Terrorist Claims World Leaders Ignored His Warnings
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 10, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - An imprisoned al Qaeda leader claims his repeated warnings to international authorities regarding the terror network's planned operations, including bombings in Spain, Britain and Italy, have gone unheeded.
Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, who is currently serving a 12-year prison term in Zenica prison in Bosnia-Herzegovina for terrorism and robbery, states that for more than three years - from November 2001 to January 2005 -- he repeatedly offered in letters and "official interviews" to provide information on al Qaeda's operations in Bosnia and elsewhere.
Hamad adds that his efforts included two letters, sent on Jan. 12 and 19 of 2004, to Lord Paddy Ashdown, the international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, which, according to Hamad, Ashdown ignored.
On Jan. 10 of this year, Hamad wrote a nine-page letter from prison, addressed to local news editors in Bosnia, complaining about being ignored. Cybercast News Service obtained a copy of the letter and confirmed its contents in a conference call with Hamad's newly-appointed attorney, Dusko Tomic, and an independent translator.(Click here to view copy of original letter. Click here to read English translation.)
"[Ashdown] has not shown the slightest interest" wrote Hamad, adding that "I offered him the opportunity to disable and destroy the major cells of al Qaeda."
Offering a "ten-point program" to help "cleanse" the region of the "remnants of terrorism," Hamad warned about "sleepers" who were waiting for the "green light ..."
The Washington D.C.-based International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), echoes the criticism of Ashdown, alleging that he has "consistently denied any terrorist activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and has consistently and successfully dismissed any officials who brought to light links between [al Qaeda] and other terrorist supporting governments with the Bosnian Islamist leadership."
Ashdown became the international community's High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, on May 27, 2002. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) was created in 1995, immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement, to ensure that Bosnia would become a "peaceful, viable state on course to European integration," according to the OHR website.
The OHR is funded by the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), whose 55 member countries and agencies include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations (UN).
The International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA) has long warned about terrorists using the Balkans as a springboard for terrorist operations in Europe, and has published detailed reports linking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., the March 11, 2004, bombings in Madrid and the July 7, 2005, bombings in London to jihadist activity in the Balkans.
In August, Cybercast News Service posted an edited version of a video, which had been obtained from ISSA, showing a jihadist training camp in Bosnia.
The Cybercast News Service article accompanying the terrorist training camp video ended up on the front pages of news organizations in the Balkans, but Bosnian government officials and Gen. David Leakey of the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) denied there were any terrorist camps in the region.
Bosnia's top Muslim weekly, Slobodna Bosna, confirmed the existence of the training camps and insisted the European Union general was "playing dumb."
One month later, al Qaeda activity in the area was confirmed by German intelligence sources as well, as reported by United Press International.
Hamad's letter also singles out Gen. Virgil Packett, the former commander of the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) for doubting that there were al Qaeda terrorists in the region, even while admitting that there could be "sleepers."
"[T]he terrorists who perpetrated the September 11 attacks ... were peaceful sleepers before they received their order to attack," warned Hamad in his letter.
Other leaders and institutions that Hamad claims he warned include the prime minister of Bosnia, embassies of the United States, Great Britain, Italy and Canada; former Pope John Paul II, President Bush, the U.S. Department of Defense and the FBI.
A U.S. congressional staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Cybercast News Service that "our FBI official in Sarajevo has met with Ali Hamad and interrogated him."
Dusko Tomic also confirmed the FBI interrogations as well as meetings with Bosnian intelligence agents, who Hamad later accused of obtaining his information in order to protect terrorists.
Hamad states that he fled a broken home to live in the streets at 17 years old, was picked up by al Qaeda and "brainwashed" into hating those who were "alive and different," according to Bosnian public television.
"... I made a sworn pledge to al Qaeda, in the presence of Osama bin Laden and three of his high-ranking officers," Hamad further explained in the letter from prison.
The former al Qaeda officer claims to have details about al Qaeda's rules and operations, the individuals "deployed around the world" and their terrorist missions. He is also threatening to reveal the names of government officials "from various Islamic countries," who allegedly provided secret support to al Qaeda.
"My client has spoken out for two years about the threats of terrorist attacks against Spain, Britain and Italy and no one took him seriously until the Madrid and London bombings," Tomic told Cybercast News Service.
Regarding the evidence of jihadists operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tomic charged that "a lot of western intelligence, including MI6 (British intelligence service) not only have been aware of [mujahedeen] in the area, but helped them and therefore are now trying to cover up their existence so as to cover up their responsibility."
Tomic added, "It's my personal conviction that Ashdown is an agent of MI6, therefore that organization dictates his actions in the area."
In September, Sarajevo newspapers reported that Ashdown was an agent for MI6 in the 1970s. His office declined comment, but denounced the Internet publication of the names of alleged spies. Cybercast News Service attempted to contact Ashdown for this article, but a spokesman for the Office of the High Representative stated that "we do not comment on correspondence."
Ali Hamad, who claims he escaped an attempt on his life while in prison, has also written a book, which Tomic says will reveal how western intelligence helped mujahedeen infiltrate the Balkans during the Bosnian war and are now trying to conceal their existence.
Ali Hamad, Penitentiary Zenica, Sarajevska 36
10 January 2005
To the “Glas Srpske” editors, Banja Luka
Ladies and Gentlemen in the “Glas Srpske,” and particularly Dobrila Majstorovic, I accept full cooperation with you with great pleasure, but on one condition: that it be directed to anti-terrorist activity, in the name of justice, peace, love of all regardless of ethnic and religious background; and to be part of a joint struggle against injustice, violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance, as well as against terrorism in all its shapes and colors, especially against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist Al-Qaeda network, of which I used to be a member once, and against the foreign mujahideen who came to Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1992-95 war calling themselves “holy warriors” and “warriors of Allah.” Spreading lies and propaganda that they came to this land to offer protection and aid to the assaulted Bosniak Muslims, they murdered and ruthlessly beheaded innocent citizens of B-H for no reason but that they weren’t Muslims; their real goal is to spread their network to this region and fire up hatred between the ethnic groups here, using the war as a medium. They have continued their work after the war, perpetrating all sort of inhumane and dirty deeds.
So, if what I’ve indicated above can be our common purpose, then I support any form of cooperation with you that stays within the bounds of the law.
In this first contact (or second), and I hope it won’t be the last, I wish to tell you the following:
From my childhood, and under the extremely difficult conditions in which I grew up in my homeland, I was forced to associate with members, collaborators and fans of the terrorist Al-Qaeda. I was friends with them for a year and a half, during which they spiritually and psychologically prepared me for terrorist actions, conducting everyday “lectures” (i.e. brainwashing). Once they were confident they had prepared me, programmed me robotically, to practice ethnic hatred and hatred of other; once they were convinced I hated the entire world, including myself; once they were certain I had become mercilessly violent and wanted blood and vengeance against just about everyone – they sent me to the war in Afghanistan, giving me the opportunity to express my anger and hatred towards humanity, and exact vengeance on all human brings, innocent or not, only because they were alive and different.
After that, I made a sworn pledge to Al-Qaeda, in the presence of Osama bin Laden and three of his high-ranking officers. I took the pledge in the town of Gelalabad [sp? Jalalabad?], Afghanistan [sic]. Once my mission in Afghanistan was over, I was ordered back to my hometown, where I received orders to go to a new assignment, in B-H.
I arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina in September 1992, where I operated alongside the mujahideen within the former Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina [ARBiH]. As an experienced and trained soldier, I became a commander of a unit located in the village of Bijela Buca, near Travnik.
In 2001, as I was in this institution [prison – tr.], I watched the horrors of the catastrophic terrorist attack on the US on September 11, which instantly killed 3000 innocent American citizens. I watched these painful scenes with sorrow in my heart and eyes, thinking, “I can assume who did this inhumanity. I feel horrible. How much longer will innocents be killed only because they aren’t Muslims? How much longer will there be violence, nationalism, terrorism? How much longer will there be injustice, hatred, bloodshed and revenge? What have these people done to deserve death? Do they not have right to live, just because they aren’t Muslims? No one could do such a thing but Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda. Remember, my former boss, you and your people will regret dearly that you’d trusted me and picked me for a member. One day I will be famous as your implacable enemy, who will strike mercilessly at the very heart of your Al-Qaeda. I am your pupil, and the pupil of your school, and you taught me that a promise is a debt…”
The attach on the US on September 11 changed the entire world, as well as my heart, which had been ill with the disease of terrorism. Because of it, and for several other reasons, I decided firmly and finally to not only quit Al-Qaeda, but to dedicate my entire being and everything at my disposal to a struggle against violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance, as well as evil people who use terrorism to spill the blood of innocents and destroy their homes. I specifically did this to fight against my former boss Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda, of which I was a member.
In the name of justice, peace and freedom-loving people whatever their ethnicity or religion, I have decided to offer maximum cooperation to the best of my abilities to all international antiterrorist institutions, and become an active member of the campaign against terrorism, especially against Al-Qaeda; in order to prevent the repetition of September 11 in the USA, to protect the lives of innocents, to ensure a better future and maximum protection for my children and all other children – even at the cost of my own life.
From 6 November 2001, to the present day, I have initiated a widespread action, in which I informed many domestic and international institutions, in writing and in official interviews. Among them were the international stabilization forces in B-H, prime minister of B-H, the High Representative Paddy Ashdown, the embassies of the USA, Britain, Italy, Canada and others; Holy Father John Paul II, President of the United States George W. Bush, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the FBI, with which I am still in contact. Therefore, I consider myself obligated to offer maximum assistance, support and cooperation to all international institutions dealing with the problem of terrorism, so they could achieve positive results in suppressing and uncovering the work of Al-Qaeda and its clones.
I think that my assistance in this matter is necessary and that with that assistance they can achieve what they could not achieve without it, and without me and my knowledge of Al-Qaeda. My vast knowledge of Al-Qaeda comes from the fact that I was once one of its officers, I know its modus operandi from experience, I know its rules, its command structure, its active and passive members, its high-ranking operatives, who are spread throughout the world waiting for the green light from their boss to begin attacks and dirty, inhumane attacks. There are such people in this region, too.
Of all the institutions mentioned above I have asked for assistance, protection and maximum physical and political protection, so I could achieve what I promised – to help disable and destroy the main cells of Al-Qaeda, to bring before the face of justice the leaders, members and associates of that terrorist network.
So far, thanks to me and no one else, two Al-Qaeda leaders were found and arrested in Qatar: one of the top brains of the organization, Khaled as-Shayk [sp?], currently at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and an Al-Qaeda financier Mohammed es-Siddiqi [sp?]
Had it not been for me and my maximum cooperation, no one could have found out these two were connected with Al-Qaeda, nor would they have been arrested, yet no one so much as thanked me.
It is interesting that the High Representative of the international community in B-H Paddy Ashdown, who has shown his teeth to the Serb Republic [RS] and often tells the media that he is not punishing the RS but the criminals and those who protect war criminals, that he has not shown the slightest interest or any teeth to the foreign mujahideen who came to this region during the 1992-1995 war, committed horrible war crimes against the Serb and Croat civilians, and imported from Asia and Africa the terrorism, Wahhabism, Selefism, ethnic hatred and intolerance towards non-Muslims; this is confirmed by something that was nonexistent prior to the war, which is the appearance of domestic mujahideen in all towns and villages of the B-H Federation.
I have written to him [Ashdown] twice, on 12 January 2004 and 19 January 2004; with full responsibility, I told him that Al-Qaeda has been present in B-H throughout the 1992-1995 war, and that it still has sympathizers in this region, who were given citizenships during the war, and whom I know personally. In these letters, I informed him of my case, and my readiness for maximum cooperation with international anti-terrorist institutions.
I guaranteed to him that with my assistance and cooperation many operatives and active leaders, members and sympathizers of Al-Qaeda throughout the world would be caught; I offered him the opportunity to disable and destroy the major cells of Al-Qaeda. Also, after stating that terrorist remnants still reside in B-H, I offered him a specific ten-point program, and guaranteed that its acceptance would cleanse B-H of the remnants of terrorism and evildoers who came here during the war, and now act as good citizens of FB-H, while they are in fact sleepers waiting for the green light from their boss to start committing inhumane deeds and atrocities. I guaranteed that I would give an explanation of every point in my program in official interviews with officials from his cabinet either in this institution [the penitentiary] or another adequate location.
The trouble is that I never received a real response. He never showed any interest for my program, or the problem of terrorism in this region, while at the same time he’d trained his political guns with great interest on the Serb Republic. With great and due respect to Mr. Ashdown, I hope he will show more interest and that he will take more serious steps to resolve this problem, while I herald my readiness for maximum cooperation in advance.
Also interesting is the case with the AID intelligence agency, and its former boss. I had three official interviews with AID officials inside this institution, on 9 August, 14 August and 13 September 2002, when I informed them in detail about the war crimes committed by the mujahideen during the war against the Serb and Croat civilians; names of the mujahideen who perpetrated these crimes; and locations where the crimes were committed.
Specifically, I talked about three atrocities: the first one was in the village of Bijela Buca near Travnik, where four foreign nationals (journalists, most likely British) were abducted and killed while performing their work. The perpetrators of this crime are six mujahideen – Algerian E.M., Algerian A.B., Saudi E.M., Lybian E.H., Tunisian E.H., and Egyptian I.M.
I note that this case was closed and forgotten until I reopened it and reminded them of it in 2002.
The other atrocity, a barbarous murder, took place in 1993 in the Croat village of Guca Gora near Travnik. The mujahideen attacked the abovenamed village, and there was a brief firefight which involved even the members of international forces (UNPROFOR), who tried to protect the village and its inhabitants from the attack. But when UNPROFOR members saw the long beards of their attackers and realized they were being attacked by mujahideen, they boarded their troop carriers and ran, saving themselves and leaving the civilians in the village to the mercy of the mujahideen. Some 20 Croat civilians were captured; after psychological and physical mistreatment, they were taken somewhere just outside the village and brutally murdered with bullets, knives, and even a chainsaw. Before that bloody event, in the same village, a mujahid named E.M. used a big knife to slit the throat of a 16- or 14-year old Croat boy before his father’s eyes. The father was forced to watch; then his life was taken in the same fashion.
The third atrocity happened the same year, and I witnessed it, in the mujahedeen camp in the village of Orasac near Travnik. The mujahedeen slit the throat and decapitated a Serb citizen of B-H with a rusty kitchen knife. This was witnessed by four Croat captives, who fortunately survived. The murderer was S.B., assisted by R.A., while E.M. severed the head from the body.
