The Oklahoma City Bombing and The Politics of Terror
The Oklahoma City Bombing and The Politics of Terror
The Oklahoma City Bombing and The Politics of Terror
Contents
Acknowledgements
Forward
Introduction
1. The Mannilicher-Carcanno
Bomb
3. Non-Resident Alien
4. Millar's Rent-A-Nazi
2
5. Teflon Terrorists
6. No Stone Unturned
7. The Connection
8. Lockerbie — a Parallel
9. The Sting
Appendix
Endnotes
Index
Note: The names of certain individuals have been changed and noted
in the text. Libel law does not make generous allowances for the use of
real names in the case of a person who has not been officially indicted,
or who has not gone public (i.e., been previously interviewed in print or
on TV), or who is not a public figure.
"You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad."
— Aldus Huxley
3
Acknowledgements
Craig's cop friend Randy, who sneaked into the NCIC now and then
when we needed it.
Leslie Jorgensen, (Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report ) a great
gal with a marvelous sense of humor, who kept me up to date on the
latest gossip and straightened me out about certain lawyers.
Gene Wheaton, who took me for a circuitous ride through the desert to
talk to me in a scene reminiscent of Mr. "X" in the movie JFK, then
regaled me mostly with personal stories about his interesting life.
Ace Hayes (may he rest in peace), publisher of the Portland Free Press,
and my main mentor, who helped me to understand how the system
really works, or at least the system according to Ace.
Sherman Skolnick, my other main mentor, who never let me forget how
many years he's been in the business, and reminded me that I have a
long way to go,
Bill Jasper of the John Birch Society, who is convinced it really is all a
Communist plot.
5
George Wallace who introduced me to Jasper and kept the Commie
hunters off my back.
Roger Cravens, Dave Rydel, Claire Wolfe, Jon Roland, and other Patriots
who posted important and much-needed information on the state of
our nation on the Patriots' Information Mailing List (PIML); and Ian
Goddard, Bob Hall, and others who did the same on the OKBOMB
mailing list.
Laurie Mylroie of the Foreign Policy Institute, for her in-depth analysis
of the Iraqis and the World Trade Center bombing.
Terry Cook, for his videos and books, and his excellent and
comprehensive research on the staggering new technology that is
taking control over our lives.
Jim Levine, and Terry and Kelly, who handled our account and
especially Jim's mother, who made me Chicken soup when I was sick.
And finally, Mr. "M," without who's generous financial support, none of
this would have been possible.
And I can't leave out all those people who, although aware of the
efforts of the authors and others in attempting to bring this information
to the public, were either indifferent, or actually obstructed these
efforts. The first of these honors goes to the so-called "Justice"
Department and the FBI. And to the state Attorney General, Drew
Edmondson, and the local District Attorney in Oklahoma City, Bob
Macy, who has an annoying tendency to talk out of both sides of his
mouth. Oh, Bob, what is that stench?!
And the kind and generous folks of M.C.I. Communications, who not
only refused to sponsor our investigation, they never even sent a reply
to my inquiry. May they and the principals of SWB get what they
deserve.
Introduction
The images are forever etched in our minds. Scorched, burning cars,
pouring black smoke and charred, twisted metal. Piles of rubble,
screaming sirens and battered, bloody bodies. And the babies. Frail,
lifeless figures — tiny, silent witnesses of death and destruction.
In the early morning hours of April 19th, the Oklahoma City federal
building had, in one long, horrible moment… exploded with the force of
a volcano, spewing forth the contents of its human carnage onto the
streets below. What had a few moments ago been the Alfred P. Murrah
building was now a huge, gaping tomb. The entire façade of the nine-
story superstructure had been ripped away, exposing its innards —
dangling chunks of concrete, tangled strands of cables and bent pieces
of rebar — into the choking, blackened sky. Now it stood smoking and
eerily silent, except for the muffled cries of its few remaining
inhabitants and the wailing of the sirens off in the distance.
The scene was surreal — almost too horrific to bear. There were bodies
— and pieces of bodies — strewn about, along with childrens' toys and
workers' personal effects — tragic reminders of what had moments
before been the meaningful mementos of someone's life. One passerby
had been wrapped around a telephone pole, her head blown off.
Workers who had been sitting at their desks were still sitting there…
lifeless, morbid, like eerie figures out of a wax museum of horrors.
Police detective Jay Einhorn remembers one scene: "There was a guy
— a black guy — on the second floor, just sitting there. I knew he was
dead. He's looking at me, and I'm looking at him… if you don't think
that's fucking scary. We just said, man we gotta go up there and cover
that guy up."[1]
Daina Bradley, who was trapped under a slab of fallen concrete, was
still conscious. With no way to remove her without upsetting the huge
piece of concrete, doctors were forced to amputate her leg. As Bradley
lay screaming in a pool of water, surgeons, using scalpels and saws,
and without anesthesia, amputated her leg below the knee.
The federal office building, home to over 550 workers, had also housed
a day care center. Nearby, a makeshift morgue had been set up in
7
what had once been the childrens' playground. Refrigeration trucks
lined up to haul away the dead bodies. "Sheriff Clint Boehler, from
nearby Canadian County, recalls, "We went flying down there at about
110 miles an hour… you never saw so many services running over
each other." As hundreds of volunteers poured in from all over the
country, fireman, police and medical personnel began laying out the
victims for identification. Shirley Moser, a nurse, began tagging dead
children. "Their faces had been blown off, "said Moser. "They found a
child without a head."
Those who were lucky enough to escape the carnage were wandering
about, dazed and confused. One man, his face bloodied, wandered
down the street, saying he was headed home, except that he couldn't
remember his name or where his home was. Another man who was
entering the building had his arm blown off, but was in such a state of
shock that he didn't notice it as he went about trying to help others.[2]
People who lived or worked nearby had been blown out of their chairs.
Trent Smith, 240 pounds, was tossed seven feet into the air and
through the window of his hotel room. Several blocks away, a bus filled
with people was nearly blown on its side. The force of the blast
extended for nearly 30 blocks, blowing out windows and heavily
damaging a dozen buildings, and causing damage to almost 400
more.[3]
When it was all over, more than 169 people, including 19 children, lay
dead, and more than 500 were injured. The damage was estimated in
the hundreds of millions.
Federal authorities were calling the bombing the single largest terrorist
attack in the history of the United States. Yet it was difficult to discern
whether the bombing was some ominous precursor to some as yet
undeclared war, or the result of some criminal plot gone horribly awry.
Just who had caused it wasn't clear.
Kling, Unsub #1, had listed his address as 3616 North Van Dyke Road
in Decker, Michigan. The address was the home of James Douglas
Nichols and Terry Lynn Nichols. A quick check of that address with the
Michigan Department of Motor Vehicles revealed a license in the name
of Timothy James McVeigh.
Federal agents then decided they had enough evidence to arrest James
Nichols, and to put out a warrant on his brother Terry, who was living in
Herrington, Kansas. On April 22, Terry Nichols, wondering why his name
was being broadcast on television, walked into the local police station
in Herrington.
9
In the meantime, witnesses at the scene of the bombing had given
FBI agents a description of possible suspects. While interviewing
people in Junction City, agents spoke to the manager of the Dreamland
Motel who recognized the composite sketch of the suspect the FBI
called Unsub #1. The man had registered at the Dreamland from April
14 to April 18 under the name of Tim McVeigh, had driven a yellow
Mercury, and provided an address on North Van Dyke Road in Decker,
Michigan.
Back in Perry, Oklahoma, McVeigh was still sitting in a cell at the Noble
County Courthouse, waiting for his arraignment. After feeding
McVeigh's name into the National Crime Information Center, the FBI
discovered their suspect sitting quietly in the Noble County jail on a
traffic and weapons charge. Just as McVeigh was about to be set free,
District Attorney John Maddox received a call from the FBI telling him to
hold on to the prisoner, that he was a prime suspect in the bombing of
the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
Or did they?
"It had to have been mined," said the gruff, gnarly voice on the other
end of the line. "It's real simple. You cannot bring down a building like
that without cutting charges set on the support pillars."
Bud didn't want me to use his full name. He was worried about his VA
benefits.
One man who wasn't worried about government reprisals was General
Benton K. Partin. A retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General, Partin had
responsibility for the design and testing of almost every non-nuclear
weapon device used in the Air Force, including precision-guided
weapons designed to destroy hardened targets like the Alfred P. Murrah
Building. Partin has exhaustively researched the bombing and the
resulting pattern of damage.
Another man who knows a thing or two about bombs is Samuel Cohen,
inventor of the Neutron Bomb. Cohen began his career on the
Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, where he was charged with studying
the effects of the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. During his 40-year career, Cohen worked with every
application of nuclear weapons design and testing.
Dr. Roger Raubach doesn't believe the government. Raubach, who did
his Ph.D. in physical chemistry and served on the research faculty at
Stanford University, says, "General Partin's assessment is absolutely
correct. I don't care if they pulled up a semi-trailer truck with 20 tons of
ammonium nitrate; it wouldn't do the damage we saw there."
The government is not happy about people like Dr. Roger Raubach.
They don't want you to know what Dr. Raubach knows. Sam Gronning,
a licensed, professional blaster in Casper, Wyoming with 30 years
experience in explosives, told The New American:
In an interview with the author, Gronning said, "I set off a 5,000 lb
ANFO charge. I was standing 1,000 feet from it, and all it did was muss
12
my hair, take out the mud in the creek that we were trying to get rid
of, and it shattered a few leaves off the trees around it. It didn't cause
any collateral damage to any of the deeply set trees that were within
20 feet of it."
The FBI claims that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bought several
thousand pounds of ammonium nitrate at a farm supply store in
Manhattan, Kansas, then drove to Geary State Park where they mixed a
bomb. The FBI claims that the suspects then hauled their magic bomb
a distance of over 500 miles, where, nearly 24 hours later, they blew
up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
Yet what the FBI — those bastions of truth and justice — don't want you
to know, is that fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate isn't a very good
blasting agent. As a publication from the Atlas Powder company states:
"ANFO is easy to make if you know how to do it," adds Jeffrey Dean,
Executive Director of the International Society of Explosives Engineers,
"but it takes years of experience to work with safely." According to
Dean, "It is almost impossible for amateurs to properly mix the
ammonium nitrate with the fuel oil. Clumps of ANFO would inevitably
fail to detonate."[10]
13
The scenario of two men mixing huge barrels of fertilizer and fuel-oil
in a public park also stretches the limits of credulity. Such a spectacle
would surely have been seen by anyone passing by: hikers, picnickers,
fishermen.
Naturally, the expert who testified for the government disagrees. Linda
Jones, an explosives specialist who has studied IRA bombings in Great
Britain, "concluded that there was one device… in the rear cargo
compartment of a Ryder truck…." Jones added that it wouldn't be
difficult to build such a large bomb "provided they had a basic
knowledge of explosives and access to the materials — it would be
fairly simple. One person could do it on their own, but more people
could do it quicker."[12]
While the government built its case on witness accounts of the single
Ryder truck, numerous witnesses, uncalled to testify by the prosecution
for the McVeigh trial, recall seeing two trucks. Could two trucks — one
rented by McVeigh, and one rented by the suspect known as John Doe
2 — have been used to transport the huge quantities of material
necessary to build such a bomb?
"I would buy two trucks simply for logistics," said Sherrow. "One truck
full of barrels of ammonium nitrate, and you still got to put the fuel into
it. Because you don't want to put the fuel in and let it settle for days at
a time. They would have to have something to bring everything
together and mix it, and that's going to take more then one truck."
Then around 2:00 a.m. on April 19, a Ryder truck pulled into the Save-
A-Trip convenience store in Kingman, Kansas, followed by a light
colored car and a brown pick-up. Assistant manager Richard Sinnett
14
clearly recalls three men, including McVeigh and a man resembling
John Doe 2 enter the store. Yet Sinnett was particularly struck by the
odd contraption they were towing — a large plastic, semi-transparent
tank full of clear liquid.[14] Was this diesel fuel that the bombers
intended to add to their ammonium nitrate mixture at the last minute?
The FBI also changed the size of the bomb numerous times. They
originally claimed that it weighed 1,200 pounds, upgraded that figure
to 2,000 pounds, then to 4,000 pounds, and finally, they issued a press
release stating that the bomb weighed 4800 pounds.
"It appears the government keeps up-grading the size of the vehicle
and the 'fertilizer' bomb to coincide with the damage," said retired FBI
SAC (Senior Agent-in-Charge) Ted Gunderson.
The government also originally claimed the bomb cost less than $1,000
to build. Then just before the start of McVeigh's trial, that figure was
upgraded to $5,000. Their rationale was based on the "discovery,"
almost two years after the fact, that the suspects had constructed their
magic bomb with racing fuel, not diesel fuel, which is far less
expensive.
The very next day, the government was insisting that a homemade
ANFO bomb, made with agricultural grade ammonium nitrate, did the
job. FBI Special Agent John Hersley contends that traces of a military-
type detonation cord known as PDTN (pentadirythri-tetranitrate),
commonly known as Primadet, were found on McVeigh's clothing at the
time of his arrest (In another report it was PETN, or pentaerythritol-
tetranitrate). PDTN was allegedly used to wire the barrels of ANFO.[19]
Whitehurst came forward with allegations that the FBI has been
slanting results of its forensic tests for years. Collected in a 30-page
memorandum, Whitehurst criticized FBI laboratory personnel for
incompetence. As a Justice Department memorandum states: "Dr.
Whitehurst contends that the Explosives Unit and the Chemistry and
Toxicology Unit inappropriately structure their conclusions to favor the
prosecution."[21]
Williams claimed "that the initiator for the booster(s) was either a
detonator from a Primadet Delay system or sensitized detonating
cord." Yet as the OIG report states, "No evidence of a Primadet system
or sensitized detonating cord was found at the crime scene."[23]
The government [also had to stick] with the ANFO theory is because
Michael and Lori Fortier agreed to testify in a plea-bargain that their
friend McVeigh arranged soup cans in their kitchen to demonstrate how
to make a "shaped charge." Yet as bomb experts explained, there is no
way to make a shaped charge out of a collection of ANFO barrels.
17
But the [government doesn't want any serious inquiries as to who
really blew up the Murrah Building. The] government expects us to
believe that two lone amateurs with a crude fertilizer bomb, out in the
open, twenty to thirty feet away from a hardened target, destroyed
eight reinforced columns and killed 169 people. As General Partin said,
such a scenario is "beyond credulity."[27]
Former ATF [agent] Rick Sherrow, who wrote an article for Soldier of
Fortune magazine entitled "Bombast, Bomb Blasts & Baloney,"
contends that General Partin's assessment of the bombing is somehow
inaccurate. Sherrow claims that the pressure wave that would have
struck the building from the [rapidly deteriorating] blast of the ANFO
bomb (375 p.s.i. according to Partin's figures) would be more than
enough to destroy reinforced concrete columns, which Sherrow claimed
in his article disintegrate at 30 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch).[28]
Jim Loftis, one of the building's architects, told me they were asked to
make the building bomb-resistant, due to left-wing radicals who were
blowing up federal facilities in the early 1970s. Loftis also said the
building was designed to meet earthquake standards. "We designed it
to meet the building codes and earthquakes are part of that code,"
said Loftis.
Loftis also said that the north side of the lower level (the area impacted
by the truck-bomb) was steel-rebar reinforced concrete without
windows. He also concurred with Raubach and Partin that the pressure
necessary to destroy reinforced concrete is in the 2,500 to 4,000 p.s.i.
range — a far cry from the 30 p.s.i. cited by Sherrow.[31]
Yet Sherrow concludes that since there was so much collateral damage
(damage to the surrounding buildings) the truck-bomb must have been
responsible. "The collateral damage just discounts [Partin's] material,"
says Sherrow.
Two experts who seem to agree with Sherrow are Dorom Bergerbest-
Eilom and Yakov Yerushalmi. The Israeli bomb experts were brought to
Oklahoma at the request of ATF agent Guy Hamal. According to their
report, the bomb was an ANFO bomb boosted with something more
powerful… and it had a Middle Eastern signature.[32]
19
The Athenian restaurant, which sits approximately 150 feet
northwest of the Murrah Building, was almost completely destroyed.
Pieces of the Murrah Building were actually blown into the Athenian. As
video producer Jerry Longspaugh points out, only a bomb inside the
Federal Building would be capable of projecting parts of the building
into another building 150 feet away.
"If you had 4,000 lbs of C-4 in there," Gronning said, "now you're
talking a real high-order explosive at some serious speed. And when
that goes off, you're liable to take out the thing. But I still have a
problem believing even at that distance away from the building, it
would create that kind of damage. All you have to do to see what I'm
talking about is to see what kind of bomb damage you get from a
bomb in the [WWII] attacks on London."[34]
Yet the Ryder truck did not impact the Murrah Building at the speed of
a rocket, nor did it impact it at all. Even to the layperson, one can see
that such an analogy is ridiculous. In his article, Sherrow never
speculates that C-4 or any other high-velocity military type explosive
might have been used.
Still, the former ATF man contends that an ANFO bomb parked out in
the open could have caused the pattern and degree of damage done to
the Murrah Building. "Absolutely and without a shadow of a doubt, and
I base that on 30 years in the business, and shooting ANFO — from a
couple pounds to 630 tons in one shot." Sherrow goes on to state that
20
Partin's conclusions were based upon mere "theoretical analysis," not
hands-on experience.
It is unclear why the former ATF man was trying to discredit Partin, and
by association, others who disagreed with the government's theory.
What is clear however is that Soldier of Fortune, the magazine in which
Sherrow's article appeared, is owned by Paladin Press, regarded a CIA
proprietary. Robert K. Brown, the magazine's publisher, is an associate
of General John Singlaub, a key Iran-Contra player who ran the
genocidal Phoenix Program in Vietnam, and helped train death squads
in Central America. Both men reportedly played an ancillary role in the
1984 La Penca bombing, which resulted in the deaths of eight
journalists. [See Chapter 14] Sherrow admitted to working for the CIA
in Africa. What he did there wasn't exactly clear.[35]
If the CIA (or one of its tentacles) were involved, as they invariably
tend to be in such cases, they would have a strong motive to cover up
their involvement and re-direct the investigation. The most common
way of doing this is through the use of propaganda and disinformation.
While Sherrow himself has criticized the ATF, and wrote several articles
debunking the government's theory regarding militia groups, this
particular article appeared to be a "hit-piece" designed to discredit any
legitimate analysis of the bombing.
Yet some critics of the government's story have gone beyond the
relatively ordinary explanations of Partin, Gronning and others to
suggest that the Federal Building was destroyed by a device called an
"A-Neutronic Bomb." These advocates cite as evidence the nature of
the spalling (the disintegration of the concrete into tiny pieces) on the
top of the building, and the extent of the damage to surrounding
buildings that even men like General Partin claim would be impossible
for an ANFO bomb.
[What does Samuel Cohen have to say about the A-Neutronic bomb?
"Well, I'm not expert enough to really vouch for his statements, but I've
got a hunch that it's technically well-based. I've spoken to Michael
Riconosciuto (the inventor of the A-Neutronic Bomb) and he's an
extraordinarily bright guy. I also have a hunch, which I can't prove, that
they both (Riconosciuto and Lavos, his partner) indirectly work for the
CIA."]
Daina Bradley, who lost her mother and two children in the bombing,
said she felt electricity running through her body right before the bomb
went off.[40]
Another victim, Ramona McDonald, who was driving about block away,
remembers seeing a brilliant flash and described the feeling of static
electricity. "It made a real loud static electricity sound. It sounded like
big swarm of bees — you could actually hear it. The next thing was a
real sharp clap, like thunder.…" McDonald also described both gold and
blue flashes of light. Interestingly, Riconiscuto has called his device
"Blue Death."[41]
Another survivor of the blast was quoted on CNN as saying, "It was just
like an atomic bomb went off. "The ceiling went in and all the windows
came in and there was a deafening roar…"[42]
A few minutes before 9:00 a.m. on April 19, a young Arabic man
carrying a backpack was seen in the Murrah Building hurriedly pushing
the elevator button as if trying to get off. A few minutes after he exited
the building, the bomb(s) went off. The elevator doors, which were on
the opposite side of the building from the truck-bomb, had their doors
blown outward.
Another former military source agreed that a device similar to the fuel-
air explosive exists. "It's called a Special Atomic Demolition Munitions
or SADM," said Craig Roberts, a Lt. Colonel in Army Reserve
[Intelligence]. According to Roberts and Charles T. Harrison, a
researcher for the Department of Energy and the Pentagon, this
munition has been deployed with artillery units in Europe. The SADM
can also be carried in a backpack.
Other sources say that 6,000 to 7,000 SADM's were produced, some of
which made their way to Israel and other countries.[50] Sam Cohen
confirms this information in the Fall issue of Journal of Civil Defense.
Cohen, echoing Harrison, charges that the U.S. has purposefully
underestimated the number of nuclear warheads that Iran, Iraq and
North Korea could produce, and deliberately discounted their capacity
to produce substantially smaller warheads.
Vialls adds that the British government was quick to blame the London
attack on an IRA (Irish Republican Army) truck-bomb, in the same
manner that U.S. authorities were quick to blame the Oklahoma
bombing on a truck-bomb constructed by a pair of so-called
disgruntled anti-government loners. Yet at the same time the British
25
government was issuing these statements, their bomb technicians
were exploring the bombsite in full nuclear protective suits.]
"A new class of nuclear weapons could exist which could have an
extremely disturbing terrorist potential," said Cohen. "And to admit to
the possibility that the warheads might be sufficiently compact to pose
a real terrorist threat was equally unacceptable [to the
government]."[57]
The experts at Eglin conducted three tests. They first detonated 704
pounds of Tritonal (equivalent to 830 pounds of TNT or approximately
2,200 pounds of ANFO), at a distance of 40 feet from the structure,
equivalent to the distance the Ryder truck was parked from the Murrah
Building. The second test utilized an Mk-82 warhead (equivalent to 180
pounds of TNT) placed within the first floor corner room approximately
four feet from the exterior wall. The third test involved a 250-pound
penetrating warhead (equivalent to 35 pounds TNT), placed in the
corner of a second floor room approximately two and a half feet from
the adjoining walls.
"I think what they did," said Partin, "was they looked at my credentials
and technical justification of all this stuff, and they felt found that what
I had was based on some pretty sound footing… I think that's why they
framed the case the way they did."[63]
Whatever blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Building, one thing's for sure,
there was enough ANFO present at the site to leave visible traces.
Randy Ledger, a maintenance man who was in the building at the time
of the blast, claims fellow workers who rushed into the building
immediately after the explosion "complained of burning eyes, heavy
dust and choking lungs. That is right out of the textbook of a diesel-
fertilizer bomb, because it creates nitric acid," said Ledger. "The guys I
work with, they're not going to make it up that their eyes are
burning."[64]
Dr. Paul Heath, a VA psychologist who was on the fifth floor of the
building at the time of the blast, said, "I picked fertilizer out of my
skin… I could see the fertilizer actually exploding in the air; you could
see it popping all around you."
Ramona McDonald, who also survived the blast, concurs with Heath.
"There was a bright flash, and then boom! And you could see the
fertilizer popping in the air."
Given this scenario, it's reasonable to conclude that the Ryder truck
was filled with something more powerful, with just enough ANFO to
leave a visible trace.
Cohen agrees. "The damage that resulted could not have occurred
from a van parked outside… I don't care how fancy an explosive was
used. What did in that building… was an inside job."
It would appear that experts' analysis' are not the only evidence of an
inside job. In an interview with a local TV station, a man who escaped
the building said, "I was sitting at my desk, and I felt a rumbling, a
29
shaking in the building… so I decided to get under my desk.… the
glass windows blew in and knocked down the ceiling and some of the
stuff above the ceiling and it all landed on top of my desk."
A friend of Dr. Ray Brown's, who's secretary was in the building said,
"She was standing by a window. The window cracked, then she got
away from it and then she was blown across the room and landed in
another woman's lap. Another woman I know, Judy Morse, got under
her desk after feeling the building shake, and before the glass flew."
"Dr. Brian Espe, who was the sole survivor in the Department of
Agriculture's fifth floor office, told the author he first "heard a rumbling
noise."
Notice this witness said the building "blew out." This is contrary to the
effect of an explosive blast from the street blowing the building in from
the street. Candy Avey, who was on her way to the Social Security
office when the explosions occurred, was blown away from the
building, struck a parking meter, and then hit her car.[68] Said Suzanne
Steely, reporting live for KFOR, "We could see all the way through the
building. That was just the force of the explosion — it just blew out all
the walls and everything inside."[69] Ramona McDonald saw a flash and
smoke rising up from inside the building, "like a rocket had shot out the
top of the building."[70]
30
It should be obvious to the reader that it's implausible an ANFO
bomb parked out in the street would have the force to blow all the way
through a huge superstructure like the Alfred P. Murrah Building.
No matter how hard the government tried to lie, obfuscate, and distort
the truth, the evidence would come back to haunt them.
The tape recorder at the Water Resources Board was not the only
instrument recording explosions that morning. The seismograph at the
Oklahoma Geological Survey at the University of Oklahoma at Norman,
16 miles from the Murrah Building, recorded two waves, or "two
events," on the morning of April 19th. Another seismograph at the
Omniplex Museum, four miles away from the Federal Building, also
recorded two events. These seismic waves, or "spikes," spaced
approximately ten seconds apart, seem to indicate two blasts. [See
Appendix]
Not so, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's analysis. The USGS
put out a press release on June 1st, entitled "Seismic Records Support
One-Blast Theory in Oklahoma City Bombing."
Dr. Brown has an honest difference of opinion with folks at the U.S.
Geological Survey. "I will candidly say that we are having trouble
finding that velocity difference," said Brown. "We have not identified a
pair of layers that could account for the ten-second difference.
"Whatever the USGS saw in that data convinced them that the original
blast was one bomb," he added. "I find that hard to believe…. What
was uncomfortable and might be construed as pressure is that they
were going to come out with a press release that says we have
concluded that data indicates one bomb. It puts us in the
uncomfortable stance of saying that we, too, have concluded that, and
we haven't."
Yet the USGS press release said that Dr. Charles Mankin of the OGS,
Brown's boss, was "pleased with the work performed by Dr. Holzer and
his USGS colleagues in the analysis of the seismic records." Yet Mankin
had actually urged Holzer to delay the press release. "Everybody that
has looked at the signal has said a refraction (an echo) would really be
strange because there's absolutely no loss of energy in the recorded
seismic signal. The second event has the same amplitude as the first…
The arrival time is wrong for a refracted wave… We've ruled out
reflections, refractions, and the air blast… We determined that these
two records of these two events corroborate our interpretation that
there were two explosions."[74]
One of the problems with the two event theory is that the spikes on the
seismic readings were ten seconds apart. With that much difference,
most everybody in the vicinity should have heard two separate blasts.
But given the traumatic nature of being in the immediate vicinity of a
bombing, would witnesses necessarily have heard two explosions?
Although the sound of a truck-bomb would certainly have made a loud,
roaring noise, complete with lots of smoke and flying debris, experts
say that the "crack" of a C-4 cutting charge is "downright
disappointing" to hear.
One man who works as a parking garage attendant one block north of
the Murrah Building told The New American that he was test-driving a
new pickup truck near the building when the bomb went off. "It seemed
like one, big, long explosion," he said, "but I can't say for sure. My ears
were ringing and glass and rocks and concrete were falling all over and
around me."[76]
Dr. Paul Heath, who was on the fifth floor, says he heard only one blast.
But fellow VA worker Jim Guthrie stated in an interview with the
Washington Post:
"I felt a boom and was picked up off my feet and thrown
under a water fountain." He heard a second explosion and
covered his ears. Diane Dooley, who was at a third floor
stairwell, also believes she heard a second explosion.[77]
Hassan Muhammad, who was driving for a delivery service that day,
had his ears ruptured by the explosions. Muhammad told the author he
clearly recalled hearing two distinct blasts. "…when I was crossing the
street [at 10th and Robinson]… the first explosion went off, and it was
a loud explosion. And my friend who was coming out of the warehouse
asked me what was it, because we thought it was a drive-by shooting…
and we got on the ground, and by the time we got on the ground,
another one went off, and that's when all the windows came out."
Muhammad recalls that it was about three to four seconds between
blasts.[79]
Jane C. Graham, a HUD worker injured in the bombing, also clearly felt
two distinct blasts. As Graham stated in a videotaped deposition: "I
want to specify that the first bomb — the first impact — the first effect,
was a waving effect, that you got when the building was moving, you
might have maybe felt a little waving, perhaps an earthquake
movement, and that lasted for several seconds.
33
"About 6 or 7 seconds later, a bomb exploded. It was an entirely
different sound and thrust. It was like it came up right from the center
up. You could feel the building move a little… But there were two
distinct events that occurred. The second blast not only was very, very
loud, it was also very powerful. And as I said, I just felt like it was
coming straight on up from the center of the building — straight up."[80]
Michael Hinton, who was on a bus near NW 5th and Robinson — one
block away — also heard two explosions. "I had just sat down when I
heard this violent type rumble under the bus," said Hinton. "It was a
pushing type motion — it actually raised that bus up on its side. About
six or seven seconds later another one which was more violent than
the first picked the bus up again, and I thought that second time the
bus was going to turn over." [81]
Another veteran who heard the blast is George Wallace, a retired Air
Force fighter pilot with 26 years in the service. Wallace, who lives nine
miles northwest of the Federal Building, described the blast as a
"sustained, loud, long rumble, like several explosions." Wallace likened
34
the noise to that of a succession of bombs being dropped by B-
52s.[83]
Yet the feds in fact did demolish the Murrah Building on May 23,
destroying the evidence while citing the same reason as they did for
quickly demolishing the Waco compound: "health hazards." In the
Waco case, what was destroyed was evidence that the feds had fired
from helicopters into the roof of the building during the early part of
the raid, killing several people, including a nursing mother. In the
Oklahoma case, what was destroyed was evidence that the columns
had been destroyed by demolition charges.[85]
The rubble from the Murrah Building was hauled by Midwest Wrecking
to a landfill surrounded by a guarded, barbed-wire fence, sifted for
evidence with the help of the National Guard, then subsequently
hauled off BFI Waste Management and buried. Along with it was buried
the evidence of what really happened on the morning of April 19.
If the bombing of the Murrah Building was the result of an inside job,
who is responsible? Was it wired for demolition, and if so, who could
have wired it?
Dr. Heath, who has worked in the Murrah Building for 22 years, was
present on the day of the bombing. Although Heath personally
35
discounts the second bomb theory, he explained that poor security in
the building would have permitted access to almost anyone, anytime.
"The security was so lax in this building, that one individual or group of
individuals could have had access to any of those columns," said
Heath, "almost in every part of the building, before or after hours, or
even during the hours of the workday, and could have planted bombs."
Guy Rubsamen, the Federal Protective Services guard on duty the night
of the 18th, said that nobody had entered the building. Yet Rubsamen
took off at 2:00 a.m., and said that nobody was guarding the building
from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.[86]
"It was a building you could have planted a bomb in anytime you
wanted to," said Heath. "It was a building that was not secure at all.
I've gone in and out of this building with a penknife, just by slipping a
knife in the south doors, slide the bolt back, and go in without a key.
I've done that ever since the building was new. If you wanted into it,
you could have gotten into it any time you wanted to."[87]
Heath also explained that visitors could drive right into the garage,
anytime. "There was no guard. You could drive inside the garage —
four stories — anytime you wanted to, and carry anything you wanted
to inside the car."[88]
Why did "McVeigh" drive into the garage? Could he have done so to
plant additional bombs? Or perhaps someone in McVeigh's car made it
appear that he was doing so? A fall guy for the real bombers?
"If McVeigh was totally outside the law, he certainly wouldn't have
snuggled up against them like driving into that basement that
morning," said David Hall, general manager of KPOC-TV in Ponca City,
Oklahoma, who has investigated the ATF's role in the bombing."
Yet Hall doesn't believe "the ATF or the FBI or anybody went around
and wired columns or anything like that. What he (Partin) said was that
there may have been some explosives stored by some columns that
36
went off. I don't feel that those people set out to kill 168 people in
Oklahoma City intentionally. But I think that because of incompetence
on their part that very well may have happened in two or three
different ways…"
Were they "putting things right," or were they weakening the support
columns just enough to make sure that they'd fail at the appropriate
moment?[90]
Then, on the Friday before the bombing, HUD worker Jane Graham
noticed three men in the garage whom she thought were telephone
repairmen. As Graham stated in her deposition, the men were holding
what appeared to be C-4 plastic explosives:
Graham later told me that one of the men was holding a one by two by
three-inch device that looked like "some sort of clicker, like a small TV
remote-control," she said.
The men stopped working abruptly when they saw Graham. "They
looked uncomfortable," she said. "They were as intent looking at me as
I was at them."
She also stated that the men were not wearing uniforms and were not
driving a telephone or electric company truck. They were, however,
very well built. They "obviously lifted weights" said Graham.
37
(Graham's account is backed up by IRS worker Kathy Wilburn, who
also saw the trio of men in the garage, as did a HUD employee named
Joan.)[[91]]
Although the FBI interviewed Graham, they never showed her any
pictures or brought her before a sketch artist. "They only wanted to
know if I could identify McVeigh or Nichols," she said. "I said it was
neither of these two gentlemen."[92]
David Hall (who stopped working on the case in late 1995 due to an
IRS audit) wasn't aware of the Graham deposition, he did drop a
bombshell.
"We've talked to the driver," said Hall. "We've talked to two drivers.
Nobody knows what was in them because they were boxed and marked
'high explosive.'"
"We also know that the ATF had a magazine inside the building, which
was illegal. But the floor was blown out of that magazine. And there's
some question about what was in there too that created that damage,
because that was a foot of concrete that was blown out of that
magazine."[94]
One such bomb was a 2 X 2 foot box marked "High Explosives" which
had a timer on it. This was confirmed by Oklahoma City Fire Marshal
Dick Miller. The timing mechanism apparently had been set to detonate
at ten minutes after nine. Apparently it had malfunctioned due to the
initial blast.[95]
38
According to Toni Garrett, a nurse who was on the scene tagging
dead bodies. "Four people — rescue workers — told us there was a
bomb in the building with a timing mechanism set to go off ten
minutes after nine." According to Garrett, witnesses told her it was an
active bomb. "We saw the bomb squad take it away."[96]
Investigator Phil O'Halloran has Bill Martin of the Oklahoma City Police
Department on tape stating that one of the bombs found in the
building was two to three five-gallon containers of Mercury Fulminate
— a powerful explosive — one not easily obtainable except to military
sources.[97]
First voice: "I can't believe it… this is a military bomb!" [98]
Around the same time as the Eglin Air Force Base report was being
made public, William Northrop, a former Israeli intelligence agent, told
me that a friend in the CIA's Directorate of Operations informed him
that there was plastic explosive residue on the building's columns.
Adding more fuel to the theory of an inside job was the dismembered
military leg found in the wreckage — a leg not belonging to any of the
known victims. (Although authorities would later attempt to attribute
the leg to Airman Lakesha Levy.)
Nor was the local media attributing the bombing to the work of
amateurs. "Right now, they are saying that this is the work of a
sophisticated group," stated a KFOR-TV newscaster. "This is the work of
a sophisticated device, and it had to have been done by an explosives
expert, obviously, with this type of explosion."[104]
Even Governor Frank Keating told local news stations: "The reports I
have is that one device was deactivated, and there's another device,
and obviously whatever did the damage to the Murrah Building was a
tremendous, very sophisticated explosive device."
Incredibly, all these reports were quickly hushed up and denied later
on. Suddenly, the additional bombs inside the building became a car
bomb outside the building, then a van containing 2,000 pounds of
ANFO, then a truck containing 4,800 pounds.
41
Governor Keating, who himself had reported a second device, would
later reverse his position, leading a statewide cover-up proclaiming
that Representative Key and others investigating additional bombs and
suspects were "howling at the moon," and "off the reservation."
When J.D. Cash, a journalist writing for the McCurtain County Gazette,
tried to interview members of the Bomb Squad, Fire Department and
Police, he was generally told by potential interviewees, "I saw a lot that
day, I wish I hadn't. I have a wife, a job, a family… I've been
threatened, we've been told not to talk about the devices."[110]
The ATF, who initially denied even having any explosives in the
building, eventually recanted their statements and told reporters that
the 2 X 2 foot box was a "training bomb." I asked General Partin if
there could be such a thing as an ATF "training bomb."
"I would certainly not think so," said Partin. "Look, when you have an
EOD team — EOD teams are very well trained people. And any training
device would have to be so labeled — so labeled. And the EOD people
who were there were claiming it was explosives."[112]
Former ATF man Rick Sherrow had his own thoughts on the issue of
training bombs. "All the field offices have that material (training
bombs). It's 100 percent on the outside — weighs the same, looks the
same, but it has no fill — no inert markings or anything else. I can't say
absolutely that's what was found in the building, but it's more than
likely. They had stun grenades too, which are live. They can't
contribute or anything [to the damage], but they lied about it, and that
jams up their credibility."[113]
Cash interviewed GSA workers who helped the ATF unload their arsenal
room two weeks after the blast. Cash described in a series of Gazette
articles beginning on May 4, 1995, how the ATF had stored weapons,
explosives and ammunition in the Murrah Building in contravention of
the very laws they were supposed to enforce:
Lester Martz, ATF Special Agent in Charge for the region, denied this.
"That locker was intact," said Martz in an interview with the Dallas
Morning News, and with the author. Martz went on to say that the
blasted out area between columns B-2 and B-4 was the result of DEA
ordinance. Yet the DEA offices were on the west side of the building on
the seventh floor, nowhere near that area. The ATF offices, however,
were in close proximity to it, being located in the top rear corner of the
building, on the east side.
The Gazette interviewed two more witnesses who assisted in the post
bombing clean-up. One, a civilian contractor hired by the GSA, told the
Gazette July 30th:
Apparently, this is not the first time such a "mishap" has occurred.
Approximately 10 years ago, some captured Soviet ordinance,
including rockets with high-explosive warheads, wound up stored at FBI
headquarters in Washington, D.C. There was a subsequent fire, and the
exploding ordinance caused more than a little consternation among
firefighters, especially when one rocket took off and blasted a two-foot
diameter hole in a cinder block wall. When the story leaked out, the
ATF reacted by removing more than 30 pounds of explosives from their
offices down the street.[118]
In Allen's video, Cash makes the assertion that the massive internal
damage to the building was the result of secondary explosions caused
by these illegally stored explosives. The ordinance, which included
percussion caps for C-4 (and C-4 itself), had fallen from their ninth floor
storage area after the initial truck blast, Cash suggests, to one of the
lower floors, where it detonated, causing massive internal damage.
According to Cash's experts, although C-4 is relatively safe to handle, it
can be set off with 3500 p.s.i. of pressure.
I asked Partin if C-4 could explode due to the increased air pressure
resulting from the truck blast, from the weight of falling debris, or
simply by falling eight or nine stories.
"Look," said Partin, "C-4 is kinda' tough to get to go; ammonium nitrate
is even tougher. It takes a real intense shock wave to get that kind of
explosive to go." Partin then added, "I thought I explained it to Cash,
but I guess he's persisting with his story."
Why Cash would persist with his story while largely side-stepping
Partin's analysis is curious. Yet if the ATF were responsible for the
secondary explosion, it would seem they would have reason to lie.[119]
[Not only were they storing explosives illegally in a public building
containing a day-care center, but almost the entire contingent of
approximately 13 agents was absent on the day of the bombing (more
on this later).]
44
Was the ATF in fact responsible, knowingly or unknowingly, for the
explosion that destroyed the Murrah building? Consider the following
article which appeared in the June 5, 1995 issue of Newsweek:
For the past year, the ATF and the Army Corps of Engineers
have been blowing up car bombs at the White Sands
Proving Ground in New Mexico. The project, code-named
Dipole Might, is designed to create a computer model to
unravel terrorist car-and truck-bomb attacks. By
coincidence, a ATF agent assigned to Dipole Might,
happened to be in Oklahoma City on April 19th, working at
the Federal Courthouse, which stands across the street
from the Murrah Building. He saw the devastation and
called the ATF office in Dallas. The Murrah Building had just
been hit by 'ANFO' (ammonium material) bomb of at least
several thousand pounds, he reported. Within minutes,
explosives agents trained under Dipole Might were
dispatched to the scene. They identified the type and size
of the bomb almost immediately.
It is also unclear why was the Sheriff's Bomb Squad was in the parking
lot between the Murrah Building and the Federal Courthouse at 7:45
that morning. The Bomb Squad denies being there. But Norma Smith
and other Federal Courthouse employees recall seeing the Bomb
Squad's distinctive white truck. "We did wonder what it was doing in
our parking lot," recalled Smith. "Jokingly, I said, 'Well, I guess we'll find
out soon enough.'"[121]
Oklahoma City attorney Daniel J. Adomitis told the Forth Worth Star-
Telegram he also saw the Bomb Squad there that morning. "As I was
passing the back side of the County Courthouse, I noticed a truck with
a trailer and the truck said 'Bomb Disposal.' I remember thinking as I
passed that , 'Gee, I wonder if they had a bomb threat at the county
courthouse?'"[122]
Was the bomb squad alerted that something was in the works? Not
according to the ever-controvertiful Lester Martz. "I have not come
across any information that any kind of bomb unit was at the building
prior to the bombing," announced Martz with a straight face at the
45
same time he lauded the heroism of Luke Franey, the ATF agent who
supposedly "karate-kicked" his way through three walls.[123]
What is certain is that the Murrah Building had a bomb threat one
week prior to the 19th. Michael Hinton remembers looking out the
window of his YMCA room a week before and seeing about 200-300
people gathered outside. The incident didn't jog his memory until the
local TV networks announced on the morning of the blast that the
Federal Building had received a threat just a week before.[124]
Nurse Toni Garret recalled talking to several people who said there had
been bomb threats two weeks prior to the bombing. "The FBI and the
ATF knew that these bomb threats were real, and they did nothing
about it."
[Of course, one person perfectly willing to lie for everybody was FBI
SAC Bob Ricks.] When asked during a press conference if the FBI had
received a warning, Ricks said, "The FBI in Oklahoma City has not
received any threats to indicate that a bombing was about to take
place."
The transparent stories of the ATF and FBI are strikingly familiar to
those propounded in the wake of the 1993 World Trade Center
bombing. In that case, the FBI had one of its own informants — former
Egyptian Army Colonel Emad Eli Salem — inside the group responsible
for the bombing. According to Salem, who made secret tapes of his
conversations with his FBI handler, Nancy Floyd, her supervisor refused
to let Salem substitute a harmless powder for the real explosive. The
agent then pulled Salem off the case. Soon afterwards, the bomb blew
up, killing six people and injuring almost a 1,000 more.[127]
46
It also seems that the "coincidence" of the ATF's Dipole Might tests
were uncannily similar to the May 24, 1990 bombing of Earth First!
activist Judi Bari. The FBI claimed that Bari and her companion Daryl
Cherney, who were on their way to a peaceful protest rally, had
inadvertently blown themselves up with their own pipe-bomb. After
Bari sued the FBI for false arrest and civil rights violations, she found
out though discovery that the FBI ran a "bomb school" at Eureka
College of the Redwoods in April of 1990 for both FBI and local police.
The classes included blowing up cars with pipe bombs, ostensibly to
demonstrate the tactics used by terrorists (the same reason cited in
the ATF's case). The instructor for this "school of terrorism" was none
other than Frank Doyle Jr., the FBI bomb squad expert who showed up
at the scene of Bari's car bombing one month later.
Was the ATF expecting such a bombing? Were they in fact responsible
for blast or the secondary damage to the building? Or was the building
wired for demolition as part of a larger plot?
["I'm firmly convinced that the ATF is guilty of an awful lot of things,"
said Bud, our ex-Green Beret. "I mean, if you look at what the ATF and
the FBI did to Randy Weaver (and at Waco), it's just awful. They've
gone hog wild and have [become] a power unto themselves."
Suddenly, there was no longer any doubt who had bombed the Murrah
Building. As John Doe No. 1 was led from the Noble County Courthouse
in handcuffs and leg irons, the scene was something akin to a medieval
script. "Baby Killer!" the crowd screamed. "Burn him! Burn him!"
In the pages that followed, Time and others would set out to "reveal
the paranoid life and times of accused bomber Timothy McVeigh and
his Right-wing associates."[129] With the ink barely dry on the
indictments, the national news media quickly began pumping out story
after story focusing on the trivial banalities of McVeigh's life,
attempting to reinforce the official allegations of his guilt. While the
New York Times set the overall tone based on "leaks" from federal law
enforcement sources, self-styled experts came crawling out of the
woodwork.
"Not making the Special Forces was something that was very hard for
him to deal with," said an FBI agent training for his Ph.D. in psychology.
"In his mind, much of his life has been one of thinking that he is a kind
of Special Forces of his own."[132]
Finally: "He was the quiet one," said McVeigh's former 10th grade
English teacher Coleen Conner, throwing a bit of adolescent
psychology on the situation. "A lot of the quiet ones are the ones who
have ended up doing scary things…."[133]
48
There it was — trial by media. Timothy McVeigh must be guilty, after
all, they put his face on the cover of Time magazine.[134]
"That just doesn't ring true to me, as to the person I knew," said
Sheffield Anderson, a correctional officer who had gone through basic
training with McVeigh and served with him in the Gulf. "In that picture
of him coming out of the courthouse, he looks like a real mean guy. But
I didn't sense anything out of the ordinary. McVeigh was a rational type
guy, a thinking type person. The bombing thing is totally contrary to
the person I knew."[135]
"The Timothy McVeigh I talked with didn't seem like a baby killer," said
former Army Colonel David Hackworth about his Newsweek interview
with McVeigh.[136]
During an interview on Prime Time Live, Lana Padilla, Terry Nichols ex-
wife, told Diane Sawyer, "It's not the same person. I mean, you
know…"
"Timmy"
Timothy James McVeigh was born in Pendelton, New York on April 23,
1968, a small working class town of 5,000 people just outside of
Buffalo. Tim was the second child of Bill McVeigh, an auto worker, and
Mildred, a travel agent. The elder McVeigh, 55, coached Little League
and ran bingo night at the local catholic church, spending his free time
golfing, or putzing in his garden. A heavily wooded rural area, young
49
Tim spent his time hiking or playing sports with the neighborhood
boys.
"He lived a few houses down from me, said boyhood friend Keith
Maurer. "We played hockey, baseball and just about every other sport
in the neighborhood. He wasn't the best athlete in the bunch, but he
showed up to play every day and he always played hard."
The bright and inventive youngster also spent his time engaging in
novel activities such as setting up a haunted house in his basement,
where he charged admission, or holding weekend casino fairs, where
he acted as the dealer.
"He was very advanced for our age, "Maurer said. "I remember saying
to myself: I wouldn't have thought of that."
Pat Waugh, a neighbor, said "I used to think to myself, that kid is going
to go somewhere just because he's such a mover and shaker. I pictured
him growing up to be a salesman, sort of a shyster."
When Tim's mom moved out in June of 1984, the outgoing young
McVeigh became more reserved, as he and his sisters, Patty and
Jennifer, attempted to deal with the trauma of the breakup. Reverend
Paul Belzer of the Good shepherd Roman Catholic Church in Pendelton
knew the family for 20 years. "People asked me, wasn't Tim crushed?
But he didn't seem to be. He lived in the same house, had the same
friends. Yeah, he'd have to miss his mother, but so many of the
anchors were there."
Yet, nine months after the bombing, the Times John Kifner would write,
"As commonplace as this seems, criminologists say, these traits are
often the stuff of serial killers, terrorists and other solitary murderers."
"The only thing I can remember is that he was very quite and polite,"
recalled Cecelia Matyjas, who taught 10th grade geometry. "He didn't
cause any problems in class. He seemed to be cooperative and
attentive. He was on the track team and the cross-country team, so he
was able to get along with others."
50
Brandon Stickney, a journalist contracted to produce an unauthorized
biography of McVeigh for Prometheus Books, said "Tim was not the
most talkative out of his class of 194 students, but he was by no
means introverted. He was certainly an outgoing young man who had
many friends and acquaintances."
Yet none of these easy to check facts were ever mentioned in the
volumous articles which appeared in the Times. Kifner, the Times
"resident analyst," proclaimed with surety, "He was never able to
overcome a sense of abandonment by his mother, who left the family
when he was a boy; nor could he find a home outside the Army."
"I think it's a bunch of psychobable if you ask me, if you want to know
the truth," said Jennifer, Tim's younger sister. "We were free to live with
who we wanted. We could visit the other parent whenever we wanted.
There was no bitterness between my parents."
Apparently, Douglas and the so-called journalists from the New York
Times never bothered to check on the fact that Tim had many friends,
including several girlfriends later in life, was close to his Father and his
sister Jennifer, and was a Regents Scholar.
"He had a semiautomatic BB gun that could fire 15 rounds with the pull
of a trigger," added the Post. "Other boys had only single-shot
varieties. Tim used to show them at school how he held it, posing
police-style with hands clasped together. During boring classes, when
other students doodled, he drew guns."
In fact, Tim's father did buy him a .22-caliber rifle, which the young
McVeigh would use for target practice in the woods behind his home.
Yet apparently Tim was not the young blood-thirsty adventurer the
media made him out to be. "I remember starting to hunt at age 11,"
said his friend Keith Maurer, "and Tim never had any interest in this."
51
McVeigh was later able to indulge in his interests in firearms as a
security guard for Burke Armored, where he worked for a year or so in
1987. Jeff Camp, McVeigh's co-worker, noted that he had a keen
interest in guns, although he didn't find it unusual since most full-time
security guards and law enforcement personnel owned an assortment
of firearms, he said.
One story eagerly circulated amongst the press is that McVeigh showed
up at Burke one day with a huge Desert Eagle pistol and bandoleers
slung in an "X" across his chest. "He came to work looking like Rambo,"
recalled Camp. "It looked like World War III."
Yet McVeigh laughs off the tale, stating that he and some other
employees were simply playing a joke on their supervisor, who was
sending them on a high profile assignment for the day. Apparently,
their supervisor was not amused.
"Guns were the entire focal point of the 27-year-old Mr. McVeigh's life,"
wrote the Times' Kifner.
Yet even the Post admitted that Tim's guidance counselor, Harold
Smith, said that he had not missed a day of classes from seventh
through twelfth grade. Far from being an underachiever, his record
indicates a young man with remarkable discipline.
Justin Gertner, who knew McVeigh since second grade recalls, "he hung
around with the intelligently elite at Starpoint. Tim was in the Regent's
program in our school for advanced placement students who planned
on attending college. He also created and ran our computer bulletin
board system."
This bright mind and ability led McVeigh to Bryant & Stratton Business
College in Williamsville, N.Y. to study advanced COBOL and FORTRAN
programming languages. In spite of his abilities, opportunities for
decent employment were uncertain in Buffalo in the mid-1980s.
Buffalo, like the rest of the Rust Belt, was experiencing the worst of
economic trends. Several steel and auto plants had shut down, and two
major banks failed, throwing thousands of white-collar workers out of
jobs and causing downturns in real-estate, advertising, law and other
fields.[139]
"There are no jobs around here unless you want to work for $6 an hour
or less at a McDonald's or Wendy's," said Bill McVeigh. "It's rough for
anybody looking for work."
"He was a very alert guard." said Jeff Camp, McVeigh's co-worker. "He
worked a lot of overtime and was polite with our customers." McVeigh
was also moody, ranging from intense to quiet. "If someone was
driving badly, cutting us off or interfering with our schedule, he could
get pretty mad," added Camp. "His face would turn red and he would
yell and scream inside the truck, although he calmed down pretty
fast." (Similar to the way the author drives.) Camp also described an
incident where a woman had hit their truck. Although the woman was
upset, McVeigh calmed her down and told her not to worry, that there
was no damage to the truck, and that he would even report it as their
fault, which it wasn't.[140]
McVeigh worked at Burke from April of 1987 till May of 1988. By the
time he was 19, McVeigh had built up a substantial savings account
and he and a friend, David Darlak, acquired 10 acres of land for $7,000
at a hunting and camping retreat north of Olean, N.Y. The two young
men bought the land as an investment, and to use for camping and for
target practice.[141] Reported the Post:
While the press made much out of the fact that McVeigh and his
friends used the land for target practice, it should be noted that
McVeigh was law-abiding and did not have a criminal record.
By the Spring of 1988, the young security guard felt he was going
nowhere. He was working in a relatively low-wage job while listening to
the fate of those who had been laid-off while working other jobs. Tim's
father listened with concern as Tim vented his frustration, complaining
that he was unemployable except at jobs that paid "no money." One
night Bill McVeigh and a friend from the auto plant suggested that the
younger McVeigh enter the service.
"Bill and I had both been in the service," the friend said, "and one night
we said to Tim, 'That's what you ought to do: go in the service.' A week
later, he had joined."
"It happened in a split second," said Tim's co-worker Jeff Camp. "He
didn't tell anyone he was joining. He just came to work one day and
said he was going in the Army.[143] I never saw a guy who wanted to go
in the Army that bad. I asked him why the Army, and he said 'You get
to shoot.' He always wanted to carry an M-16."[144]
54
Keith Maurer said, "I couldn't see him joining the military. He had a
lot of options. He was very smart. I didn't see the military as the one
he needed to take."
On May 24, McVeigh drove the 25 miles to the Army recruiting office in
Buffalo, and signed up for a three-year hitch. "In a couple of days he
was gone," said Camp.
Sergeant Mac
McVeigh arrived at Fort Benning, Georgia on May 30, and was assigned
to Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Training
Brigade. The unit was a COHORT unit, an acronym for "Cohesion
Operational Readiness and Training." In a COHORT unit, soldiers were
supposed to stay together for their entire three-year enlistment period.
The COHORT concept originated in 1980, in an attempt to correct the
problem of sending in raw green recruits for those who had been killed
in battle. The Army discovered that many new replacements had
difficulty adjusting to a new unit in the heat of battle, resulting in a
higher number of casualties. Moreover, Pentagon studies from the
Vietnam War era suggested that soldiers who had developed bonds of
friendship were more likely to perform courageously. Unfortunately, the
Army soon developed a new problem: many of the soldiers became
sick of each other after three years, resulting in soldiers committing
suicide or going AWOL.
Although McVeigh originally wanted to try out for Army Ranger School,
he didn't want to wait for an available opening, and decided to join the
infantry immediately. As he sound found out, he had been misled by
the Army recruiter. Once in the COHORT unit, it was not possible for
him to enter Army Ranger School. Yet the disappointed young recruit
quickly made the best of the situation, scoring a high 126 points on his
General Technical test score, putting him in the top 10 percentile
among new recruits.
"He was without a doubt the best soldier I have ever trained with," said
Staff Sergeant Albert Warnement, McVeigh's supervisor at Fort Riley.
He was motivated and very interested in learning everything he could
about being a professional soldier."[145]
"As far as soldiering, he never did anything wrong," said Todd Reiger,
assigned to McVeigh's Bradley. "He was always on time. He never got
into trouble. He was perfect. I thought he would stay in the Army all his
life. He was always volunteering for stuff that the rest of us wouldn't
want to do, guard duties, classes on the weekend."[146]
The only thing that differentiated McVeigh from the rest of the outfit
was his dedication and commitment to the military. "He played the
military 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Curnutte. "All of us
thought it was silly. When they'd call for down time, we'd rest, and he'd
throw on a rucksack and walk around the post with it."
This "silliness" led to McVeigh making sergeant ahead of the rest of his
unit. "It was unusual to have sergeant stripes so soon," said Reiger.
"The rest of us in the Cohort [unit] were specialists," a non-supervisory
rank similar to corporal.
In fact, after the bombing, when McVeigh's records and test scores
were shown to a master sergeant without revealing his identity, he
stated that the subject "would make a great infantry officer, tanker,
artillery officer or combat engineer." His electronic aptitude, said
another official, qualified him for "repairing satellite
communications."[151] "He has a very high IQ," said a federal source
familiar with the suspect's military record.[152] In fact, McVeigh was
rated among the top 5 percent in combat arms.
The Times quoted members of the McVeigh's unit claiming that he had
no close friends. "He kept to himself," said Robert Handa. "He was a
dedicated soldier. He loved being a soldier. I didn't. So after duty hours
57
he'd stay in the barracks while everybody else took off, go out to
town. I never saw him go anywhere. He always had a highly pressed
uniform." Reiger recalls that McVeigh had a TV and a VCR and stayed in
and watched movies, or occasionally went bowling.
"The whole thing is," said John Kelso, who shared a house off-base with
McVeigh and fellow soldier Richard Cerney, "he couldn't have a good
time."
"He was very shy of women — almost embarrassed," said Anderson. "It
didn't seem he was gay. He was just awkward." McVeigh disputed this
analysis in his April 15th Time interview, stating:
The press was quick to pick up on McVeigh owning lots of guns he kept
hidden around his house. According to Wilcher, "He had a couple in the
kitchen, a couple in the living room under the couch. I think there was
one in the bathroom, behind the towels. As you go up the steps there
was a little ledge and he kept one in there too, a .38 revolver." "I don't
know if he was paranoid or what," added Wilcher. "Or maybe he had
some friends that were after him. I don't know."[153]
"He was halfway there when I knew him," said Dilly, referring to
McVeigh's Patriot beliefs. During McVeigh's tenure at Burns Security,
McVeigh would inundate his co-workers with Patriot literature, such as
58
the Spotlight, articles and videos on Ruby Ridge and Waco, and
books such as Detaxing America.
For his part, McVeigh says, "If you had to label what I think, then I
would say I am closest to the views of the Patriot movement," McVeigh
told the London Sunday Times. "For a long time, I thought it was best
not to talk about my political views, he added, "but millions share
them, and I believe it is gravely wrong that I should allow the
government to try and crucify me just for believing what I do."
Interestingly, McVeigh would tell his friend Carl Lebron, who shared
some of McVeigh's beliefs, "All the reading you do is just a hobby. You
stamp your feet, but you're not doing anything."
Dilly said that "Race was an issue, like everywhere in America, but not
one that affected anyone's promotion. McVeigh picked the best man for
the job."
Unlike the steely-eyed killer the press have painted him to be, McVeigh
was as scared as the rest of the platoon. "The night before the ground
war kicked off, he was saying he was scared because we were going to
be part of the first wave," Anderson recalled. "He was scared we
weren't going to come out of it. Maybe we would get shot, blown up. It
wasn't cowardly. He was just concerned. I was feeling the same way,
but most people didn't express it."[160]
On February 24, 1990, the 2nd Battalion was ordered across the
southern Iraqi desert to punch a hole in Iraqi defenses — a line of dug-
in infantry supported by tanks and artillery. McVeigh's platoon was
attached to the "Ironhorse" tank company, and McVeigh's Bradley was
the lead track in the platoon. McVeigh, the "top gun," took out an
enemy tank on the first day with a TOW missile.
The "Ironhorse" protected units clearing the trenches. Using tanks and
trucks equipped with plows, the U.S. forces would follow behind the
Bradleys, burying the Iraqis dead or alive, to create a smooth crossing
60
point for the infantry and avoid having to engage the enemy in hand-
to-hand combat.
The victim recalls that the soldier was confident, quiet and
efficient. To centralize his circulation, he elevated the
man's undamaged limbs and warned him to be calm to
61
avoid going into shock. He checked his pulse and flashed a
small penlight across his pupils. The man, who only
moments earlier was convinced he was going to die,
shivered in the dark and started laughing. He told the tall
young stranger he was never going to buy another Chevy
Blazer again.
The report concluded with the observation that Timothy McVeigh "is a
military man… his heart and soul belongs to the military of the U.S.
Government. In a non-military environment, McVeigh will not undertake
any form of overt hostility that will be harmful to others or dangerous
to himself…. It is not logical that he would undertake any action
against our government in which others would be hurt or killed. To do
so would violate everything he stands for."[171]
In April of 1991, McVeigh put his heart and soul into his long-awaited
dream of becoming a Green Beret. On March 28 he reported to Camp
McCall, the Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) training
facility west of Fort Bragg, for the grueling 21-day assessment course.
But McVeigh, who had kept himself in top shape by doing 400 push-ups
a day and marching around the post with a 100 pound pack was now
out of shape and he knew it. The Bradley gunner who had served in the
Persian Gulf for four months was also drained from the stress of
combat.
The second day of tests began with an obstacle course which McVeigh
passed with ease. After lunch, the recruits were led on a high-speed
march with 50 pound rucksacks. Yet new boots tore into McVeigh's feet
during the five mile march, and with the worst yet to come, he and
another recruit, David Whitmyer, decided to drop out. McVeigh signed
a Voluntary/Involuntary Withdrawal from the SFAS school. His single
sentence explanation read: "I am not physically ready, and the
rucksack march hurt more than it should."[172]
The mainstream press jumped on his initial failure to make the Special
Forces. He was "unable to face the failure" stated the New York Times.
"He washed out on the second day."[173]
"Anyone who puts all that effort into something and doesn't get it
would be mentally crushed," said Roger Barnett, the driver of
McVeigh's Bradley. "He wasn't the same McVeigh. He didn't go at things
the way he normally did…. He didn't have the same drive. He didn't
have his heart in the military anymore."[177]
It hardly seems likely that the ambitious soldier who had recently
signed on for another four year hitch would opt out so easily. Yet, on
December 31, 1991, Sergeant McVeigh took an early discharge from
the Army, and went back to his home town of Pendleton, NY.
"Timmy was a good guard," said former Burns supervisor Linda Haner-
Mele. "He was "always there prompt, clean and neat. His only quirk,"
according to Mele, "was that he couldn't deal with people. If someone
66
didn't cooperate with him, he would start yelling at them, become
verbally aggressive. He could be set off easily.
"Timmy just wasn't the type of person who could initiate action," said
Mele. "He was very good if you said, 'Tim watch this door — don't let
anyone through.' The Tim I knew couldn't have masterminded
something like this and carried it out himself. It would have had to
have been someone who said: 'Tim, this is what you do. You drive the
truck….'"
"He didn't really carry himself like he came out of the military," said
Mele. "He didn't stand tall with his shoulders back. He kind of slumped
over." She recalled him as silent, expressionless, with lightness eyes,
but subject to explosive fits of temper. "That guy didn't have an
expression 99 percent of the time," she added. "He was cold."[186]
As Constantine points out, the military has a long and sordid history of
using enlisted men and unwitting civilians for its nefarious
experiments, ranging from radiation, poison gas, drugs and mind-
control, to spraying entire U.S. cities with bacteriological viruses to test
their effectiveness. The most recent example involves the use of
experimental vaccines tested on Gulf War veterans who are currently
experiencing bizarre symptoms, not the least of which is death. When
attorneys representing the former soldiers requested their military
medical files, they discovered there was no record of the vaccines ever
being administered.[195]
Recent history is replete with cases of individuals who calmly walk into
a restaurant, schoolyard, or post office and inexplicably begin shooting
large numbers of people, as though they were in a trance. What appear
like gruesome but happenstance events to the casual observer raises
red flags to those familiar with CIA "sleeper" mind-control experiments.
Such cases may be indicative of mind-control experiments gone
horribly wrong.
[An anti-social loner, Bryant had also recently returned from a solitary
two-week trip to the U.S., ostensibly to visit "Disneyland." Australian
Customs agents noticed he carried no luggage, and was acting
strangely. They took him to the hospital to be examined as a possible
drug courier, but found nothing. Had Bryant actually visited
Disneyland, or had he visited a different type of playground — one
inhabited by the mind-control masters of the CIA?
70
In the wake of the massacre, Australia underwent wholesale gun
confiscation of its citizenry. Not surprisingly, Australia and New Zealand
have long served as a playground for the CIA, who reportedly played a
major role in the overthrow of Australian Prime Minister Gough
Whitlam, directed from the CIA's super-secret Pine Gap facility. It has
also been reported that the CIA has been testing subliminal TV
transmissions to influence the outcome of elections.[197]]
Charles Hanger, the officer who arrested McVeigh, related his account
to Gibson, who told the Times, "And when he grabbed his gun and
there was no reaction, no shock, that didn't seem right, either."[198]
[The CIA's interest in mind control originally dates back to WWII when
the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), under Stanley Lovell, developed
the idea of hypnotizing German prisoners to re-infiltrate the Third Reich
and assassinate Adolph Hitler. After the war, the OSS, re-formed as the
CIA, brought Nazi doctors and scientists to work for them under the
cover of Operation PAPERCLIP. Some of these included war criminals
spirited away through Nazi-Vatican "Ratlines" under the aegis of
Operation OMEGA, conveniently missing their day in court at the
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. Their colleagues wound up in Central
71
and South America, drained from the best of Nazi blood under
Operation VAMPIRE.]
[By the late 1950s, the military was well on its way to investigating the
potential for "brainwashing," a term coined by the CIA's Edward Hunter
to explain the experience of American POWs in Korea. In 1958 the Rand
Corporation produced a report for the Air Force entitled "The Use of
Hypnosis in Intelligence and Related Military Situations," stating that
"In defense applications, subjects can ce specifically selected by a
criterion of hypnotizability, and subsequently trained in accordance
with their anticipated military function..."[199]]
Taking the Hippocratic Oath on behalf of the CIA for ARTICHOKE was Dr.
Sidney Gottlieb, mind-control emeritus of the CIA's Technical Services
Division (TSS), the real-life counterpart to the mythical "Q-Branch" of
Ian Fleming fame. TSS was engaged developing the usual James Bond
spy toys — miniature cameras, shooting fountain pens, and, under the
tutelage of Dr. Gottlieb, poisons that could kill in seconds, leaving no
trace. With Operation ARTICHOKE however, the CIA broadened its
horizons into the realm of psychological warfare. ARTICHOKE was one
of the CIA's later-day attempts to create an electronically-controlled
Manchurian Candidate.
In the 1950s, under the code name MKULTRA, the CIA set up safe
houses in San Francisco and other cities where they performed
experiments on unwitting subjects using LSD and other drugs. In 1960,
Edwards recruited ex-FBI agent Robert Maheu, who approached Mob
bosses Sam Giancana and John Rosselli to form CIA hit-teams to
assassinate foreign leaders using the techniques acquired by Gottlieb's
TSS. [The first on their list was Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who they
planned to assassinate by poisoning his food and even his cigars. The
work of Gottlieb and his CIA associates can be traced directly back to
Nazi war criminals such as Dr. Joseph Mengele of Auschwitz.]
A close associate of Drs. Cameron and Gottlieb, West studied the use
of drugs as "adjuncts to interpersonal manipulation or assault," and
was among one of the pioneers of remote electronic brain
experimentation, including telemetric brain implants on unwitting
subjects.
Interestingly, West was the psychiatrist who examined Jack Ruby, the
assassin of Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby's assertion that an ultra-Right-
wing cabal was responsible for JFK's murder, and his refusal to admit
insanity, led West to conclude that he was paranoid and mentally ill.
West placed Ruby on anti-depressants, which did little to modify his
claims of conspiracy. He died of cancer two years later, claiming to the
end that he had been injected with cancerous biological material.
In the wake of the 1965 Watts riot, West proposed to then California
Governor Ronald Reagan a "Center for the Study and Reduction of
Violence," which was to have included a psychosurgery unit for
performing lobotomies, and a seven-day-a-week, around-the-clock
electro-shock room. Associates of Dr. Cameron's, employed at the time
in Nazi-run detention centers in South America, would be called on to
perform lobotomies on unsuspecting patients, with the full approval of
Governor Reagan.[203]
CIA psychiatrist Dr. Ewen Cameron was also the progenitor of "psychic
driving," a technique whereby the psychiatrist or controller repeatedly
plays back selected words or phrases to break down a person's
psychological barriers and open up his unconscious.[206] Such
techniques would be eagerly incorporated into the CIA's program for
creating Manchurian Candidates — programmed hypno-killers who
could be unleashed at the behest of the Agency to kill upon command.
An account of the discussion surrounding the creation of a Manchurian
Candidate is revealed by JFK researcher Dick Russell in his book, The
Man Who Knew Too Much:
74
In 1968, Dr. Joseph L. Bern of Virginia Polytechnic Institute
questioned authorities on hypnosis about whether the
creation of a "Manchurian Candidate" was really feasible.
As Author Bowart recounted one expert's response to Dr.
Bernd: "I would say that a highly skilled hypnotist, working
with a highly susceptible subject, could possibly persuade
the subject to kill another human…" Another believed it
was even possible, through posthypnotic suggestion, to
make a subject unable to recall such an act: "There could
be a conspiracy, but a conspiracy of which the principal
was unaware."[207]
Yet causing degenerative diseases was not the main goal of the
DoD/CIA EM weapons research, code named PANDORA. The spooks
were interested in the effects of microwaves on controlling a person's
behavior. By 1973, both the Americans and the Soviets were far along
in their mind-control applications, using technology such as pulsed
microwave audiograms and acoustical telemetry to create voices in a
subject's mind, or erase his mind completely.[215]]
Causing degenerative diseases was not the main goal of the DoD/CIA
EM weapons research, code named PANDORA. The spooks were
interested in the effects of microwaves on controlling a person's
behavior. By 1973, both the Americans and the Soviets were far along
in their mind-control applications, using technology such as pulsed
microwave audiograms and acoustical telemetry to create voices in a
subject's mind, or erase his mind completely.[216] With the advent of EM
technology, scientists could bypass the need for electrodes implanted
in the brain, and control their subjects directly. Lawrence described a
technology called RHIC-EDOM, or "Radio Hypnotic Intracerebral Control
and Electronic Dissolution of Memory." According to Lawrence:
West was given the job of examining Jack Ruby, Lee Harvey Oswald's
killer. Ruby's refusal to admit insanity, and his belief that a right-wing
cabal was responsible for JFK's murder, led West to conclude Ruby was
mentally ill, the proper candidate for anti-depressants. Ruby died of
cancer two years after the exam, claiming to have been injected with
malignant biological material. West also examined Sirhan Sirhan, [who
may have been] a hypno-patsy jailed for murdering Robert Kennedy.
On March 31, less than three weeks before the bombing, McVeigh
appeared at the Imperial Motel in Kingman. For the next 12 days,
according to owner Helmut Hofer, he just sat there, emerging only for
meals or to pay his bill. He had no visitors, made few phone calls, and
barely disturbed the furnishings. No one ever heard his television, and
his car never moved from its spot outside.[220]
"That's the funny thing," said Hofer. "He didn't go out. He didn't make
phone calls. He didn't do anything. He just sat up there and brooded."
["He always had been a brooder…" added the Times, throwing a bit of
instant psychoanalysis on the situation.[221]]
Yet it is unlikely that McVeigh simply rented a room at the Imperial for
12 days to brood. Like Oswald, McVeigh was probably told to wait
77
somewhere until he was contacted. Perhaps it was a pre-arranged
date; perhaps he was waiting for a phone call; or perhaps McVeigh was
simply put on ice, waiting to be activated by some sort of signal. It is
possible McVeigh's anger at the Federal Government was stoked by a
more mysterious enemy, one that he couldn't see or feel… but hear.
One fine day, Sweeny calmly walked into the middle of Rockefeller
Center and pumped seven bullets into his mentor. He then sat down, lit
a cigarette, and waited for the police to arrive. "Sweeny claimed that
the CIA, with Lowenstein's help, had implanted a telemetric chip in his
head 15 years earlier, and had made his life an unbearable torment.
Voices were transmitted through his dental work, he said, and he
attempted to silence them by filing down his false teeth. Sweeny
blamed CIA "controllers" for his uncle's heart attack and the
assassination of San Francisco mayor George Moscone."[224]
Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk met their deaths at the
hands the infamous "Twinkie" assassin — former City Supervisor Dan
White. White earned the curious title due his attorney's novel defense
— that his client was under the influence of a heavy dose of sugar at
the time of the murders. More likely, White was under the influence of
a heavy dose of hypnosis.
Like McVeigh, White had been in the military, serving a tour of duty in
Vietnam. After leaving the police department in 1972, White took an
extended vacation since known as White's "missing year."
"He broke all contact with friends and family. He kept no records of the
trip, purchased no travel tickets, did not use a credit card. He later
accounted for his mystery year by explaining that he'd worked a stint
as a security guard in Alaska."
Yet the hypnosis and drugging of adults is not by far the worst example
of the CIA's nefarious efforts at developing programmed assassins.
Other efforts involve the use of children, programmed while they are
still young (See the "Finders" case), and the use of cults, often run by
former military and intelligence officers. The use of cults provides a
convenient cover for experiments that could not otherwise be
conducted out in the open. Any resultant behavioral anomalies can
then simply be attributed to the peculiarities of the "cult."[227]
He then lives a very normal and sometimes useful life, until subject is
required to perform the program implanted/written into level four
hypnosis at the point of activating the trigger, subject is beyond recall.
That's why a level five person can only be approached after his/her
79
operation. There is no actual recall in the subconscious program of
any of the hypnosis. If an act of violence had been perpetrated, subject
will not be able to associate with the deed. Only shrinks trained in this
particular form of sub mental behavior will find any tracks leading to
post level one or two mind-control.
Due to the fact that subject has such high IQ (preferably around 130-
140 subject is very quick to learn anything fed to him/her. All major
patriot groups, and normal workers and workers in big [government
contract] corporations have at least one or more "sleepers" attached to
them.
Now it must be clear to you the various levels used by the intel
community to get their job done. Remember Jonestown? It was one of
ours that went sour because a Clear Eyes was in the group. When he
began firing on the runway, it all self destructed. The man
(Congressman Leo Ryan) who was killed, knew it was a government
operation. Clear Eyes was accidentally — through a lone sequence —
activated! There was no way to stop the killings. They were all
programmed to at least level three, the culties themselves. There were
only three deaths attributable to cyanide, the rest died of gunfire. Now
you know a little more about our line of work. I am glad I am out of
it.[228]
[It is interesting to note that] after his arrest, McVeigh was taken to
Tinker Air Force Base. Why he would be taken to a military installation
is unclear. Perhaps Dr. West was on hand, waiting to see whether
McVeigh's microchip was still snug. Was Timothy McVeigh in fact
manipulated through the use of a subcutaneous transceiver, implanted
in him without his knowledge? Was he a "sleeper agent," programmed
to do a dirty deed and have no memory of it afterwards? Interestingly,
Richard Condon's classic play, The Manchurian Candidate made its
debut in Oklahoma City exactly one year after the bombing. It is
possible the real Manchurian candidate made his debut on April 19,
1995. Given the long and sordid history of Pentagon/CIA mind-control
operations, such a scenario is certainly possible.[230]
What's also possible is that McVeigh was simply lied to. Someone —
whom McVeigh thought was working for the government, gave him a
cover story — convinced him that he was on an important, top secret
mission. McVeigh's seeming indifference upon his arrest may simply
have been indicative of his understanding that he was working for this
agency, had simply delivered a truck as he was told, and had not, in
fact, killed anyone.
According to former CIA agent Victor Marchetti, the CIA currently does
its most "fruitful" recruiting in the armed forces.[231] Intelligence
agencies regularly recruit from the military, and military files are
routinely reviewed for potential candidates — those who have proven
their willingness and ability to kill on command and without hesitation
— those whose combat training and proficiency with weapons make
them excellent candidates for field operations. McVeigh had already
taken the Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Course while he was at
Fort Riley. Whether he knew it or not, McVeigh was well on his was way
to a career in covert intelligence. An intelligence agency wouldn't have
to search hard for a man like McVeigh. His above-average military
81
record, and the fact that he was a candidate for the Special Forces,
would have made him a natural choice. Especially his try-out for
Special Forces. The Special Forces were created as the covert military
arm of the Central Intelligence Agency. According to Lt. Colonel Daniel
Marvin (Ret.), "almost all of the independent operations within the
Green Berets were run by the CIA"[232]
[As Dave Dilly told the Post, "The militias really recruit, and he's
exactly what they're looking for.… They could catch him easy. He had
all the same interests as them; they're just a little more fanatical."
Just what these "pressing matters" were is not exactly clear. According
to co-worker Carl Lebron, McVeigh told him he was leaving to take a
civilian position with the Army in Kentucky painting trucks. He later told
Lebron that he became privy to a top-secret project at Calspan called
"Project Norstar," which, according to McVeigh, involved bringing drugs
into the country via miniature submarine. He told his friend that he was
afraid that those responsible for Project Norstar were "coming after
him," and he had to leave.
While this explanation may strike one as bizarre, McVeigh wrote his
sister Jennifer while he was still in the Army telling her that he had
been picked for a highly specialized Special Forces Covert Tactical Unit
(CTU) that was involved in illegal activities. The letter was introduced
to the Federal Grand Jury. According to former grand juror Hoppy
Heidelberg, these illegal activities included "protecting drug shipments,
eliminating the competition, and population control." While all the
82
details of the letter aren't clear, Heidelberg said that there were five
to six duties in all, and that the group was comprised of ten men.
Such units are nothing new. During the Vietnam War, CIA Director
William Colby and Saigon Station Chief Ted Shackley (who also ran a
massive heroin smuggling operation) created what they called
Provincial Reconnaissance Units (PRUs), which would capture, torture,
and kill suspected Viet Cong leaders.[233]
Anyone who prefers to think that agencies of the U.S. government are
above assassinating U.S. citizens, not to mention senior U.S. officials
where expedient, may wish to bear in mind the following testimony
given by Colonel Daniel Marvin, a highly decorated Special Forces
Vietnam veteran. While going through Special Forces training at Fort
Bragg in 1964, Marvin's group was asked if any members would like to
volunteer to take special assassination training on behalf of the CIA,
eliminating Americans overseas who posed "national security risks."
About six people, himself included, volunteered.
"The CIA had agents there all the time at Fort Bragg, in the Special
Warfare Center Headquarters," said Marvin. "My commanding officer,
Colonel C.W. Patton, called me up to his office one day in the first
week… and he said, "Dan, go out and meet the 'Company' man
standing there underneath the pine trees, waiting to talk to you."
Ironically, Marvin had been motivated to join the Special Forces by the
death of President Kennedy, who had conferred upon the unit their
distinctive and coveted green berets. Marvin began his assassination
training in the Spring of 1964. "…during one of the coffee breaks, I
overheard one of the [CIA] instructors say to the other one, 'Well, it
went pretty well in Dallas. Didn't it?'"
83
Marvin said his group was shown "16 millimeter moving pictures that
we assumed were taken by the CIA of the assassination, on the ground
there at Dallas.… We were told that there were actually four shooters.
There was one on the roof of the lower part of the Book Depository,
and there was one shooter who was in front of and to the right of the
vehicle. And I'm not sure whether it was on the Grassy Knoll area that
they were speaking of, or, as some people have reported, [a shooter
firing] out of a manhole to the right-front of the vehicle."
He also added that there were two additional snipers with spotters
stationed on the routes that the motorcade would have used to travel
to the hospital. If the spotter determined that Kennedy had survived,
he was to finish him off.
"The stronger a patriot you are, the more important it is to you that
you do whatever is necessary for your flag, for your country," he adds.
"It makes you the most susceptible type of person for this kind of
training. You are the ultimate warrior. You're out there to do for your
country what nobody else is willing to do. I had no qualms about it at
all."]
Some U.S. Army men were literally lured away from the
doorway of Fort Bragg, their North Carolina training post.
The GIs were given every reason to believe that the
operation summoning them was being carried out with the
full backing of the CIA.…[238]
Could this be the same group McVeigh claims he was recruited for?
Considering the allegations of the Federal Government against
McVeigh, the fact that he was chosen for such a clandestine and
blatantly illegal government-sponsored operation is highly revealing.
If McVeigh was recruited, his "opting out" of the military was most
likely a cover story for that recruitment. Former Pentagon counter-
intelligence officer Robert Gambert told Kennedy assassination
researcher Dick Russell of the mysterious activities of his cousin
Richard Case Nagell, "Dick played the role of a disgruntled ex-Army
officer…. he was really still operational, in an undercover capacity, for
85
the Army Intelligence…. They're not gonna' trust anybody who's
active military or a friendly retiree. They're gonna trust somebody
who's going around griping against the military, against the
intelligence operations, against the government…."[241]
After McVeigh's mysterious departure from the Army, his friend Robin
Littleton received a strange letter from him. On it was illustrated a
cartoon depicting a skull and crossbones with the caption "so many
victims, so little time."[242] Whether he meant it as a joke, or whether it
contained a hidden message, is unclear. But considering the letter he
wrote to Jennifer regarding the CTU, its implications are unsettling.
After spending a brief time living with Fortier at his trailer home on
East McVicar Road, McVeigh rented a trailer at Canyon West where he
lived from June to September of 1993, for $250-a-month.
The Times, the Post, Time and Newsweek all reported that McVeigh
was a belligerent beer-drinking, loud music-playing slob who stayed at
the Canyon West Mobile Park and was subsequently evicted. According
to the Times:
"Just about any free time, he'd be walking down there, or across the
railroad tracks and firing his guns," said Marilyn Hart, nodding at the
landscape of canyons and mesas around the Canyon West trailer park
here that is one of the last known addresses of the man arrested for
bombing the Oklahoma City Federal Building. "He just plain didn't care.
Didn't matter the time of day or night, he'd be out there shooting."
"When he did, the trailer was a disaster," he said. "It was trashed."[246]
When he moved into the Canyon West trailer park outside Kingman in
1993, his first act was to wash the dirty curtains and dust, vacuum and
scrub the entire trailer spotless, said owner Bob Rangin, who so liked
McVeigh that he offered to lower the rent to keep the ex-soldier from
moving.
The Post also ran an interview with neighbor Jack Gohn, who said
McVeigh was so "quiet, polite and neat and clean" that "if I had a
daughter in that age bracket, I would have introduced them."[247]
Said Marilyn Hart of Timothy McVeigh: "He was very quiet, very polite,
very courteous, very neat, very clean, quiet, obeyed all the park rules.
He worked on the trailer, did some painting, he did some cleaning on
it, he bought new furniture, things like that."[248]
In fact, what the Times was reporting on was not Timothy McVeigh at
all, but a completely different man! According to Hart, the mix-up came
when reporters from the Times were given information about Dave
Heiden, who also was just out of the service, and had lived in trailer
#19 (McVeigh lived in trailer #11). "They thought it was the man who
lived down below," said Hart. "He was a slob. But he was not Tim
McVeigh. The other guy took his guns out across the way and fired
them all the time, he got drunk and got up on top of the trailer and did
all kinds of noisy things…."
According to Hart, after the man's girlfriend gave birth he sobered up.
"Now they're married, the baby was born, he's straightened up his life,"
said Hart. "He straightened up his act, and he doesn't act that way any
more at all."
This is clearly interesting considering that for days the Times had been
painting McVeigh as a pathological, asexual neat freak who was
extremely polite. These traits, the Times' psychobabblists claimed,
were indicators of a mass killer.
89
The Times then claimed on the very next day that McVeigh was a
belligerent slob with a pregnant girlfriend, and all of a sudden, these
were the characteristics of a mass killer. Obviously, to a propaganda
screed like the New York Times, it didn't matter what McVeigh's actual
personality really was.
McVeigh also worked for a spell at State Security. The Times interview
with co-worker Fred Burkett took a slightly different slant, painting his
co-worker McVeigh as an arrogant, gun-toting loner. "He had a very dry
personality," Burkett told the Times. "He was not very outgoing, not
talkative and not really that friendly. He wasn't a person that mingled.
He was a kind of by yourself kind of person, a loner."
"Other than that, Mr. Burkett said, "he seemed pretty much normal."
"The only thing he ever indicated was that he didn't care much for the
United States Government and how they ran things," Mr. Burkett said.
"He didn't care much for authority and especially when it concerned
the government."
The book became the blueprint for a neo-Nazi group called The Order,
which terrorized the Midwest in the early to mid '80s with a string of
murders and bank robberies. Authorities have speculated that
McVeigh, who carried the book with him constantly and sold it at gun
shows, was inspired by its screed to commit his terrible act of violence.
Yet McVeigh dismisses such suggestions as gibberish. "I bought the
book out of the publication that advertised the book as a gun-rights
book. That's why I bought it; that's why I read it."[255]
McVeigh and Fortier also took handgun classes from McCarty during
the summer of 1994, which is odd considering that the two men,
McVeigh especially, were extremely proficient in the use of firearms.
"Believe me, the one thing he did not need was firearms training, "said
Fred Burkett, McVeigh's co-worked at State Security. "He was very good
and we were impressed with his actions."[257]
After the August 1994 passage of the Omnibus Crime Bill outlawing
certain types of semi-automatic weapons, "McVeigh's demons finally
became unbearable," claimed the Times. "What will it take?" wrote
McVeigh to Fortier, expressing his exasperation.[259]
It is possible that McVeigh had some contact with a local militia while in
Kingman. According to reporter Mark Schafer of the Arizona Republic,
Fortier, who worked at True Value, knew Jack Oliphant, the elderly
91
patron of the Arizona Patriots, an extreme Right-wing paramilitary
group. Oliphant had been caught in 1986 planning to blow up the
Hoover Dam, the IRS and a local Synagogue. After the FBI raid,
Oliphant was sentenced to four years in jail, and the Arizona Patriots
went underground. It is reported that Fortier, who sported a "Don't
Tread on Me" flag outside his trailer-home, was friendly with some of
the Arizona Patriots, including Oliphant.
But federal authorities became very interested when they learned that
a small explosion, related to a home-made bomb, had slightly
damaged a house down the road from the trailer park. That house was
owned by Frosty McPeak, a friend of McVeigh's who had hired him in
1993 to do security work at a local shelter. When McPeak's girlfriend
was arrested in Las Vegas on a bad credit charge, Clark Vollmer, a
paraplegic drug dealer in Kingman, helped bail her out. In February of
'95, Vollmer had asked McPeak to ferry some drugs. He refused. On
February 21, a bomb exploded outside McPeak's home. When he went
to Vollmer's house to confront him, he found Timothy McVeigh, along
with another man he didn't recognize.[260]
What does Marilyn Hart think about McVeigh's connection to the local
militias? "I probably do know several people who are militia," said Hart.
"But they don't advertise it, and they're not kooks. To me, McVeigh
didn't have the money. The two other guys, Rosencrans and Fortier,
went to school with our children, and neither of them have money
either. And it took a good amount of money to pull this off. "
Several days later, the FBI took over. Almost immediately, they began
psychologically harassing the Church members with loud noises. For
over a month and a half, the Davidians were tormented by the sounds
of dying animals, religious chants, loud music, and their own voices.
Their electricity was cut off, and milk and other supplies necessary for
young chidden was not allowed into the compound. Bright lights were
shined on residents 24 hours-a-day, and armored vehicles began
circling the compound, while flash-bang grenades were thrown into the
courtyard.
When it was all over, the fire department was allowed inside the
compound to pump water on the smoldering debris. Out of
approximately 100 Church members, 86 perished, including 27
children. No FBI agent was injured. The remaining 11 Church members
were put on trial for attempted murder of federal agents. During the
trial, government prosecutors repeatedly withheld, altered, and
destroyed evidence. The government even cut off electricity to the
morgue, preventing autopsies on the bodies.
The Federal Building was blown up on April 19, the two year
anniversary of the Waco conflagration. Like millions of other citizens,
McVeigh was angry about the deadly raid. He was particularly incensed
about the participation of the Army's Joint Task Force Six, and about
the deployment of the Seventh Light Infantry during the Los Angeles
riots in 1992, and the United Nations command over American soldiers
in Somalia, his former Army friend Staff Sergeant Albert Warnement
told the Times. "He thought the Federal Government was getting too
much power. He thought the ATF was out of control."[265]
"I saw a localized police state," McVeigh told the London Sunday Times,
"[and] was angry at how this had come about."[266]
"Their (the FBI's) actions in Waco, Texas were wrong. And I'm not
fixated on it...." he told Newsweek.
"It disturbed him," said Burkett. "It was wrong, and he was mad about
it. He was flat out mad. He said the government wasn't worth the
powder to blow it to hell."[267]
Just what was McVeigh doing driving around with explosives, and
where did he acquire them? Were these explosives part of the batch of
ammonium nitrate Terry Nichols had allegedly purchased from the Mid-
Kansas Co-op on October 20, or perhaps the Dynamite and Tovex the
government alleged Nichols stole from the Martin Marietta rock quarry
in September?
"He was very angry," recalled Jennifer McVeigh during her brother's
trial. "He thought the government gassed and murdered the people
there."
Jennifer also claimed her brother also wrote a letter to the American
Legion saying that ATF agents "are a bunch of fascist tyrants." He
identified himself in the letter as a member of the "citizens' militia." He
also sent his sister literature on the standoff at Ruby Ridge, the
Constitution, and even a copy of the Turner Diaries. [270]
By the Spring of 1995, he told Jennifer not to send any more letters to
him after May 1 because "G-men might get them." Then he sent her a
letter saying, "Something big is going to happen in the month of the
Bull." He did not explain what that meant, but Jennifer looked in her
astrology book and saw that the "month of the Bull" was April. McVeigh
also advised her to extend her Spring break — which began on April 8
— a bit longer than the planned two weeks, and instructed her to burn
the letter.[271]
Like Lee Harvey Oswald, who was upset about the Cuban Bay of Pigs
invasion and American foreign policy in general, a view he expressed
to his friends in Dallas, McVeigh was upset about the government's
foreign policy, a view he expressed to his friends here. "He wasn't
96
happy about Somalia," that if we could put the United States under
basically UN command and send them to Somalia to disarm their
citizens, then why couldn't they come do the same thing in the United
States?" Sergeant Warnement said.
McVeigh was also reportedly angry over the killings of Sammy and
Vicki Weaver, who were killed by federal agents at their cabin in Ruby
Ridge, Idaho in August of 1992. Randy Weaver had become a fugitive
wanted on a minor weapons violation. During the stand-off, U.S.
Marshals had shot 14-year-old Sammy Weaver in the back, and had
shot Vicki Weaver, Randy's wife, in the face as she stood at the cabin
door holding her infant daughter. McVeigh had traveled to Ruby Ridge
and came back convinced that federal agents intentionally killed the
Weavers.
Although his anger over Waco and Ruby Ridge hardly implicates
McVeigh in the destruction of the Federal Building, the government
would make this one of the cornerstones of it case. The press naturally
jumped on the bandwagon. When Jane Pauley of NBC's Dateline
interviewed Jennifer McVeigh about her thoughts on Waco, she said,
"The way I saw it, the Davidians were just a group of people who had
their own way of living, perhaps different from the mainstream. But
they were never really harming anybody. And to bring in all those tanks
and things like that to people who are just minding their own business,
not harming anybody, I just — I don't think that's right."
