Sept. 11's Smoking Gun: The Many Faces of Saeed Sheikh

By Paul Thompson

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If you read just one thing at this website, please read this = essay.=20 Don=E2=80=99t mind the length and complexity. Saeed = Sheikh=E2=80=99s story is not just=20 mildly interesting. Understanding the history of this young man = may not=20 only explain many mysteries of 9/11, including solid evidence of = foreign=20 government involvement in the attacks, but may also reveal if = nuclear war=20 in the near future is likely. No kidding. Please read! Note that = this was=20 first written in September 2002 but has been thoroughly overhauled = based=20 on exposure to additional evidence. Also, click to find more = details about=20 Saeed=20 Sheikh and his boss Mahmood=20 Ahmed.

A young Saeed = Sheikh.

The ISI: =E2=80=9CThe Invisible Government=E2=80=9D

As the London Times has put it, Saeed Sheikh =E2=80=9Cis no = ordinary terrorist=20 but a man who has connections that reach high into = Pakistan=E2=80=99s military and=20 intelligence elite and into the innermost circles of Osama Bin = Laden and=20 the al-Qaeda organization.=E2=80=9D [= London=20 Times, 4/21/02] To understand why Saeed is so important in=20 understanding 9/11, it is necessary to first understand the = Pakistan=E2=80=99s=20 intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The = ISI plays=20 a much more significant role in the Pakistani government than do = its=20 counterparts in other countries. Time Magazine has noted, = =E2=80=9CEven by the=20 shadowy standards of spy agencies, the ISI is notorious. It is = commonly=20 branded =E2=80=98a state within the state,=E2=80=99 or = Pakistan=E2=80=99s =E2=80=98invisible government.=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D=20 [Time,=20 5/6/02] The ISI grew into its present form during the war = between the=20 Soviet Union and mujaheddin guerrillas in Afghanistan in the = 1980s. The=20 CIA thought the Afghan war could be Russia=E2=80=99s own costly = Vietnam War, and=20 they funneled billions to the mujaheddin resistance to keep them a = thorn=20 in Russia=E2=80=99s side. The strategy worked: Soviet soldiers = withdrew from=20 Afghanistan in 1989, and the Soviet Union collapsed two years = later,=20 partly due to the costs of the war. [Pittsburgh=20 Post-Gazette, 9/23/01]

But the costs to keep the mujaheddin fighting were staggering, = with=20 estimates ranging between $6 billion and $40 billion. [New=20 York Times, 8/24/98, Nation,=20 2/15/99] While a substantial portion of this amount came from = the CIA=20 and the Saudi Arabian government, who were both funneling the = money=20 through the ISI, much of the cost was deferred by = Afghanistan=E2=80=99s opium=20 trade. The Sydney Morning Herald notes, =E2=80=9COpium cultivation = and heroin=20 production in Pakistan=E2=80=99s northern tribal belt and = adjoining Afghanistan=20 were a vital offshoot of the ISI-CIA cooperation. It succeeded in = turning=20 some of the Soviet troops into addicts. Heroin sales in Europe and = the US,=20 carried out through an elaborate web of deception, transport = networks,=20 couriers and payoffs, offset the cost of the decade-long war in=20 Afghanistan.=E2=80=9D [Sydney=20 Morning Herald, 9/27/01] Afghan opium production ballooned = from 250=20 tons in 1982 at the start of the war to 2,000 tons in 1991 just = after its=20 end. The Minneapolis Star Tribune observed, =E2=80=9CIf their = local allies were=20 involved in narcotics trafficking=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94the ISI and = their allies in=20 Afghanistan=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Cit didn=E2=80=99t trouble = CIA.=E2=80=9D [Star=20 Tribune, 9/30/01]

Although the Afghan war has ended, the ISI has continued to = profit from=20 opium. In 1999, the United Nations Drug Control Programme = estimated that=20 the ISI was making around $2.5 billion annually from the sale = of=20 illegal drugs. [Times of=20 India, 11/29/99] The drug trade helped unite the ISI and Osama = bin=20 Laden, who was said to have taken a 15% cut of the Afghan drug = trade money=20 in exchange for protecting smugglers and laundering their profits. = [Star=20 Tribune, 9/30/01]

By 1994, the Taliban, a group of Muslim radicals studying in = Pakistan,=20 began conquering Afghanistan. The Taliban had been recruited by = the ISI=20 and molded into a fanatical force that conquered = Afghanistan=E2=80=99s capital by=20 1996. CNN reported, =E2=80=9CThe Taliban are widely alleged = to be the=20 creation of Pakistan=E2=80=99s military intelligence [the ISI]. = Experts say that=20 explains the Taliban=E2=80=99s swift military successes.=E2=80=9D = [CNN, = 10/5/96] This=20 support continued. For instance, in early 2001, a leading US = expert on=20 South Asia claimed that the Taliban were still =E2=80=9Con the = payroll of the=20 ISI.=E2=80=9D [Times of=20 India, 3/7/01] The ISI didn=E2=80=99t create the Taliban = simply for strategic=20 reasons; they shared the Taliban=E2=80=99s extreme radical vision. = As the Wall=20 Street Journal remarked in November 2001, =E2=80=9CDespite their = clean chins and=20 pressed uniforms, the ISI men are as deeply fundamentalist as any = bearded=20 fanatic; the ISI created the Taliban as their own instrument and = still=20 supports it.=E2=80=9D [Asia=20 Times, 11/15/01]

Saeed=E2=80=99s Background

Saeed Sheikh would eventually become deeply involved in the = world of=20 the ISI, as well as al-Qaeda. But initially he seemed an unlikely=20 candidate for a career in espionage and terrorism. He was born in = Britain=20 with the name Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the son of a wealthy = Pakistani=20 clothing manufacturer. He grew up in London, a brilliant student = attending=20 the best private schools. He studied mathematics and statistics at = the=20 London School of Economics. While still at school, he started a = successful=20 shares and equities business and also was a chess champion, world = class=20 arm wrestler, and martial arts expert=E2=80=94a rare combination = of physical and=20 mental prowess. [Rediff, = 2/6/02,=20 South=20 Asian Outlook, 3/02]

His life took a turn when he volunteered for charity work in = Bosnia in=20 late 1992. The Bosnian war was raging, and he saw atrocities = committed by=20 Serbians on Bosnian Muslims. He returned to Britain a committed = Muslim=20 radical. Because of his impressive abilities in economics and = mathematics,=20 as well as fluency in English and complete understanding of = Western=20 society, he was a very valuable asset to any terrorist group. [= ABC=20 News, 2/7/02]

In 1993 he emerged in Pakistan as a member of a militant group = fighting=20 for the liberation of Kashmir from India. Pakistan has been = fighting India=20 for years over control of Kashmir, and it appears Saeed was put on = the ISI=20 payroll around this time, to help the Pakistani cause in Kashmir. = [= ABC=20 News, 2/7/02] In 1994, Saeed began training at a training camp = in=20 Afghanistan. He soon was teaching the classes. [Los=20 Angeles Times, 2/9/02] He developed close ties with al-Qaeda = while=20 training there. By the end of the year he was known as Osama bin = Laden=E2=80=99s=20 =E2=80=9Cfavored son=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cmy special son.=E2=80=9D = [London=20 Times, 8/21/02, Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02]

Saeed in an Indian hospital shortly after being = arrested=20 in 1994. He was shot while being captured. [Indian=20 Express]

Prison and Escape

Saeed Sheikh was arrested in India in 1994 while on a = kidnapping=20 mission designed to trade Western tourists for Kashmiri = separatists. [= ABC=20 News, 2/7/02] The ISI paid his legal fees, but he was = nonetheless=20 sentenced to a long prison term in an Indian jail. [Washington=20 Post, 5/3/02] While in prison, his natural abilities soon = allowed him=20 to become the leader of the jail=E2=80=99s large Muslim = population. By his own=20 admission, he =E2=80=9Clived practically like a Mafia = don.=E2=80=9D [London=20 Times, 8/21/02] It has been claimed that in 1999, British = intelligence=20 secretly offered Saeed an amnesty and the ability to =E2=80=9Clive = in London a=20 free man=E2=80=9D if he would reveal his links to al-Qaeda. He = apparently refused.=20 [Daily=20 Mail, 7/16/02, Lon= don=20 Times, 7/16/02] Even more curiously, the Pittsburgh = Tribune-Review=20 suggested in March 2002, =E2=80=9CThere are many in = Musharraf=E2=80=99s government who=20 believe that Saeed Sheikh=E2=80=99s power comes not from the ISI, = but from his=20 connections with our own CIA. The theory is that ... Saeed Sheikh = was=20 bought and paid for.=E2=80=9D [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02]

In December 1999, terrorists hijacked an Indian Airlines = aircraft and=20 flew it to Kandahar, Afghanistan. After an eight-day standoff, the = 155=20 hostages were released in exchange for Saeed and two other three = Pakistani=20 terrorists held by India. [BBC,=20 12/31/99] He must have been already highly valued by al-Qaeda, = because=20 the hijacking appears to have been largely funded and carried out = by them.=20 [CNN,=20 6/13/02, New=20 York Times, 12/6/01] Saeed stayed at a Kandahar guesthouse for = several=20 days, conferring with Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and = Osama bin=20 Laden. An ISI colonel then escorted him to a safe house in = Pakistan. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02]

