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: