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News, documents and analysis on violent extremismTuesday, January 21, 2014
INTELWIRE releases Awlaki FOIA Files; Hijacker Travel QuestionsINTELWIRE has obtained almost 2,000 pages of files related to Anwar Awlaki under the Freedom of Information Act.Awlaki FOIA (256MB PDF, right click on link and save locally, do not open in browser) The files released are heavily redacted and light on new information regarding Awlaki's ties to terrorism, although they provide minute entries from the FBI's surveillance of Awlaki after 9/11 and lavish details of his encounters with prostitutes. The focus of the released documents is disappointing at best. Among the many omissions, perhaps the most notable is the transcript of the FBI's September 2007 interview with Awlaki when he was being held in a Yemeni prison. Documents relating to the interview are included, but the results of the interview remain a mystery. The documents also provide no new information regarding Awlaki's post-9/11 terrorist career, although they do make small but significant additions to the chronology of his interactions with the 9/11 hijackers. If you find something noteworthy, feel free to discuss it with me on Twitter at @intelwire. TRAVEL CORRELATIONS Some interesting data points emerge relating to travel by Awlaki and the hijackers, but the documents raise many more questions than they answer. According to the documents, Awlaki and someone named "Dr." Mohamed Atta flew out of the Frankfurt airport on the same United Airlines schedule, two days and two rows apart, in October 2000. One possible explanation for this is that someone with the same name as Atta could have traveled on that date. There is no record in the 9/11 Commission report of a trip to Germany in this time frame, and an FBI chronology places Atta in the United States during the same period. There is no record of Awlaki flying to Frankfurt, but he had traveled to Yemen in summer of 2000. The documents provide no further insight into the travel. The flight data only covers United Airlines, so it could have omitted a connecting flight for Awlaki from Yemen or elsewhere. Hijacker Khalid al Mihdhar had traveled to Yemen some weeks prior to Awlaki, and Al Qaeda coordinator Ramzi Binalshibh was in Yemen at the same time. On September 15 in Yemen, Binalshibh applied for a visa to visit the United States, which was refused. On October 23, Awlaki flew to the United States out of Frankfurt. On October 25, Binalshibh -- now in Germany -- again applied for a visa to travel to the U.S., which was again refused. Given the conflicting information about Atta's location, the correlations to Binalshibh's movements are likely to be a more fruitful line of inquiry. On August 23, 2001, Awlaki and Saeed Al Ghamdi, another hijacker, flew out of Dulles airport on the same day to different destinations. As has been previously reported, Awlaki was on a plane from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. on the morning of September 11, 2001. Buy J.M. Berger's book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam RECENT PUBLICATIONS Labels: 9-11, Anwar-Aulaqi, Anwar-Awlaki, FBI, FOIA, Hijackers Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.
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BOOKS"...smart, granular analysis..."ISIS: The State of TerrorMore on ISIS: The State of Terror "...a timely warning...""At a time when some politicians and pundits blur the line between Islam and terrorism, Berger, who knows this subject far better than the demagogues, sharply cautions against vilifying Muslim Americans. ... It is a timely warning from an expert who has not lost his perspective." -- New York Times More on Jihad Joe ABOUT![]() RECENTNewest posts!Religion, Absolutism, Violent Extremism, Fitna and... FBI Guidelines on Investigating Political Parties,... Two Months After #Westgate, Changes for Terrorists... Terrorists on Social Media: Arguments That Don't I... I've got a little list An Open Letter to Jihadis on the Anniversary of Se... Loopcast: AQ since 2008 Yellow and Black is the New Black Flag Reflections of a Troll What "The Wolverine" Can Teach Us About Lone Wolf ... EXCLUSIVESNew York Pipe Bomb Suspect Linked to Revolution Muslim The Utility of Lone Wolves Interview with Online Jihadist Abu Suleiman Al Nasser A Way Forward for CVE: The Five Ds How Terrorists Use The Internet: Just Like You PATCON: The FBI's Secret War on the Militia Movement Interview About Jihad With Controversial Cleric Bilal Philips Forgeries on the Jihadist Forums U.S. Gave Millions To Charity Linked To Al Qaeda, Anwar Awlaki State Department Secretly Met With Followers of Blind Sheikh State Department Put 'Political Pressure' On FBI To Deport Brother-in-Law Of Osama Bin Laden In 1995 FBI Records Reveal Details Of Nixon-Era Racial Profiling Program Targeting Arabs Gaza Flotilla Official Was Foreign Fighter in Bosnia War U.S. Had 'High Confidence' Of UBL Attack In June 2001 Behind the Handshake: The Rumsfeld-Saddam Meeting |