The hijackers leave the Indian Airlines plane, = under=20 Taliban supervision. They were given 8 hours to leave the = country.=20 [BBC]

Saeed Keeps Busy

In his roughly two years of freedom before 9/11, Saeed was a = very busy=20 terrorist. According to Newsweek, once in Pakistan, Saeed = =E2=80=9Clived=20 openly=E2=80=94and opulently=E2=80=94in a wealthy Lahore = neighborhood. US sources say he=20 did little to hide his connections to terrorist organizations, and = even=20 attended swanky parties attended by senior Pakistani government=20 officials.=E2=80=9D The US government inferred that he was a = =E2=80=9Cprotected asset=E2=80=9D of=20 the ISI. [Newsweek,=20 3/13/02] In fact, his house was given to him by the ISI. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02] Even more remarkably, the media reported that = Saeed was=20 freely able to return to Britain [= Press=20 Trust of India, 1/3/00], just as if he had accepted = Britain=E2=80=99s secret=20 amnesty offer. He visited his parents in Britain in 2000 and again = in=20 early 2001. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02, BBC,=20 7/16/02, Telegraph,=20 7/16/02] The British citizens kidnapped by Saeed in 1994 = called the=20 government=E2=80=99s decision not to try him a = =E2=80=9Cdisgrace=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cscandalous.=E2=80=9D [= Press=20 Trust of India, 1/3/00]

It as been reported that Saeed helped train the hijackers. [Telegraph,=20 9/30/01] Presumably this happened in Afghanistan, where he = trained=20 others and where he traveled regularly. [New=20 York Times, 2/25/02, National=20 Post, 2/26/02, Guardian,=20 7/16/02, India=20 Today, 2/25/02] He also reportedly helped devise a secure, = encrypted=20 Web-based communications system for al-Qaeda. =E2=80=9CHis future = in the network=20 seemed limitless; there was even talk of one day succeeding bin = Laden.=E2=80=9D=20 [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02, Telegraph,=20 7/16/02]

But at the same time, much of his time was spent working with = the ISI.=20 He worked with Ijaz Shah, a former ISI official in charge of = handling two=20 terrorist groups, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Aziz Khan, also a = former=20 deputy chief of the ISI in charge of relations with = Jaish-e-Mohammad, and=20 Brigadier Abdullah, a former ISI officer. He was well known to = other=20 senior ISI officers. [National=20 Post, 2/26/02, Guardian,=20 7/16/02, India=20 Today, 2/25/02] How much of his work with al-Qaeda was done on = the=20 orders of the ISI is not known.

Saeed=E2=80=99s 9/11 Role is First Revealed

By now, the al-Qaeda 9/11 plot was in motion. Someone in the = United=20 Arab Emirates (UAE), using an alias, periodically wired money to = and from=20 hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi between June 2000 and = the day=20 before 9/11. [MSNBC,=20 12/11/01] The identity of this person has been a highly = disputed=20 subject. On September 23, 2001, it was first reported that = authorities=20 were now (finally) looking for Saeed Sheikh, though it = wasn=E2=80=99t explained=20 why. [London=20 Times, 9/23/01] The next day, it was reported that the 9/11=20 =E2=80=9Cpaymaster=E2=80=9D had been found, using the alias = =E2=80=9CMustafa Ahmed.=E2=80=9D [Newsweek, = 9/24/01] On=20 October 1, 2001, the Guardian reported, =E2=80=9CThe man at the = center of the=20 financial web is believed to be Sheikh Saeed, also known as = Mustafa=20 Mohamed Ahmad,=E2=80=9D but it wasn=E2=80=99t immediately clear = who this person was. [G= uardian,=20 10/1/01] On October 6, CNN revealed that =E2=80=9CUS = investigators now=20 believe Sheik Syed, using the alias Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad, sent = more than=20 $100,000 from Pakistan to Mohamed Atta.=E2=80=9D More importantly, = CNN confirmed=20 that this was in fact the same Saeed Sheikh who had been released = from an=20 Indian prison in 1999. [CNN, = 10/6/01]

Enter Lt. Gen. Mahmood and the ISI

President Musharraf shakes hands with ISI = Director Lt.=20 Gen. Mahmood. [AFP]

On October 7, 2001, Pakistani President Musharraf fired Lt. = Gen.=20 Mahmood Ahmed, the head of the ISI. The next day, some newspapers, = mostly=20 in India but also in Pakistan, shockingly said he was fired for = his role=20 in the 9/11 attacks. [= Press=20 Trust of India, 10/8/01] For instance, a Pakistani newspaper = stated,=20 =E2=80=9CLt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed has been replaced after the FBI = investigators=20 established credible links between him and Umar Sheikh, one of the = three=20 militants released in exchange for passengers of the hijacked = Indian=20 Airlines plane in 1999... Informed sources said there were enough=20 indications with the US intelligence agencies that it was at Gen.=20 Mahmood=E2=80=99s instruction that Sheikh had transferred 100,000 = US dollars into=20 the account of Mohammed Atta...=E2=80=9D [Dawn,=20 10/9/01] Indian newspapers claimed that Indian intelligence = had been=20 instrumental in helping to establish the connection. [Times=20 of India, 10/9/01, India=20 Today, 10/15/01, = Agence=20 France-Presse, 10/10/01, Daily=20 Excelsior, 10/18/01] Yet this explosive story was barely = mentioned in=20 the West. [Australian,=20 10/10/01, = AFP,=20 10/10/01] In the US, surprisingly, the only mention was in a = one short=20 piece in the Wall Street Journal, mentioning that, =E2=80=9CThe US = authorities ...=20 confirm[ed] the fact that $100,000 [was] wired to WTC hijacker = Mohammed=20 Atta from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the insistence of = General=20 Mahmood.=E2=80=9D [Wall=20 Street Journal, 10/10/01] Most other Western accounts simply = explained=20 Mahmood was fired for being too close to the Taliban. [London=20 Times, 10/9/01, Guardian,=20 10/9/01]

If true, the story would strongly suggest that the ISI played a = very=20 large role in the 9/11 attacks. Why the silence on such an = important=20 story? One might credit skepticism that the story was merely = Indian=20 propaganda. But a larger pattern, detailed below, suggests there = is=20 something more to the media=E2=80=99s attitude: a strong = reluctance to print any=20 evidence suggesting Pakistan was behind the 9/11 attacks.

Mahmood=E2=80=99s sudden and complete disappearance also seems = curious. He is=20 reportedly living under =E2=80=9Cvirtual house arrest=E2=80=9D [Asia Times,=20 1/5/02], and has refused to speak to reporters since being = fired. [A= P,=20 2/21/02] Other former ISI Directors living in Pakistan = seemingly even=20 more supportive of the Taliban continue to be very vocal (such as = Lt. Gen.=20 Hamid Gul, for instance [New=20 Yorker, 12/3/01]), and numerous other ISI officers have = supported the=20 Taliban in seeming defiance of Musharraf=E2=80=99s wishes and not = faced house=20 arrest. [Gu= ardian,=20 5/25/02]

Distractions Away From Saeed

Not only did Mahmood suddenly become persona non grata, but so = did=20 Saeed Sheikh, now that he was implicated in Mahmood=E2=80=99s = story. He was again=20 mentioned as the 9/11 paymaster the day before the Mahmood story = broke [C= NN,=20 10/8/01], and then suddenly, all mention of him ceased (with = one=20 exception [= CNN,=20 10/28/01]). Since then, the FBI has put forth a variety of = alternates=20 for the identity of the person in the 9/11 paymaster role. The = story is=20 too complicated to greatly detail here, but the FBI and media have = variously filled Saeed Sheikh=E2=80=99s shoes with an Egyptian = named Shaykh Saiid=20 [Sydney=20 Morning Herald, 9/28/01, New=20 York Times, 10/15/01, Los=20 Angeles Times, 10/20/01], a Saudi named Sa=E2=80=99d = Al-Sharif, said to be bin=20 Laden=E2=80=99s brother-in-law [Newsweek,=20 11/11/01, A= P,=20 12/18/01], a Kenyan named Sheik Sayyid el Masry [CNN,=20 10/16/01, Trial=20 Transcript, 2/20/01, Trial=20 Transcript, 2/21/01], a Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi or al-Hisawi=20 (suggesting no alias was used) [MSNBC,=20 12/11/01, Wall=20 Street Journal, 6/17/02], a Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif [AP,=20 6/4/02], an Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (for some of the money = transfers) [Congressional=20 Intelligence Committee, 9/26/02], and so on. Most recently, = the FBI=20 said the most well-known candidate, Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif, = doesn=E2=80=99t=20 actually exist, but is probably a composite of Mustafa Ahmed = Al-Hisawi,=20 Shaikh Saiid al-Masri, and Saad al-Sharif. [AP, = 12/26/02]=20 Newsweek, in describing yet another name variation, Mustafa Ahmad = Adin=20 Al-Husawi, says the person =E2=80=9Cremains almost a total = mystery,=E2=80=9D and no one is=20 sure of his name or even if he is one person. [Newsweek, = 9/4/02] (Note=20 that Saeed appears to be a master of disguise, as can be seen by = the=20 bewildering number of names he is referred to in the media: Sheik = Syed,=20 Ahmad Umar Sheikh, Umar Sheikh, Sheik Omar Saeed, Omar Saiid = Sheikh,=20 Sheikh Omar, etc... He opened bank accounts using many of his name = variations, or even completely unrelated names. [The=20 News, 2/13/02])

While the FBI and media have been putting forth a series of = names=20 sounding remarkably similar to Saeed Sheikh or the aliases he = used, they=20 have been ignoring or forgetting solid evidence that links Saeed = Sheikh to=20 the funding of 9/11. To do so would mean confronting = Saeed=E2=80=99s ISI ties, and=20 the possibility that he was acting on orders from Mahmood, or even = President Musharraf.

