January 27, 2003 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E61 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS HONORING COMMUNITY VETERANS THREATS AND RESPONSES: Bassnan had both been charged with visa TRACKING TERRORISM; 9/11 RE- fraud after the attacks. ´ PORT SAYS SAUDI ARABIA But by that time, Mr. Bayoumi was al- HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ LINKS WENT UNEXAMINED ready in Britain, where he was temporarily OF NEW YORK detained and then released because visa fraud was not an extraditable offense. The IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HON. MARCY KAPTUR F.B.I. statement did not say where the two Monday, January 27, 2003 OF OHIO men were now or clarify the status of the ´ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES cases against them. Ms.VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today Although the disagreement has not been as the 3-year observance of the 50th anniver- Monday, January 27, 2003 publicly disclosed until now, the debate over sary of the Korean war comes to a close. Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I submit the fol- possible Saudi connections raises a very sen- sitive political issue for the Bush adminis- It is with great pride that I honor the men lowing for the RECORD. that served in the Armed Forces of the United tration. Saudi Arabia is the largest oil pro- (By David Johnston and James Risen) of America during that time and are members ducer in the world and one of the United of the St. Stanislaus Memorial Post No. 1771 A draft report by the joint Congressional States’ closest and most important allies in committee looking into the Sept. 11 attacks the Persian Gulf at a time when the adminis- American Legion, Brooklyn, NY. has concluded that the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., tration is preparing for a possible war with Since their honorable discharge from the in their investigations, did not aggressively Iraq. armed services, they have led productive lives pursue leads that might have linked the ter- In its report to the committee, the F.B.I. and continued to serve their communities, rorists to Saudi Arabia, senior government said that it was no uncommon for Saudis in State, and Nation. officials said today. the United States to receive financial sup- Therefore, it is with much honor and appre- The report charged among other things port from their government and that an in- that the authorities had failed to investigate quiry into the two me after the attacks had ciation that I salute these brave men: Feldele the possibility that two of the hijackers, failed to produce evidence that they had any Aita, Joseph Angerome, John Astrab, Joseph Saudis named Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq link to the Sept. 11 plot. A C.I.A. spokesman Beneventin, Walter Bielski, Edward Bizinski, Alhazmi, received Saudi money from two declined to comment about the joint in- Charles Bond, John Borisuck, Nicholas Saudi men they met with in California in the quiry’s investigation of the Saudi matter. Burduck, Kevin Cahill, James Campion, John year before the attacks. The committee’s Counterterrorism officials have said Mr. Canderloro, Michael Cantelmi, Michael preliminary findings, which also accuse the Midhar and Mr. Alhazmi had paid for more of Chorney, Anthony Chorney, Michael Croccia, Saudi government of a lack of cooperation their expenses with cash, which has made Edward Czartoryski, Edward Danielski, Joseph with American investigators, have caused a the investigation more difficult. They have bitter behind-the-scenes dispute between the also denied finding any evidence that funds Darragh, Everett Deming, Edward Dempsey, panel’s staff and officials at the F.B.I. and for the attacks were channeled through Donald Denson, Justin Dudzinksi, Vincent the C.I.A. At each agency, officials have dis- Saudi Arabia or that the Riyadh government Dzirko, Rudolph Fafalak, Louis Franklin, and agreed with draft findings, saying investiga- had any connection to the hijackers. Sol Friedman. tors vigorously pursued all available infor- It remains unclear whether the draft con- Michael Garvey, Ralph Gatti, Roman mation related to Saudi Arabia. clusions about Saudi Arabia will be included Giblewski, George Gibney, Dan Goodman, Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citi- in the joint committee’s final report, which Eugene Graboski, John Graham, Richard zens, but little is known about their back- is to be completed in December in classified grounds and how they were recruited for the form. An edited version is not expected to be Haines, Gerard Hammond, Lee Hedberg, attacks. Most of the Saudis were part of a made public until next year, officials said. George Heiberg, James Hesse, John Hoff- group that investigators refer to as the The Bush administration has sought to mann, John Jablonski, William Janovesik, ‘‘muscle.’’ These were men recruited late in maintain close ties with Riyadh even as in- John Karcinsky, Robert Kelly, Thomas Knapp, the planning for the operation, not as pilots, vestigators examining the backgrounds of Joseph Konzelman, Martin Kost, Walter but as an unskilled security force for the hi- the hijackers have complained that they Kryshak, Daniel Kujawa, Saverio La Rocca, jacking operation. Their job was to keep pas- have received little cooperation from the Louis Lasecki, Edward Lentol, Carl Licht, Jo- sengers at bay as the planes were com- Saudi government. seph Lukasiewicz, Bernard Maciejewski, An- mandeered and flown to their intended tar- Investigators have yet to determine how gets. the Saudi hijackers were selected for the thony Mangone, William Martin, Henry In a rebuttal report sent to the committee plot, who chose them or whether they had McQuillan, Frank Moley, Frank Paterno, Vin- in recent days, the F.B.I. has tried to dis- help inside Saudi Arabia. Some American of- cent Petitto, Robert Pieprzak, Peter Rago, Wil- prove several specific allegations by the ficials have theorized that Mr. Midhar and liam Revy, Roosevelt Rhodes, Henry committee. One of them was about Mr. Mr. Alhazmi may have returned to Saudi Rusielewicz, Philip Ryzkiewicz, Louis Sieber, Midhar and Mr. Alhazmi, who lived in Sand Arabia from the United States to pick the Walter Sito, George Skaats, Thomas Skubin, Diego a year before the attacks. Saudi hijackers, but investigators have no Charles Smith, Raymond Smith, Edward While in California, the two met with firm conclusions. For their part, Saudi officials have said Spaeth, Fred Stith, Leonard Suligowski, Peter Omar al-Bayoumi and Osama Bassnan, each of whom was receiving financial support that they have assisted in important aspects Sullivan, Jean Taylor, Nicholas Teta, Henry from the Saudi government. The men were of the investigation—for instance, providing Tomaszewski, John Walsh, and Alfred Willett. receiving stipends, although officials said it confirmation of the identities of the Saudi was not exactly clear what kind. The com- hijackers. The officials have also said the hi- f mittee staff concluded in its draft findings jackers’ anti-American extremism did not that investigators should have followed up represent mainstream thinking in the king- PERSONAL EXPLANATION on the meetings of the four men to deter- dom, even though some American officials mine whether there might have been a Saudi have long regarded Islamic militancy as a se- link to the hijacking plot. rious problem that could destabilize the au- HON. FRANK W. BALLANCE, JR. The F.B.I. is still investigating how much thoritarian government. OF NORTH CAROLINA financial support, if any, was provided by The tension between the joint inquiry staff IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. Bayoumi and Mr. Bassnan to the two and the F.B.I. and C.I.A. is the latest to men who later turned out to be hijackers. evolve from the inquiry into lapses by intel- Monday, January 27, 2003 The bureau is also looking into whether sen- ligence and law enforcement agencies related Mr. BALLANCE. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. ior Saudi officials in the United States may to the Sept. 11 attacks. In a series of interim 12, Congratulating the Ohio State University have played some role in distributing funds reports released during committee hearings to Mr. Bayoumi and Mr. Bassnan. in recent months, the joint panel had repeat- for winning the 2002 NCAA Division I football Today, the F.B.I. said in a statement that edly criticized the performance of the two championship, I was regretably unable to cast it had ‘‘aggressively pursued investigative agencies. my vote at the appropriate time. Had I been leads regarding terrorist support and activ- Those sometimes scathing reports prompt- present, I would have voted ‘‘yea.’’ ity.’’ It added that Mr. Bayoumi and Mr. ed officials at both the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. E62 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 27, 2003 including the director of central intel- hope that through this experience, he will be ile and often flagging peace process in the ligence, George J. Tenet, to criticize the able to share with them all that he has Middle East. He traveled frequently and devel- joint panel’s methods. Officials have com- learned. oped close personal relationships with busi- plained that it reached conclusions based on Mr. Speaker, in closing, it is with great scant evidence and that it took evidence out ness and political leaders throughout the re- of context. pleasure that I extend this recognition to Mr. gion. At times when ministers and heads of The joint committee has already held at Andrew Horwat. His hard work and discipline state found it difficult to communicate with one least one closed hearing on the F.B.I.’s rela- are an example to all of us.