As the liberal press cries crocodile tears.
Bruce http://www.smh.com.au/news/Anti-Terror-Watch/Habib-labelled-as-alQaeda-gun-f or-hire/2005/02/15/1108230006300.html?oneclick=true Habib labelled as al-Qaeda gun for hire By Cynthia Banham and Tom Allard February 16, 2005 Australia's two most senior security chiefs have accused Mamdouh Habib of working as a mercenary in Pakistan before his capture by local authorities in October 2001, saying he was paid to train with the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba and offered his services to al-Qaeda. For the first time in Parliament, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, and ASIO's director-general, Dennis Richardson, yesterday spelt out in detail their case against Mr Habib, who was released last month from Guantanamo Bay without charge. Their testimony also revealed ASIO was searching for him in Pakistan before his capture - and before the attacks of September 11, 2001 - because of what it knew of his activities in Afghanistan. The revelations came as the Government faced greater scrutiny over the Sydney man's allegations he was tortured while in Egypt and Guantanamo Bay. Mr Richardson confirmed that ASIO believed Mr Habib was in Egypt - where the US is said to have sent him for questioning - by November 2001, and knew he was definitely there by February 2002. Advertisement Advertisement Mr Habib's lawyer, Stephen Hopper, said Mr Richardson's revelations exposed Government lies and bolstered his client's case. As recently as last weekend, the Government said it did not know if Mr Habib had been detained in Egypt and ministers have consistently denied knowledge of it. "The reason ASIO know he was in Egypt is because there was an intelligence officer in Pakistan when he was abducted and another one there while Mamdouh was being tortured in Egypt," Mr Hopper said. It was also revealed that ASIO had interviewed Mr Habib three times in Pakistan in 2001 - on October 24 and on October 26 and 29 with the federal police. Mr Keelty said that when asked about what he was doing in Pakistan, Mr Habib was "giving excuses as to his presence there". "He was not forthcoming as to how his travel there was funded; he was not forthcoming as to how his accommodation and everyday existence was being funded," Mr Keelty said. "Investigators formed the view that he went there to train with [Lashkar-e-Toiba] and be paid for that training, and that he was then offering his services to al-Qaeda, for which he was going to be paid a sum of money. "Basically, in layman's terms - almost as a mercenary." Mr Keelty said that during the interviews in Pakistan Mr Habib "concocted" a story to cover his presence in Afghanistan, telling officials he had been "kidnapped and tortured by people in yellow uniforms". Mr Richardson said of the kidnapping claims: "We did not believe that then and we don't believe that to this day, because we've a pretty good idea of what activities he was involved in before October and it certainly wasn't with people in yellow jumpsuits. "He was actually with people in Afghanistan who have a history of murdering innocent civilians." Mr Keelty said that when the Federal Police interviewed Mr Habib, he was "not seen to be in any physical harm". He said that when the Federal Police later interviewed Mr Habib in the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in May 2002, he then alleged he had been maltreated by people "speaking Egyptian" before being taken to Guantanamo, but that Mr Habib did not know whether he was in Egypt at the time that occurred. These allegations were left to be dealt with by a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official who was also present when Mr Habib made them, Mr Keelty said. Mr Hopper took issue with the assertion Mr Habib had never been tortured, saying his Guantanamo Bay identity bracelet contained a photo showing him bloated and bruised. "They are trying to blame the victim, a man who has had the most horrific treatment that any Australian could suffer," Mr Hopper said. Meanwhile, the Premier, Bob Carr, yesterday announced further measures to protect NSW against a terrorist attack. The Government will appoint a project manager and a protective security adviser to specifically protect important assets. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