Aftab Ansari. [Press Trust of=20 India]

Saeed, Working With Underworld Figures, Gives Money to = Mohamed=20 Atta

During the five years Saeed spent in an Indian prison, he = developed=20 friendships with some very unsavory people. One such person was = Aftab=20 Ansari. Ansari is an Indian gangster who was released on bail near = the end=20 of 1999 and then skipped the country. [India=20 Today, 2/25/02] Saeed additionally met a prisoner named Asif = Raza=20 Khan, also released in 1999. [Rediff,=20 11/17/01] Ansari moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), = and began=20 expanding his Indian-based criminal network with Asif Raza Khan = and=20 others. [Los=20 Angeles Times, 1/23/02] By early 2001, they had organized a = kidnapping=20 network. They would kidnap rich Indian businessmen and use the = money to=20 fund other illegal activities. [India=20 Today, 2/14/02, Times=20 of India, 2/14/02] Mutual friend Saeed, drawing on his = previous=20 terrorist training expertise, provided training and weapons to the = kidnappers in return for a percentage of the profits. [Frontline, = 2/2/02,=20 India=20 Today, 2/25/02] Ansari=E2=80=99s criminal underground network = would also=20 assist the ISI in conducting terrorist attacks inside India. [Press=20 Trust of India, 5/13/02]

In late July 2001, a wealthy Indian shoe manufacturer was = kidnapped in=20 Calcutta, India. In early August, his ransom was paid to = Ansari=E2=80=99s group,=20 and the victim was let go. Ansari gave about $100,000 of the = approximately=20 $830,000 in ransom money to Saeed, who sent it to hijacker Mohamed = Atta.=20 [Los=20 Angeles Times, 1/23/02, Indepen= dent,=20 1/24/02] A series of recovered e-mails shows the money was = sent just=20 after August 11, 2001. [India=20 Today, 2/14/02, Times=20 of India, 2/14/02]

Note that this $100,000 is the same amount ISI Director Mahmood = supposedly told Saeed to send to Atta. The timing of = Mahmood=E2=80=99s order isn=E2=80=99t=20 known, however. It may refer to this early August 2001 = transaction, or it=20 could refer to a separate approximately $100,000 sent to Atta from = Dubai,=20 UAE between June and September 2000. [MSNBC,=20 12/11/01, Newsweek,=20 12/2/01] There were probably other transactions, since it is = believed=20 the hijackers spent between $500,000=E2=80=94$600,000 in the US. = At least $325,000=20 came from the person using the alias =E2=80=9CMustafa = Ahmed=E2=80=9D and variants on that=20 name. [New York = Times, 7/10/02] The lack of banking regulations in the UAE and = the=20 secrecy of the Middle Eastern =E2=80=9Chawala=E2=80=9D money = transfer system has=20 apparently kept details of these other money transfers unknown. = [Los=20 Angeles Times, 1/20/02] But it stands to reason that Saeed = wouldn=E2=80=99t=20 have sent only one money transfer on orders of Mahmood and the = rest on his=20 own initiative. Presumably, Saeed used Ansari=E2=80=99s money = because it would=20 leave even less of a paper trail than money from a legitimate = banking=20 account.

The FBI has reported that many of the hijackers passed through = Dubai=20 and met with the 9/11 paymaster. They would be given Visa credit = cards,=20 travelers checks, and help in opening bank accounts. [Washington=20 Post, 12/13/01, MSNBC,=20 12/11/01, Congressional=20 Intelligence Committee, 9/26/02, London=20 Times, 12/1/01, Congressional=20 Intelligence Committee, 9/26/02] This further suggests that = the=20 paymaster was Saeed, since he was making frequent trips to Dubai = at this=20 time. [Gua= rdian,=20 2/9/02]

Pakistan=E2=80=99s Support of Terrorism

Maulana Masood = Azhar.

Why would Pakistan=E2=80=99s secret service openly back someone = like Saeed?=20 Pakistan=E2=80=99s population is only a fraction of their = arch-rival, India, and=20 in a conventional war they likely would fare badly. Several wars = have been=20 fought between the two countries over the disputed territory of = Kashmir.=20 Because Pakistan=E2=80=99s army cannot compete with = India=E2=80=99s in Kashmir, it has=20 resorted to guerrilla attacks using radical Muslim terrorists to = make up=20 for their lack of numbers. The ISI directs the terrorist groups = fighting=20 in Kashmir, but tries to maintain a certain level of distance and=20 plausible deniability. [New=20 York Times, 10/29/01]

It is usually maintained that the terror groups fighting in = Kashmir=20 have nothing to do with other terrorist groups fighting other = enemies of=20 Islam around the world. However, this distinction does not exist = in=20 reality. For instance, terrorist leader Maulana Masood Azhar was = freed=20 with al-Qaeda help in the same 1999 airplane hijacking swap that = freed=20 Saeed. Azhar quickly returned to Pakistan in January 2000, but = didn=E2=80=99t face=20 arrest. Instead, a few days after being freed, he told a cheering=20 Pakistani crowd of 10,000 supporters, =E2=80=9CI have come here = because this is my=20 duty to tell you that Muslims should not rest in peace until we = have=20 destroyed America and India.=E2=80=9D [AP,=20 1/5/00] He then toured Pakistan for weeks under the protection = of the=20 ISI. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02] Saeed had grown close to Azhar in Indian prison. = In early=20 2000, Saeed and the ISI helped Azhar form a new terrorist group = called=20 Jaish-e-Mohammad, and soon Azhar was behind more terrorist acts, = mostly in=20 Kashmir. [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02, Guardian,=20 7/16/02, Washington=20 Post, 2/8/03] Jaish-e-Mohammad worked with the ISI, Saeed and = Ansari=20 in their numerous attacks. For instance, shortly after the October = 2001=20 Kashmir bombing, Indian intelligence claims that Pakistani = President=20 Musharraf was given a recording of a phone call between = Jaish-e-Mohammad=20 leader Maulana Masood Azhar and ISI Director Mahmood in which = Azhar=20 reported the bombing is a =E2=80=9Csuccess.=E2=80=9D [= UPI,=20 10/10/01, Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02] In early January 2002, the FBI was = interested=20 in questioning Azhar, and a Pakistani official stated that, = =E2=80=9CThe Americans=20 are aware Azhar met bin Laden often, and are convinced he can give = important information about bin Laden=E2=80=99s present = whereabouts and even the=20 September 11 attacks.=E2=80=9D [Gulf=20 News, 1/5/02]

The ISI, mainly through these proxy terrorist groups, has deep = ties to=20 al-Qaeda. In 1993, the same Azhar helped al-Qaeda train and fund = Somali=20 warlord forces so they could kill US soldiers stationed in = Somalia. These=20 attacks forced the US to withdraw from that country. [PBS=20 Frontline, 10/3/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 2/25/02] For years, the ISI has had Kashmiri = terrorist=20 groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad train in the same Afghanistan = training camps=20 used by bin Laden. [New=20 York Times, 10/29/01, Time,=20 5/6/02] In fact, in August 1998 when Clinton launched missiles = to kill=20 bin Laden in one of his training camps, the missiles accidentally = killed=20 five ISI officers and some twenty of their trainees. [Observer,=20 8/23/98, New= =20 Yorker, 1/24/00]

