Here is the link to a short article, boxed well inside last Tuesday’s WashPost and pointed out to me by a former State Dept official:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/10/AR2006011001695.html
Here is the full text, as far as it goes:
“
Mohamed Abdel Wahab Yakoub, 61, admitted he used Saudi Embassy letterhead to obtain diplomatic visas from
Yakoub, an Egyptian, faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April on a single count of smuggling aliens. He will be subject to deportation after the sentencing.
Yakoub sold visas for $5,000 to $7,000. Court documents indicate he helped at least six illegal aliens gain entry to the
The Joint Terrorism Task Force, which helped investigate, said it had no indication the scheme had any connection to terrorism.”
A few obvious points, or concerns:
1. What are the odds that this case is the only one like it, in
2. How many other illegal aliens did this defendant help enter the country?
3. Point taken that this particular man was not directly connected to any terrorism. But the little harmless cases of ordinary or routine illegal entry (note elaborate sarcasm here) serve to increase the difficulty of law enforcement and other investigations. Another reason why 9/11 should have been treated as the mass crime it was, rather than dignified falsely as an “act of war.” One cannot know, before the start of an investigation, which illegal entries are terroristic and which are not.
4. At the time Yakoub was operating, the head of Saudi intelligence was Turki al-Faisal, who is now the ambassador to the
5. Had this happened exclusively under Clinton and Madeleine Albright, it would be roaring its way thru the rightwing echo chamber at this very moment. Interesting how little concern the loudest media voices are showing.
6. Also interesting how cryptic and hidden the story was, in the newspaper.
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