Prince Abdullah Almost Brought a Potential Terrorist into the US

[bleedingheart]

Did anyone listen to Democracy Now this morning with Amy Goodman?

I was listening on the way to work and this is what I heard...

"AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to Professor As’ad AbuKhalil, who is a Professor at California State University. Agence France-Presse is reporting that a member of the Saudi delegation was denied entry into the United States after authorities found he was on a government watchlist. Did you hear about this? A member of Prince Abdullah's delegation?

AS’AD ABUKHALIL: I posted it on my website yesterday. I saw that, and I felt it was incredible how it didn't get any prominent mention in any U.S. newspapers. In fact, I did look in U.S. newspapers, and didn’t find it mentioned whatsoever. It seems there was an attempt to cover it up, but perhaps this was too embarrassing. He was a man who was greeted in Bush's personal farm, and he intended to bring with him somebody who was on an American terrorism watchlist. I mean, that's -- that says something, of course.

"
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/26/1355223

Now I haven't scanned Agence France-Presse's web site info yet but I find it very interesting that Bush is holding hands with that jerk Abdullah and yet it is his "kingdom" that is fostering the evangelical Islam responsible for terrorists like Bin-Laden...The same country from which the majority of the hijackers of 9/11 originated and...now it looks like the SOB had wanted to bring with him someone that is on OUR TERROR WATCHLIST...now I am not a "tinfoiler", but this kind of stuff makes me wonder.

[peacetalksforall]

1. This could go either way - given the track record of this admin to

take care of the country...the database could be wrong...but it they are covering it up, this could be good. Give us his name. I'd like to know if he has links to Grover. Grover has an association with some Saudis who are under investigation by the FBI for funding of terrorists.

[bleedingheart]

2. I am still trying to make sense of the Agence France-Presse site

never been to it before so I am searching about...

[Dr.Phool]

3. Combine that with a NBC website report

Of a video tape made in October of the chief cleric in Saudi Arabia exhorting young people to go to Iraq and kill Americans. This was in a government mosque, and he's sitting right next to the Crown Prince, who bush was just seen kissing!

edit: it was NBC, not CBS.

[htuttle]

4. I found part of the article in the comments section on his website

Since he mentioned that he posted it, I thought I'd look there first:

US turns away Saudi delegation member: officials

Mon Apr 25, 6:54 PM ET

CRAWFORD, United States (AFP) - A member of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's delegation was denied entry into the United States after authorities found he was on a government "watch" list, a US official said.

The US Department of Homeland Security, in a routine check of the delegation passenger manifest, found that one traveller was on a government list meant to screen out possible terrorists, the official said on condition of anonymity.

"This information was shared with our interagency partners, including the State Department," the official said. "My understanding is that the State Department denied that person a visa and so they did not enter the country."

The official could not confirm whether the person was a reporter or a Saudi official or even what nationality the person was, but another US official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was a Saudi.

The second official also said the individual's name had appeared on a US government "watch" list.

The crown prince arrived in the United States on Sunday, met with US Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday and held talks on Monday with US President George W. Bush at the latter's ranch here.

Apparently, it's available in the AFP archives here:
http://www.afp.com/english/globe/?pid=archives

But it costs 3 Euros.

Search for the title "US turns away Saudi delegation member: officials"

Found it: Here's a link in the Tehran Times to the full story from AFP:
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=4/27/2005&Cat=4&Num=006

[bleedingheart]

6. ya beat me to it!

Thanks...I linked to it as well..

[bleedingheart]

5. Here is the link to the AFP article

I found it on the Iranian Tehran Times site, but it references the Agence France-Presse source, I would have to pay for it from AFP...

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=4/27/2005&Cat=4&Num=006

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a routine check of the delegation passenger manifest, found that one traveler was on a government list meant to screen out possible terrorists, the official said on condition of anonymity. "This information was shared with our interagency partners, including the State Department," the official said. "My understanding is that the State Department denied that person a visa and so they did not enter the country.""

[peacetalksforall]

7. Until we know the name, I'm going to assume it was Osama bin Laden. nt