Protecting bin Laden

The Pakistani government not only assisted al-Qaeda, they were=20 instrumental in keeping bin Laden alive. It has been widely = rumored that=20 bin Laden suffers severe medical problems. On July 2, 2001, an = Indian=20 newspaper reported that =E2=80=9Cbin Laden, who suffers from renal = deficiency, has=20 been periodically undergoing dialysis in a Peshawar military = hospital with=20 the knowledge and approval of the Inter-Services Intelligence = (ISI), if=20 not of [Pakistani President] Musharraf himself.=E2=80=9D [SARPA,=20 7/2/01] The highly respected intelligence newsletter, = Jane=E2=80=99s=20 Intelligence Digest, later reported the same story, and came close = to=20 confirming it: =E2=80=9CNone of [these details] will be unfamiliar = to US=20 intelligence operatives who have been compiling extensive reports = on these=20 alleged activities.=E2=80=9D [Jane=E2=80=99s=20 Intelligence Digest, 9/20/01] CBS later reported bin Laden had = emergency medical care in Pakistan the day before September 11. He = was=20 spirited into a military hospital in Rawalpindi for kidney = dialysis=20 treatment. Pakistani military forces guarded him. They also moved = out all=20 the regular staff in the urology department and sent in a secret = team to=20 replace them. [= CBS=20 News, 01/28/02] The Jane=E2=80=99s article added, =E2=80=9CIt = is becoming clear that=20 both the Taliban and al-Qaeda would have found it difficult to = have=20 continued functioning=E2=80=94including the latter group=E2=80=99s = terrorist=20 activities=E2=80=94without substantial aid and support from = [Pakistan].=E2=80=9D [Jane=E2=80=99s=20 Intelligence Digest, 9/20/01]

Without a doubt, bin Laden=E2=80=99s safe haven in Afghanistan = would not have=20 existed without the ISI. Two days before 9/11, the Taliban = preemptively=20 took out their main enemy is anticipation of a post-9/11 backlash. = [St.=20 Petersburg Times, 9/9/02] Two men posing as journalists = assassinated=20 Northern Alliance leader General Ahmed Shah Massoud, the one = opposition=20 leader with broad popular support in Afghanistan.[BBC,=20 9/10/01, BBC,=20 9/10/01] His assassins had ties to both al-Qaeda and the ISI. = [Rad= io=20 Free Europe, 9/10/01, Newsday,=20 9/15/01, Reuters,=20 10/4/01] The Taliban=E2=80=99s army had been massing for an = attack against the=20 Northern Alliance for weeks, but didn=E2=80=99t attack until hours = after Massoud=E2=80=99s=20 assassination. A large portion of this force was actually made of=20 Pakistani soldiers. [Time,=20 8/4/02] When the US attacked Afghanistan after 9/11, the ISI = secretly=20 supported the Taliban with military advisors and weapon shipments, = despite=20 promising the US not to. [Telegraph,=20 10/10/01, Knight=20 Ridder, 11/3/01, New=20 York Times, 12/8/01, UPI,=20 11/1/01, Time,=20 5/6/02] A anonymous Western diplomat later stated, =E2=80=9CWe = did not fully=20 understand the significance of Pakistan=E2=80=99s role in propping = up the Taliban=20 until their guys withdrew and things went to hell fast for the = Talibs.=E2=80=9D=20 [New=20 York Times, 12/8/01] But why this would not be understood is a = mystery. In June 2001, UPI reporters noted, =E2=80=9CDespite = Pakistan=E2=80=99s official=20 denials, Taliban is entirely dependent on Pakistani aid. This was = verified=20 on the ground by UPI. Everything from bottled water to oil, = gasoline and=20 aviation fuel, and from telephone equipment to military supplies, = comes=20 from Pakistan.=E2=80=9D [UPI,=20 6/14/01]

A Curious Visit

The relationship between the US and the ISI is hard to fathom. = On=20 September 4, 2001, ISI Director Mahmood Ahmed arrived in = Washington, D.C.=20 On September 10, a Pakistani newspaper reported on the visit, = saying that=20 it had =E2=80=9Ctriggered speculation about the agenda of his = mysterious meetings=20 at the Pentagon and National Security Council=E2=80=9D as well as = meetings with=20 CIA Director George Tenet, unspecified officials at the White = House and=20 the Pentagon, and his =E2=80=9Cmost important meeting=E2=80=9D = with Marc Grossman, US=20 Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The article = suggested that=20 =E2=80=9Cof course, Osama bin Laden=E2=80=9D was the focus of some = discussions.=20 Prophetically, the article added, =E2=80=9CWhat added interest to = his visit is the=20 history of such visits. Last time [his] predecessor was here, the = domestic=20 [Pakistani] politics turned topsy-turvy within days. That this is = not the=20 first visit by Mahmood in the last three months shows the urgency = of the=20 ongoing parleys.=E2=80=9D [Karachi=20 News, 9/10/01] In May 2001, both CIA Director George Tenet and = Deputy=20 Secretary of State Richard Armitage had visited South Asia. = It=E2=80=99s not known=20 if they met with Mahmood or anyone else in the ISI, but according = to=20 credible news reports, Tenet had =E2=80=9Cunusually long=E2=80=9D = consultations with=20 President Musharraf. It is also worth noting that Armitage = is known=20 for his =E2=80=9Clarge circle of friends in the Pakistani military = and ISI=E2=80=9D [SAPRA,=20 5/22/01] as well as his connections to the Iran-Contra = affair.

Bob Graham [CNN,=20 2/23/02], John Kyl [Arizona = Daily=20 Star, 9/13/01], and Porter Goss. [CNN,=20 6/9/99] What were they discussing with Lt. Gen.=20 Mahmood?

Of course everyone knows that politics did turn very = =E2=80=9Ctopsy-turvy=E2=80=9D one=20 day after the Karachi News article on September 10. But what = many=20 don=E2=80=99t know is that on the morning of September 11, Lt. = Gen. Mahmood was at=20 a breakfast meeting at the Capitol with the chairmen of the House = and=20 Senate Intelligence Committees, Senator Bob Graham (D) and = Representative=20 Porter Goss (R). The meeting was said to have lasted at least = until the=20 second plane hit the World Trade Center. Goss is a self-admitted = 10-year=20 veteran of the CIA=E2=80=99s clandestine operations wing. [Washington=20 Post, 5/18/02] Goss and Graham were later the heads of the = joint=20 House-Senate investigation into the September 11 attacks, and Goss = in=20 particular made headlines for saying there was no =E2=80=9Csmoking = gun=E2=80=9D indicating=20 that the government had sufficient foreknowledge to prevent the = September=20 11 attacks. [Washington=20 Post, 7/11/02] Also present at the meeting were Senator John = Kyl (R)=20 and the Pakistani ambassador to the US, Maleeha Lodhi (note that = all or=20 virtually all of the people in this meeting also met Lt. Gen. = Mahmood in=20 Pakistan a few weeks earlier [Salon,=20 9/14/01]). Senator Graham later said of the meeting: = =E2=80=9CWe were talking=20 about terrorism, specifically terrorism generated from = Afghanistan,=E2=80=9D and=20 the New York Times mentioned that bin Laden was specifically being = discussed. [Vero=20 Beach Press Journal, 9/12/01, Salon,=20 9/14/01, New=20 York Times, 6/3/02] The fact that these people were meeting at = the=20 time of the attacks is a strange coincidence at the very least, = not to=20 mention the topic of their conversation!

On September 12 and 13, Lt. Gen. Mahmood met with Deputy = Secretary of=20 State Richard Armitage, Senator Joseph Biden, the Chairman of the = Senate=20 Foreign Relations Committee, and Secretary of State Colin Powell. = An=20 agreement on Pakistan=E2=80=99s collaboration in the new = =E2=80=9Cwar on terror=E2=80=9D was=20 negotiated between Mahmood and Armitage. [Miami=20 Herald, 9/16/01] All these meetings coordinated = Pakistan=E2=80=99s response to=20 September 11. [= New=20 York Times, 9/13/01, Reuters,=20 9/13/01, Associated=20 Press, 9/13/01] Isn=E2=80=99t it strange that the terms of = Pakistan=E2=80=99s=20 commitment to fight al-Qaeda were negotiated with the man who may = have=20 given orders to send $100,000 to the September 11 hijackers?

What would happen if Saeed told all that he knew?

This picture of Saeed was taken in November = 2001. He=20 parties with government officials while they pretend they = don=E2=80=99t know=20 his location. [AP]

Saeed Still Lives Openly in Pakistan

In the days right before September 11, a flurry of money = transfers=20 occurred between the 9/11 paymaster in the UAE=E2=80=94presumably = Saeed=E2=80=94and the=20 hijackers. Between September 6 and 10, $26,315 was wired from the=20 hijackers back to the UAE=E2=80=94leftover money from the = September 11 plot. [MSNBC,=20 12/11/01, G= uardian,=20 10/1/01] On September 11, in the hours before the = attacks, the=20 paymaster transferred $40,871 from his UAE bank accounts to his = Visa card,=20 and caught a plane flight from the UAE to Pakistan. There are = records of=20 him making six ATM withdrawals in Karachi on September 13, and = then his=20 trail goes cold. [MSNBC,=20 12/11/01] Saeed later claims to have met with Osama bin Laden = in=20 Afghanistan a few days after September 11 (but has said nothing = about a=20 9/11 role). [Washington=20 Post, 2/18/02, Londo= n=20 Times, 2/25/02]