AID officials appeared interested for these crimes and my cooperation in bringing them to light and their perpetrators to justice. They told me we would be in regular contact and promised to take the appropriate measures. I waited for their next visit, but they never came again. Then I found out that the international institutions dealing with the problem of terrorism demanded of the former AID director, K.S., to give them a report on African and Asian persons who arrived in B-H over the last 10 years, and any information about their connections to any terrorist networks. I found out that the former AID director never gave the international institutions any information about these atrocities, nor of my existence as an
eyewitness, which means they were covering up important evidence that could have been helpful in anti-terrorist operations.
This illegal action was discovered, which is why the former head of AID was relieved. The problem is that the purpose of this cover-up was never revealed or investigated. This is why I have every reason to accuse the former head of AID that, for whatever purpose unknown to me, he – and his associates who interviewed me – abused the information and testimony I gave them and covered up the aforementioned atrocities, protecting the mujahideen who committed them.
This illegal action of theirs did not defraud me, since I am not a member of this community and have nothing to do with this country except wishing it to be safe, stable and prosperously on its way to Europea integration; they have however defrauded themselves and their own people by protecting criminals and their atrocities, giving them the opportunity to move about freely and endanger the safety of their own people and the state.
I want it to be known that I have no intention of further cooperating with officials who do not want to reveal the truth if it doesn’t fit their political, national or religious positions. With all due respect, but also with a great deal of resentment, I appeal to the former head of AID and his men to return my material evidence. They do not need it, but I do.
Anyway, I claim with full responsibility that Al-Qaeda has been present in B-H throughout the 1992-95 war and that it still has members and sympathizers in this region.
In 2001, the SFOR command in B-H claimed it had evidence that Al-Qaeda had operated in B-H in that time period. Expert for international law and terrorism Darko Trifunovic claims that members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network are still in B-H territory.
Former SFOR commander General Virgil Packett hesitantly expressed doubt that there were live Al-Qaeda members in B-H, but could not state that categorically. So even though leading anti-terrorist institutions claimed that there were Al-Qaeda members in B-H, the general admitted that was a fact, though he only called them “sleepers” and not active members. Does this mean that, in his opinion, sleepers aren’t dangerous? I tell the general, he is mistaken if he believes there is a difference between active members of Al-Qaeda and sleepers. The only difference between them is that active members have received the green light for action, while the sleepers are still waiting for it.
For example, the terrorists who perpetrated the September 11 attacks in the USA, who instantly snuffed out the lives of 3000 innocents, were peaceful sleepers before they received their order to attack.
Preparation for terrorism and waiting for the appropriate time and order to strike are part of operational activities, and may well take years. So, the aforementioned general’s opinion that Al-Qaeda’s sleepers were inactive is wrong. If we were to accept it as true, we would have to say that the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks were “not a danger” while they were preparing it in secrecy, waiting for the green light.
On 23 July 2004 I sent a letter to the general, openly challenging his wrong opinion and disputing his statements. He never responded, but I think he could not. American intelligence, the CIA, claims there are terrorists in B-H, that B-H is a way station for weapons, financial transactions and documents – everything one needs for terrorist attacks. American lawyer and former political analyst for the U.S. Senate, James Jatras, has evidence based on which he claims that Al-Qaeda is operating in B-H.
Deputy Minister for security in the B-H Council of Ministers, Dragan Mektic, recently said that investigations have shown that there are seven Afro-Asian persons in B-H under surveillance for links to terrorist networks, who have obtained their citizenships fraudulently. This statement was carried by the media. However, certain high officials who are dealing with the problem of terrorism in this region loudly and strongly deny every report of persons connected with terrorist networks; they are disputing my
claims, and the claims of many world institutions, that since the beginning of the war in 1992, B-H has been fertile ground and a haven for international terrorism.
On this occasion I would like to ask several questions, asking those who every so often deny the existence of terrorism in this region to give me specific answers. For security reasons, every state has laws and rules demanding that foreigners who enter its territory must be registered, with their origin, purpose of visit, the length of stay and place of residence, etc. entered into evidence. So I ask the first question: did the foreign mujahideen who came to B-H during the 1992-1995 war, some of whom stayed in the region afterwards, pass through the proper and required procedure? In other words, does anyone in the government then or now know anything about these mujahideen: who they are, where they came from, their real identities, the purpose of their stay in B-H during the war?
If anyone in the authorities thinks he knows the answer to this question, I will be ready to face him and in the presence of foreign journalists and representatives of an international counter-terrorist institution give him the names of at least 50 mujahideen who I know, who operated in B-H during the war; he should then tell me what he knows about them, give me the real identities of at least two, and tell me where they came from.
If the officials decide to answer me and admit they have no information, or have just a little bit on foreign mujahideen who came to B-H during the war, they should have good answers to the following questions. How, then, and based on what can certain high-ranking officials in the B-H government claim there is no terrorism in this country, when they know little or nothing about the pile of foreign mujahideen that came into this country during the war, illegally and without any identity checks? Are these officials excluding the possibility that some of these mujahideen could have been terrorists linked to various terrorist networks? An additional problem is that many of those mujahideen received their citizenship under murky and illegal circumstances.
It is clear the mujahideen did not come to this country – of which they did not know before, leaving their families and homes – during the war in order to shoot marbles on the streets of Sarajevo or get laid? Don’t the people who once ran the government in B-H and those who do so know think exactly what many B-H citizens think, that the foreign mujahideen came to B-H during the war to protect and defend the attacked Bosniak people?
Second question: How do the B-H officials interpret the appearance of domestic mujahideen, an occurrence unprecedented before the war? During and after the war, these domestic mujahideen adopted some very strange opinions, which influenced them so much they even changed their outward appearance – adopting a garb previously unknown in this region, short trousers, long, unkempt beards, etc. – and started aggressively practicing religion.
Under which circumstances did these foreign mujahideen arise, and who taught them these alien ways that made them into a separate sect, obviously distinct from the customs and mentality of the people of this region?
Third question: Who and what was Ahmed Zuhairi, known as “Handala,” directly linked to Al-Qaeda from its foundation, and who fought with the mujahideen in B-H during the war, while at the same time working for the Croatian government with unknown authority, meeting with the Croatian president Franjo Tudjman several times?
I don’t really know who used whom through Ahmed Zuhairi; was it Croatia that used Al-Qaeda, or the other way around? Or was something entirely different going on?
So, with all due respect, I demand the authorities in B-H do not raise dust about my sincerity, to answer my questions publicly, and prove with arguments their claims that terrorism does not exist in B-H. I will, however, use arguments to prove that Al-Qaeda has operated in B-H during the 1992-1995 war, and that it still has its members, associates and sympathizers in this country.
Within my struggle against injustice, nationalism, terrorism of any kind and especially Al-Qaeda, on 11 June 2004 I started writing a book under the working title “International terrorism and Al-Qaeda in B-H and the world,” which I intend to make a road sign to the world in the fight against evil, and help people throughout the world, regardless of their nationality, religion or political affiliation. This book would be of special interest to the youth, giving them advice as to how to resist the seduction of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. It would protect them from falling into the dark abyss in which I was, and from which one can climb out of only with great risk and difficulty.
This book of mine will be like an earthquake to Al-Qaeda and its sympathizers, rocking them at their very foundations. The book will reveal many of Al-Qaeda’s secrets, inhumane and dirty deeds, its high-ranking leaders, members and associates deployed around the world. For the very first time in history, the true face of Al-Qaeda will be revealed in public, from its 1987 foundation to the present.
