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To: Graystone who wrote (18373)	12/9/2002 9:20:54 AM
From: lorne	Respond to of 23908

In 9/11 Case, Germans Note Lack of Help From Allies. By DESMOND BUTLER BERLIN, Dec. 7 — The German authorities investigating a Moroccan man on trial on charges that he was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States say there is evidence that he had contact with a Saudi diplomat as well as the leaders of an extremist group in Saudi Arabia. But German officials said that despite their requests for help following up on these leads, responses had not been forthcoming from either American or Saudi authorities. In Washington, a Justice Department spokesman who declined to be named called questions about the German authorities' requests "too sensitive" for comment. After the arrest of the Moroccan, Mounir el-Motassadeq, in Hamburg last year, the police found the business card of an official in the Saudi Embassy in Berlin in his apartment. Prosecutors say they also found records of numerous calls to Saudi Arabia, which have since been traced to members of an extremist group in Riyadh called Dar al-Assima al-Nahr. Cellphone numbers of the group's leaders were found saved on Mr. Motassadeq's computer. Prosecutors say that the first of these calls was made in December 2000, around the same time that the Sept. 11 suicide pilots began their flight training in the United States. Since the arrest, German officials say, key questions in their requests for information from Saudi Arabia as well as from American investigators have gone unanswered. German officials say they sent a 15-page letter to the United States Justice Department on March 15 detailing their case against Mr. Motassadeq and asking for information relevant to the case. The letter provided the Saudi telephone numbers and specifically requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. When the trial against Mr. Motassadeq opened in September, German prosecutors said they had not yet received a response from the Justice Department. Details from the American investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks arrived in early October, nearly seven months after the request, but without any information concerning Mr. Motassadeq's telephone calls to Saudi Arabia. The German authorities also requested information from the Saudi government. In a letter to German investigators, the Saudi Embassy denied any knowledge of Mr. Motassadeq. According to a German official, they still have received no response concerning the telephone calls. Saudi Arabia has come under criticism for possible ties to terrorism since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, when it was learned that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. In recent weeks, the country has had to explain how money from the wife of the Saudi ambassador to Washington may have been transferred to two of the Sept. 11 hijackers. The issue has also been difficult for American authorities trying to maintain relations with a key ally ahead of a possible war on Iraq. Since the attacks, German and American diplomats have also been struggling over issues of antiterrorism cooperation, against a backdrop of cooler German-American relations, with American perceptions that Chancellor Gerhard Schröder took an anti-American stance in his recent re-election campaign. Last month, Germany agreed to provide information related to the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, who is awaiting trial in Virginia on charges of involvement in the Sept. 11 plot. The German Justice Ministry had previously refused on constitutional grounds because Mr. Moussaoui could face the death penalty. But earlier last month, the United States turned down German requests that Mr. Moussaoui and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, another suspect being held in the United States, be allowed to testify either in person or by video in the Motassadeq trial. Mr. Motassadeq has acknowledged in court being close to Mr. bin al-Shibh, who is in American military custody in an undisclosed location after his arrest in September in Pakistan. The Justice Department sent a second letter denying prosecutors access to the two men, saying: "The United States would like to accommodate the Hamburg court to the extent possible. However, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Zacarias Moussaoui are unavailable." The Justice Department did agree to allow Ahmad Ressam, who is awaiting trial on charges related to a failed 1999 plot to bomb the Los Angeles international airport. A department spokesman denied there had been a breakdown in relations. "The cooperation we've had with our allies is going along smoothly," he said. "There have been times where maybe there have been some rough spots, but we've gotten by them and everything is fine." nytimes.com

To: Graystone who wrote (18373)	12/10/2002 9:13:19 PM
From: hal jordan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23908

Ah Graystone, I'm very happy you dropped by to say Hi. Its been a long time. SI sure has changed (and has not changed!)since the heady days of the bubble. I like your glasses, maybe I need to borrow them myself so I can get clearer snapshots of personalities here. Yea, I remember Saint Jane, heheheh. How about Terrence B...thats an old one. The original vermin template still has not faded, just amazing after all these years. However, the carbon copies keep cropping up. Oh well, I hope you are doing well my friend. You are an original and please stay that way.