Saeed then continued to live openly in his ISI house in Lahore, = Pakistan. He was =E2=80=9Cfrequently seen=E2=80=9D at local = parties hosted by government=20 leaders and =E2=80=9Cmade no secret=E2=80=9D of his whereabouts. = In January 2002, he=20 celebrated the birth of his baby at a party he hosted in the city. = [US= A=20 Today, 2/25/02] It has been suggested that after September 11 = he acted=20 as a =E2=80=9Cgo-between=E2=80=9D for bin Laden and the ISI, which = makes perfect sense=20 given his involvement in both groups. [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02] Furthermore, =E2=80=9CIt is = believed he helped=20 produce bin Laden=E2=80=99s latest taped interview=E2=80=9D in = early 2002. [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02]

A = terrorist lies=20 dead near the entrance to the Indian parliament building. = [R. V.=20 Moorthy]

Meanwhile, the partnership between Saeed and the ISI on one = hand and=20 Ansari and his Indian criminal underground on the other, continued = to=20 prove profitable and productive. On October 1, 2001, a suicide = truck-bomb=20 attack on the provincial parliamentary assembly in = Indian-controlled=20 Kashmir killed 36 people. On December 13, 2001, the Indian = Parliament=20 building in New Delhi was attacked by terrorists. Fourteen people, = including the five attackers, were killed. On January 22, 2002, a = crowd of=20 mostly unarmed Indian police near the US Information Service = building in=20 Calcutta, India, were attacked by gunmen; four policemen were = killed and=20 21 people injured. It appears that Saeed and Ansari were behind = all of=20 these attacks. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02, Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02] Ansari even called from Dubai to take = credit=20 for the Calcutta attack. [Telegraph,=20 1/24/02] Jaish-e-Mohammad, Maulana Masood Azhar=E2=80=99s = group, is also=20 involved in these attacks. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02]

Slow Justice

As previously mentioned, it was first reported that authorities = were=20 looking for Saeed on September 23, 2001. In fact, it appears = British=20 intelligence began asking for legal assistance in catching Saeed = Sheikh=20 sometime during August 2001. It isn=E2=80=99t clear if they were = finally starting=20 to punish him for his 1994 kidnapping of Britons, or if this was = spurred=20 by some new activity. [= London=20 Times, 4/21/02, Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02] Saeed=E2=80=99s role in 9/11 began to be reported = in late=20 September and early October, but an Indian magazine would note,=20 =E2=80=9CCuriously, there seems to have been little international = pressure on=20 Pakistan to hand him over.=E2=80=9D [Frontline,=20 10/6/01]

The strange slowness in catching Saeed continued. In November = 2001, a=20 US grand jury finally secretly indicted Saeed Sheikh for his = kidnapping of=20 a US citizen seven years earlier. [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02] The US later claimed it began asking = Pakistan=20 for help in finding Saeed in late November 2001. [AP, = 2/26/02,=20 Newsweek,=20 3/13/02] However, it took until January 9, 2002 for Wendy = Chamberlin,=20 the US ambassador to Pakistan, to officially ask the Pakistani = government=20 for help in arresting and extraditing Saeed. [A= P,=20 2/24/02, = CNN,=20 2/24/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 2/25/02] Saeed was still seen partying with = Pakistani=20 government officials well into January 2002. The Los Angeles Times = later=20 noted that Saeed =E2=80=9Cmoved about Pakistan without apparent = impediments from=20 authorities=E2=80=9D into February. [Los=20 Angeles Times, 2/13/02] The London Times said, =E2=80=9CIt is = inconceivable=20 that the Pakistani authorities did not know where he was=E2=80=9D = before then. [= London=20 Times, 4/21/02] It took the events relating to Daniel Pearl = for=20 Pakistan to finally =E2=80=9Cdiscover=E2=80=9D Saeed=E2=80=99s = location.

Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.=20

Enter Daniel Pearl ... and Robert Mueller

The ever-busy Saeed meanwhile was taking part in another = kidnapping.=20 The target was Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl = had become=20 fascinated in a number of stories involving the ISI. On December = 24, 2001,=20 he reported about ties between the ISI and a Pakistani = organization that=20 was working on giving bin Laden nuclear secrets before 9/11. A few = days=20 later, he reported that Jaish-e-Mohammad still had its office = running and=20 bank accounts working, even after President Musharraf claimed to = have=20 banned the group. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02, Guardian,=20 7/16/02] He began investigating links between shoe bomber = Richard Reid=20 and Pakistani militants connected to the ISI [Washington Post,=20 2/23/02], investigating Dawood Ibrahim, a powerful terrorist = and=20 gangster protected by the ISI [Newsweek,=20 2/4/02, Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02], and may also have been investigating the US = training and=20 backing of the ISI. [Gul= f=20 News, 3/25/02] Former CIA agent Robert Baer later claimed he = was=20 working with Pearl on investigating 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh=20 Mohammed. [UPI,= =20 9/30/02] It is later suggested that Mohammed masterminded = Reid=E2=80=99s shoe=20 bomb attempt and has connections to both Pakistani gangsters and = the ISI,=20 so some of these explanations could fit together. [UPI,= =20 9/30/02, Asia = Times,=20 10/30/02, CNN,=20 1/30/03] Kidnapper Saeed later said of Pearl, =E2=80=9Cbecause = of his=20 hyperactivity he caught our interest.=E2=80=9D [The=20 News, 2/15/02]

The attempt to lure Pearl into a position where he could be = kidnapped=20 began on January 11, 2002. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02, Wall=20 Street Journal, 1/23/03] On January 22, FBI Director Robert = Mueller=20 visited India, and was told by Indian investigators that Saeed = Sheikh sent=20 ransom money to hijacker Mohamed Atta in the US. This story now = broke into=20 the press, even being reported some in the US and Britain. [Los=20 Angeles Times, 1/23/02, Independen= t,=20 2/24/02, = AFP,=20 1/27/02, Telegraph,=20 1/27/02] On January 23, Saeed helped kidnap reporter Daniel = Pearl.=20 Also on January 23, Saeed=E2=80=99s criminal partner Aftab Ansari = was placed under=20 surveillance in Dubai, UAE. The next day, Mueller went to Pakistan = and=20 discussed Saeed at a previously scheduled meeting with President=20 Musharraf. Apparently Saeed=E2=80=99s role in Pearl=E2=80=99s = kidnapping was not yet=20 known. [A= P,=20 2/24/02] Mueller then flew to Dubai on his way back to the US = to=20 pressure the government there to arrest Ansari and deport him to = India.=20 Ansari was arrested on February 5 and deported four days later. = [A= P,=20 2/10/02, Frontline, = 2/16/02,=20 India=20 Today, 2/25/02]

Aftab Ansari in = handcuffs.

Pakistani President Musharraf must have decided that Saeed knew = too=20 much, and needed to die before he could be extradited to the US. = Around=20 January 31, 2002, Daniel Pearl was murdered by his kidnappers. = Police=20 investigators say =E2=80=9Cthere were at least eight to 10 people = present on the=20 scene,=E2=80=9D and at least 15 who participated in his kidnapping = and murder.=20 =E2=80=9CDespite issuing a series of political demands shortly = after Pearl=E2=80=99s=20 abduction four weeks ago, it now seems clear that the kidnappers = planned=20 to kill Pearl all along.=E2=80=9D [Washington Post,=20 2/23/02] Musharraf even brazenly stated, =E2=80=9CPerhaps = Daniel Pearl was=20 over-intrusive. A mediaperson should be aware of the dangers of = getting=20 into dangerous areas. Unfortunately, he got = over-involved.=E2=80=9D [Hindu,=20 3/8/02] in =E2=80=9Cintelligence games.=E2=80=9D [Washington=20 Post, 5/3/02] At the same time he could eliminate the = overly-nosy=20 Pearl, Musharraf could punish Saeed for the deed to make sure he = would=20 keep quiet about the ISI=E2=80=99s connections to 9/11.

The timing of Mueller=E2=80=99s visits certainly is curious. = After months of=20 doing little to catch Saeed, suddenly Mueller is traveling all = over Asia=20 and both Saeed and Ansari are arrested within days? Did Mueller = act with=20 Musharraf to silence Saeed so the Indian reports of = Saeed=E2=80=99s involvement in=20 9/11 could be quashed? As shown below, the US government has acted = as if=20 this was the case ever since.

The Net Closes

Daniel Pearl before he was=20 killed.

