Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Saudi Arabia warned the United States IN WRITING about Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012, and rejected his application for an entry visa to visit Mecca in 2011

 

 

BOMBSHELL: Saudi Arabia warned the United States IN WRITING about Tamerlan

Tsarnaev in 2012, and rejected his application for an entry visa to visit

Mecca in 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317493/BOMBSHELL-Saudi-Arabia-warned-United-States-IN-WRITING-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-2012-rejected-application-entry-visa-visit-Mecca-2011.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#socialLinks

 

 

 

    Saudis developed intelligence separately from Russia, which also warned

the U.S. about the accused Boston bomber

    A letter to the Department of Homeland Security named Tsarnaev and three

Pakistanis as potential jihadis worthy of U.S. investigation

    Red flags from Saudi Arabia included Tsarnaev's name and information

about a planned explosive attack on a major U.S. city

    Saudi foreign minister, national security chief both met with Obama in

the oval office in early 2013

 

By David Martosko and The American Media Institute

 

PUBLISHED: 22:46 EST, 30 April 2013 | UPDATED: 22:46 EST, 30 April 2013

 

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent a written warning about accused Boston

Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security in 2012, long before pressure-cooker blasts killed three and maimed

hundreds, according to a senior Saudi government official with direct

knowledge of the document.

 

The Saudi warning, the official told MailOnline, was separate from the

multiple red flags raised by Russian intelligence in 2011, and was based on

human intelligence developed independently in Yemen.

 

Citing security concerns, the Saudi government also denied an entry visa to

the elder Tsarnaev brother in December 2011, when he hoped to make a

pilgrimage to Mecca. Tsarnaev's plans to visit Saudi Arabia have not been

previously disclosed.

Was it preventable? A senior Saudi official says his country warned the U.S.

about Tamerlane Tsarnaev in 2012, advising the federal government that he

planned an attack on a major U.S. city

 

Was it preventable? A senior Saudi official says his country warned the U.S.

about Tamerlane Tsarnaev in 2012, advising the federal government that he

planned an attack on a major U.S. city

 

In this Feb. 17, 2010, photo, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, smiles after accepting the

trophy for winning the 2010 New England Golden Gloves Championship

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testifies on Capitol Hill in

Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2013

 

Did she know? Janet Napolitano (R) sits atop the Department of Homeland

Security, the agency that allegedly received a detailed letter from the

Saudi kingdom about Tsarnaev (L) and three Pakistani jihadis

 

The Saudis' warning to the U.S. government was also shared with the British

government. 'It was very specific' and warned that 'something was going to

happen in a major U.S. city,' the Saudi official said during an extensive

interview.

 

It 'did name Tamerlan specifically,' he added. The

'government-to-government' letter, which he said was sent to the Department

of Homeland Security at the highest level, did not name Boston or suggest a

date for his planned attack.

 

    Tamerlan Tsarnaev was placed on a U.S. terrorist 'watch' list after

'multiple' warnings from Russian authorities to the FBI

    The radicalization of Tamerlan Tsarnaev: Older 'bomber' studied Koran

for days at a time and witnessed 'bombings and shootings' in Islamic

Dagestan capital

    'I'm willing to die for Islam': Boston Marathon bomber's chilling texts

to his mother reveal he was prepared to sacrifice his life for jihad

    Boston bomber was caught discussing jihad with mother: Russia 'recorded

call between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and parent but failed to tell FBI'

 

The letter likely came to DHS via the Saudi Ministry of Interior, the agency

tasked with protecting the Saudi kingdom's homeland.

 

A Homeland Security official confirmed Tuesday evening on the condition of

anonymity that the 2012 letter exists, saying he had heard of the Saudi

communication before MailOnline inquired about it.

While U.S. intelligence agencies are exploring the possibility that Tsarnaev

learned to make pressure-cooker bombs while visiting Dagestan in 2012, Saudi

Arabia was his first choice for a travel destination

 

While U.S. intelligence agencies are exploring the possibility that Tsarnaev

learned to make pressure-cooker bombs while visiting Dagestan in 2012, Saudi

Arabia was his first choice for a travel destination until the kingdom

turned down his visa request

 

As many as 4 million Muslims make pilgrimages annually to the Grand mosque

in the city of Mecca. Tsarnaev sought to join them for an 'Umrah' journey, a

trip that happens outside of the month reserved for the annual Hajj

 

As many as 4 million Muslims make pilgrimages annually to the Grand mosque

in the city of Mecca. Tsarnaev sought to join them for an 'Umrah' journey, a

trip that happens outside of the month reserved for the annual Hajj

 

A DHS official denied, however, that Homeland Security received any such

warning from Saudi intelligence about Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

 

'DHS has no knowledge of any communication from the Saudi government

regarding information on the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing prior

to the attack,' MailOnline learned from one Homeland Security official who

declined to be named in this report.

 

 

The White House took a similar view. 'We and other relevant U.S. government

agencies have no record of such a letter being received,' said Caitlin

Hayden, a spokesperson for the president's National Security Council.

