From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #148 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Monday, June 8 1998 Volume 02 : Number 148 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 07:55:22 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: More on Steven Emerson (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 21:18:37 -0500 From: believer@telepath.com To: believer@telepath.com Subject: More on Steven Emerson Source: US Newswire Fla. Editor Responds to Supporters of 'Jihad' Journalist U.S. Newswire 5 Jun 13:59 Florida Editor Responds to Supporters of 'Jihad' Journalist To: National Desk, Media Writer Contact: Council on American-Islamic Relations, 202-659-2247 or 202-659-2254 (fax); E-mail: cair1(At)ix.netcom.com URL: http://www.cair-net.org WASHINGTON, June 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The editor of a Florida newspaper has responded to claims put forward in a news release issued by colleagues of Steven Emerson, the controversial journalist who produced the 1994 PBS program "Jihad in America." The release, issued by the International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals (IACSP), quoted from a letter by a Justice Department official that purportedly supports recent statements Emerson made in testimony before a February Senate subcommittee hearing on terrorism. (Contact CAIR to receive a copy of the letter.) In that testimony, Emerson claimed "an actual hit team had been dispatched from another country" to assassinate him. He also claimed that law enforcement officials told him he "could get permission to enter the Witness Security Program." In a statement published on the Internet, John Sugg, senior editor of the Miami Weekly Planet newspaper, defended a recent article in which he questioned these claims and made reference to other allegations against Emerson by wire service reporters, a former CIA official and American Muslim groups. (see "Ties to Spies?" -- http://www.cair-net.org/articles/article052098.htm) Referring to the Justice Department letter that Emerson's colleagues and attorney claim supports his subcommittee testimony, Sugg wrote: "As for the alleged death threat on Emerson, (the Justice Department spokesperson) refused to elaborate on the nature of the threat or to provide information that would allow an evaluation to be made about Emerson's claims. "Moreover, you have an incredible situation that the Justice Department's Terrorism and Violent Crimes Section did not know there was a band of assassins roaming U.S. streets attempting a hit on a prominent journalist. Nothing in (the Justice Department's) letter challenges the fact that Justice's Terrorism and Violent Crimes officials said they were unaware of any threat to Emerson. A retired, very high level Justice official who is a national authority on terrorism and espionage, when given the description made by Emerson, told me: 'At the point where these people had entered the United States, and reached the stage described, I would find it unusual, nearly impossible for Justice not to be informed....' "...apparently the alleged assassination threat information was not sufficient to merit referral to Justice. Nor did it result in any indictments or prosecutions. Nor did the media pick it up -- and it would, if true, be a helluva story." Sugg also noted that the IACSP press release quoted sources attesting to Emerson's credentials and characterizing American Muslim groups as allies of terrorists. Sugg wrote: "These sources are Steven Pomerantz and Oliver 'Buck' Revell. Not noted (in the press release) is that Pomerantz and Revell are officers of the same institute, and that both have a close association with Emerson. They are hardly independent sources. In fact, the three spend most of their time nowadays quoting each other about what excellent terrorism experts they all are. Revell is prominent in Emerson's 'Jihad in America.' "There's a fourth member of the association -- Yigal Carmon. A ranking member of Israel's intelligence and military establishment, he is considered to the right of even the current Likud government. As The Nation has reported (and never disputed by Emerson), Carmon was part of the 'gang of three' that spent much time lobbying Congress to derail the Middle East peace process -- and Carmon even stayed at Emerson's home on his visits to the United States. (The Nation, August 28/September 4, 1995 and May 15, 1995) Carmon is part of Revell's and Pomerantz's institute -- its 'Mideast Regional Director.' ...And Emerson even shuttles Carmon around to introduce him to journalists as an 'expert' on the Middle East. "Of course, these four people spend their time (and make money) out of portraying Arabs and Muslims as terrorists...I don't think it's too extreme to conclude that, considering the involvement of a top Israeli spook with Emerson and his friends, we have something much more sinister going on that 'journalism' and an institute studying terrorism." In a letter faxed to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Emerson's attorney called on the Islamic advocacy group to "not issue further statements" repeating what he called "false" and "defamatory" information in Sugg's earlier article. (CAIR has been the frequent target of Emerson's rhetorical attacks on American Muslim organizations.) This request resulted from CAIR's call for an investigation into the accuracy of Emerson's Senate testimony. (see CAIR's news release at: http://www.cair-net.org/presses/press052698.htm) The letters from the Justice Department to the Weekly Planet and the letter from Emerson's attorney to CAIR both failed to address the other challenges to Emerson's credibility by fellow journalists, terrorism experts and American Muslim groups. ------ To join CAIR-NET, CAIR's read-only mailing list: Send "subscribe cair-net" in the body of a message to majordomo(At)cair-net.org ------ Editors: Some computer systems do not recognize the "at" sign. It is an important component of e-mail addresses and should be used in place of the symbol (At) in the contact information above. -0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 06/05 13:59 Copyright 1998, U.S. Newswire - ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. - ----------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 10:29:20 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: 1of4-IMPORTANT EXCERPTS (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 09:59:10 -0500 From: believer@telepath.com To: D & L Elston Subject: 1of4-IMPORTANT EXCERPTS [PART ONE OF FOUR] Dear Linda: Regarding: >Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 01:01:03 EDT >Subject: Re: [Fwd: (no subject)] > >I want to know more about the foreign terrorists who drove the explosives out >of Las Vegas. Is there any more info on that? I hadn't heard a word about >this. > >Thanks, April - ---------------------------------------- EXCERPTS FROM CONFERENCE LECTURE 1997 WORK IN PROGRESS I'd like to give you a small taste of the case that was presented to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (by way of the Defendant's Petition for Writ of Mandamus [available to download from www.telepath.com/believer], and this will provide for you a small indication of the defense that Jones was prepared to present on behalf of Mr. McVeigh, had he been allowed to do so. Consider first six of the introductory paragraphs of the Defendant's Petition for Writ of Mandamus, and from there, we will examine some history. "The plan was arranged for a Middle Eastern bombing engineer to engineer the bomb in such a way that it could be carefully transported and successfully detonated. There is no reported incident of neo-Nazis or extreme right-wing militants in this country exploding any bomb of any significant size let alone one to bring down a nine (9) story federal building and kill 168 persons. In fact, not even members of the left-wing militant groups such as the Weatherman were ever able to accomplish anything of this magnitude. "This terrorist attack was 'contracted out' to persons whose organization and ideology was friendly to policies of the foreign power and included dislike and hatred of the United States government itself, and possibly included was a desire for revenge against the United States, with possible anti-black and anti-semitic overtones. Because Iraq had tried a similar approach in 1990, but had been thwarted by Syrian intelligence information given to the United States, this time the information was passed through an Iraqi intelligence base in the Philippines. "Operating out of the Philippines as a base, the state-sponsored terrorists, with the Murrah Building already chosen as the target, enlisted the support and assistance of members of the Radical American Right. The defense believes the evidence suggests that American neo-Nazis were chosen to carry out the bombing of the Murrah Building because of a shared ideological bent of hatred against the American government. It is possible that those who carried out the bombing were unaware of the true sponsor. "The evidence collected by the defense suggests that the desired ideology was found by the state-sponsored {Hamas-sponsored] terrorists in Elohim City, Oklahoma, a small compound near Muldrow, Oklahoma, consisting of between 25 and 30 families and described as a terrorist organization which preaches white supremacy, polygamy and overthrow of the government. Elohim City was a haven for former members of The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord ('CSA'), another extremist organization that had been raided by the federal government on April 19, 1985, exactly ten years to the day prior to the Oklahoma City bombing. One member of CSA turned on the organization and testified in court at the trial of Richard Snell and others who were charged in Arkansas with sedition in that they conspired to destroy the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City with a rocket launcher in the early 1980's. Snell was convicted on unrelated capital charges and sentenced to death in Arkansas. He was executed the day of the Oklahoma City bombing--April 19, 1995--and is buried at Elohim City. It is from this group of people that the defense believes that the evidence suggests foreign, state-sponsored terrorists groomed the most radical persons associated with Elohim City and extracted monumental revenge against the federal government by destroying the Murrah Building on the day of Richard Snell's execution and the anniversary date of the federal raid. "But the defense hypothesis also entails evidence, very strong evidence, that the federal government, through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, had an informant in Elohim City, an informant who warned federal law enforcement prior to April 19, 1995, that former residents, including the former chief of security, of Elohim City were planning to "target for destruction" federal buildings in Oklahoma, including the Alfred P. Murrah Building. The defense believes this scenario is true, that it is eerily similar to the World Trade Center bombing where the FBI had an informant infiltrate the terrorist group but failed to stop that criminal act, and that, absent judicial intervention, information concerning these matters in the possession of the federal government will be forever buried. "The defense for Mr. McVeigh is not engaged in a fishing expedition. As the information set forth in this Petition demonstrates, the McVeigh defense, using resources provided to it by the district court, has conducted a wide-ranging and increasingly narrow focused investigation. But without subpoena power, without the right to take depositions, and without access to national intelligence information, the McVeigh defense can go no further." [END OF INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS] And it did NOT go no any further than that. And there is a "further" that needs to be considered. in order for you to fully understand this course of events, I need to first introduce you to Mr. Cary Gagan who, during the weekend of June 21st, 1997, spent hours of what can only be described as hyperactive testimony with many of the independent investigators in the Oklahoma City area, and others who came from out of town to meet with this man. The most efficient way to introduce you to him is to just read a few paragraphs written by Bill Jasper who writes for the "New American" magazine. The "New American" is, as most of you know, the monthly publication of the John Birch Society, and in my thinking that is a somewhat compromised source. However, because I am personally absolutely certain of this information, because I have had the opportunity to work with Bill Jasper on some of these bombing issues and have come to know him rather well, and because the documentation for Gagan's story does exist, I have no qualms about quoting the "New American" in this particular instance. It saves time. "Cary Gagan, a man in his early 50s, is a federal informant who had received immunity from the U.S. Justice Department when he provided them with specific information regarding plans to blow up a federal building in April 1995 - months before the bombing actually took place. The government has since belittled Gagan's information and has attempted to portray him as unstable and unreliable. However, after meeting with Gagan and reviewing his information and documentation, The New American is persuaded that the major media have been altogether too hasty in accepting the government's decree on Gagan's reliability. "On September 14, 1994, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Henry L. Solano and Assistant United States Attorney James R. Allison for the same district provided a letter of immunity for Gagan, who is from Denver. [This letter, by the way, appears on pages 390 and 391 of Oklahoma City: Day One.] "The letter, signed by Allison and Gagan, is an agreement regarding 'information concerning a conspiracy and/or attempt to destroy United States court facilities in Denver and possibly other cities.' Under the terms of the letter, Gagan was told, 'the United States agrees that no evidence derived from the information or statements provided by you will be used in any way against you.' "Gagan claimed to have been recruited by Arabs or Iranians operating through Mexico to deliver explosives for a series of planned bombings of federal buildings in Denver, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City. At various meetings in Las Vegas, Denver, and Kingman, Arizona, he met with 'Omar,' 