009 Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) event in Yemen. Hattar on June 7 announced that Yemen will not extradite Awlaki to the United States.

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

Updated June 23, 2010

The U.S. Department of Labor gave millions of dollars to a joint venture that included a Yemeni charity with extensive links to Al Qaeda.

At least $3.5 million was allocated by the Labor Department to fund a three-year partnership between the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), based in Yemen, and CHF International, a Maryland-based foundation, to fight child labor and child trafficking starting in fiscal year 2008.

The money was provided through a grant by the Labor Department's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT), according to a Labor Department press release, the agency's Web site and Middle Eastern news sources (link, link).

Wanted fugitive and radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar Awlaki served as a vice president for the organization during the 1990s. Awlaki is also believed to be associated with Al Qaeda (link). Awlaki's name is listed on an IRS Form 990 filed by the Charitable Society for Social Welfare for an now-defunct U.S. branch of the organization. Click here to read the CSSW tax form, which is a public record. Awlaki is listed as vice president on page 4 of the document.

CSSW spokesman Jamal Al-Haddi denied that the organization was connected to the Yemeni CSSW and denied that Awlaki ever worked for the Yemen branch of the organization. He told INTELWIRE in an e-mail that "CSSW has no branches outside Republic of Yemen. No official or unofficial branch of CSSW in the United States."

However CSSW's own Web site, in an archived page found on Archive.org, shows that in 2003 CSSW listed contact information for branches in Brooklyn, Detroit and San Diego. The 990 form shows that CSSW had directors in all three cities, including Awlaki in San Diego, whose listed address is the Ar-Ribat mosque. Two of the September 11 hijackers attended that mosque while Awlaki was imam there. The archived link was provided by Evan Kohlmann, a senior investigator with the NEFA Foundation.

The U.S.-based organization claims on its tax form that it provides services and support for orphans in Yemen, just as the Sana-based CSSW does. According to additional tax documents obtained by the NEFA Foundation, CSSW intitially claimed it was not related to CSSW in Yemen in an IRS 1023 filing. But the charity's attorney, Ronald Rose, later admitted, in response to IRS questions, that the two organizations were closely linked. According to Rose:

In general, the distributions of funds raised by this charity will not go directly to individuals…to provide assistance for people who have been victimized by the civil wars in Yemen and Somalia… A similar charitable organization exists in the nation of Yemen, whose goals are the same. In many cases, application for benefits will be submitted through the organization in Yemen and contributed funds will be routed through this organization to the ultimate recipients. The role of the charitable organization in Yemen will be to act as an agent or facilitator for the distribution of benefits from the Society.

The Brooklyn branch of CSSW was the subject of an FBI terrorism financing investigation in 2003, five years prior to the Department of Labor grant approval. Al-Haddi did not respond to a question on this issue. The terrorism financing investigation was known as "Black Bear." Click here to read a court filing which provides some details of the investigation.

The filing was made by the defense team for Numan Maflahi, a Yemeni-born U.S. citizen who was convicted of lying to federal agents in a terrorism financing investigation. Click here for a New York Times story about the conviction. Click here for an Associated Press story on the investigation of CSSW.

The Washington Post reported in 2008 that CSSW was founded by Abdul Majid Al Zindani, a veteran of the jihad against the Soviet Union and its civil war aftermath. Zindani was an associate of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, according to published reports and exclusive documents obtained by INTELWIRE. Zindani has been designated as a member or associate of Al Qaeda by both the U.S. government and the United Nations.

Documents filed in a U.S. terrorism prosecution state that the Yemeni government considered the Al Iman University, run by Zindani, "as a 'nest for terrorism' that exports and propagates terrorism." Click here to read the document. Awlaki lectured at the University, according to the Washington Post and other sources.

Al-Haddi denied that Zindani had ever played any role in the organization. Neither Awlaki or Zindani has "never have been part of CSSW either as founders, members of Managerial Boards, employees, consultants volunteers or any position in CSSW," Al-Haddi wrote in an email. When asked if CSSW had requested a correction from Washington Post, he said that he had not but intended to.

However, the CSSW Web site again seems to contradict Al-Haddi's statement.

CSSW's Web site contains stories on a 2009 "Orphan's Festival" event featuring Zindani as a featured speaker in a central role. Zindani is named on the page, which also features a photograph of the cleric at the center dias of the event. Click here for the original page in Arabic, and click here for a cached copy of the the page. The event was also extensively covered in the organization's newsletter. A cached copy of the story may be viewed by clicking here.

When asked about the photos, Al-Haddi said that Zindani's presence at the 2009 festival was simply as an attendee due to Zindani's participation in the Yemeni government in 1990. He also suggested that Zindani was only one of 500 participants, and played no role at the conference.

However, photos of the event, found on an Arabic Web site Yemen-Sound.com, show Zindani seated prominently in the front row of the event and handing out awards from the stage. The CSSW Web site additionally describes Zindani as a speaker at the event.

