QUELLE SMELL

THIS JUST DOESN'T PASS THE TEST

It Stinks Of Chertoff

Remember him? The guy in charge of prosecuting terrorists at the US Department of Justice? Recently nominated for Secretary of Homeland Defense, on the strength of his sterling record of locking up innocent people, holding them forever without charges; and/or charging them with heinous, unprovable crimes, then bungling their prosecution, and letting them go, or deporting them, without apologies? Hey, they needed headlines after 9/11, they got headlines. That's all Chertoff has a history of success in nabbing: Headlines.

Suddenly, on a slow news day a week after the Bush's favorite White House Press Office briefing room gay-porn Republican Party plant is outed in the headlines, on the very day that Congressional Democrats finally begin demanding to know how this guy got a press pass under a phony name, and access to classified info... WHA-LAH! Prest-chango, out comes a terrorist rabbit from a Saudi hat, or turban, or whatever. Some idiot from Virginia who chose to go to college in Saudi is accused of seeking out Al Qaeda after September Eleventh, 2001, and offering to do whatever they wanted: To wit, assassinate or facilitate the killing of our CEO. As in, Dubya.

Now, who could call for an investigation of the White House when Dubya is under threat, so recently, so conveniently? Even if the charges do sound, initially, just like all those horrendous-sounding ones that Chertoff brought against all those other Arabs and Muslims, that didn't pan out? Even if this schlub from Texas (home of Big Awl), and Virginia (home of the CIA) probably couldn't find his ass with both hands, much less a secret terrorist group in a locked-down, repressive country, Saudi Arabia (his Daddy works for the Saudi government)? Even if the whole "conspiracy" story sounds a bit fishy? Stinky fishy?

The guy is accused of buying a laptop for Al Qaida. He gave up on fighting us in Afghanistan because he couldn't get a visa. He conspired to play paintball. He thought he might walk up to Dubya on the street and shoot him, somehow. He's charged with thinking about it out loud, in another country. Not much of a "terrorist." Not much of a story.

Like, the real story would be: "AL QAEDA STILL TRAINING TERRORISTS IN SAUDI ARABIA TODAY." Or maybe, "AL QAEDA STILL FINANCIALLY SOUND." Wasn't that one of the Bushco claims, that we had disrupted their network, cut off their finances, chased them out of "friendly" countries like Saudi Arabia? Now, here we have a guy recruited, trained, financed and controlled right smack dab in the middle of Saudi Arabia, well after 9/11.

And now, after quite some time in custody, the oil-rich Saudis suddenly produce this American religious nudnik for oil-rich Dubya, just when he really, really needs a distraction? Well, at least we can count on the Saudis for something: Headlines. Convenient headlines. Orange alert, anyone? Or will Chertoff be supplying headlines as HomeSec, instead?

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THE REAL STORY IS THAT THERE IS NO STORY

BUSH MAKES MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS
TO HIDE BEHIND

If This Guy Is A Terrorist, Then I'm A Halal Sausage-Maker

Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON, February 23, 2005
>>
" 'After the devastating terrorist attack and murders of Sept. 11, the defendant turned his back on America and joined the cause of Al Qaeda,' U.S. Atty. Paul J. McNulty said in a statement. 'He now stands charged with some of the most serious offenses our nation can bring against supporters of terrorism.' "
<<

CNN
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Tuesday, February 22, 2005
>>
" According to the six-count indictment, Abu Ali 'did knowingly and unlawfully conspire to knowingly provide material support and resources ... knowing and intending that they were to be used in preparation for, and for carrying out, the assassination of the president of the United States.'

The 23-year-old Abu Ali is not charged with a conspiracy to assassinate Bush, only for supporting terrorists and, as part of that, discussing Bush's possible assassination. He was denied bail Tuesday.

The indictment offered no evidence that the discussions ever advanced into a plan. "
<<

The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22
>>
" While American officials said they took the threat seriously, the indictment suggests that any plot to assassinate Mr. Bush did not move beyond the discussion stages among extremists in Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Abu Ali was not charged under the federal statute on assassinations.

In an opinion in December, Judge Bates wrote, 'There has been at least some circumstantial evidence that Abu Ali has been tortured during interrogations with the knowledge of the United States.' He added that agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who were present for Saudi interrogations, 'have despaired at his continued detention, and more than one United States official has stated that Abu Ali is no longer a threat to the United States and there is no active interrogation.'

Mr. Abu Ali is the oldest of five children of Omar and Faten Abu Ali, who moved to Houston from their native Jordan in the 1970's for the father to study mathematics. The father has worked at the Saudi Embassy in Washington for more than 20 years in computer operations, embassy officials said.

After the family moved to Northern Virginia in the suburbs of Washington, Mr. Abu Ali attended high school at the Islamic Saudi Academy, a private school in Alexandria that serves hundreds of children of Saudi citizens and is subsidized by the Saudi government. He graduated in 1999 as valedictorian of his class.

Law enforcement officials said they had no indication that any Qaeda plot to assassinate Mr. Bush moved to the stage of actual operations, but the Justice Department said it considered Mr. Abu Ali a serious threat.

The Saudis, apparently acting in consultation with American officials, entered his classroom and arrested him on June 11, 2003, while he was taking his final exams at the Islamic University of Medina. American investigators said at the time that they suspected that he had links to other terrorist suspects in Saudi Arabia who were implicated in a plot in Northern Virginia to use paintball games as paramilitary training and who were arrested at the same time. Some were later convicted of supporting terrorism. "
<<

Washington Post
Washington, Wednesday, February 23, 2005
>>
" Law enforcement sources said the plot against Bush, which the indictment says was hatched while Abu Ali was studying in Saudi Arabia, never advanced beyond the talking stage. One source involved in the case said the U.S. government had hoped Saudi Arabia would bring charges against Ali, in part because of the lack of evidence linking him to any al Qaeda activities.

The allegations of torture promise to play a role as the case progresses. 'We all know that evidence obtained from torture is the most unreliable evidence you can get,' said Edward B. MacMahon Jr., an attorney for Abu Ali. 'I'm distressed that it's come to the point where our government is prepared to use evidence gained from torture in a criminal trial in the United States.'

The case is the first in which the U.S. government would have to rely, in part, on information gathered solely by a foreign government, in this case, Saudi Arabia.

Because U.S. authorities were not involved in Abu Ali's interrogation and, therefore, could not conduct questioning in a manner that would stand up in U.S. courts, the Alexandria court might have to decide whether any statements gained under Saudi questioning should be admissible. The case is being brought at a time when the role of torture in the U.S. war on terror is becoming increasingly scrutinized. "

<<

Reuters
Washington, Tue Feb 22, 2005 >>

" The indictment said Abu Ali then received cash payments from an individual associated with al Qaeda to purchase a laptop computer, a cellular telephone and books. "
<<

The Guardian
Washington, Wednesday February 23, 2005
>>

" He is also said to have attempted to travel to Iran with the intention of slipping into Afghanistan to join the jihad against US-led troops, but was denied a visa. "
<<

"Man Is Accused in Plot to Assassinate Bush"

"American charged in alleged plot to assassinate President Bush"

"American Accused in a Plot to Assassinate Bush"

"Terrorist Plot to Kill Bush Alleged
Suspect, a Va. Man, Was Held by Saudis Nearly Two Years"

"American accused of plotting with al-Qaida to assassinate Bush"

"U.S. Citizen Accused of Plotting to Kill Bush"

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Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

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