But the dead, burned children at Waco were not what the producers at
Dateline wanted the public to see. Immediately after Jennifer's
statement, they cut to an image of the bombed-out day care center
inside the Murrah Building. "We… We've been hoping this wouldn't be
the case," said the live voice of an unidentified rescue worker, "but it is
the case, there was a day-care inside the building."
Time ran a page dedicated to the Waco theory, stating, "The date of
last week's bombing and the anniversary of the apocalyptic fire (notice
they don't say government massacre) at the Branch Davidian
compound in Waco — has only gained in infamy, intricately bound as it
is to the mythologies of homegrown zealots like McVeigh."[272]
Sheep-Dipped
It would appear that the seed that gave root to McVeigh's "homegrown
zeal" was incubated in a U.S. government hothouse and fertilized by a
heaping dose of intelligence agency fanaticism.
After Waco, with the emergence of the Militia Movement, the stage
would be set, the die would be cast — for Timothy McVeigh to be
poured into like a miniature lead soldier. While the FBI and the press
admitted that McVeigh didn't actually belong to any organized militia
97
organization, "there was considerable evidence that he sympathized
with and espoused their beliefs," wrote the Times.
Yet, like Oswald, who lived and worked amongst the bastions of the far-
Right in Dallas while purporting to be a Marxist, McVeigh would not
seem to be the extreme Right-wing fanatic he's been made out to be.
In a letter to his hometown newspaper in February, 1992, he wrote:
Obviously, such views are anathema to the far-Right, who see any
attempt to socialize society as a major step towards the great one-
world Communist conspiracy. It is possible that McVeigh was more
progressive than his Right-wing associates. It is also possible that
McVeigh was being sheep-dipped as a militant Right-winger.
After Waco, McVeigh traveled to Michigan, staying for a time with Terry
Nichols. He worked on Nichols' farm, and went hunting and target
practicing. Neighbors recall how McVeigh and Nichols made and
98
detonated small homemade bombs. Paul Izydorek, a neighbor, recalls
"When they were around, they'd get different guns and play and shoot
and stuff." On at least one occasion, Izydorek heard blasts at the farm
and noticed Terry Nichols and a man he thought was McVeigh. "I'd seen
them playing around with different household items that you can make
blow up. Just small stuff. Just outside in the yard, blowing away."[276]
Nichols' brother James also admitted to the FBI that McVeigh and Terry
made and exploded "bottle bombs" at his farm, using brake fluid,
gasoline, and diesel fuel, and that he sometimes participated.[277]
In his interview with Newsweek, McVeigh dispelled the myth that his
bomb making was a precursor to more deadly acts. "It would amount
to firecrackers. It was like popping a paper bag," said McVeigh, who
had also experimented with small explosives on his land in Olean, NY
prior to entering the Army.
Yet a relative also told the FBI that James Nichols kept a large supply of
ammonium nitrate fertilizer on the farm — the very substance federal
authorities accused the suspects of using to manufacture their alleged
truck-bomb, a fact that would become yet another linchpin in the
government's case against the two men.
While in Michigan, McVeigh also started working the gun shows. From
April of 1993 to March of 1995, McVeigh would travel from Kingman,
Arizona to Decker, Michigan, and across the U.S., attending militia
meetings and working the gun show circuit. A gun collector interviewed
by the Times said that he had encountered McVeigh in gun shows
ranging from Florida to Oklahoma to Nevada. "At the S.O.F. (Soldier of
Fortune) convention he was kind of wandering around," said the gun
collector, who requested anonymity, "like he was trying to meet
people, maybe make converts. He could make ten friends at a show,
just by his manner and demeanor. He's polite, he doesn't interrupt."
Yet it would seem McVeigh is not the asexual, sociopathic loner that the
press — the New York Times in particular — has made him out to be.
Had Kifner read the May 5th edition of Newsweek, he would have
discovered that McVeigh had more than an old book for a companion.
Newsweek reported that a Kansas private investigator had tracked
down an old [platonic] girlfriend of McVeigh's — most likely Catina
Lawson of Herrington, Kansas — attempting to convince her to sell her
story to a news agency.[278]
99
Robert Jerlow, an Oklahoma City private investigator, was also
tracking down a girlfriend of McVeigh's in Las Vegas.[279] And CNN
indicated that authorities had discovered a letter in the glove
compartment to an old girlfriend.[280]
"He lived in his car," said the gun dealer quoted in the Times.
"Whatever he owned it was in that car."[281]
According to his sister Jennifer, his closest confidant, "…half the time
we didn't know where he was. Half the time he wouldn't even tell us
where he was living."[282]
McVeigh used the name "Tim Tuttle" while working the gun shows,
claiming that the alias was necessary to protect him from people who
didn't share his political views.[283] There is another possible reason
McVeigh may have used an alias however.
"He had come to see himself as a soldier in his own strange war
against the United States," wrote the Times. McVeigh's mother told an
acquaintance after visiting with him in her home state of Florida that
he was "totally changed," and observed, "it was like he traded one
Army for another one."[285]
Yet the man Catina described was neither a high-schooler nor a soldier.
This mysterious character in his late 30s to mid-40s, who often wore a
suit and a tie and drove a red sports car, was was apparently not there
to pick up girls. As Connie Smith, Catina's mother told me, "The man
did not interact with anyone else… he stayed off… he never interacted
with anybody else," only McVeigh.
101
Barbara Whittenberg, who owned the Sante Fe Trail Diner in
Herrington, Kansas, also remembered the man. The restaurant owner
recalled that he would come in with McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who
lived nearby. She didn't know where he was from, and had never seen
him before.
The plan never came off. Ditzhazy and Maloney alerted State Police,
who then contacted federal authorities. When the plot was made
public, the Michigan Militia issued a press release stating that the plan
was the brainchild of Koernke, working alongside a group of renegade
members. Others who attended the meetings said that it was actually
Maloney who pushed the plan, and had to be dissuaded from going
through with it. Interestingly, Maloney was to provide weapons training
for several of the attackers, and Ditzhazy, who made audio-tapes of
the meetings, is a former military intelligence officer. When the FBI was
contacted about Ditzhazy's claim that the plot was hatched by McVeigh
and others, the FBI refused comment.[291]
Koernke quickly rose to become one of the most sought after speakers
on the Patriot circuit, leading off seminars in over 40 states. His video,
America in Peril, sounds apocalyptic warnings of the coming New World
Order, including plans by the Council of Foreign Relations, the Trilateral
Commission, and the Bilderbergers to dominate and enslave America
— with of course, a little help from Russian troops, Nepalese Gurkhas,
and L.A. street gangs.[293] It would seem that Koernke is employing a
time-tested technique of intelligence PSYOP disinformation. While
purporting to rail against what may be genuine plans of a New World
Order cabal, Koernke slips in just enough ridiculous disinformation to
discredit his thesis, and by association, anyone who supports it.
After the bombing, the media put Koernke in its spotlight. Koernke has
boasted freely to friends that he was once employed as a
"provocateur." He didn't say exactly for whom. In his tape, Koernke is
shown holding an AK-47 and a cord of rope, stating: "Now, I did some
basic math the other day, not New World Order math, and I found that
using the old-style math you can get about four politicians for about
103
120 foot of rope. And, by the way, DuPont made this. It is very
fitting that one of the New World Order crowd should provide us with
the resources to liberate our nation.…"
Ken Kirkland, an official of the St. Lucia County, Florida Militia said that
McVeigh was acting as Koernke's bodyguard at a March 1994 meeting.
Kirkland recalled a bodyguard in Army camouflage clothes resembling
McVeigh who introduced himself as "Tim" and was "really upset about
Waco."[295]
Koernke and McVeigh both deny this. As McVeigh told Newsweek "…I
was never to one of their meetings, either."[296]
"He had been involved in a bank robbery but did not provide any
further details concerning the robbery. He advised me that he had not
actually participated in the robbery itself, but was somehow involved in
the planning or setting up of this robbery. Although he did not identify
the participants by name, he stated that 'they' had committed the
robbery. His purpose for relating this information to me was to request
that I exchange some of my own money for what I recall to be
approximately three (3) $100.00 bills.
"He explained that this money was from the bank robbery and he
wished to circulate this money through me. To the best of my
recollection, I then gave my brother what I recall to be approximately
$300.00 of my personal cash, in exchange for 3 $100.00 bills, which I
deposited within the next several days in an account at the Unit No. 1
Federal credit Union, Lockport, New York."
Jennifer also recalled Tim stating, "Persons who rob banks may not be
criminals at all. He implied Jews are running the country and a large
degree of control is exercised by the Free Masons. Banks are the real
thieves and the income tax is illegal."[297]
In the tape, made only a few months before the Oklahoma City
bombing, Langan says, "Federal buildings may have to be bombed and
civilian loss of life is regrettable but expected."[298]
Like Salemeh's rental receipt which had traces of ANFO on it, McVeigh's
clothes would allegedly contain traces of a detonator cord known as
PDTN.[300] Like the World Trade Center bombers who stockpiled bomb-
making equipment in rented storage lockers in New Jersey, McVeigh
and Nichols would store their ammonium nitrate in rented lockers in
Kansas and Arizona. And like the World Trade Center bombers who
called commercial chemical companies requesting bomb-making
materials, McVeigh would implicate himself by using a traceable phone
card to make his purchases.
The most damming evidence linking McVeigh to the crime would be the
witness sightings placing him at the Murrah Building just before the
bombing, following the Ryder truck, then speeding away in his yellow
Mercury several minutes before the blast.
106
Yet the most curious evidence implicating McVeigh in the bombing
came from witnesses who say he cased the building on December 16,
when he and Michael Fortier drove through Oklahoma City en route to
Kansas, then again approximately one and a half weeks before the
bombing.
Danielle Wise Hunt, who operated the Stars and Stripes Child
Development Center in the Murrah Building, told the FBI that on
December 16, a clean-cut man wearing camouflage fatigues
approached her, seeking to place his two children in the day care
center. Hunt told agents that the man didn't ask typical parent-type
questions, but instead wanted to know about the day-care center's
security. Hunt thought he might be a potential kidnapper. Later, after
seeing his face on TV, she recognized the man as Timothy McVeigh.[301]
Yet calling card records obtained by the Rocky Mountain News indicate
that each call charged to the card during 1992 originated within
western New York, where McVeigh was working as a security guard for
107
Burns International Security. There appears to be little time he could
have gone to Kansas to party with teen-agers.
Dr. Paul Heath, the VA psychologist who worked in the Murrah Building
and survived the blast, spoke to an individual named "McVeigh" late
one Friday afternoon, a week and a half before the bombing. In an
interview with the author, he described in vivid detail his encounter
with "McVeigh" and two other men, one of whom appears to be one of
the elusive John Doe 2s.
"So I said 'can I help you?' and he said 'well, we're here looking for
work.' and I said 'what kind of work are we looking for?' He said 'we are
looking for construction work.' And I said, 'well Mr. Birmbaum, the
gentleman who is the job counselor for the state jobs office, is not
here.' And this individual — I asked him if I could go back and get the
job openings from the job counselor's desk — and he said 'no, that
won't be necessary.' So I said, 'well, I'm very familiar with the area, and
I could give you some job leads,' and I began to tell him about job
leads, and began to give him some names and some different projects,
and I said 'would you like me to get you the phone book; I could get
you the state jobs offices.' He said, 'no, that won't be necessary.'
"And about somewhere along in this conversation, the man who was
sitting on the east wall, directly behind the man who named himself as
McVeigh, came up behind the man, and said 'can I use your phone?' I
would describe him as vanilla, 5'7" or 5'9", mid-30's. [Then] the third
party who was in the office, looked directly at me, made eye contact
with me, and… I got the impression that this individual's nationality
was Native American, or half-Native American or half-Mexican
American or a foreign national. He was handsome — at one time my
mind said maybe he was from South America.
"I… continued to talk to Mr. McVeigh and I said, 'Mr. McVeigh, did you
take anything in high school that would be beneficial for me to know
about so I could refer you to a different type of job?' And he said, 'well,
probably not.' And I said, 'well, where did you go to high school?' And
he either said up north or New York. And then I said, 'Where are you
living?' And he said, 'Well, I've been living in Kansas.' So then I said,
'Do you happen to be a member of the McVay family from Cussing,
Oklahoma?' …he said, 'Well Dr. Heath, how do they spell their name?'
'Well I assume, M-c-V-a-y.' And he took his finger, and he kind of put it
108
in my face and said, 'Well Dr. Heath,' in kind of a boisterous way,
'Dr. Heath, you remember this. My name is McVeigh, but you don't spell
it M-c-V-a-y….'"[303]
What Dr. Heath was describing appears to have been Timothy McVeigh
and his co-conspirators casing the Murrah Building. As the press
reported, the men went floor-to-floor, asking job-related questions and
picking up applications. Yet if McVeigh had already cased the building
on December 16, as reported by Danielle Hunt, why would he need to
case it again?
"...he goes, 'I'm a very smart man.' I said, you are? And he goes, 'Yes,
you're going to find an (inaudible) and they're going to hurt you real
bad.' I was, like, 'Oh really?' And he goes, 'Yes, and you're going to
remember me on April 19, 1995. You're going to remember me for the
rest of your life.'
If McVeigh actually did fly from Arizona to Arkansas, then drive the
truck to Kansas, then fly back to Arizona again, he apparently was a
very busy man. Witness accounts and phone records put him in
Oklahoma City on the 7th, in Tulsa on the 8th, in Kansas from the 10th
to the 14th (although he's supposed to be in Kingman on the 11th and
12th), then back in Oklahoma City on the 14th, 15th and 16th (when
he's supposedly in Kansas) then in Kansas on the 17th and 18th (when
he's also seen in Oklahoma City), and finally in Oklahoma City on the
19th, the day of the bombing.
About a week and a half before the bombing, a HUD employee named
Joan was riding the elevator with a man she described as Timothy
McVeigh. What struck her was the man's strict military demeanor. He
stared straight ahead making no eye-contact or conversation. "He
won't last long in this building," Joan thought to herself.[307]
The Friday before the bombing, when Craig Freeman walked out of the
building to mail his taxes, he saw an individual he believes to have
been Terry Nichols, "because he looked just like the picture of him,"
said Freeman. "He was standing there, he had a blue plaid shirt on. He
was standing in the front of the building — he was just standing there,
looking kind of confused. You know, how somebody looks when they're
nervous."
Was the man in the elevator Freeman was describing actually Timothy
McVeigh? According to phone records obtained from the Dreamland
Motel, McVeigh made several phone calls from his room on the
morning of Friday, April 14. Is it still possible that McVeigh drove down
to Oklahoma City in the afternoon?
"I asked them why they had a Ryder truck outside," said Whittenberg.
"I wasn't being nosy, I just wondered if Terry Nichols was moving. My
sister was moving here, and she needed to find a place. Well, the guy
who they haven't arrested yet — John Doe #2 — he blurted out that
they were going to Oklahoma. When that happened, it was like
someone threw ice water on the conversation… McVeigh and Nichols
just stared at the guy"[308]
"The only reason I really remember it," said Sherrie, "is just because I
had a conversation with one of them about Oklahoma, and my
111
husband's family is from Oklahoma. He said they were planing a trip
down there, and he said — I think it was for hunting or something.…
then one of them kind of gave him a look, and they changed the
subject.…"
Sherrie also said one of the men, who was quiet and sat in the corner,
appeared to be Middle-Eastern. The other was Hispanic or part
Hispanic, and was friendly. When he mentioned Oklahoma, Nichols shot
him a hard look.[309]
Additionally, while the records at Elliott's Body Shop indicate that "Bob
Kling" rented his truck on April 17, Barbara Whittenberg saw the truck
outside her restaurant on the 15th. Later that day she saw it at Geary
State Fishing Lake, along with three people and a light-colored car,
possibly a Thunderbird, with Arizona tags.[310]
McGowan's son, Eric, as well as motel resident David King and his
mother, also stated that they saw McVeigh driving an older faded
yellow Ryder truck at the motel around 4 p.m. on April 16.[311]
According to the FBI, this was the same day that McVeigh called
Nichols from a pay phone at Tim's Amoco in Herrington, Kansas at 3:08
p.m., and asked him to drive him to Oklahoma City. It would have been
impossible for McVeigh and Nichols to drive from Junction City to
Oklahoma City in less than four hours.
Around the same time as Hunt saw this convoy, David Snider, a
warehouse worker in Bricktown, a few blocks southeast of downtown,
saw a heavily loaded Ryder truck with two men inside, slowly making
its way towards him. Snider had been expecting a delivery that
morning, and explained that people sometimes get lost because the
loading dock is on a different street than the warehouse. The time was
8:35 a.m. Thinking the truck was his delivery, Snider waved them
down. Snider, who by now was gesticulating wildly, became frustrated
as the two men, staring at him, continued on their way.
While he never received his delivery, Snider did get a good look at the
truck, and the two men. The truck appeared to be an older model with
a cab overhang, not the newer version the FBI claimed was destroyed
in the bombing.
"He looked at me like 'who the hell are you?' — real attitude," recalls
Snider, and began yelling profanities at the loading-dock worker.
Snider, who was not in a great mood that morning to begin with, yelled
back, "Fuck you, you skin-head motherfucker!"
Snider and Hunt weren't the only individuals who saw McVeigh and the
Ryder truck that morning. At 8:40 a.m., Mike Moroz and Brian Marshall
were busy at work at Johnny's Tire Store on 10th and Hudson, when a
yellow Ryder truck pulled in looking for directions to the Murrah
Building. The driver, who Moroz later identified as Timothy McVeigh,
was wearing a white T-shirt and a black ball cap on backwards. Moroz
caught a glimpse of the passenger — a stocky man with dark curly
113
hair, a tattoo on his upper left arm, and a ball cap worn similar to
McVeigh's. The passenger, said Moroz, stared straight ahead, never
turning to look in his direction.[314]
A second later, the Mercury driver gunned his engine, ran the red light,
and disappeared into the underground parking garage of the Murrah
Building.
Snider and Moroz both saw a Ryder truck containing Timothy McVeigh,
yet with completely different companions. While Snider was yelling at
McVeigh in the Ryder truck in Bricktown, Hunt was watching the truck
being trailed by McVeigh in the Mercury several blocks away. A few
minutes later, Linehan watched as the Mercury drove into the Murrah
Building garage.
"Their stories really seem to check out," said video producer Chuck
Allen, who interviewed many witnesses. "They go into great depth and
detail about all this. If you ever meet these guys, you'll know their
stories are very strong — very believable."[315]
McVeigh then asked the dazed passerby "Was anyone killed?" When
Johnston answered that numerous people had been killed, including
many children, McVeigh's expression suddenly turned sad. He and his
companion then got up and left.[317][318]
The Los Angeles Times report, which would tend to account for the two
different trucks, only gives half the story. What they aren't saying is
that not only were there at least two John Doe 2s — there apparently
were two "Timothy McVeighs." One was probably a double.
The use of doubles in espionage work is not new. In fact, the use of
impostors, look-alikes and doubles was well-documented in the JFK and
Martin Luther King assassinations.
Like the "Lee Harvey Oswald" who was seen filing out numerous job
applications in New Orleans, "McVeigh" was seen going floor-to-floor in
the Federal Building in Oklahoma. Except that the "Oswald" who filled
out job applications listed his height as 5' 9", while the real Oswald's
height was 5' 11."
The only problem is, Timothy McVeigh is 6' 2," weighs 160 pounds, and
has a totally clear complexion. Another shop employee, Vicki Beemer,
said the man had a deformed chin, unlike the real McVeigh.[321]
Yet the FBI contends that McVeigh left the restaurant 20 minutes
before the truck was rented, walked the 1.3 miles to Elliott's — a
fifteen-minute walk — in a light rain, then showed up at Elliott's nice
and dry, wearing completely different clothes.
After the bombing in Oklahoma City, ATF informant Carol Howe told the
FBI that she recognized the two men on the FBI's original wanted
117
posters as Peter Ward and Michael Brescia — two Elohim City
residents. She said that neither man was Tim McVeigh.[326]
In early November of 1963, Mrs. Lovell Penn of Dallas found three men
firing a rifle on her property. After they left, she found a spent cartridge
bearing the name "Mannlicher-Carcanno," the rifle that the Warren
Commission claimed Oswald used to perform his historic feat of
marksmanship in Dealy Plaza.
As District Attorney Jim Garrison later noted, "These scenes were about
as subtle as roaches trying to sneak across a white rug."
No less subtle were the scenes and events leading up to the Oklahoma
City bombing. It is highly possible that the man Dr. Heath saw in the
Murrah Building a week and-a-half before the bombing was not
Timothy McVeigh at all, but a double. The scenario of Timothy McVeigh
— the alleged "lone nut" bomber — going from floor-to-floor in the
target building announcing his name while leaving a paper trail is
beyond credulity.
Like Oswald who, after purportedly killing the president of the United
States, walked into a movie house without paying, purposely attracting
the attention of the police, McVeigh would speed down the highway at
80 miles an hour without a license plate, purposefully attracting the
attention of the Highway Patrol. He would then meekly hand himself
over for arrest, not even attempting to draw his Glock 9mm pistol on
the approaching cop, whom he could have easily shot and killed.
Like Oswald, who was led out of the Dallas Police Department and
immediately shot by Jack Ruby, McVeigh would be led out of the Noble
118
County Courthouse in a bright orange jumpsuit, without a bullet-
proof vest, paraded before an angry crowd on the verge of violence.
Finally, like James Earl Ray, who was accused of killing Martin Luther
King, Jr., we are left pondering the significance of two similar vehicles,
both apparently tied to the crime. Ray had owned a white Ford
Mustang, which was seen speeding away after the assassination. Yet
another white Mustang was seen parked in front of Jim's Grill in
Memphis, near where Ray had his car parked. The two cars were
almost identical, except for two things: While Ray was wearing a suit
on April 4, 1968, the driver of the other Mustang was wearing a dark
blue windbreaker; while Ray's car had Alabama plates, the other car
had Arkansas plates.[328]
Like Lee Harvey Oswald, who was declared the "lone assassin" within
weeks, Timothy McVeigh would be declared — along with Terry Nichols
— the "lone bomber" within days. On the indictments, the Justice
Department would gratuitously add, "with others unknown." Yet these
"others unknown" would fade from official memory as the so-called
"Justice" Department withdrew the John Doe 2 sketch and the
subsequent reward offer.
After his arrest, Timothy McVeigh told the London Sunday Times he
was "set up" for the bombing by the FBI because of his extreme
political views.[329]
Never since the frame-up of Lee Harvey Oswald has the media gone
out of its way to portray a suspect as dangerous and malignant. While
the mainstream press took their cues from the FBI, they contradicted
their own journalistic common sense. The government and their
mainstream media lap dogs have based their theories of Timothy
McVeigh upon the flimsiest of pretenses, while ignoring the more
obvious facts. The mainstream press, willing to take the Federal
Government's word as gospel, has succumbed, and perpetrated, the
119
most obvious propaganda. In so doing, they have violated every
principal of thorough and honest journalism, and have become nothing
but a willing tool of the corporate/intelligence establishment.
As Stephen Jones said, "Before this investigation is all over with, the
government will have Tim McVeigh standing next to Lee Harvey
Oswald."[330]
It was the older, quiet, bespectacled Nichols, some theorized, who was
the "brains" behind the bombing, guiding his young friend in the
sinister and deadly plot.
Nichols' ex-wife, Lana Padilla, doesn't agree. "I believe that Terry
bought his home, brought his family there… truly, truly… wanted to
have a family and just get on with his life. I just don't think this man
could have done this… I just don't think with any knowledge he could
have done this."[331]
Neighbors Bob and Sandy Papovich, long-time friends, wrote the press
that Terry Nichols is a "kind, gentle, generous man absolutely incapable
of violence." As Papovich told the author, "I've known Terry for over 15
years, and I've never heard this man utter the word "hell" or "damn".…
Terry doesn't want to hurt anybody.… And all these people want me to
believe that this man is capable of murdering hundreds of innocent
people. It ain't possible."[332]
120
Terry Nichols told Federal Public Defender Steve Gradert, "Heck, I've
got kids, too," in response to the bombing.[333] A peaceful person,
Nichols reportedly loved children, including his son Josh, whom he
maintained a close relationship with. One day, the astute thirteen-year-
old told his mother he had to call the FBI. He was frantic. "I've got to
tell them!"
"I've got to tell them that my dad wouldn't do that. He loves children.
He wouldn't do that to those children."[334]
Yet the press would paint Terry Nichols with the same broad brush that
they had used to paint Timothy McVeigh — focusing on the fact that
Nichols came from a broken home, had dropped out of college, worked
a series of odd jobs, and was anti-government. Like McVeigh, the
media, anti-militia activists, and scores of pseudo-experts would do
their best to cast Nichols in the same extremist mold — a man,
authorities claimed — capable of killing 169 innocent people
The third of four children, Terry Nichols grew up on a farm near Lapeer,
Michigan. His father, Robert — quiet and soft-spoken — labored hard
on the family's 160-acre farm. Like his son, he also worked a series of
odd jobs, doing construction, selling encyclopedias, and putting in
shifts at the Pontiac and Buick plants, in an effort to keep the family
afloat in a county where farming had become less and less prosperous.
While in Decker, Nichols met his first wife, Lana Padilla, and they
married in 1981. Two years later, they had a baby boy, Joshua. Shortly
thereafter, Padilla's sister Kelli married Terry's brother James, and the
four lived together at James's Decker, Michigan farmhouse.
121
Not satisfied with farm life, Nichols tried a number of different
occupations. He delved into penny stocks, went on to sell insurance
and real estate, managed a grain elevator, and worked occasionally as
a carpenter. Nothing held his interest.
"No matter what he tried to do, every time he tried to break away, he
ended up back on the farm trying to help his mother and James," said
Padilla.[337]
While Padilla devoted time to building her real estate career, Nichols
cooked, cleaned house, and cared for the kids. Yet he grew increasingly
restless and depressed.
"Terry got real down on life," said his father. "He didn't care what he
had done…. He lost his vitality."[338]
One afternoon Padilla brought home pamphlets from the local Army
recruiting office, and laid them out on the table. When she came back,
the pamphlets were gone. Like many men uncertain about their future,
Nichols decided to try a career in the military.
It was an unusual career move for a 32-year-old man with children. Yet
Nichols hoped he would be able to rise quickly through the ranks, and
Padilla thought the experience would strengthen Terry and save their
marriage.
On May 24, 1988, Nichols was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia for
basic training. "He said the government had made it impossible for him
to make a living as a farmer," recalled assistant platoon leader Glen
"Tex" Edwards. He hated the United States government. I thought it
strange that a 32-year-old man would be complaining about the
government, yet was now employed by the government. Nichols told
me he signed up to pull his 20 years and get a retirement pension."[340]
Because of his age and maturity, Nichols was quickly made platoon
leader. The obvious discrepancy in years earned him the nickname
"Old Man."
"The drill sergeant said that because Nichols was older than the rest of
us, he would hopefully be more mature and able to lead the younger
guys in the unit. He also had some college background and came into
the Army as a PFC," said Edwards.[341]
It was at Fort Benning that Nichols would meet Timothy McVeigh. The
two men had enlisted on the same day. According to an account in the
Post:
122
William "Dave" Dilly, who was McVeigh's roommate for about a year
in the service, said McVeigh and Nichols "hit it off from the start, like
Terry was his big brother. Tim was real frail and unsure of himself. Terry
was the oldest guy and real sure of himself."
But the two men found they had a lot in common. McVeigh too came
from a broken, blue-collar home and had an abiding interest in firearms
and far-right politics. Both men fancied themselves as survivalists, and
both loved to spend time on the rifle range. Both were looking for
lifetime careers in the service. They quickly became friends.[342]
Another one of their friends was Michael Fortier, who joined Nichols
and McVeigh at Fort Riley. The three would spend free time together,
going fishing, shooting, and sharing their political beliefs.
Yet while McVeigh would rise quickly through the ranks, Nichols' Army
career stalled. It seemed his platoon leadership status had been
rescinded due to a prank he and McVeigh had pulled.
Around the same time, Padilla filed for divorce, and made plans to
move her real estate business to Las Vegas. On May 15, 1989, after 11
months in the service, Nichols put in for a hardship discharge due to a
"family emergency" that was never publicly explained. Yet it apparently
had nothing to do with his divorce. He told Padilla it was to take care of
his son Josh. As Padilla later wrote, Nichols already had Josh with him at
Fort Riley, where the pair lived in a house off-base. As Padilla wrote in
her book, By Blood Betrayed:
I've always wondered just why he was released, less than a year after
enlisting, and have always been told it was because he had to take
care of Josh. But this theory never washed with me because he'd had
Josh with him all along. I really believe that Josh was just a convenient
excuse and that Terry had become disillusioned with the Army because
he believed he would never rise through the ranks.[343]
Glen "Tex" Edwards put a slightly different spin on the matter. Edwards
said that shortly before he left the Army, Nichols invited him to be part
of a "private army" he said he was creating. "He told me he would be
coming back to Fort Riley to start his own military organization,"
recalled Edwards. "He said he could get any kind of weapon and any
equipment he wanted."
Nichols also said he intended to recruit McVeigh, Fortier, and others. "I
can't remember the name of his organization, but he seemed pretty
serious about it," Edwards said, adding that he reported Nichols' offer
to the FBI shortly after the bombing.
It was a feeling that was shared by his brother James, who, as a farmer,
had suffered through the worst of the floods of the late '70s and early
'80s, and blamed the Federal Government for failing to provide
adequate disaster relief. Nichols, along with his Sanilac country
neighbors, witnessed dozens of farm foreclosures as a result. It was the
Federal Government's policies that led to the rise of such far-Right
groups as the American Agricultural Movement and the anti-tax Posse
Comitatus. As the Post writes:
Many residents around Decker said they share Terry and James's angry
politics, but are less vocal because they fear government retribution.
"Much of what the Nichols brothers believe is not that different or
radical from what lots of people around here think," said local truck
driver Jack Bean. "We feel our liberties and freedoms are being chipped
away at and we want all this authority off our backs. The difference
between the Nichols and others in this community is that they are just
not afraid to say what they think, to challenge what is wrong."[345]
In spite of their differences, Terry and James had a lot in common. Both
were fathers, had married sisters, and had suffered through difficult
divorces. Both shared an ideological distrust of the Federal
Government.
James studied the Constitution, Black's Law Dictionary and the Uniform
Commercial Codes. He read the works of Jefferson and Paine and was
particularly inspired by Jefferson's maxim, "The tree of liberty must be
refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
124
Perhaps not coincidentally, this passage was discovered in
McVeigh's car upon his arrest. It would later be read into evidence at
his trial.
Both Terry and James also held a view shared by many beleaguered
farmers: that the Federal Reserve was not empowered to coin money,
and that U.S. currency printed after 1930, when the nation went into
debt, was valueless. Following the advice of financial books that
warned of an imminent crash, the brothers put their money into
precious metals such as silver and gold.
Yet their activities took still more dramatic turns. In 1990 James tried to
renounce his citizenship, and plastered his car with anti-government
and Second Amendment bumper stickers.
Terry purchased a pick-up truck and decided not to register it, instead,
making his own tag and placing it on front. Both men renounced their
driver's licenses.
While he may have been right in principle, his activity was not
condoned by the local authorities. In 1992, Chase Manhattan Bank
went after Nichols for racking up $17,860 in unpaid credit card debts.
The largely out-of-work farmer had spent over $35,000, using Chase
and First Deposit National Bank cards, on farm equipment, personal
effects, and airline tickets.
He attempted to pay off the debts with his own "Certified Fractional
Reserve Check," a bogus check distributed widely among farmers by a
group called Family Farm Preservation. He signed the check, "Explicitly
reserving all my rights, Terry L. Nichols." He then sent the bank a letter
retroactively revoking his signature from the credit card contract.
"There are two sides to that man, maybe many more," said Dennis
Reid, a Sandusky, Mich., lawyer who has observed Nichols and his
brother, James, during court proceedings in Michigan. "Jim to me I
really expect is kind of a sissy. He was always shaking when he'd go
into the courtroom and spout off," attorney Dennis Reid said. "Terry
seemed to be more level-headed. He was still saying things that were
strange, but he was certainly more cold and more calculating."[347]
When FBI agents questioned Lana Padilla after Nichols' arrest, they
asked her a curious question: Did Nichols ever dye his hair? The
Bureau had been investigating a string of bank robberies throughout
the Midwest. One of the robbers had dyed his hair, and was Nichols
height and weight.
The group, known as the Midwest Bank Bandits, had robbed over a
quarter-of-a-million dollars from more than 22 banks between January,
1994 and December, 1995 in a spree that took them across six states,
including Kansas. The bandits were tied to a group of men who made
their temporary home at Elohim City, a far-Right religious compound in
Southeastern Oklahoma. McVeigh and his friend Michael Fortier were
known to have visited the compound. Some of the men were also seen
in Kansas with the bombing defendants. (See Chapter 4)
If the FBI's question came as a shock to Padilla, she would turn pale
when she opened her ex-husband's storage locker on December 15,
1994, and discovered wigs, masks, and pantyhose. The Mid-West Bank
Bandits had worn masks.
Could Nichols have been robbing banks? "Not the Terry I knew," said
Padilla. "I was just speculating, but everything that has come out about
that side of Terry was a total… maybe I just turned my face and never
noticed it, never wanted to notice it, but… I never thought of him… of
course I never would have thought of him sleeping with a gun under
him either."[349]
Yet considering Nichols' hatred of banks and his rallying cry against the
monetary system, it would not be too far-fetched a scenario. Such
speculation is bolstered by the fact that McVeigh sent his sister a letter
in December of '93 informing her that he was part of a group that had
126
been robbing banks. Although he himself didn't admit to taking part
in any of the robberies, he asked her to "launder" three $100 bills that
"they" had stolen.
By the Fall of '93, McVeigh was living at the farmhouse, helping with
the chores, and reportedly urging the Nichols brothers onto more
militant activities. The men practiced target shooting and setting off
small bombs on the property.
"You know how little boys like to play with things that blow up?"
recalled [neighbor Phil] Morawski. "That was what they were like. And
everything they mixed out there in the cornfields seemed to work."
…the three men formed their own cell of the "Patriots," a self-styled
paramilitary group that James Nichols had been affiliated with since
1992 when he began attending meetings in a nearby town. The trio
decided to recruit members and establish other cells around the area,
but determined that for security reasons no unit should grow larger
than eight members.[351]
If this account is accurate, it would tend to jive with what Nichols told
Army buddy Glen "Tex" Edwards about "recruiting" his own private
army. Perhaps one of Nichols' recruits was Craig O'Shea, who lived just
off Highway 77 in Herrington. A friend of Nichols who was kicked out of
the service, O'Shea used to work for Barbara Whittenberg, who owns
the Sante Fe Trail Diner in Herrington. Whittenberg described O'Shea as
a "demolitions expert," and said she saw him occasionally with Nichols.
"He's a very violent man," said Whittenberg, who said O'Shea had once
threatened to kill her and her husband.[352]
127
In March of '94, Nichols took a job at the Donahue ranch in Marion,
Kansas.
It was during this period that his ex-wife began picking up strange
signals from her former husband.
Earlier in the month, he had called her from Kansas. "He was very
upset," she said. "He was very emphatic. He talked about Waco and
that shooting at the White House (where a Colorado Springs man fired
a gun toward the White House). He said, 'You know, that guy wasn't all
wrong. There's going to be some civil unrest in this country.'"[354]
During one of his frequent visits to Padilla's house in Las Vegas, Nichols
displayed his Glock .45. "I never knew him to carry a gun," Padilla told
the Denver Post. "He liked guns and collected them, but this was new.
He acted like he was afraid for his life. He slept with it on."[355]
Traveling the gun show circuit with McVeigh, Nichols was now a virtual
nomad, living out of his pick-up. His few remaining possessions were
stored in a locker in Las Vegas. He also told Padilla that he was he was
switching the beneficiary of his life insurance policy from her to his
new wife, Marife.
The couple eventually moved to warm, sunny Las Vegas, but Marife
missed her Philippine home. To accommodate his new wife, Nichols
moved to Cebu City. But the noise, heat and smog was too much for
him, and in mid-1993, after barely a month in the Philippines, they
moved back to the States, shuttling back and forth between Michigan
and Nevada.
A month later, the couple moved to Las Vegas, where they rented a
condominium for $550 a month. It was during this period that Marife
began traveling to the Philippines to finish her physical therapy degree.
According to Padilla, Terry also traveled to the Philippines about four
times a year over a four year period. She wrote that he sometimes
traveled to Cebu City without taking Marife, whom he occasionally left
behind.
Padilla subsequently told me in July of 1996, "I have not known him to
leave her here and just go to the Philippines. If he made a trip by
himself, it was because she was already there."[357]
"I'm never going to see my dad again. I'm never going to see my dad
again."
"Of course you will," Padilla said reassuringly. "He's gone to the
Philippines a lot of times. You know he always comes back."
Nichols called his ex-wife from Los Angeles several hours later. "Had a
little excitement at the airport after you left," he said, laughing. He told
Padilla that airport security had stopped him for trying to sneak a pair
of stun guns through the metal detector. They called the cop on duty
who ran Nichols' name through the computer. Although he had several
outstanding traffic warrants, the police let him continue on his way.
Yet Padilla doesn't think the story is credible. "I think it's something
they dreamed up," she said. Yet upon his return he told Padilla that he
could get "killed down there" and he was never going back.[361]
Obviously, somebody was out to hurt Terry Nichols, possibly kill him.
When he departed for Cebu City, he left a mysterious package for his
ex-wife, saying, "If I'm not back in 60 days, open it and follow the
instructions." At first, Padilla did as she was told. But her instincts
eventually took over.
"I was uneasy about his warning, and Josh's, 'I'll never see my dad
again' kept echoing in my brain."[362]
Padilla had secured the package in her office safe. Now she slipped
quietly into the conference room, opened the lock, and laid the
mysterious brown paper bag on the table. It stared ominously back at
her. As she ripped it open, nearly a dozen keys slid out onto the table.
She didn't recognize any of them.
130
There was Terry's life insurance policy with a note saying he had
changed the beneficiary from her to Marife, and two handwritten lists
saying "Read and Do Immediately." One of the lists directed her to a
storage locker in Las Vegas:
All items in storage are for Joshua. The round items are his when he
turns 21, all else now.…
The note also instructed her to remove a small plastic bag taped
behind a utensil drawer in Nichols' kitchen:
All items in plastic bag are to be sent to Marife, for Nicole, if for any
reason my life insurance doesn't pay her. Otherwise, half goes to Josh
and half to Marife.
Tim:
Terry
Also Liquidate 40
At the bottom it read, "As far as I know, this letter would be for the
purpose of my death."
"Why would he write that letter?" asked Padilla. "He has been there so
many times. Never — ever, has he written a letter like that. Never —
ever."[363]
Two weeks later, on December 15, Padilla and her oldest son, Barry,
drove to Nichols' apartment. Following Nichols' instructions, Barry
reached behind the kitchen drawer and pulled out a plastic bag. It was
crammed full of twenties and hundreds — a total of $20,000 cash.
…there were wigs, masks, panty hose, freeze-dried food, and various
gold coins (obviously the "round" objects for Josh), along with gold bars
131
and silver bullion stacked neatly in boxes. There were also some
small green stones that appeared to be jade. I estimated at least
$60,000 street value in precious metals![364]
There was also a large ring with what appeared to be safe deposit box
keys.
Two months later, on January 16, Nichols returned from the Philippines,
alive and well. "Where's the package?" he asked Padilla.
The couple then argued over finances, but Nichols wouldn't explain the
mysterious letters, or where he had gotten the cash, the gold, and the
safe deposit box keys. She didn't ask about the wigs, the masks, and
the pantyhose, and he didn't tell her. But she was worried nonetheless.
"I think those letters were written because there is somebody bigger
than any of us will ever know involved in this," said Padilla. "Why did
he change his beneficiary on his life insurance? It wasn't because her
boyfriend might take a pot-shot at him… and then he said in that letter
not to say a word to Josh until it's all taken care of… what the hell is he
talking about? It isn't the boyfriend."[365]
Since Nichols didn't time-out these consecutive calls (as one would
tend to do if there was no answer or the line were busy), but made one
call right after the other, is it possible he was sending some sort of
signal or code?[368]
Helen Malaluan, who runs the boarding house, told me Nichols was
probably trying to reach Marife, who she said was staying there at the
time. Her brother Ernesto also said that boarders from the island of
Mindanao often stayed at the house. The Abu Sayyaf, coincidentally, is
headquartered in Mindanao. Was Nichols using Marife to send a
message to someone else?
"We all thought he was just a little bit different," Herrington real estate
agent Georgia Rucker said. "We had to pry any information out of
him."[369]
On September 30, the same day that Nichols quit the Donahue ranch,
someone using the name "Mike Havens" purchased 40 50-pound bags
of ammonium nitrate from the Mid-Kansas Co-op in McPhearson.
Although employees never positively identified Nichols as the
customer, a receipt with McVeigh's fingerprint was found in Nichols'
home. The FBI asserts that the fertilizer was kept in a storage shed in
133
nearby Herrington, rented by Nichols under the alias "Shawn
Rivers."[371]
Then, that same weekend, 299 dynamite sticks, 544 blasting caps,
detonator cord, and a quantity of an explosive called Tovex were stolen
from the Martin Marietta Aggregates rock quarry just north of Marion.
Marion County Sheriff Ed Davies testified at McVeigh's trial that he
found metal shavings and tumblers on the ground in front of the
magazines. FBI Agent James Cadigal, an FBI firearms and tool marks
identification specialist, said that a drill bit in Nichols' home matched
the signature of the hole drilled into the lock.
Finally, Lori Fortier, Michael Fortier's wife, testified that McVeigh told
them that he and Nichols had broken into the quarry.[372]
Jennifer McVeigh later testified that when her brother visited Lockport
in November of '94, he confided to her that he had been driving around
with 1,000 pounds of explosives. Could these "explosives" have been
the ammonium nitrate purchased at the Mid-Kansas Co-op?
For his part, McVeigh had a solid alibi. He was in Kent, Ohio on
November 5, at a gun show. Yet after the bombing, Fortier reportedly
told the FBI that McVeigh called him after the robbery and said,
"Nichols got Bob!" Some of the guns were later pawned by Fortier at
the behest of McVeigh, according to the FBI, which contends that the
proceeds were used to finance the bombing.
What makes this even more interesting is that Nichols had checked
into the Motel Memory the evening of February 10, after a long drive
from Kansas, telling owner Phillip Shaw he was there for the gun show.
Yet Nichols had missed the first day of the two-day show.
The next morning, while Nichols was apparently at the show, Shaw's
wife Betty opened his room and saw dozens of boxes of ammunition
scattered across the floor. The presence of such a large quantity of
ammunition puzzled local investigators, who knew there was too small
a profit margin in legally-purchased ammo for gun show dealers to
bother messing with it. Moreover, if Nichols had planned on selling the
ammunition, why had he left so much of it in his room?
Tragically, Mueller, his wife, and their 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, were
found murdered on June 28, 1996. Their bodies were by pulled from
the Illinois Bayou after a fisherman discovered a portion of a leg. The
family had been handcuffed, their heads covered with plastic bags
wrapped with duct tape. They were found in 20 feet of water, tied to a
heavy rock.
Unaccounted for was some $50,000 the Arkansas Gazette reported the
Muellers were believed to have received only days before they
disappeared.
While Timothy McVeigh had known Roger Moore, his friend Michael
Brescia, and his friend and roommate Andy Strassmeir had met Bill
Mueller at a Fort Smith, Arkansas gun show earlier that year. As
reported in the McCurtain Gazette:
Both Brescia and Strassmeir, who also knew McVeigh, lived at Elohim
City, the white separatist compound near Muldrow, Oklahoma. Two
other part-time residents of Elohim City, 24 year-old Chevie Kehoe and
his brother Cheyne, opened fired on police during a traffic stop in
February of '97. The pair was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Little
Rock on murder, racketeering and conspiracy charges, stemming from
the Mueller murder.
Michael Brescia was later arrested for his alleged role in the robbery of
a Madison, Wisconsin bank — part of the string of robberies committed
by the Mid-West Bank Bandits. As previously mentioned, some of the
robbers made their temporary homes at Elohim City.
After the bombing, the FBI questioned Padilla about the items found in
Nichols' home and storage lockers. Among those items were large
quantities of ammunition and a safe deposit box key belonging to
Roger Moore. As of this writing it is not known whether the FBI traced
the ammo to Mueller.
Not exactly the everyday stuff of an ordinary guy from a small town in
Kansas.
The men left before 7:00 a.m. Later that afternoon, as Whittenberg and
her son were driving to nearby Junction City, they saw the truck parked
at Geary State Fishing Lake — where authorities originally claimed the
bomb was mixed. The truck was still there when they drove past
around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. Whittenberg's son recalled seeing three men
along with what he described as a Thunderbird with Arizona tags.
Then, on the evening of April 17, 1995, a Ryder truck was seen parked
behind Nichols Herrington home. A Ryder truck was seen that same
week backed up to a storage shed that Nichols rented.
On the morning of the 18th, several witnesses again saw the Ryder
truck parked at Geary Lake. Parked next to appeared to be Nichols'
pick-up. When the FBI subsequently inspected the area, they allegedly
recovered bits of ammonium nitrate and strands of detonator cord, and
saw signs of diesel fuel.
That same day, or possibly the day before, a convoy pulled in for gas
at the Easy Mart in Newkirk, 100 miles north of Oklahoma City. It was a
Ryder truck accompanied by a blue pick-up with a camper top.