To capture Saeed, it appears the police simply rounded up all = of his=20 family members and likely threatened to kill or harm them unless = Saeed=20 gave himself up. [= AP,=20 2/9/02, Karachi=20 News, 2/13/02] On February 5, Saeed turned himself in, not to = the=20 police, but to his ISI boss Ijaz Shah. [Boston=20 Globe, 2/7/02, Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02] For the next week, Saeed and the ISI worked = =E2=80=9Cout a deal=20 for how little he would say about the ISI=E2=80=99s support for = terrorist groups=20 in Kashmir and Pakistan in exchange for not being extradited to = the United=20 States. Neither the Pakistani police nor the US Embassy nor the = FBI who=20 were in Islamabad investigating the kidnapping were informed that = Saeed=20 was being =E2=80=98held=E2=80=99 by the ISI during this = period.=E2=80=9D [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02] During this time, President Musharraf = was=20 traveling in the US. Reporter Seymour Hersh claims Musharraf knew = Saeed=20 was being held by the ISI, but publicly claimed ignorance. [NOW = with=20 Bill Moyers, 2/21/03]

=E2=80=9CThe deal done, a brazen Saeed Sheikh gave himself up = to police,=20 telling them of Pearl=E2=80=99s capture but misleading them on = every possible=20 fact=E2=80=94including his ISI linkage.=E2=80=9D [Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02] When asked by the FBI about his = connection to=20 the ISI, Saeed replied, =E2=80=9CI will not discuss this = subject... I do not want=20 my family to be killed.=E2=80=9D He cryptically added, =E2=80=9CI = know people in the=20 government and they know me and my work.=E2=80=9D [Newsweek,=20 3/13/02, Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02] He did admit to his ties to Ansari, just as Ansari = later=20 admitted his ties to Saeed and the ISI, but both refused to = discuss 9/11.=20 [Washington=20 Post, 2/18/02, Deutsche=20 Presse-Agentur, 2/11/02, Press=20 Trust of India, 5/13/02]

Saeed=E2=80=99s surrender was made public on February 13. [Newsweek,=20 3/11/02] He then confessed to the murder of Daniel Pearl. Yet, = as=20 Newsweek put it, he remained, =E2=80=9Cconfident, even = cocky.=E2=80=9D He told his=20 interrogators that he was =E2=80=9Csure=E2=80=9D he = wouldn=E2=80=99t be extradited to the US and=20 said he wouldn=E2=80=99t serve more than =E2=80=9Cthree or four = years=E2=80=9D in a Pakistan=20 prison. [Newsweek,=20 3/13/02] Several others were also arrested for their part in = Pearl=E2=80=99s=20 murder. Like Saeed, most had ties to both the ISI and al-Qaeda. = [Washington Post,=20 2/23/02, Londo= n=20 Times, 2/25/02] One even boasted of having once flown bin = Laden=E2=80=99s=20 personal airplane. [Pa= kNews,=20 2/11/02]

Saeed in handcuffs in Karachi on March 2, 2002. = [AP]

Double Cross

But Saeed and the others were tricked. Musharraf had no = intention to=20 extradite Saeed to the US. The US Ambassador to Pakistan even = reported=20 that Musharraf privately said, =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99d rather hang = him myself=E2=80=9D than extradite=20 him. [Washington=20 Post, 3/28/02] He was simply too risky to keep him alive; his=20 connections to both the ISI and the September 11 hijackers were = too=20 obvious. As the Washington Post put it, =E2=80=9CThe [ISI] is a = house of horrors=20 waiting to break open. Saeed has tales to tell.=E2=80=9D [Washington=20 Post, 3/28/02] So the prosecution sought the death sentence = for Saeed,=20 not a light sentence. Saeed withdrew his confession. On April 5, = in an=20 article titled, =E2=80=9CA Certain Outcome for Pearl Trial: Death = Sentences=20 Expected, Despite Lack of Evidence,=E2=80=9D NBC reported, = =E2=80=9CSome in Pakistan=E2=80=99s=20 government also are very concerned about what Saeed might say in = court.=20 His organization and other militant groups here have ties to = Pakistan=E2=80=99s=20 secret intelligence agency [the ISI]. There are concerns he could = try to=20 implicate that government agency in the Pearl case, or other = questionable=20 dealings that could be at the very least embarrassing, or = worse.=E2=80=9D [MSNBC,=20 4/5/02]

On March 3, US Secretary of State Colin Powell ruled out any = links=20 between =E2=80=9Celements of the ISI=E2=80=9D and the murderers of = reporter Daniel Pearl.=20 [Dawn, = 3/3/02] The=20 Guardian was a rare voice in calling Powell on this obvious lie. = They=20 called Powell=E2=80=99s comment =E2=80=9Cshocking,=E2=80=9D given = the overwhelming evidence that=20 the main suspect, Saeed Sheikh, worked for the ISI: =E2=80=9CIf he = was extradited=20 to Washington and decided to talk, the entire story would unravel. = His=20 family are fearful. They think he might be tried by a summary = court and=20 executed to prevent the identity of his confederates being = revealed.=E2=80=9D [Guardian,=20 4/5/02] A week before Powell=E2=80=99s comment, even = Powell=E2=80=99s colleague=20 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld =E2=80=9Cacknowledged reports = that Omar Sheikh=20 may have been an =E2=80=98asset=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D for the ISI. [Londo= n=20 Times, 2/25/02]

Collective Amnesia

Given all of the above, one might think that the story of = Daniel=20 Pearl=E2=80=99s murderer=E2=80=99s ties to both the ISI and the = 9/11 hijackers would be=20 the subject of front page headlines. But, outside of India and = Pakistan,=20 the media generally reacted like Colin Powell. Most media accounts = failed=20 to mention Saeed=E2=80=99s ties to the ISI, al-Qaeda or 9/11. But = even stranger=20 were the accounts that reported on one of Saeed=E2=80=99s roles = but not the=20 others, as if Saeed=E2=80=99s different roles were done by = completely different=20 people. In the next several months, at least 12 US or British = articles=20 mentioned Saeed=E2=80=99s links to al-Qaeda [= ABC=20 News, 2/7/02, Boston=20 Globe, 2/7/02, AP,=20 2/24/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 3/15/02], including his financing of 9/11 [New=20 York Daily News, 2/7/02, = CNN,=20 2/8/02, = AP,=20 2/9/02, Gua= rdian,=20 2/9/02, Independent,=20 2/10/02, Tim= e,=20 2/10/02, New=20 York Post, 2/10/02, Evening=20 Standard, 2/12/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 2/13/02, New=20 York Post, 2/22/02, Sunday=20 Herald, 2/24/02, USA=20 Today, 3/8/02], and at least 16 articles mentioned his links = to the=20 ISI. [Cox=20 News, 2/21/02, = Observer,=20 2/24/02, Telegraph,=20 2/24/02, Newsweek,=20 2/25/02, New=20 York Times, 2/25/02, US= A=20 Today, 2/25/02, National=20 Post, 2/26/02, Boston=20 Globe, 2/28/02, Newsweek,=20 3/11/02, Newsweek,=20 3/13/02, Guardian,=20 4/5/02, MSNBC,=20 4/5/02] But only three articles considered that Saeed could = have been=20 connected to both groups at the same time [Londo= n=20 Times, 2/25/02, = London=20 Times, 4/21/02, Pittsburgh=20 Tribune-Review, 3/3/02], and only one of these mentioned he = could be=20 involved in the ISI, al-Qaeda and financing 9/11 all at the same = time. [= London=20 Times, 4/21/02]

2,000 paramilitary troops surround the = courthouse in=20 Hyderabad where Saeed=E2=80=99s verdict is read. [MSNBC,=20 7/15/02]

The Trial

Efforts to eliminate Saeed and forget the past moved forward. = In late=20 February, Time reported that the second highest Taliban official = in US=20 custody, Mullah Haji Abdul Samat Khaksar, had been waiting for = months to=20 be interviewed by the CIA. Even two weeks after Time informed US = officials=20 that he wanted to talk, no one had bothered to give him a = proper=20 interview. Time noted that =E2=80=9Che claims to have information = about al-Qaeda=20 links to the ISI.=E2=80=9D [Time,=20 2/25/02] In March, the editor of an important Pakistani = newspaper had=20 to flee the country after being threatened by the ISI. His paper = had=20 reported on connections between Saeed, the ISI, and the recent = attacks on=20 the Indian parliament in Delhi and Kashmir. [The=20 News, 2/18/02, Washington=20 Post, 3/10/02, = London=20 Times, 4/21/02, Guardian,=20 7/16/02]

Saeed=E2=80=99s trial began in April. It was decided by a = secret=20 =E2=80=9Canti-terrorism=E2=80=9D court known for its handpicked = judges, [MSNBC,=20 4/5/02] and took place in a bunker underneath a prison. =20 Furthermore, no reporters were allowed to attend. =E2=80=9CFear = lay heavily over=20 the court,=E2=80=9D reported one paper. [Independent,=20 7/16/02] The venue had to change three times because of bomb = threats=20 and security concerns. [BBC,=20 5/7/02, BBC,=20 7/16/02] The trial judge also changed three times. The trial, = by law,=20 had to finish within seven days, yet it took over three months. = [BBC,=20 7/16/02] =E2=80=9CForensic scientists initially refused to = attend the=20 exhumation of the court=E2=80=9D for fear they would be murdered. = Saeed himself=20 threatened the judge: =E2=80=9CI will see whether who wants to = kill me will kill=20 me first, or get himself killed.=E2=80=9D [Independent,=20 7/16/02] The key witness was supposedly a taxi driver, but = turned out=20 to be a head constable policeman. Immediately after the trial, the = government announced new suspects and new evidence that = contradicted the=20 Saeed verdict. [G= uardian,=20 7/18/02] One of the new suspects was said by Pakistani police = and=20 intelligence officials to be the true mastermind of = Pearl=E2=80=99s murder=20 (Saeed=E2=80=99s role was luring in Pearl). But the = =E2=80=9Carrests were made when the=20 trial was already in its final stage and the official confirmation = of=20 these crucial arrests would have completely derailed the = prosecution=E2=80=99s=20 case,=E2=80=9D a senior police official said. [Washington=20 Post, 7/15/02] When the verdict came down on July 15, Saeed, = as the=20 supposed =E2=80=9Cmastermind,=E2=80=9D of course was sentenced to = death, and three others=20 were given life in prison. [AP,=20 7/15/02] Saeed has appealed the decision but a second trial = has yet to=20 begin. [A= P,=20 8/18/02]

