Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: joseph krinsky who wrote (244431)	4/1/2002 10:16:39 PM
From: rich4eagle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Try Bahai, and quit spewing hate, it demeans you

To: joseph krinsky who wrote (244431)	4/4/2002 4:08:27 AM
From: sandintoes	Respond to of 769670

They're all street thugs! Alleged top al-Qaida figure pleads guilty to maiming guard Wed Apr 3, 4:47 PM ET By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Writer NEW YORK - A man accused of directing major terrorism missions as part of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s inner circle pleaded guilty Wednesday to maiming a prison guard by stabbing him in the eye. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, 45, entered the plea to conspiracy to murder and attempted murder in a heavily guarded Manhattan courtroom just a week before he was scheduled to go on trial in the Nov. 1, 2000 stabbing of the guard, Louis Pepe. "I agreed with another person to murder Officer Pepe," Salim told U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts of the attack that left Pepe permanently brain damaged. "I stabbed Officer Pepe by a sharpened comb in his left eye." Batts set sentencing for Aug. 5, when Salim could face up to life in prison plus 20 years. His lawyer, Richard Lind, said the plea agreement would allow Salim to serve as little as 18 years in prison, though he seemed skeptical that would result. Prosecutors had argued in court papers that Salim stabbed Pepe as part of a wider plot to take hostages and win the release of other prisoners at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, adjacent to the federal courthouse. The stabbing occurred as Salim and four other men awaited trial on conspiracy charges in the August 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Counting people who died of injuries later, the attacks killed 231 people, including 12 Americans. Salim must still face trial in that case, though no date has been set. Prosecutors have said that Salim was aided in the assault by Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, who was convicted in the embassy bombings trial. Salim, who has been in custody since September 1998, is believed to be the highest ranking al-Qaida member to be held in the United States. An indictment said he was on the group's majlis al shura, or consultation council, which approved major undertakings, including terrorist operations. After the attack on Pepe, the Sudanese-born Salim complained of harsh treatment from jailhouse guards and appeared in such distress at a recent court appearance that the judge asked guards to loosen his shackles. On Wednesday, Salim's handcuffs and shackles were taken off and he appeared relaxed, though four U.S. marshals stood over him as he used a pen to sign some documents. Batts closed the court to the public when Salim described the crime because she said she didn't want his statement to prejudice a potential jury if the plea was rejected. She reopened the courtroom afterward, and a transcript of the closed portion was later released. Prosecutors have portrayed Salim as one of bin Laden's most loyal followers. They say that Salim, while running front companies for al-Qaida that purchased weaponry, once tried to buy uranium to build a nuclear bomb. Salim was arrested in Germany in September 1998, the month after the embassy bombings. He was extradited to the United States three months later. Before that, he had opened several bank accounts in Germany, where investigators suspect three of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers were recruited and financed by a terrorist cell.