In several photos, Zindani appears with another speaker at the event, Judge Hamoud Hattar, who in June announced that Yemen will not extradite Anwar Awlaki to the United States. Hattar, ironically, has gained a measure of fame for his "deradicalization" efforts with Yemeni extremists in prison.

Yemeni government official Hamoud Hattar, left, and Al Qaeda-linked cleric Abdul Majid Zindani at an October 2009 Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) event in Yemen.

Also at the event was Sheikh Aed Al Qarni, who can be seen in this video calling on Allah to "destroy the Jews" and praising jihadists attacking American forces in Iraq.

Sheikh Aed Al Qarni at an October 2009 Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) event in Yemen.

The CSSW Web site lists partner organizations including the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Qatar Charitable Society, both of which are believed by the U.S. government to be Al Qaeda financing vehicles. The U.S. alleges that IIRO helped finance the Manila-based Bojinka plot to blow up U.S. airliners in 1995. According to an Al Qaeda informant, Osama bin Laden has stated that Qatar Charitable Society funds were used to pay for an attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek, also in 1995.

This story has been substantially updated with CSSW denials and with additional documentation which supports the story.

Al-Haddi's letter to INTELWIRE is included below in its entirety. Based on the evidence laid out in detail above, INTELWIRE stands by its story. Additional documentation is being sought and will be posted when it becomes available.

Dear Mr. Berger,

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Jamal Al-Haddi, the Program Manager of ACCESS-Plus Program working for Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW).

ACCESS-Plus Program is the a program that receives US Department of Labor fund to combat Exploitive Child Labor, Worst Forms of Child Labor and Child Trafficking in Yemen. This Program is the program that you denoted in your article in the index page of your website; www.intelwire.com .

Herein, I would like to reveal some facts about Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW).

The Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) is a national non-faith, non-governmental organization (NGO) established in Sana'a, Yemen, in March 1990. CSSW works at the grassroots level, and seeks to provide an effective charity model to promote sustainable, economic and social development through relief and development programs, in addition to emergency relief. Its programs cover sustainable development, orphan care, education, health, family, social welfare, population, food security, poverty alleviation, environment, and working with certain groups, including those who are poor, and women, youth, children, refugees, the disabled and the elderly.

CSSW has a consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (Special Category). It is also an NGO member of United Nation Department of Public Information UN DPI. It also has a membership status in many national institutions, such as the Supreme Women Council, Mother & Childhood High Council, the National Population Council, Social Fund for Development, Social Care Fund, Public Works Project, Disaster Preparedness NGO Forum, Poverty Reduction Strategy for NGOs Network Group, and Yemeni NGOs Network. Meanwhile, CSSW partners with UN agencies, in particular, U.N. Capital Development Fund, International Committee of the Red Cross, WFP, UNDP, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO and UNICEF, UNV in addition to international organizations such as CHF International, Futures Group International (American NGOs). It has also partnerships through group of projects and programs with, World Bank, Canada Embassy, Japanese Embassy, US Embassy, British Embassy, European Commission, Dutch Embassy, etc.

The current CSSW activities are developmental projects that target the poor and needy people in urban and rural communities. The projects aim to alleviate poverty. Within the NGO networking group on poverty reduction that sponsors poor families, CSSW is responsible for monthly food distribution.

CSSW also implements family development projects targeting poor women and families through micro-credit, handicraft projects, including work with leather products, orphan care and a sponsorship program. CSSW currently sponsors about 25,312 orphans and street children.

CSSW's Smart woman Centers in Sana'a and other governorates organize training courses all over the year in manual work and skills that might be particularly helpful for women. The courses span a wide range of topics that include computer technology, sewing, embroidering, and carpet weaving, in addition to literacy programs, educational sessions, English language courses, and first-aid courses. CSSW has ongoing programs in public health, reproductive health, family planning and health care for refugees, Combating Females Genitalia Malformation (FGM) Projects, Combating Early Marriage Project.

CSSW also provides its health services through 22 facilities in 13 governorates, outreach health activities, an onchocerciasis (River Blindness) control program in four governorates, and by conducting studies and field surveys, in cooperation with UN agencies and international relief organizations.
Regarding allegations stated in your article, here is the response for them:

CSSW is a non-faith based organization which provides its services to all categories regardless sex, ethnicity, color or religion inside and outside Yemen according its constitution. For example, CSSW provide services to Muslim and non Muslim Ethiopian Oromos refugees in addition to Somali refugees who displaced to Yemen. It also used to assist poor Jewish families in Raida Town- Amran Governorate.

All information in this article is baseless and fabricated.

According to official documents of registration and elections of CSSW which was established in March 1990, Abdulmajeed Al-Zendani or Anwar Al-Awlaki never have been part of CSSW either as founders, members of Managerial Boards, employees, consultants volunteers or any position in CSSW. (The official registration documents are available upon request and Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor keep the original copies of them).

CSSW since its foundation in 1990 used to work with local, regional and international partners. CSSW works with all UN agencies in Yemen including Unicef, UNDP, UNFPA, UNV, UNHCR it a member of United Nations Economic Council & Social Council (ECOSOC), it is also a member UN Department of Pubic Information (DPI). It has also partnerships with Japanese Embassy, Dutch Embassy, British Embassy, and many other partners.

