Saudi National in Boston Bombing being deported on "National Security Grounds"

[bsteadman]

Saudi National in Boston Bombing being deported on "National Security Grounds"

Atlas Shrugs
Pamela Geller
4/17/2013

Excerpt:

Steve Emerson just broke the shocking news that the Saudi national, Abdul al-Harbi, who was first questioned in the Boston bombing, is going to be deported on "national security grounds." He is from a very powerful Saudi family with many terrorist ties. Abdul al-Harbi is a devout Muslim from Medina.

I said that it takes longer than 15 hours to investigate all of Abdul al-Harbi's relatives, friends, acquaintances, and business and school friends.

Perhaps a quick look at the Arabic sources should raise the eyebrows of every American relative to the extent of the problem at hand. Many from Al-Harbi’s clan are steeped in terrorism and are members of Al-Qaeda. Out of a list of 85 terrorists listed by the Saudi government shows several of Al-Harbi clan to have been active fighters in Al-Qaeda:

When I heard he was from a very powerful Saudi family, I worried about this kind of thing happening.

Secretary of State Kerry's meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal was abruptly closed to the press the day Abdul al-Harbi was being questioned. There is no doubt in my mind that this was discussed.

Today's embarassing display of rolling incompetence and badly mangled leaks led to numerous cancellations of press conferences, mis-identified suspects, promises of imminent arrest, walking back the arrest announcement, and more. They said they would release a statement and then said they wouldn't.

Very smelly.

UPDATE: IOTW has the photo of the two suspects being sought here. A lot more here.

UPDATE: Reuters saying Obama met with the Saudis (thanks to IOTW)

- U.S. President Barack Obama met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal at the White House on Wednesday and discussed the conflict in Syria, a spokeswoman said.

The meeting was not on Obama’s public schedule.

The spokeswoman, Caitlin Hayden, said the president joined a meeting between the Saudi official and Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon.

View the complete post at:

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/a...y-grounds.html

[bsteadman]

U.S. 'deporting Saudi person of interest'

Obama has unscheduled meeting with foreign minister

WND
Joe Kovacs
4/17/2013

Excerpt:

An expert on terrorism says the Saudi national who was the original “person of interest” in connection with Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing is going to be deported from the U.S. next week.

The foreign student from Revere, Mass., is identified as 20-year-old Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi.

“I just learned from my own sources that he is now going to be deported on national security grounds next Tuesday, which is very unusual,” Steve Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism told Sean Hannity of Fox News Wednesday night.

The Reuters news agency reported President Barack Obama met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Wednesday, noting “the meeting was not on Obama’s public schedule.”

After that meeting was mentioned, Emerson told Hannity, “That’s very interesting because this is the way things are done with Saudi Arabia. You don’t arrest their citizens. You deport them, because they don’t want them to be embarrassed and that’s the way we appease them.”

Saudi national Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, the original "person of interest" questioned in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Meanwhile, Tuesday morning, a meeting Secretary of State John Kerry held with the Saudi foreign minister was abruptly closed to press coverage.

“The State Department initially provided no reason for the change, which was announced just 15 minutes before the scheduled 10 a.m. session,” reported Politico.

But later in the day, department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the preclusion of news media from the meeting was due to Kerry’s busy schedule.

“This was just a scheduling change on our part,” Ventrell said.

Journalists found the claim hard to believe, as they had been told the meeting would include a so-called “camera spray” at the beginning of the session.

“Are you really trying to say that this [meeting was moved from a] camera/photo op to being closed, for scheduling reasons? Is that seriously your answer: that because the secretary was tired after 10 days on the road and is going to the Hill tomorrow?” Matt Lee of the Associated Press asked.

“What I’m saying is he has a very tight schedule here in the building and elsewhere,” Ventrell said, noting the fact Kerry met with Al-Faisal amidst that busy schedule reflects the importance of the U.S. Saudi-relationship.

“So does it save time somehow, canceling the photo op? It doesn’t wash,” Lee replied. “I find it hard to believe that you expect us to believe that that’s the real reason for this.”

WND reported Wednesday morning that the Saudi student Alharbi shares the same last name as a major Saudi clan that includes scores of al-Qaida operatives.

Some in the clan are senior al-Qaida members while others are reportedly being held by the U.S. in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.

Two Saudi nationals were reportedly injured in the bombings in Boston, with one, Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, initially put under armed guard at a hospital. Alharbi is reportedly studying in the U.S. on a student visa.

