Is a crucial "terror" figure in the pre-9/11
propaganda campaign being pre-positioned in Canada for use as a propaganda tool
after a post-9/11 attack? Back in October 2003, I posted an article in which I
noted the key importance of the December 1999 arrest of Ahmed Ressam in
establishing a crucial evidentiary trail that would later be used most
effectively in linking al-Qaida to the attack on September 11.
In an excerpt from that article, entitled The Tale of The
Millennial Bomber, I noted how France's powerful anti-terror prosecutor,
Jean-Louis Bruguiere, repeatedly prodded the Canadian intelligence service to
tack on to the Ressam evidentiary trail by means of terrorist "bait"
by the name of Fateh Kamel. On the pretext of tracking down Fateh Kamel,
Bruguiere directly led the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)�not
once, but on two different occasions�to Ressam's front door. On the second
occasion, Ressam conveniently escaped out a back door, only to resurface soon
after, once he was busted in Seattle attempting to bomb Los Angeles
International airport in the lead-up to the new millennium.
Once Ressam was captured, the FBI's chief bin Laden
investigator, John O'Neill, along with his French counter-terror colleague,
Bruguiere, led the local FBI agent in charge to the Canadians, who by then were
able to furnish that agent with a dossier on Ressam's Canadian
"cell," courtesy of Bruguiere's initial inquiries concerning Fateh
Kamel.
Put quite simply, the "bait" of Fateh Kamel was
absolutely crucial in laying down the evidentiary trail that eventually linked
Ressam to the al-Qaida organization. This link, in turn, was one of the main
planks used almost immediately after 9/11 in casting bin Laden as the central
suspect for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Several months before Ressam fulfilled his historic role in
the Official 9/11 Legend, Bruguiere had arranged for the arrest of Fateh Kamel
in Jordan, along with his subsequent extradition to France on charges of
abetting terror. Bruguiere used this arrest soon thereafter as a pretext to
prod the Canadians to revisit Kamel's "apartment de conspiracie" in
Montreal, whereupon they just missed Ressam yet captured incriminating al-Qaida
documents that were "left behind."
So, quite naturally, one would expect that Fateh Kamel would
still be rotting in a French prison, secured under the ever-vigilant eye of
Bruguiere. Not so fast. As of January 2005, Fateh Kamel is now walking the
streets of Montreal, Canada, as a free man, having been released after barely
four years of imprisonment in France . . . for "good behavior."
In the interim since 9/11, new suspect terror cliques have
been marketed with documented links to Canada. We even know the names of some
of the key members of these networked cliques with ties to, or documented
activities in, Canada�Abderrouf Jdey, Adnan el-Shukrijumah, the el-Maati
brothers, and the Khadrs, Canada's reputed "First Family of Terror."
Also in the interim, ex-CIA chief James Woolsey, along with
his Booz Allen Hamilton colleague, former FBI counter-terror chief Dale Watson,
have taken a special interest in Canada, meeting with various Canadian
counter-terror officials while doing the local media and speaking rounds,
warning of an impending al-Qaida attack on Canadian soil.
So, with all of the above in mind, is it a stretch to
surmise that Fateh Kamel is once again being pre-positioned in Canada to serve
as the evidentiary "bait" that links the newly marketed post-9/11
terror cliques with the pre-9/11 Ressam Canadian clique?
Conveniently, some elements of the Canadian media�for
instance, the National Post's Stewart Bell�are presenting the Canadian border
as a porous point of opportunity for the al-Qaida network to infiltrate
through. Bin Laden has also conveniently played his part, having assured the
world that Canada is a key target on his "official hit list." Should
Canada be the setting or operative connection for the next devastating terror
attack in North America, a number of terror "experts" have already
put in play the excuse that Canada is "lax" on terror. Canadian laws
and policies will be blamed. A campaign to set up a harmonized North American
security and legal zone will gather steam.
But don't believe a word of it. Jean-Louis Bruguiere did not
simply let this fish slip away. Fateh Kamel needed to come "home" to
Canada�because the global counter-terror apparatus needs a new evidentiary
trail to the next 9/11.
Fateh Kamel returns after four years in French prison
February 27, 2005
BOB MITCHELL
Toronto Star
STAFF REPORTER
A convicted international terrorist who once boasted
"killing is easy for me" should have his citizenship revoked,
Conservative Party deputy leader Peter MacKay said yesterday.
Fateh Kamel, 44, Algerian-born, returned to Canada on
Jan. 29 after serving four years in a French prison for his role in an
international terrorist network, MacKay told the Star yesterday.
Before his arrest in Jordan in 1999, terrorism experts
believed Kamel, a Canadian citizen, ran an Islamic terrorist cell in Montreal
linked to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.
Among Kamel's proteges was Ahmed Ressam, a failed refugee
claimant from Montreal who in 1999 was arrested en route to Seattle in a car
filled with explosives that he was allegedly going to use to blow up Los
Angeles International Airport.
An outraged MacKay, who is also his party's public safety
critic, has urged the government to consider revoking Kamel's citizenship,
considering his known terrorist affiliations.
He also hopes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) has Kamel under surveillance. "I don't know if he is under any
watch list but I would certainly hope he is and that our security service
(CSIS) is closely monitoring him," MacKay said.
Alex Swann, spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Anne
McLellan, who is also in charge of border security, said yesterday the
government is aware of Kamel but refused to say whether any investigation was
underway into the circumstances of his return.
"Certainly this gentleman is a Canadian citizen and
we're aware of his arrest and conviction in France, but we don't comment on any
individual or operational matters around persons of interest," Swann said.
"He is a citizen and he has the right to return to Canada."
Kamel was quoted in a special terrorism report in the
Seattle Times in 2002 bragging about fighting for his cause.
"I am never afraid of death," Kamel said.
"And when I want it, no one will stop me. For the jihad is the jihad, and
the killing is easy for me."
MacKay called Kamel's return to Canada alarming.
He said it is a classic case of a person who, because of
his past activities and convictions, poses a potential security risk.
"There is just no way of getting around it . . . this
is a bad dude," MacKay said.
He learned last Wednesday that Kamel was back in Canada.
He doesn't know where he is, but he previously lived in the Montreal area with
his wife and young son.
"We're not just solely talking about one conviction.
This fellow has been linked to a wave of terrorist activities around the
globe," MacKay said. "He's admitted to being part of an Algerian
terrorist group, an Islamic extremist organization with links to Al Qaeda.
"He's someone who has not just been accused or
suspected of terrorism, he's actually been convicted in France of a plot to
bomb a subway."
Even though Canada's current immigration policy prevents
barring Canadian citizens from entering the country, MacKay said he's drafting
a letter to McLellan, asking her to look into the circumstances surrounding
Kamel's return.
"Is there sufficient evidence to re-examine his
citizenship and can you revoke it after the fact?" MacKay asked.
"We should be looking at him and possibly sending
him back to Algeria. There is a pretty strong circumstantial case right now to
suggest this guy isn't deserving of Canadian citizenship."
MacKay doesn't know whether Kamel's activities have been
restricted since he returned.
"It's my understanding he was released from prison
early because of good behaviour, but surely there must be some restrictions on
his parole,"
MacKay said. "What crossed my mind was that French
authorities wanted him out of the country and we were all too willing to take
him."
Although French authorities never proved Kamel's
connection with bin Laden, they said during his trial that they believed he had
been given the responsibility of creating and transporting false identification
and documents used by extremists in North America as well as in Turkey,
Bulgaria, Belgium, France and Bosnia.
According to France's top anti-terrorist cop Jean-Louis
Brugui�re, French authorities followed Kamel around the world for six months
before his arrest and alleged he met point men for various terrorist networks.
Kamel, who initially came to Canada in 1988, fought in
Afghanistan and Bosnia, say terrorist experts, and was considered to be an
expert document forger for Islamic terrorists.
A former owner of a Montreal crafts store, Kamel was
arrested by Jordanian authorities Dec. 15, 1999 and extradited to France, where
he was tried in Paris in 2001 and convicted in March 2002.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in
various terrorist plots, including a subway bomb plot, and supplying fraudulent
passports to known extremists.
Although Kamel admitted his connection with Ressam in
Canada, during his trial he denied being involved in any criminal activity.
But French authorities believed Kamel was the leader of
Groupe Roubaix, a notoriously violent group of Algerian Islamic bombers and
robbers that used machine guns and hand grenade launchers.
The group was also believed linked to the GIA terrorist
organization, which was responsible for the commandeering of an Air France
fight in December 1994 on the tarmac in Algiers. Two passengers were killed and
the plane was wired with dynamite with the intent to blow it up over Paris.
That was averted when the four hijackers were killed by French commandos.
Canadian intelligence had Kamel and his Montreal
apartment under surveillance for two years ending in 1998, but decided he and
Ressam were nothing more than petty thieves and immigrant visa violators.
Note on the above
Toronto Star article:
Bob
Mitchell's article erroneously notes that Kamel Fateh was arrested in Jordan on
December 15, 1999�that is, at a time after which Ahmed Ressam was arrested for
the attempted Millennial Bombing. However, Kamel was, in fact, arrested several
months before Ressam was caught. Whether intended or not, the error has the
effect of obscuring the role�and suspicious timing�that Kamel's actual arrest
played in initiating the evidentiary trail to Ressam's "al-Qaida"
apartment in the months leading up to Ressam's capture.