Saeed: =E2=80=9CThe Americans should have = realized by now that=20 whatever happened on 11 September, they deserved = that.=E2=80=9D [BBC,=20 7/5/02]

Reaction

The American and British governments approved the verdicts. [BBC,=20 7/15/02] Said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, = =E2=80=9CThe Bush=20 administration welcomes Pakistan=E2=80=99s verdict in this = matter... Daniel Pearl=20 was brutally executed, and Pakistan=E2=80=99s ... court system has = now ruled. This=20 is a further example of Pakistan showing leadership in the war = against=20 terror.=E2=80=9D [Wall=20 Street Journal, 7/15/02] In fact, =E2=80=9Cthe = government=E2=80=99s case rest[ed]=20 heavily on technical FBI evidence.=E2=80=9D [A= P,=20 7/1/02] On May 16, Pearl=E2=80=99s body was found and = identified, but the FBI=20 didn=E2=80=99t officially release the DNA results because official = confirmation of=20 the body would have meant a new trial. [Independent,=20 7/16/02] Pakistani officials admit they waited to release the = results=20 until after the verdict. [G= uardian,=20 7/18/02] So it seems the US was complicit in gaining a quick=20 conviction in a kangaroo court.

The mainstream media slipped further into amnesia regarding = Saeed=E2=80=99s=20 connections. The conviction story made headlines, and there was = room for=20 lengthy background information and even special background = articles on=20 Saeed. However no story in the US mentioned his al-Qaeda or ISI=20 connections, much less his 9/11 connections. [AP,=20 7/15/02, AP,=20 7/15/02, CBS,=20 7/15/02, CNN,=20 7/15/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 7/15/02, MSNBC, 7/15/02, = New=20 York Times, 7/15/02, Reute= rs,=20 7/15/02, USA=20 Today, 7/15/02, Wall=20 Street Journal, 7/15/02, Washington=20 Post, 7/15/02] By comparison, in Britain, articles connected = Saeed to=20 the ISI [Guardian,= =20 7/16/02, Guardian,=20 7/16/02, Daily=20 Mail, 7/16/02], al-Qaeda [Independent,=20 7/16/02], the 9/11 attacks [Scotsman,=20 7/16/02], or some combination of the three [Lon= don=20 Times, 7/16/02, Daily=20 Mail, 7/16/02, Telegraph,=20 7/16/02] (with one exception: [BBC,=20 7/16/02, BBC,=20 7/16/02]). Many British newspapers also strongly questioned = the=20 justice of the verdict, [G= uardian,=20 7/18/02, Independent,=20 7/16/02, [Independent,=20 7/21/02, BBC,=20 7/16/02] while only the Washington Post did in the US. [Washington=20 Post, 7/15/02, Washington=20 Post, 7/16/02] As the Wall Street Journal delicately put it, = =E2=80=9CThe=20 prosecution overcame some significant weaknesses in the case to = obtain the=20 conviction.=E2=80=9D [Wall=20 Street Journal, 7/15/02]

A month after the verdict, a remarkable story in Vanity Fair = explored=20 all of Saeed=E2=80=99s connections, but the article seemed to make = no impact at=20 all. [Vanity=20 Fair, 8/02] In the months since, Saeed=E2=80=99s connections = seem to have been=20 forgotten even in the British media. Most recently, it has been = suggested=20 that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of = the=20 Daniel Pearl murder as well, and may even have cut Pearl=E2=80=99s = throat himself.=20 [Time,=20 1/26/03, CNN,=20 1/30/03] This not only shows al-Qaeda working to benefit the = ISI in=20 silencing Pearl, but also helps confirm the theory that Mohammed = has been=20 supported by the ISI. Since Mohammed has been =E2=80=9Clinked to = almost every=20 attack against the United States since the bombing of the World = Trade=20 Center in 1993=E2=80=9D [Los=20 Angeles Times, 6/16/02], that in turn raises the possibility = that the=20 ISI has also been involved in all of those attacks, at the very = least by=20 not helping to arrest Mohammed.

The ISI Muzzled? No

Musharraf has been hailed for his firing on ISI Director = Mahmood, and=20 generally has been presented as a pro-Western figure trying to = root of=20 pro-terrorist factions of the ISI. But The Observer has called = this =E2=80=9CThe=20 Myth of the Good General Musharraf.=E2=80=9D [Observer,= =20 3/31/02] On January 12, 2002, in the face of US pressure, = Musharraf=20 made a forceful speech condemning Islamic extremism, and arrested = about=20 2,000 extremists around the same time. Yet, by the end of the = month, at=20 least 800 had been quietly released. [Washington=20 Post, 3/28/02] Since then, =E2=80=9Calmost all=E2=80=9D of = those arrested have been=20 released. Even the most prominent terrorist leaders, such as = Saeed=E2=80=99s=20 friend Maulana Masood Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, have been = released. Remarkably, the US has not protested despite = Azhar=E2=80=99s role in=20 killing US soldiers in Somalia and other terrorist acts. Old = terrorist=20 organizations are running strongly again, often under new names. = [Christian=20 Science Monitor, 12/16/02, Washington=20 Post, 2/8/03] Reforms have been abandoned. As one US regional = expert=20 put it, =E2=80=9CIt is no longer a question of whether Pakistan is = going backwards=20 or forwards. It=E2=80=99s a question of how rapidly it=E2=80=99s = going backwards.=E2=80=9D [Financial=20 Times, 2/8/03]

So many other countries=E2=80=94Argentina, Britain, Cayman = Islands, Egypt,=20 France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Russia, even a = Taliban=20 cabinet minister=E2=80=94warned the US about an impending attack = (see the They=20 Tried to Warn Us essay). How it is possible that Pakistan, in = the best=20 position to know, gave no warning? If Musharraf is in control of = the ISI,=20 then how could he not have known of the 9/11 attack, and if he = isn=E2=80=99t in=20 control and didn=E2=80=99t know, then what good is he as a = leader?

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf took power = in a 1999=20 coup.

The US government and media has had an astonishing ability to = turn a=20 blind eye when it comes to Pakistan. For instance, in late = September 2001,=20 Pakistani officials went to Afghanistan and secretly advised the = Taliban=20 to not turn over bin Laden, but stand up and fight the US. [Knight=20 Ridder, 11/3/01, A= P,=20 2/21/02, Time,=20 5/6/02] In November 2001, it was reported that the US was = mainly=20 relying on the ISI for its intelligence information on the war = against the=20 Taliban, even as the ISI was secretly supplying the Taliban with = supplies=20 and military advisors. [Knight=20 Ridder, 11/3/01] That same month, the US allowed Pakistan to = airlift=20 thousands of its soldiers, who had been fighting alongside the = Taliban,=20 out of the besieged Afghan town of Kunduz. In so doing, a large = number of=20 Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders were =E2=80=9Caccidentally=E2=80=9D = airlifted out as well.=20 One US official commented that the US was supposed to be able to = interview=20 the Taliban leaders when they arrived in Pakistan, but were not. = [New = Yorker,=20 1/21/02] This suggests the presence of the Taliban, at least, = was=20 hardly an accident. It has been recently suggested that even = members of=20 bin Laden=E2=80=99s immediate family were airlifted out. [NOW = with=20 Bill Moyers, 2/21/03]

A UPI editorial stated, =E2=80=9CAl-Qaeda terrorists have long = since scattered=20 deep inside Pakistan and in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir where = they enjoy=20 the protection of the [ISI] ... The unspeakable is that Pakistan = is the=20 new Afghanistan, a privileged sanctuary for hundreds of al-Qaeda = fighters=20 and Taliban operatives. Some estimates go as high as 5,000 ... The = Pakistani=E2=80=94al-Qaeda connection is visible to all but the = geopolitically=20 challenged.=E2=80=9D [= UPI,=20 8/28/02] Prominent Taliban leaders wanted by the US have been = living=20 openly in Pakistani cities and yet the US does nothing about them. = [Guardian,=20 12/24/01, Time,=20 5/6/02] It is now widely reported that Osama bin Laden, Khalid = Shaikh=20 Mohammed and most other prominent al-Qaeda leaders are believed to = be=20 living in Pakistan, some of them living in the open and in luxury, = with=20 the protection of the ISI. It is frequently pointed out that = Pakistan=E2=80=99s=20 efforts to find them are mostly a charade. [Los=20 Angeles Times, 4/6/02, Christian=20 Science Monitor, 7/2/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 6/16/02, Time=20 7/29/02, Washington=20 Post, 8/4/02, New=20 York Times, 9/15/02, AP,=20 11/12/02, Los=20 Angeles Times, 11/17/02] But still, the situation = doesn=E2=80=99t change. As=20 an example of Bush=E2=80=99s seemingly inexplicable response to = terrorism in=20 Pakistan, Azhar=E2=80=99s group Jaish-e-Mohammed had its assets = frozen shortly=20 after 9/11, but the group simply changed its name and over a year = later=20 the US has not frozen the assets of this =E2=80=9Cnew=E2=80=9D = group. [Financial=20 Times, 2/8/03, Washington=20 Post, 2/8/03]

Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Since 1997, Pakistan has been = secretly=20 supplying North Korea with nuclear technology, in return for = long-range=20 missile technology. Seymour Hersh has suggested that it is likely = Pakistan=20 is giving nuclear technology to other countries as well. [NOW = with=20 Bill Moyers, 2/21/03] Even at the end of the Clinton = administration=20 this link between Pakistan and North Korea was known, but neither = Clinton=20 nor Bush stopped it. [Sa= n=20 Jose Mercury News, 10/24/02] As the Guardian put it, = =E2=80=9CIf George Bush=E2=80=99s=20 =E2=80=98war on terror=E2=80=99 were remotely rational, or even = roughly reasoned, then its=20 next target might be Pakistan, not Iraq. It should be said that = the US is=20 not justified in pre-emptively and unilaterally attacking either=20 country=E2=80=94or any other sovereign state for that matter. But = on the basis of=20 Mr. Bush=E2=80=99s own =E2=80=98axis of evil=E2=80=99 criteria at = least, Pakistan sits squarely in=20 the theoretical firing line.=E2=80=9D [Gu= ardian,=20 10/8/02]

There is no evidence that the US has questioned Saeed about = 9/11.=20 Indian newspapers have pointed out that if the US were to pressure = its=20 close ally Pakistan so Saeed could to be interrogated in his = Pakistani=20 prison, they could not only learn more about the financing of the = 9/11=20 attacks, but also gain valuable information about the structure of = al-Qaeda cells in Pakistan. [Indian=20 Express, 7/19/02] Needless to say, there=E2=80=99s no evidence = Lt. Gen.=20 Mahmood has been questioned, either.

Who Did It? We Can=E2=80=99t Tell You

There has been widespread speculation that the September 11 = attacks=20 must have had the backing of a state intelligence agency. Said one = CIA=20 official, bin Laden =E2=80=9Csits in a cave in Afghanistan and = he=E2=80=99s running this=20 operation? It=E2=80=99s so huge. He couldn=E2=80=99t have done it = alone.=E2=80=9D [New = Yorker,=20 10/1/01] In December 2002, Senator Bob Graham, co-head of the=20 Congressional 9/11 inquiry and privy to documents censored from = the=20 general public, said he was =E2=80=9Csurprised at the evidence = that there were=20 foreign governments involved in facilitating the activities of at = least=20 some of the [9/11] terrorists in the United States. ... To me that = is an=20 extremely significant issue and most of that information is = classified, I=20 think overly-classified. I believe the American people should know = the=20 extent of the challenge that we face in terms of foreign = government=20 involvement. I think there is very compelling evidence that at = least some=20 of the terrorists were assisted not just in = financing=E2=80=94although that was=20 part of it=E2=80=94by a sovereign foreign government and that we = have been=20 derelict in our duty to track that down ... It will become public = at some=20 point when it=E2=80=99s turned over to the archives, but = that=E2=80=99s 20 or 30 years=20 from now.=E2=80=9D [PBS=20 Newshour, 12/11/02]

Funnily enough, not only was Graham meeting with Lt. Gen. = Mahmood Ahmed=20 when the 9/11 attacks began, his office has also acknowledged = Graham was=20 given a warning before 9/11 by a US government informant that an = ISI agent=20 named R. G. Abbas, in New York City to illegally trade heroin for = Stinger=20 missiles, pointed to the World Trade Center and said, = =E2=80=9CThose towers are=20 coming down.=E2=80=9D This agent made other references to an = attack on the World=20 Trade Center. The informant passed these warnings on, but he = claims, =E2=80=9CThe=20 complaints were ordered sanitized by the highest levels of = government.=E2=80=9D=20 Transcripts of a resulting trial that convicted several US-based=20 associates of Abbas were censored to eliminate all references to = Pakistan.=20 [Cox=20 News, 8/2/02, Palm=20 Beach Post, 10/17/02] An NBC reporter was able to easily = telephone=20 Abbas in Pakistan, but apparently the FBI isn=E2=80=99t interested = in questioning=20 or extraditing him. [MSNBC,=20 8/2/02]

Disturbing Questions

Saeed Sheikh, hooded, remains a great danger to = Musharraf=20 until he can be killed.

One doesn=E2=80=99t have to wait 20 or 30 years to deduce that = the ISI assisted=20 al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks. The question is, why is the US = government=20 seemingly ignoring the evidence and actively discouraging the = media from=20 pursuing these ideas? Shortly after 9/11, Bush said, =E2=80=9CFrom = this day=20 forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism = will be=20 regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.=E2=80=9D [Los=20 Angeles Times, 10/13/01] What about Pakistan=E2=80=99s support = of terrorism,=20 if not 9/11, then the other terrorist attacks on India since? Is = the US=20 afraid of Pakistan=E2=80=99s nuclear weapons? If so, = what=E2=80=99s to prevent the ISI=20 from planning similar future attacks with impunity, against any = country?=20

Perhaps the US has plans to deal with Pakistan eventually. In = January=20 2003, Musharraf warned of an =E2=80=9Cimpending danger=E2=80=9D = that Pakistan will become=20 a target of war for =E2=80=9CWestern forces=E2=80=9D after the = Iraq crisis. =E2=80=9CWe will have=20 to work on our own to stave off the danger. Nobody will come to = our=20 rescue, not even the Islamic world. We will have to depend on our = muscle.=E2=80=9D=20 [= Press=20 Trust of India, 1/19/03, Financial=20 Times, 2/8/03] Pointing to =E2=80=9Ca number of recent = =E2=80=98background briefings=E2=80=99=20 and =E2=80=98leaks=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D from the US government, = =E2=80=9CPakistani officials fear the Bush=20 administration is planning to change its tune dramatically once = the war=20 against Iraq is out of the way.=E2=80=9D [Financial=20 Times, 2/8/03] If so, could this lead to nuclear war?

Does the US ignore Pakistani complicity in 9/11 because it = might be a=20 thread that could unravel in other disturbing directions? For = instance,=20 there have been reports of secret deals between rich Saudis, the = ISI, and=20 bin Laden. [Sunday = Times, 8/25/02] Saudi Arabia has supported the Taliban by = paying the=20 ISI. [UPI,=20 6/14/01] Before 9/11 the Asia Times reported that Crown Prince = Abdullah, the defacto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is secretly a = supporter of=20 bin Laden. Furthermore, he made a secret visit in the summer of = 2001 to=20 Afghanistan with Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed to confer with the Taliban = on how=20 best to prevent bin Laden from being harmed by the US. [Asia Times,=20 8/22/01] Another secret meeting between Mahmood and Crown = Prince=20 Abdullah may have taken place shortly after 9/11. [Intelligence=20 Online, 10/4/01] While such reports are very fragmentary and=20 speculative, it is interesting to note that Senator Graham said = =E2=80=9Cforeign=20 governments=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94plural, not singular=E2=80=94were = behind 9/11. Newsweek has reported=20 a possible connection between the Saudi government and some of the = hijackers [Newsweek,=20 11/22/02], and has since reported that =E2=80=9CThe = possibility of a Saudi=20 link to 9-11 is growing.=E2=80=9D [Newsweek,=20 12/9/02]

Could the thread unravel in other directions as well? For = instance,=20 what about the suggestion that Saeed was a CIA agent? A long time = regional=20 expert with extensive CIA ties stated publicly in March 2001 that = =E2=80=9Cthe CIA=20 still has close links with the ISI,=E2=80=9D and repeated the = claim to CNN in=20 February 2002. [Times of = India,=20 3/7/01, = CNN,=20 2/27/02] An anonymous former senior ISI official has stated, = =E2=80=9CThe=20 biggest problem we have [in Pakistan] are the rogue elements in = the=20 intelligence agencies, especially those who at some time became = involved=20 with the CIA.=E2=80=9D [Christian=20 Science Monitor, 2/22/02] At the very least, the ISI may know = very=20 embarrassing facts about the US. For instance, they may know a = thing or=20 two about CIA involvement in drug smuggling and/or support of bin = Laden in=20 the 1980s. [Star=20 Tribune, 9/30/01, Atlantic=20 Monthly, 5/96, Pittsburgh=20 Post-Gazette, 9/23/01, UPI,=20 6/14/01] Unfortunately, Daniel Pearl was killed before he = could=20 investigate the connections between the US and the ISI, and no = journalist=20 seems willing to explore such dangerous subjects since his = death.

What would the American public think of the motives for war in = Iraq if=20 they knew a country with much deeper ties to al-Q