FBI Not Showing Cards In Alleged Terrorism Plot
Three men arrested in connection with a possible terrorist plot are scheduled to be back in court for detention hearings Thursday in Denver and New York.
The men — Najibullah Zazi, his father Mohammed, and an imam from Queens, N.Y., named Ahmad Afzali — were arrested on charges of lying to federal authorities. The case is known inside the FBI as an "office special" — which means it's considered so serious that all available agents are assigned to it. The man at the center of it all is Najibullah Zazi, a Denver-area airport shuttle bus driver who allegedly told the FBI he attended an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan and trained in explosives.
But Zazi hasn't been charged with a terrorism offense — which seems at odds with how seriously the FBI is treating the case.
"The reality is the FBI is still trying to figure out what is at play here in the homeland," said Juan Zarate, a terrorism expert and former deputy national security adviser.
Zarate says the case is moving so fast that prosecutors want to keep their options open.
"This is part of an ongoing intelligence matter, which makes the charging part of a broader calculus for the FBI and Department of Justice. They don't want to show their cards, and they want to use charges in a way that will allow them to negotiate for and potentially obtain plea agreements that get them more information."
Intelligence officials think this could be the most serious terrorism threat the country has faced since Sept. 11, 2001. Zazi says he isn't a terrorist, but officials close to the case tell NPR he was caught on a wiretap talking to key al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan who appear to have been directing this plot.
The Justice Department says officials found nine pages of notes on bomb-making in Zazi's handwriting. After searching a New York apartment where Zazi had been staying, police also allegedly found bomb-making manuals, backpacks and cell phones with Zazi's fingerprints.
Zarate says the collection of evidence is similar to the evidence found in a foiled plot to bomb airlines over the Atlantic in 2006.
"And so, put together, this looks like a dangerous concoction of factors that make this a dangerous plot," he said.
But the American people aren't necessarily convinced.
"The real challenge here is that you have a citizenry who's just heard too many times a country that cried wolf," said Karen Greenberg, the executive director of the NYU Center on Law and Security. She edits The Terrorist Trial Report Card, which tracks the terrorism cases that go to trial in the U.S.
"We have now dismantled this terrorism case or that terrorism case, and it turned out there seemed to be no threat there of great danger to the country," she says. "Now they have a case where they think there is some real danger, can they convince the American public?"
Officials hope they can, but they'll need all the help they can get. Officials close to the case tell NPR that investigators are tracking nearly two dozen people in Denver and New York. The chief concern now is that Zazi used his expertise to build bombs and that the explosives are out there — but they haven't found them yet.
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LINDA WERTHEIMER, host:
There's been a new development in the case of a Denver area man arrested in connection with a possible terrorist plot against targets in the United States. A federal grand jury in New York has charged a 24-year-old man from the Denver area with conspiring to explode bombs in the U.S. The indictment was unsealed just hours before the man was to appear in a Denver court on charges of lying to federal authorities. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has been following this story and has this report about why law enforcement officials are so concerned about this case.
DINA TEMPLE-RASTON: The case is known inside the FBI as an office special. That means it's a case so serious that all available agents are assigned to it. The man at the center of it all is Najibullah Zazi. He's the Denver-area man who drives an airport shuttle bus. Allegedly, he told the FBI he attended an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan and trained in explosives.
Mr. JUAN ZARATE (Terrorism Expert, Former Deputy National Security Adviser): The reality is the FBI is still trying to figure out what is at play here in the homeland.
TEMPLE-RASTON: Juan Zarate is a terrorism expert and former deputy national security adviser. He says the case is moving so fast, prosecutors want to keep their options open.
Mr. ZARATE: This is part of an ongoing intelligence matter, which makes the charging part of a broader calculus for the FBI and the Department of Justice.
TEMPLE-RASTON: They don't want to show their cards, in other words?
Mr. ZARATE: Right. They don't want to show their cards, and they want to use charges in a way that will allow them to negotiate for and potentially obtain plea agreements that get them more information.
TEMPLE-RASTON: More information from three key figures: Zazi, his father Mohammed and an imam from Queens, New York named Ahmad Afzali. Intelligence officials think this could be the most serious terrorism threat this country has faced since 9/11. Zazi says he isn't a terrorist. But there's why authorities are so worried. Officials close to the case tell NPR Zazi was caught on a wiretap talking to key al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan who appear to have been directing this plot.
The Justice Department claims to have found nine pages of notes on bomb-making. They say it's in Zazi's handwriting. After searching the New York apartment where Zazi had been staying, police allegedly found bomb-making manuals and backpacks and cell phones with Zazi's fingerprints.
Terrorism expert Juan Zarate says this is a familiar collection of evidence.
Mr. ZARATE: Finding backpacks, manuals, cell phones, what appears to be information about creating a hydrogen peroxide-based bomb, which looks a lot like the airliner plot from 2006.
TEMPLE-RASTON: That was the foiled plan to blow up airplanes over the Atlantic. It's the reason why you can't have liquids in a carry-on bag when you board a flight.
Mr. ZARATE: And so, put together, this looks like a dangerous concoction of factors that make this a dangerous plot.
TEMPLE-RASTON: But the American people aren't necessarily convinced.
Ms. KAREN GREENBERG (Editor, The Terrorist Trial Report Card): The real challenge here is that you have a citizenry who's just heard too many times a country that cried wolf.
TEMPLE-RASTON: Karen Greenberg edits The Terrorist Trial Report Card. It tracks all the terrorism cases which go to trial in this country.
Ms. GREENBERG: We have, you know, now dismantled this terrorism case or that terrorism case, and it turned out there seemed to be no threat there of great danger to the country. Now they have a case where they think there is real danger, can they convince the American public?
TEMPLE-RASTON: Officials hope they can. They need all the help they can get. Officials close to the case tell NPR that investigators are tracking nearly two dozen people in Denver and New York. The chief concern now? That Zazi used his expertise to build bombs. The explosives are out there, and they haven't found them yet.
Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.
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WERTHEIMER: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