Manager Jerri-Lynn Backhous recalled seeing three men. The passenger
in the pick-up was dark skinned with black hair, average height, and
had a "real muscular build," she said. He was wearing a t-shirt and sun-
glasses, and "looked just like the John Doe 2 sketch."[377]
Backhous also saw a reflection of the person in the Ryder truck. He was
a short man with close cropped, dark hair and glasses, she said.
Employee Dorinda J. "Wendy" Hermes waited on the third man — Terry
Lynn Nichols — who came into the store and bought food for the
others. Hermes particularly recalled Nichols' pick-up. "It caught me
funny because it had street tires on it, but it was all muddy," she
said.[378]
But perhaps most interesting was the recollection of Nichols' son Josh,
who accompanied McVeigh and his father on the ride back to Kansas
that Sunday. McVeigh asserts that he called Nichols from Oklahoma
City because his car had broken down, and asked Nichols to pick him
up. On the way back, according to Josh, McVeigh made his infamously
cryptic remark: "Something big is going to happen."
Nichols reportedly asked him, What, are you going to rob a bank?"
It should be noted however that the FBI and the "Justice" Department
is infamous for framing people, and they brought enormous pressure
on the Fortiers, threatening them with knowledge of a terrorist plot,
weapons violations and other charges if they did not testify against
Nichols and McVeigh. Federal prosecutors subsequently coached Lori
Fortier heavily before McVeigh's trial, having her practice her testimony
in two mock trials.
Yet if Nichols had no involvement in the plot, what was he doing with
large quantities of ammonium nitrate, blasting caps, detonator cord,
and a collection of 55-gallon drums? Why the purchases of diesel fuel?
Were these items planted by the FBI?
But, then there were the mysterious trips to the Philippines. Those
trips, and Nichols' clandestine meetings with some mysterious players
in Las Vegas, would begin to intrigue a handful of journalists and
investigators, as the Oklahoma City bombing plot took them down an
even darker and more insidious road.
Millar's Rent-A-Nazi
The idea for bombing a federal facility is hardly new. In the mid-1970s
Oklahoma resident Harawese Moore was convicted of planting an
incendiary device outside both the Federal Courthouse and the Alfred P.
Murrah Building — a case, coincidentally, defended by Stephen Jones.
In 1983, members of the Covenant, Sword and the Arm of the Lord
(CSA), a white supremacist group based in northern Arkansas, planned
to truck-bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Building. In 1988, former CSA leader
James Ellison turned states' evidence and testified that CSA member
Richard Wayne Snell and others had participated in the plot. Snell was
bitter toward the government, Ellison claimed, because the IRS and FBI
had seized his property.
Ellison, who fancied himself "King James," was surrounded at his CSA
compound near the Missouri-Arkansas border on the prophetic date of
April 19 (ten years to the day of the Oklahoma City bombing), leading
to a four-day standoff against 200 heavily-armed agents. Ellison later
testified at his sedition trial that at Snell's request, he had cased
several buildings, including the Alfred P. Murrah Building.
Ellison would later deny this. Yet on October 22, 1996, the Canadian
Broadcasting Company (CBC) played a clip of Ellison, where the former
CSA leader admitted his involvement in the plot:
139
Ellison: ...Wayne Snell had been... had made a trip to Oklahoma
City, and Wayne came back and told me about different buildings that
he had seen, wanted to know if I would look at them with him
sometime. And Steve talked to me and gave me a description of these
buildings and asked me to design a rocket launcher that could be used
to destroy these buildings from a distance... heavy, large buildings.
In the CBC piece, former CSA member Kerry Noble states: "I still look at
things like this and realize how close we were, and, you know, that this
could have been me having done this." The reformed Noble, now a
critic of the militant extreme-Right, spoke openly about the plot with
CBC's Trish Wood:
Noble: It was one of the targets that we had talked about at [the] CSA
in '83. The day it happened, as soon as I heard it on the news, I said,
the Right-wing's done it — they finally took that step.
Noble explained that the Murrah Building was a target because it was a
low security complex that housed many different federal agencies. He
said the plotters thought it would have more effect on the country
"than if you did a building, say, in New York City or something."[381]
Noble: …I think that probably Millar knew that something major was
going to happen. Now, whether he knew the exact details, chances are
he probably did not, because he would not want to know specific
details at first. But I think he knew something major was going to
happen.
Ellison later settled at Elohim City at the behest of Millar, who claims to
disavow the bombing. "If I knew something like that was taking place
then or today," said the Christian Identity minister, "I'd do everything I
could do to prevent it and, if necessary, call in government agents to
help stop it."
Before his death, Snell had time to watch scenes from the bombing on
his jail-room TV. Millar, who was with the 64-year-old Snell during his
final hours, said he was appalled at the destruction. Yet according to
Arkansas prison official Alan Ables, "Snell chuckled and laughed as he
watched television coverage of the Oklahoma City disaster."
140
Both Millar and Snell's wife contend that the convicted murderer
was saddened by the bombing. Yet Noble thinks McVeigh was in some
way inspired by Snell.
Wood: Did you ever think that it was a coincidence that Tim McVeigh
— if, in fact, he did it — chose that building?
Noble: No, I don't think it's any coincidence. When you bring that into
account with the declaration of war that we made, the pressure that
the older leaders of the groups are putting on the younger followers to
do something in a major way before they die — no, it's no coincidence.
Wood: How would McVeigh have known about the earlier plans for the
Murrah Building?
Noble: It's very feasible and likely that he would have kept in
communication with certain people and said... you know, then if
somebody said, well, what would you recommend as a starting place —
it's very likely he could have said, well, this is what we had picked out.
Ables: A few days before the execution I began to hear things from the
director, the wardens, just talk in the office, that strange things were
going on, Snell was talking strangely, he was, you know, making
statements that were a little scary… catastrophic events, things were
going to happen. This date, April 19th, was going to be something that
the governor would regret perhaps.
Snell's parting words before leaving this Earth were, "Look over your
shoulder, Governor, justice is coming. I wouldn't trade places with you
or any of your cronies. Hell has victory. I am at peace."
Noble: I think a man with a plan, I think a man who is taking the
satisfaction that his death may mean something after all and that it
may be the catalyst that puts somebody over the line to do what he
himself didn't get the chance to do.[382]
A similar bomb plot surfaced a year after the Oklahoma City bombing,
when Richard Ray Lampley, 65, his wife Cecilia, and friend John Baird
were convicted of a plot to bomb the ADL office in Houston, the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in Montgomery, and various gay
bars and abortion clinics. Lampley made his intentions known at one of
Dennis Mahon's WAR meetings. A former Grand Imperial Dragon of the
KKK, and number three man in WAR, the Tulsan was a frequent visitor
to Lampley's place, and to Elohim City.
141
A self-proclaimed "Prophet of God," Lampley claims he was
entrapped by Richard Schrum, an FBI informant. Schrum was sent by
the Bureau to infiltrate the Oklahoma white separatist compound, but
when he found nothing illegal there, he infiltrated Lampley's group
instead.
According to defense attorneys, it was Schrum who ran the militia cell
to which Lampley belonged, and threatened to leave when it appeared
Lampley was wavering. "If anyone formed any kind of conspiracy, it
was Richard Schrum," defense lawyer Mark Green said. Defense
attorney Warren Gotcher backed up Green, stating "This conspiracy to
build a bomb is totally on the orders of Richard Schrum." Schrum told
Lampley that he had a brother in the Special Forces at Fort Bragg, NC,
who would provide logistic support when the "New World Order"
invasion came.[383]
Whatever the reality of that case, it provides a unique insight into the
characters and players of the white supremacist community of
Southeastern Oklahoma — a community that drew to it like a magnet
some of the key players of the Oklahoma City bombing conspiracy.
Led by the 71-year-old Millar, Elohim City (Hebrew for "City of God") is
a 1,100-acre Christian Identity compound near Muldrow, Oklahoma.
Founded in 1973 by the Canadian-born Mennonite, the community is
home to approximately 90 residents, about half of whom are direct
descendants of Millar.
Only whites are the "true sovereign citizens" of the Republic, and all
others are "Fourteenth Amendment citizens" — the creation of an
illegitimate "ZOG." Believers of this odd mix of theology not only
believe that the end times are near, but that a great messiah will arise
to lead these "holy warriors" in a terrible final battle against the evil
ZOG.
Richard Lee Guthrie, Jr., the son of a CIA employee, who was
discharged from the Navy for painting a swastika on the side of a ship
and threatening superiors, his childhood friend Peter K. Langan, and
Shawn Kenny, went on to form the nucleus of a group known as the
Midwest Bank Bandits. The group stole more than $250,000 from 22
banks between January of '94 and December of '95 in a spree that led
them across Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.
The four-member group would often wear FBI jackets agents to taunt
the Bureau, and create diversions to foil police, including leaving
behind inert pipe-bombs to slow pursuit. The bandits even had a
macabre sense of humor, wearing a Santa Claus suit during a hold-up
around Christmas, and an Easter basket with a gold painted pipe-bomb
left inside a bank in Des Moines.
"Wild Bill" Guthrie also admitted to a West Virginia sheriff that he had
helped Butler's Aryan Nations raise another quarter million dollars
through fraud. Both Guthrie and Langan were regular visitors to the
Hayden Lake compound.
143
The seeds for the mens' dalliance with the paramilitary extreme-
Right was sown in 1991, when Shawn Kenny, a friend of Langan and
Guthrie, began discussing their plans to further the "cause."
Secret Service Agent Dick Rathnell summed up the fiasco this way:
"Our main interest was to find if there was an interest to harm the
President or overthrow the government.... We didn't know they were
these bank robbers."[388]
Langan went south on the Secret Service six weeks later, and soon
located his old friend Guthrie. The two set themselves up in a
safehouse in Pittsburg, Kansas, from which they were alleged to have
launched their notorious crime spree.
Referring to McVeigh, she said, "I never even spoke to him. He was
considered a 'good soldier' by the members of the ARA, but not a
leader; he was just someone you sent out on jobs, because he was
reliable."[390]
McVeigh himself sent his sister Jennifer three $100 bills, telling her
they were the proceeds from a bank robbery. While there was no proof
that the pair had actually participated, authorities would ponder the
significance of the associations. As the Gazette writes:
Interestingly, what is not known is just where McVeigh was on the days
immediately before and immediately after 11 of the robberies.
For his part, Strassmeir claims he'd "never been in Kansas," then
admitted, "…well, once, driving through."[392]
145
Catina Lawson's roommate, Lindsay Johnson, dated Brescia, and
Lawson was close friends with McVeigh. Both she and Lawson recalled
seeing Strassmeir, Brescia, McVeigh and Fortier at the Kansas parties
around the Summer of '92. The young women allegedly referred to the
handsome young Brescia as "Mike Breezy."
Yet possibly the most revealing connection surfaced in the form of two
phone calls, one placed by McVeigh from the Imperial Motel in
Kingman, Arizona to Strassmeir on April 5, just two weeks before the
bombing. It was just minutes after McVeigh had allegedly called
Junction City to reserve the Ryder truck. According to Millar's daughter-
in-law Joan, who answered the phone, the caller asked to speak to
"Andy." Andy wasn't in. McVeigh left a message saying, "Tell Andy I'll be
coming through."
Then one day before the bombing, McVeigh called Strassmeir's U.S.
attorney, Kirk Lyons, looking for Andy. Not finding him there, he
engaged Lyon's assistant, Dave Holloway, in a 15-minute conversation
about Waco, Lyons claims, and the need to "send a message to the
government." It seemed McVeigh also needed to send a message to
Strassmeir.
For his part Strassmeir claims McVeigh never visited Elohim City. "I
don't know why McVeigh was trying to contact me," he said.
Catina Lawson, who was close friends with McVeigh for two years,
remembers seeing Strassmeir at the Junction City parties. "He was just
someone you'd see every once in a while," said Lawson, who, along
with friends, would meet and party with the soldiers from nearby Fort
Riley. "He was tall, skinny and pale, with crooked teeth and sunken
eyes surrounded by dark circles. And he had this accent.…"[399]
Larry Wild and his wife Kathy also recall seeing Strassmeir on one of
their fishing trips to Cameron Springs Lake, near Fort Riley. The Wilds
147
remember seeing Strassmeir with two other men with an old Ryder
truck one week before the bombing. Just who those two other men
were they couldn't say. Wild did recall speaking with Strassmeir
though. "I said, 'Your dialect is really different. Are you a soldier?' He
said, 'No.' I said, 'Do you work for the government?' He just kind of
laughed."
Yet still more witnesses recall seeing the two men together. At least
five dancers recall seeing McVeigh, Nichols, Brescia, and Strassmeir at
Lady Godiva's, a strip joint in Tulsa, which the men visited on April 8,
1995. In an interview with CBC's Trish Wood, the dancers, who wish to
remain anonymous, were "positive" of Strassmeir and McVeigh's
presence just eleven days before the bombing:
Unidentified: Yes.
Wood: And how do you remember? What makes you remember seeing
him in here that night?
Unidentified: From one of the girls. I just heard her say something
about a couple of guys, there were a couple of weird guys, she wanted
somebody to go sit with them.
Also present that night was an old, faded Ryder truck, seen by the
bouncer. The truck appeared to be privately-owned, adding further
proof that at least two trucks were used in the bombing. It was this
truck which was seen by witnesses at Geary State Park, several days
before authorities allege that McVeigh rented his. J.D. Cash speculates
that McVeigh flew to Fort Smith from his motel room in Kingman on
April 7 to pick up the truck and meet his comrades, then the men
stopped by Tulsa on their way back to Kansas.
If they stopped by Tulsa, maybe it was to check out the Indian Territory
Gun Show. It also might have been to meet Dennis Mahon. The WAR
official, National Socialist Alliance (NSA) leader, and former KKK
Imperial Grand Dragon traveled frequently to the reclusive compound
where he kept a trailer, "to visit and fellowship and do some target
shooting and military maneuvers," he said. Mahon was close friends
with Brescia and Strassmeir, both of whom he "loved like brothers."[401]
In what may seem like an even more bizarre twist, Mahon claims he
was funded by the Iraqis during the Gulf War. Like Order leader Robert
Mathews, who was reportedly offered funding by the Syrians, Mahon
received $100 a month, for a total of $4,800, from the Iraqis to stir up
148
opposition to the Bush/UN-imposed sanctions. Mahon, operator of
the Dial-a-Racist hot line, also produced several videotapes which he
distributed to public access stations, expressing his dissenting view on
the U.S. policy.[402]
Mahon started receiving Iraqi funds shortly after he began holding anti-
war rallies, he said. "…it's coming from the same zip code where the
Iraqi Embassy is, but they don't say it's from the Iraqi Embassy."[403]
Yet why would the Iraqis give money to an avowed white supremacist
like Mahon? "Hatred of the Jews," says Stienberg. "Some low-level
person at the embassy gives it out to these guys, and you'd be
surprised at who they give it to — they're not that bright."[404]
Yet it seemed the meeting between the farmers and the Iraqi
ambassador wasn't the only meeting that took place. Jones stated that
Terry Nichols, who he refers to only as "Suspect I," made calls to two
Kansas-based Posse Comitatus members — David Oliphant and Buddy
Snead. Like Nichols, Snead is married to a Filipino woman. It is not
known whether he met her through the same mail-order bride service
as Nichols.[406]
Unfortunately for Dennis Mahon, the Iraqis severed their ties with him
after the bombing. "…they cut me off, a month after the bombing —
bastards!"[407]
149
It is also likely that Mahon, who traveled to Germany to recruit
young skinheads for the KKK, may have met up with Michael Kühnen. A
prominent neo-Nazi, Kühnen formed the Anti-Zionist League, which
preached hatred of Jews, and sought to form a common bond between
Nazis and their Arab brethren. Kühnen also negotiated with the Iraqis,
providing them with 200 German, American and British skinheads to
fight alongside Iraqi troops. There is reportedly a videotape of these
storm troopers in S.S. uniforms being greeted by Iraqi Information
Minister Abdel Lateef Jassem.[408]
"Upon hearing that Louis Farrakhan had received $5 million from the
Libyan government, the leader of the El Rukns actively sought
sponsorship from Libya in exchange to an in-kind amount of money.
Members of the El Rukns actually traveled to Libya to meet with
military official of the Libyan government."[409]
It therefore comes as no surprise that Libya funded the NOI to the tune
of $5 million dollars. The motive behind Arab funding of Western racist
and dissident groups was — and is — to forment revolution and
destabilize the "Great Satan." Just as Libyan President Muammar al-
Qaddafi serves as the inspiration behind many militant Black Muslims,
so the IRA served as the spiritual inspiration behind the Aryan
Republican Army, the group founded by Richard Guthrie and Peter
Langan, which included Michael Brescia.
When the ARA was eventually disbanded, the FBI discovered an IRA
terrorist manual called the "Green Book," literature on Ireland, Gaelic
language tapes, Semtex explosives, a shoulder-fired rocket launcher,
and 11 pipe bombs.[412] Semtex is normally used by Mid-East terrorists,
usually being supplied by Russia, China and North Korea.
It seems the IRA may have returned the favor. According to Carol
Howe, the outlawed Irish resistance group supplied the detonator used
in the Oklahoma City bombing. The author is not quite sure why the
bombers would need to go to the IRA for a detonator, or exactly how
such a connection would be arranged, but it seems rather dubious.
Sinn Fein (the political arm of the IRA) President Gerry Adams called
the claim "preposterous rubbish."[413]
It may seem even more preposterous in light of the fact that Adams
had won the political favoritism of President Clinton, having been the
guest of honor at a recent White House reception.
Yet Howe alleged that Andreas Strassmeir was the key link between
the ARA and the IRA. Interestingly, the Dublin Sunday Times reported
on July 13, 1997 that Strassmeir has indeed associated with Sinn Fein:
151
Strassmeir moved to Dublin last February and is living in an
apartment in the city owned by George Maybury, general secretary of
the association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. He has been
working on construction sites and has attended Sinn Fein meetings and
social events.[414]
Furthermore, federal informant Cary Gagan, who met with Jones after
the bombing, told the author he met with an IRA bomb expert while in
Mexico City, who instructed him on the use of timers. Gagan claims to
have been deeply immersed in the Middle Eastern cell involved in the
bombing. (See Chapter 5)
When FOX News reporter Rita Cosby asked Robert Millar if there was
any Middle Eastern connection to Elohim City, he answered, "No, not
that I can even dream of." Strassmeir likewise denied any Middle
Eastern connection to the bombing in an interview with the author.[415]
As of this writing, former ABC 20/20 investigator Roger Charles was
checking a lead that Middle Eastern individuals were indeed trained at
Elohim City. It has not yet been confirmed.
Just what Andreas Strassmeir was doing in the U.S. is not altogether
clear. In a five-part interview in the Telegraph, Strassmeir said that he
came to the U.S. in 1989 to work on a "special assignment" for the
Justice Department. "I discussed the job when I was in Washington. I
was hoping to work for the operations section of the DEA," he
explained. "It never worked out."
Petruski also claims that Strassmeir's job with the DEA "fell through." Is
one seriously supposed to accept the premise that a man with
Strassmeir's background, influence, and connections came to the U.S.
on the off-chance of finding a job with the DEA? That he traveled all
this way to run around playing toy soldier for a couple days? And that
Petruski just "happened" to meet him at a battle reenactment at
Gettysburg?
With his cover-story firmly in place, Strassmeir then "drifted" into the
far-Right circles of the lunatic fringe, stopping long enough to pick an
ordinary job as a computer salesman to further enhance his image as
an innocent drifter.
"Andy the German" was now ready to infiltrate the neo-Nazi cliques of
the far-Right. With his German background and accent, it was easy to
convince white supremacists of his legitimacy. In 1991 he settled in
Elohim City, where he established himself as Chief of Security and
weapons training.
"Strassmeir went out and replaced all our deer rifles with assault
weapons," said [resident Zara] Patterson. "Next, he wanted us to start
doing illegal stuff… a lot of illegal stuff. I kept telling Andy that we were
defensive here, and we didn't want any problems from the law. During
the mid-'80s, we had a standoff with the feds. I told him to keep us out
of trouble."[421]
Law enforcement officials also received reports that the compound was
believed to be generating income through the sale of illegal drugs. A
source familiar with the community told me that Bruce Millar, Robert
Millar's son, was supposedly "strung out" on Methamphetimines. Speed
is a highly popular drug among the neo-Nazi crowd, and was in fact
invented by the Nazis during WWII to bolster the fighting ability of their
front-line troops.
What's odd is that the BOLO was for an INS violation, not exactly the
jurisdiction of the ATF. Moreover, according to a Tulsa police
intelligence source, the INS was told not to make any effort to focus on
visa violations due to manpower shortages.
The McCurtain Gazette, which uncovered the BOLO, thinks it was put
out by the ATF to provide cover for Strassmeir — an aid for his
extraction from Elohim City. The OHP subsequently typed up the BOLO,
which was eventually "leaked" to various sources, including the
residents of the rural community. According to Glenn Wilburn, the BOLO
was circulated with the stipulation that Strassmeir not be arrested.[424]
This is also interesting in light of the fact that the INS and ATF had
originally planned a joint raid on the compound — a plan which
suddenly came to a halt in late February of '95. As one INS memo
stated:
It seems the ATF and INS weren't the only ones interested in Elohim
City. As a report of Finley-Graham's dated February 28 states:
On 22 February 1995, this agent met with OHP Trooper Ken Stafford to
exchange certain information regarding this investigation. Trooper
Stafford indicated that the FBI also had an ongoing investigation
regarding Elohim City. On this same date, RAC David Roberts met with
the United States Attorney for the Northern Judicial District of
Oklahoma, Steve Lewis, to discuss this investigation.
One month before the bombing Howe got "fed up" with Elohim City and
the ATF's attitude towards the investigation. "Angie hadn't made any
arrests either," Howe told the Gazette, "and that was frustrating, so I
quit going out there... until after the building got blown up!"[428][429]
The question is, just who was Strassmeir reporting to? The CIA? The
Tulsa ATF office, which has jurisdiction over Elohim City, may not have
been informed if Strassmeir were reporting to a higher authority, a
different agency, or was a confidential informant (CI) on a national
level.
On February 28, 1992 Strassmeir was arrested and his car impounded
by the OHP for driving without a license. When the police opened his
briefcase, they found a number of documents, including some in
German. There were statements from foreign bank accounts, false
identity papers, and a copy of The Terrorist Handbook.
As one law enforcement officer told the McCurtain Gazette, "We found
the axle from the truck that led to Junction City and McVeigh. Our
Highway Patrolman arrested McVeigh. And that arrest led to Terry
Nichols and Mike Fortier… Since then, nothing in this investigation has
accomplished anything. But we're told by the Bureau that Strassmeir
and his buddies are not important. Bull-shit!"[435]
The cable states that Strassmeir overstayed his visa in 1991 and was
known to have been the militia training officer for a white separatist
group called WAR.
Quoting the cable, "He (Strassmeir) has been the subject of several
investigations for purchasing weapons, and making the weapons fire
on full automatic. Strassmeir should not be allowed to return to the
U.S."
Yet this cable makes it appear as though the FBI didn't know anything
about Strassmeir — who was apparently under the protection of the
State Department. Was this another cover ploy to protect their
informant, or was Strassmeir working for the CIA, who wasn't
communicating with the FBI and ATF?
Interestingly, the FBI would claim they weren't aware of Carol Howe's
status as an informant either. During her July, 1997 trial (the result of
trumped up charges by so-called the Justice Department), FBI agent
Pete Rickel told the jury that he spoke to Howe in the Spring of 1996,
when she requested protection, complaining that her cover had been
blown. "We were interested to see if there might be any further
information we could gather about activities involving people at Elohim
City who may have been connected with the bombing," said Rickel. Yet
the agent insisted he had no idea of who Howe really was when the FBI
raided her home in December of '96.[436]
After explaining his role in the raid on the Howe residence, Peters was
asked by defense attorney Clark Brewster during cross-examination
who he was married to.
158
"Angela [Finley] Graham," Peters replied. [437]
For his part, Strassmeir claims he was at work repairing a fence near
Elohim City on April 19. Yet Strassmeir hasn't exactly held tight to his
story. According to Glenn Wilburn, who has intensively investigated the
connection, Strassmeir claimed he stopped working when it started to
rain, then went home and watched the bombing on TV. When Wilburn
checked the weather reports for the area that day, he found that it
hadn't begun to rain until much later. Strassmeir then claimed the
farmer he was working for was George Eaton, a friend of the murdered
Mueller family. Later, according to Wilburn, Strassmeir stated that he
couldn't recall exactly what he was doing until he talked to his
attorney, Kirk Lyons.
Lyons claims his client had been dragged into the conspiracy by
McVeigh's defense team — a ploy, he said, to muddy the waters by
painting a vast conspiracy involving neo-Nazis in Europe and terrorists
in the Mideast. "I call it the Space Alien Elvis Presley theory, and it's
been fueled by nut cases and conspiracy theorists."
Lyons was also the guest of honor at the British Nationalist Party in
London, where he applauded the Party's stance on white power, and
159
like William Pierce, predicted a future race war. The erudite, ever-
socially conscious attorney was also quick to defend Louis Beam, the
Texas Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Beam fled to Mexico after
being indicted for conspiracy to overthrow the government. As
discussed, Beam was charged with harassing Vietnamese fishermen
along the coast of Texas.[441]
One thing that can be deduced from all this is that Strassmeir and
Lyons aren't very good liars.
For his part, Strassmeir claims he's not a government agent. In his
Telegraph interview, he states, "I've never worked for any U.S.
government agency, and I've not been involved in any intelligence
operation since my discharge from the German army in 1988. This
family (the Wilburns) is on a fishing expedition."
Yet in the very same article, Strassmeir admits that the bombing was
the result of a government sting gone bad — a sting involving agents
of the ATF. Considering the revealing nature of Strassmeir's
information, the article, entitled "Did Agents Bungle U.S. Terror Bomb?"
might just as well have been called "Thank You Andy." As Strassmeir
states:
"The ATF had an informant inside this operation. They had advance
warning and they bungled it," he said. "What they should have done is
make an arrest while the bomb was still being made instead of waiting
till the last moment for a publicity stunt."
Lauck wasn't the only one beckoning young Germans to join the white
supremacist movement. Research conducted by McVeigh's defense
team indicates that Dennis Mahon traveled to Germany to recruit
individuals into the Ku Klux Klan. A video reportedly shows Mahon in
Germany in full KKK regalia, lighting a cross. Mahon himself joked that
161
if he was fined the usual 1,000 Deutsche Marks for every time he
gave the Nazi salute, he would owe 10,000,000 Marks.[446]
Only a few weeks before the Oklahoma City bombing, Mahon received
a phone call from Lauck. "Yeah, I got a call from Lauck sometime
before the bombing... He told me that he was making another trip to
Europe. I told him he was too hot, and he shouldn't go." Shaking his
head, Mahon says now, "He should have listened."
Did the authorities know Lauck was coming? "Well, I did tell Strassmeir
about the trip," said Mahon. (Or did Mahon tell the government
himself?)
With Lauck's European arrest, the NSDAP noted, "U.S. officials have
been doing extensive surveillance of Lauck's contemporaries in
Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and north Texas. These surveillance
activities were being coordinated out of the OKC offices, according to
our sources."
Interestingly, the newsletter added that "the OKC office of the ATF had
plans to serve search warrants 'by the beginning of Summer' on
several well-known white supremacists."
Investigator Jeff Steinberg takes this one step further, believing that
Mahon himself may be an ATF operative. He says the ATF had him on a
charge then dropped it. "He may have been turned," said Stienberg.
"I kinda had a relationship with him for a while. We talked about
relationships once, and he said he wasn't interested in settling down
162
with a woman. All he wanted to do was blow up federal buildings. It
was also at that same meeting that he shoved his hand down my dress
and I thought, well, he was doing something else, but now that I think
about it, I think he was feeling for a wire."
Howe also said she overheard Mahon and Strassmeir discuss plans to
bomb the Oklahoma City Federal Building. As Howe related it:
"I started going to as many of their meetings as I could and met a lot of
people who were very secretive. But sometime in November there was
a meeting and Strassmeir and Mahon said it was time to quit talking
and go to war, and time to start bombing federal buildings."
On August 24, 1994 this agent met with CI-183 in the Tulsa ATF Field
Office and discussed in great detail the federal firearms and conspiracy
violations of the White Aryan Resistance, "W.A.R."…
It was after Mahon and Howe had a romantic falling-out that the 24-
year-old Howe switched from being an avowed white supremacist to a
ATF informant. A temporary protective order was issued against Mahon
by a Tulsa court in August of '94 after Howe alleged that Mahon
threatened to "take steps to neutralize me," by breaking her knees if
she tried to leave the white supremacist movement.[451]
"I was contacted by Dennis Mahon after I ordered some literature from
this group called White Aryan Resistance," Howe told the McCurtain
Gazette. "He wanted to have a closer relationship than I did, and later
he threatened me when I tried to get away from his group.[452]
"These people have the means and the desire to start a terrible war in
America," wrote Howe in a letter to her father in August of 1994. "They
must be stopped, one group at a time."[457]
Howe also told the agents that Strassmeir and Mahon cased the Tulsa
IRS building and the Oklahoma City Federal Building in November and
December of 1994, and once during February of '95. Interestingly,
Mahon told reporters that as a "revolutionary," he would indeed blow
up the Federal Building, but do it at night, when no one was around.
Shockingly, most of this information was provided to the ATF before the
bombing.[462]
165
J.D. Cash, reporting for the McCurtain Gazette, claimed to have
received information from an intermediary that a source at the
headquarters of the Aryan Nations in Hayden Lake, Idaho, said that
Mahon was "one of the ring leaders in the group that bombed the
Federal Building." Cash, who interviewed Mahon on numerous
occasions by posing as a white supremacist, wrote the following in the
Gazette:
And he (Mahon) indicated that the results of the bombing were not as
he anticipated. He felt like this would cause a coming together of
radicals around the country who would begin a campaign of terrorism.
In retrospect, he feels like the IRS building should have been bombed
instead of the Murrah Building and probably should have been bombed
at night. The day care center and the killing of the children was having
a negative effect.
For his part, Mahon claims he has an alibi for the morning of April 19.
Yet Bricktown witness David Snider is sure the driver of the Ryder truck
which slowly made its way past his warehouse that morning was
Dennis Mahon. Although the driver had long hair and was wearing
sunglasses, Snider is adamant. He showed the Oklahoma County
Grand Jury a video showing Mahon wearing the same sunglasses he
was wearing on the morning of the blast.[463] (See drawing)
Mahon, who said he believes there were others involved with McVeigh,
told the Daily Oklahoman, "I have never been in downtown [Oklahoma
City]. I am squeaky clean."[464]
Howe, who was debriefed by the ATF and FBI after the bombing, told
agents Blanchard and Finley-Graham that the sketches of the suspects
who rented the Ryder truck appeared to be Elohim City residents [and
Mahon and Strassmeir associates] Peter or Sonny Ward. She also
166
reportedly told the agents, "…no one in the world looks more like
the sketch of John Doe 2 than Michael Brescia." Howe's report to Finley-
Graham stated, in part:
NBC, putting the official Justice Department spin on the story, claimed
Howe's reports contained no specific information regarding the plot. Yet
according to the Gazette, "Howe was routinely polygraphed by the
government during the time she was making her monthly reports. The
government's own documents indicate she passed, 'showing no
deception on her part in any polygraph examination.'"[467] As Finley-
Graham testified during Howe's pre-trial hearing:
Graham: "Yes."
Graham: "Yes."
Graham: "I was interested in anything I could find out about any
violation."
Brewster: "And Ms. Howe told you about Mr. Strassmeir's threats to
blow up federal buildings, didn't she?"
Graham: "Yes."
167
At the time of this writing, federal authorities were still insisting that
Howe's reports contained no specific warnings of any plot to bomb any
federal building. They also claimed that they were only alerted two
days after the bombing, when they debriefed their informant.[468]
Yet seems Howe's reports were specific enough to warn the ATF not to
be in the office the day of the bombing. No ATF employees were
among the 169 killed.
Unfortunately for the ATF, the records which show that Howe remained
an active informant until January 9, 1996, hadn't disappeared. As
Finley-Graham's ROI of January 31, 1996 states:
This informant is involved with the OKC bomb case which is pending
prosecution in Denver and was the key in identifying individuals at
Elohim City, which is tied to the OKC bomb case.[469]
[This agent has] known CI 53270-183 for approximately two years and
can assert that this informant has not been overly paranoid or fearful
during undercover operations.
As 24-year ATF veteran Robert Sanders told The New American, "Howe
was 'a very good informant. She is obviously intelligent, resourceful,
cool and convincing under pressure,' and has a good sense for 'the
168
kind of detailed information that is most helpful' to law enforcement
and prosecutors."[470]
Yet the feds would make every attempt to distance themselves from
their own informant in the aftermath of the bombing. Not surprisingly,
this was the same ruse the FBI used in the aftermath of the World
Trade Center bombing — pulling undercover operative Emad Salem off
the case two weeks before the tragic attack (which he had also warned
them about) then claiming that he was "unreliable."
Yet the FBI reactivated Salem after the bombing, just as they did with
Howe, sending her back to Elohim City to gather additional information
on Mahon, Strassmeir, and the others. Her new contract raised her pay
from $25.00 per day to $400.00.
Curiously, neither the ATF nor the FBI offered Howe any protection. FBI
agent Pete Rickel admitted during subsequent court testimony that
Howe had come to him in May of '96 seeking protection, but he had
offered none. In fact, Rickel said he didn't even make a note of their
conversation.
Not only did the FBI fail to protect what the ATF called their "key"
witness linking Elohim City to the bombing, but the FBI went one step
further, leaking a confidential report to the press. As Finley-Graham
wrote in her April 1, 1996 report:
On March 29, 1996 this agent received a telephone call from S/A Harry
Eberhardt. S/A Eberhardt stated that the identity of CI 53270-183 had
been severely compromised. S/A Eberhardt stated that a report by FBI
agent James R. Blanchard II contained the formal name of CI 53270-
183 and enough information to reveal the identity of CI 53270-183
without his/her name being used. S/A Eberhardt stated that he had
attempted to relay this matter to FBI ASAC Jack McCoy, however ASAC
McCoy showed little concern and denied that S/A Blanchard was at
fault. S/A Eberhardt stated that he became irate because it was
apparent that nothing was going to be done in an effort to rectify the
problem or at least provide help for the safety of CI 53270-183.
When public criticism and liaze a' faire attempts to make Howe
"disappear" failed, the government resorted to silencing her on phony,
trumped up charges.
Attorney Stephen Jones believes that Howe was indicted "for the
purposes of 'leverage' against her in order to keep her mouth shut
about what she knows about the activities of Mahon and Strassmeir,"
and her employer, the ATF.[472] As the reader will soon discover, this is
not be the time the Federal Government would seek to silence and
discredit one of its own informants.
Strassmeir, along with friends Peter and Sonny Ward, fled Elohim City
in August of '95, after McVeigh defense team investigators began
looking into activities at the secretive compound.
Brescia left Elohim City around the same time as Strassmeir, with his
fiancé Ester, traveling to Canada, and remaining mostly underground.
He subsequently returned to his parents' house in Philadelphia, where
he was actively sought by the media.
Shawn Kenny gave the FBI the tip that led to the arrest of Guthrie, who
was apprehended after a high-speed chase outside of Cincinnati in
January of 1997. He was found dead in his cell in Covington, Kentucky
six months later, on July 12, hanged with a bed sheet. Authorities
quickly ruled his death a suicide. According to a note found at the
scene, Guthrie was apparently feeling guilty over his turncoat attitude,
and didn't want to endanger his family.
The video was completed in January, 1995, four months before the
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building. Langan, for his part, says he
had nothing to do with the bombing. "Most of my family, my siblings
work in federal buildings," he told the Washington Post.[479]
Then there is the CSA's 1983 plot to blow up the Oklahoma City
Federal Building, and Snell's strangely fortuitous statements about
April 19, 1995.
Teflon Terrorists
In the wake of the bombing, the media was abuzz with reports of a
Middle-Eastern connection. Reporters were reporting claims of Muslim
extremists, and talking heads were talking about a familiar modus
operandi. Then on April 21, less than 48 hours after the bombing, the
173
FBI announced that they had snared their elusive quarry, an angry
white guy named Timothy James McVeigh. The following day, the
Bureau announced that they had captured angry white guy number
two: Terry Lynn Nichols.
Speaking on CNN, ATF director John Magaw said: "I think any time you
have this kind of damage, this kind of explosion, you have to look there
(Middle East terrorists) first."
CBS News stated that the FBI had received claims of responsibility from
at least eight different organizations. Seven of the claimants were
thought to have Middle Eastern connections:
James Fox, former head of the New York FBI office, told CBS News, "We
thought that we would hear from the religious zealots in the future,
that they would be a thorn in our side for years to come."
On July 2nd, shortly after Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman's surrender to U.S.
Immigration authorities, the Egyptian Jama a' Islamiya (the group
implicated in the World Trade Center bombing) issued a statement
saying that if the Sheik was prosecuted or extradited to Egypt, they
would begin a world-wide terror campaign against the United States.
The same day, the London Sunday Times carried a report that
suggested President Saddam Hussein of Iraq may have been involved
in both the World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City bombings:
Iraq was furious with America last week at its United Nations move to
foil efforts to overturn Gulf war economic sanctions… Ramzi Ahmed
Yousef, the recently-captured alleged mastermind of the 1993 attack
on the World Trade Center in New York, was directly funded by
Baghdad, according to CIA and FBI documents — and evidence so far
developed about the latest bomb indicates some similarities in the
planning.[487]
If those in Baghdad were angry over the brutal and relentless attack on
their country by U.S. forces during the Gulf War, they had additional
reason for anger when President Clinton launched a retaliatory raid
against Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. The June 26 Cruise
175
Missile strike was directed against the complex after an alleged plot
was uncovered to assassinate former president, crook, and mass
murderer George Bush during his recent visit to Kuwait.[488] The raid
merely destroyed some of the complex, and leveled about a dozen
surrounding homes, killing approximately six civilians. Syndicated
columnist Charlie Reese called it "high-tech terrorism."
The Net News Service reported the next day that the government-
backed Al-Thawra newspaper charged that Clinton had carried out the
attack only to bolster his "eroded popularity and credibility...
domestically." Both Al-Thawra and General Saber Abdul-Aziz Douri,
head of the Iraqi intelligence service, indicated that the Iraqi
government had vowed vengeance against the United States.
The Post's Jack Anderson added that a direct attack against the U.S.
would be unlikely, and that counter-terrorist analysts feared that the
only viable avenue for Hussein's revenge would be through the use of
terrorism. "A preferable revenge for Iraq would involve having a
'surrogate terrorist' carry out a domestic attack that Hussein could
privately take credit for…
Mylroie notes that there may be other Iraqi intelligence agents at large
in this country, known as "sleepers," waiting to carry out far more
deadly acts of revenge against the U.S. One such cell, planted by the
Abu Nidal organization, was discovered in 1986. Four of their
Palestinian members were arrested eight years later after one of them
murdered the daughter of an FBI agent.[492]
"Among the terrorists who are taking or would take orders from
Saddam," added the Post, "are Abu Ibrahim, a pioneer bomb maker
who designed the barometric pressure bomb that blew up Pan Am
Flight 103, and Ahmed Jibril, who masterminded the Pan Am bombing
on a contract from Iran."[493]
The most notorious U.S. terrorist cell was in Jersey City, led by Sheik
Omar Abdel-Rahman, the group responsible for plotting the destruction
of the UN building and the Holland Tunnel. Three of Rahman's followers
were convicted for bombing the World Trade Center. One of their
leaders, El-Sayyid Nosair, spelled out his plans to terrorize the United
States: "We have to thoroughly demoralize the enemies of God…. by
means of destroying and blowing up the towers that constitute the
pillars of their civilization such as the tourist attractions they are so
proud of and the high buildings they are so proud of."[496]
"If the Americans are placing their forces in the Persian Gulf, we should
be creating another war front for the Americans in the Muslim world —
and specifically where American interests are concentrated. In Egypt,
in Turkey, in the Indian subcontinent, just to mention a few. Strike
against American interests there."
Their members may also come from a broader philosophic milieu, and
unlike the PLO, have a wider range of targets, including not only Israel,
but secular regimes in Muslim countries and those states that support
them.
Notes Middle East analyst James Phillips: "Because they are motivated
by apocalyptic zeal, and not sober political calculations, their choice of
possible targets is much wider and more indiscriminate than that of
other terrorists."[498]
The goal of this new breed of terrorist was not aimed at influencing
U.S. or world opinion over the Palestinian issue, but to prove the
strength of the Muslim fundamentalist cause. As former Dallas Special
Agent in Charge Oliver "Buck" Revell said:
"...If you listen to what [the Islamic extremist terrorists] are really
saying, they're not just aimed at the Israelis, they are not just aimed at
the Jewish state. Their goals are completely and totally to eradicate
any opposition to Hamas and to Islam and to move against the United
States ultimately."[499]
Yesterday, it was made known that over the last few days, U.S. law
enforcement agencies had received intelligence information originating
in the Middle East, warning of a large terrorist attack on U.S. soil. No
alert was sounded as a result of this information.[501]
179
Northrop also said that the German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND,
the equivalent of the American CIA), also sent a warning to the U.S.
State Department. That was followed by a warning from the Saudis. "A
Saudi Major General… informed former CIA Counterterrorism Chief
Vince Cannistraro, who in turn informed the FBI. There is a 302 (FBI
report) in existence."[502]
After the bombing, Cary Gagan stepped forward to tell Jones that he
had been present at a meeting of bombing conspirators including
Middle-Easterners, Caucasians, and Hispanics which took place in
Henderson, Nevada.[505]
In June of 1986, the Soviets again asked Gagan's help — this time, to
assist illegal Iranian immigrants needing false IDs. The small-time
hustler and counterfeiter met his contact, a man named "Hamid" who
worked at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, and secretly
recorded the conversation. He turned the tapes over to FBI Agent Bill
180
Maten, and Kenny Vasquez of the Denver Police Intelligence
Bureau.[507]
"They tried to first play themselves off as Colombians, " said Gagan
"but I knew they were Iranians… or Middle-Easterners. They were
multi-lingual, with big-time funding.
It was at this meeting that the drug dealer learned he was to transport
kilos of cocaine from Mexico to Denver. He informed DEA Agent Robert
Todd Gregory. "I told Gregory this dude looked like a banker to me.
They had heavy cash. They took care of me. They had all kinds of
connections."
On May 16, 1994, Gagan met his new contacts at the Western Motel in
Las Vegas, where his brother worked as a pit-boss. There were eight
men at the meeting, five of whom were Middle Eastern, including Omar
and Ahmed. "Two of them didn't say a word," recalled Gagan, "but they
looked like Colombians to me — you know, Latin."
Gagan: "I met with some Arabs, and in that group, and I did not know
it at the time, but in that group was Nichols."
Jones: "Terry?"
Gagan first recalled seeing Nichols in the parking lot of a bingo parlor
the men had stopped at. "He was wearing a plaid, short sleeve shirt
and dockers.… I remember going, 'That's kind of a dirty lookin' dude.'
That's all I said. I thought, you know, he didn't fit in the picture here.
He looked like a scientist."[509]
The men snorted cocaine at the Western Motel and discussed their
plans, then drove to an apartment complex in Henderson called the
Player's Club. It is not known whom they met with. As far as Gagan
knew, they were all there to discuss drug dealing. It wasn't exactly
clear what the Colombians were doing with the Arabs.[510]*
Gagan would soon find out though. Omar and Ahmed, who had been
paying Gagan with counterfeit money (mostly counterfeit Iranian $100
181
bills), wanted him to take part in a plot to blow up a federal building
in Denver, using a mail truck packed with explosives.
"Omar came out with me, showed me where the truck was, and said,
'Just get in it and drive down I-70, and here's where you park it. And as
soon as you make the delivery, make this call….' And I gave the FBI the
pay phone number saying it was there. And I stayed in there and had a
drink — in the bar, and came walking out, and the sucker was gone."
Gagan says he talked to the FBI duty agent from a pay phone at 9th
and Logan for over 35 minutes. "I said 'Hey, I need you to tell what to
do here.' And they never called back."
Gagan boarded a bus and went home. He said the agents never
showed up.
"Can you imagine if I'm driving this truck and it blows up in the city of
Denver?" said an incredulous Gagan.
Also in the back of the truck was a Lely farm mixer. Gagan recalls that
it was approximately four feet high, two feet across, and "shaped like a
diamond."
Gagan asked Colombo to hold the bag for him. He then called the
Denver Police Intelligence Bureau and met them at a Burger King in
Aurora. Gagan sat in the unmarked car, as his friend Billy, a cab driver,
watched from nearby.
"I said, 'Look, there's some C-4…' I'm feeling them out… I give them
some names, you know, what the deal was in Las Vegas. I tell them I'm
in contact with the DEA — Robert Gregory and all that. They don't say
anything. This is June, mid-June of '94. They say they'll get back to
me."
Three weeks later, after contacting the FBI, the police called Gagan
back. "They tell me quote, 'Since you're the source of the information
Gagan, we're not going to investigate.'"
Gagan then called Gregory at the DEA. Gregory told Gagan, "Hey, we
can't take you on.'"