What I intend to describe, what I’ve already almost finished describing (80%), will put the readers in my shoes. I will speak of the circumstances under which I was forced to associate with Bin Laden’s people and where; about my membership in Al-Qaeda and how it came about; about the Al-Qaeda rules and ways of operation; about my first encounter with the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, and the topic of our conversation; about Bin Laden and his private life, which is filled with oddities and surprises; about his officers and people of importance; about the activities of Al-Qaeda and its military in Afghanistan, and where they were located; about the Taliban and their origins; about the end of my mandate in Afghanistan and departure to a new mission in B-H. In my book, I will speak about many of Bin Laden’s men, deployed around the world, and reveal their missions. I will also speak of some officials from various Islamic countries, who hold positions of power and authority, and who secretly provided support, aid and special favors to members of Al-Qaeda, based on which Al-Qaeda prospered and developed its activities to the point where it threatens the world – and all thanks to these officials. In the book, I will also speak of the foreign mujahideen who came to B-H during the 1992-1995 war, who and what they were, their links to Al-Qaeda, and how they were essentially Al-Qaeda’s infiltration program in this region. I will speak in detail about the mujahideen, from the time they arrived in B-H at the start of the war, to 1997, as well as their organization and activities in B-H. I will especially address the domestic mujahideen and analyze their emergence, and discuss the links between former B-H authorities and foreign mujahideen during the war and afterwards. I will address some other matters, of which I won’t talk about now.
I inform all those who constantly raise dust and doubt in my honesty and truthfulness that my book won’t be entertaining fiction, but will include written evidence and arguments. The book will be read at the Hague Tribunal before publication – maybe it is being read there right now. I will be ready to testify and argue before the Tribunal in The Hague about everything that I will cite in the book. This book will be a symbol of my struggle against violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance, a road sign in my sincere battle and sacrifice against evil, and in the name of justice, peace, understanding and love of all, regardless of their nationality, religion or political affiliation.
This book will be the fruit of my sincere repentance, and proof of my great love and friendship for all people, whom my painful tale will counsel to stay away from the fallen path that I walked, and from which I managed to return with much pain and effort. The book will be available to readers in B-H in the spring or summer of this year, and afterwards published in other countries and other languages.
Because of my opposition to Al-Qaeda and the foreign mujahideen who arrived in B-H during the war, because of my full cooperation with the international anti-terrorist institutions, and because of my book that strikes at the very heart of Al-Qaeda, I have become a target of vengeance by Al-Qaeda’s members, who are all over the world. Therefore there is a danger I might be attacked while here in prison, and especially after I leave prison, and just by Al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, truth and justice threaten many, especially those in positions of power who fear my book. Danger to my life and safety also comes from many people who are Muslim, and who venerate Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, considering him a
defender of Muslims and Islam, whose struggle (terrorism) would (supposedly) restore the lost strength and pride of Islam.
These people consider me a traitor to Muslims worldwide, not aware that my struggle is directed against terrorism worldwide; to replace injustice with justice; to replace violence with kindness; to replace murder with salvation; to replace vengeance with forgiveness; and to have peace for all humanity, understanding, safety, and heavenly, limitless love.
My struggle is not aimed against Islam and Muslims. Quite the contrary. I am a Muslim and very proud of it. But I also love and respect other religions.
It is a fact that my struggle is aimed against evil, against terrorism and Al-Qaeda, its leader Osama bin Laden, and the mujahideen who came to B-H during the war, and continued to act after the war pretending to be loyal citizens.
Since many consider me an enemy of Islam and Muslims, I have experienced all the perils of my struggle against terrorism here in prison. I don’t know what to say on this occasion, except that I am someone who is fighting with insufficient resources, sacrificing himself, in order to make life better for everyone. Member of my nation beat me up from all sides, but members of other nations understand me, respect me and thank me for my efforts and sacrifices.
When night falls in my dark prison cell and when I think of all the threats and dangers to my life, I smile and think, “Will the world allow that my struggle for the betterment of humanity makes my wife a widow, and that my two little girls become orphans? Can telling the truth cost me so much? But I will not give up, ever.”
In case I am killed, however, let the humankind know and remember that I was a person who accepted the sacrifice of my life for the sake of justice, peace, and love for all regardless of their ethnicity or religion. If that ever happens, let everyone remember my name, and that I sacrificed myself for justice, peace and love for all; that my life was extinguished only because I fought to protect my children and everyone else’s children from evils of terrorism; and that the freedom-loving world did not offer me the necessary physical protection, assistance and support.
I would like to use this opportunity to send a friendly message to my former teacher and master, Osama bin Laden, hoping that the message will reach him:
I am convinced that you are very unpleasantly surprised and that you could have never thought or dreamed that your quiet student could become the most bitter enemy of you and your Al-Qaeda, a nightmare that keeps your men awake and ruins the enjoyment of their wives.
This has happened. The devil has come to claim his own.
You and your men must accept that I no longer belong to you, but to the international anti-terrorist institutions, in which I could become an active fighter against you and your Al-Qaeda.
Your greatest enemy, America and Americans, are now my friends, and I am in constant contact with them. It is with great pleasure that I will offer them my maximum support and cooperation to destroy your Al-Qaeda. I do not regret in the least rebelling against you and your men; this had to happen, because there was nothing in common between us any more. You are still for injustice, and I am for justice. You are for destruction, I am for construction. You stand for hatred and intolerance, I am for great and sincere love for everyone. You are for war and murder of innocents, I am for salvation and peace. You are for revenge even against innocents, I forgive even those who are guilty.
You wish everyone ill, a discord upon the world. I wish everyone well, and understanding for everyone in the world, in every respect, that all become as members of one nation. You want to bury everyone but those who think like you, but I am already working on putting you all in prison, so the humanity would be safe and protected from your evil-doing.
I will use everything I learned in your schools against you and your men. Was I not a good student? I know you and your men are furious with me, and that you cannot wait for me to get out of prison so you could steal from me the rest of my short life, and that you will look for me wherever I go. But I hope the world will never allow your wish to be fulfilled.
So, when I get out of prison, send your hunters after me. But be aware, I will be hunting them as well. I promise you – and a promise is sacred – that if the world takes me seri0ously and gives me a chance, I shall strike at the heart of your Al-Qaeda and shake its foundations. My cooperation with the world will lead to capture of your lieutenants and fighters. Even though I am in prison still, I already helped capture two of your important men. If the world does not accept my offer, then I won’t be able to fulfill my promise. Pray that this happens.
So, how do you like your fun now? Too painful, is it? But when I have fun with your men, it won’t be like having a sweet blonde on a bed of roses. You know well that I am not an easy target like V.L., whom you killed in 1997 because he tried to resign from Al-Qaeda. So I tell your men, when I get out of prison, they should be as ready as I will be. Your hunters may become the prey, as I could catch them sooner than they could catch me. I do not intend to use weapons when I am released – but if I meet any of your hounds, I will not shoot to wound. My bullets will not miss their heads and hearts; what I learned in your school will serve me well.
I must confess publicly, though I consider you evil, that since I know of myself, I have never met a person with so many virtues, indescribably polite and pleasant, as you were. This is why you managed to conquer the hearts and minds of so many around you, and why your followers love you unconditionally.
I want to tell you that my book will soon be in print. Buy it. Read it. It’s not expensive, and you will like it.
Here, I’ve given you a chance to find out my opinion of you and your Al-Qaeda from my own pen. I hope you won’t be loath to respond to your peaceful and quiet apprentice. Goodbye, forever.
I thank the editors, and especially Ms. Dobrila Majstorovic.
