The Oklahoma City Bombing And The Politics Of Terror Part 19

And were the Russians using Middle Eastern terrorists as proxies - who in turn were using American neo-n.a.z.is - to destabalize the West while maintaining deniability? While the apparent demise of the Soviet Union convinced a lot of people that the long-feared Communist threat was over, many within the intelligence community disagree.

A recent Rueters report quoted Raymond Mislock, Chief of the FBI's National Security Division, as saying that the Russians "still are on the scene," and continue to employ intelligence officers in this country. In fact, the FBI was investigating over 200 cases of suspected Russian espionage activity at the time of this writing.[695]

And what about Khalid's employees trips to Mexico? Was Khalid liasoning with terrorists there? Ultimately, the question was, who was Khalid working for?

Although Louis Crousette avoided any further attempts to contact him, he left Jayna Davis with one final word of advice. Echoing Hani Kamal's words of warning regarding Israeli intelligence, Crousette said, "You know who's your best bet to talk to, if you haven't thought about it... the Mossad."

That final adage led me straight back to Northrop, who stated in his report that Khalid "fit the role" of a PLO operative, and insisted that the bombing was the work of Iraqi terrorists. But if Khalid, Hussaini, and Oshan were simple Arab terrorists - and they had left a trail of evidence a mile long - why were they still walking around?

In spite of Novel's and Davis' unsuccessful attempts to positively I.D. Khalid with McVeigh or Nichols, Gagan stated that he had seen Nichols with Omar, at a meeting which took place just outside of Las Vegas.

The FBI had also investigated Sam Khalid for PLO fundraising activities, and had looked into the shooting a.s.sault of Sharon Twilley.

They had put out an APB on the brown pick-up driven by Hussain al-Hussaini, which was seen speeding away from the scene of the bombing. And Hussaini's alibi for the morning of the April 19 was patently false.

KFOR's witnesses who placed Hussaini with McVeigh seemed perfectly credible, and KFOR had pa.s.sed on their information to the FBI.

Khalid had access to an auto body shop, and one of Khalid's employees had been seen abandoning the re-painted pick-up in a nearby apartment complex.

Then there was the mysterious disappearance of Khalid's phone records, and the strange comments he made to Ernie Cranfield when he was asked why Abraham Ahmed had been seen hanging around Khalid's place in the brown pick-up.

Khalid had been placed by Northrop's sources with the same Hamas operative in Miami - Ramadan Shallah - that Gagan had seen in Las Vegas.

Finally, Omar (Khalid?) was seen meeting with Frank Terpil - a rogue CIA agent who had supplied Arab terrorists with several tons of C-4.

Although circ.u.mstantial, the facts were sufficient to make an incontrovertible case, and yet these people seemed to walk through walls. Could the FBI be so inept? Were their agents so compartmentalized that they couldn't put two and two together? Or had the Justice Department's investigation become so politicized that bureaucratic inept.i.tude had become the desired and inevitable result? It would seem all of the above, and yet this still seemed too simple an answer.

Even Northrop's report seemed a bit one-dimensional. While the former Israeli intelligence agent drew a picture of Arab terrorists forged in the fire of the PLO, the image that lurked just beneath the surface, one drawn in invisible ink, was that of intelligence operatives conceived in the secret chambers of the Mossad... or the CIA.

This was the one remaining possibility that lent credence to the seemingly irreconcilable facts which presented themselves. After all, why had the FBI ignored a veritable mountain of damming evidence? Why had they suddenly and mysteriously canceled the APB on the brown pick up? And why, after 48 hours of reporting nothing but Middle Eastern connections, did the Justice Department and their obedient lap dogs of the mainstream press suddenly announce that no Middle Eastern connection existed?

Certainly the capture of McVeigh and Nichols did not repudiate the still-standing Middle Eastern connection. Nor could the sudden change have been the result of information from low-level agents in the field. No. It could have only been the result of one thing - a strategic decision from the Justice Department, which had as its basis, a political directive from the White House.

It was to Was.h.i.+ngton that Khalid traveled shortly after the bombing, according to employees, to meet with a Congressional representative. The purpose? As an emissary to discuss the problem of "Muslim bas.h.i.+ng."

Yet KFOR's P.I., Bob Jerlow, claims he spoke to the Representative's aide who checked the Congressman's schedule and claimed she never saw the name Khalid.

If Sam Khalid was a run-of-the-mill Arab terrorist who had just played a role in the biggest terrorist attack in U.S. history, why would he attract attention to himself by firing shots at Sharon Twilley? A convicted felon like Khalid would easily earn a stiff prison sentence for possession of a firearm and a.s.sault with a deadly weapon.

Unless he was "protected."

This would tend to explain why he acted so non-chalant towards Ernie Cranfield, Bob Jerlow, Brad Edwards, and the author. It would likewise tend to explain the FBI's lack of interest in Khalid.

If Khalid and Hussaini were run-of-the-mill Arab terrorists, what was Khalid doing meeting with such high-level U.S. officials? It would seem that President Clinton's publicly televised admonishment not to blame the Arab community also served as a handy excuse to cover up the Middle Eastern connection.

Yet why would Clinton want to cover up their connection to the bombing? There are two reasons: First, Clinton needs an excuse to crack down on the Patriot/Militia community, who represent a threat to Clinton's anti-const.i.tutional plans for America, and the establishment's plans for a "New World Order." This Clinton did with a vengeance. Once the Justice Department had announced the capture of McVeigh and Nichols, the mainstream media, with information supplied mainly by the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith (ADL), and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), was able to focus their anti-militia spotlights, launching vitriolic attacks against anyone connected with the far-Right. Under the orchestration of the ADL, attacks on the Patriot/Militia movement continued for months, eventhough there was no doc.u.mentable proof of the suspects' connections to the militias, or the militias' connection to the bombing.

Number two, Clinton and Bush were responsible for bringing individuals like Hussain al-Hussaini into this country. Between 1992 and 1995, over 18,000 Iraqi refugees and their families were resettled into the U.S. under a largely unknown and hotly debated program initiated by President Bush and followed up by President Clinton. They were part of a contingent of Iraqi refugees that flooded the Saudi border during and after the war, including many former Iraqi soldiers and deserters.

According to Oklahoma Senator David Boren, approximately 950 of these former soldiers were resettled in the U.S. in 1992 and 1993. Congressional Research Service figures indicate that an additional 549 soldiers were resettled in 1994, and 219 in 1995.

A "Sense of the Congress" resolution initiated by Republicans Don Manzulla of Illinois and Clifford Stearns of Florida attempted to halt the resettlement.[696]

"We're rolling out the welcome wagon to prisoners of war, yet our own veterans who fought there are having trouble getting any help," Sterns said. Some of the refugees included s.h.i.+'ite Muslims who were oppressed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and in some cases rebelled against him. Others included Iraqi soldiers who Hussein vowed to execute because they didn't fight to the death. "I'm sympathetic with the idea that people who opposed Saddam Hussein should not be allowed to be ma.s.sacred," said Tennessee State Republican Representative John L. 'Jimmy' Duncan Jr., "but we should give the benefit of the doubt to our own people and put the burden of proof on the people who want to come in."[697]

In spite of the resolutions, the White House backed the program, officially admitting approximately 18,000 Iraqi refugees into the U.S. According to Manzulla's office, the figure may be higher. Some figures put approximately 5,000 Iraqis in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas alone.

Others fear that such a resettlement would create a sort of "blowback." The U.S. already has Muslim extremist cells, and it is difficult to gather accurate intelligence on all those admitted under the program. According to the Congressional Research Service Report, "...there has been no contact with Kuwaiti intelligence services in the effort to verify that the refugees are not Iraqi agents."[698]

If Hussain al-Hussaini, a former Iraqi officer, was resettled into the U.S., it is possible - highly possible in fact - that he was recruited by the CIA or DIA as part of a deal.

There is a precedent for such collaboration. In 1949 and 1950 the National Security Council issued NSC Intelligence Directive 13 and 14, which expanded the CIA's authority to function inside the U.S. (in violation of the CIA's charter.) One of their programs involved bringing "favored European exiles" into the country.

"Favored European exiles" was a euphemism for n.a.z.i war criminals.[699]

It may not be fair to compare Iraqi war refugees with n.a.z.i war criminals or Islamic terrorists. But given the United States' precedent in using expatriated n.a.z.is and Cubans for their covert operations, and the extremely low-key nature of the Bush/Clinton Iraqi resettlement program, one has to wonder what Hussaini's real purpose was.[700]

As former Pentagon investigator Gene Wheaton observes: "Every major Middle-Eastern terrorist organization is under surveillance and control of the intelligence agencies in the U.S. None of these guys move around as freely as they'd like you to think."

If Hussaini was working for the Mossad, the FBI, the DIA, or the CIA, who have been known to cooperate with each other on "special projects," he may have been a double-agent, working for Iraq at the same time. Remember that Saddam Hussein had threatened revenge against the United States ("Does the United States realize the meaning of opening the stores of the world with the will of Iraqi people?...Does it realize the meaning of every Iraqi becoming a missile that can cross to countries and cities?") If an element of the United States Government played a role in the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Building, using an Arab to do its dirty work would prove far easier than attempting to recruit an American citizen.

Sam Khalid's ability to monitor the activities of a group of Middle Easterners with dubious connections (through hiring and renting homes to Arab immigrants), and his status as former felon, make him a likely candidate as an operative or informant.

Was he playing both sides of the fence?

Politically, the government's refusal to concede the complicity of Iraq in the World Trade Center bombing, and possibly to the Oklahoma City bombing, may stem from its desire to halt any public outcry against U.S. policies. One major example is the government's refusal to face the consequences of its immoral, brutal, and devastating actions in the Gulf.

Dr. Laurie Mylroie believes the Clinton administration's failure to address the problem lies in its refusal to face the specter of state-sponsored terrorism. Instead it chooses to adopt a microcosmic "law-enforcement" approach to what she perceives as an international problem - hence the focus on "domestic terrorists."

Moreover, the White House may not want to admit the specter of state-sponsored terrorism because it might panic the populace. Such is the case of a state-sponsored biological attack which has been increasingly threatening our population.[701]

If Iraq indeed proved to be behind the Oklahoma City bombing, it would not fare well for the Clinton administration, who followed up on President Bush's Iraqi resettlement program. It would not fare well for Bush and his business and political cronies - the same CIA/Iran-Contra coterie who armed and fueled Saddam Hussein's military machine with conventional and biological weapons.

And it would preclude this same international arms/drugs cabal from profiteering by re-supplying Iraq in the future. In short, it would preclude "business as usual."[702]

Whatever the reason, certainly the public wasn't being told the full truth about the Oklahoma City bombing. They would never be allowed to glimpse any evidence of the Middle Eastern connection.

Yet this was only part of the picture.

6.

"No Stone Unturned"

"We will leave no stone unturned in our effort to get to the truth."

- Attorney General Janet Reno

"McVeigh and Nichols are going to h.e.l.l regardless. I'm just looking forward to sending them there a little sooner."

- U.S. Attorney Joseph Hartzler

Almost from the beginning, the Justice Department and the mainstream press focused their attention on Timothy McVeigh, painting him as a spurned ex-soldier who was angry for failing to make the Special Forces; an extremist Right-wing "Patriot" who hated the government with a pa.s.sion for their atrocities at Waco. McVeigh, the angry misguided loner, it is alleged, conspired with anti-government tax protester Terry Nichols to teach the Federal Government a lesson in Oklahoma.

Like the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, the "capture" of Timothy McVeigh was an incredible stroke of timing and luck. Like Oswald, who was arrested for walking into a movie theater without paying, McVeigh would be arrested for speeding down the highway with a conspicuously missing license plate.

In both cases, the FBI was quickly notified that their "suspect" was in custody. With their extraordinary run of good luck, the FBI was able to instantly trace the serial number found on the bomb truck to Ford, then to Ryder, then to Elliott's rental agency, then to a "Bob Kling," and finally to "McVeigh."[703]

Like Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcanno rifle, which the FBI traced from its entrance into the U.S., to an importer, to Klein's Sporting Goods, to a sale to an "A.J. Hidell," then to Oswald - all without computers and over a weekend - the FBI would quickly trace the Ryder truck to the lone bomber.

Finally, like "lone nut" Lee Harvey Oswald, "lone nut" Timothy James McVeigh would be transferred from the n.o.ble County jail, paraded in front of onlookers and the press as the ma.s.s murderer. While there was no Jack Ruby to intervene this time, McVeigh would be led away in a bright orange jumpsuit, without a bullet-proof vest, which he had specifically requested.

Ironically, his departing words were, "...I might be Lee Harvey Oswald, Jr.... You remember what happened with Jack Ruby."[704]

As in the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, the circ.u.mstances surrounding the arrest of McVeigh and Nichols would prove highly questionable. The media widely reported that McVeigh was stopped by Highway Patrolman Charles Hanger 78 minutes after the blast(s), heading north on I-35, near Perry. McVeigh was driving without a license plate. As Trooper Hanger's affivadit states: "...That I stopped the vehicle and the defendant was the driver and only occupant of the vehicle.... That as the defendant was getting his billfold from his right rear pocket I noticed a bulge under the left side of his jacket and I thought it could be a weapon.... That I then told the defendant to pull his jacket back and before he did he said, 'I have a gun under my jacket....' That I then grabbed a hold of the left side of his jacket and drew my own weapon and pointed it at the back of his head and instructed him to keep his hands up and I walked him over to the trunk of his car and had him put his hands on the trunk...."

Yet accounts vary. Some acticles stated that McVeigh was speeding at 81 miles per hour. Yet Hanger only cited him for no license plate, no insurance, and possession of a concealed weapon. Were these accounts meant to suggest that McVeigh was trying to make a fast get-away? If so, why would a man who had just committed such a heinous crime wish to draw attention to himself?

McVeigh supposedly just blew up a building and killed 169 innocent people - men, women, and children - including a number of federal agents. It is 78 minutes later, and he is being pulled over by a state trooper. He has no tags, no insurance, and is carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. He is most likely going to jail, where his name, Social Security number, and description will be uplinked to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) at the FBI - an FBI that is now on full alert.

McVeigh is carrying a large combat knife, and a Glock model 21 automatic pistol loaded with deadly hollow-point bullets. McVeigh is a trained soldier, a top marskman, and a hardened combat veteran.

The cop is exiting his vehicle and walking over to McVeigh's car. McVeigh's life outside the electric chair is very likely about to come to an end. What does McVeigh - this hardened combat veteran, this brutal killer of 169 innocent people - do? He casually informs the cop that he has a concealed weapon, and meekly hands himself over for arrest.[705]

Of course the mainstream press wouldn't make any attempt to a.n.a.lyze this bizarre inconsistency in McVeigh's behavior, only reporting that he was "uncommunicative," (Time), "calls himself a 'prisoner of war,'" (New York Times), and is refusing to cooperate with investigators and prosecutors..." (U.S. News & World Report) - a story which would be repeated by numerous other papers.

Yet as McVeigh stated to Newsweek, "I never called myself a prisoner of war."[706] McVeigh's account is backed up by the Los Angeles Times, which obtained McVeigh's arrest records. As the Times' Richard Serrano notes: ....They reveal a McVeigh sharply different from the one sources had earlier portrayed. He was not the silent soldier who gave jailers only his name, rank and serial number. Rather, he was often polite. And smooth.[707]

With only the serial number of a truck differential and a sketch to work with, the FBI fanned out through Junction City. Upon examining the rental receipt at Elliott's Body Shop, the FBI discovered all the information on it was false. As Agent Henry Gibbon's affidavit states: The person who signed the rental agreement identified himself as Bob Kling, SSAN 962-42-9694, South Dakota driver's license number YF942A6, and provided a home address of 428 Maple Drive, Omaha, Nebraska, telephone 913-238-2425. The person listed the destination as 428 Maple Drive, Redfield, South Dakota. b. Subsequent investigation conducted by the FBI determined all that information to be false.

Yet employees of Elliott's Body Shop did recognize the sketch of Unsub #1 as the man who rented the truck used in the bombing. The FBI then took the sketch of Unsub #1 to the Dreamland Motel, where they found that Unsub #1 had rented a room from April 14 through the April 18. As the FBI affidavit states: An employee of the Dreamland Motel in Junction City, Kansas, identified Timothy McVeigh as a guest at the motel from April 14, 1995, through April 18, 1995. This employee, when shown a photo lineup identified Timothy McVeigh's picture as the individual who registered at the motel under the name of Tim McVeigh, listed his automobile as a Mercury bearing an Arizona license plate, and provided a Michigan address, on North Van d.y.k.e in Decker Michigan.[708]

On April 21, only hours before McVeigh was due to be released from the Perry County Jail, "District Attorney John Maddox received a call from the FBI telling him to hang onto the prisoner.[709]

As the New York Times reported, "...a routine check of his Social Security number matched one flagged by the FBI as belonging to a suspect in the bombing."[710] This subsumes that the FBI had obtained McVeigh's Social Security number from the accurate registration information at the Dreamland, not the false information at Elliott's.

Why would Tim McVeigh - who was bent on committing such a terrible crime - use a fake name and address at the Ryder rental agency, yet use his real name and address at a motel right down the street?[711] Perhaps because, as will be explained below, McVeigh never visited the rental agency.

While in custody, McVeigh listed James Nichols as a reference. Why would McVeigh list the brother of his so-called accomplice as his only reference?

On April 21, Terry Nichols was busy with ch.o.r.es around his new home in Herrington. Unbeknownst to him, a team of 11 FBI agents had already staked out his house.

Later that afternoon, Nichols heard his name being broadcast as a possible suspect. At 2:42 p.m. he and Marife got into their blue pick-up, and drove to the Herrington police station, with the FBI on his tail. According to Marife, Terry was frightened, and anxious to know why his name was being broadcast. Inside, Nichols asked why his name was being mentioned on the radio in connection with the bombing. The cops replied that they didn't know, but they had some questions for him. "Good," Nichols said, "because I have some questions for you."

Strangely, FBI agents then read Nichols his Miranda rights, something not normally done unless someone is under arrest, and told him three times he was free to go.

In fact, Nichols wasn't free to go. An arrest warrant had been issued five hours earlier, but Nichols wouldn't be informed of this until almost midnight. In the interim, he and Marife were questioned by the FBI for over nine hours.

Back at his house, a SWAT team had already arrived, and agents were sealing it with crime tape, and checking it for b.o.o.by traps. It was there that agents would claim to discover 55-gallon barrels, rolls of primadet detonator cord, non-electric blasting caps, and a receipt for 40 50-pound bags of ammonium nitrate with McVeigh's thumbprint.

If Terry Nichols was an accomplice in the bombing, why would he leave such incriminating items in his house? Wouldn't he have attempted to hide the items before driving over to the police station?

Moreover, if Nichols was a co-conspirator in the largest domestic terrorist attack in the history of the country, why would he casually stroll into the police station asking why his name was being broadcast on TV? This makes about as much sense as Timothy McVeigh casually pulling over for Officer Hanger and meekly handing himself over for arrest.

Several days after McVeigh's arrest, Hanger claimed to have recovered a crumpled business card from behind the front pa.s.senger seat of his patrol car, where McVeigh had been sitting. The card for Paulsen's Military Supply of Antigo, Wisconsin, contained a handwritten note: "Dave. TNT at $5 a stick. 708-288-0128. Need more. Call after 1 of May, see if I can get some more."

Had McVeigh actually left such a note in the cruiser? When McVeigh defense team investigator Marty Reed attempted to interview Hanger, he was told by OHP chief legal counsel John Lindsey, "The FBI has requested that no one interview Trooper Charlie Hanger."

And as in the Kennedy case, the evidence collected by the FBI in their case, code-named "OKBOMB," would prove just as specious. The FBI quickly claimed that they had traced the Ryder truck from a serial number - 6 4 PVA26077 - found on its rear differential, which had flown 575 feet through the air "like a boomerang" and landed on a Ford Fiesta. (For those confused about the FBI finding the serial number on the "axle," it was actually on the axle housing.)[712][713]

Curiously, while Deputy Sheriff Melvin Sumter told me he had found the axle, an Oklahoma City Policeman, Mike McPherson, claimed that he had in fact discovered it, as did an FBI agent. These three accounts were contradicted by Governor Frank Keating, who claimed that he had actually found the axle.

The Ryder truck belonging to the axle, rented under the alias of "Bob Kling," the FBI claimed, was the instrument of the deadly destruction in Oklahoma City.

But had it actually been rented by Timothy McVeigh?

The "McVeigh" Eldon Elliott described to the grand jury was 5' 10" to 5' 11", with medium build, weighing between 180-185 pounds. Elliott's mechanic Tom Kessinger stated that the man had a "rough" complexion with "acne," and employee Vicki Beemer said he had a deformed chin.

Not only is McVeigh clear-skinned, he is a lanky 6', 2", and weighs only 160 pounds. He does not have a deformed chin.[714]

Readers will also recall that ATF informant Carol Howe, who had penetrated the Elohim City enclave, told ATF and FBI agents that the sketch of John Doe 1 who rented the truck appeared to be Elohim City resident and close Stra.s.smeir friend Peter Ward.[715]

According to J.D. Cash, so did Dennis Mahon. Mahon told the reporter that Ward was "known at Elohim City as 'Andy's shadow'... Ward went everywhere Stra.s.smeir did and is dumb as dirt." Mahon also added, "...you know his brother, Tony, has a pocked complexion..."[716]

Yet authorities insist that it was McVeigh who rented the truck on April 17. They introduced surveillance footage from a Junction City McDonalds, slightly over a mile from Elliott's, showing McVeigh walking towards the cas.h.i.+er at approximately 3:55 p.m. Yet McVeigh was not wearing military attire as was "Kling." Nevertheless, the prosecution contends that McVeigh left the restaurant, walked the 1.3 miles to Elliott's during a light drizzle, then showed up nice and dry, wearing completely different clothes.

Eldon Elliott would play along for the prosecution. In spite of his previous grand jury testimony, and the FBI 302 statements of his employees, Elliott testified at McVeigh's trial that Timothy McVeigh was the man who rented the truck.[717]

Interesting that he could make such an a.s.sertion, when the FBI hadn't brought him before a line-up eventhough they had questioned him just 48 hours after the bombing. In fact, the FBI didn't show Elliott a photo line-up until 48 days later. During McVeigh's trial, Elliott attempted to compensate for the discrepancy in McVeigh's height by stating that McVeigh had "leaned" on the counter while filling out the reservation form.

Had Elliott been coached by the prosecution?[718]

"From his body language, the way he acted nervous, avoided my questions, I could tell he was under some sort of pressure," said former Federal Grand Juror Hoppy Heidelberg.

When defense team investigator Richard Reyna went to interview Elliott, he was told the FBI had instructed him not to talk to anyone about the case because "they didn't want to get things distorted." He then handed Reyna the card of FBI Special Agent Scott Crabtree.

When Marty Reed and co-investigator Wilma Sparks approached Elliott a week later, he referred them to a man named Joseph Pole. Pole stated that he was "working for Ryder... indirectly." He refused to speak with the investigators and excused himself, saying he had to make a phone call. When Sparks and Reed went outside, they noticed a government car with the license number G-10 03822, parked in front of the shop.

When they returned the next day, they were again met by the mysterious "Ryder employee" who didn't produce a business card. When they asked the body shop's employees why the government car was there, they were told it was being worked on. But the investigators saw no signs of damage. Upon returning the following day, the car was parked between two campers, ostensibly in an attempt to conceal it.[719]