The informant claims he continually challenged the police and the FBI
to charge him if his information was false. "If all this was a big lie, they
could have charged me with lying, but they didn't."
While the FBI and the Denver Police were debating the merits of
Gagan's credibility, Omar picked up the bag from Colombo and left.
Gagan accepted the money, which he believes was paid out of the Cali
Cartel. "The FBI knew it," said Gagan. "They never got back to me."
The parallel may be more than speculative. Shortly after the bombing,
on May 8, Tulsa police veteran Craig Roberts received information from
a law enforcement source in Texas that "Juan Garcia Abrego was
involved in the bombing as a 'cash provider' for the event. The source
said that Abrego had sent two Mexican nationals to Oklahoma City with
a satchel full of cash to finance the bombing."
This information was forwarded to both the FBI and the DEA who were
asked for each to check their files and/or computers, using various
spellings, to see if they had heard of such an individual. Neither replied
back that they had knowledge and no further action was taken.…[513]
Was the FBI's attempt to repudiate the Middle Eastern connection tied
to their refusal to look at the Abrego lead?
As Levine said: "The minute you start taking about terrorist actions,
and you eliminate drug trafficking, well, then… you're just not
184
credible… It's just very unrealistic to look at a situation — any
terrorist situation — and not look at a drug trafficking angle anymore.
In my opinion, and I think there's plenty of substantiation eventhough
the government won't talk about it, you can say, this vast ocean of
money traveling around the world — illegal untapped money — pays
for an enormous amount of terrorist activity."
If the Cali Cartel and Gagan's Arabs were connected, and in turn tied to
a tentacle of the Iran-Contra Octopus through Abrego, it's only natural
that the FBI — which played its own role in covering up Iran-Contra —
would tend to look the other way.
The informant was told to stay with the group and report back to the
Bureau. On March 17, Gagan met with his Arab friends at the Hilton Inn
South in Greenwood Village, Colorado. On the table were the
construction plans for the Alfred P. Murrah Building, bearing the name
J.W. Bateson Company of Dallas, Texas.
Still, Gagan alleges that federal agents didn't follow up on any of his
leads.
"I knew, when they did not contact me after the truck… when I was
moving explosives, I knew something was up. I knew. I figured from
that point on, without a doubt, they had a government agent in this
ring. Because they cannot let me do that type of stuff.
"And then, after the March 17th meeting, I waited for them to contact
me, because I just had a feeling that the dude that had come up [from
Oklahoma City] — the new guy on the scene there — was an agent.
The way he acted and talked… I just felt different than I did around the
other dudes.… That's just my personal feeling."[517]
Did the feds ignore Gagan's warnings because they had their own
agent in the bombing cell and wanted to obtain more information to
"sting" the bombers later on? Gagan believes this is a possibility. Yet
while Gagan had the option of pulling out, he realized it would be too
risky to suddenly disappear from the scene. Omar and Ahmed were
watching him.
On the way home, Gagan recalled Omar saying, "we're taking down a
building in two weeks."[518]
On March 27 and 28, Gagan made over five calls to the U.S. Marshals
Office. None were ever returned. Agent Mark Holtslaw of the FBI's
Domestic Counter terrorism Squad, told me, "I can assure you that any
info was thoroughly checked out.… There are things that go on in the
background that the individual is not aware of." But, Holtslaw added,
"there is no statutory obligation to get back to an individual regarding
our investigation and its status."[519]
Gagan was getting nowhere with the Marshals, the U.S. Attorneys, and
the FBI. It was now less than two weeks before the bombing. On April
6, Gagan drafted a letter and delivered it to Tina Rowe, head of the
U.S. Marshals Office in Denver. While Gagan waited outside, his cab
driver friend dropped it off. The letter read:
After leaving Denver for what I thought would be for a long time, I
returned here last night because I have specific information that within
two weeks a federal building(s) is to be bombed in this area or nearby.
The previous requests I made for you to contact me, 25th & 28th of
March 1995 were ignored by you, Mr. Allison and my friends at the FBI.
I would not ignore the specific request for you personally to contact me
immediately regarding a plot to blow-up a federal bldg. If the
information is false request Mr. Allison to charge me accordingly. If you
and/or your office does not contact me as I so request herein, I will
never again contact any law enforcement agency, federal or state,
regarding those matters set out in the letter of immunity.[520]
Cary Gagan.
Yet Gagan's friend gave New American editor Bill Jasper a signed
affidavit showing that he personally delivered the warning to the U.S.
Marshals.[521]
The feds' opinions may have stemmed from a 1983 incident where the
informant was blacklisted by the DEA due to allegations he provided
false information to the benefit of several drug dealers. Yet Gagan
claims he redeemed himself by obtaining sensitive DEA-6 files that had
been stolen from their office. Gagan said the DEA noted the
informant's assistance on his record.[526]*
187
Then in 1986, while Gagan was in jail for insurance fraud, he was
visited by Kenny Vasquez, Bill Maten, and two FBI agents: Phillip Mann
and Stanley Miller. They offered to get him early release if he would
work again as an informant. Gagan declined. "They wanted to take me
out of jail, and bring me back at night," said Gagan. "I Didn't want any
part of it."
2. The United States agrees that any statement and/or information that
you provide relevant to this conspiracy/conspiracies or attempts will
not be used against you in any criminal proceeding. Further, the United
States agrees that no evidence derived from the information or
statements provided by you will be used in any way against you....[527]
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Allison was quoted in the August 12,
1995 issue of the Rocky Mountain News as saying, "Why would I grant
somebody immunity and then not speak with him?"
When this author contacted Allison, he said, "I'm not going to discuss
who is or who isn't a federal informant."
Hayes says he thinks that Myers was working for the government when
he came to Kentucky to write a flattering profile of Hayes for the
magazine Media Bypass, then privately told FBI agents that Hayes was
looking for someone to kill his son.[529]
Myers also wrote a piece about Federal Grand Juror Hoppy Heidelberg,
the only grand juror who dared question the government's line. In fact,
189
Heidelberg never consented to be interviewed by Myers, who had
obtained the content of a privileged attorney/client interview of
Heidelberg surreptitiously. The information was then crafted into an
"interview" and published in Media Bypass, ultimately resulting in
Heidelberg's dismissal from the grand jury.
If the feds were so intent on discrediting their own informant, why had
they granted him a Letter of Immunity? Not only did Solano grant
Gagan immunity, but the informant had retained it for a full 17 months.
If Gagan was actually incompetent, why didn't Solano revoke the
immunity instead of letting Gagan continue working with terrorists?
Was Cary Gagan part of some sinister plot by the feds? Or was he
merely used as a "mule," allowing the terrorists to move money, drugs,
and explosives while another government agent monitored the
situation from within? Perhaps the new man from Oklahoma City who
appeared on the scene in March?
190
Was Cary Gagan a "throwaway?"
Recall that Gagan had transported a duffel-bag filled with C-4 and
cocaine, and had driven a truck laden with explosives across the state
at the behest of his terrorist friends. He claims the FBI did nothing to
stop him.
Yet it seems that permitting the informant to commit such illegal acts
would focus more light on the government's role — whether it involved
foreknowledge or an actual conspiracy — as Gagan began to go public
with his story. But Gagan, who believes he was scheduled to be
"terminated" after the bombing, disagrees. The informant displayed
medical records showing that he was badly beaten, and claims to have
been the victim of a drive-by shooting.[534]
On April 10, four days after he delivered the warning letter to Tina
Rowe, Gagan received a note instructing him to appear at the law
library of the U.S. Courthouse.
"I just gave the U.S. Marshals a bombing warning," said Gagan. "They
didn't call me back. I had to go somewhere to cover my ass. I came
back, I got a note saying, 'We need to see you; come to the U.S. Law
Library.' I thought it was the U.S. Marshals or the FBI."
When Gagan arrived at the law library, he met his contact: an "athletic
looking dude, 40s, short hair," dressed in a blue Nike cap and jumpsuit.
"I get there and say, 'Hey, you got the shit?' He said, 'Hey, we've got
everything taken care of. We need you to do this….'"
The man was not one of Gagan's Arab friends. "He was government,"
said Gagan. "He was probably CIA."
The date was now April 11, three days before Timothy McVeigh
checked into the Dreamland Motel in Junction City. As previously
191
mentioned, David King, who was staying at the Dreamland, recalled
seeing a Ryder truck with a trailer attached to it in the parking lot on
April 17. The trailer contained a "squarish object about three or four
feet high that came to a point on top," secured by a canvas tarp. This
was the exact description Gagan gave of the Lely mixer.[535]
Three days later, Gagan says he drove a van from Denver to Trinidad,
Colorado, that was picked up by Omar and Ahmed.
That lead — was the two Arab suspects seen running from the Murrah
Building towards a late model brown Chevy pick-up minutes before the
blast — the same suspects that the FBI had issued an All Points Bulletin
(APB) for on April 19:
"…Middle-Eastern males 25-28 years of age, six feet tall, athletic build,
Dark hair and a beard — dark hair and a beard. Break."[537]
"And these two Middle Eastern dudes that were seen running from the
scene — that's the same description I had given," said Gagan. "Gray in
the beard, you know — Omar and Ahmed — to the FBI… on September
14."
Gagan had provided that information to the FBI six months before the
bombing. After the bombing, Gagan contacted Solano and said, "Isn't
that amazing. You know, these are the [same] two dudes.…"
You are warned that any statement you make which would incriminate
you in illegal conduct, past, present or future can be used against you.
You are no longer protected by the immunity granted by letter on
September 14, 1994.
Recall that after ATF informant Carol Howe had revealed that her
knowledge of the bombing plot was reported to federal authorities
before April 19, they tried to discredit her, claiming that she was
192
"unstable," just as they had done with Gagan. While they revoked
Gagan's Letter of Immunity, they indicted Howe on spurious charges.
Interestingly, Howe was also told by her ATF handler, Angela Finley-
Graham, not to report her informant payments, and was led to believe
that her debriefings were not being taped when they were. Both are a
violation of C.I. (Confidential Informant) procedures. Was this a way to
discredit Howe in case they needed to distance themselves from her
later, as they attempted to do with Gagan?
One year later, Gagan filed a lawsuit alleging that numerous federal
officials had failed to uphold their agreement with him; failed to
exercise proper procedures in regards to the handling of an informant;
failed to investigate a terrorist conspiracy against the American
people; failed to warn the public; and failed to properly investigate the
crime after it occurred.
Two weeks later, on December 21, Pan Am flight 103 was blown out of
the skies by a terrorist's bomb. Two hundred and fifty-nine people
plunged to their deaths over Lockerbie, Scotland, and 11 more died on
the ground.
Yet this is not the first time the government has ignored viable
warnings. Prior to the World Trade Center bombing, the FBI's paid
informant, Emad Eli Salem, had penetrated Sheik Omar Abdel-
Rahman's Jama a Islamiya and had warned the FBI of their plans. The
agent in charge of the case, John Anticev, dismissed the former
Egyptian Army Colonel's warnings, calling him "unreliable." On
February 26, 1993, a large bomb detonated underneath the twin
towers, killing six people and injuring 1,000 more.
193
At the same time as "unreliable" people like Cary Gagan were
warning federal authorities in Denver about the pending attack, The
Star Ledger, a Newark, New Jersey newspaper, was reporting:
Even more strenuous security precautions are being taken in New York,
where 12 persons, including the blind fundamentalist Sheik Omar
Abdel-Rahman, are currently on trial on charges of conspiring to wage
a war of urban terrorism against the United States by blowing up the
United Nations, FBI headquarters and the tunnels between New York
and New Jersey…
The U.S. Marshal's Service — the federal agency charged with the task
of protecting federal facilities — had clear warning from at least two
different undercover informants. Why then was there no security at the
Murrah Building on April 19?
194
It was also reported that the Israelis, the Saudis, and the Kuwaitis all
warned the U.S. about an impending attack. Whatever the U.S.
Marshals Service felt about Cary Gagan's warning, Gonzales apparently
felt his other sources were reliable enough to issue a nation-wide alert.
Perhaps that memo, like the one issued by the FBI in 1963 to its field
offices warning of an attempt on the life of President Kennedy, just
"disappeared."
A Trail of Witnesses
After being questioned for six hours, the FBI allowed Ahmed to
continue on his way. Yet he was detained in London the following day,
where he was questioned for another five hours, then handcuffed and
put on the next plane back to the U.S.
When asked what he was doing with these items, Ahmed explained
that they were for his relatives in Jordan, who could not obtain good-
quality electrical components. Ahmed also had a blue jogging suit
similar to what a Middle-Eastern suspect was wearing at the Murrah
Building on the morning of the blast. According to an account in the
London Telegraph, Ahmed was reportedly in Oklahoma City on
Wednesday — the day of the bombing.[544]
If Ahmed had been cleared by U.S. authorities for the worst domestic
terrorist attack in U.S. history, why did British authorities refuse to
allow him into the country? Did they know something the U.S. did not?
195
The Justice Department's Carl Stern downplayed the breakthrough
saying only, "There are a number of good, solid leads in this
investigation."[545]
Yet in FBI agent Henry Gibbons' affidavit, special mention was made of
the items in Ahmed's suitcase, and his coincidental April 19, 10:43 a.m.
departure time, and Gibbons stated he considered Ahmed's testimony
in front of the Federal Grand Jury vital.
Yet the brown Chevy pick-up seen speeding away from the Murrah
Building was traced to an Oklahoma City business run by a Palestinian,
with possible PLO ties. That man… is a good friend of Abraham
Ahmed's. According to a witness who worked for the Palestinian,
Ahmed was seen driving the pick-up in the weeks before the bombing.
196
Numerous witnesses also place McVeigh in Oklahoma City in the
days before the bombing with a friend of Ahmed's — an Iraqi — a man
who bares a strong resemblance to the mysterious, stoic passenger
seen in the Ryder truck by Mike Moroz on the morning of April 19 at
Johnny's Tire Store.
KFOR reporters Brad Edwards and Jayna Davis broke the story on June
7, 1995 with a series of interviews with witnesses who saw McVeigh
with the Iraqi, first in a bar, then in a restaurant, then in a pawn shop.
When Davis asked her how sure she was that the man they had been
tracking was the man she saw with McVeigh, she replied, "I'm sure."
The tavern owner also saw the Iraqi a few days after the bombing. He
picked him out from a group of photos. While the Iraqi claimed he was
never in any bar on NW 10th Street, a co-worker interviewed by KFOR
said he had drank with him at a bar on NW 10th and Indiana, and in
fact he was arrested for driving under the influence around the corner,
at NW 8th and Blackwielder in early June.[549]
"It had to have been McVeigh," said the pawn shop owner. "If it was not
McVeigh, it was his twin brother."
A restaurant owner down the street also remembered McVeigh and the
Iraqi. "[McVeigh acted] like a contractor coming in and buying his hand
lunch, that was the impression I had," recalled the proprietor.
Kuhlman, who grew up around trucks and hot-rods, is positive that one
of the trucks was a Chevy long-bed, most likely an '87 model. When
shown photos, including the Iraqi and Michael Brescia, they came close
to picking out the Iraqi, but could not positively identify either man.
The passenger in the Ryder truck, they said, a man with longish wavy,
permed-out brown or dirty blond hair and glasses, never got out.[551]
Could the man Freeman saw have been there to intimidate him?
The barmaid at the Road Runner Tavern also told KFOR's Brad Edwards
that after her interview aired, the Iraqi pulled up by the open back door
of the tavern and stared menacingly at her. What is interesting is that
the Iraqi's Palestinian boss owns a white pick up truck — a Nissan,
however, not a Chevy. Freeman and Linda Kuhlman are positive the
truck they saw was a Chevy.
The man's name would never be revealed, however, because the FBI
confiscated the hotel's log book.[553]
A few days earlier, across town, two men had checked into the Plaza
Inn. They told desk clerk Tiffany Harper they were Spanish visitors from
Mexico. But Harper thought they were Arabs because of the way they
talked.
According to employee Ruby Foos, another man checked into the motel
a day or two later, went to his room, then emerged wearing flowing
Arab robes. As far as Foos could tell, the man was not connected with
the other two men.[554]
While the men were ultimately questioned and released, a blue Chevy
Cavalier would be spotted by a witness in downtown Oklahoma City —
along with a Ryder truck, a yellow Mercury, and a brown Chevy pick-up
— the other vehicles in the bombing convoy.
On the morning of the blast, a woman was riding the elevator in the
Murrah building, when she noticed a young Arab man wearing a
backpack, hurriedly pushing the buttons as if trying to get off. As
199
previously mentioned, she followed him outside, not suspecting
anything was amiss. Moments later, she was sent sprawling to the
sidewalk as the building blew up behind her.
Gary Lewis, a pressman for the Journal Record newspaper, had just
stepped outside to smoke his pipe when he remembered he had left
something in his car. As he walked down the alley, a yellow Mercury
peeled away from its spot near the Murrah Building, jumped a concrete
barricade, swerved to avoid hitting a dumpster, then bore down on
him, forcing him up onto the curb. Lewis got a good look at the driver,
describing him as one Timothy James McVeigh, and his passenger as
resembling the sketch of John Doe 2. He said the car had an Oklahoma
tag which was dangling by one bolt.
Several minutes later, Lewis was thrown to the floor as the Journal
Record building rocked with the impact of the blast. As he picked
himself up, another, more powerful explosion sent him sprawling again.
As he and his fellow workers rushed outside, he noticed a peculiar
sight: an Arab man standing nearby, staring at the Federal Building,
grinning from ear to ear.
"It unnerved me," said Lewis, who described how the man seemed out
of place among the throng of battered and bloody people. He seemed
"enraptured."
As discussed earlier, another witness saw two men running from the
area of the Federal Building toward a brown Chevy truck just prior to
the blast. The witness described the two men as "males, of possible
Middle-Eastern descent, approximately six feet tall, with athletic
builds." One of the men was described as approximately 25-28 years
old, having dark hair and a beard. The second person was described as
35-38 years old, with dark hair and a dark beard with gray in it — the
same description Cary Gagan gave. He was described as wearing blue
jogging pants, a black shirt, and a black jogging jacket. The witness
also described a third person in the pick-up.[556]
Was this the same pick-up seen by Leonard Long and his daughter?
Long was driving east on 5th Street at approximately 8:00 a.m. when
he was forced to swerve out of the way by a erratically-driven brown
pick-up with tinted windows. As the truck pulled up alongside, the
passenger, a stocky, dark-skinned, dark-haired man began hurling
racial epithets at the black couple. Long said the driver was a tall, thin
white man with sharp features, a description not unsimilar to that
given by James Linehan. The truck took the I-35 exit and headed
south.[557]
A few blocks away from the Murrah Building, Debra Burdick and her
daughter were on the way to the doctor's office. As she stopped for a
light at 10th and Robinson, she noticed three vehicles parked on the
north side of the street between a church and a garage. One was a
brown pick-up, one was a blue Chevy Cavalier, and the other was a
yellow Mercury.
"I looked across," said Burdick, "and there was that light blue car, it
had a white interior, and there were three men in it. They were dark,
but they were not black… I would say they were Middle Easterners.
There was a brown pick-up, but I couldn't see in (because of the tinted
windows), and behind it was the yellow car with the cream top.
"Now, I noticed the three men in the car, that guy sitting in the middle
was kind of staring out…. I said 'Huh, I wonder what they're looking at?'
and as I turned around, I said 'there's nothing there but buildings.'"[559]
A few moments later, the bomb(s) went off. Hohmann and Domin, who
were inside one of the Murrah Building's restrooms, were sent crashing
to the floor. At the same moment, Debra Burdick and her daughter
went skidding to the side of the road. When she looked back, the three
vehicles were gone.
Five blocks south of the Murrah Building, at Robinson and Main, Kay H.
had just raced out of her office. As she stepped on to the meridian, she
was nearly run over as the brown pick-up came careening around the
corner. The near miss gave her an opportunity to get a good look at the
occupants.
"The driver — I made eye contact with him," recalled Kay. "He looked
like he was in his twenties — late twenties. [He] had an angry look on
his face. I'll never forget the look on his face. It just was full of hate and
anger. It really struck me, because everyone else — people were
coming out and they looked scared and confused, and he just looked
full of anger."[560]
Kay recalled that two of the three people in the truck were Middle-
Easterners. When she was shown photos, she picked out the Iraqi —
the same one seen with McVeigh — as the driver.
David Snider, the Bricktown worker who had spotted one of the Ryder
trucks that morning, ran outside after the bomb went off, and saw the
brown pick-up as it flew past. "They were doing about 60 mph,"
recalled Snider. "They turned north and headed over the Walnut Street
Bridge."[561]
"…Middle-Eastern males 25-28 years of age, six feet tall, athletic build,
Dark hair and a beard — dark hair and a beard. Break."
Strangely, the FBI canceled the APB several hours later, refusing to say
why and demanding that it not be rebroadcast. When KPOC's David
Hall asked the FBI why they canceled it, they denied ever putting it
out. But when Hall played back his copy for the FBI man, he suddenly
had "no comment."[563][564]
Soon after, Brad Edwards received a tip that the pick-up had been seen
several times before the bombing at Sahara Properties (not its real
name), a real-estate business in northwest Oklahoma City. The owner
of Sahara Properties, an Israeli-born Palestinian named Sam Khalid (not
his real name), was the Iraqi's employer.[565]*
Not long after KFOR's reports began airing, the Iraqi sued the station,
then held a press conference claiming that he was not a suspect in the
bombing, and that he had a solid alibi for the morning of April 19. His
name was Hussain al-Hussaini, and he was at work, he said, painting a
garage on NW 31 Street. Yet Alvin Devers, a neighbor interviewed by
Davis, claimed no one was working on the house that day. "I didn't see
anybody," said Devers. "I'd remember…."
"They was out there acting like they was painting on that garage all
morning," Cranfield told me. "They didn't know I was already there
before.…"[566]
When KFOR shared their evidence with the FBI, they downplayed their
findings. FBI spokesman Dan Vogel said that eyewitness accounts are
"notoriously inaccurate. Their credibility must be checked out, their
stories corroborated."
Yet KFOR was able to corroborate their story with at least eight
different witnesses. They not only placed McVeigh with Hussaini in at
least three different locations in Oklahoma City, they were able to trace
the brown pick-up to the business where Hussaini worked — to a
businessman that had been investigated by the FBI for PLO ties. They
determined that Hussaini had a tattoo exactly as described by the FBI,
and that his alibi for the morning of April 19 was patently false.
The Gazette and KOCO also both claimed that Hussaini couldn't speak
English, implying that he couldn't have been talking with McVeigh. Yet
KFOR learned that he spoke broken English, and a police D.U.I. report
indicated that he replied in English when questioned.[569]
"The information quoted on Channel Four is not true," FBI Agent Jeffrey
Jenkins told the Daily Oklahoman. Though Jenkins later denied saying
that, he admits that "he cringed when he saw the KFOR report."
203
Perhaps Jenkins cringed when he saw Hussaini on TV because the
news station had, quite accidentally, uncovered the FBI's confidential
informant. Why else would the FBI act so patronizing towards KFOR,
who had clearly established a link between Hussaini and McVeigh?
The FBI wouldn't say if they had checked out Hussaini. Nor would they
clear him. They told KFOR that they were "not in the business of
clearing suspects." Yet, as Jayna Davis pointed out, they did clear
numerous other John Doe 2 suspects, including Robert Jacks, Gary
Land, and Todd Bunting, the Army private seen at Elliott's Body Shop.
Interestingly, they then used the Bunting incident to say that John Doe
2 had been a red herring all along. John Doe 2, the FBI claimed, had
never existed.[570]
Just why would the FBI issue a blanket "no comment" on a suspect who
was seen by numerous witnesses with Timothy McVeigh, and was seen
speeding away from the bombing?
For his part, Hussaini claims he was an officer in Iraq's elite Republican
Guard, and was imprisoned for distributing anti-Saddam literature.
According to the Gazette's account, he was released after serving eight
years of a 13-year sentence.[571]
The problem with this story is that U.S. forces didn't get within 200
miles of Baghdad, which means that if Hussaini "ran to American
soldiers," he would have had to run across several hundred miles of
open dessert.
Yet according to his boss, Sam Khalid, Hussaini was never in the
Republican Guard at all. A Shíite Muslim, he was imprisoned for his
anti-Saddam beliefs, and forced to serve as cannon fodder on the front
lines, as the Republican Guard withdrew.[573]
Alias Abdul Basit Mahmud Abdul Karim, Yousef arrived in the United
States carrying an Iraqi passport.
Both Yousef and his partner in the World Trade Center bombing, Ahmed
Ajaj, worked for Edwards Pipeline Testing and Technical Welding
Laboratories in Houston, whose CEO is Maunal Bhajat, a close
associate of Ishan Barbouti — an international Iraqi arms dealer who
built Libya's chemical weapons plant at Ràbta. Barbouti's son Haidar
(like Hussaini) also lives in Houston. According to Louis Champon, who
went into business with Haidar, "Haidar Barbouti is an Iraqi agent."[578]
Said Champon, "Not one U.S. agent — not one official, ever questioned
Haidar Barbouti — for evasion of taxes, where he got his money from,
his involvement… in shipping cyanide outside the P.I.T. plant… nothing.
I was told — and this is a quote from U.S. Customs [agent Martin
Schram] — "This matter is highly political. Haidar Barbouti cannot be
indicted, and if he were, he would never be convicted."[579]
205
The key that allowed the Iraqi "businessman" (Barbouti doesn't like
to be called an arms dealer) to interface with the CIA was one Richard
V. Secord, an integral player in the Iran-Contra arms-for-drugs network.
Secord, it should be noted, was also a business partner of Vang Pao,
the Laotian General who ran a heroin smugging ring out of Long Tien
Airbase during the Vietnam War, and Monzer al-Kassar, the Syrian arms
and drugs dealer who was involved in the Pan Am 103 bombing —
another crime that was successfully covered up by the CIA and the FBI.
According to Richard Babayan, a former CIA contract employee,
"Barbouti was placed in the hands of Secord by the CIA, and Secord
called in Wackenhut to handle security and travel for Barbouti and his
export plans."[580]
Said Champon, "I can assure you, that if drums of cyanide left our
plant, Dr. Barbouti had his reasons, either to be used against American
troops or terrorist acts against the United States at home."[582] Cyanide
is a necessary ingredient in the development of nerve gas. One
thousand grams of cyanide later wound up in the World Trade Center
bomb, constructed by Iraqi agent Ramzi Yousef.
The records may also indicate a tie between Ajaj and Hussaini's boss,
Sam Khalid. Records obtained during TK-7's civil suit against Ishan
Barbouti show a phone call to one of Khalid's properties in Houston.
The person who made call was Ahmed Ajaj.[583]
Yet Barbouti wasn't just trying to procure material and technology from
U.S. companies on behalf of Iraq. Barbouti also built the bunkers used
to house Saddam Hussein's Mig jet fighters during Desert Storm. It was
206
during TK-7's suit against Barbouti that the Americans learned of
these bunkers. Barbouti's London head of Security, Tony Davisson,
decided to sell the Americans the blueprints. It isn't clear whether
Davisson had a falling out with Barbouti, or was simply being patriotic.
The point may be moot, as Barbouti was apparently dead. The Iraqi
arms dealer died (or faked his death) around the same time the Israeli
Mossad knocked off his contemporary, Gerald Bull, the developer of
the ill-fated Iraqi "Super-Gun."[584]
This didn't exactly make Saddam happy. In the parlance of the Arab
world, this equated to pay-back time. If Hussein thought Barbouti was
responsible for the destruction of his air force, he may have insisted
the arms dealer cooperate in an act of revenge against the United
States.
Yet the destruction of the Hussein's air force wasn't the only motive
Iraq had for seeking revenge against the U.S. While Americans were
busy tying yellow ribbons on their front porches for our boys in the
Gulf, these same brave boys were slaughtering enemy soldiers and
helpless civilians by the thousands. As reported by Mike Erlich of the
Military Counseling Network at the March-April, 1991 European
Parliament hearings on the Gulf War:
On February 13, 1991, a U.S. Air Force Stealth Bomber dropped two
1,000-pound, laser-guided bombs onto the roof of the Al-Amira air raid
shelter in Baghdad. Two hundred and ninety four people — mostly
207
women and children — died in what the U.S. military called a
"military surgical strike."
According to William Blum, author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA
Interventions Since World War II, the bombing of the Al-Amira air raid
shelter wasn't accidental, it was deliberate:
The United States said it thought that the shelter was for VIPs, which it
had been at one time, and claimed that it was also being used as a
military communications center, but neighborhood residents insisted
that the constant aerial surveillance overhead had to observe the daily
flow of women and children into the shelter. Western reporters said
they could find no signs of military use.[586]
They showed scenes of incredible carnage. Nearly all the bodies were
charred into blackness; in some cases the heat had been so great that
entire limbs were burned off.… Rescue workers collapsed in grief,
dropping corpses; some rescuers vomited from the stench of the still-
smoldering bodies.[587]
Said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater after the bombing of the
shelter: It was "a military target… We don't know why civilians were at
this location, but we do know that Saddam Hussein does not share our
value for the sanctity of life."[588]
This so-called "value for the sanctity for life" shown by American forces
and lauded by the Bush administration, included not only attacks such
as the one at Al-Amira, but the bombing and strafing of unarmed
civilians who tried to flee to the Jordanian border.
"The U.S. military considers the murdering of our children nothing more
than 'collateral damage," said Al Kaissy, an information officer at the
Iraqi Interests section of the Algerian Embassy in Washington. "They
have never apologized or even admitted their mistake."[591]
At the same time, the American public, fed a daily dose of propaganda
generated in Pentagon media briefing rooms, could not understand
how terrorists could bomb a civilian building in the heartland of
America.
While the estimate of Iraqi forces killed runs as high as 250,000, the
actual number of Iraqis killed, including civilians, runs much higher.
American planes deliberately destroyed Iraq's power plants, its sewage
systems, and its hospitals. The economic embargo severely
compounded the situation, forcing an entire population to struggle
amidst massive epidemics of starvation and disease. Their
infrastructure decimated, without sanitation, food and medical
supplies, hundreds of thousands of civilians suffered horrible, lingering
deaths — all caused by the U.S. military, the greed of Big Oil, and their
life-long friend, George Herbert Walker Bush.
The people of Baghdad have turned the rubble of the Al-Amira air raid
shelter into a shrine, complete with mementos and pictures of the
children who perished.
While the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings may have
been the result of Iraqi revenge, what ultimately lay behind the New
York and Daharan bombings appeared to stem from a broader-based
alliance of Islamic militants from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, and other countries committed to the expulsion of U.S. troops
from the region and an all-out attack on the "Great Satan."[592]
One Arab observer with direct knowledge of the conference said the
participants' resolution was "a virtual declaration of relentless war" on
the U.S.-led West.[596] A glimpse of that conference can be seen in
Defense and Foreign Affairs:
Rasul Sayyaf stated that "the time to settle accounts has arrived." The
senior representative of Iranian intelligence declared that "attack is the
best means of defense." He urged a combined offensive, both in the
Muslim world, particularly the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, and
at the heart of the West. He repeated Iran's commitment to the cause
and reiterated Tehran's willingness to provide the Islamists with all
possible aid.
On July 16, one day after the Konli conference, the U.S. Senate passed
sanctions against Iran and Libya. With their continued sanctions
against the innocent civilians of Iraq, and now Iran, the U.S. was
building to a confrontation with the militant Islamic community. As
Ronald W. Lewis wrote in the November, 1996 edition of Air Forces
Monthly:
On the following day (after the Konli conference), July 17, the
Movement for Islamic Change sent a chilling fax to the London-based
Arab newspaper al-Hayat, warning: "The world will be astonished and
amazed at the time and place chosen by the Mujahadeen. The
Mujahadeen will deliver the harshest reply to the threats of the foolish
American president. Everyone will be surprised by the volume, choice
of place and timing of the Mujahadeen's answer, and invaders must
prepare to depart alive or dead, for their time is morning and morning
is near." That fax, and a warning by Israeli intelligence that Iran was
likely to launch an attack against a U.S. aircraft, were ignored.
At 8:31:10 p.m. (0031:10 GMT) that evening, nobody could dismiss the
horrendous explosion of TWA Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island,
New York. Attack number three had just been carried out.[598]
While reports from the State Department and such institutions as the
Heritage Foundation decry the use of Arab state-sponsored terrorism
against the West, the truth is that the West — and especially the U.S.
— has been exporting terrorism in the form of economic sanctions,
assassinations, coups, death-squads, and covert/overt wars in almost
every part of the world since the beginning of the century.[600]
To the Muslim world, and especially terrorist groups such as the PLO,
Islamic Jihad, Hizbollah, and Hamas, the U.S. assault on its ally Iraq
represented a turning point in Islam's struggle against the West. The
Gulf War marked the first time the United States had used an all-out,
full-scale military assault on an Arab country, with devastating results.
211
Under the influence of religious figures such as Sheik Omar Rahman,
the Mujahadeen (the Afghani freedom fighters who had been trained
by the CIA) and their allies became staunch opponents of the United
States. Thousands of Muslims from almost 40 countries flocked to
Afghanistan and Pakistan during the war, and thousands remain there,
training for the day when Islam will rise up in its final great Jihad
against the West.[601]
To these groups, the Gulf War marked the signal for a new escalation in
their war against the U.S. The bombing of the World Trade Center, the
Federal Building in Oklahoma, the Al-Khubar military complex in
Daharan, and possibly the shootdown of TWA 800, were all expressions
of this rage against the United States.
On January 25, 1993, less than one month before the World Trade
Center attack, Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, vented his rage by opening
fire with an AK-47 outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Two
CIA employees were killed and three others were wounded. Like Ramzi
Yousef, Kansi was a native Baluchi. He was involved with the Pashtun
Students Organization, the student wing of Mahmood Khan Achakzai's
Pakhtoon Khwa Awami Milli Party, which claimed the CIA's sudden pull-
out of Afghanistan resulted in millions of deaths at the hands of the
Soviets. Kansi claimed the CIA had betrayed his father.[602]
Support in the form of arms and drugs flowed from Pakistan and
Afghanistan to militant Islamic groups around the world, aided by the
CIA, rogue intelligence officers, and senior U.S. officials in for their
piece of the action — just as Oliver North's "Enterprise" would do with
the Contras in Nicaragua. In fact, many of the same individuals were
involved.
Readers will also recall that General Wafiq al-Sammara'i, the former
head of Iraqi military intelligence, told the London Independent a year
earlier that the 1996 Dhahran bombing "strongly resembled plans
drawn up by a secret Iraqi committee on which he served after the
invasion of Kuwait.…"[605]
It is also curious why Nichols carried two stun-guns on his last trip, why
he left $20,000 taped behind a drawer for his son, and a note to
McVeigh telling him "You're on your own," and "go for it!" in case he
didn't come back, and why his son cried, "I'm never going to see my
Dad again…."
Perhaps Nichols had reason to worry. According to FBI 302 reports and
investigations conducted by McVeigh's defense team, Abu Sayyaf
leader Edwin Angeles spoke of a terrorist meeting in the vicinity of the
Del Monte labeling factory in Davao, on the Island of Mindanao, in late
1992 or early '93. It was there, Angeles said, that Ramzi Yousef, Abdul
Hakim Murad, Wali Khan Amin Shah, and several others discussed the
Oklahoma City bombing plot.[612]*
When the "farmer" returned home from his last visit to the Philippines
on January 16, 1995, and discovered that Padilla had opened the
214
mysterious package and read the contents, he turned "white as a
ghost."[614]
On April 19, 1995, Abdul Hakim Murad was sitting in his New York jail
cell when the word went out that the Oklahoma City Federal Building
had been bombed. Murad casually admitted to a prison guard that the
Liberation Army of the Philippines — a group connected to Abu Sayyaf
— was responsible.
Abu Sayyaf leader Edwin Angeles later corrected Murad for the record:
"It was the Palestine Liberation Army and/or the Islamic Jihad which
Murad was referring to," he said. "This army is associated with Hamas
and based in Lebanon.…"
However, given the fact that Saudi intelligence informed the FBI that
Iraq had hired Pakistanis who might not have known they were
operating on behalf of Iraq, it is highly possible that Murad (a Pakistani)
and Angeles were unaware of their true sponsor. As the Washington
Post's Jack Anderson reported in 1991: "A preferable revenge for Iraq
would involve having a 'surrogate terrorist' carry out a domestic attack
that Hussein could privately take credit for…."
Was Terry Nichols associated with World Trade Center bomber Ramzi
Yousef, a reputed Iraqi agent? Was Timothy McVeigh associated with
Hussain al-Hussaini, a former Iraqi soldier? Were Yousef and Hussaini
part of a terrorist network set up by Iraq to infiltrate the United States?
That coincides with reports that at least two and possibly as many as
four Iraqi diplomats in their embassy in Washington were monitored as
they attempted to set up terrorist cells in the capital and elsewhere in
the United States.…
Part of the plan was to allow Omar and Ahmed to purchase the Postal
Center, a shipping and receiving store in Denver owned by George
Colombo, who also operated a Ryder truck leasing operation across the
street. Omar had asked Gagan to broker a deal to buy the facility from
Colombo. He believes they were interested in the mail and truck rental
facility. For some reason, the deal fell through.
While no one at the casinos would cooperate in placing Khalid with the
two bombing suspects, Padilla said that Nichols had met with "Middle
Eastern" men while in Las Vegas.[620]
The question remained, who was Omar, and was he connected with
Sam Khalid? Interestingly, Khalid's alias is "Omar."[621]
Crousette: "She knew who he was. Her eyes… her… her… how do I
want to say this? Her whole demeanor changed. She went from being a
calm person to being a scared little rabbit."
Davis: "All right. And she said she didn't want to get involved…"
Crousette: "Does the word getting up and running and leaving the
place tell you anything?
Crousette: "She left. She got up and left. She left her money and left.
She grabbed her stuff and was out the door."
217
According to Crousette, Angie also described an Arab man in the
Glitter Gulch acting as a "recruiter," who introduced Khalid to a pair of
"skinny white guys." Could these two skinny white guys have been
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols?
Angie declined to say, telling Davis that she'd "wind up at the bottom
of Lake Meade" if she talked.[622][623]*
But just who was this "recruiter" that Crousette spoke of? Crousette
saw him hobnobbing in a wealthy part of town with a man in a white
BMW. Just who was in the car with him wasn't clear. However, the
information is curious in light of Gagan's report that he and his Arab
friends met at the Player's Club, an upscale apartment complex in a
Las Vegas suburb.
Oshan was reportedly the target of FBI surveillance at the same time
Khalid was being indicted for insurance fraud. Like Abraham Ahmed,
Oshan disappeared just before the bombing, traveling to Jordan. And
like Ahmed, he gave a similar story, telling Ernie Cranfield he was
going to the Middle East to attend to family matters — in this case —
his own wedding. According to Cranfield, he did not marry.
Crousette: Two of them did, yes.… The feds know who did it.
"He had a very serious big gun," said Novel, "and he wasn't a cop — I
don't know what he was."[625]
KFOR first bumped into Sam Khalid when reporter Brad Edwards
received a mysterious phone call from Sharon Twilley. Twilley was
working at the time for Khalid's real-estate business, Sahara Properties,
which he owned with his ex-wife Carol, who died in the bombing. A
three-year employee, Twilley did a variety of jobs for Khalid, including
bookkeeping and acting as rental agent for his 500-plus properties.
Twilley told Edwards and Davis that she had seen her boss in the
company of Abraham Ahmed, who had been detained by the FBI as a
possible suspect on April 19 as he attempted to fly from Oklahoma to
Jordan.
According to Twilley and Ernie Cranfield, Ahmed had been seen driving
the brown Chevy pick-up seen speeding away from the bombing, back
and forth to Khalid's place in the days prior to the bombing. Ahmed's
increasingly frequent visits coincided with the arrival of Hussain al-
Hussaini and five other Iraqis in November. Twilley also said that Khalid
began acting very secretive after the arrival of the six men, and would
only speak to Ahmed in Arabic.
Yet, perhaps most incredibly, both Cranfield and Twilley had seen a
yellow Mercury Marquis parked at Khalid's office; Twilley said she saw
Abraham Ahmed in the passenger seat.[626]
The presence of Ahmed wasn't the only thing that raised eyebrows at
Sahara properties in the days following the bombing. Cranfield told the
FBI and Edwards that he saw one of Khalid's Arab employees, a man
named Haider al-Saiidi, acting strangely ebullient after the bombing.
"When the news reports first came about some Islamic group being
responsible, well Haider kind of laughed about that," recalled Cranfield.
219
"I heard they found three babies that was dead from the blast, and I
went and told the guys… and John Doe 2 (Cranfield's reference to
Hussaini) started crying. He went out on the porch to cover his face
and he stood by the wall crying. He was upset that children got hurt.
He was really upset. And Haider was laughing because he was
crying."[627]*
To make things even stranger, Khalid decided to visit Las Vegas on the
evening of April 20, the day after his ex-wife Carol was killed in the
bombing. It seems Khalid had asked her to help him with his taxes on
Monday, her regularly scheduled day at the Department of Agriculture.
Consequently, she went into work on Wednesday, her day off. As news
reports showed Dr. Espe, Carol's boss, being carried down a ladder by
rescue workers, Khalid's daughter Heather began crying. She knew her
mom worked in that office.
"We was all sitting around the office watching the news," said
Cranfield. "And when they showed Espe being carried down that
ladder, she (Najaya, Khalid's current wife) just burst out laughing.
Heather was crying, and Najaya was laughing."[628]
Some might consider it odd that a girl's stepmother would burst out
laughing upon learning that her mother had been killed. Some might
consider it stranger still for a man to be partying on the eve of his ex-
wife's death.
"It was set up," said Cranfield. "I know it was set up. He got rid of her
because of the taxes she filed."
"She didn't look happy that morning when she was doing his taxes,"
recalled Cranfield. "She did not look happy at all… 'cause he was
fucking the government over the taxes."[629]
At the time of this writing there was a case pending against Khalid for
tax fraud. Carol most likely would have testified against him in that
case.
220
The circumstances at Sahara Properties in the days after the
bombing were too much for Cranfield. "I left the job site and went to
the office and said 'I want my money.' I told them I didn't want to work
for no terrorists. I was so… I feared that these people were involved,
and them workers were involved in this. And with all the strange things
that was going on, I wasn't going to take no chances. And when they
found Abraham [Ahmed], that was it. That was all I needed to know.
That's all I wanted to know. I wanted to get the hell out of there!"
The brown Chevy pick-up that Ahmed had been seen driving was found
abandoned the Tuesday after the bombing at the Woodscape
Apartment complex on Route 66. Resident Jeannie Royer recalled a
heavy-set Middle-Eastern man getting out of the truck which was left
near a storage shed. The man gave Boyer a hard look that said, "You'd
better forget what you just saw."
The man showed up a week later and followed Royer while she was out
walking her dog.[630]† When shown a photo of a heavy-set Middle
Eastern suspect by KFOR (one of Khalid's workers), she said, "It sure
does look like him. I would sure like to see a close-up of his eyes. Those
eyes of his were frightening!"[631]
The abandoned pick-up, incidentally, had been painted yellow, and the
serial numbers ground off. "You could see the yellow over-spray all over
the chrome fender," said Joe Royer. The FBI then towed the truck to its
impound lot, and nothing has been heard about it since.[632]
Khalid bought the property in 1994 at a tax auction. The sale was
disputed by the current owner, Rex Carmichael, and as of this writing,
the case was in court. "I'm sure it wasn't painted there," said
Carmichael. "Khalid hasn't hadn't had anything to do with that body
shop.… he's tried to get it, he's tried to own it, he's tried to possess it
from me…."[633]
If so, it may fit into what Cranfield told me next: "They (Khalid and his
employees) would always buy cars, then I found out that they was
taking them and running them to Mexico, running trips to Mexico and
selling the cars.… Within two weeks to a month, everyone of them was
driving a different car. They wouldn't have it but less than a month,
then they'd be rid of it, and you wouldn't see it again.
"I seen them many times up there at this garage (Route 66). It was the
same guys that came in [in November]. The same six that came in. Just
them — them six."
Ronnie White (not his real name), who was working as a mechanic for
Boomer's at the time, said the men ran a "shoddy" operation and were
"hostile" towards customers. The business, he said, was buying used
cars and shipping them overseas, possibly to Kuwait. while in itself not
an unusual practice, White said he saw as much as $100,000 pass
through per month, which is unusual for such a small operation.
White says the two men suddenly departed for Ohio the last week of
October, 1994. They told him "Don't tell anybody where we're going."
They left no forwarding address and no way for the customers to pay
their bills. (Coincidentally perhaps, Timothy McVeigh was in Kent, Ohio
on October 5.)
Said customer Michael Reed, "They were some pretty strange people.
They were supposed to be running a car lot, but they were always
gone." They returned from their supposed car-buying trip the first week
of November, with one used Honda.
White went to the FBI when he saw Yousef's wanted poster in the local
police station. Like many witnesses, the FBI appeared to show no
interest.[636]
222
Was the man these witnesses saw really internationally wanted
fugitive Ramzi Yousef? A Washington source familiar with Yousef and
the World Trade Center bombing doesn't think it likely that Yousef
reentered the county after the 1993 attack. The FBI put Yousef in the
Philippines in November and December of '94, just in time to launch an
ill-fated attack on President Clinton during his APEC visit, but his exact
timeline was never established.
Had the Arab cell involved in the bombing reinlisted the aid of expert
bomb maker Ramzi Yousef for the Oklahoma City attack? A U.S.
