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| Home Front: WoT |
| Padilla depicted as minor player in terror network |
| 2005-11-24 |
| Jose Padilla, whose newly unsealed indictment on conspiracy charges signals a marked change in the Bush administration's legal approach to dealing with terrorism suspects, is mentioned only sparingly in the government's account. The indictment, announced Tuesday by the Justice Department, portrays Mr. Padilla as a distinctly minor though thoroughly willing player in a scheme run by others to support radical Islamic fighters in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and elsewhere. The four other defendants charged in the 30-page indictment are pictured as active conspirators setting up bogus charities and businesses to raise money to support those combatants. Mr. Padilla, a 34-year-old former Chicago gang member, is accused of being a kind of courier for the four others, someone eager to play a role somewhere on the battlefront. The other defendants were indicted on the same charges last year, attracting only modest attention, apparently because there was no indication then that the case involved Mr. Padilla. He, on the other hand, had by that time become widely known, an American citizen arrested in Chicago in 2002 after arriving on a flight from overseas and detained since then at a Navy brig in South Carolina as an unlawful enemy combatant. In the earlier indictment, a person who turned out to be Mr. Padilla was identified only as an unnamed co-conspirator. The government charges that three of the defendants - one based in Canada, another in California and a third in Florida - were the principal figures in the money-raising effort. Much of the indictment is based on what it describes as taped conversations among those three and a fourth defendant. Although the indictment does not say so, officials confirm that the conversations are from wiretaps authorized by a special court that reviews law enforcement applications to eavesdrop on foreigners suspected of intelligence activities. In the indictment's recounting of the conversations, the principals converse in what officials describe as code, referring to arms shipments and attack plans as sporting events or, on some occasions, as vegetables. But any such efforts to conceal the nature of the subjects discussed were seemingly clumsy. In one conversation, for instance, Adham Amin Hassoun talks with another defendant, Mohamed Hesham Youssef, about soccer equipment. The indictment says that Mr. Hassoun later told investigators he had indeed been referring to sports equipment, but that he was unable to explain why he had then asked Mr. Youssef if he had enough "soccer equipment" to "launch an attack on the enemy." In other talks, reminiscent of tape recordings of organized crime figures, the defendants appear to use a code involving vegetables, the indictment says. They sometimes talk about zucchini and "green goods," which the government has suggested could mean weapons. Mr. Padilla's role, however, appears limited. Among the overt acts that the government says demonstrate his participation in the conspiracy is his 1996 application for a passport. The other defendants are overheard in the apparent wiretaps saying Mr. Padilla would be getting money, had traveled to Egypt and Afghanistan and had considered visiting Yemen. He also "filled out a 'mujahideen data form' in preparation for violent jihad training in Afghanistan," the indictment charges. Lawrence Barcella, a former federal prosecutor, said some overt acts cited in a conspiracy indictment might often seem innocuous, as in the case of applying for a passport. "There's nothing illegal in applying for a passport, but it's the prosecutor's burden to show that an overt act like that had some connection to the conspiracy," Mr. Barcella said. "A conspiracy is an agreement to commit a crime," he said, "and an overt act can be a relatively benign event that shows agreement to further that conspiracy." Mr. Padilla is charged with two counts of conspiracy: to further murder and kidnapping outside the United States and to provide material aid to terrorists. He is also charged with directly providing material aid to terrorists. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 There is no small treason during time of war. Its like being a little pregnant. Either you are or you are not. |
| Posted by: Joter Jeter5162 2005-11-24 05:16 |