Respectfully,
Ali Hamad
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 10, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - An imprisoned al Qaeda leader claims his repeated warnings to international authorities regarding the terror network's planned operations, including bombings in Spain, Britain and Italy, have gone unheeded.
Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, who is currently serving a 12-year prison term in Zenica prison in Bosnia-Herzegovina for terrorism and robbery, states that for more than three years - from November 2001 to January 2005 -- he repeatedly offered in letters and "official interviews" to provide information on al Qaeda's operations in Bosnia and elsewhere.
Hamad adds that his efforts included two letters, sent on Jan. 12 and 19 of 2004, to Lord Paddy Ashdown, the international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, which, according to Hamad, Ashdown ignored.
On Jan. 10 of this year, Hamad wrote a nine-page letter from prison, addressed to local news editors in Bosnia, complaining about being ignored. Cybercast News Service obtained a copy of the letter and confirmed its contents in a conference call with Hamad's newly-appointed attorney, Dusko Tomic, and an independent translator.(Click here to view copy of original letter. Click here to read English translation.)
"[Ashdown] has not shown the slightest interest" wrote Hamad, adding that "I offered him the opportunity to disable and destroy the major cells of al Qaeda."
Offering a "ten-point program" to help "cleanse" the region of the "remnants of terrorism," Hamad warned about "sleepers" who were waiting for the "green light ..."
The Washington D.C.-based International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), echoes the criticism of Ashdown, alleging that he has "consistently denied any terrorist activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and has consistently and successfully dismissed any officials who brought to light links between [al Qaeda] and other terrorist supporting governments with the Bosnian Islamist leadership."
Ashdown became the international community's High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, on May 27, 2002. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) was created in 1995, immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement, to ensure that Bosnia would become a "peaceful, viable state on course to European integration," according to the OHR website.
The OHR is funded by the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), whose 55 member countries and agencies include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations (UN).
The International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA) has long warned about terrorists using the Balkans as a springboard for terrorist operations in Europe, and has published detailed reports linking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., the March 11, 2004, bombings in Madrid and the July 7, 2005, bombings in London to jihadist activity in the Balkans.
In August, Cybercast News Service posted an edited version of a video, which had been obtained from ISSA, showing a jihadist training camp in Bosnia.
The Cybercast News Service article accompanying the terrorist training camp video ended up on the front pages of news organizations in the Balkans, but Bosnian government officials and Gen. David Leakey of the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) denied there were any terrorist camps in the region.
Bosnia's top Muslim weekly, Slobodna Bosna, confirmed the existence of the training camps and insisted the European Union general was "playing dumb."
One month later, al Qaeda activity in the area was confirmed by German intelligence sources as well, as reported by United Press International.
Hamad's letter also singles out Gen. Virgil Packett, the former commander of the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) for doubting that there were al Qaeda terrorists in the region, even while admitting that there could be "sleepers."
"[T]he terrorists who perpetrated the September 11 attacks ... were peaceful sleepers before they received their order to attack," warned Hamad in his letter.
Other leaders and institutions that Hamad claims he warned include the prime minister of Bosnia, embassies of the United States, Great Britain, Italy and Canada; former Pope John Paul II, President Bush, the U.S. Department of Defense and the FBI.
A U.S. congressional staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Cybercast News Service that "our FBI official in Sarajevo has met with Ali Hamad and interrogated him."
Dusko Tomic also confirmed the FBI interrogations as well as meetings with Bosnian intelligence agents, who Hamad later accused of obtaining his information in order to protect terrorists.
Hamad states that he fled a broken home to live in the streets at 17 years old, was picked up by al Qaeda and "brainwashed" into hating those who were "alive and different," according to Bosnian public television.
"... I made a sworn pledge to al Qaeda, in the presence of Osama bin Laden and three of his high-ranking officers," Hamad further explained in the letter from prison.
The former al Qaeda officer claims to have details about al Qaeda's rules and operations, the individuals "deployed around the world" and their terrorist missions. He is also threatening to reveal the names of government officials "from various Islamic countries," who allegedly provided secret support to al Qaeda.
"My client has spoken out for two years about the threats of terrorist attacks against Spain, Britain and Italy and no one took him seriously until the Madrid and London bombings," Tomic told Cybercast News Service.
Regarding the evidence of jihadists operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tomic charged that "a lot of western intelligence, including MI6 (British intelligence service) not only have been aware of [mujahedeen] in the area, but helped them and therefore are now trying to cover up their existence so as to cover up their responsibility."
Tomic added, "It's my personal conviction that Ashdown is an agent of MI6, therefore that organization dictates his actions in the area."
In September, Sarajevo newspapers reported that Ashdown was an agent for MI6 in the 1970s. His office declined comment, but denounced the Internet publication of the names of alleged spies. Cybercast News Service attempted to contact Ashdown for this article, but a spokesman for the Office of the High Representative stated that "we do not comment on correspondence."
Ali Hamad, who claims he escaped an attempt on his life while in prison, has also written a book, which Tomic says will reveal how western intelligence helped mujahedeen infiltrate the Balkans during the Bosnian war and are now trying to conceal their existence.
Ali Hamad's Translated Letter
Ali Hamad, Penitentiary Zenica, Sarajevska 36
10 January 2005
To the “Glas Srpske” editors, Banja Luka
Ladies and Gentlemen in the “Glas Srpske,” and particularly Dobrila Majstorovic, I accept full cooperation with you with great pleasure, but on one condition: that it be directed to anti-terrorist activity, in the name of justice, peace, love of all regardless of ethnic and religious background; and to be part of a joint struggle against injustice, violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance, as well as against terrorism in all its shapes and colors, especially against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist Al-Qaeda network, of which I used to be a member once, and against the foreign mujahideen who came to Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1992-95 war calling themselves “holy warriors” and “warriors of Allah.” Spreading lies and propaganda that they came to this land to offer protection and aid to the assaulted Bosniak Muslims, they murdered and ruthlessly beheaded innocent citizens of B-H for no reason but that they weren’t Muslims; their real goal is to spread their network to this region and fire up hatred between the ethnic groups here, using the war as a medium. They have continued their work after the war, perpetrating all sort of inhumane and dirty deeds.
So, if what I’ve indicated above can be our common purpose, then I support any form of cooperation with you that stays within the bounds of the law.
In this first contact (or second), and I hope it won’t be the last, I wish to tell you the following:
From my childhood, and under the extremely difficult conditions in which I grew up in my homeland, I was forced to associate with members, collaborators and fans of the terrorist Al-Qaeda. I was friends with them for a year and a half, during which they spiritually and psychologically prepared me for terrorist actions, conducting everyday “lectures” (i.e. brainwashing). Once they were confident they had prepared me, programmed me robotically, to practice ethnic hatred and hatred of other; once they were convinced I hated the entire world, including myself; once they were certain I had become mercilessly violent and wanted blood and vengeance against just about everyone – they sent me to the war in Afghanistan, giving me the opportunity to express my anger and hatred towards humanity, and exact vengeance on all human brings, innocent or not, only because they were alive and different.
After that, I made a sworn pledge to Al-Qaeda, in the presence of Osama bin Laden and three of his high-ranking officers. I took the pledge in the town of Gelalabad [sp? Jalalabad?], Afghanistan [sic]. Once my mission in Afghanistan was over, I was ordered back to my hometown, where I received orders to go to a new assignment, in B-H.
I arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina in September 1992, where I operated alongside the mujahideen within the former Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina [ARBiH]. As an experienced and trained soldier, I became a commander of a unit located in the village of Bijela Buca, near Travnik.
In 2001, as I was in this institution [prison – tr.], I watched the horrors of the catastrophic terrorist attack on the US on September 11, which instantly killed 3000 innocent American citizens. I watched these painful scenes with sorrow in my heart and eyes, thinking, “I can assume who did this inhumanity. I feel horrible. How much longer will innocents be killed only because they aren’t Muslims? How much longer will there be violence, nationalism, terrorism? How much longer will there be injustice, hatred, bloodshed and revenge? What have these people done to deserve death? Do they not have right to live, just because they aren’t Muslims? No one could do such a thing but Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda. Remember, my former boss, you and your people will regret dearly that you’d trusted me and picked me for a member. One day I will be famous as your implacable enemy, who will strike mercilessly at the very heart of your Al-Qaeda. I am your pupil, and the pupil of your school, and you taught me that a promise is a debt…”
The attach on the US on September 11 changed the entire world, as well as my heart, which had been ill with the disease of terrorism. Because of it, and for several other reasons, I decided firmly and finally to not only quit Al-Qaeda, but to dedicate my entire being and everything at my disposal to a struggle against violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance, as well as evil people who use terrorism to spill the blood of innocents and destroy their homes. I specifically did this to fight against my former boss Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda, of which I was a member.
In the name of justice, peace and freedom-loving people whatever their ethnicity or religion, I have decided to offer maximum cooperation to the best of my abilities to all international antiterrorist institutions, and become an active member of the campaign against terrorism, especially against Al-Qaeda; in order to prevent the repetition of September 11 in the USA, to protect the lives of innocents, to ensure a better future and maximum protection for my children and all other children – even at the cost of my own life.
From 6 November 2001, to the present day, I have initiated a widespread action, in which I informed many domestic and international institutions, in writing and in official interviews. Among them were the international stabilization forces in B-H, prime minister of B-H, the High Representative Paddy Ashdown, the embassies of the USA, Britain, Italy, Canada and others; Holy Father John Paul II, President of the United States George W. Bush, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the FBI, with which I am still in contact. Therefore, I consider myself obligated to offer maximum assistance, support and cooperation to all international institutions dealing with the problem of terrorism, so they could achieve positive results in suppressing and uncovering the work of Al-Qaeda and its clones.
I think that my assistance in this matter is necessary and that with that assistance they can achieve what they could not achieve without it, and without me and my knowledge of Al-Qaeda. My vast knowledge of Al-Qaeda comes from the fact that I was once one of its officers, I know its modus operandi from experience, I know its rules, its command structure, its active and passive members, its high-ranking operatives, who are spread throughout the world waiting for the green light from their boss to begin attacks and dirty, inhumane attacks. There are such people in this region, too.
Of all the institutions mentioned above I have asked for assistance, protection and maximum physical and political protection, so I could achieve what I promised – to help disable and destroy the main cells of Al-Qaeda, to bring before the face of justice the leaders, members and associates of that terrorist network.
So far, thanks to me and no one else, two Al-Qaeda leaders were found and arrested in Qatar: one of the top brains of the organization, Khaled as-Shayk [sp?], currently at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and an Al-Qaeda financier Mohammed es-Siddiqi [sp?]
Had it not been for me and my maximum cooperation, no one could have found out these two were connected with Al-Qaeda, nor would they have been arrested, yet no one so much as thanked me.
It is interesting that the High Representative of the international community in B-H Paddy Ashdown, who has shown his teeth to the Serb Republic [RS] and often tells the media that he is not punishing the RS but the criminals and those who protect war criminals, that he has not shown the slightest interest or any teeth to the foreign mujahideen who came to this region during the 1992-1995 war, committed horrible war crimes against the Serb and Croat civilians, and imported from Asia and Africa the terrorism, Wahhabism, Selefism, ethnic hatred and intolerance towards non-Muslims; this is confirmed by something that was nonexistent prior to the war, which is the appearance of domestic mujahideen in all towns and villages of the B-H Federation.
I have written to him [Ashdown] twice, on 12 January 2004 and 19 January 2004; with full responsibility, I told him that Al-Qaeda has been present in B-H throughout the 1992-1995 war, and that it still has sympathizers in this region, who were given citizenships during the war, and whom I know personally. In these letters, I informed him of my case, and my readiness for maximum cooperation with international anti-terrorist institutions.
I guaranteed to him that with my assistance and cooperation many operatives and active leaders, members and sympathizers of Al-Qaeda throughout the world would be caught; I offered him the opportunity to disable and destroy the major cells of Al-Qaeda. Also, after stating that terrorist remnants still reside in B-H, I offered him a specific ten-point program, and guaranteed that its acceptance would cleanse B-H of the remnants of terrorism and evildoers who came here during the war, and now act as good citizens of FB-H, while they are in fact sleepers waiting for the green light from their boss to start committing inhumane deeds and atrocities. I guaranteed that I would give an explanation of every point in my program in official interviews with officials from his cabinet either in this institution [the penitentiary] or another adequate location.
The trouble is that I never received a real response. He never showed any interest for my program, or the problem of terrorism in this region, while at the same time he’d trained his political guns with great interest on the Serb Republic. With great and due respect to Mr. Ashdown, I hope he will show more interest and that he will take more serious steps to resolve this problem, while I herald my readiness for maximum cooperation in advance.
Also interesting is the case with the AID intelligence agency, and its former boss. I had three official interviews with AID officials inside this institution, on 9 August, 14 August and 13 September 2002, when I informed them in detail about the war crimes committed by the mujahideen during the war against the Serb and Croat civilians; names of the mujahideen who perpetrated these crimes; and locations where the crimes were committed.
Specifically, I talked about three atrocities: the first one was in the village of Bijela Buca near Travnik, where four foreign nationals (journalists, most likely British) were abducted and killed while performing their work. The perpetrators of this crime are six mujahideen – Algerian E.M., Algerian A.B., Saudi E.M., Lybian E.H., Tunisian E.H., and Egyptian I.M.
I note that this case was closed and forgotten until I reopened it and reminded them of it in 2002.
The other atrocity, a barbarous murder, took place in 1993 in the Croat village of Guca Gora near Travnik. The mujahideen attacked the abovenamed village, and there was a brief firefight which involved even the members of international forces (UNPROFOR), who tried to protect the village and its inhabitants from the attack. But when UNPROFOR members saw the long beards of their attackers and realized they were being attacked by mujahideen, they boarded their troop carriers and ran, saving themselves and leaving the civilians in the village to the mercy of the mujahideen. Some 20 Croat civilians were captured; after psychological and physical mistreatment, they were taken somewhere just outside the village and brutally murdered with bullets, knives, and even a chainsaw. Before that bloody event, in the same village, a mujahid named E.M. used a big knife to slit the throat of a 16- or 14-year old Croat boy before his father’s eyes. The father was forced to watch; then his life was taken in the same fashion.
The third atrocity happened the same year, and I witnessed it, in the mujahedeen camp in the village of Orasac near Travnik. The mujahedeen slit the throat and decapitated a Serb citizen of B-H with a rusty kitchen knife. This was witnessed by four Croat captives, who fortunately survived. The murderer was S.B., assisted by R.A., while E.M. severed the head from the body.
AID officials appeared interested for these crimes and my cooperation in bringing them to light and their perpetrators to justice. They told me we would be in regular contact and promised to take the appropriate measures. I waited for their next visit, but they never came again. Then I found out that the international institutions dealing with the problem of terrorism demanded of the former AID director, K.S., to give them a report on African and Asian persons who arrived in B-H over the last 10 years, and any information about their connections to any terrorist networks. I found out that the former AID director never gave the international institutions any information about these atrocities, nor of my existence as an
eyewitness, which means they were covering up important evidence that could have been helpful in anti-terrorist operations.
This illegal action was discovered, which is why the former head of AID was relieved. The problem is that the purpose of this cover-up was never revealed or investigated. This is why I have every reason to accuse the former head of AID that, for whatever purpose unknown to me, he – and his associates who interviewed me – abused the information and testimony I gave them and covered up the aforementioned atrocities, protecting the mujahideen who committed them.
This illegal action of theirs did not defraud me, since I am not a member of this community and have nothing to do with this country except wishing it to be safe, stable and prosperously on its way to Europea integration; they have however defrauded themselves and their own people by protecting criminals and their atrocities, giving them the opportunity to move about freely and endanger the safety of their own people and the state.
I want it to be known that I have no intention of further cooperating with officials who do not want to reveal the truth if it doesn’t fit their political, national or religious positions. With all due respect, but also with a great deal of resentment, I appeal to the former head of AID and his men to return my material evidence. They do not need it, but I do.
Anyway, I claim with full responsibility that Al-Qaeda has been present in B-H throughout the 1992-95 war and that it still has members and sympathizers in this region.
In 2001, the SFOR command in B-H claimed it had evidence that Al-Qaeda had operated in B-H in that time period. Expert for international law and terrorism Darko Trifunovic claims that members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network are still in B-H territory.
Former SFOR commander General Virgil Packett hesitantly expressed doubt that there were live Al-Qaeda members in B-H, but could not state that categorically. So even though leading anti-terrorist institutions claimed that there were Al-Qaeda members in B-H, the general admitted that was a fact, though he only called them “sleepers” and not active members. Does this mean that, in his opinion, sleepers aren’t dangerous? I tell the general, he is mistaken if he believes there is a difference between active members of Al-Qaeda and sleepers. The only difference between them is that active members have received the green light for action, while the sleepers are still waiting for it.
For example, the terrorists who perpetrated the September 11 attacks in the USA, who instantly snuffed out the lives of 3000 innocents, were peaceful sleepers before they received their order to attack.
Preparation for terrorism and waiting for the appropriate time and order to strike are part of operational activities, and may well take years. So, the aforementioned general’s opinion that Al-Qaeda’s sleepers were inactive is wrong. If we were to accept it as true, we would have to say that the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks were “not a danger” while they were preparing it in secrecy, waiting for the green light.
On 23 July 2004 I sent a letter to the general, openly challenging his wrong opinion and disputing his statements. He never responded, but I think he could not. American intelligence, the CIA, claims there are terrorists in B-H, that B-H is a way station for weapons, financial transactions and documents – everything one needs for terrorist attacks. American lawyer and former political analyst for the U.S. Senate, James Jatras, has evidence based on which he claims that Al-Qaeda is operating in B-H.
Deputy Minister for security in the B-H Council of Ministers, Dragan Mektic, recently said that investigations have shown that there are seven Afro-Asian persons in B-H under surveillance for links to terrorist networks, who have obtained their citizenships fraudulently. This statement was carried by the media. However, certain high officials who are dealing with the problem of terrorism in this region loudly and strongly deny every report of persons connected with terrorist networks; they are disputing my
claims, and the claims of many world institutions, that since the beginning of the war in 1992, B-H has been fertile ground and a haven for international terrorism.
On this occasion I would like to ask several questions, asking those who every so often deny the existence of terrorism in this region to give me specific answers. For security reasons, every state has laws and rules demanding that foreigners who enter its territory must be registered, with their origin, purpose of visit, the length of stay and place of residence, etc. entered into evidence. So I ask the first question: did the foreign mujahideen who came to B-H during the 1992-1995 war, some of whom stayed in the region afterwards, pass through the proper and required procedure? In other words, does anyone in the government then or now know anything about these mujahideen: who they are, where they came from, their real identities, the purpose of their stay in B-H during the war?
If anyone in the authorities thinks he knows the answer to this question, I will be ready to face him and in the presence of foreign journalists and representatives of an international counter-terrorist institution give him the names of at least 50 mujahideen who I know, who operated in B-H during the war; he should then tell me what he knows about them, give me the real identities of at least two, and tell me where they came from.
If the officials decide to answer me and admit they have no information, or have just a little bit on foreign mujahideen who came to B-H during the war, they should have good answers to the following questions. How, then, and based on what can certain high-ranking officials in the B-H government claim there is no terrorism in this country, when they know little or nothing about the pile of foreign mujahideen that came into this country during the war, illegally and without any identity checks? Are these officials excluding the possibility that some of these mujahideen could have been terrorists linked to various terrorist networks? An additional problem is that many of those mujahideen received their citizenship under murky and illegal circumstances.
It is clear the mujahideen did not come to this country – of which they did not know before, leaving their families and homes – during the war in order to shoot marbles on the streets of Sarajevo or get laid? Don’t the people who once ran the government in B-H and those who do so know think exactly what many B-H citizens think, that the foreign mujahideen came to B-H during the war to protect and defend the attacked Bosniak people?
Second question: How do the B-H officials interpret the appearance of domestic mujahideen, an occurrence unprecedented before the war? During and after the war, these domestic mujahideen adopted some very strange opinions, which influenced them so much they even changed their outward appearance – adopting a garb previously unknown in this region, short trousers, long, unkempt beards, etc. – and started aggressively practicing religion.
Under which circumstances did these foreign mujahideen arise, and who taught them these alien ways that made them into a separate sect, obviously distinct from the customs and mentality of the people of this region?
Third question: Who and what was Ahmed Zuhairi, known as “Handala,” directly linked to Al-Qaeda from its foundation, and who fought with the mujahideen in B-H during the war, while at the same time working for the Croatian government with unknown authority, meeting with the Croatian president Franjo Tudjman several times?
I don’t really know who used whom through Ahmed Zuhairi; was it Croatia that used Al-Qaeda, or the other way around? Or was something entirely different going on?
So, with all due respect, I demand the authorities in B-H do not raise dust about my sincerity, to answer my questions publicly, and prove with arguments their claims that terrorism does not exist in B-H. I will, however, use arguments to prove that Al-Qaeda has operated in B-H during the 1992-1995 war, and that it still has its members, associates and sympathizers in this country.
Within my struggle against injustice, nationalism, terrorism of any kind and especially Al-Qaeda, on 11 June 2004 I started writing a book under the working title “International terrorism and Al-Qaeda in B-H and the world,” which I intend to make a road sign to the world in the fight against evil, and help people throughout the world, regardless of their nationality, religion or political affiliation. This book would be of special interest to the youth, giving them advice as to how to resist the seduction of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. It would protect them from falling into the dark abyss in which I was, and from which one can climb out of only with great risk and difficulty.
This book of mine will be like an earthquake to Al-Qaeda and its sympathizers, rocking them at their very foundations. The book will reveal many of Al-Qaeda’s secrets, inhumane and dirty deeds, its high-ranking leaders, members and associates deployed around the world. For the very first time in history, the true face of Al-Qaeda will be revealed in public, from its 1987 foundation to the present.