Marshall told Jayna Davis that he believed the World Trade Center and
Oklahoma City bombings were linked. Other sources expressed similar
opinions.
If Y.T. was Ramzi Yousef, he didn't seem too concerned that he was
operating in the U.S. as a wanted fugitive.
Jerlow's sources also came up dry. When the P.I. asked his phone
company source to pull Khalid's records, they had mysteriously
223
"disappeared." An attorney friend of Jerlow's who had some dealings
with Khalid told him, "Khalid is a dangerous motherfucker. You stay
away from him." He didn't explain why.[639]
His warning may have been well-founded however. Three months after
the bombing, on July 3, a man matching Khalid's description, and
driving his truck, showed up at Sharon Twilley's house, pulled out a
pistol, and fired four shots. Two of the bullets went into Twilley's
bedroom, one went into her car, shattering the windshield, and another
lodged under a neighbor's window.
A terrified Sharon Twilley rolled out of bed, clutching the phone in her
hand, and dialed 911. She then ran over to neighbor Glenn Moore's
house. "He knows where I slept!" she told Moore, who had watched the
scene from his window. "He could have killed me if he had wanted to!"
Just why Khalid would want to scare Sharon Twilley literally to death is
an interesting question. This excerpt from the police report may shed
some light on the motive:
Twilley stated she worked for the suspect until after the bombing of the
Murrah building when the F.B.I. came out and questioned her about the
suspect's activity. The next day she was fired. Since that time the
suspect has tried to kick her out of his rent [sic] house. He had refused
to accept her check & had taken her to district court & the judge
ordered him to serve a 30 day notice. Twilley stated that since that
time her residence was burglarized and then this incident of the
shooting took place. Twilley stated the F.B.I. had spoke [sic] with her a
few times since she was fired & then it all started. Twilley stated Khalid
was furious when he found out she had spoken to the F.B.I.
Just what had Twilley told the FBI? When I interviewed the OCPD
detective who wrote the report, he told me that Twilley had seen "some
new deal he was into," and was "nervous."
"She didn't want him to know that she had talked to the FBI," said the
detective. "She was definitely afraid."[640]
FBI agents James Strickland and Dave Swanson's names also appeared
on the report. Why would the FBI take an interest in a local assault
case? Although Khalid later admitted to the author that he had been
interviewed and polygraphed by the FBI in regards to the bombing,
Strickland wouldn't comment.[641]
In spite of the bullet holes in Twilley's house and car, and Moore's
eyewitness account, the OCPD did little. Assistant DA Sherry Todd
declined to prosecute the case on "lack of evidence." The police report
stated it as follows:
224
Moore stated on the morning on 7-3-95 at approx. 3:30-4:00 he
heard gun shots. Moore got up & looked out the window and saw a
dark skinned male running from the house. I asked him if it was Mr.
Khalid. Moore stated "I think it was him, but I'm not sure. It looked like
him but I'm not positive. He was driving the same white Nissan pick-up
that he drives. But I'm not sure.
Moore seemed a bit more certain when I spoke to him. "He was a short
guy that smokes a cigar," said Moore. "[He] looked real aggravated. He
was randomly shooting; he shot four times."
Moore recognized the suspect as the landlord who rented the house
out prior to Twilley living there & knew him as having a white Toyota
pick up & he said that was him, meaning the suspect.
As if to add more grist to the mill, Khalid and an associate had shown
up at Twilley's house the previous day and had smashed a brick
through her window. Moore told me he recognized Khalid by his
baseball cap, cigar, and white pick-up.
Some time later, Mike Johnston, a local attorney familiar with the case,
ran into Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Richardson in the courthouse.
Johnston raised the issue of Sam Khalid. "Oh you must have been
talking to that guy from San Francisco," Richardson replied, referring to
the author. When Johnston siad that he had gleaned his information
from other sources as well, and suggested that Richardson look into
the matter, Richardson looked at his watch and said, "Well Mike, that's
an interesting theory. I gotta' run."[643]*
Indeed.
Robert Kulick, a former employee of Khalid's, told the FBI that Khalid
had instructed him to set fires to four of his properties. When agents
questioned Kulick and his wife about Khalid's associations, Mrs. Kulick
blurted out, "We don't want to get Sam [Khalid] in any trouble,"
whereupon the agents immediately advised Kulick of his Miranda
rights.
Kulick later jumped bond and fled to California after claiming he had
received "threatening phone calls." He didn't say from whom.[645]*
Yet the FBI's interest seemed to lay more in Khalid's connections to the
PLO than in arson. According to Northrop, the FBI investigated Khalid
for alleged PLO activity in 1991. Khalid's attorney insisted that it would
have been precisely the FBI's interest in Khalid — "the microscope
under which he, as a Palestinian, has been monitored" — which would
have revealed any wrongdoing.
For all intents and purposes, Sam Khalid appears to be just what his
lawyer says he is, a hard-working immigrant out to achieve the
opportunities America has to offer. A 56-year-old Palestinian, Khalid
was born Samir Abdul-Ghani Sharif Khalid, and emigrated to the U.S.
from Kuwait in 1968.[646]† He received his M.A. from Oklahoma City
University in 1975, his Ph.D. in psychology from O.U. in 1979, and went
on to teach at public schools and at nearby Tinker Air Force base. He
also did a brief stint in the Oklahoma Department of Human
Services.[647]
Khalid claims to have relatives in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, who
provided the money for his education and real-estate investments. In
1982, Khalid quit teaching and devoted himself full-time to his
burgeoning real-estate business. By 1995 he had acquired over 500
properties, mostly through HUD, the federal agency besieged with
corruption in the late '70s and early '80s.[648]
Hani Kamal was surprised when I told him Khalid owned over 500
properties: "In the '70s this son-of-a-bitch did not have a dime to his
name. He couldn't survive. He used to ask me for money. Where did he
get 500 properties? Where did the money come from?"
226
Kamal, who claimed to have worked with the Insurance Fraud
Division of the FBI (Browning said he was merely an informant),
believes Khalid is a money launderer. "Khalid should be a millionaire
with that much property," exclaimed Kamal, "but he lives in a
dilapidated shack on 32nd Street." Sure enough, Khalid makes his
home in a run-down, low-income part of town. It is Kamal's opinion that
Khalid is just an "errand boy," and somebody else really owns the
properties.
One method of raising money involved small store owners who would
open businesses, buying merchandise on credit, then quickly close
shop and vanish with the proceeds. There were other scams. California
insurance lawyer Gordon Park told CBS, "What they would do is throw a
brick through their front window and say, 'Ok, gosh, I got
burglarized.'"[651]
227
In Brooklyn, investigators discovered a phony coupon redemption
center run by Mahumud Abouhalima — currently serving 240 years in
prison for his role in the World Trade Center bombing.[652]
Shallah co-founded the World and Islam Study Enterprise (WISE), linked
to the Islamic Committee for Palestine, both of which have been
accused by federal authorities of fronting for terrorist groups.
Cary Gagan claims to have seen Shallah in late 1994 and February of
'95 at Caesar's Palace and The Racetrack — two Las Vegas casinos.
"Who is this dude?" Gagan asked Khalid about the short, fat, balding
man with a mustache and beard. Gagan was simply told he was a
professor from Florida.
But the FBI had a list of 27 PLO and Hamas operatives in Florida and
Oklahoma. Ten of those individuals had previously been arrested by the
Israelis in March of '96, and the FBI needed their help. When an Israeli
agent in New York named Avi ran the names through the computer, he
noticed Northrop's inquiry on Hussaini. He called Northrop and asked
him to fly to Miami.
What Northrop discovered when he arrived was that the same group he
had been investigating in Oklahoma and Houston had been seen in
Miami. Hussain al-Hussaini, Sam Khalid, Jaffer Oshan, and Haider al-
Saadi — six to seven in all — were positively ID'd by Israeli Sayanim in
Ft. Lauderdale. They were there, according to sources, meeting with
members of Hamas.
Moore also recalled the case. He told me the Army had stepped up
security around him during this time. Interestingly, this was around the
same time that attacks on U.S. military installations were occurring in
Europe.[658]
229
The Army investigator also recalled that "Huntsville, Alabama, at
that time, was a hotbed of espionage. There were 27 known KGB
agents in Huntsville. They were known. They were known to the Bureau
(FBI); they were known to military intelligence."
This account also jives with Gagan's story. The Soviets had asked
Gagan's help in obtaining classified information from his friend at
Martin-Marietta. Later, the Soviets introduced the informant to a man
named Hamid who needed fake documentation for illegal Iranians
entering the country.
"Back at the time we had a big problem with Iranians," said the former
CID investigator, "a big problem. They were always trying to infiltrate
the arsenal. A number of them were attending Alabama A&M
University under student visas, but most of them didn't go to school.
They were involved in a lot of different criminal enterprises, drugs,
stolen property, prostitution, all sorts of things.…"
Like his brother Sam, Wahid was never prosecuted. "The FBI [officially]
took no interest.… Another CID investigator got reprimanded by our
SAC, because he went and did this (interviewed Walker). That was the
total gist of the FBI's involvement."[659]
As Hani Kamal pointed out, the Cosa Nostra has cooperated with
Iranians in money laundering in the past. Could this explain Khalid's
frequent visits to Las Vegas? Were his trips part of a money laundering
operation?
Is Khalid receiving money this way? It's hard to say, but it is worth
noting that the CEO of Shamrock, Donald Lutz, was on the
management staff of Silverado Savings & Loan, the S&L case tried by
Judge Matsch, who would later try McVeigh and Nichols (Neil Bush, a
board member of Silverado, walked).
And what about Omar's trip(s) to Kingman? It was there that Omar and
Gagan drove from Las Vegas, two weeks before the bombing. Why
would a high-roller like Omar drive to the dusty, isolated desert town of
Kingman? One possible reason may have been to make contact with
Timothy McVeigh, who was holed up in the Imperial Motel at the time.
Another reason may have revolved around drugs. Recall that Gagan's
original relationship with Omar was under the guise of drug dealing. "I
brought some back from Puerto Vallerta for him," said Gagan, "using a
camper with a false top… through San Diego. At one time I saw 10-15
kilos. That's quite a bit of dope."
231
Recall that Gagan had delivered a bag of cocaine from Kingman to
Denver (which contained plastic explosives), and he believes the
$250,000 Omar paid him came from the Cali Cartel.[662]
A chemist who knew McVeigh under the alias of "Tim Tuttle," Colbern
had recently been spotted with a bag of ammonium nitrate in his truck.
His roommate, Dennis Malzac, was being held on charges of arson for a
small explosion that had damaged a house in town two months earlier.
That house was owned by Rocky McPeak, a friend of McVeigh's.
Colbern, who shared a mailbox in Kingman with McVeigh, was absent
from work four days prior to and ten days after the bombing. He
claimed he was in California visiting his parents.[664]†
Colbern was arrested in May of 1995, and released on April 23, 1997,
after serving time in Lompac Federal Prison on illegal weapons
charges.[666]
Was Colbern the man to whom Omar delivered the mysterious package
on April 4? Was the it meant for Timothy McVeigh?
Did Khalid meet Terry Nichols in Las Vegas in May of 1994? Were
Nichols and McVeigh the "two skinny white guys" he met at the Glitter
Gulch in November?
Ultimately, were McVeigh, Nichols and their friends in fact plotting with
Arab extremists to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Building?
Iraqi arms dealer Ishan Barbouti met with former Nazi scientist Volker
Weissheimer in order to recruit other former Nazis to work on Libyan
and Iraqi chemical weapons projects.[672]
As Levine says, the ties that bind these two seemingly disparate
groups is a loathing of the U.S. and hatred of "World Jewry," which they
see as the dominating force behind all world political and financial
power.
One can say that the only winner of WWII was the organized World
Jewry… attained through Auschwitz, a never-before existing freedom to
unrestricted development of power. Today, Jews control all important
positions of power in the U.S.A.
Another of Salahuddin's close pals was Cleven Holt, who under his
Islamic name, Isa Abdullah, fought against the Israelis in Lebanon and
was seen extensively outside the Marine Corps compound in Beirut just
before it was bombed in 1983. Shoffler recalls that Abdullah was once
arrested while casing Air Force One, the Presidential jet.…
Cary Gagan was already familiar with Al Fuqra from his time in prison.
Omar had asked Gagan to "take care of" an al-Fuqra member named
236
"Eddie," should he call. Gagan believes the man was Edward Flinton,
a Colorado-based al-Fuqra member charged with conspiracy to commit
murder in the August 1984 firebombing of a Hare Krishna temple, and
the February 1993 murder of Rashid Khalifa, an Iman of a Tucson
mosque.[678]
"He was my guy up here," said Gagan. "I was to take him out."
Gagan said he informed FBI Agents Johnson and Holtslaw and U.S.
Attorneys Allison and Solano. Gagan told Holtslaw he would take a
Polygraph test, requested that he confirm the status of his Immunity
Letter, and meet with his family to assure them that precautions would
be taken for their safety. Gagan alleges that Holtslaw refused, and
237
ceased all contact with him. The FBI claims that Gagan refused to
take a Polygraph, and was therefore unreliable.
The reader should take note that this conversation occurred before any
discussion of Middle Eastern involvement became public as a result of
Stephen Jones' Writ or other investigations:
Caller: So, according to him there was nine people that he knows of
that was supposedly involved in this. Now there was… there was two
white guys and a black dude. And he said that he thought one of the
white guys could possibly be a short-haired girl that she looked like she
might be from the Middle East or something.
But the second time that he saw the car, he said it was about ten
minutes before the bombing, he said they drove up to him and told him
to get the hell out, that there was gonna' be a bomb. And he said it
was the same car only that it had the white guy and the black dude in
it. The other person, he said thought might be a female wasn't in the
car at that time. Now this about ten minutes before.…
And this black dude-he's a member of the Nation of Islam, but he's also
prior service military. And this stupid asshole, he supposedly called
Channel Four after the bombing, claiming credit for it.
238
Key: Well I heard that… I forget who called in to where but
somebody called in and said, you know, it was the Nation of Islam.
Caller: Well, he was supposed to have been the one. And another
thing… Channel Four said late last night that this leg was supposed to
have had some PVC embedded it. And, you know, you use PVC pipe to
pack plastic explosives in. It greatly increases the detonation of it and
the shear power of it, and it's also a tidy way of handling it.[683]
Finally, there is the unidentified leg found in the rubble of the Murrah
Building. The severed leg, allegedly belonging to a black female, was
clothed in combat boots, two pairs of socks, and an olive military-issue
blousing strap.
What is strange is that there were eight bodies with missing or severed
limbs. If the leg was clothed in military garb, it should have been a
simple task to match it with Levy, who likewise would have been
wearing a military uniform. Eventhough Levy was buried before this leg
was found, it should have been a simple task to go back and see which
of the bodies with severed limbs belonged to military personnel
wearing military uniforms. Yet authorities originally buried a different
leg with Levy before finding this one on May 30.
Could the unidentified leg have actually belonged to the real bomber —
a black Muslim prepared to sacrifice himself or herself for the cause?
Perhaps this explains why authorities allegedly recovered no bodies
that matched this leg. It is possible the leg belonged to an additional
bomber who was disintegrated by the blast. This could also explain the
confused look Daina Bradley witnessed on John Doe 2's face after he
walked to the back of the Ryder truck. Perhaps upon opening the door,
he was confronted with a comrade who ordered him away, then set off
the device, neatly severing himself or herself in the process.
Again, the question must be asked: Were McVeigh, Nichols, and their
comrades in fact plotting with Arab extremists and their black Muslims
counterparts to blow up the Federal Building, and was Iraq behind it?
After being indicted, Terpil fled the country, and was last seen hiding
out in Cuba, until he showed up in Mexico City… with Omar. "They met
at the bar," said Gagan. "Terpil and Omar spoke for about fifteen
minutes, alone."
"Who's that dude?" Gagan asked Omar as they left the bar.
"An ex-CIA agent named Terpil," came the answer. "He lives in Cuba."
Did Omar, Sam Khalid, or their associates have contact with the
Russians? Considering Khalid's reported ties to the PLO and Hamas,
and the long history of Soviet-Arab cooperation, it is highly likely.
Like Nazis and neo-Nazis who've forged links with Arab terrorists, the
Soviets have provided wide-ranging support to Arab terrorist groups
throughout the years. As James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation
writes:
During the 1970s the Soviet Union and its satellites greatly expanded
their support for terrorist groups. Moscow often used Middle Eastern
client states such as Iraq, Libya, Syria, and the former People's
Democratic Republic of South Yemen as intermediaries to mask Soviet
arms, training, intelligence, and logistical support for a wide variety of
terrorist groups.[690]
Torres recalled the numerous and strange faces that would often pass
through her home and her father's office. Arab men from Jordan,
Palestine, Iraq… she was not allowed to ask them their names or their
business.[691]
242
Torres also claimed to have overheard conversations between her
father and PLO representatives some years earlier. The meetings, she
said, involved discussions of a bombing plot to be carried out in the
U.S.
It was the winter of 1992, and Michele's father, Hirram Torres, was
working in the office of the PLO in Mexico City. He was speaking with a
man from Palestine, and another from Jordan or possibly Iraq. In broken
English, Torres recounts the conversation:
Torres: They were saying: "What do you think about the new plan?"
And the other man says: "Well, we can… the Russian officers told us we
can probably blame the fascists." You know what I mean? "Americans
— the American Patriots, and all the stupid stuff with the white
supremacists and the neo-Nazis. So we can give two strikes at once."
Hoffman: Did they say anything about the Patriot Movement or the
Militia Movement?
Torres: They don't say anything about militia. When they want to talk
about militia, they say fascists or neo-Nazis. And when they speak
about Patriots, or Yankees… the way they say. They used to speak
about white supremacists… all Americans… white Americans are white
supremacists. Yankees and fascists.
Torres: Yes. They were saying that it was… all the time they were
talking about… what the Russian officers told them to do. So that man
who was talking was the Palestinian man — my father told him that it
was very good, and that they would probably find an easy way — an
easy way to blame that kind of people. That he was trying… that he
had tried to contact neo-Nazi people to help him…
Torres: Yes. But, well, he told it in Russian, that he was — that boy
who they were going to hire, was going to work together with the
Tobarich (Russian for comrade). With the Tobarich.
Torres: No. That time, they were just going to plan it. That was the
plan…
Torres: Yes. They were just discussing the plan. They didn't even know
the names. My father was… by that time my father was… deciding.
Hoffman: Now why do you think so long ago? That's four years
between now and then.
Torres: They always plan it in that way. They take their time, and
always a very long time. They always take a very long time…
Hoffman: Is there anything else about what they discussed that you
haven't told me that you think is important?
244
Torres: They said they were going to do it in the middle of the
country. And they were going to do it in a business office.
Torres: Yes, big. And they wanted… children to be victims of it. There
must be children there — it must be an office where children were
somehow. They had to kill children. Because it was a very important
part of the emotional part of the strike….
Hoffman: Did they ever mention Pan Am 103 or the World Trade
Center bombings in reference?
You know one of the reasons I am not scared of this conversation (this
interview) is because I heard — I listen to this kind of conversation all
of my life. My father — he has killed a lot of people — he has done a lot
of wrong things. He was involved…
It appears that what Torres was describing was more than a loose-knit
group of terrorists, but a sophisticated centrally-controlled state-
sponsored terrorist apparatus. As Defense & Foreign Affairs stated:
Incredible as it sounds, Torres' story may be the key piece of the puzzle
linking the Arab and neo-Nazi contingents. Her story is significant in
light of the fact that Dennis Mahon was being paid by the Iraqis to stir
up dissent amongst the white supremacist community.
245
Her story also ties into the fact that Omar allegedly met with Frank
Terpil in Mexico City; and Terry Nichols reportedly met with Ramzi
Yousef in the Philippines.
That final adage led me straight back to Northrop, who stated in his
report that Khalid "fit the role" of a PLO operative, and insisted that the
bombing was the work of Iraqi terrorists. But if Khalid, Hussaini, and
Oshan were simple Arab terrorists — and they had left a trail of
evidence a mile long — why were they still walking around?
The FBI had also investigated Sam Khalid for PLO fundraising activities,
and had looked into the shooting assault of Sharon Twilley.
246
They had put out an APB on the brown pick-up driven by Hussain al-
Hussaini, which was seen speeding away from the scene of the
bombing. And Hussaini's alibi for the morning of the April 19 was
patently false.
Khalid had access to an auto body shop, and one of Khalid's employees
had been seen abandoning the re-painted pick-up in a nearby
apartment complex.
Khalid had been placed by Northrop's sources with the same Hamas
operative in Miami — Ramadan Shallah — that Gagan had seen in Las
Vegas.
Finally, Omar (Khalid?) was seen meeting with Frank Terpil — a rogue
CIA agent who had supplied Arab terrorists with several tons of C-4.
This was the one remaining possibility that lent credence to the
seemingly irreconcilable facts which presented themselves. After all,
why had the FBI ignored a veritable mountain of damming evidence?
Why had they suddenly and mysteriously canceled the APB on the
brown pick up? And why, after 48 hours of reporting nothing but Middle
Eastern connections, did the Justice Department and their obedient lap
dogs of the mainstream press suddenly announce that no Middle
Eastern connection existed?
Certainly the capture of McVeigh and Nichols did not repudiate the still-
standing Middle Eastern connection. Nor could the sudden change
247
have been the result of information from low-level agents in the
field. No. It could have only been the result of one thing — a strategic
decision from the Justice Department, which had as its basis, a political
directive from the White House.
Yet KFOR's P.I., Bob Jerlow, claims he spoke to the Representative's aide
who checked the Congressman's schedule and claimed she never saw
the name Khalid.
If Sam Khalid was a run-of-the-mill Arab terrorist who had just played a
role in the biggest terrorist attack in U.S. history, why would he attract
attention to himself by firing shots at Sharon Twilley? A convicted felon
like Khalid would easily earn a stiff prison sentence for possession of a
firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.
Number two, Clinton and Bush were responsible for bringing individuals
like Hussain al-Hussaini into this country. Between 1992 and 1995, over
18,000 Iraqi refugees and their families were resettled into the U.S.
248
under a largely unknown and hotly debated program initiated by
President Bush and followed up by President Clinton. They were part of
a contingent of Iraqi refugees that flooded the Saudi border during and
after the war, including many former Iraqi soldiers and deserters.
"We're rolling out the welcome wagon to prisoners of war, yet our own
veterans who fought there are having trouble getting any help," Sterns
said. Some of the refugees included Shi'ite Muslims who were
oppressed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and in some cases
rebelled against him. Others included Iraqi soldiers who Hussein vowed
to execute because they didn't fight to the death. "I'm sympathetic
with the idea that people who opposed Saddam Hussein should not be
allowed to be massacred," said Tennessee State Republican
Representative John L. 'Jimmy' Duncan Jr., "but we should give the
benefit of the doubt to our own people and put the burden of proof on
the people who want to come in."[697]
If Hussain al-Hussaini, a former Iraqi officer, was resettled into the U.S.,
it is possible — highly possible in fact — that he was recruited by the
CIA or DIA as part of a deal.
If Hussaini was working for the Mossad, the FBI, the DIA, or the CIA,
who have been known to cooperate with each other on "special
projects," he may have been a double-agent, working for Iraq at the
same time. Remember that Saddam Hussein had threatened revenge
against the United States ("Does the United States realize the meaning
of opening the stores of the world with the will of Iraqi people?...Does it
realize the meaning of every Iraqi becoming a missile that can cross to
countries and cities?")
Moreover, the White House may not want to admit the specter of state-
sponsored terrorism because it might panic the populace. Such is the
case of a state-sponsored biological attack which has been increasingly
threatening our population.[701]
250
If Iraq indeed proved to be behind the Oklahoma City bombing, it
would not fare well for the Clinton administration, who followed up on
President Bush's Iraqi resettlement program. It would not fare well for
Bush and his business and political cronies — the same CIA/Iran-Contra
coterie who armed and fueled Saddam Hussein's military machine with
conventional and biological weapons.
Whatever the reason, certainly the public wasn't being told the full
truth about the Oklahoma City bombing. They would never be allowed
to glimpse any evidence of the Middle Eastern connection.
"We will leave no stone unturned in our effort to get to the truth."
— Attorney General Janet Reno
"McVeigh and Nichols are going to hell regardless. I'm just looking
forward to sending them there a little sooner."
— U.S. Attorney Joseph Hartzler
Like the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, the "capture" of Timothy McVeigh
was an incredible stroke of timing and luck. Like Oswald, who was
arrested for walking into a movie theater without paying, McVeigh
would be arrested for speeding down the highway with a conspicuously
missing license plate.
In both cases, the FBI was quickly notified that their "suspect" was in
custody. With their extraordinary run of good luck, the FBI was able to
instantly trace the serial number found on the bomb truck to Ford, then
251
to Ryder, then to Elliott's rental agency, then to a "Bob Kling," and
finally to "McVeigh."[703]
Like Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcanno rifle, which the FBI traced from its
entrance into the U.S., to an importer, to Klein's Sporting Goods, to a
sale to an "A.J. Hidell," then to Oswald — all without computers and
over a weekend — the FBI would quickly trace the Ryder truck to the
lone bomber.
Finally, like "lone nut" Lee Harvey Oswald, "lone nut" Timothy James
McVeigh would be transferred from the Noble County jail, paraded in
front of onlookers and the press as the mass murderer. While there was
no Jack Ruby to intervene this time, McVeigh would be led away in a
bright orange jumpsuit, without a bullet-proof vest, which he had
specifically requested.
Ironically, his departing words were, "…I might be Lee Harvey Oswald,
Jr.… You remember what happened with Jack Ruby."[704]
"…That I stopped the vehicle and the defendant was the driver and
only occupant of the vehicle.… That as the defendant was getting his
billfold from his right rear pocket I noticed a bulge under the left side of
his jacket and I thought it could be a weapon.… That I then told the
defendant to pull his jacket back and before he did he said, 'I have a
gun under my jacket.…' That I then grabbed a hold of the left side of
his jacket and drew my own weapon and pointed it at the back of his
head and instructed him to keep his hands up and I walked him over to
the trunk of his car and had him put his hands on the trunk.…"
Yet accounts vary. Some acticles stated that McVeigh was speeding at
81 miles per hour. Yet Hanger only cited him for no license plate, no
insurance, and possession of a concealed weapon. Were these
accounts meant to suggest that McVeigh was trying to make a fast get-
away? If so, why would a man who had just committed such a heinous
crime wish to draw attention to himself?
The cop is exiting his vehicle and walking over to McVeigh's car.
McVeigh's life outside the electric chair is very likely about to come to
an end. What does McVeigh — this hardened combat veteran, this
brutal killer of 169 innocent people — do? He casually informs the cop
that he has a concealed weapon, and meekly hands himself over for
arrest.[705]
….They reveal a McVeigh sharply different from the one sources had
earlier portrayed. He was not the silent soldier who gave jailers only his
name, rank and serial number. Rather, he was often polite. And
smooth.[707]
With only the serial number of a truck differential and a sketch to work
with, the FBI fanned out through Junction City. Upon examining the
rental receipt at Elliott's Body Shop, the FBI discovered all the
information on it was false. As Agent Henry Gibbon's affidavit states:
The person who signed the rental agreement identified himself as Bob
Kling, SSAN 962-42-9694, South Dakota driver's license number
YF942A6, and provided a home address of 428 Maple Drive, Omaha,
Nebraska, telephone 913-238-2425. The person listed the destination
as 428 Maple Drive, Redfield, South Dakota. b. Subsequent
investigation conducted by the FBI determined all that information to
be false.
Yet employees of Elliott's Body Shop did recognize the sketch of Unsub
#1 as the man who rented the truck used in the bombing. The FBI then
took the sketch of Unsub #1 to the Dreamland Motel, where they found
that Unsub #1 had rented a room from April 14 through the April 18.
As the FBI affidavit states:
253
An employee of the Dreamland Motel in Junction City, Kansas,
identified Timothy McVeigh as a guest at the motel from April 14, 1995,
through April 18, 1995. This employee, when shown a photo lineup
identified Timothy McVeigh's picture as the individual who registered at
the motel under the name of Tim McVeigh, listed his automobile as a
Mercury bearing an Arizona license plate, and provided a Michigan
address, on North Van Dyke in Decker Michigan.[708]
On April 21, only hours before McVeigh was due to be released from
the Perry County Jail, "District Attorney John Maddox received a call
from the FBI telling him to hang onto the prisoner.[709]
As the New York Times reported, "…a routine check of his Social
Security number matched one flagged by the FBI as belonging to a
suspect in the bombing."[710] This subsumes that the FBI had obtained
McVeigh's Social Security number from the accurate registration
information at the Dreamland, not the false information at Elliott's.
Why would Tim McVeigh — who was bent on committing such a terrible
crime — use a fake name and address at the Ryder rental agency, yet
use his real name and address at a motel right down the street?[711]
Perhaps because, as will be explained below, McVeigh never visited the
rental agency.
On April 21, Terry Nichols was busy with chores around his new home
in Herrington. Unbeknownst to him, a team of 11 FBI agents had
already staked out his house.
Strangely, FBI agents then read Nichols his Miranda rights, something
not normally done unless someone is under arrest, and told him three
times he was free to go.
In fact, Nichols wasn't free to go. An arrest warrant had been issued
five hours earlier, but Nichols wouldn't be informed of this until almost
midnight. In the interim, he and Marife were questioned by the FBI for
over nine hours.
254
Back at his house, a SWAT team had already arrived, and agents
were sealing it with crime tape, and checking it for booby traps. It was
there that agents would claim to discover 55-gallon barrels, rolls of
primadet detonator cord, non-electric blasting caps, and a receipt for
40 50-pound bags of ammonium nitrate with McVeigh's thumbprint.
Had McVeigh actually left such a note in the cruiser? When McVeigh
defense team investigator Marty Reed attempted to interview Hanger,
he was told by OHP chief legal counsel John Lindsey, "The FBI has
requested that no one interview Trooper Charlie Hanger."
And as in the Kennedy case, the evidence collected by the FBI in their
case, code-named "OKBOMB," would prove just as specious. The FBI
quickly claimed that they had traced the Ryder truck from a serial
number — 6 4 PVA26077 — found on its rear differential, which had
flown 575 feet through the air "like a boomerang" and landed on a Ford
Fiesta. (For those confused about the FBI finding the serial number on
the "axle," it was actually on the axle housing.)[712][713]
The Ryder truck belonging to the axle, rented under the alias of "Bob
Kling," the FBI claimed, was the instrument of the deadly destruction in
Oklahoma City.
Not only is McVeigh clear-skinned, he is a lanky 6', 2", and weighs only
160 pounds. He does not have a deformed chin.[714]
Readers will also recall that ATF informant Carol Howe, who had
penetrated the Elohim City enclave, told ATF and FBI agents that the
sketch of John Doe 1 who rented the truck appeared to be Elohim City
resident and close Strassmeir friend Peter Ward.[715]
According to J.D. Cash, so did Dennis Mahon. Mahon told the reporter
that Ward was "known at Elohim City as 'Andy's shadow'... Ward went
everywhere Strassmeir did and is dumb as dirt." Mahon also added, "…
you know his brother, Tony, has a pocked complexion..."[716]
Yet authorities insist that it was McVeigh who rented the truck on April
17. They introduced surveillance footage from a Junction City
McDonalds, slightly over a mile from Elliott's, showing McVeigh walking
towards the cashier at approximately 3:55 p.m. Yet McVeigh was not
wearing military attire as was "Kling." Nevertheless, the prosecution
contends that McVeigh left the restaurant, walked the 1.3 miles to
Elliott's during a light drizzle, then showed up nice and dry, wearing
completely different clothes.
Eldon Elliott would play along for the prosecution. In spite of his
previous grand jury testimony, and the FBI 302 statements of his
employees, Elliott testified at McVeigh's trial that Timothy McVeigh was
the man who rented the truck.[717]
Interesting that he could make such an assertion, when the FBI hadn't
brought him before a line-up eventhough they had questioned him just
48 hours after the bombing. In fact, the FBI didn't show Elliott a photo
line-up until 48 days later. During McVeigh's trial, Elliott attempted to
compensate for the discrepancy in McVeigh's height by stating that
McVeigh had "leaned" on the counter while filling out the reservation
form.
When they returned the next day, they were again met by the
mysterious "Ryder employee" who didn't produce a business card.
When they asked the body shop's employees why the government car
was there, they were told it was being worked on. But the investigators
saw no signs of damage. Upon returning the following day, the car was
parked between two campers, ostensibly in an attempt to conceal
it.[719]
To rent his Ryder truck, "McVeigh" allegedly used his pre-paid phone
card, obtained in November of 1993 through the Spotlight under the
name "Daryl Bridges," to call Elliott's and make the reservation. Vicki
Beemer told the FBI she recalled speaking to a man named "Kling."
Records supposedly indicate the call was made on April 14, from a
Junction City, Kansas bus station.[722]
Yet the FBI had no way of proving that the call placed to the Ryder
agency under the name "Kling" was actually made by McVeigh, or even
that the Spotlight card was used for the call. OPUS Telecom, which runs
the system used for the pre-paid card, maintains no records indicating
exactly who placed a specific call.[723]
At the time the FBI alleged McVeigh made the 9:53 a.m. call, he was at
a phone booth down the street from a Firestone store, where he had
been negotiating a deal on a 1977 Mercury. The store manager who
sold McVeigh the car, Thomas Manning, testified that his customer
excused himself, then came back 10 or 15 minutes later. The FBI
contends that McVeigh used this period to make two calls, one to Terry
Nichols' house, and one to Elliott's. Yet, as the Rocky Mountain News
noted:
An early version of the FBI reconstruction showed two calls within two
minutes from phones 25 miles apart, which implied involvement by
someone other than McVeigh and Nichols, since neither was then in the
second location.
But the location of that call later was reassigned to a place fitting the
government's case.[724]
How convenient.
Lea McGown, owner of the Dreamland Motel in Junction City, and her
son Eric, both recall seeing McVeigh pull into the motel with his truck
on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, April 16, as did residents Renda
Truong, Connie Hood, David King, and King's mother, Hetta. The truck
appeared to be an older, privately owned Ryder truck. McGown had
just returned from Manhattan, Kansas, where he and his mother were
having lunch. The time was approximately 4:00 p.m. Truong testified
258
she had seen it after Easter Sunday dinner, which would have been
around dusk.
His mother, like both Hood and Truong, was certain it was the 16th. As
she stated in her FBI 302:
She is certain that the Ryder truck she saw parked at the DREAMLAND
MOTEL and in which she observed TIM MCVEIGH sitting on one
occasion was driven into the motel grounds on Sunday, April 16, 1995.
She recalls that the Ryder truck that was parked at the DREAMLAND
MOTEL on April 16, 1995, through April 18, 1995, did not have the word
Ryder on the back doors as do other Ryder trucks she has seen. She
recalls the back doors of the Ryder truck in which she saw TIM
MCVEIGH were a plain faded yellow color, with no printing visible on
them.[729]
Hetta King was also sure it was Sunday the 16th. "There's no question
in my mind — it was Easter Sunday," King testified.
The reader will recall that this is the exact same day that Phyliss
Kingsley and Linda Kuhlman saw the convoy, including "McVeigh," John
Doe 2 and 3, and the Ryder truck at the Hi Way Grill just south of
Oklahoma City. It was approximately 6:00 p.m.
The two locations are hundreds of miles apart — too far apart to drive
in two hours.
This is also the same day the FBI alleged Nichols drove from Kansas to
Oklahoma City to pick up McVeigh, who had left his Mercury Marquis
near the YMCA as the "get-away" vehicle. Yet a witness at the
Dreamland recalled seeing McVeigh's yellow Mercury at the motel the
next day.
Interesting that "McVeigh" and his car could be in two places at once.
Real estate agent Georgia Rucker and her son also saw a Ryder truck
at Geary Lake days before "Kling" rented his. Then on Tuesday
morning, as Rucker again drove by lake, she not only saw a Ryder
truck, but two other vehicles as well. She thought this was "very
suspicious."[730]
On Monday, April 17, Connie Hood saw the Ryder truck again. This
time, there were several men "fiddling with the back of the truck."
259
Hood thinks one of those men was Michael Fortier; she recalls he
had scraggly hair and a beard. Those who recall the photo of Fortier
taken after the bombing may recall that Fortier had just shaved off his
beard, leaving a clearly visible demarcation line.
While these are all blatant discrepancies in the FBI's official timeline,
the Bureau was apparently interested in McGown's testimony because
the Dreamland is the only place where McVeigh, or someone
purporting to be McVeigh, signed his real name.
What is curious is that the FBI has consistently promoted the idea that
there was only one Ryder truck involved. Yet the statements of
McGown, Bricktown warehouse worker David Snider, and others
indicate that there were two Ryder trucks involved. When a Newsweek
reporter spoke to the security guard at Elliott's, he said "Think about
two trucks."[731]
This fact was reiterated by grand juror Hoppy Heidelberg. "A small
number of people testified during the grand jury hearings about two
trucks," said Heidelberg. "McVeigh picked his truck up on Monday. John
Doe 2 had his truck the weekend before. The fact that there were two
trucks I'm very comfortable with."[732]
If McVeigh had rented his truck on April 17, as the FBI contends, why
did witnesses report seeing a Ryder truck at Geary State Fishing Lake
as early as April 10? It was at this lake, on April 18, the FBI originally
asserted, that the two suspects built their magic ANFO bomb. FBI
agents reported finding diesel fuel and strands of detonator cord on
the ground.[733]
Yet at the time witnesses first saw the truck at the lake, neither
McVeigh or Nichols were in Kansas. As the Denver Post reported:
Nichols was returning from a gun show in Michigan, and McVeigh was
holed up in a residence hotel in Kingman, Arizona. The government's
key witness, Michael Fortier, also was not in Kansas.[734]
As will be seen, this is not the first time the government excluded
witnesses who's testimony didn't fit with their carefully crafted version
of events.
To build their magic ANFO bomb, the FBI reports McVeigh and Nichols
began searching for racing fuel and detonator cord in September of
'94. Using the calling card McVeigh and Nichols had obtained under the
pseudonym of "Daryl Bridges," ostensibly inspired by the film "Blown
Away" staring Jeff Bridges, McVeigh allegedly made over 22 calls to
various companies who supply chemicals, racing fuel, and even one of
the country's largest explosives manufacturers.
His first call was to Paulsen's Military Supply, just outside of Madison,
Wisconsin, looking for detonators. According to authorities, McVeigh
left Paulsen's business card in the patrol car upon his arrest, that read,
"Dave" (presumably David Paulsen, Ed Paulsen's son, who McVeigh had
met at a gun show), with the notation, "More five pound sticks of TNT
by May 1."[736]
Another friend was Greg Pfaff, whom McVeigh had met at gun shows.
Pfaff testified that McVeigh had called him seeking to buy det cord.
McVeigh was so eager to obtain the cord, Pfaff said, that he offered to
drive to Virginia.
Another of the calls reflected on the mens' calling card was to Mid-
American Chemical. Linda Juhl, an employee of the company,
remembered receiving a call in the Fall of 1994 from a fellow in Kansas
who wanted to purchase Anhydrous Hydrazine, a rocket fuel which can
be used to boost the power of an ANFO bomb.
The FBI also reported that two individuals, one named "Terry Tuttle,"
visited Thumb Hobbies, Etc. in Mariette, Michigan in mid-December,
1993, looking to buy 100 percent nitromethane model airplane fuel.
According to Sanilac County Sheriff Virgil Stickler, the store clerk
inquired about ordering it, then told the customers several weeks later
that he could not or would not do so. The clerk said that "Tuttle" replied
that it was okay, that they had found another source.[737]
Another incident not made public until the County Grand Jury
investigation was the recollection of Gary Antene, who saw McVeigh
and John Doe 2 at Danny's Hobby Shop in Oklahoma City the Saturday
before the bombing. The two men asked him if Danny's carried 100
percent nitromethane fuel.
261
"I explained that no one in the RC (remote-controlled) airplane
hobby used 100 percent nitromethane as a fuel, that at most we
generally used nothing over 20 percent," said Antene.
Antene reported the incident to the FBI a couple of times, but was not
called to testify at McVeigh's trial, probably because his account didn't
fit into the FBI's "official" timeline.[738]
On October 20, the FBI alleged that McVeigh checked into a motel in
Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. The next day, he drove 170 miles to the Chief
Auto Parts Nationals drag race in Ennis, Texas. Timothy Chambers, an
employee of VP Racing Fuels, testified at McVeigh's trial that he and
co-worker Brad Horton sold a man resembling McVeigh three 54 gallon
drums of Nitromethane racing fuel for $2,775. The man said the fuel
was for him and his friends who race Harleys once a year in Oklahoma
City. Chambers testified it didn't make sense for a few motorcycle
racers to buy that much fuel, and had never seen anyone pay cash for
that large a purchase.[739]
Interestingly, the FBI didn't announce this new lead until one month
before the start of McVeigh's trial, as other evidence, including that
from the FBI's crime lab, began falling apart. The Rocky Mountain
News reported that Glynn Tipton had alerted the ATF to the strange
purchase as far back as October of 1994.[740]
The startling discovery of McVeigh's racing fuel purchases, like the new
revelations of Thomas Manning, or those of Eldon Elliott, were
reminiscent of the sudden discoveries by Lockerbie investigators of
Libyan terrorists. The 1988 bombing had originally been attributed to
Iran, contracted through former Syrian army officer Ahmed Jibril of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-
GC), in retaliation for the American downing of an Iranian passenger
liner a year and-a-half earlier. Now that George Bush needed the
cooperation of the Syrians for his Gulf War coalition, the blame needed
to be shifted to someone else.
Yet could the FBI actually tell from a hole drilled in a lock which
particular bit had made the impression? The FBI hadn't discovered the
bit in Nichols' tool kit until six months after the robbery. No doubt it had
been used since, as Nichols, a handyman, had recently moved into his
new house. The signature of the drill bit would undoubtedly have been
altered.
How could the FBI be so sure it was the bit which had drilled the locks
at the quarry?
Yet if the bit was used afterwards on metal, or if it had been sharpened,
it would change the striations of the markings. If it still contained bits
of metal shavings from the lock, however, then a match could be
made. But agents testified that no shavings were found.
Then how did the FBI match the bit? Frank Shiller, a firearm and tool
examiner at Forensic Consultant Services in Fort Worth, offered his
opinion: "Some of that type of work has been done, but it's not a very
frequent thing. I don't think it would be very productive."
263
Shiller, who has 36 years experience in forensic science, has never
even been asked to conduct such a test, nor has his boss, Max
Courtney, with 27 years experience.
The quarry also had pre-mixed professional grade ANFO in stock. Why
didn't Nichols steal that too, since, as the government alleges, it was
the prime ingredient in the bomb? This certainly would have been
easier and more discreet than buying large quantities of ammonium
nitrate, diesel, and racing fuel, then attempting to mix it into a gigantic
bomb. But for some reason, our prime suspects decided to leave the
professional grade ANFO behind, and go to the trouble and expense of
making their own.
Phone records also show that McVeigh called military surplus dealer
Dave Paulsen on December 17 from Kingman, and Nicholas testified
that McVeigh drove to Chicago to see Paulsen in late December to sell
him the blasting caps.
Finally, there would be the ordinance found at Nichols' home and the
farm of his brother James. The Decker, Michigan farm contained 28
fifty-pound bags of ammonium nitrate, non-electric blasting caps, a 55-
gallon drum containing fuel-oil, and large fuel tanks which appeared to
contain diesel fuel. As previously mentioned, neighbors Daniel Stomber
and Paul Isydorak told authorities that the Nichols brothers and
McVeigh would experiment with the items to make small homemade
bombs.
A search of Terry Nichols' home by the ATF and FBI allegedly turned up
33 firearms, an anti-tank launcher (which was inert), five 60-foot
Primadet detonator cords, non-electric blasting caps, ammonium
nitrate, a fuel meter (which was inoperable — a fact that was never
mentioned), and four 55-gallon blue plastic drums. (Nichols' son Josh,
who frequently played at his dad's house, believed the barrels were
white with blue tops.)
While some accounts indicate that the drums were of the type used in
the bombing, the New York Times wrote on April 30, "…it is not clear
that they match blue plastic fragments found at the blast site."[746] In
fact, the FBI never stated that the fragments removed from bombing
victims matched those from Nichols' home. Certainly the FBI, with the
most sophisticated crime lab in the world, would have been able to
determine whether the fragments were of the same type. Moreover,
most of the fragments, if they had come from Nichols' home, would
have been white, not blue.
Those blue fragments may very likely have been from the 80 or so blue
trash barrels distributed throughout the building for the purposes of
trash collection. As Richard Williams, a 51 year-old GSA manager
testified at McVeigh's trial, "They were placed throughout the building
for pickup during the week."
One month later, Nichols would write his cryptic letter to McVeigh,
instructing him to extend the lease on unit number 37, which allegedly
contained stolen coins and guns, and "liquidate 40," in case Nichols
265
failed to return from his last trip to the Philippines. It was this letter
that contained the infamous phrase, "You're on your own. Go for it!"
Nichols family friend Bob Papovich also claims the pair was selling
fertilizer at gun shows as plant food, along with an odd assortment of
other items sold at gun shows, repackaging it in smaller bags to
increase their profit margin.
Yet two tons of fertilizer is an awful lot to sell at gun shows. Had
McVeigh and Nichols actually purchased that much fertilizer? What is
interesting is that employees of Mid-Kansas Co-op were never able to
positively identify McVeigh or Nichols during the purported fertilizer
buying trips. Although employee Frederick Schendler thought one of
the men may have been Terry Nichols, he said during a pre-trial
hearing that the second man wasn't McVeigh. He was driving a truck
that didn't appear to be Nichols', with a red trailer attached. Papovich
told me that Nichols owns no such truck.
FBI agent Louis Hupp testified at trial that he hadn't found McVeigh's
fingerprints at Elliott's, in motel rooms where McVeigh stayed, or in the
storage lockers where McVeigh allegedly stored the bomb-making
materials.[748]
Ramsey: Did you also test the Ryder rental truck reservation form?
Ramsey: Did you check the counter at Elliott's Body Shop for
fingerprints? I don't recall if I asked you that or not.
Ramsey: And did you also check to see if there were any fingerprints
on any of the storage units that have been discussed in this case?
Hupp also testified that he had not found McVeigh's prints on the rental
paperwork, or the key belonging to the Ryder truck, found in a nearby
alley. Yet Hupp explained, "There are many times a person doesn't
leave prints. It's a chance impression."
On November 22, 1963, after JFK's murder, the FBI took Oswald's
Mannlicher-Carcanno rifle to their Washington, D.C. crime lab. The
technicians concluded that Oswald's prints were not on the weapon.
The FBI then returned the rifle to the Dallas Police Department. Shortly
thereafter, the DPD excitedly announced that they had "discovered"
Oswald's palm print.[749]
In 1984, FBI Agent Vincent Drain, who handled the weapon, was
questioned by JFK researcher Henry Hurt. Drain concluded that there
267
never was such a print. "All I can figure is that [Oswald's print] was
some kind of cushion because they were getting a lot of heat by
Sunday night. You could take that print off Oswald's card and put it on
the rife. Something like that happened."
Yet once again, this evidence was highly questionable. It seemed the
crystals had disappeared before independent experts for either the
prosecution or defense could confirm its existence.
As one FBI lab technician told the New York Times, "You get an
inadvertent bonding of like-minded individuals supporting each other's
false conclusions."
In March of 1997, the Los Angeles Times reported the findings of the
Justice Department Inspector General's office, which concluded that
the lab made "scientifically unsound" conclusions that were "biased in
favor of the prosecution" in the Oklahoma City bombing case.
The still-secret draft report, obtained by the paper, also concludes that
supervisors approved lab reports that they "cannot support" and that
FBI lab officials may have erred about the size of the blast, the amount
of explosives involved and the type of explosives used in the bombing.
According to the Times, the draft report shows that FBI examiners
could not identify the triggering device for the truck bomb or how it
was detonated. It also indicates that a poorly maintained lab
268
environment could have led to contamination of critical pieces of
evidence, the Times said.[753]
Whitehurst also told the Inspector General that the agents who
conducted the tests in Oklahoma City, including Tom Thurman, Chief of
the Explosives Unit, and Roger Martz, Chief of the Chemistry and
Toxicology Unit, were not even qualified to do so.[754]
Whitehurst also claimed that Martz had perjured his testimony in prior
cases. Whitehurst himself was even asked to alter his reports.
Materials-analysis-unit chief Corby "had me come into his room one
day and told me they — I don't know who 'they' were — wanted me to
take statements out of my report.... Whitehurst refused.[757]*
Both Martz and Thurman were fully aware of the fact that they were in
violation of procedures and protocols of the FBI Laboratory and did
knowingly and purposely commit perjury and obstruction of justice in
this matter.[758]
Interestingly, the chief prosecutor in the case was none other than
Louis Freeh, who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the time. According
to Whitehurst, Freeh did not have a single piece of evidence tying
Moody to the crime. Thurman got around this little inconvenience by
sending the evidence to his friend Roger Martz, who, like Thurman, was
not qualified to perform the examination. Both Thurman and Martz
269
were recently removed from their positions due to allegations of
falsification of evidence and perjury.
Thurman's original claim to fame was the Pan Am 103 case. He had
concluded that a tiny fragment of microchip, amazingly discovered two
years after the bombing, was part of a batch of timers sold to the
Libyans by the Swiss firm MEBO. This "new evidence" allowed the U.S.
government to point the finger of blame at Libya, conveniently letting
Syria — originally implicated in the bombing — off the hook.
In the World Trade Center case, Whitehurst testified that he was told
not to provide any information or evidence, such as alternate
explanations to the urea-nitrate theory, that could be used by the
defense to challenge the prosecutors' hypothesis of guilt.[761]
"That piece has gone through a lot of hands since the time that I've
seen it," Burmeister testified, "and I can't speak to how they could
have disappeared."[763]
270
As Canadian County Sheriff Deputy Clint Boehler said, "The FBI
disturbed and removed evidence. They don't tell anybody else; they
don't work with anybody else.… How did they know it was the truck?
They never looked at so many obvious things."[764]
Had McVeigh actually left such a letter in his vehicle, and dropped
Paulsen's business card in the patrol car? While it is possible, such
scenes are reminiscent of the doctored photograph of Lee Harvey
Oswald holding a rifle and Communist newspaper, or Earth First!
activist Judi Bari holding a machine gun, which was loaned to her for
the photo by an FBI informant — a photo which he took.
271
In Oklahoma City, as in all criminal conspiracies, the old adage,
"follow the money" would apply. Certainly a pair of lone nuts with a
fertilizer/fuel bomb wouldn't need much — a couple of thousand dollars
at most — considering they didn't have to pay off a web of co-
conspirators.
Yet what is interesting is that the FBI had already come to the
conclusion that the bomb components were already purchased or
stolen by the date of the robbery.
Nicholas: He said that he screwed him some way out of some money
or something.
Nicholas: That Bob did for when Tim worked for him.
Yet McVeigh had a solid alibi. He was at a gun show in Kent, Ohio on
November 5.
Moore told the author he didn't have a rider because he was afraid
some insurance company secretary would see his large collection and
tell her boyfriend, who would then come and rob him. A curious
explanation for failing to insure a highly valuable collection. Moore
claims he only got a limited settlement — approximately $10,000.
This source also claimed, long before defense attorney Michael Tigar's
allegations were made public, that the motive of the "robbery" was
insurance fraud, staged with the help of Nichols and McVeigh. "Nichols
had simply bought weapons [from Moore]…. Moore approached Nichols
about the fraud originally.… Moore took payment of some odd items
that winds up in Terry Nichols' [storage locker]."
When I spoke to Moore's friend and neighbor, Nora Waye, she told me
Moore had complained to her that the local Sheriff who investigated
the robbery, "blew [Moore's] cover."
273
Could a phony robbery set-up explain the wigs, masks, and
pantyhose in Terry Nichol's storage locker? Given the relationship
between McVeigh and Moore, it is possible the two men made some
sort of deal.
"Moore's being protected," said my source. "No matter how this thing's
going to get played out. He'll talk to you all day long and won't tell you
a thing. He knows how to talk."
"We have no information showing anyone other than Mr. McVeigh and
Mr. Nichols are the masterminds" - U.S. Attorney Beth Wilkinson
While the Justice Department (DoJ) focused its efforts on McVeigh and
Nichols, scant attention was focused on other suspects — John Doe 2,
the mysterious entity who was seen with McVeigh, and had
accompanied him the morning of the bombing. Witnesses also saw him
with McVeigh in the Murrah Building, in stores, at restaurants, at a bar,
and at the truck rental shop before the bombing. Still others claim to
have seen him speeding away from the scene. All in all, there are
almost two-dozen witnesses who reported seeing John Doe 2.
The FBI made a big show of tracking down this illusive, menacing-
looking suspect. "The FBI has conducted over 9,000 witness interviews
and has followed every possible lead in an intensive effort to identify
and bring to justice anyone who was involved in this disaster," stated
U.S. Attorney Patrick Ryan in a letter to the victims' families.[770]
The search for John Doe 2 quickly became the biggest man-hunt in FBI
history. What authorities weren't saying however, was that not only
was there a John Doe 2, there were least four John Does! Yet the issue
was quickly and quietly narrowed down to just one John Doe 2.
274
On April 23, four days after the bombing, The Washington Post
quoted a senior law enforcement official who said "at least four" men
were involved in the terrorist act last week and "there very well could
be more."[771]
The FBI then requalified its position on May 15: "Wherever we look, it's
Terry and Timmy, Terry and Timmy — and nobody else," quipped an
unnamed FBI official in Time magazine.
Yet on June 11, another FBI official was quoted in the Post as saying, "I
think when this is over we'll have at least six or eight guys indicted and
in custody. It's just too big for two guys to pull off."[772]
Then on June 15, the FBI backtracked again. "Periodically you just get
something in an investigation that goes nowhere. John Doe 2 goes
nowhere. It doesn't show up in associations, it doesn't show up in
phone calls. It doesn't show up among the Army buddies of
McVeigh…"[773]
The previous day, the FBI put out a story that John Doe 2 may have
actually been Todd Bunting, a soldier at Fort Riley, Kansas who had
rented a truck at the same dealer McVeigh had. The FBI stated that
Bunting wore clothing similar to that ascribed to John Doe 2, that he
had a tattoo in the same place, and that he wore a hat similar to John
Doe 2's.
Yet Elliott's employees dismissed Bunting as the person who was seen
with McVeigh, and Bunting held a press conference stating that he had
in fact rented a truck at Elliott's — 24 hours after McVeigh allegedly
rented his.
Now, after a November interview with a prosecutor and two FBI agents,
Kessinger was "confident that he had Todd Bunting in mind when he
provided the description for the John Doe 2 composite." Kessinger, the
brief continued, is "now unsure" whether anyone accompanied
McVeigh. But his two co-workers "continue to believe that two men
came in to rent the truck."
In that brief, the prosecution speculated that the defense might use
"Kessinger's admitted confusion" to challenge his identification of
McVeigh.
275
It seemed it was less "Kessinger's admitted confusion" than a
deliberate fabrication by prosecutors and the FBI to cover up the
existence of John Doe 2. As Kessinger told bombing victim Glenn
Wilburn, who conducted his own investigation, "I don't know how they
came up with that one."
"How can you be so wrong 60 hours after the event and so right a year
and a half later?" Jones asked him. "Could you be changing your mind
because the government wants you to?"
Yet on March 25 and April 5, Hartzler had written Jones that "The
existence and identity of this John Doe 2, whom we are confident is not
Mr. Bunting, is the subject of a continuing investigation."
"They keep telling us they're looking for John Doe No. 2, but then they
turn around and give statements indicating that they don't believe
there is a John Doe No. 2," said a woman whose husband was killed in
the bombing.[777]
Other victims, like naive children, blindly placed their faith in the
government's dubious assurances. Hartzler held one meeting with
bombing victims in which he "discussed and disposed of some of the
more bizarre theories."
"I just got a better feeling about what's going on," said Bud Welch,
whose daughter, Julie, died in the attack. "The prosecution assured us
that there was no evidence that was suppressed. We really didn't know
that," added Welch.
"We know what's going on now and that they're there for us," Pamela
Weber-Fore said of the prosecutors.[778]
276
Other victims weren't as easily fooled. "I don't think that there's any
question about the fact that they're covering up who was involved in
the bombing," said V.Z. Lawton, a HUD worker who was injured in the
blast. "I've talked to five witnesses myself who saw McVeigh with John
Doe number two in Oklahoma City that morning, within fifteen minutes
of the blast... tells me that there is something wrong."[779]
As Nichols' attorney Michael Tigar said, "It's strange that the official
version has focused on Nichols and McVeigh, and that the government
is now busily engaged in denying all possibility that there could be
anybody else."[780]
Yet federal prosecutors still had one hurdle to overcome before they
could make their case. They had to deal with Hoppy Heidelberg.
Heidelberg, who often quoted from the grand juror's handbook, was
aware that the grand jury was charged with the task of determining the
relevance of the evidence, and asking those questions pertinent to the
case. So far, all the evidence centered around Timothy McVeigh and
Terry Nichols. Heidelberg wanted to know why prosecutors had not
subpoenaed the many witnesses who had seen John Doe 2.
"No one who saw McVeigh with other suspects, was ever allowed to
testify before the federal grand jury," said Heidelberg. The obvious
inference being that those who saw McVeigh would have also seen John
Doe 2.
But Patrick Ryan seemed to be controlling the jury. He did not like
Heidelberg's tendency to go against the flow. In a letter to the victims'
families, Ryan states:
"Of course! I demanded bomb experts all along. And engineers and
geologists. They said — do you want to know what they said? They
didn't have the money! I said I'd go down to the University of
Oklahoma and bring some geologists back myself for free. They
wouldn't let me.
In order to satisfy the grand jury that an ANFO bomb blew up the
building, prosecutors called in one bomb expert — Robert Hopler.
Hopler, it turns out, recently retired from Dyno-Nobel, an explosives
manufacturer in Salt Lake City. Dyno-Nobel used to be Hercules Powder
Company — a reputed CIA front.
"I knew he was CIA," said Heidelberg. "It was pretty obvious to me and
most of the jury."[784]
Effectively immediately, you are dismissed from the grand jury. Your
obligation of secrecy continues. Any disclosure of matters that
278
occurred before the grand jury constitutes a contempt of court.
Each violation of the obligation of secrecy may be punished
cumulatively.
But Heidelberg claims the real reason was a letter he wrote to Judge
Russell dated October 5th, in which Heidelberg states:
The families of the victims deserve to know who was involved in the
bombing, and there appears to be an attempt to protect the identity of
certain suspects, namely John Doe 2….
"I think they (the government) knows who John Doe 2 is, and they are
protecting him," said Heidelberg in an interview in Jubilee Magazine.
"This is because John Doe 2 is either a government agent or informant
and they can't afford for that to get out."[785]
Eventually, the FBI dropped the John Doe 2 lead altogether. John Doe 2
had been a red herring, a false lead, the Justice Department claimed.
John Doe 2 had never really existed.[786]
Catina Lawson, who was friends with McVeigh, remembered John Doe 2
from the Summer of '92, when she and her friends would hold parties
and invite soldiers from nearby Fort Riley. McVeigh showed up with
Andy Strassmeir, Mike Fortier, and Michael Brescia. In fact, Lawson's
roommate, Lindsay Johnson, dated the handsome, well-built Brescia.
Two days after the bombing, Lawson called the FBI and told them that
Brescia closely resembled the sketch of John Doe 2.
Yet in spite of overturning 21,000 stones, the FBI never even bothered
to follow up on her story.
Robert Gohn, who lived across the road from McVeigh in Kingman,
recalled seeing one of the mysterious John Does around the early
Summer of '94. According to Gohn, one day a short, stocky man who
looked "like a weight lifter" arrived at McVeigh's trailer with Terry
Nichols.[787]
On April 7, Dr. Paul Heath was working in his office at the Murrah
Building when "McVeigh" and two of his companions stopped by for a
279
chat. Heath recalled one of the men as "American-Indian looking"
and "handsome."[788]
Early the next day, around 1:00 a.m., Melba was working the deli
counter at Albertson's Supermarket on South May in Oklahoma City,
when "McVeigh" and John Doe 2 stopped by for sandwiches.[792]
"McVeigh," it seems, was still in town when Phyliss Kingsley and Linda
Kuhlman saw three vehicles pull into the Hi-Way Grill, just south of
Oklahoma City, around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. McVeigh came in and
ordered hamburgers and fries to go, and was accompanied by a short,
stocky, handsome man, of either Mexican or American Indian descent.
The man closely resembled the FBI sketch of John Doe 2.[793]
That same day, back at the Dreamland Motel in Junction City, Connie
Hood was returning to her room around 12:45 a.m. when a man in
room 23 quickly opened the door as if expecting a visitor, then quickly
closed it when he saw Hood. The man, who startled her, was in his
early 20s, about 5'8" tall, 180 lbs., with dark hair brushed straight back
and an olive complexion. Hood recalls he closely resembled the sketch
of John Doe 2, but with slightly fuller features. She described him as a
"foreigner."[794]
The following day, Hood and her husband Donald returned to the
Dreamland to visit their friend David King in room 22. A Ryder truck
pulled up at the same time they did, the driver strongly resembling the
man Hood saw the previous day.
One exit away from the Dreamland Motel sits the Great Western Inn.
According to the manager, a Middle Eastern man stayed at the motel
on the 17th. "He spoke broken English," said the manager. "[He] gave a
foreign name and was driving a Ryder truck." The man closely
resembled the FBI's sketch of John Doe 2.
280
"Sometime on Monday," recalled Connie Hood, "those two —
McVeigh and the foreigner — loaded up together, in a Ryder truck, and
pulled out of the Dreamland parking lot together… that was the last I
saw of them."[795]
Later that day, janitors Katherine Woodly and Martin Johnson were
working the 5-9 p.m. shift in the Murrah Building when they saw
"McVeigh" and John Doe 2. McVeigh spoke to Martin about a job, and
John Doe 2 nodded to Woodly.[796]
Debbie Nakanashi was working at the Post Office across the street from
the Murrah Building around on Monday or Tuesday when "McVeigh" and
John Doe 2 stopped in and asked where they might find federal job
applications. Nakanashi helped provide the description for the well-
known profile sketch of John Doe 2 in the baseball cap.
"There was either two or three men, but one jumped out the driver's
side, and one or two out the passenger side," Rubsamen told the
Rocky Mountain News. "The first thing that struck me was how quickly
they jumped out. Those guys were in a hurry."[798]
The Ryder truck would make its appearance the following evening at
the Cattle Baron's Steakhouse in Perry, Oklahoma. Jeff Meyers and
another customer recalled seeing McVeigh and a companion, who
stopped by for a few beers. The man was approximately six feet tall
and weighed 260 pounds — a description not befitting the John Doe 2s
described by other witnesses.[799]
Fred Skrdla, a cashier at a 24-hour truck stop near Billings, told the FBI
he sold fuel to McVeigh between 1 and 3 a.m. on April 19. The station
is about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City.
As the sun rose, McVeigh and a friend sat down for coffee at Jackie's
Farmers Store in Mulhall, Oklahoma. Mulhall Postmaster Mary Hunnicutt
stood right next to McVeigh as he ordered his coffee. She was
"advised" not to discuss what she had seen, lest she be summoned
before the Federal Grand Jury. She wasn't.[801]
Ten minutes before the blast, Leroy Brooks was sitting in his car at the
Sooner Post Office across from the Murrah Building, when a Ryder truck
pulled up across the street, trailed by a yellow Mercury. The drivers of
both vehicles got out and walked to the back of the truck, where they
spoke for a few seconds, and exchanged a small package. After Brooks
came out of the Post Office, he saw that the Ryder truck, which
contained a passenger, had moved in front of the Murrah Building.
"McVeigh" was walking briskly across 5th Street towards the Journal
Record building.
Federal authorities had still more witnesses to call on had they wanted
to. Mike Moroz, who was at work at Johnny's Tire Store on 10th and
Hudson, on April 19, looked up to see a Ryder truck pull in at 8:40 a.m.
The occupants were looking for directions to the Murrah Building.
Moroz caught a glimpse of the passenger — a stocky man with dark
curly hair wearing a ball cap, and a tattoo on his upper left arm.
At approximately the same time as Snider saw the Ryder truck, Tulsa
banker Kyle Hunt came upon the truck at Main and Broadway, trailed
282
by a yellow Mercury. Hunt said the Mercury driver was Timothy
McVeigh. "He gave me that icy, go-to-hell look," said Hunt. "It kind of
unnerved me."[804] While Hunt didn't see the occupants of the truck, he
did recall two passengers in the car. One of them, he said, had long
hair, similar to the man Phyliss Kingsley saw on Sunday at the Hi-Way
Grill. None of the men was Terry Nichols, who was in Herrington that
morning.
Just outside the Murrah Building, Dennis "Rodney" Johnson was driving
his catering truck, when he suddenly had to brake to avoid hitting two
men who were running towards the parking lot across the street.[805]
The men, who were in "a fast lockstep" with each other, appeared to
be Timothy McVeigh and John Doe 2. Johnson described McVeigh's
companion as "Mexican or American-Indian." He was "dark-skinned…
probably about 5-8 and maybe 160 pounds," Johnson said. "He was
wearing blue jogger pants with a stripe across the side. He had slicked-
black hair."[806]
Then there was Gary Lewis. A pressman for the Journal Record, Lewis
stepped outside to smoke his pipe just minutes before the blast. As
stood in the alley across from the Murrah Building, a yellow Mercury
peeled away from its spot and bore down on him. The driver, whom he
made brief eye-contact with, appeared to be Timothy McVeigh. And his
passenger resembled the sketch of John Doe 2. The car had an
Oklahoma tag (not an Arizona tag as authorities claimed) dangling by
one bolt.
Even FBI Agent John Hersley had testified before the Federal Grand Jury
that "…several witnesses spotted a yellow car carrying McVeigh and
another man speeding away from the parking lot near the… [building]
before the blast."[807]
Finally there was Daina Bradley. A young mother, Bradley was standing
by the window of the Social Security office seconds before the blast,
when she saw a man get out of the passenger side of the Ryder truck.
Moments later, Bradley's world turned to blackness, smoke and dust as
she was showered by falling concrete. Bradley, who lost her leg, her
mother, and her two children in the bombing, still clearly recalls the
man who got out of the truck. He looked like John Doe 2.
Then in March of 1997, after changing it's mind half a dozen times
about the existence of John Doe 2, it was "leaked" to the press that the
FBI was searching for a John Doe. His name was Robert Jaques.
This "new" John Doe 2 had appeared at the office of real estate broker
William Maloney, of Cassville, Missouri, in November of '94, along with
Terry Nichols and a man who looked like McVeigh. They were there to
discuss purchasing a remote piece of land. Joe Lee Davidson, a
salesman in Maloney's office, recalled the encounter with Jaques: "The
day he was here, he seemed to be the one that was in control and in
charge of what was going on," said Davidson. "Nichols never said a
whole lot and McVeigh never did come in…."[809]
They also dropped the lead on Steven Colbern, in spite of the fact that
his pick-up was seen stopped ahead of McVeigh 90 minutes after the
bombing.[810]
The Middle-Eastern lead was also dropped. The FBI denied putting out
the APB on the brown pick-up containing the three Middle Eastern
males seen speeding away from the bombing. And while the FBI knew
about Sam Khalid, they did nothing but ask him some questions.
Yet, as in the Kennedy case, few agents actually knew just why they
were following up on any given lead. Very few ever were ever allowed
to compare notes, or catch a glimpse of the "big picture."
The same held true for local law-enforcement. FBI SAC Bob Ricks —
who doled out a mendacious dose of propaganda during the Waco
massacre — was appointed Public Safety Director after the bombing,
putting him in charge of the OHP.
The OSBI were made coffee boys and drivers for the FBI. District
Attorney Bob Macy, along with local police, were "advised" to stay out
of the case.[812]
Six days before the start of McVeigh's trial, Steven Jones filed a
defense motion citing law-enforcement and defense interviews with a
Filipino terrorist who admitted meeting with bombing defendant Terry
Nichols.
"The government has the nerve to call it pulp fiction," added the
highly-respected source. Their story is 'pulp fiction.'"[813]
In the end, the FBI propounded its disingenuous theory that McVeigh
and Nichols were the "lone bombers" just as quickly as they had
decided that Lee Harvey Oswald was the "Lone assassin" twenty-eight
years ago.
285
Choir Boys
"Stated simply, neither the ATF nor any other federal agency had any
advance knowledge of the deadly bomb that McVeigh delivered to the
Murrah Building.… The prosecution is not withholding anything that
even remotely would support such an outrageous charge." -
Department of Justice
"I can assure you that there has been no government misconduct and
the men and women of the FBI that we're working with are beyond
reproach."
- Stephen Jones
Thus the defense was unable to locate important information that Carol
Howe, a ATF informant, had provided critical warnings that the Murrah
Building was about to be bombed. As Jones wrote:
286
Our patience is exhausted… We are no longer convinced the
documents drafted and furnished to us, after the fact, by bureaucracies
whose very existence and credibility is challenged, can be relied
upon.…
The government has told the district court that it had 'no information"
of a possible foreign involvement when it did. The government has told
the district court that "Andreas Strassmeir was never the subject of the
investigation," when he was.…
Lying about additional suspects wasn't the only crime the "Justice"
Department was guilty of. Manipulating and confiscating evidence also
seemed to be a major tool in their arsenal of deceit.
On April 14, 1995, the FBI placed a call to Assistant Chief Charles
Gaines at the Oklahoma City Fire Department to warn him of a
potential terrorist threat within the next few days. Yet like the FBI's
warnings of the threat against the life of President Kennedy, or Nixon's
infamous Watergate tapes, the audio logs of the Fire Department's
incoming calls were mysteriously "erased."
On April 19, the seismic data monitor at the Omniplex Museum, four
miles from the Murrah Building, had recorded the shock waves of the
explosion. The seismograph readings, including one from the University
of Oklahoma 16 miles away in Norman, presented startling evidence —
evidence that the explosion that ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah
building may in fact have been several distinct blasts. The implications
of this are ominous.
"I was certainly satisfied that these scientists could not say that there
was anything other than one bomb that caused the seismology
reading," said Ryan, a statement obviously inconsistent with the
discussion occurring at the time.
"Ryan lied very heavily," said Briley. "This guy really lied."
After the meeting, Briley politely asked Ryan to give him the original
seismogram in the FBI's possession. Ryan got up, angrily accused
Briley of working for the defense team, then stammered out of the
room.[818]
Surveillance cameras located in the parking lot across from the Murrah
building, and on neighboring buildings, would have recorded the entire
fateful event that terrible morning. The tapes would have also shown
the building collapsing. They would have conclusively proven whether
the structure was destroyed by cutting charges, or by a truck-bomb.
But like Abraham Zapruder's famous footage of the Kennedy
assassination, the tapes were quickly confiscated by the FBI.
On June 1st, KFOR reporter Brad Edwards sent the Justice Department
a Freedom of Information request concerning the various surveillance
footage. In their reply, the FBI stated:
Of course, who knows what the FBI actually turned over to the defense.
In the Kennedy case, the most revealing evidence was the Zapruder
film — homemade footage showing Presidents Kennedy's head being
blasted towards the right-rear — indicating the fatal shot came from
the Grassy Knoll, not the Book Depository as the government claimed.
Yet the FBI confiscated Zapruder's film and altered the sequence of the
incriminating frames, reversing them to give the impression that
Kennedy's head had lurched forward. It was only later that experts
revealed the tampering.
The Zapruder film was finally released in 1968, the result of District
Attorney Jim Garrison's courageous efforts to reveal the truth. The
question is, when will the American public get to see the video footage
of the Oklahoma City bombing?
289
While the FBI did their best to keep key evidence from the grand
jury, as in the Kennedy case, they even went so far as to convince
several witnesses that their former statements were false, and to
retract them in lieu of statements more favorable to the prosecution. A
primary example is Michael Fortier, who originally told investigators, "I
do not believe that Tim [McVeigh] blew up any building in Oklahoma.
There's nothing for me to look back upon and say, yeah, that might
have been, I should have seen it back then — there's nothing like
that.… I know my friend. Tim McVeigh is not the face of terror as
reported on Time magazine…"
But after the FBI raided his home, Fortier reversed his statement,
saying that he and McVeigh has "cased" the federal building, in
response to an offer of a plea bargain. Fortier was then transferred to
the Federal Medical Facility at Fort Worth, Texas. It is not known why.[822]
Said grand juror Hoppy Heidelberg, "The FBI relied on a man, Fortier,
who really couldn't provide anything important to them. You need to
remember that. That's important."[826]
290
Lori Fortier also testified that "I still believed he (McVeigh) couldn't
really do it." Jones then asked her, "Ms. Fortier, you said you thought
McVeigh really wouldn't carry out his plans, then you said you, 'wanted
out.' How can you 'want out' if there was nothing to 'be in'"?
Jones: Did you make the following statement: "I've been thinking
about trying to do those talk-show circuits for a long time, come up
with some asinine story and get my friends to go in on it"?
Jones: And in the same conversation, did your brother say to you:
"Whether the story is true or not, if you want to sit here and listen to a
fable, that's all it was at the time is a fable"? And then did you say: "I
found my career, 'cause I can tell a fable"? And then did you burst out
laughing and say, "I could tell stories all day"?
Fortier: Yes.
Jones: Did you have a conversation with him by telephone on April the
30th?
Fortier: Yes.
Jones: And did you say, "I want to wait till after the trial and do book
and movie rights. I can just make up something juicy"? And then did
you laugh?
Fortier: I'm not sure if I laughed or not, but I did make that statement.
Jones: "Something that's worth The Enquirer, you know." You made
those statements.
Not true, according to the FBI, which spent over 175 hours soliciting
statements from the Fortiers; and Joseph Hartzler, who met with his
"star witness" between 7 and 10 times to "make sure he told the
truth."[827]
Jones also accused the FBI of harassing Jennifer McVeigh and her
friends in the days after the bombing, hoping to obtain derogatory
information about her brother. He said the FBI scared people "beyond
belief with threats of prosecution" if they didn't talk.[829]
On the fifth day of Jennifer McVeigh's interrogation, the FBI ushered her
into a room with huge blown up pictures of her and her brother (taken
off her refrigerator door), and babies who died in the bombing.
Interspersed between the photos were statutes from the U.S. Code
pertaining to treason, with phrases such as "Treason is punishable by
death," and "The penalty for treason is DEATH." (government's
emphasis)
The FBI also tricked Jennifer into testifying by promising her immunity
from prosecution if she cooperated. During a break in the trial, a
reporter asked prosecutor Vicky Behenna why Jennifer needed
292
immunity. "She didn't," Behenna replied," but she wouldn't testify
without it, so we gave it to her."[830]
The FBI also tricked Marife Nichols into signing a consent form before
they searched her house. When she was asked if the agents advised
her of her right to retain a lawyer or refuse to answer questions, the
23-year-old Filipino answered, "I don't remember. I don't think so."
Marife said that when she asked whether she did need a lawyer,
prosecutors and FBI agents discouraged her. "They told me, 'You're
okay as long as you are telling the truth. You don't need a lawyer."[831]
James Nichols discovered they were raiding his house after he heard it
on the news. "I heard on the radio they were raiding a house in Decker,
Michigan. I said, 'Wow, that's awful close to home.' Well, within an hour
I found out… Mine!"[832]
Nichols believes the ATF, which raided his house, set him up to be
murdered, either as an act of revenge or to prevent him from testifying
at trial. He told Dateline's Chris Hansen that after the agents entered
his home, they asked him to retrieve a gun he kept in his bedroom.
Nichols responded, "No, I won't go get it. I told you, send an agent or
two in there to go do it." 'Aw, go ahead. Go and do it,' the agent
responded, and they all turned their backs, real nonchalantly. I said,
'Whoa, wait a minute…' They'd 'a shot me, because they would have
just said 'He pulled a gun on us.' The fate of Terry and Tim would have
been signed, sealed and delivered… Dead people don't testify."[833]
For his part, Terry Nichols believed that he was not in custody after he
walked into the Herrington, Kansas police station on April 21 to see
why his name was being broadcast on television. Apparently, the
agents were hoping they could get more out of Nichols by leading him
to believe they had no intention of arresting him.
Sure.
"The business of the New York journalist is to destroy the truth, to lie
outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to
sell his race and his country for his daily bread." - John Swinton, CEO,
New York Times, New York Press Club, April 12, 1953.
Keating's response, quoted in the Daily Oklahoman was: "I don't think a
legislative committee would contribute one whit of intelligence to this
process."[837]
The Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World, the state's two largest
dailies, which should have led the pack in ferreting out the truth of this
terrible tragedy, instead led the local media chorus with editorials such
as this one in the Daily Oklahoman, entitled, "Drop It, Mr. Key."
The Daily Oklahoman has opposed Key's mission from the beginning.…
State Rep. Charles Key's quest to prove that a government conspiracy
played some role in the Murrah Building bombing is a weird and
misguided exercise.… Oklahoma County District Attorney Bob Macy is
correct in appealing a court ruling that allows Key a free hand to seek a
county grand jury probe of his conspiracy theories.…[838]
The "truth seekers" of the local media weren't finished either. They
eagerly focused on the efforts of Drew Edmondson, who accused Key
of proposing a "wasteful witch hunt" and of engaging in "the worst kind
of paranoid conspiracy pandering." (See Appendix)
One article reported how Edmondson had convinced the State District
Attorney's Council to oppose Key's investigative funding bill.
Beverly Palmer from Bob Macy's office argued at the appeals hearing in
defense of Owens, claiming that the petition was "insufficient on its
face," and the request was duplicitous of the federal grand jury's
efforts.
The same could be said about DA Bob Macy. At the time I interviewed
him, he was collecting information on the case by reading Morris Dees'
Gathering Storm, and The Turner Diaries. This was a year and-a-half
after the bombing — a bombing that occurred right outside his window.
He didn't know about John Doe 2. He had no idea about the Middle
Eastern connection. He had done absolutely no investigation.
"I have not seen these things you are talking about right now," Macy
told me. "When I see the evidence… I haven't been presented with the
evidence." Macy subsequently claimed he wanted me to work with his
so-called "task force" that was "investigating" the bombing, then never
called me back.
The Appeals Court upheld Key's right to petition for a County Grand
Jury by a unanimous vote.
Just two months before the hearing Macy claimed to this author that he
intended to prosecute McVeigh and Nichols in a state trial on 161
counts of First Degree Murder. "I don't like taking a second seat to the
[federal] prosecution," Macy stated. "The bombing killed 10 of my
friends."
In a May 24, 1995 letter to Senator Orrin Hatch, one of the original
drafters of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, Macy wrote:
Macy also impressed upon the author his interest in getting at the
truth: "I'm prepared to do what ever it takes to get to the truth," Macy
exclaimed. "My sole intent is in learning the truth!"
After Macy lost the appeals hearing, he met with Wilburn and Key,
explaining that he actually wished to cooperate with their
297
investigation. Three days later, the two men discovered that Macy
had decided to contest the Appeals Court's decision.
When a furious Key confronted Macy, all that the courageous, truth-
seeking DA told him was, "They won't let me." When Key demanded to
know who "they" were, Macy just lowered his eyes to the floor and
repeated, "They won't let me."[847]
Key later learned from a source at ABC News that Macy had received a
conference call from Janet Reno's deputy Jamie Gorlick, and the
government's lead prosecutor, Joseph Hartzler, along with Governor
Keating, Oklahoma City Fire Chief Gary Marrs, and Judge Daniel Owens.
When the grand jury was finally impaneled, federal prosecutors quickly
attempted to block the testimony of federal employees.
The Supreme Court did not agree with Macy. They unanimously upheld
Key's right to impanel the grand jury, which was seated in June of '97,
and is hearing evidence as of this writing.
The Oklahoman shares that belief, but we are optimistic the probe may
satisfy many who are suspicious about events before the bombing. Yet,
we wonder if the more conspiratorial-minded will ever be satisfied.…
Given the local media's connections to the political good 'ole boy
network via the Washington-connected Frank Keating, their position is
hardly surprising. Famed Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein put some
perspective on the matter when he revealed in a 1977 Rolling Stone
article that over 400 U.S. journalists were employed by the CIA.
These ranged from freelancers who were paid for regular debriefings,
to actual CIA officers who worked under deep cover. Nearly every
major U.S. news organization has had spooks on the payroll, usually
with the cooperation of top management.
The three most valuable assets the CIA could count on were William
Paley's CBS, Arthur Sulzberger's New York Times and Henry Luce's
Time/Life empire. All three bent over backwards promoting the picture
of Oswald as a lone nut in the JFK assassination.[853]
The political good 'ole boy network wasn't finished trying to stop the
courageous efforts of Representative Key. On May 7, 1997, Edmondson
subpoenaed Key before a multi-county grand jury, alleging that he
violated procedures in raising money for the bombing investigation.
The Daily Oklahoman proudly proclaimed how it had played a critical
role in bringing about the investigation of Key:
Bill Graves, an attorney who represented Key at the grand jury inquest,
stated: "The law is pretty clear that you are not required to register
299
before you hit the ten thousand dollar threshold, and Charles [Key]
had not hit that limit so was not required to register. Edmondson knows
that. They're just trying to slow Charles down or stop him through
harassment."[854]
"This is all about stopping us and making us shut up, said Key. "If I
would just quit the grand jury deal, this would all go away."[855]
Says V.Z Lawton, a HUD worker who survived the bombing, "You don't
have to be that bright or look that hard to see the fraud and hypocrisy
in these charges. For over a year and a half, they've been doing
everything imaginable and employing the most absurd arguments to
prevent Charles from impaneling a grand jury to investigate one of the
worst crimes in our country's history. Now, after he's overcome all of
their legal challenges in the courts and is close to getting a county
grand jury investigation going, they drag him before a multi-county
grand jury for what amounts to jaywalking, while the bombing and
other genuine, serious crimes go uninvestigated."[856]
The letter, entitled, "A Plea to the Media from Oklahoma City: Don't O.J.
Us!!!" purports to be a spontaneous response from victims asking the
media not to "manipulate" and "exploit" them "for no purpose other
than to enhance their ratings on the air and in publications."[857]
"We are appalled at the lack of interest in the truth and the
underhanded method utilized by 20/20" stated the letter, which
claimed that ABC had wrongfully implied that certain victims agreed
with the "paranoid delusion" of the "ridiculous theory of government
conspiracy in this crime." It added that "reporters are sometime
tempted to forget the truth." Ultimately, it stated, "It is PEOPLE that
matter in this life, either money nor possession nor a Pulitzer Prize."[858]
Rodney Johnson, who saw McVeigh with another man in front of the
Murrah Building moments before it exploded, called Edmondson's
statement "misguided."
On May 23, the day the Federal Building was demolished, Edye Smith,
in a live interview on CNN, stated, "There's a lot of questions that have
been left un-answered. We're being told to keep our mouths shut, not
to talk about it, don't ask those questions..."[862]
"They had an option to not go to work that day," Smith continued, "and
my kids didn't get that option, nobody else in the building got that
option. And we're just asking questions, we're not making accusations.
We just want to know why and they're telling us, 'Keep your mouth
shut, don't talk about it.'"[864]
Kathy Wilburn was the Grandmother of Chase and Colton. Wilburn was
among the first to arrive at the scene of the bombing, and she and
Smith, who both worked at the nearby I.R.S. office, had witnessed the
carnage first-hand. Now, as she watched the building come down, an
eerie silence filled her soul. Later that afternoon, Kathy Wilburn walked
into the empty room where the little boys had lived, picked up their
stuffed animals, and began to cry.
"They wanted to set our minds at ease our minds that there wasn't
anything sinister going on," said Wilburn.
"Well, two hours later I tuned on the TV, and CNN is interviewing ATF
Director John Magaw. The interview starts out, "Mr. Magaw, based on
the significance of April 19th, did you take any precautions?'"
"Clearly there was an interest all over the country to do that," replied
Magaw. "And I was very concerned about that. We did some things
here in headquarters and in all of our field offices throughout the
country to try to be more observant.…"
"Well, if there was ever a point that I was hooked into this thing, and
there was nothing that was gonna' stop me," recalls Wilburn, "that was
it… because by God, somebody lied that morning."
Ryan's conciliatory meeting with the family did not last long. The
federal prosecutor became nervous after Wilburn casually mentioned
that he had talked to a family lawyer. Ryan quickly got up and left.
While Edye Smith was quoted as saying that she was "satisfied" the
agents had explained their whereabouts, she later told me, "I believe
they sat their and lied to us."
Two months later, Edye Smith and Kathy Wilburn had their Workers'
Compensation checks cut off. Out of 462 federal employees affected by
the blast, they were the only two employees who were mysteriously
"denied."
"We started noticing that the mail that came to the house had money
in it," said Kathy Wilburn, "but the majority of the mail that came to us
through the Red Cross… it was all opened and there was never a thin
dime in any of it."
When Smith called the Red Cross to complain, she was told that her
mail wasn't being opened, and that no money was being taken. When
Wilburn confronted the head of the local Red Cross, she was told that
303
their letters were being opened to check for "hate mail." Wilburn
told her that the explanation was "ridiculous."
"A mother sent me a little card that her little boy drew." said Smith,
"She said 'my little boy saved this three dollars and wanted you to
have it.' And the three dollars was gone."[866]
But Keating's involvement with the scions of truth and justice doesn't
end there. Keating served in the Bush administration as Assistant
Treasury Secretary during the Iran-Contra investigations. Gene
Wheaton, a former Tulsa police officer and Army CID investigator who
worked for the Christic Institute, observes that it was George Bush who
personally selected Keating as Assistant Treasury Secretary in 1985,
where he supervised INTERPOL, the Customs Service, The Secret
Service, and the ATF.[869]
As Wheaton writes:
The word in Tulsa is that Bush is his "political godfather;" that Keating
got his job in the Treasury Department through Bush's good offices and
that Bush "loves Keating." The connection appears to be an old-boy
304
connection through the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa,
Oklahoma.[870]
"In his position, Keating could control both the investigative and
prosecutorial side of any scandal that came his way," adds Portland
Free Press publisher Ace Hayes. "1985-88 had guns, drugs, and illegal
money moving all over the globe. Was the ATF, who couldn't find it's
ass with both hands, as really as incompetent as it appeared, or was
Frank Keating there to make sure they did not?"[871]
Duncan: Well, I exhibited to them that I was going to tell the truth in
my testimony. And the perjury, subornation of perjury resulted in an —
resulted because of an allegation that I had received, that Attorney
General Edwin Meese received a several hundred thousand dollar bribe
from Barry Seal directly. And they told me to tell the Subcommittee on
Crime that I had no information about that.[872]
Keating has always been at the nexus bridging the agendas of good
ole' boys like George Bush, with their elitist agendas, and the
subsequent covert-operations sub-cultures which they spawned. In an
article in the Portland Free Press entitled "Another Bush Boy," Wheaton
writes:
Said a victim whose spouse was killed in the explosion, "I was upset
right from the start when there was the big rush to destroy the crime
scene, to take the building down. A lot of important evidence was
destroyed that could have helped solve this."[876]
Said Jannie Coverdale, who lost her grandsons Aaron and Elijah in the
bombing, "Everyone I talk to has the same questions: What happened?
306
What is going on? We don't want this to be another John F. Kennedy
deal, where 32 years later the real story is still unknown."
"There is no place on earth where you will be safe from the most
powerful forces of justice." - FBI director Louis Freeh.
Mitchell Whitmire, who knew McVeigh when they were both in the
Army, was contacted by defense investigator Neil Hartley. Whitmire
told Hartley he was instructed by the FBI not to talk to anyone about
the case unless he obtained permission from the FBI.[877]
When this author tried to interview two members of the Sheriff's Bomb
Squad, they became visibly nervous. They claimed no other bombs
were pulled out of the building, clearly contradicting news accounts
showing additional bombs that were taken away and detonated.
KFOR-TV, who took the lead in investigating the case, found it almost
impossible to interview witnesses. "We get there and all of a sudden
they've been told to shut up," said Melissa Klinzing, KFOR's former
News Director.[878]
Ann Domin, who originally told a Tulsa police officer she had seen two
Middle Eastern males loitering near the front of the Murrah Building
just before the blast, later denied saying that.[879]
307
According to a conversation Jon Rappaport had with Daily
Oklahoman reporter Ann Defrange, witness Peter Schaffer told
Defrange he had seen the Murrah Building collapse in on itself,
suggesting that cutting charges were used. When Rappaport
questioned Schaffer, he denied seeing the building falling down at all.
When Rappaport got back to Defrange, she remained adamant about
what Schaffer told her. "She didn't budge at all," said Rappaport.[880]
"The FBI must have gotten to him," said Heidelberg. "You know, the FBI
has been able to get witnesses to shut up about important things they
know. We've talked to some of these people. In certain instances the
witnesses believe that concealing evidence is the right thing to do.
They really believe it. The FBI has sold them a bill of goods about
national security or something like that. In other cases the FBI has
used straight-out intimidation on witnesses. They size up people. On
one witness they'll use something like national security. On another,
they'll go for intimidation."[881]
Heidelberg's own brush with the government didn't end with his
dismissal from the grand jury. Several minutes after agreeing to do an
interview with Jayna Davis, he received a call from U.S. Attorney Joseph
Hartzler telling him that a reporter was on her way and that he was not
to talk to her, or he would be arrested. Obviously, Heidelberg's phone
was tapped.[882]
On July 19, FBI agents Jon Hersley and William Teater appeared at
Heidelberg's home, just hours after Judge Russell called him and
discovered that he had taken his grand jury notes home. Apparently
Teater wasn't too pleased with Heidelberg's casual attitude. At one
point, he pulled back his jacket, revealing his gun, which he had
conspicuously stuck in his waist belt.
"They were trying to impress upon me the seriousness of… they were
trying to give me the message that this is big time, that this is heavy
weight," said Heidelberg, "and I was supposed to be frightened… Guns
mean business… I was supposed to behave and be a good boy and not
give them any trouble. The implication was that they were gonna'
shoot me, but I knew better than that," Heidelberg said.[883]*
Heidelberg doesn't feel he will serve any jail time for his actions. "They
don't want me exonerated or indicted," said Heidelberg. "They want
me twisting in the wind."[884]
ABC: "But you have denied over and over that he was ever the subject
of an investigation."
ABC: "But did you or did you not send her back out?"
Justice Dept: "She did go back out, but she was unable to develop
any evidence that these people had participated, [although] essentially
your information is correct."