A large group of federal and state law enforcement agents reportedly raided Alharbi’s apartment in Revere, Mass.

CNN reported the search took place by consent, according to a federal law-enforcement source, meaning no search warrant was needed

Now the Saudi embassy in Washington has said Alharbi was no longer under detention and is not a suspect in the bomb blasts.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/u-s-depor...n-of-interest/

[bsteadman]

Free Republic is running a thread titled, 'Saudi National in Boston Bombing being deported on "National Security Grounds", which was started 4/17/2013 by 'Nachum'

The thread references the 4/17/2013 Atlas Shrugs article written by Pamela Geller - http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/a...y-grounds.html

View the complete Free Republic thread at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-.../3009149/posts

[bsteadman]

Boston Bombing Culprits Identified?

Infowars
Paul Joseph Watson
4/17/2013

Excerpt:

UPDATE: FBI briefing on Boston bombings postponed. The FBI said it “needs more time to prepare” before speaking to the media. Struggling to get their narrative straight in the aftermath of numerous men with backpacks being identified?

Photos collated on the 4chan website show numerous images of suspicious individuals wearing large backpacks present at the scene of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Three of the men appear to be Arab or Middle Eastern in appearance, whereas another two of the individuals are white.

The images show the men looking away from the marathon runners, talking on cellphones and running from the scene immediately after the blast.

Remains of one of the backpacks are also photographed yards from where one of the bombs exploded. The FBI states that at least one of the pressure cooker devices used in the bombing was housed in a backpack.

Some of these men may have merely been victims, but the image of the two men standing together wearing the same clothes and carrying heavy backpacks and wearing credentials suggests they may have been involved in a drill or in the actual attack. One of individuals, a white man whose backpack was found at the scene of the bombing, looks badly dressed and disheveled.

The Associated Press is now reporting that authorities have identified a suspect wearing a “black jacket on a cell phone, wearing a gray hoodie and a white baseball cap backwards placing a black bag at the second bomb site outside of the Forum restaurant on Boylston Street and then leaving the area before that explosion,” a description which closely but not specifically could be applied to more than one different man identified in the photos below.

As eyewitness Ali Stevenson reported, marathon runners were told before the bombing that a “drill” was taking place involving bomb sniffing dogs and spotters of roofs and to remain calm, although police later denied that any exercise had taken place.

CNN reported that authorities have identified one of the suspects involved in the attack by means of “video from a department store near the site of the second explosion” and “video from a Boston television station.” CNN backed off a report that a suspect had already been arrested.

The Boston Globe also reports that, “authorities have an image of a suspect carrying and possibly dropping a black bag at the second blast site on Boylston Street.”

NewsCenter5 is reporting that, “An arrest is imminent or may have already taken place,” and that the individual is being taken to court.
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View the complete article, including many photos, at:

http://www.infowars.com/boston-bombing-culprits-found/

[bsteadman]

Obama Covering Up Saudi Link to Boston Bombing?

Infowars
Paul Joseph Watson
4/18/2013

Excerpt:

The Saudi “person of interest” suspected of being involved in the Boston Marathon bombings is being deported from the United States next week on “national security grounds,” according to a terrorism expert, who notes that the move is “very unusual,” especially given an unscheduled meeting yesterday between President Obama and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

The attempt to cover up a possible Saudi connection to the Boston attack could explain why authorities are scrambling to get their official narrative straight after photos emerged yesterday on the Internet showing numerous suspects carrying large backpacks, some of them middle eastern in appearance and two of the individuals having been almost certainly identified as employees of private military/security firm Craft International.

The FBI had set a press conference for 5pm EST yesterday afternoon but the event was cancelled hours after the photos were seen by millions of people online. The federal agency blamed the media for erroneous reporting, stating, “these stories often have unintended consequences.”

CNN also had to backtrack after they announced that a suspect had been arrested, a report that was subsequently denied by authorities. Reports of a “dark skinned man” being arrested were later mothballed.

According to terrorism expert Steve Emerson, 20-year-old Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, the Saudi national first suspected of being involved in Monday’s twin bomb attack, is being hastily deported. Alharbi was put under armed guard in hospital after the bombing, was visited by Saudi diplomat Azzam bin Abdel Karim, and later had his apartment raided by federal and state law enforcement agents.

“I just learned from my own sources that he is now going to be deported on national security grounds next Tuesday, which is very unusual,” Emerson told Fox News last night.

The news follows an unscheduled meeting between President Obama and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal at the White House yesterday afternoon. “The meeting was not on Obama’s public schedule,” reports Reuters.

“That’s very interesting because this is the way things are done with Saudi Arabia. You don’t arrest their citizens. You deport them, because they don’t want them to be embarrassed and that’s the way we appease them,” Emerson told host Sean Hannity.

A scheduled 10 a.m. photo op between John Kerry and the Saudi Foreign Minister was also abruptly cancelled on Tuesday morning because Kerry was tired from his busy schedule, an explanation that journalists refused to swallow, with the Associated Press’ Matt Lee telling spokesman Patrick Ventrell, “I find it hard to believe that you expect us to believe that that’s the real reason for this.”

As World Net Daily’s Joe Kovacs documents, “Saudi student Alharbi shares the same last name as a major Saudi clan that includes scores of al-Qaida operatives.”

The Alharbi clan has long been active in al-Qaida. Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi, for example, is a Saudi national who joined Osama bin Laden’s mujahadeen group in the 1980s. He reportedly became an al-Qaida member in the mid-1990s. He turned himself in to Saudi authorities in 2004 as part of an amnesty deal.

The BBC reported Khaled Alharbi was married to the daughter of al-Qaida’s number two, Ayman al-Zawahri. He reportedly appeared with bin Laden in a video praising the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Another top al-Qaida operative is Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi, a Saudi national identified by the State Department as “a key member of an al-Qaida network operating in Iran.”

Given the fact that the Obama administration has sent more than half a billion dollars and the CIA is shipping weapons to FSA rebels in Syria who pledged allegiance to and are led by Al-Qaeda militants, the notion that one of these militants would carry out an attack on U.S. soil would be extremely damaging to the White House.

Radio host Michael Savage floated the theory yesterday that the Boston police were told to cancel the press conference by the Obama administration and the FBI, because the Saudi Foreign Minister demanded that the suspect be allowed to leave the country.

As Infowars first highlighted yesterday and as Anthony Gucciardi subsequently confirmed, two of the suspicious individuals identified on the scene of the Boston bombings wearing identical clothing and large black backpacks (one white, one darker skinned) are likely to be employees of Craft International, a Blackwater-style private military/security firm.

Given that the bombs used in the attack were housed in black backpacks, remnants of which were found yards from the explosion, why are private security firm employees carrying black backpacks and talking on cellphones pictured within 30 feet of the blast just moments after it occurred?
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View the complete article at:

http://www.infowars.com/obama-coveri...oston-bombing/

[bsteadman]

FBI gives its agents images of TWO Boston bombing 'suspects': Hunt for men seen wearing back-packs near the marathon finish line before terror attack

The Daily Mail / Mail Online
By Rachel Quigley, Lydia Warren, Annette Witheridge In Boston, Massachusetts and James Nye
4/17/2013, Updated 4/18/2013

Excerpt:

• Investigators have reportedly identified a Boston marathon suspect using security video and cellphone records
• Much of key video footage came from Lord and Taylor department store - near the site of Monday's second blast
• Video shows man in black with shredded pants running away in the aftermath of one of the blasts
• Shows the suspect walking towards the mail box, dropping a package and walking away
• New crime scene photographs from the first blast confirms that a pressure cooker was used in the device
• Lid of pressure cooker found on rooftop of building 35 yards away
• Other photographs submitted to the FBI reveal the scene before and after the second bomb detonated
• Devices were designed to act as 'Claymore' anti-personnel devices - which are meant to maim on the battlefield
• The pressure-cooker bombs were packed with shards of metal, nails and ball bearings
• Eight-year-old boy, 29-year-old woman and University of Boston grad student killed in the attack
• 183 people injured, at least 23 of them in critical condition and 'a lot' of amputations have been performed

A suspect in the Boston bombings has been caught on CCTV apparently planting the second of the two explosives in what investigators have hailed as a major breakthrough in the case.

Video obtained by the FBI shows the suspect placing a bag near the Lord and Taylor department store while talking on a cellphone moments before the twin blasts ripped though the city centre, killing three and injuring more than 180.

The unidentified man is also captured using his phone at the moment the first explosion detonated 100 yards away on Boylston Street on Monday and 12 seconds before the second blast close to where he is standing.

He was wearing a black jacket, a grey hooded sweatshirt, is about 6ft or 6ft 2ins tall and of a medium build. He had a white or off-color-white baseball cap on backwards.

The footage led the FBI to announce it had made 'substantial progress' in the investigation and are now trawling phone to track the suspect down.

They stressed no-one has been named or arrested, but are reluctant to make the video public in case it forces the man to go underground.

In another key development, pictures have been released of a second potential suspect who is seen fleeing the site of one of the blasts as everyone around him cowers in terror clutching their ears.
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View the complete article, including many photos, at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...y-suspect.html

[bsteadman]

Authorities have clear video images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings, official says

Boston Globe
By Milton J. Valencia, Shelley Murphy and Mark Arsenault , Globe Staff
4/18/2013

Excerpt:

Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at the explosion sites and are planning to release the images today in an appeal for the public’s help in identifying the men, according to an official briefed on the case.

The official said that the two suspects were seen separately on videotape — one at each of the two bombing sites, which are located about a block apart.

The official, who spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity, said the best video has come from surveillance cameras on the same side of Boylston Street as the explosions. The official said the widely reported Lord and Taylor surveillance camera, and snapshots from individual cellphone camera users, have not provided the clearest images.

It was unclear why authorities did not publicize images of the unidentified suspects Wednesday. President Obama is in Boston today. Jason Pack, a supervisory special agent with the FBI’s national office, said Thursday that the agency has not made a determination on whether there will be a press conference, or whether to release photos.

In Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified today before a congressional committee that some of the video collected from near the Boston Marathon finish line had raised questions.

She said there were “individuals” the FBI would like to speak to. “I wouldn’t characterize them as ‘suspects’ under the technical term. But we need the public’s help in locating these individuals,” she said.

“The investigation is proceeding apace. This is not an NCIS episode. Sometimes you have to take time to properly put the chain together to identify the perpetrators, but everybody’s committed to seeing that that gets done in the right way,” she told Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, at the Homeland Security Committee.

Asked by McCaul if officials considered it a foreign or domestic terror plot, she said, “Right now, we can’t say one way or the other.”

Also today, an executive with the company whose battery was possibly used as a power source for at least one of the bombs said Thursday that he has reached out to Boston police and the FBI, but has not heard back.

Benjamin Mull, vice president of business development and technology with the California-based company Tenergy, said he was aghast to see pictures distributed by national news outlets of possible remnants of one of the bombs, with a Tenergy Sub-C battery attached.

The batteries are made for specialty remote-controlled cars, and they are only known among more dedicated hobbyists and enthusiasts. The company said it has produced “tens of thousands” of the batteries over the past several years.

“It’s twisted because it’s a battery we built for a toy, to have it used this way is appalling,” Mull said. “Not in a million years would I have imagined. I don’t know anything about bombs, I don’t know how this would be used or could be used.”

Mull said his does not sell them to large retailers, like Target or Walmart. Instead, he said, his company generally markets batteries to hobbyist stores or specialty battery stores.

“We’ve contacted Boston police and the FBI and will assist in any way we can,’’ Mull said. “We have not heard back from the FBI yet.”

The Marathon Monday explo*sions killed three people and injured more than 176, many of whom were grievously maimed. On Wednesday, author*ities confirmed the identity of the third victim, Boston University graduate student Lingzi Lu, who was from China. Martin Richard, an 8-year-old from Dorchester and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, a native of Medford, were also killed.

Sixty-two people hurt in the blasts remained at Boston hospitals Wednesday evening; 12 were in critical condition.

Obama signed an emergency declaration Wednesday for Massachusetts and ordered federal aid to supplement the local response to the bombings.

Obama attended the interfaith service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the city’s South End. Michelle Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate, is accompanying her husband. The couple are expected to meet with first responders, relatives, and victims of the bombing today.

During the service, Obama received a standing ovation and sustained applause when he said: “When the Sox, the Celtics, the Patriots, the Bruins are champions again – to the chagrin of New York and Chicago fans – the crowds will gather and watch a parade go down Boylston Street. And this time next year, on the third Monday in April, the world will return to this great American city to run harder than ever and to cheer even louder for the one hundred and eighteenth Boston marathon. Bet on it!’’

On Wednesday, the disclosure that a bomber was believed to have been seen on the Lord and Taylor surveillance video led to widespread media reports that a suspect was in custody, was under arrest, and was heading to US District Court in South Boston for an initial appearance.

Journalists and spectators converged on the Moakley *federal courthouse, expecting a suspect to be brought in. But top law enforcement officials denied they had anyone in custody, and the courthouse was evacuated after a bomb threat. After a search of the building, employees and visitors were allowed back inside.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013...rcJ/story.html

[bsteadman]

The Blaze EXCLUSIVE: Saudi student connected to Boston Marathon bombing set to be deported under “Security related grounds” connected to terrorist activities

TheBlaze
4/18/2013

Excerpt:

*This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

UPDATE 1: 10:50am ET: Joel Cheatwood, President & Chief Creative Officer for TheBlaze, told Glenn on the radio show: “Just got a note from one of our investigative reporters that she has been told that there is now discussion that they may not allow this man to be deported.”

UPDATE 2: Rep. Jeff Duncan had a tense exchange with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Thursday morning after Duncan raised questions about the Saudi ‘person of interest’ and reports he may be deported. Napolitano became defensive and said “I’m not going to answer that question” instead of simply providing an explanation. More on TheBlaze.

On radio this morning, Glenn broke the news that Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, the Saudi Student who was reported as a person of interest in the Boston Marathon bombing, is set to be deported under section 212 3B of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) – “Security and related grounds” – “Terrorist activities”.

An FBI source has told TheBlaze that the Saudi Student was “taken into custody”. This means, when we he was reported as a person of interest, he was actually a suspect the entire time.

An “event”, or file, was created on the student three days ago. The file contains his deportation record and the reason he is being deported. According to ICE the reason is section 212 3B –”Security and related grounds” – “Terrorist activities”. The student’s visa has been revoked.

The FBI said a file was started “just in case he was found to be connected to the crime,” however, the file shows he was scheduled to be deported. This was not precautionary, it was listed as “orders.” The file was immediately classified. Sources are telling TheBlaze the deportation order will be classified as well – requiring a FOIA to access it.

One agent told TheBlaze he believes a “voluntary” departure has been signed – that means the Saudi student could be out of the country as early as today. While the official story was going to be “he wanted to go home,” the student was actually being deported.
Advertisement

TheBlaze has been told that by a source that this “looks like they were trying to make this a ‘lone wolf’ crime, so the Saudi government would be spared embarrassment and the U.S. would avoid explaining how a terror cell was active when we had AQ on the run.”

One source at the FBI and another at the Saudi Embassy referred to the student as connected to an important Saudi family.

A source told TheBlaze that the FBI believes the Saudi student is tied to 2 to 3 more people.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/04/18/...st-activities/

[bsteadman]

Free Republic is running a thread titled, 'Beck: Original Bomb Suspect Had an Outstanding Deportation Order for Suspected Terrorist Activity', which was started 4/18/2013 by 'St_Thomas_Aquinas'

The thread references the 4/18/2013 Glenn Beck Radio Show - http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...nds-next-week/

View the complete Free Republic thread at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3009265/posts

[bsteadman]

FBI Releases Images of Suspects in Boston Marathon Bombing

ABC News
By Lee Ferran, Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz, Martha Raddatz, Cindy Galli and Megan Chuchmach
4/18/2013

Excerpt:

The FBI today released images of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing the bureau still considers to be "armed and extremely dangerous."

At a press conference, FBI special agent in charge Richard DesLauriers referred to the two men as Suspect 1 and Suspect 2 and said Suspect 2 was spotted dropping a bag before a bomb exploded at the second bomb site. The two men appear to be "associated," DesLauriers said.

DesLauriers asked the public for their help identifying the suspects, but asked the public not to approach them. Though the men are considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said they still do not believe there is an imminent danger in the area.

Three people were killed and more than 170 wounded in dual blasts near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday. No group, foreign or domestic, has claimed responsibility.

Officials told ABC News Wednesday they found a potential suspect using surveillance footage from a Lord & Taylor along the parade route and with the help of a local television station. Today federal law enforcement sources said they had found a second potential suspect in the case.

The FBI asked that anyone with information on the two men to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit a special FBI website at bostonmarathontips.fbi.gov.
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View the complete article, including video, at:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/specia...7#.UXB1R8rherm

[bsteadman]

FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation

Updates on Investigation Into Multiple Explosions in Boston

http://www.fbi.gov/news/updates-on-i...ions-in-boston