Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 Jan 10: Moussa Ali Hamdan drove a flashy SUV into the Deptford Mall parking lot for the lunchtime meeting. Authorities say that he was there to buy stolen goods, and that he told the seller he wanted bulk quantities of prepaid cell phones, laptops, Sony PlayStations – even cars. Anything that was available. Hamdan didn’t know it, but he was negotiating with an FBI informant on that winter day in 2007. Authorities could have arrested him then, but they suspected Hamdan was a central figure in a terrorist cell in the United States.
The investigation eventually would include dozens of national-security advisers from many federal agencies and stretch from Hamdan’s West Collingswood apartment and Cinnaminson workplace to the crowded streets of Beirut, Lebanon. President Obama and then-Gov. Jon S. Corzine were briefed on the case. Late last year, the investigation led to the indictment of 26 alleged Hezbollah operatives and sympathizers. Sixteen people were arrested, including a Hezbollah weapons-procurement officer. Hamdan escaped to his native Lebanon. Two defendants are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. “These cases show the breadth of criminal activity engaged by those who oppose us,” U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy said in a statement.
A review of Hamdan’s activity in New Jersey, nearly a hundred pages of indictments, and conversations with intelligence-community sources with knowledge of the investigation offer a detailed look into what authorities say were the alleged terrorist organization’s U.S. fund-raising and weapons-buying operations. “The indictments are very significant,” said Matthew Levitt, a terrorism expert at the Washington Institute. “Hezbollah has long had financial-support networks inside the U.S., but seeing it laid out in the details of this indictment is nonetheless startling.” . . . .
Four Indicted for Conspiring to Support Hizballah; Six Others Charged with Related Crimes (FBI Press Release, Nov 2009)
CI CENTRE COURSE: An Introduction to Hezbollah: A Top Terrorist Organization
CNN, 22 Jan 10: A Tennessee man — accused in a fatal attack at a military recruiting center in Arkansas in June — wants to plead guilty and claims to have ties to al Qaeda in Yemen in a letter he wrote to the judge presiding over his case. In the handwritten letter dated January 12, Abdul Hakim Muhammad said he did not want a trial and insisted the shooting was “justified” under jihad. “This was a jihadi attack on infidel forces that didn’t go as plan,” he wrote. “Flat out truth.” . . . .
. . . . Muhammad, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, is charged with killing Pvt. William Long, 23, and wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18. The attack happened on June 1 at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas. In June, Muhammad pleaded not guilty to one count of capital murder and 16 counts of engaging in a terrorist act. Before pleading not guilty, Muhammad waived his Miranda rights and gave a video statement indicating political and religious motives, authorities said.
. . . . In his letter to the judge, Muhammad claimed he had links to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, a group that has claimed responsibility for the attempting bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day. “My lawyer has no defense,” he wrote. “I wasn’t insane or post traumatic nor was I forced to do this act. Which I believe and it is justified according to Islamic laws and the Islamic religion jihad — to fight those who wage war on Islam and Muslims.”
Full text of the letter (Jawa Report)
New York Times, 25 Jan 10: In a coordinated attack as devastating as it was ruthlessly efficient, three bombs unleashed minutes apart on Monday wrecked landmark hotels in Baghdad . . . . The Ministry of Interior said that 36 people had been killed and 71 wounded. While the death toll paled in comparison with earlier attacks — at least 122 in August and 155 in October — they seemed to signal a new target. So far, the campaign has wrecked four government ministries, a provincial headquarters, a courthouse, colleges and a bank.
The three bombs exploded roughly 10 minutes apart. The first struck the Ishtar Sheraton at 3:28 p.m., followed three minutes later by another at the Babylon Hotel and then, at 3:37, one at the Hamra Hotel. Both the Hamra and the Sheraton are home to many of the capital’s foreign press corps, though no foreign journalists were reported killed. . . . Iraqi officials blamed the earlier attacks on Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown terrorist group that Iraqi and American officials believe has foreign leadership, acting jointly with former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party.
Der Spiegel, 25 Jan 10: The West has long been suspicous of Iran’s nuclear program. SPIEGEL has obtained new documents on secret tests and leadership structures that call into question Tehran’s claims to be exclusively interested in the peaceful use of the technology . . . .
DPA, 25 Jan 10: The trial began in Spain on Monday of a suspected double agent charged with endangering national security by selling confidential information to Russia. Roberto Florez, a former agent of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI), faces up to 12 years in prison if found guilty of treason. If he is only found guilty of revealing secrets, he could be handed a sentence of up to four years. Florez’ lawyer Manuel Olle denied the charges against his client, pledging to seek his acquittal on entering the courthouse in Madrid.
Florez worked with the CNI from 1991 to 2004. He was detained in 2007 on the Canary Island of Tenerife, where police found evidence suggesting spying in his home. The evidence included confidential CNI documents, DVDs, CDs, cassettes, computer discs, as well as two letters sent by Florez to the then second-in-charge of the Russian embassy in Madrid. In the letters, the Spaniard offered to disclose to Russia information on the identities of Spanish secret agents abroad and on the structure of the CNI. Florez was believed to have offered to sell the information for 200,000 dollars (150,000 euros). . . . .