One of the values that CSSW works in, is transparency. CSSW annual reports used to be disseminated through booklets and internet. The CSSW financial system was checked from international experts and then the NICRA was signed and approved United State Department of Labor.

If any one needs any information about CSSW, it can be provided simply through the official email at info@csswyemen.org.

According to media rules, we call upon posting CSSW response in the same page and in same area of your original article.

If you need any information related to CSSW, Please don't hesitate to contact me at my contacts below.

Best wishes,

Jamal Al-Haddi
ACCESS-Plus Program Manager
Alternative to Combat Child Labor through Education & Sustainable Services

UPDATE 6/23/2010: On June 23, Jamal Al-Haddi gave the following responses to the questions cited in the artice. After careful consideration of these responses relative to the documentation above, INTELWIRE still stands by its story. However, additional documentation is being sought in order to fully clarify any issue which remains disputed.

Q: Just so I understand, you are specifically denying that Anwar Awlaki worked for CSSW as reported by the Washington Post and other major media outlets?

A. Yes, Anwar Al-Awlaki had never been a part of CSSW as mentioned in my comments. He wasn't a member of CSSW General Assembly. And for your information, CSSW managerial board including it president and vice president are selected through direct secret election from the General Assembly under supervision of Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Minutes of meetings, and names of elected members are kept with the ministry.

Q: I have viewed and intend to publish with your letter the United States government tax form for the CSSW branch in the United States listing Anwar Awlaki as a vice president. Are you certain you wish to maintain your denial against that document?

CSSW has no braches out side Republic of Yemen. No official or unofficial branch of CSSW in the United States. I don't know from what source they concluded that CSSW has a branch and has a vice president for it!!

There are some associations have same name of CSSW in different parts of the world. For example, Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) based in Midwest has the same name of Yemen's CSSW. This society or any other society has nothing to do with CSSW-Yemen.

CSSW used to receive any unconditional fund or grants to use them in development of Yemeni community.

Q:In your letter, you say that Abdul-Majid Zindani has no link to CSSW, not even as a volunteer or a consultant. Do you deny then that Zindani played a central role in CSSW’s October 2009 Seventh Orphans Festival?

CSSW has periodic Orphan Festivals since its establishment as it sponsors more than 25,000 orphans. ALL these Festival are conducted under the patronage of H.E. President Ali Abdulla Saleh, the President of the Republic of Yemen. More than (500) persons attend or participate in each festival. The attendance of these festival which includes different activities, is open for officials or dignities or personalities who would like to participate, regardless their political affiliation or any other considerations. Some of those festivals were partially sponsored by international agencies such as Unicef.

Zendani hasn't any role in the 7th festival. He only attended the festival as he was the member of Yemeni Presidency Council after unification of Yemen in 1990.

Q: The Washington Post first reported that CSSW was founded by Zindani and that it employed Awlaki. Have you written a similar letter to them? Did they print a correction?

No. not yet, however, we are intending to do so. And I'm sure that they will correct this false information.

Q: Do you deny that CSSW works as partners with the International Islamic Relief Organization and the Qatar Charitable Society?

CSSW used to deal only with organizations and entities that are recognized in their original countries and have good reputation regardless they are Islamic of non-Islamic. CSSW used to deal with Islamic Relief Organization and Qatar Charity like any other agency such as WFP, UNDP, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO , UNICEF, UNV, World Bank, etc.

Labels: Abdul-Majid-Zindani, Al-Qaeda, Anwar-Aulaqi, Anwar-Awlaki, Charitable-Society-for-Social-Welfare, Osama-Bin-Laden, Terrorist-Financing

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

National Geographic Explorer: Talibanistan

National Geographic Explorer presents Talibanistan, a documentary on the activities of the Taliban along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. INTELWIRE's parent company, the Multifaceted Media Group, contributed footage of insurgents to the program. The episode airs Tuesday, June 8, at 10 p.m. Eastern. Natgeo's episode description is as follows:

For eight years the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have bogged down US and NATO troops in Afghanistan-all the while seizing territory and creating chaos in nuclear-armed Pakistan. In mid October, under pressure from the US, Pakistan announced that it would launch a military campaign designed to destroy the Taliban, The Taliban responded with a series of brazen attacks against the Pakistani Army, the police, and civilians, leaving the US in doubt over Pakistans ability to secure its nuclear weapons, and its own ability to fight the agile Taliban in Afghanistan. National Geographic Explorer was in Pakistan and Afghanistan during these explosive days documenting the fight on the ground and in the skies above this territory controlled by the Taliban, known as "Talibanistan." Explorer asks the question: who is winning this war and is this Obama's Vietnam or will he be the first to pacify Afghanistan?

For more information about how your production can commission research and license terrorist and insurgent footage from INTELWIRE and MMG, click here.

Labels: Afghanistan, Multifaceted-Media-Group, National-Geographic, Pakistan, Stock-Footage, Taliban, Weblog

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink