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The New York Sun October 3, 2003:

 

A prominent Muslim activist charged with dealing with Libya and suspected of paying bills for a terror cell in Oregon, also had dealings with a German cleric closely associated with several people who planned and carried out the September 11 terror attacks.

 

As investigators determine how close Abdurahmann Alamoudi is to supporters of terrorism they are also scrambling to find out what they can about the movements of a top Saudi Arabian official who stayed at the same northern Virginia hotel as the three Saudi men who would hijack a plane the next morning and crash it into the Pentagon.

 

The new developments come as three men are being held for possessing classified information about the detainees at the American military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

 

Authorities believe one of the men was spying for Syria and is connected to Mr. Alamoudi. As a result of the recent incidents, law enforcement officials told The New York Sun they are reevaluating what is known about how terror cells operate in America.

 

"We're just beginning to scrape the tip of the iceberg about what we know," Senator Schumer said. "Over the last several years fanatic followers of Islamic fundamentalism have inserted themselves into different parts of American life. We have to figure out what danger the situation presents and how to deal with it."

 

Steven Emerson, a terrorism expert, warns the danger is great. "The insinuation of Islamic fundamentalists into the military, politics, and other walks of life is the greatest penetration of U.S. national security in history," Mr. Emerson said.

 

The FBI stepped up its probe into Mr. Alamoudi - a well-known activist who has met with President Clinton and the current President Bush - after receiving a report from British officials that he had tried traveling to Syria with $340,000 in cash "intended for delivery in Damascus to one or more of the terrorists or terrorist organizations active in Syria," according to court papers.

 

The investigation got a boost from the German government, which turned over a file from its ongoing probe of Mohammed Belfas, a prominent cleric in Hamburg who has denied having anything to do with terrorism

 

The file contained a photo of Mr. Belfas meeting with Mr. Alamoudi in Virginia, according to sources.

 

In addition to that photo - which was seized from Mr. Belfas's apartment in Germany after the September 11 attacks - were several pictures of Mr. Belfas in front of buildings including the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.

 

While Mr. Belfas has never been charged with - or officially linked to - terrorism, law enforcement sources say there is a concern the pictures were taken as part of a scouting mission.

 

"There is evidence linking Mr. Alamoudi to the Portland Seven and there is the fact he was trying to bring a large amount of cash to terrorists in Syria," one law enforcement official said. "The question is how far and deep are these links."

 

One terrorism expert, Lorenzo Vidino of The Investigative Group, said the contact with Mr. Belfas raises a red flag.

 

"While it is safe to assume that Mr. Belfas was not involved in the operational end of the attacks he definitely is known as a recruiter for the organization and someone who helps indoctrinate people into the radical theology," Mr. Vidino says. "Contact with him can be seen as contact with the organization."

 

Meanwhile, federal agents are trying to retrace the steps of a top Saudi official who stayed in the same hotel as three of the September 11 hijackers the night before they flew a plane into the Pentagon.

 

"There has not been nearly enough cooperation from the Saudi government when it comes to fighting terrorism," Senator Schumer said. "We need them to take a stand. We need their assistance in this fight and so far it has been lacking."

 

Mr. Emerson said that while the arrest of Mr. Alamoudi and the translators working at Guantanamo Bay shows progress, it also shows the problem is widespread.

 

"For so long Mr. Alamoudi and others have tried to show that they are part of the mainstream," he said. "When the truth is that they have pulled the wool over the eyes of so many."

 

Michael Cherkasky, a former prosecutor who is now chief executive officer of Kroll, an international security firm, agrees, saying that all the recent incidents illustrate the problems facing investigators.

 

"It's a very complex task figuring out who everyone is and what their motives are, as well as tracing where the money is coming from and where it is going."

 

 

 

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