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| American woman married to an al-Qaeda sleeper cell leader |
| 2004-12-23 |
| A California woman reveals to ABC News that she unknowingly married a Muslim extremist who helped set up what authorities say was one of the first al Qaeda sleeper cells out of their Orange County apartment complex. Saraah Olson says she watched as her then-husband, Hisham Diab, and his group transformed local teen Adam Gadahn into an America-hating fanatic who she says is the masked man who promised in an al Qaeda video message released in Pakistan late October that the "streets of America will run red with blood." "I was just a stepping stone to a green card," Olson said. "I married a terrorist. I married somebody who did not like America, who didn't like Americans." Gadahn, who met Olson's former husband at a local mosque, was "fresh meat," she said. "Someone they could control. Not only that, he's very unassuming-looking, he can do a lot of their tasks." The voice, gestures and rhetoric of the video's "Azzam the American" were all familiar to Olson, especially the phrase "red with blood," which was one of the group's favorite sayings, she said. And over the course of three years, Olson said, some of Osama bin Laden's top deputies would stay with her and her husband, including blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who would later go to prison for life for his role in organizing terrorist plots against the United States. Olson said she repeatedly tried to notify the FBI of her husband's suspicious activities, but that she was never taken seriously. "I'm in hell," Olson remembers thinking after she recognized Abdel-Rahman in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. "I have entered the bowels of hell and I'm going to be here forever. And I've only been married seven months. I've got a terrorist in my house." The FBI said in a statement that counterterrorism is their top priority. "Whenever we receive credible information pertaining to terrorist threats against the United States, the FBI acts immediately to thoroughly pursue all such leads," the statement read. Federal authorities say the couple's neighbor Khalil Deek, considered a major al Qaeda figure, ran the Orange County sleeper cell operation. Diab, who obtained a U.S. passport after marrying Olson, left the country suddenly in 1998. He is now being sought by U.S. authorities and is believed by intelligence officials to be hiding in Pakistan with top al Qaeda leaders. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #8 In her case, I could see the hijab thing. Whoa! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-12-23 3:25:19 PM |
| #7 yeah a bit late! |
| Posted by: Floting Granter5118 2004-12-23 3:00:00 PM |
| #6 I am in no mood post-9/11 to buy the "I'm-so-sorry-now-I-know-what-I-did-was-wrong" crap. Aiding and abetting, jail her. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2004-12-23 11:59:35 AM |
| #5 I was about to write "Naivity thy name is Saraah", but she married the turd before the first WTC bombing 1993. My advice: run like hell as soon as he says his name is Abdul, or the first time he puts his head down and ass in the air. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-12-23 11:29:54 AM |
| #4 BAR - As soon as he started that hijab crap, I would have been outta there. That ain't "love, honor, and cherish," so insisting on wearing that crap when I don't want to is breaking his vow. And hitting is breaking the LAW - call the cops and have his worthless ass tossed in jail. And change the locks while he's gone. Or just be VERY leery of marrying an Arab immigrant/student in the first place. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-12-23 11:24:06 AM |
| #3 First, she said Diab insisted she wear the hijab, a head scarf worn by certain devout Muslim women, and conform to other strict Islamic customs. And the beatings came next, she said, provoked by what were deemed violations of her husband’s strict rules, which including forbidding physical contact with any man. [...] Olson’s son Ryan, now a teenager, says he was beaten almost daily when he did poorly in the Arabic lessons he was forced to take. Seems to me that any normal person would hear warning bells at this point, and would take action accordingly. Once hubby decides to start with the beatings, attempts to "save" the marriage aren't worth the effort involved. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-23 11:10:05 AM |
| #2 Sarah Olson was also the name that Kathleen Soliah took when she was on the run as a fugitive for her role in the 70's SLA group. Parents, don't let your children grow up to be Sara(a)h Olson's... |
| Posted by: jeff 2004-12-23 11:07:12 AM |
| #1 hmmm.... Saraah? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-12-23 9:04:10 AM |