 

An aide to a Republican member of the House Homeland Security Committee

speculated Tuesday about why the Obama administration contradicted the

knowledgeable Saudi official.

 

'It is possible the Department of Homeland Security received the information

from the Saudi government but never passed it on to the White House,' the

GOP staffer said. 'Communication between DHS and the White House's national

security apparatus isn't always what it should be.'

 

'I can easily see it happening where one hand didn't know what the other was

doing because of a turf war.'

 

'Just like the different agencies in the Boston JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task

Force] want credit for breaking the Tsarnaev case,' the aide added, 'they

sometimes jealously guard the very intel they should be sharing the most

freely. Sometimes it makes no sense at all.'

Obama said Tuesday that an inter-agency review would leave no stone unturned

in an effort to learn whether government agencies could have done more to

prevent the Boston bombings

 

Obama said Tuesday that an inter-agency review would leave no stone unturned

in an effort to learn whether government agencies could have done more to

prevent the Boston bombings

 

Homeland Security

This image shows the remains of a black backpack that the FBI says contained

one of the bombs that exploded during the Boston Marathon

 

Two backpacks were left in shreds after the bombs they contained were

detonated in the midst of dense crowds on Boston's Boylston Street. The

Department of Homeland Security has been left to explain why

 

House Homeland Security Committee chairman Mike McCaul plans to announce on

Wednesday an investigative hearing to probe what U.S. intelligence knew

prior to the Boston attacks, two senior Republican sources told MailOnline.

 

Separately, President Obama announced Tuesday that the U.S. government will

launch a wide-ranging inquiry into the sharing of information among the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and

other intelligence and law-enforcement agencies of the federal government.

 

'We want to leave no stone unturned,' the president said in a rare White

House press conference.

 

The internal review will be led by Director of National Intelligence James

Clapper and several inspectors general.

 

'This is not an investigation,' Clapper's spokesman Shawn Turner said in a

prepared statement. 'This is an independent review of information-sharing

procedures. It is limited to the handling of information related to the

suspects prior to the attack.'

 

It is not yet clear whether information from Saudi Arabia will be involved

in Clapper's inter-agency review.

 

Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz appeared on CNN Tuesday afternoon,

upbraiding the Obama administration for presuming that the federal

government's handling of intelligence prior to the Boston bombings was

appropriate and effective.

 

'As soon as the bombing happened we had officials, locally and from the

feds, saying, "Oh, this was an isolated case, there was just one person

involved." We didn't know that,' Chaffetz said.

 

The 'starting point' for a federal investigation, he said, must be, 'This is

unacceptable, we will not stand for it, we will get to the bottom of it, and

we will not rest until we figure it out.'

 

'Mr. President,' he said, addressing Obama, 'the starting point should be an

intolerance that this thing happened.'

WASHINGTON - JULY 29: Rep. Michael McCaul speaks during a hearing on July

29, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 10: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) listens during a hearing

on Capitol Hill on October 10, 2012 in Washington, DC

 

GOP momentum? House Homeland Security Committee chair Mike McCaul (L) plans

to convene a hearing to investigate the government's failure to prevent the

Boston bombings. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R), who serves on that committee,

said on CNN that an inquiry should not presume all is well

 

The high-ranking Saudi official whom MailOnlne interviewed provided a wealth

of detail about the warning he says his government sent to the United

States. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to

talk publicly about foreign intelligence, or about Saudi Arabia's diplomatic

relationship with the United States.

 

He suggested that the Saudi Ministry of Interior sent the letter out of an

abundance of caution in order to be helpful to the United States, even if

its intelligence on Tsarnaev wasn't yet fully developed.

 

'With Saudi Arabia it's always code red,' he said. 'There's no code orange,

or code yellow. Always red.'

 

The Saudi government, he added, alerted the U.S. in part because it believed

American authorities should be inspecting packages that came to Tsarnaev in

the mail, in order to search for bomb-making components.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz met with

President Obama in January

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud bin al-Faisal met with Barack Obama in an

unscheduled meeting just two days after the Boston bombings

 

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz (L) met with

President Obama in January. His counterpart in the Saudi foreign ministry,

Prince Saud bin al-Faisal (R) had an unscheduled meeting with Obama just two

days after the Boston bombings

 

This New York City building houses the Saudi consulate that's nearest to

Boston. It's here that Tamerlan Tsarnaev likely applied for an entry visa, a

request that the Saudi government denied

 

This New York City building houses the Saudi consulate that's nearest to

Boston. It's here that Tamerlan Tsarnaev likely applied for an entry visa, a

request that the Saudi government denied on security grounds

 

The written warning also named three Pakistanis who may be of interest to

British authorities. The official declined to provide more details about the

warning to the UK, but said the two governments received the same

information.

 

The Ministry of Interior, he said, sent the letters in 2012, likely after

Tsarnaev returned from Russia to the United States in July.