What I intend to describe, what I’ve already almost finished describing (80%), will put the readers in my shoes. I will speak of the circumstances under which I was forced to associate with Bin Laden’s people and where; about my membership in Al-Qaeda and how it came about; about the Al-Qaeda rules and ways of operation; about my first encounter with the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, and the topic of our conversation; about Bin Laden and his private life, which is filled with oddities and surprises; about his officers and people of importance; about the activities of Al-Qaeda and its military in Afghanistan, and where they were located; about the Taliban and their origins; about the end of my mandate in Afghanistan and departure to a new mission in B-H. In my book, I will speak about many of Bin Laden’s men, deployed around the world, and reveal their missions. I will also speak of some officials from various Islamic countries, who hold positions of power and authority, and who secretly provided support, aid and special favors to members of Al-Qaeda, based on which Al-Qaeda prospered and developed its activities to the point where it threatens the world – and all thanks to these officials. In the book, I will also speak of the foreign mujahideen who came to B-H during the 1992-1995 war, who and what they were, their links to Al-Qaeda, and how they were essentially Al-Qaeda’s infiltration program in this region. I will speak in detail about the mujahideen, from the time they arrived in B-H at the start of the war, to 1997, as well as their organization and activities in B-H. I will especially address the domestic mujahideen and analyze their emergence, and discuss the links between former B-H authorities and foreign mujahideen during the war and afterwards. I will address some other matters, of which I won’t talk about now.
I inform all those who constantly raise dust and doubt in my honesty and truthfulness that my book won’t be entertaining fiction, but will include written evidence and arguments. The book will be read at the Hague Tribunal before publication – maybe it is being read there right now. I will be ready to testify and argue before the Tribunal in The Hague about everything that I will cite in the book. This book will be a symbol of my struggle against violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance, a road sign in my sincere battle and sacrifice against evil, and in the name of justice, peace, understanding and love of all, regardless of their nationality, religion or political affiliation.
This book will be the fruit of my sincere repentance, and proof of my great love and friendship for all people, whom my painful tale will counsel to stay away from the fallen path that I walked, and from which I managed to return with much pain and effort. The book will be available to readers in B-H in the spring or summer of this year, and afterwards published in other countries and other languages.
Because of my opposition to Al-Qaeda and the foreign mujahideen who arrived in B-H during the war, because of my full cooperation with the international anti-terrorist institutions, and because of my book that strikes at the very heart of Al-Qaeda, I have become a target of vengeance by Al-Qaeda’s members, who are all over the world. Therefore there is a danger I might be attacked while here in prison, and especially after I leave prison, and just by Al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, truth and justice threaten many, especially those in positions of power who fear my book. Danger to my life and safety also comes from many people who are Muslim, and who venerate Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, considering him a
defender of Muslims and Islam, whose struggle (terrorism) would (supposedly) restore the lost strength and pride of Islam.
These people consider me a traitor to Muslims worldwide, not aware that my struggle is directed against terrorism worldwide; to replace injustice with justice; to replace violence with kindness; to replace murder with salvation; to replace vengeance with forgiveness; and to have peace for all humanity, understanding, safety, and heavenly, limitless love.
My struggle is not aimed against Islam and Muslims. Quite the contrary. I am a Muslim and very proud of it. But I also love and respect other religions.
It is a fact that my struggle is aimed against evil, against terrorism and Al-Qaeda, its leader Osama bin Laden, and the mujahideen who came to B-H during the war, and continued to act after the war pretending to be loyal citizens.
Since many consider me an enemy of Islam and Muslims, I have experienced all the perils of my struggle against terrorism here in prison. I don’t know what to say on this occasion, except that I am someone who is fighting with insufficient resources, sacrificing himself, in order to make life better for everyone. Member of my nation beat me up from all sides, but members of other nations understand me, respect me and thank me for my efforts and sacrifices.
When night falls in my dark prison cell and when I think of all the threats and dangers to my life, I smile and think, “Will the world allow that my struggle for the betterment of humanity makes my wife a widow, and that my two little girls become orphans? Can telling the truth cost me so much? But I will not give up, ever.”
In case I am killed, however, let the humankind know and remember that I was a person who accepted the sacrifice of my life for the sake of justice, peace, and love for all regardless of their ethnicity or religion. If that ever happens, let everyone remember my name, and that I sacrificed myself for justice, peace and love for all; that my life was extinguished only because I fought to protect my children and everyone else’s children from evils of terrorism; and that the freedom-loving world did not offer me the necessary physical protection, assistance and support.
I would like to use this opportunity to send a friendly message to my former teacher and master, Osama bin Laden, hoping that the message will reach him:
I am convinced that you are very unpleasantly surprised and that you could have never thought or dreamed that your quiet student could become the most bitter enemy of you and your Al-Qaeda, a nightmare that keeps your men awake and ruins the enjoyment of their wives.
This has happened. The devil has come to claim his own.
You and your men must accept that I no longer belong to you, but to the international anti-terrorist institutions, in which I could become an active fighter against you and your Al-Qaeda.
Your greatest enemy, America and Americans, are now my friends, and I am in constant contact with them. It is with great pleasure that I will offer them my maximum support and cooperation to destroy your Al-Qaeda. I do not regret in the least rebelling against you and your men; this had to happen, because there was nothing in common between us any more. You are still for injustice, and I am for justice. You are for destruction, I am for construction. You stand for hatred and intolerance, I am for great and sincere love for everyone. You are for war and murder of innocents, I am for salvation and peace. You are for revenge even against innocents, I forgive even those who are guilty.
You wish everyone ill, a discord upon the world. I wish everyone well, and understanding for everyone in the world, in every respect, that all become as members of one nation. You want to bury everyone but those who think like you, but I am already working on putting you all in prison, so the humanity would be safe and protected from your evil-doing.
I will use everything I learned in your schools against you and your men. Was I not a good student? I know you and your men are furious with me, and that you cannot wait for me to get out of prison so you could steal from me the rest of my short life, and that you will look for me wherever I go. But I hope the world will never allow your wish to be fulfilled.
So, when I get out of prison, send your hunters after me. But be aware, I will be hunting them as well. I promise you – and a promise is sacred – that if the world takes me seri0ously and gives me a chance, I shall strike at the heart of your Al-Qaeda and shake its foundations. My cooperation with the world will lead to capture of your lieutenants and fighters. Even though I am in prison still, I already helped capture two of your important men. If the world does not accept my offer, then I won’t be able to fulfill my promise. Pray that this happens.
So, how do you like your fun now? Too painful, is it? But when I have fun with your men, it won’t be like having a sweet blonde on a bed of roses. You know well that I am not an easy target like V.L., whom you killed in 1997 because he tried to resign from Al-Qaeda. So I tell your men, when I get out of prison, they should be as ready as I will be. Your hunters may become the prey, as I could catch them sooner than they could catch me. I do not intend to use weapons when I am released – but if I meet any of your hounds, I will not shoot to wound. My bullets will not miss their heads and hearts; what I learned in your school will serve me well.
I must confess publicly, though I consider you evil, that since I know of myself, I have never met a person with so many virtues, indescribably polite and pleasant, as you were. This is why you managed to conquer the hearts and minds of so many around you, and why your followers love you unconditionally.
I want to tell you that my book will soon be in print. Buy it. Read it. It’s not expensive, and you will like it.
Here, I’ve given you a chance to find out my opinion of you and your Al-Qaeda from my own pen. I hope you won’t be loath to respond to your peaceful and quiet apprentice. Goodbye, forever.
I thank the editors, and especially Ms. Dobrila Majstorovic.
Respectfully,
Ali Hamad
posted by Marko at 10/22/2005 07:00:00 PM
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