'Ahmad,' and other representatives of the Hizbollah terrorist organization, as well as male Caucasian American citizens. "In a civil suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Denver against Solano, Allison, and others, for violation of the immunity agreement, Gagan writes: " 'On March 17, 1995, in this meeting at the Hilton Inn South in Greenwood Village, Colorado where Plaintiff was present with three members of this terrorist organization, displayed on the table were the construction plans of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building bearing the name J.W. Bateson Company of Dallas, Texas, with one of these terrorists allegedly traveling to Denver for this meeting from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.' "On March 27, 1995, and again on April 6, 1995, Gagan delivered urgent written warnings to federal authorities in Denver alerting them to an imminent bombing attack. He insists that he followed these up with repeated telephone calls, all of which were ignored. In his handwritten warning of April 1st to U.S. Marshall Tina Rowe Gagan said: " 'Dear Ms. Rowe: After leaving Denver for what I thought would be for a long time, I returned here last night because I have specific information that within two weeks a federal building(s) is to be bombed in the area or nearby. The previous requests I made for you to contact me, 27th & 28th of April (sic - March) '95, were ignored by you, Mr. Allison and my friends at the FBI. I would not ignore this specific request for you personally to contact me immediately regarding a plot to blow up a federal building. If the information is false, request Mr. Allison to charge me accordingly. If you and/or your office does not contact me as I so request herein I will never again contact any law enforcement agency, federal or state, regarding those matters set out in the letter of immunity. -- Cary Gagan.' "After interviewing Gagan and examining his documents in light of other known facts in this case, The New American finds that his claims have far more credibility than do those of the officials who have been attempting to debunk them over the past two years. "In a February 1, 1996 letter to Gagan, Solano and Allison wrote: 'Attempts by federal law enforcement officers to meaningfully corroborate information you have alleged to be true have been unsuccessful.... Therefore, the immunity granted by the letter of September 14, 1994 is hereby revoked.' Moreover, wrote the pair, 'You are warned that any statement you make which would incriminate you in illegal conduct, past, present or future can be used against you. You are no longer protected by the immunity granted by letter on September 14, 1994.' " [END OF MAGAZINE EXCERPTS] And that is the present state of Mr. Gagan at this time. He is unprotected; he is guilty -- as you will soon see -- of actively participating in the preparations for both the internal and external explosions that destroyed the Murrah Building; he is without cover; he is surveilled and stalked by both his so-called friends and his enemies because of what he knows, and what he did, and who he is telling. The fact that he did what he did with the blessing of United States federal government agencies -- and on their behalf -- doesn't seem to matter to them anymore. Mr. Gagan is a man who has absolutely nothing to lose. We of course have a similar situation with BATF Informant Carol Howe who, when it became known that she was going to be called as a witness for the defense, was hurriedly indicted on charges of conspiracy to make explosives or some similar rap, and the rumors began flying about alleged drug abuse, unreliability, and flakiness in general. This is a pattern I assume is familiar to all of you by now. [NOTE: THE MAJORITY OF CAROL HOWE/ELOHIM CITY INFORMATION HAS BEEN DELETED FROM THESE EXCERPTS BECAUSE THE FOCUS HERE IS THE MATTER OF STATE-SPONSORED (HAMAS) TERRORIST ACTS IN THE U.S. AND THE PARTICIPATION OF FOREIGN TERRORISTS IN THE MURRAH BUILDING BOMBING. A FEW OF THE ENTRIES REMAIN IN THE EXCERPTS DEMONSTRATIVE OF THE LINKS BETWEEN THE FOREIGN TERRORISTS AND E.C. BUT THE DETAILS OF HOWE/E.C. MUST REMAIN THE SUBJECT OF ANOTHER SET OF POSTS, IN THE INTEREST OF BREVITY HERE.] Let's look at this event, how it developed, who was playing, what the witnesses said, and so forth. We will start the chronological study of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1980. 1980-81 - The man who was to become a long-standing and highly-paid government informant for the FBI, the DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as a major player in the Oklahoma City bombing, Cary Gagan, was recruited by the Russian Embassy in Mexico City to do some minor forging of identification documents for some of its people that they needed to get into the United States. After this initial contact with the Soviets, Gagan was recruited, along with his work partner at Martin Marietta (Dan Howard), to smuggle technological secrets out of the company to give to the Russians. Gagan reported all of these activities to the FBI who encouraged him to continue working with the Russians as an undercover agent for the FBI. 1983 through 1986 - Gagan made Iranian and Iraqi contacts through the Russians. These Arabian men were presenting themselves at that time as Colombians, and spoke Arabic, English, and Spanish fluently. His assignments at this time involved drug running and money laundering, primarily out of Las Vegas. Gagan reported these activities to both the FBI and the DEA. DEA Agent Richard Gregory became his contact within that agency and they had continued contact through and after the Oklahoma City bombing. 1986-1990 - Informant Cary Gagan was convicted on a 5-count felony charge and put in jail. At the trial, because Gagan knew it was a concocted charge designed to achieve some other purpose, he chose to represent himself pro se. The judge in the matter decided that Gagan must be insane to want to represent himself, and ordered that Gagan submit to a mental evaluation before the trial could proceed. Gagan agreed and was evaluated by psychiatrists for several weeks while being housed in a mental institution. The results of the evaluation were that he was as sane as any attorney they knew, and he was allowed to continue representing himself at trial. But what this procedure did was create for Gagan a record of psychiatric so-called "treatment." The trial proceeded with Gagan representing himself -- since he had been determined to be completely sane - -- and he lost his case and went to prison on a felony conviction. During his jail sentence, he was interviewed several times by the FBI on another espionage matter, so they were regularly in contact with him during his incarceration. Also, a four-year sentence on a 5-count felony conviction is really pretty light. Gagan was biding his time and staying in contact with federal officials. However, the record of the psychiatric evaluation would later be used against him publicly to indicate that he was unreliable. This same sort of ploy was used against Carol Howe to discredit her. For both of these individuals, the accusations against them were fabricated to cover the federal government's involvement in all of their activities -- and this at the expense of their own operatives. Summer 1988 - Andreas Strassmeir came to the United States, presumably to be a participant in the 125th-anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. A review of his background shows that Andreas Strassmeir is a German national whose father is a well-regarded and successful politician in the Christian Democrat Coalition, who recently retired as Secretary of State for West Germany, BUT whose grandfather was a founding member of the German Nazi party. Andreas Strassmeir was a former Lieutenant in Germany's elite Panzer Grenadiers, similar to our Special Forces, and was trained in military intelligence. Strassmeir later said that he moved to the United States in 1988 "because he was planning to work on a special assignment for the U.S. Justice Department." According to Strassmeir, "It never worked out." A retired USAF Colonel, Vince Petruskie, was helping Strassmeir at the DEA and Treasury Department, but he said ultimately nothing came through. However, this association of Strassmeir with Petruskie has always been a troublesome matter because Petruskie is surrounded by rumors of his involvement with the CIA in the 1950s, matters which have not been confirmed but seem likely. On the day of the Murrah Building bombing, Strassmeir was in this country illegally on an expired visa. Subsequently, when Strassmeir became the subject of intense media and defense scrutiny, his attorney, Kirk Lyons, a well-known North Carolina lawyer (and member of the C.A.U.S.E. Foundation), openly boasted that he had "spirited" Strassmeir out of the country through Texas, Mexico, and France at an expense of $12,000, telling his supporters that it would be "easier to defend Strassmeir from Germany than from inside a federal detention facility." Strassmeir, originally presented to the press as a starry-eyed German interested in American military history, was later identified as the Chief of Security at Elohim City, but always denied this allegation. The C.A.U.S.E. Foundation is at this time actively denying that Strassmeir played any big role in Elohim City security, stating that Pastor Robert Millar's son-in-law Zara Patterson, a former Marine Viet Nam vet, was always in charge of Elohim City's security. However, persons who lived at Elohim City at the time of Strassmeir's tenure have confirmed to a man that security was Strassmeir's job while he was there. Strassmeir was also an active participant in a Klan rally in Texas. He illegally overstayed his visa in this country and traveled on false identity papers. He was arrested in Oklahoma by State Highway Patrolman Vernon Phillips while using the identity of Peter Ward -- who, by the way, is a real person and friend of Strassmier. Strassmeir is also a suspect in multiple investigations concerning weapons violations, including making weapons fully automatic. Strassmeir was interviewed and extensively written about by "London Telegraph" journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, a man whose own agenda and connections are suspect. Nevertheless, counsel for Defendant McVeigh personally interviewed Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Washington, D.C., and confirmed the statements that Pritchard had made relating to Strassmeir. Pritchard represented to defense counsel that Strassmeir strongly suggested to him that there was an informant at Elohim City. Pritchard believed that Strassmeir was that informant, but he came to that conclusion and made his assumptions in print prior to the public release of the information concerning BATF informant Carol Howe. Strassmeir naturally would not expressly admit to being an informant for anyone, and the United States government has also denied that Andreas Strassmeir was employed by it. The testimony of BATF informant Carol Howe blatantly contradicts this denial. According to Carol Howe's statements, Strassmeir was the senior intelligence asset in place at Elohim City, but Howe was never able to specifically state that he was a BATF informant, as she was. That Strassmeir was an intelligence asset on the scene for somebody seems very plausible, but given his associations with Dennis Mahon (whom we will discuss in detail in a few moments), the governments of Iran and Iraq, and his family background, as well as his present-day affinity for Nazism, it seems possible and even probable that his connections were more at the Central Intelligence Agency level. While we cannot confirm an association with the CIA, we can confirm that the terrorist cell operating out of Las Vegas with which Informant Cary Gagan was working knew an "Andy" and a "Dennis" and considered them sympathetic and capable assistants in their terrorist efforts. Despite government denials that Andreas Strassmeir has never been the subject of an investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing case, defense counsel obtained documents -- generated by the government -- which indicate that he most assuredly was. One official document, dated January 11, 1996, discussed Strassmeir and stated, "Subject is wanted for questioning by FBI, Oklahoma City. Detain and notify [the FBI]." The document then gave the phone number, the FBI case number, the Oklahoma City bombing case number, and then concluded that "subject is possibly armed and may be dangerous." In addition, defense counsel learned of significant official communications between the United States government and its representatives in Germany concerning Strassmeir and that Strassmeir was of great interest to the Counterterrorism Division of the Diplomatic Protective Service of the Department of State. This document specifically bears the Oklahoma City bombing investigation case number and photographs of Strassmeir, and is still under seal. To say, in light of these documents and others filed under seal that Strassmeir was "never the subject of the investigation" is simply untrue. Strassmeir remained a suspect and subject of the Oklahoma City investigation as demonstrated by the fact that: (1) Carol Howe was sent back to Elohim City where Strassmeir lived, to obtain additional information about him and Dennis Mahon; (2) cable traffic between the U.S. Department of State and its representatives at the Embassy in Bonn, Germany, clearly identify official interest in Strassmeir, (3) his picture and other information was circulated by the Department of State with respect to the Oklahoma City bombing, and (4) in January 1996, he was considered to be "armed and dangerous" and was to be detained for investigation and interview by the FBI. For the government to represent as it did that Strassmeir had never been the subject of an investigation is not consistent with the known facts. Strassmeir not only was a subject of the investigation and a suspect of official interest on two continents, but that interest lasted at least from the middle of April 1995 to January 1996. In his own interviews, Strassmeir said, "The BATF had an informant inside this operation. They had advanced warning and they bungled it. What they should have done is made an arrest while the bomb was still being made instead of waiting until the moment for a publicity stunt." 1990 - Informant Cary Gagan, after his release from prison, was sought out by the Iranians who had been posing as Colombians, and continued drug running operations for them with the knowledge of both the FBI and the DEA. One of the things Gagan had been reporting to the FBI concerned large sums of money being run by the Arabs out of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas for the purpose of laundering it at another location. 1990 - Terry Nichols married his second wife, Marife, by way of a mail-order bride service in the Philippines. [CONTINUED IN PART TWO] - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 11:00:58 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: 2of4-IMPORTANT EXCERPTS (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 10:30:42 -0500 From: believer@telepath.com To: believer@telepath.com Subject: 2of4-IMPORTANT EXCERPTS [PART TWO OF FOUR] 1991 - The Iraqi government began giving Dennis Mahon thousands of dollars and would continue to do so for the next six years. Mahon admitted to receiving money from Iraq approximately once a month and stated that "it's coming from the same zip code where the Iraqi Embassy is, but they don't say it's from the Iraqi Embassy." The money started arriving in 1991 after Mahon started holding rallies protesting the Persian Gulf War. Mahon was a close friend of Andreas Strassmeir, the ex-head of security at Elohim City, where Mahon had also lived from time to time. By way of background, Dennis Mahon is a virulent racist and avowed enemy of the U.S. government. He is the No. 3 person in authority in the White Aryan Resistance movement led by Tom Metzger. There are videotapes featuring Mahon, in full Ku Klux Klan uniform, lighting a cross at a Klan recruiting trip in Germany, and yet another videotape of Mahon firing a semi-automatic rifle during paramilitary training for Klan members. Mahon conducted a "tour" in Germany in order to recruit other right-wing extremists. The costs of the trip were split between Mahon and his "German supporters." Mahon joked that if he was fined the usual 1,000 Deutsche Marks (approximately $600) for every time he gave the Nazi salute, he would owe 10,000,000 Marks, explaining "I gave hundreds while I was there." Mahon is presently headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has referred to the Oklahoma City bombing as a "fine thing" and stated further, "I hate the federal government with a perfect hatred . . . I'm surprised that this [the bombing] hasn't happened all over the country." He has further been quoted as saying that "all methods are legitimate to save your nation." A defense attorney interviewed Mahon after the bombing, and received, through an intermediary, a tape recording that Mahon had made to be given to McVeigh in prison. The attorneys did not know whether the purpose of this tape recording was to encourage McVeigh to "sacrifice" himself for the eventual "justice" of the cause or was a subtle threat intended to remind McVeigh that members of his family were vulnerable. On the tape Mahon says, "Tim, I want to thank you for 'hanging-tough'. I believe you are innocent, because of entrapment. I believe you have been set-up!" The tape was handed over to the defense. Mahon described Tim McVeigh as a "good soldier, who from the beginning wanted to be the fall guy in the bombing -- securing his place in history as a patriot hero." When Mahon was shown a sketch of "Robert Kling," the man, shorter than McVeigh with a pocked complexion -- who was supposed to have rented the Ryder truck used in the bombing -- (even though at trial the jury determined [wrongly] that Kling and McVeigh were the same individual) -- Mahon identified the Robert Kling sketch immediately as Pete Ward, whom he described as "Andy Strassmeir's shadow'". Said Mahon, "Ward went everywhere Strassmeir did and is dumb as dirt." Asked whether Ward rented the Ryder truck in Junction City, Mahon replied, "Well, you know his brother, Tony, has a pocked complexion. Maybe you ought to go to Belen, New Mexico and get a picture of him, too." After pouring over photographs of the bomb damage, Mahon volunteered, "I'll tell you who didn't build that bomb -- Tim or Terry. Hell, they don't know the first thing about how to build what did this!" After the bombing had occurred, Mahon was asked why the IRS building wasn't blown up at night instead of the federal building during the day with children inside. Mahon's answer was given in a sealed deposition. However, defense investigators have said that Mahon indicated that the results of the bombing were not as he had anticipated. He felt that the bombing should have caused a coming together of radicals around the country who would begin a campaign of terrorism. In retrospect, Mahon said he feels like the IRS building should have been bombed instead of the Murrah Building, and probably should have been bombed at night. The day care center and the killing of the children was having a negative effect on his intended progress. In a January 1996 interview, Mahon was told that Andreas Strassmeir was suspected of being a German intelligence officer who still maintained ties with the German military and the U.S. CIA. He reacted violently, turning pale and screaming obscenities. Mahon began to pace about the room, shaking his head and saying "I can't believe it....not Andy....God, no....It can't be true!" Mahon then said that he must contact Mark Thomas, an Aryan Nations official in Pennsylvania, and Mike Brescia, and indicated that the two men were deeply involved in the bomb plot. [SIDE NOTE: Peter Langan was the head of the Aryan Republican Army in Pennsylvania, and was commanding officer over Mark Thomas and Mike Brescia. Recent court documents from Langan's previous incarceration in Georgia indicate that he was released and recruited to work specifically for the U.S. Secret Service as an infiltrator and provocateur of "extremist" groups.] Mahon then called Thomas who was very upset that the conversation was even occurring. Mahon and his brother subsequently placed a call to someone in Germany so they could have Strassmeir checked out to determine if he could be an agent for the German government. Mahon said that Andreas Strassmeir had once been a friend and a very good friend, but if it turned out that Andreas Strassmeir had double-crossed him, then he wanted to Strassmeir "shot in both kneecaps and a confession elicited from him, then a 30 minute trial and an execution." This death threat was reported to the FBI. 1991 - Andreas Strassmeir, having allegedly failed to find a job in Washington, went to Texas where he found work at a computer company, and where he seemingly drifted into the subculture of the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, and the extreme fringes of the so-called Christian right. In investigating this situation, defense counsel learned that during Strassmeir's stay in Texas, certain members of the Texas Light Infantry began to believe that Strassmeir was a government informant. Members of the infantry placed a "tail" on Strassmeir and followed him one night. Strassmeir went into a federal building in which was housed a local BATF office. On the doors of this particular federal building were combination locks that required a specific sequence of numbers to be punched in to gain entrance. Members of the Texas Light Infantry reported that they watched while Strassmeir punched in the proper code, unlocked the door, and went into the building. Strassmeir did not go to Elohim City to find a wife (as alleged by the C.A.U.S.E. Foundation and Kirk Lyons. He was placed there deliberately on assignment and received adequate compensation for his efforts. February 28, 1992 - On this date, Andreas Strassmeir, who was trained in terrorist tactics while in the German military, was arrested near Elohim City for not only carrying false identity papers, but also statements from foreign bank accounts, and a copy of The Terrorist Handbook. The Terrorist Handbook states that its purpose is "to show the many techniques and methods used by those people in this and other countries who employ terror as a means to political and social goals.... [A]ny lunatic or social deviant could obtain this information, and use it against anyone.... [The publisher] feels that it is important that everyone has some idea of just how easy it is for a terrorist to perform acts of terror. That is the reason for the existence of this publication." The table of contents includes chapters on low-order explosives; high-order explosives, including how to build bombs from fertilizer and fuel oil; ignition devices; advanced uses for explosives; delay devices and explosive containers, including plastic containers. As a result of this arrest, Strassmeir's maroon station wagon was impounded by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The police found in his briefcase a collection of documents, some of them in German. According to the tow-truck driver, Kenny Pence, Strassmeir soon brought heavy pressure to bear. Said Pence, "Boy, we caught hell over that one. The phone calls came in from the State Department, the Governor's office, and someone called and said he had diplomatic immunity. He was just a weird cookie." When questioned about Pence's remarks, Strassmeir said, "Some calls did come in to rattle their cage, but he must have been confused about some of the details. Something may have been said about my father's position." [Yeah, right!] February 26, 1993 - The World Trade Center bombing occurred, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand. The weapon of mass destruction employed was a bomb-laden rented Ryder van. Fragments of the van were quickly found in the rubble. Upon tracing the VIN number from the axle of the van, the FBI was able to locate the renter of that van. They then arrested 26-year-old Mohammed Salameh at the Ryder rental agency in New Jersey when he tried to collect his $400 deposit on the van after claiming that the van had been stolen from him. An infamous international terrorist named Ramzi Yousef, who also operates under the name of Abdul Basit, was convicted on September 5, 1996 as the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing. Yousef was also convicted in New York City of a conspiracy to blow up 12 American jumbo jets in one day. Also charged in the World Trade Center bombing was Abdul Hakim Murad. While in prison on April 19, 1995, Abdul Hakim Murad told the FBI that a Muslim group, the Liberation Army in the Philippines (a subgroup of Hamas), was responsible for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. He later explained that the Liberation Army in the Philippines is a terrorist army associated with Hamas and based in Lebanon." In addition, Murad specifically identified and named a member of this terrorist army who was a friend of Terry Nichols in the Philippines and had been seen visiting Nichols' home there in late 1992 or early 1993. It must be remembered, however, that the World Trade Center bombing was achieved using Muslim terrorists in tandem with the FBI. Trial documents show that the conspiracy to bomb the New York World Trade Center in 1993 was penetrated by the FBI. The papers disclosed that a government informant, an employee of the FBI, accompanied the accused bomber, Mohammed Salameh, to a New Jersey apartment that they used as a bomb factory and then instructed Salameh how to drive the bomb van two days before the explosion. The involvement of the FBI in the World Trade Center bombing was doubly confirmed in secretly taped conversations between FBI informant, Elim Ali Salem, a former Egyptian army officer, and his agency handlers. Transcripts of these tapes were published in the October 28, 1993 issue of the "Los Angeles Times." The transcripts were also subsequently published in the "New York Times." The tapes made by Elim Ali Salem revealed that the FBI refused his request to use phony explosives in the bomb he was helping to build under FBI supervision -- the bomb ultimately used in the World Trade Center explosion. Salem later told the "New York Times" that the FBI had planned on building the bomb with a phony powder and then grabbing the people who had been entrapped in the plot. But Salem said the powder scheme was called off by the FBI. In the end, not only did the FBI teach the suspects how to make a proper bomb and how to drive the bomb van, but it gave them the bomb itself. And as for Ramzi Yousef and his band of Muslim Filipino, Palestinian, and Pakistani terrorists, Yousef and his group have been observed, studied, and marked by the Central Intelligence Agency as an extremely dangerous, worldwide terrorist organization for well over a decade. One can only assume that the CIA would willingly allow such persons into this country ONLY if that agency itself intended to engage them in some form of covert intel operation, probably justifying that use by saying, "You have to use bad guys to catch bad guys," which they have, in fact, said. Many of the more detailed inquiries into the CIA's associations with Yousef and his followers have been ignored, and often the answers remain hidden behind the veil of national security. One must ask: whose national security? The World Trade Center bombing was a classic case of an agency of the U.S. federal government planning and promoting a criminal act that aligned with the political or religious sentiments of the men it claimed to be trying to entrap, while simultaneously assisting and allowing that criminal act to occur, in order to further a draconian political agenda in this country without arousing the suspicion of the American people or, even in some cases, the Congress. Two days later, on: February 28, 1993 - The standoff at the Branch Davidian Church in Waco, Texas began. July 1993 - Supplement #4 - FEMA determines two "soft targets" in the Oklahoma City area in "exercise," Murrah Building is one of the targets, information reported to CIA and Secret Service. November 1993 - According to defense counsel, FBI Director Louis Freeh invited a subject to accompany him on a trip to Italy and Germany at this time, shortly after Mr. Freeh became director of the FBI. The subject did in fact accompany Mr. Freeh first to Italy and then to Germany. Counsel was told that Mr. Freeh specifically invited the subject to be present when Freeh met with German internal security officials under the condition that he not write anything about what he heard. The subject was present in the meeting in Germany in November 1993, and stated that the German security officials specifically mentioned Andreas Strassmeir, said that he was "nation hopping" back and forth between the United States and Germany, that he had been associated with neo-Nazis in the United States, and that they were very concerned about their activities. Director Freeh replied that the FBI was aware of Strassmeir, and was "monitoring" his activities, but that: "because of the First Amendment, there isn't anything we can do." March 1994 - Informant Cary Gagan met with two of his Arab friends, known only as Omar and Ahmad, at the Western Motel in Las Vegas. He reported this meeting to the DEA. May 1994 - During the middle of this month, Informant Cary Gagan spent two weeks in and around in Las Vegas at the expense of his Middle Eastern connections and met with some new players -- big money people, well-educated, banker types. Gagan described most of them as looking like Middle Eastern men, but mentioned that it was said that one of the men was from the Philippines. There were usually between six to eight persons present at all of the meetings during this period. It was only later that Gagan learned that during this meeting he was being assessed for a special assignment. It was also during this time that he removed from Omar's trash a crumpled piece of paper with bomb plans on it. He gave copies of this to the FBI, and also provided copies to Bill Jasper, Charles Key, and other independent investigators into the Oklahoma City bombing. It was suggested at Gagan's most recent visit to Oklahoma City during the weekend of June 21st, 1997, that General Partin review that drawing and try to determine exactly what it was. The paper appeared to be bomb-building instructions written in a foreign language, but Partin has not yet released analysis of the illustration. It was also during Gagan's two-week Las Vegas visit in May of 1994 that Gagan first saw the man later called John Doe #2 and a man he believed to be Terry Nichols. According to Gagan, during that meeting Nichols never said a word, didn't seem to fit in, and Gagan described him as "sort of nerdy, a scientist-type, quiet, with glasses." He said he never saw either of those two men again. This particular meeting took place in Henderson, Nevada. Informant Cary Gagan mentioned that It was also at this time, in May of 1994, that he first heard the names of Andy and Dennis -- whom he later assumed to be Andreas Strassmeir and Dennis Mahon -- spoken of by his Arab friends as cooperative connections that might help in some of their projects. He did not know at that time who Andy and Dennis were, nor where they were located, nor did he ever meet with them. However, the interactions between Muslim terrorists, the remaining Nazi elements in Germany, and the neo-Nazi movement in this country is a matter of documentable, historical fact. When shown the surveillance photographs that we obtained of certain Middle Eastern men who had been operating in and around Oklahoma City at the time of the bombing, Gagan was able to identify the man known as Khalil in our surveillance photos. By the way, Khalil's ex-wife, Carole Sue Khalil, was killed in the Murrah Building bombing. She worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Late May, 1994 - Upon preparing to leave Las Vegas, Gagan was given an innocent-looking gym bag to carry back to Denver, Colorado where he was living at the time. He thought he was carrying a couple of kilos of cocaine -- something he had done many times before. He was told to check this gym bag at a specific place in the Las Vegas airport, at a specific time, to a specific person. The gym bag was put on the plane without any problems and Gagan returned to Denver. Gagan had possession of this bag for approximately two weeks after his return to Denver, and it was only toward the end of that two weeks that he opened the bag, expecting to find drugs, and discovered that he had been couriering C4 explosives to Denver for his terrorist contacts. The C4 package weighed approximately 40 lbs. In Denver, Gagan maintained a mail drop box at a business called The Postal Center, located at 3000 E. Colfax. His was box number 272. This postal center was located across the street from the Executive Motel, the side lot of which was operated as a Ryder Rental Center. This operation was owned by a man named George Colombo, a long-time friend of Gagan's. Gagan often stayed in a second-floor apartment that was maintained by Colombo at the Executive Motel, and it was here that he stored the bag of C4, waiting until he was told to delivered it or to leave it at a drop spot. After the May 1994 trip to Las Vegas, Gagan's Middle Eastern connections offered George Colombo several hundred thousand dollars to buy his Ryder rental operation. Gagan did not say whether this transaction finally took place. Colombo did sell the business and moved to Florida, but we do not know to whom he sold it. While Gagan was waiting for the hand-off of the C4, and after he discovered that it was C4, he called the Denver Police Intelligence Bureau. He told them about the C4, gave them names and descriptions of his Las Vegas contacts, and also gave them the name of Robert Gregory, his contact inside the DEA. For several weeks, the police did nothing. When Gagan contacted them again, he was told, "Since you're the source of the information, we're not going to investigate." This was the first indication that Gagan had that he was being abandoned by his federal contacts and handlers, and this abandonment occurred as soon as it became known that Gagan was involved in terrorist plans involving explosives, a development that was certainly bigger and more dangerous than simple drug running and money laundering. It began to seem to Gagan that the federal authorities wanted to let the terrorist activities occur. They seemed to be going out of their way to avoid receiving his reports; and when he did manage to get the FBI, the DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service to listen to his story, nothing ever happened as a result. July 1, 1994 - Cary Gagan called both the FBI and his DEA contact, Robert (Richard) Gregory to see what the DEA could do with the information he had given them about couriering the C4 into Denver from Las Vegas. He was also curious about what the Gregory might have told the Denver Police Intelligence Bureau that had caused them to ignore his report. After working successfully for, and with the full cooperation of, these federal agencies for approximately 14 years, Gagan was suddenly told by Gregory, "We've decided you're not credible." It was at this point that Gagan began making sure that he left a discoverable paper trail for all of his activities. September 1994 - Informant Cary Gagan's Middle Eastern contact, Omar, came to Denver and offered Gagan $250,000 to participate in terrorist bombings in the United States. Gagan reported this offer to the FBI and to the Denver police, who seemed only remotely interested in his story. Because Gagan looks like a typical American and does not attract attention, he was to serve as support personnel. He decided that he was going to need some extra protection for this job, and made deliberate attempts to stay in closer contact with the FBI, but the FBI expressed no interest and basically told him to get lost. During these early weeks of September, Gagan learned that the first terrorist project was to be the bombing of a federal building somewhere in the 10th Judicial Circuit, possibly in Denver, Colorado. September 14, 1994 - Early on this morning, Cary Gagan contacted the U.S. Marshals service in Denver by telephone and spoke to a man named David Floyd. He contacted the Marshals because the FBI had already said they would not investigate his reports and the DEA had abandoned him. Gagan told Floyd his story, and Floyd said that the U.S. Marshals would help with a letter of immunity. Gagan also telephoned Raymond Moore at the Federal Building in Denver. Moore told Gagan to call back at noon. At noon, Gagan was told that he could pick up his letter of immunity from the FBI office. After the somewhat abusive treatment he had already taken at the hands of the FBI, Gagan was not too pleased with this arrangement and was fully expecting to be arrested when he entered the building. However, the FBI did conduct a cursory interview with Gagan at that time and gave him the letter, which we published on pages 390 and 391 of Oklahoma City: Day One. The letter was signed by Gagan and Assistant United States Attorney James R. Allison of the District of Colorado. In spite of his immunity, and in spite of the fact that he was working under-cover on this terrorist plot on behalf of the United States Government, not one single U.S. attorney would meet with him face-to-face in the District of Colorado from that point on. Gagan's next contact with any identifiable federal agent came in July of 1995 after the bombing when he met with FBI Special Agent in Charge Dave Shepherd in Las Vegas. In April of 1995, he met with and received instructions from a man he assumed to be a U.S. Intel agent, but Gagan never knew positively who this man was. Interestingly enough, the indictment bought against McVeigh and Nichols states that "beginning on or about September 13, 1994 and continuing thereafter until on or about April 19, 1995...the defendants herein did knowingly, intentionally, willfully and maliciously conspire, etc., etc., etc." That this date specified by the grand jury should so closely mesh with McVeigh's letter to Fortier suggesting that action be taken against the government, as well as the date that Informant Cary Gagan received his letter of immunity, cannot be coincidental. And by the way, in spite of the fact that Gagan was known to prosecutors, had official immunity from prosecution in this incident, and his reports had been received by the Department of Justice, he was never called to testify before the federal grand jury that was convened in Oklahoma City to indict the men accused of the bombing. Mid-October 1994 - The FBI contacted Cary Gagan because the Worldwide Jewish Convention was meeting in Denver. They wanted to know if he had any information about any possible terrorist actions that might be taken against the group. Gagan didn't know of any, and none occurred. November 1994 - Dennis Mahon and Andreas Strassmeir discussed "targeting federal installations for destruction," such as the Tulsa IRS Office, the Tulsa Federal Building, and the Oklahoma City Federal Building. According to BATF Informant Carol Howe, they made at least three trips to Oklahoma City to case the federal building, the first in November 1994, the second in December 1994, and the third in February 1995. Week of November 9, 1994 - Terry Nichols arrived in Las Vegas and stayed for two weeks with his ex-wife, Lana Padilla, visiting with their son Josh. He was scheduled to leave for the Philippines two weeks later. While there is evidence that Nichols may had been initially involved in the planning of the bombing of a federal building, by this date he wanted out. Among the documents federal prosecutors handed over to defense lawyers is testimony that McVeigh had begun to solicit help from other people because Nichols was expressing a great reluctance to participate. November 22, 1994 - Lana Padilla took her ex-husband, Terry Nichols, to the airport in Las Vegas, Nevada where he left for the Philippines. When they arrived at the airport, Nichols gave Padilla a folded brown paper bag and allegedly said, "If I'm not back in 60 days, open it and follow the instructions." Josh ran after his father, who had turned to go to the plane, and hugged him. When he returned to the car, Padilla said that Josh slumped in the seat and burst into tears crying, "I'll never see my dad again!" With regard to the significance of Terry Nichols' many trips and phone calls to the Philippines, there is much that must be said, and this is as good a time to address this as any. There are definitely two equally possible scenarios here. I have become pretty convinced that Terry Nichols may have been some sort of contact man in the planning of the Oklahoma City bombing as it related to the involvement of the terrorist cell operating out of Las Vegas. I am also completely convinced that no one in his family is aware of anything he may have done, or any of the persons with whom he might have done business in this regard. I also believe that Terry Nichols did indeed decide that he wanted out of the whole mess after he returned from this November trip to the Philippines, but by then it was far too late to stop anything. Much has been made in the media and by some of the investigators of Terry Nichols' phone records to the Philippines. For example, there was one day in particular when he made 37 calls to the same number in the Philippines. The number turned out to be a hardware store or similar small commercial establishment. It was discovered that Marife Nichols' family in the Philippines, with whom she lives when she is in that country, have no telephone of their own. When Terry needed to contact her, he had to call a friend, neighbor, relative, or nearby store and ask someone to find Marife to bring her to that telephone where he could call her back. This could account for 37 calls to one telephone number on one day. However, on the one hand, there are Filipino terrorists in jail cooperating with federal officials who have identified Terry Nichols as having very friendly contact with other known Filipino terrorists, even to the point of inviting those men into his house near Cebu City. In the federal grand jury investigation leading to the indictment of Nichols and McVeigh, the grand jurors linked Terry Nichols personally, by way of the testimony of Edwin Angeles, a Filipino terrorist, to convicted international terrorists Ramzi Yousef and Abdul Hakim Murad, as well as other Philippine terrorist groups. Defense counsel interviewed in the Philippines a known terrorist, Edwin Angeles, in the custody of the Philippine government. The purpose of the inquiry was to determine his knowledge of foreign "mail-to-order bride" businesses, which introduce American males to Filipinas who are ostensibly "tour guides" for the visiting foreigners, and to determine any links between that group and criminal activity in the Philippines and/or terrorism. This investigation was also necessary because Terry Nichols had selected his present wife, Marife, through one of these mail-order-bride services. During the course of the investigation, the following information was discovered by defense counsel: [CONTINUED IN PART THREE] - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #148 *************************