 

President Barack Obama's published schedule indicates that he met in the

Oval Office with Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Interior

minister, on January 14, 2013.

 

The Saudis denied Tsarnaev entry to the kingdom when he sought to travel to

Mecca in December 2011 for a pilgrimage known as an Umrah - one that is

undertaken during months that don't fall within the regular Hajj period of

the year.

 

That rejected application came one month before he traveled to Russia, where

U.S. intelligence sources believe he acquired training enabling him to

construct and detonate the bombs that he and his younger brother placed hear

the Boston Marathon's finish line.

 

The younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is in federal custody at a prison

medical facility.

Celebration turned to mourning on April 15 after Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his

younger brother Dzhokhar allegedly detonated two powerful bombs near the

finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 3 and injuring more than 200

 

Celebration turned to mourning on April 15 after Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his

younger brother Dzhokhar allegedly detonated two powerful bombs near the

finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 3 and injuring more than 200

 

The Saudi official speculated that Tsarnaev's residence in the United States

might have made it more difficult for him to gain entry into the kingdom.

 

'U.S.-based Muslims who become radicalized and want to visit Mecca create an

unusual problem,' he said, compelling the Saudi government 'to carefully

examine applications.'

 

In the wake of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings, Saudi Foreign Minister

Prince Saud al-Faisal met with Secretary of State John Kerry on April 16,

and then had an unscheduled meeting with President Obama on April 17.

 

'This is the DNA of the Saudi government,' said the Saudi official,

referring to officials in the royal court in Riyadh. 'This is how they work.

They sent the letter, but that wasn't enough. They then sent their top guy

to meet personally with the president.'

 

He dismissed the idea that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was likely trained by al Qaeda

while he was outside the United States last year.

 

The Saudis' Yemen-based sources, he explained, said militants referred to

Tamerlan dismissively as 'the volunteer.'

 

'He was a gung-ho, self motivated jihadi who wasn't tasked by a larger

group,' he said.

 

'There is no reason for anyone in Afghanistan to have in his thinking a

scenario like this,' the official added, referring to pressure-cooker bombs

at the Boston Marathon. 'He took the initiative.  That's why they call him

"the volunteer".'

 

'The Boston thing is beneath them,' he said of al Qaeda. 'They don't think

like this. This is like a firecracker to them. They want something big.'

Richard Reid was apprehended afte ra failed attempt to blow up an airliner

with bombs concealed in his shoes. The Saudi government provided specific

intelligence about Reid to the U.S. before he tried to bring down the

transatlantic flight

Tamerlan Tsarnaev waits for a decision in the 201-pound division boxing

match during the 2009 Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions

 

Richard Reid (L) was apprehended after a failed attempt to blow up an

airliner with bombs concealed in his shoes. The Saudi government provided

specific intelligence about Reid to the U.S., and now it has been revealed

that they wrote to the American government about Tamerlan Tsarnaev (R) in

2012

 

Tamerlan may have boasted about his plans online, the Saudi official said,

offering an explanation for how Yemen-based sources first learned of him.

Militants have well-developed social networks that can enable news to

migrate quickly across vast distances.

 

The Saudi government sometimes tracks radicals by launching fake jihadi

websites to attract extremists. The Ministry of Interior then tracks them

electronically, often across the world, and shares information with

governments it considers friendly, including the United States.

 

'The Saudi Arabian government is doing everything it can to wipe out these

people and treat America as a true friend,' the official said.

 

The Saudi intelligence services have a long history of providing credible

information to American and British intelligence services about looming

threats.

 

'This is the fourth time the Saudi Arabian government has given the U.S.

specific intel' about a possible terror plot, the official said, citing

prior warnings about Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber who repeatedly

tried to light a fuse in his shoe to bring down American Airlines flight 63

bound for Miami in December 2001.

 

He also cited the 300-gram 'ink-cartridge bombs' planted on two cargo planes

headed for the United States from Yemen in October 2010. Those explosives

were intercepted in Dubai, and at an East Midlands airport in Great Britain.

The terror: A Boston firefighter carried an injured girl away from the scene

after the Boston Marathon bombings. In all, Tsarnaev is believed to have

killed three Americans, including an eight-year-old boy

 

The terror: A Boston firefighter carried an injured girl away from the scene

after the Boston Marathon bombings. In all, Tsarnaev is believed to have

killed three Americans, including an eight-year-old boy

 

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's namesake was a 15-century Central Asian warlord who

referred to himself as 'the sword of Islam.' Sometimes spelled 'Tamerlane'

in English, he was known for his cruelty.

 

When he conquered Baghdad, he reportedly made a pyramid of human skulls from

unfortunate residents of that city.

 

Although still revered in Chechnya and throughout Central Asia, the original

Tamerlane is sometimes vilified in modern-day Saudi textbooks.

 

Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317493/BOMBSHELL-Saudi-Arabia-warne

d-United-States-IN-WRITING-Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-2012-rejected-application-entry

-visa-visit-Mecca-2011.html#ixzz2S0mkWoOr

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