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Al-Halabi Mails Himself Enough Rope For Hanging
EFL:Sometime before he left the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in July, Ahmad I. al-Halabi allegedly packed a cardboard computer box and mailed it to his address at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. The container arrived safely and sat at the post office unclaimed until this month, when Air Force investigators say they seized it, along with a letter to al-Halabi from the Syrian Embassy in Washington. Oops! Inside the box, agents with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations found 60 pages of documents, including some classified as "Secret," as well as another document typed in Arabic, according to search warrant information obtained by The Bee after the Pentagon revealed al-Halabi had been charged with espionage. Mailed himself the evidence that will hang him. Air Force investigators asked the federal court in Sacramento for the search warrants earlier this month, seeking permission to seize the cardboard box and the Syrian Embassy letter from the post office at Travis. According to the search warrant return, the classified documents in the box were tucked in among personal belongings. The contents now are part of the Air Force case accusing al-Halabi, 24, of spying for Syria. A four-year veteran of the Air Force, al-Halabi faces 32 charges, including espionage and aiding the enemy, that could result in the death penalty if he is convicted. His military defense attorneys maintain he is innocent. "Lies, all lies, Sir!" The search warrant documents indicate al-Halabi came to the attention of investigators in November, while stationed at Travis Air Force Base as part of the 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron. The court records give no details about what drew investigatorsâ attention, but say there were "reports of suspicious activity." Despite those suspicions, al-Halabi was dispatched in November to the United Statesâ high-security prison in Cuba, where about 660 suspected Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners are held. Read that paragraph again. They were on to him before he went to Gitmo.
Bagged him as soon as he got off the plane two months ago and tucked him away. Sounds like they were on the ball after all. Officials at the Pentagon and Travis would not comment on details of the case Wednesday. "I can say no more." In an interview late Wednesday, al-Halabiâs defense attorney Jamie Key said his client "insists he is not a spy."
The Syrian Embassy letter seized at Travis related to al-Halabiâs plan to return to Syria for his wedding, Key said, adding that entry into Syria, even for a national, is tightly controlled. Was the box of secret documents a wedding gift? He acknowledged that al-Halabi is acquainted with Yee. "There was a small group of Muslims down there (at Guantánamo), and they associated with one another; however, no conspiracy has been charged," Key said. At this time. The Air Force contends al-Halabi photographed "facilities in and around Camp Delta" at Guantánamo and that he e-mailed the identities and internment serial numbers of some detainees in a communication that "was intended to reach the enemy," according to the military "charge sheet" listing his alleged offenses. Note the "was intended to reach the enemy" part. Iâll bet his email only went as far as the OSI server. Officials also charge that al-Halabi planned to deliver two written notes from Guantánamo prisoners to Syria. The notes were "writings relating to the national defense, which directly concerned intelligence gathering and planning for the United Statesâ war against terrorists, to a citizen of a foreign government" that al-Halabi was carrying "en route to Syria," according to the Air Force charge sheet. In addition, he is accused of illegally possessing secret documents on military movements in and out of Guantánamo and classified information on cellblocks housing alleged terrorists. Al-Halabi also is charged with lying to U.S. officials about his citizenship, allegedly claiming he became an American citizen in Sacramento on Nov. 14, 2001. OSI documents on file in federal court in Sacramento indicate al-Halabi is a U.S. citizen who was born in Syria, but the Air Force said Wednesday his citizenship status is unclear. "Thatâs going to have to be determined during the investigation," Lt. Col. Rob Koon said in an interview from the Pentagon. Foreign nationals are permitted to join the U.S. military. And 99% serve their new country with honor. After al-Halabiâs arrest, Air Force investigators sought and received search warrants from the U.S. District Court in Sacramento for two pieces of mail that had been sent to him at the Fairfield base: the cardboard box and the Syrian Embassy letter. Documents that are part of those search warrants say al-Halabi "made statements criticizing United States policy with regard to the detainees and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East."
If he made these statements in public, heâs stupid. Iâll bet he contacted the Syrians rather than being a deep cover agent. The military charge sheet states that al-Halabi furnished prisoners with "unauthorized food, to wit: baklava pastries." I think they tacked this one on for laughs. When he was arrested, al-Halabi was found with airline tickets for a flight on July 27 from San Francisco to Damascus. Court documents state he had planned to travel to Syria to get married. After de-briefing or before? Al-Halabi is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central California coast awaiting a decision on whether he will face a court-martial. Oh, I think thatâs a given, donât you? Pentagon officials would not comment Wednesday on why an airman who was being monitored last November would be transferred to Guantánamo, one of the United Statesâ most secure and isolated military posts. Because they wanted to see where he would lead them. And it seems to have worked very well. But the search warrant documents say his arrest in July came four days after investigators surreptitiously entered his living quarters at Guantánamo and discovered "the presence of several originals and copies of mail belonging to suspected (al-Qaida) and Taliban detainees." Agents photographed the mail and left it inside al-Halabiâs residence "to prevent the compromise of ongoing investigation(s) and future operations," the court documents state. They made a mirror image of al-Halabiâs laptop hard drive, also leaving it in place, the court documents say. Classic "black bag" job. "Digital forensic analysis of that hard drive revealed the presence of approximately 186 sensitive, classified Defense documents related to Camp Delta detainees," the search warrant affidavit says. Four of those documents may have been e-mailed or posted on the Internet, the affidavit states. Bet his attorney wishes he was defending a nice serial killer about now. When he was arrested at the Florida naval base, al-Halabi had copies of classified detainee documents, the affidavit says, although investigators did not find the personal data assistant or digital memory devices they believe he owns. Nine days after al-Halabi was arrested, he changed his mailing address and arranged to have his mail forwarded to an address in Anaheim, the OSIâs Wega wrote in his affidavit. Err, how did he do that in the brig? Oh, you let him do it to see if he was as stupid as you thought he was. Key said that the address is al-Halabiâs sisterâs and is where his mail went while he was in Cuba. You were right, he is that stupid. Three days after that, OSI agents learned that the two pieces of mail were being held for him at the Travis post office. Bet there were some high fives all around when they opened that box. This guy is toast. Well done, OSI. Posted by: Steve 2003-09-25 |
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