Author: Jay Weaver
Publication: Bradenton Herald
Date: March 15, 2007
URL: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/16911723.htm
A reputed al Qaeda member told U.S. authorities
that the terror network scrutinized Jose Padilla as a recruit for Islamic
extremism in 2000-01, according to a new document filed in federal court in
Miami.
The information sheds more light on how Padilla,
a U.S. citizen once held by federal authorities as an ''enemy combatant,''
was allegedly recruited by al Qaeda for jihad in the Middle East.
Padilla, who left the Fort Lauderdale area
for Egypt in 1998, is charged with conspiring with two other Muslim men as
part of a North American terror cell that provided money, recruits and other
support for terrorist activities abroad.
The three defendants -- Padilla, Adham Amin
Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi -- have a key hearing today and face trial
on April 16.
In the court document, a man identified as
Abdallah Ahmad Salih al-Rimi -- aka Uways -- told U.S. authorities that a
''fellow facilitator'' had met Padilla during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca,
Saudi Arabia.
The facilitator, named Abu Malki al-Sharabi,
''had convinced [Padilla] to come with him to Yemen in 2000, so that he could
then travel to join the second jihad in Afghanistan,'' according to the document
filed Wednesday by prosecutors.
The Arabic name Padilla used at the time was
Abu Abdallah al-Amriki.
Uways told authorities that he also met with
Padilla on ''numerous occasions'' to size him up -- ''whether he would be
a satisfactory candidate to send to jihad,'' the document says.
Uways said he decided not to send Padilla
to jihad.
Uways gave his statement while in custody
in 2003-04. He also confirmed Padilla's identity in a photo.
The document, formerly classified, is ambiguous
on this central issue: Padilla's actual involvement in any jihad activity
with al Qaeda.
According to the document, the facilitator,
al-Sharabi, turned to another colleague, Rashad Sa'id al-Abi -- aka al-Fida
-- to help Padilla get to Afghanistan.
Uways told authorities he saw Padilla again
in Kandahar and Zormat, Afghanistan, in late 2001, the document says.
By then, Padilla had already applied to train
with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, according to U.S. authorities and the Miami
indictment.
After his arrest in Chicago in 2002, Padilla
battled the U.S. government over his military detention as an enemy combatant.
In the dispute, U.S. officials disclosed some information about Padilla's
experience in the Middle East.
In February 2000, Padilla traveled to Mecca,
where he ''met with an al Qaeda recruiter and discussed training opportunities,''
according to federal court records filed in South Carolina.
The recruiter, though not identified, was
possibly the facilitator, al-Sharabi, or Uways.
That summer, Padilla traveled to Quetta, Pakistan,
and crossed the border to Kandahar, Afghanistan, ''in the company of Taliban
operatives and five other recruits to train for jihad,'' said Jeffrey Rapp,
director of the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism.
''In July 2000, Padilla completed a training
camp application using his alias, Abdullah al-Mujahir,'' Rapp said, adding
he traveled to the al Qaeda training camp, al Farouq, north of Kandahar.
That fall, he said, Padilla went through firearm,
explosives and other training.
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