In 1963, Julia Ann Mercer told the FBI and the Dallas Police that she
saw a man carry a rifle case up to the Grassy Knoll just before the
shooting. The FBI took her statement. Later, when she was interviewed
by District Attorney Jim Garrison and shown the statements she had
given the Bureau, she began shaking her head. "These all have been
altered, she said. "They have me saying just the opposite of what I
really told them."
In the Oklahoma City case, witnesses whose statements didn't fit the
government's official timeline and scenario were either ignored
altogether, or intimidated into changing their stories.[886]
Mike Moroz, the Johnny's Tire Shop employee who gave McVeigh and
John Doe 2 directions to the Murrah building on the morning of the
blast, was interviewed by the FBI several times. On the last interview
they told him that he had seen McVeigh drive in a different direction
than he had originally stated. The FBI then claimed to the press that
Moroz had made a mistake and was confused.
Danny Wilkerson, the Regency Towers employee who sold McVeigh two
softdrinks and a pack of cigarettes 10 minutes before the bombing,
claims FBI agents tried very hard to get him to change his story.
Wilkerson saw McVeigh and another man in an older, shorter Ryder
truck with a cab overhang. FBI agents showed Wilkerson a catalog of
different Ryder models, trying to coerce him into stating that the truck
he saw was bigger and newer than the one actually seen. Wilkerson
refused to change his story.
"I kept telling them that the man in the [John Doe 2] sketch was that
Mike guy, a nice-looking guy, dark-skinned. But the FBI made me feel
guilty, then ignorant, as if I didn't know what I was saying. Then, later, I
tried to call in with more information and they wouldn't even talk to
me."
Debra Burdick had seen the yellow Mercury, the brown pick-up, and
the blue Chevy Cavalier at 10th and Robinson on the morning of the
blast. Burdick called the FBI and the OSBI, and "they blew me off. They
said they didn't have time to get over there.… they told me, 'you didn't
see anything.' And that's when I thought I was going crazy.…"[888]
Jane Graham, along with three other women, had seen a trio of
suspicious-looking men in the Murrah Building's underground garage
the Friday before the bombing. The men were working with wire and a
small, putty-colored block which appeared to be C-4 plastic explosive.
The manager of the Great Western Inn in Junction City was certain the
Middle Eastern man who had stayed in room 107 on April 17 was a
dead ringer for John Doe 2. Yet the FBI tried to discredit him, saying
that the inquiry there had been a waste of time. If that is true, why did
the FBI confiscate the hotel's register?[890]
Barbara Whittenberg at the Sante Fe Trail Diner told Bill Jasper the FBI
tried to get her to change her story.[891]
In fact, the person Davis saw had "unkempt" hair, a regional accent,
possibly from Oklahoma, Kansas or Missouri, and an overbite. McVeigh
possesses none of those characteristics.[894]
"I was frustrated quite a bit because they just didn't seem to want to
say 'Okay, there's somebody we may not have.' A lot of it seemed
'Damn! I just wish he'd say it was McVeigh so we could be done with
it.'"[895]
Davis told The Denver Post that the FBI never even bothered making a
composite sketch of the man he saw. A TV network finally hired an
artist to do one.
Yet shortly after the start of McVeigh's trial — after meeting with
federal prosecutors — Bradley suddenly "changed her mind."
In addition, Bradley told the jury she thought the truck was parked
against the flow of traffic on the one-way street — a ludicrous
proposition, but convenient for a government intent on convincing a
jury that Bradley saw the suspect — who was not John Doe 2, but
possibly McVeigh — get out of the driver's side.[897]
Gary Lewis, the Journal Record pressman who was almost run over by
McVeigh and two of his associates in the yellow Mercury shortly before
the blast, suddenly denied seeing them at all! Just before he was
subpoenaed to testify before the county grand jury, Lewis told
reporters, "What I seen wasn't a fact, it wasn't true."
Claiming the FBI had "cleared up his confusion" more than a year ago,
Lewis said the FBI showed him a photograph of McVeigh's distinctive
battered yellow Mercury, and convinced him it wasn't the same car he
spotted on April 19. "It was real similar to it," Lewis said. "It was real
close but it wasn't it."
Lewis then claimed his eyewitness account, which had already been
published in striking detail, had been exaggerated by Representative
Key and Glenn Wilburn. "I don't care for [Wilburn] or Charles Key,"
Lewis told The Daily Oklahoman. "They kind of pushed it along for
reasons I don't know why. That is about all I have got to say."[898]
This was quite a change from the nervous witness who checked the
underside of his car every morning for bombs, afraid he was targeted
for assassination by either bombing suspects or the feds.[899]
Heath was interviewed by the FBI no less than ten times. On the last
visit, "He (the FBI agent) confronted me saying he did not want me
telling the story any longer. He said it was a false story, that I had
made it up, that it was a figment of my imagination, and that if I
pursued it, he would publicly discredit me.
"I said to him, 'that is the most despicable, uncalled for attitude that
I've ever seen, and I don't know why you said that to me, but I can tell
you, you're not going to change my reality with it.'"[900]
Melba, the Albertson's worker who made sandwiches for McVeigh and
John Doe 2, was hostile and frightened when questioned by this
reporter — too scared to talk.
Connie Hood, who saw John Doe 2 at the Dreamland Motel shortly after
midnight on April 16, then again the next morning, was interviewed
numerous times by the FBI. They even went so far as to administer
several polygraph tests. Hood told the agents exactly what she saw. On
the last test, the FBI agent "turned around and got in her face,"
recalled her friend David Keen, "and said, 'You've never seen John Doe!
He never existed!'"
"This big old dude (FBI agent) right out told me, 'You did not see that!'"
recalled Hood. "It got to the point where I was saying, 'Excuse me,
excuse me, there was someone in that room next to us. I know for a
fact there was someone in that room next to us. I did not imagine
someone coming out of that fricking room!'"
Hood is sure of what she saw, and is furious about the games the FBI
played with her. "I'm angry," said Hood. "It made my blood boil."[902]
Yet like the seismic records, and the video surveillance footage which
would have shown the Murrah Building being blown up, these radar
tapes would be confiscated by the FBI.
314
Naturally, the government lied about the crash. The National
Transportation Safety board (NTSB) claimed that the most probable
cause was a "spark" in the center fuel tank due to "static electricity."
This is ridiculous even to the uninitiated. Said Michael Barr, director of
aviation safety programs at USC, "Airplanes don't blow up just like that.
I've been following 747s since 1970 and I've never seen one blow up
like that."[904]
One witness, Lou Desyron, told ABC World News Sunday: "We saw what
appeared to be a flare going straight up. As a matter of fact, we
thought it was from a boat. It was a bright reddish-orange color.... Once
it went into flames, I knew that wasn't a flare.[905]
Another witness told the New York Daily News: "It looked like a big
skyrocket going up, and it kept going up and up, and the next thing I
knew there was an orange ball of fire."[906]
Eyewitnesses on the ground weren't the only ones who saw a missile.
Vasilis Bakoynis, a Greek commercial airline pilot flying behind flight
800, told the FBI that he saw what appeared to be a missile rise up
from the water and strike the plane. "Suddenly I saw in the fog to my
left toward the ocean, a small flame rising quickly toward the sky.
Before I realized it, I saw this flame become huge.…"[907]
Major Fred Meyer, the pilot of an Air National Guard helicopter which
was in the area, said he saw "a streak of red orange" heading toward
the plane. "...it arrived at a point in space where I saw a small
explosion which grew to a small fireball, then a second explosion and a
huge fireball," the Boston Herald quoted Meyer as telling a press
briefing on July 18th.
Meyer's co-pilot, Captain Chris Baur, told Aviation Week & Space
Technology on March 10, "Almost due south, there was a hard white
light, like burning pyrotechnics, in level flight. I was trying to figure out
what it was. It was the wrong color for flares. It struck an object coming
from the right [TWA 800] and made it explode."[909]
Ten days later, Meyer, a Vietnam veteran, told the Riverside Press-
Enterprise: "I know what I saw. I saw an ordinance explosion. And
whatever I saw, the explosion of the fuel was not the initiator of the
event. It was one of the results. Something happened before that
which was the initiator of the disaster."[910]
315
Meyer and Baur's account was backed up by Air National Guard C-
130 pilot Cononel William Stratemeir, Jr., who told Aviation Week &
Space Technology what "appeared to be the trail of a shoulder-fired
SAM ending in a flash on the 747."[911]
"There was nothing I observed that gave me any indication that the
streak of light I saw was caused by a missile," Meyer would later
quoted as saying. "I don't know what I saw."[912]
"We did not see smoke trails [from a missile], any ignition source from
the tail of a rocket nor anything…" said Stratemeir four months
later.[913]
Medical Examiner Dr. Charles V. Wetli originally told reporters that the
passengers in the forward compartment were hit hardest, indicating
the major event was in the front of the plane, not the center as the
government claimed. Dr. Wetli and others then backed off from their
findings. An explosion had happened and killed people was as much as
he could say, reported the New York Times. [914]
There is evidence for both theories. After denying the existence of any
military operations in the area, the Pentagon eventually admitted that
a C-130 military transport and two HH-60G Blackhawk helicopters of
the New York Air National Guard's ANG's 106th Rescue Wing were
operating in the area as part of a night-rescue exercise.
The Navy Orion P-3, a member of the CEC team, was loaded with up-
graded gear, allowing integration of Army and Navy Anti-Aircraft
Artillery acquisition radar. The equipment was supposed to
"discriminate between friend-neutral-foe electronic signatures, isolate
the hostile threat and select the weapon best positioned for an assured
kill to launch at the target."
Tragically, the last radar able to see the boogie through the heavy
jamming and target replication suddenly and unexpectedly went
blind.… Unable to receive guidance commands to keep it on an
intercept course with the target drone, the Standard IV reverted to its
own programming and began seeking a target. In a heartbeat, the
internal radar acquired the TWA 747 well above and to the west of the
intended target.[919]
Was the 747 destroyed by "friendly fire?" Reports that rocket fuel
residue was present on seat backs and bodies of the victims, and the
large entry and exit holes, tend to support these allegations.[920]
Gritz' claim that the military chose the area off of Long Island for
testing jives with the well-documented fact of decades-long military
testing on unsuspecting civilians in hundreds of cities across the nation
— including everything from drugs and nuclear radiation, to chemical
and biological weapons.[922]
Interestingly, on August 29, six weeks after the TWA 800 crash, an
American Airlines pilot reported seeing a missile pass by his 757 while
flying over Wallops Island, Virginia, the site of the NASA Wallops Flight
Facility, which has a program for unmanned research rockets. Wallops
Island is about 220 miles south of the TWA crash sight.[923]
Also recall that immediately following the July 16th U.S. Senate
resolution for sanctions against Libya and Iran, the al-Hayat newspaper
received a warning from the Movement for Islamic Change:
The world will be astonished and amazed at the time and place chosen
by the Mujahadeen. The Mujahadeen will deliver the harshest reply to
the threats of the foolish American president. Everyone will be
surprised by the volume, choice of place and timing of the
Mujahadeen's answer, and invaders must prepare to depart alive or
dead for their time is morning and morning is near.
The New York Post also reported that the FBI was looking into an
anonymous threat received after conviction of Sheik Omar Abdel
Rahman, the spiritual leader of the World Trade Center bombing cell,
convicted of plotting to blow up major New York City landmarks. The
threat warned that a New York area airport or jetliner would be
attacked in retaliation for the prosecution of the sheik.[926]
A warning was also provided to the Israelis that Iran was likely to
launch an attack against a U.S. aircraft. Thousands of Stinger missiles
were given to the Mujahadeen by the CIA in the 1980s. According to
former FAA investigator Rodney Stich, "At least a dozen were thus
obtained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards from Yunis Khalis, a
radical Muslim Afghani resistance leader. One of them was fired by
Iranians at an American helicopter on patrol in the Persian Gulf on
October 8th, 1987."
The U.S. produced nearly 64,500 of these missiles for the military and
other countries since 1980, including Angola, Egypt, France, Germany,
Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The Soviets are
known to have sold their SAM-7 to China, North Korea, India, Iran, Iraq,
Cuba, Laos, Libya, Sudan and Syria, among others.[927] Stingers
provided to the Mujahadeen via the CIA in Peshawar, Pakistan, were
often sold to terrorists and other groups.
"We have now spent more than a decade trying to retrieve those
missiles," said Natalie Goldring, a defense analyst with the British-
American Security Information Council. "Several hundred that were
transferred during the Afghan war are nowhere to be found. They are
very capable anti-aircraft missiles."[928]
319
According to Stich, the CIA has bumbled attempts to retrieve the
missiles. In a letter to Senator Arlen Specter dated October 20, 1995,
Stich writes:
[One] possibility for CIA and Justice Department rejection of the Stinger
missiles is that the CIA wants the missiles to fall into terrorists' hands,
and actually wants an airliner to be shot down. The shoot-down of a
commercial airliner could then be used to justify the continuation of
CIA activities.[929]
It is for precisely this reason that the government kept changing the
altitude of the plane, which they first reported at 8,500 feet, then
10,000 feet, and finally at 13,700 feet (Apparently they didn't take into
account the range of the Bofors). This is strikingly similar to their
altering of the size of the bomb in Oklahoma, originally stating it was
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1,200 pounds, then 2,000 pounds, then 4,000 pounds, then finally
4,800 pounds, to match their magic ANFO theory.
Even the FBI's James Kallstrom was later forced to admit, "We do have
information that there was something in the sky. A number of people
have seen it."[932] As the New York Post reported on September 22:
Nurse Toni Garret was one of many people who had volunteered to help
tag dead victims that terrible morning. Garret and her husband Earl
had just taken a break when they noticed federal agents arriving to set
up a command post. "They acted like it was just a drill, like it was no
big deal, said Garret. "They were kind of joking around and all that kind
of stuff."
But what really upset Toni Garret was the fact that the FBI and the
Medical Examiner were suppressing the body count, which they had
claimed as only 22 dead. Garret, who had personally tagged over 120
dead bodies that day, was shocked. "I was being interviewed by a lady
from TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network). I told her that I was highly
upset because the news media and the information they were being
given was not accurate information. There were many more bodies
than what they were saying on the news media and releasing at the
time.…"
"[The FBI] didn't like that Toni was being interviewed by the media,"
said Earl. "An agent came [up] to me and said, 'Do you know her?'
pointing to Toni. I said, 'Yes, she's my wife.' He said, "What is she?' I
said, 'Well, she's been down here all day trying to get people out of this
building and help people.' He turned around to his friends and said,
322
'Well, we need to get her out of here.' Toni then told me that the
agents had told her that the FBI was taking over and all of us could get
out. They told us to keep our mouths shut."
Said Toni, "When they came over to me, one of the agents was very
pompous and arrogant about asking me who I was, what I was doing
there, if I was a civilian, where I worked, and what my name was. I
didn't feel like any of that pertained to what was going on that day or
what had happened that day, and he wanted to know everything about
me.…
"He said, 'Well, we're down here now, and we're taking over the
building. It would be advisable and recommendable that you keep your
mouth shut."[935]
Norma Smith, who worked at the Federal Courthouse across from the
Murrah building saw, along with numerous others, the Sheriff's bomb
squad congregated in the parking lot at 7:30 that morning. Shortly
after Smith's story appeared in a local newspaper, her house was
broken into — twice. Smith, frightened, took early retirement and
moved out of state. She is currently too afraid to talk to anyone.
New American editor William Jasper learned from an OCPD officer that
during a mandatory daily security briefing at the Murrah Building, he
and other assembled police/rescue/recovery personnel were told "in no
uncertain terms" by one of the lead federal officials that it was
necessary for "security" reasons to provide the public with
"misinformation" regarding certain aspects of the case, and that this
"official line" was not to be contradicted by any of those in
attendance.[936]
"There's a lot that's being covered up, for some reason," charged a
federal employee who narrowly escaped death but who lost many
friends in the terrorist attack.
Said a man who lost his father, "…I'm angry because I know I'm being
lied to."
This same police officer later told me he was called into the offices of
OCPD Chief Sam Gonzales and U.S. Attorney Pat Ryan and told to
"cease and desist."[938]
Another officer who was told to "cease and desist" was Sergeant
Terrance Yeakey. On May 8, 1996, only three days before Sergeant
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Yeakey was to receive the Oklahoma Police Department's Medal of
Valor, he "committed suicide." The 30 year-old cop was found in a field
near El Reno, not far from where El Reno Prison guard Joey Gladden
"committed suicide." His wrists were slashed in numerous places, as
was his neck and throat. Apparently not satisfied with this initial
attempt to take his life, he got out of his car, walked a mile and-a-half
over rough terrain, then pulled out his gun shot himself in the head.
The media claimed Officer Yeakey "was wracked with guilt" over his
inability to help more people that fateful morning. They also claimed
he led a "troubled family life," having been recently divorced from his
wife Tonia, and separated from his two daughters, aged two and four,
whom the Daily Oklahoman claimed he was not permitted to see due
to a restraining order.
Other accounts suggest that Yeakey was reluctant to receive the Medal
of Valor due to his "guilt" over being injured in the Murrah Building. "He
didn't like it," said his supervisor Lt. Jo Ann Randall. "There are some
people that like to be heroes and some that don't. He was not one that
wanted that."
"He had a lot of guilt because he got hurt," added fellow officer Jim
Ramsey.[939]
"He kept telling me it wasn't what I thought it was," said his ex-wife,
Tonia Rivera, "that they were only choosing officers who were not even
at the site, you know — who didn't see anything — to take public
rewards, recognition, that sort of stuff.
The story of the reluctant hero, she added, was nothing more than a
"real thin veil of truth" which covered up a "mountain of deceit."
His sister, Vicki Jones, agreed. "Terry hated that stuff. 'I'm no hero,' he
would say. 'Nobody that had anything to do with helping those people
in that bombing are heroes."
I hope that whatever you hear now and in the future will not change
your opinions about myself or others with the Oklahoma City Police
Department, although some of the things I am about to tell you about
is [sic] very disturbing.
The man that you and I were talking about in the pictures I have made
the mistake of asking too many questions as to his role in the bombing,
and was told to back off.
I was told by several officers he was an ATF agent who was overseeing
the bombing plot and at the time the photos were taken he was calling
in his report of what had just went down!
I told you about talking to Chaplain Poe, well the bastard wrote up in a
report stating I should be relieved of my duties! I made the mistake of
thinking that a person's conversation with a chaplain was private,
which by the way might have cost me my job as a police officer! A
friend at headquarters told me that Poe sent out letters to everyone in
the department! That BITCH (Jo Ann Randall) I told you about is up to
something and I think it has something to do with Poe. If she gets her
way, they will tar and feather me!
I was told that Jack Poe has written up a report on every single officer
that has been in to see him, including Gordon Martin and John Avery.
Knowing what I know now, and understanding fully just what went
down that morning, makes me ashamed to wear a badge from
Oklahoma City's Police Department. I took and oath to uphold the Law
and to enforce the Law to the best of my ability. This is something I
cannot honestly do and hold my head up proud any longer if I keep my
silence as I am ordered to do.
There are several others out there who was [sic] what we saw and
even some who played a role in what happened that day.
My guess is the more time an officer has to think about the screw up
the more he is going to question what happened… Can you imagine
what would be coming down now if that had been our officers' who had
325
let this happen? Because it was the feds that did this and not the
locals, is the reason it's okay. You were right all along and I am truly
sorry I doubted you and your motives about recording history. You
should know that it is going to one-hell-of-a-fight.
Everyone was behind you until you started asking questions as I did, as
to how so many federal agents arrived at the scene at the same time.
Luke Franey (a ATF agent who claimed he was in the building) was not
in the building at the time of the blast, I know this for a fact, I saw him!
I also saw full riot gear worn with rifles in hand, why? Don't make the
mistake as I did and ask the wrong people.
I worry about you and your young family because of some of the
statements that have been made towards me, a police officer!
Whatever you do don't confront McPhearson with the bomb squad
about what I told you. His actions and defensiveness towards the
bombing would make any normal person think he was defending
himself as if he drove the damn truck up to the building himself. I am
not worried for myself, but for you and your group. I would not be
afraid to say at this time that you and your family could be harmed if
you get any closer to the truth. At this time I think for your well being it
is best for you to distance yourself and others from those of us who
have stirred up to many questions about the altering and falsifying of
the federal investigation's reports.
I truly believe there are other officers like me out there who would not
settle for anything but the truth, it is just a matter of finding them. The
only true problem as I see it is, who do we turn to then?
It is vital that people like you, Edye Smith, and others keep asking
questions and demanding answers for the actions of our Federal
Government and law enforcement agencies that knew beforehand and
participated in the cover-up.
The sad truth of the matter is that they have so many police officers
convinced that by covering up the truth about the operation gone
wrong, that they are actually doing our citizens a favor. What I want to
know is how many other operations have they had that blew up in their
faces? Makes you stop and take another look at Waco.
If our history books and records are ever truly corrected about that day
it will show this and maybe even some lame excuse as to why it
326
happened, but I truly don't believe it will from what I now know to
be the truth.
Even if I tried to explain it to you the way it was explained to me, and
the ridiculous reason for having out own police departments falsify
reports to their fellow officers, to the citizens of the city and to our
country, you would understand why I feel the way I do about all of this.
I believe that a lot of the problems the officers are having right now are
because some of them know what really happened and can't deal with
it, and others like myself made the mistake of trusting the one person
we were supposed to be able to turn to (Chaplain Poe) only to be
stabbed in the back.
"I mean, why would a guy tell you to take a life insurance policy,
knowing damn well it wouldn't pay for a suicide? He obviously knew he
was in danger."
Yet Officer Terrance Yeakey was not the type of person to easily show
his feelings. He didn't want to tell his family anything that might get
them hurt.
"He told me enough to let me know that it was not what they were
making it out to be," said Rivera, "and that he was disgusted and didn't
want any part of it, but he never went into detail.… It scared me."[941]
"He wouldn't totally voice whatever it was," recalled Rivera. "It was like
he'd be just about to tell me — he'd want to spill his guts — and then
327
he stopped, and he just cried. And that's when he kept insisting that
I take the insurance policy."
Although Yeakey was concerned for his family, the marriage was not
without abuse. Rivera had filed a VPO (Victim's Protective Order)
against him slightly over two years ago. In a fit of temper, Yeakey had
once threatened to take his life and those of his wife and children.
"I think it was said in the haste of, well, he's going to kill all of us kind
of thing — cop under pressure," said Rivera. But that was over a year
and-a-half ago. Yeakey had spent considerable time with his wife and
children since then, taking them on family outings and so forth.
"That tape was planted," said Rivera. "I never called his house."
"So it comes out in paper after paper how he's having problems with
his ex-wife, how he's not allowed to see his children.… "They're trying
to play up the story of the bitch-ass wife whose trying to get him
fired.…"
Yet Rivera claimed she never filed a VPO violation. "The OCPD wanted
to file one," said Rivera. "But I never signed it." Rivera claimed she had
gone to the police station, but simply out of concern for her ex-
husband, who had been acting strangely.
If Officer Yeakey's death was anything more than a suicide, the OCPD
didn't go to any great lengths to find out. While his death occurred in El
Reno, the OCPD took over the crime scene, squeezing the El Reno
Police Department out of the picture. The OCPD's Media Relations
officer, Cpt. Ted Carlton, explained, "It was our police officer who was
killed. It's not uncommon [to take over the investigation] in the case of
a smaller police agency."[942]
"There were common sense things that were wrong about the whole
thing, that makes it so weird," added Mrs. Jarrahi. "It just doesn't seem
right. Why would policemen and the authorities make such common
mistakes that would leave questions? It's just really weird."
"He couldn't tell us his name initially," said Allen. "He was ill, and he
was very anxious. His heart rate was rapid; he was sweaty.… He told us
he had been having concentration problems, he hadn't slept. He had
all the appearances, my first guess would be, of someone who was
having emotional problems. And my second guess would be, of some
kind of substance abuse problem. But that's a pure guess."
329
Boehler added that Yeakey said he hadn't eaten, and was "throwing
up, taking medication, and incoherent. "He was taking medications for
his back," said Boehler. "He had four or five medications in the car."
Boehler and Allen didn't know that Yeakey had Sickle-Cell Anemia — a
blood-sugar-related condition that caused seizures. It was these
seizures, Rivera explained, that would occasionally cause her ex-
husband to act "out-of-sorts," or even to slip into unconsciousness.
There are many things about Officer Yeakey's death that remain a
mystery. While Boehler described a man on drugs, the Medical
Examiner claims they didn't bother to conduct a drug test because it
"costs too much."[944]
The ME's field investigator, Jeffrey Legg, also reported that Yeakey "had
been drinking heavily" the day before, based on statements made by
OCPD Homicide Detectives Dicus and Mullinex. Yet Terrance Yeakey
didn't drink, and their own report concluded that there was no alcohol
in the body at the time of death.[945]
Apparently Yeakey had tried to cut himself in the wrists, neck, and
throat, then, after losing approximately two pints of blood, got out of
his car (contentiously remembering to lock the doors), walked a mile
and-a-half over rough terrain, crawled under a barbed-wire fence,
waded through a culvert, then lay down in a ditch and shot himself in
the head.[946]
"There were so many things that were weird," said Mrs. Jarrahi. "My
daughter kept going back to the Police Department. She said, 'Well
what about this… we knew he had a camcorder, we knew he had a
briefcase…'
"These are things we never got back. The kid always carried camera
and film. [He] never went anywhere without his camera and briefcase.
He had all his important papers in there.… We got the camera back.
We never got the film back. We never got the briefcase. They said they
never saw it…."
The Homicide detective finally told her she'd get them back after they
had "examined the evidence."
"One minute the guy would say he had them," said Jones, "the next
minute he'd say 'we don't have anything.…'"
According to Jones, Mullinex then said, "Now, we all loved Terry. I hope
you understand that, but I'm not going to let you see any pictures. And
I don't know anything about a briefcase, but if there's anything back
there, I'll give you a call, and you can come back and get them."
"And I just sat there and looked at him, and said to myself, 'You're
doing a great performance, but it's not working.…' Then he got really
uptight and said, 'Well, some of us hated Terry.' [Then] he kind of
grabbed his face and said 'oh shit.'"
For his part, Mullinex had "no comment either way." He then told me, "I
don't remember what I said to the lady, but I certainly was not rude to
her.… This comes as a big shock to me, because he was a police officer
and a friend of mine. It was a hard thing and hurt me to have to work
it."
Cpt. Carlton likewise feigned shock at Jones' rebuffs, and said he would
have to know who the officer was who made those statements. He
then asked me to have the family contact the OCPD directly (as though
they hadn't already done so numerous times), and he would meet with
them and discuss the case, but that Cpt. Danny Cockran, Chief of the
Homicide Squad, would have to make the decision about whether or
not to let the family see the files.
331
Yet Carlton's statements fly in the face of the experiences of not
only Yeakey's mother and sister, but those of his ex-wife. In a letter to
Police Chief Sam Gonzales dated September 4, 1996, Rivera writes:
Exactly what were they trying to protect her from? When I called Mrs.
Jarrahi, the telltale signs of a tapped phone were clearly present. If
Terrance Yeakey's death was a simple suicide, why would law-
enforcement agencies be tapping the family's phones?
"There was always an officer out there in front of our apartment," said
Jones. Anywhere we went, we had an officer or someone in a marked
car following us around. It started right after I started going to the
Police Department quite a bit."
They also tailed Rivera. When she confronted the officers, they ignored
her, hid their faces, or sped off. Cars were parked outside her childrens'
school. When she spoke to school officials about the surveillance one
afternoon, she went to work startled to find the conversation on her
office answering machine! Rivera had spoken to the school principal in
person. How did the conversation wind up on her answering
machine?[947]
She finally moved to Enid when the heat became too hot. "I lived in an
apartment on the third floor with a security alarm in it," said Rivera.
"I'd come home and the alarm would be off. I'd notice things out of
332
place. There'd be cabinets open that I'd have no reason to have
opened."
About two weeks after Terry's death, Rivera went downstairs around
6:30 one morning to do some laundry, "and there was a man
downstairs with huge headphones on, at 6:30 in the morning, right
behind my apartment.…"
The individual, who was wearing a jogging suit — wasn't jogging, and
was not doing laundry. "He looked startled when I came around the
corner," said Rivera. "I came back down at 8:30 and the guy was still
there."
One day Rivera came home to find her front door open and off its
hinges. When the frightened single mother walked into her bedroom,
she found a balloon tied to her door. It read: "Get well soon. This will
keep you busy until you do."[948]
It seems the OCPD and the FBI thought that Officer Yeakey had passed
off some incriminating documents concerning the bombing cover-up to
his ex-wife, and were intent on obtaining the documents.
Rivera explained that once during a quarrel, Terry had removed some
fuses from her car to keep her from leaving. The police knew about the
incident, said Rivera, who thought the subsequent events were created
by the OCPD to sow mistrust and provide a convenient trail of evidence
to prove that Yeakey led a troubled family life. Yet while Yeakey
admitted to removing the fuses, he repeatedly and adamantly denied
that he had damaged the car — a car that was registered in his name
and carried his cherished children to and from school.
On April 24, two weeks before he was found dead, the Explorer began
acting strangely. When Rivera pulled it into the local Aamco
Transmission Center, she found that it had been tampered with.
"Somebody who knew what they were doing pulled hoses from your
car," said Todd Taylor, the chief mechanic. "I'm sorry to tell this ma'am,
but this is not just something you can pull randomly.…" Taylor also said
he though Rivera's brakes had been tampered with.[949]
333
About two weeks before this story went to press, the Ford's brakes
went out suddenly while Rivera was traveling at 40 mph. "I went to
brake," said Rivera, "and guess what? No brakes!" The large 4 X 4
slammed into the back of smaller car, damaging it badly. "The
message is 'we can get to you if we want to,'" she concluded.
Officer [Jim] Ramsey also began making his presence felt. "All of the
sudden, when we moved to Oklahoma City [from El Reno]," said Jones,
"there was Ramsey. When we joined a new church, Ramsey was there.
Ramsey was everywhere. You turn the corner, there was Ramsey.…
Everything we did, he was like the helpful old guy. This went on for two
months."
"He was keeping tabs on everyone," added Rivera. "He was showing up
in a lot of places… just casually, in fact, places where he knew that
people knew me just as well as they knew Terry, and weren't buying
into the 'it's Tonia's fault' routine.
"[Ramsey] tried to claim it was his ex-wife and love for his children he
couldn't see that made him commit suicide," she added. He would talk
to her friends. "'How's she taking it? What does she think, blah, blah,
blah.'"
Both Rivera and Jones feel the OCPD officer was sent to "baby-sit"
them — to maintain an ever-present watchful eye. "[When he showed
up]," Jones said, "I looked at him and said, that is not a friend of Terry's.
He was never at the house. I never met him before."
Ramsey, who told People magazine that Yeakey was his "dear friend,"
also told the press that he was Terry's partner.
Rivera concurred. The ex-wife said that not only was Ramsey never
Yeakey's partner, but that the two men didn't even get along. "Terry
hated Jim Ramsey," said Rivera. "He put on a real good performance,"
she added. "He's hiding something, I believe.… It burns me up."[950]
For his part, Mullinex claims he was "totally unaware" of any problems
Yeakey was having in regards to what he knew about the bombing. "It
is my opinion as a fourteen-year homicide veteran that it was a
334
suicide," said Mullinex.… If we thought it was anything [other than a
suicide] we would have pursued it to the ends of the earth. We're not
hiding anything."[951]
Really?
At 9:00 a.m., Officer Yeakey was seen exiting his Oklahoma City
apartment with nine boxes of videos and files. He then drove to the
police station where he had a fight with his supervisors.
Yeakey was also due for a meeting with the heads of several federal
agencies that morning. He apparently decided to skip the meetings,
instead, driving straight to a storage locker he maintained in
Kingfisher.
What he didn't realize was that the FBI had him under surveillance, and
began pursuit. The six-year OCPD veteran and former Sheriff's Deputy
easily eluded his pursuers. Once at his storage facility, he secured his
files.
On the way back, the feds caught up with him just outside of El Reno.
"He had nothing on him," at that point, said Rivera, "just copies of
copies."
There were also burn marks on the floor. Apparently, the killers had
used Yeakey's car to destroy what little evidence they had
discovered.[952]
The report also showed another curious thing. The bullet had entered
just above and in front of the right ear, and had exited towards the
bottom of the left ear. Apparently, whoever held the gun held it at a
downward angle. A person shooting themself would tend to hold the
gun at an upward angle, or at the most, level. It would rather difficult
for a large, muscle-bound man like Yeakey to hold a heavy service
revolver or other large caliber weapon at a downward angle to his
head. (See Appendix)
While it is true that a slug can alter its trajectory once inside the skull,
a pathologist in the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office told me
that a 9mm or other large caliber weapon — the type commonly used
by police officers — usually tends to travel in a straight line.
But perhaps the most revealing evidence was that the wound did not
have a "Stellat," the tell-tale star shape caused by the dissipating
gases from the gun's muzzle. At the close range of a suicide weapon,
such markings would clearly be present, unless of course… the shooter
used a silencer.[954]
Yet according to Rivera, Maj. Upchurch denied that Yeakey's throat was
slashed at all. She was later told by a sympathetic police dispatcher
that his throat was indeed slashed — deeply.
Dr. Larry Balding, who signed off on the Yeakey report, is adamant. "I
can tell you unequivocally and without a doubt that there was no other
ME report."
336
Yet while attending a social function, Rivera claims her sister had a
chance encounter with the mortician who worked on Yeakey's body.
She was discussing the strange inconsistencies of his death with
someone at the party, when the mortician, not knowing the woman
was Rivera's sister, spoke up. "That sounds just like a police officer we
worked on in Oklahoma City," he said. When asked if that man
happened to be Terrance Yeakey, the mortician "freaked."
When pressed, he told the shocked relative that the dead man's wrists
contained rope burns and handcuff marks. A former FBI agent and
police officer, the mortician said that Yeakey's lacerations were already
sewn up when the body arrived from the Medical Examiner's office. Dr.
Balding's response to this was that the marks were merely "skin
slippage," resulting from the natural decomposition of the body.
Yet stranger still, the body was not supposed to go to this particular
funeral home at all, but to one in Watonga. While the OCPD was
supposed to pay the expenses of the funeral, no funds were ever
allocated, according to Rivera. "Vicki had to pay off the burial to Russ
Worm [Funeral Home]. So I wonder if we paid somebody off to do the
job."[955]
Was that job to clean up Yeakey so that his manner of death wouldn't
appear suspicious?
Said friend Kimberly Cruz, "I don't believe he would have done
something like that. He was always happy and joking a lot."
Another friend, Karen Von Tungeln, said, "[Terry and I] talked about a
friend in high school… who had committed suicide, and how stupid and
selfish he was for having done so.… 'I just can't understand it man,'
said Terry. 'It makes no sense to me.'"[956]
If the officer was bent on taking his life, it would appear strange, since
he had spent most of the previous month taking entrance exams for
337
the FBI. Yeakey and best friend Barry McCrary were looking forward
to becoming FBI agents. Perhaps if he had known the role that the FBI
played in the bombing, perhaps even in his own death, he would have
changed careers.
Like Dr. Don Chumley, Terrance Yeakey was one of the first rescuers in
the Murrah Building on April 19. Had he seen something he wasn't
supposed to see? Had he heard something he wasn't supposed to
hear?
Like Terrance Yeakey, the press claimed that Dr. Don Chumley was
saddened and disturbed that he hadn't helped more people that
terrible day. Chumley, who ran the Broadway Medical Clinic about half
a mile from the Federal Building, was one of the first to arrive at the
bombing site on April 19. Shaun Jones, Chumley's step-son, was
assisting him. Jones recalled the scene:
Chumley, who was working with Dr. Ross Harris, was one of the few
doctors who actually went into the Federal Building, while the others
waited outside. He had helped many people, including seven babies,
whom he later pronounced dead.
Chumley was killed five months later when his Cessna 210 crashed
near Amarillo, Texas in what Jones calls "mysterious circumstances."
Jones added that Chumley had been in a minor wreck during a landing
a year earlier when his plane became trapped in a vortex caused by a
large jet landing nearby. The small plane was forced into a snow bank
causing some damage to its left wing tip. The damage had been
repaired.
"Well, from talking to pilots I that know, they say that can't cause a
plane to crash. I mean, as good a pilot as he is, that's not going to
cause his plane to go straight down into the ground.
338
Another pilot said, 'that's just like a car that's out of alignment — it
happens all the time — it's just something you learn to fly with.' The
plane had been flown several times since that."
"The thing that's odd to me is that Don was perfectly healthy," said
Jones. "He was talking to the tower, and from one minute to the next
he just went straight smack down into the ground."[958]
"To me it's unusual because I know he was a good pilot," added Jones.
"Everything was fine, he was in the air for 15 minutes, he was
climbing, he had just asked permission to go from six to seven
thousand feet. They tracked him on the screen at 6,900 feet, and the
radar technician said he saw him on the radar, then he looked back
and he was gone, and the plane came straight, straight down. I mean,
no attempt to land… nothing, just straight down."
"He was the kind of guy who did everything right, always. He was very
cautious, very professional," Chief said, adding [that] Chumley's plane
was equipped with extra safety instruments.
Mike Evett, a Federal Public Defender, had known Don Chumley for
over twenty years. "I would never get into an airplane with anybody I
didn't know," said Evett, "and I would never be afraid to fly with Don.
For the life of me, this doesn't sit right with me."[960]
Yet Clint Boehler, a former FAA inspector, discounts that notion. "That
was an accident waiting to happen," said Boehler. "He didn't have an
instrument rating, and he went out into adverse conditions. One of the
classic symptoms of what's called stall-spin accidents, is people who
are in limited visibility or full IFR, meaning they can't see the propeller
in front of their face. And, they're not current or trained or in some way
up to speed on their operation. And they'll get into some particular
mode of flight, particularly a climb, and their body and mind tells them
their not doing what their instruments say they're doing, and they tend
to react to that. And the results is sometime they stall the airplane,
339
and not necessarily spin it, but what it then does is it rolls over to
one side and begins a very tight, steep spiral that is gaining speed all
the way down. And if they ever do come out of the clouds or
obscuration or whatever it is, often they see the ground at low altitude
and they pull back on the wheel and overstress the airplane as it hits
the ground. And this is not an uncommon thing. Its called spatial
disorientation followed by the graveyard spiral. And I can cite
numerous examples of that. There was a local doc here went out west
some time ago — went out in a 210 — and had the same scenario
exactly."[961]
Did Dr. Don Chumley crash on the evening of September 25th due to
bad weather? Did he commit suicide due to his grief over what he saw
on the morning of April 19th. Or was Don Chumley murdered?
The Daily Oklahoman article described how he had cried in front of his
friend Jim Taylor on the day of the bombing, after tagging seven
babies, and was not satisfied he had done all he could, even after
helping to organize a fund-raiser for the victims.
It was also rumored that Chumley was about to go public with some
damning information. According to a local journalist who has
investigated the bombing, Chumley was asked to bandage two federal
agents who falsely claimed to have been trapped in the building
morning. Since the pair was obviously not hurt, Chumley refused.
When the agents petitioned another doctor at the scene, Chumley
intervened, threatening to report them.
Like Rogers, Hershel Friday, a "top-notch pilot," died in the crash of his
small plane only two days earlier during a light drizzle at his private
airstrip. Friday had been a member of Clinton's presidential campaign
finance committee, and was a close associate of C. Victor Raiser,
another member of Clinton's presidential campaign, who died in a
suspicious plane crash two years earlier.[962]
Caradori and his eight-year-old son Andrew died when their plane
crashed in July of 1990. Caradori radioed that his compass was
swinging wildly just before he went down. Moments later, the plane
went into a steep dive from which it never recovered.[963]
Had he, like so many others, made the fateful decision to go public?
Glenn Wilburn, who lost his grandsons Chase and Colton in the
bombing, was one of the very first to go public. A staunch opponent of
the government's case, Wilburn had teamed up with reporter J.D. Cash
and State Representative Charles Key to investigate the crime.
Key and Wilburn petitioned for the County Grand Jury investigation.
Wilburn worked tirelessly to investigate the truth about what really
happened that fateful morning, and his evidence was proving more and
more embarrassing to authorities.
About a year after he began his investigation, Wilburn, 46, came down
with a sudden case of pancreatic cancer. Initially recovering after
surgery, he died on July 15, 1997, the day after the County Grand Jury
which he convened began hearing evidence.
One sunny morning, Richardson rose, fed his two dogs, got in his car,
drove to a church near his house, pulled out a shotgun and shot
himself through the heart.
He left no note.
Was Ted Richardson depressed enough to kill himself? And if so, why?
The 49-year-old father of two had a happy marriage, and adored his 8-
year-old son.
The two weeks he took off of work due to unexplained "pressures" may
provide a clue. Richardson was the bombing and arson specialist for
the Western District of Oklahoma. He was inexplicably transferred to
the bank robbery detail after the bombing — an area in which he had
no expertise. As his brother Dan explained, "Ted should have gotten
the bombing case."[967]*
Yet Roberts and Armstrong correctly note that if the CIA were not
involved in any of the deaths, why was such a memo disseminated?
Then, to add further fuel to the fire, CIA technicians testified before the
Senate Committee (Church Committee) in 1975 that a variety of
Termination with Extreme Prejudice [TWEP] weapons had been used
throughout the years, and many were chosen because they left no
postmortem residue.
You will recall that I mentioned that the local circumstances under
which a given means might be used might suggest the technique to be
used in that case. I think the gross divisions in presenting this subject
might be:
(1) bodies left with no hope of the cause of death being determined by
the most complete autopsy and chemical examination;
(4) bodies left with residue that simulate those caused by natural
death…
343
Regarding deaths that could be simulated to appear as "natural
causes," the various assassination experts within the intelligence
communities of the world knew quite well of the effects of such
chemical agents as sodium morphate, which caused heart attacks;
thyon phosphate, which is a solution that can suspend sodium
morphate and provide a vehicle to penetrate the surface of the skin
with the chemical (which is used to coat something the victim might
touch); and beryllium, which is an extremely toxic element that causes
cancer and fibrotic tumors.[970]
As the daughter of a CIA contract agent who worked with Oliver North
told me: "They eliminated my father, and I know what they do in the
Agency. I know how they work as far as the Mafia goes.… They have no
scruples. And they don't go by any law but their own. There is no
conscious to these people; the end justifies the means.… They will shut
anybody up that they possibly can. They're amazing. And they will go
through anything to make you look crazy, to make you appear to be a
liar.…
"And they go into these operations, and they run amok. They run
amok. And then when it gets carried away or there's a leak, here
comes the damage control, and you have to make everybody else
appear like they're crazy. I mean people out there drop like flies. How
many people can commit suicide for God's sake. How many people can
be handcuffed behind their back, and they can call it suicide because
they were shot in the head?"[971]
"[Justice] has been engaged in sharp practices since the earliest days
and remains a fecund source of oppression and corruption today. It is
hard to recall an administration in which it was not the center of grave
scandal.
Ironically, the letters "FBI" stand for "Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity." A
more appropriate definition might be "Federal Bureau of Intimidation."
As will be outlined in Volume Two, the FBI is guilty of an whole litany of
crimes, ranging from obstruction of justice to outright murder.
For his part, Freeh was promoted to FBI Director, where he drew around
him such figures as Tom Thurman, Roger Martz, and Larry Potts, who
led the murderous debacles at Waco and Ruby Ridge.
…appeared as if she was 50 years old. Her skin was drawn from a large
loss of weight.… She had sores and infections on her skin and states
that no sanitary conditions exist or are provided, that the shower,
when received, is a hosing down in the cell. That she is in a cell with
nothing in it but a light in the ceiling and that she is often kept nude
and in view of everybody and anybody." [Dinerstein also noted that
Ileana had become] a constantly crying, shaking, tormented person
who understands little if anything about the whole process and is now
being threatened and promised and is totally in a state of confusion to
345
the point of not having the slightest idea as to month and date.…
Mrs. Fuster's condition has deteriorated so badly she could hardly
move and was very slow to respond to any questions. When asked if
Mr. Van Zamft (her attorney) was present, she could not even recall,
but said simply that the woman State Attorney (Reno) was very big and
very scary and made suggestions as to problems that would arise if
she didn't cooperate.
After serving three out of a ten year sentence, she was deported to
Honduras, where her mind now clear, she immediately recanted her
confession.
Only days before she was scheduled to retestify via satellite (the DA's
office threatened to charge her with "perjury" if she returned), she
retracted her retraction in a letter to the Miami Herald. Rosenthal
believes she was threatened.[975][976]
Several weeks after Janet Reno was sworn in as Attorney General, she
authorized a plan to flood the church at Waco (containing women and
children) with tear gas and ram it with battle tanks, based on
allegations of "child abuse."
As for the allegations of child abuse, both the County Sheriff and the
Texas Welfare Department, who were two of the first to interview
Davidian children, indicated that there was no signs of abuse. The FBI
later acknowledged their own reports to be false.[978]
In 1982, the DoJ signed a $10 million contract with Inslaw to install an
enhanced version of their PROMIS (Prosecutors Management
Information System) software in 42 U.S. Attorneys offices. Inslaw
completed the project, but was never paid for their services. Heavily in
debt, they had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.
After the DoJ refused to pay Inslaw, Meese handed the software over to
his crony Brian, who had CIA contract agent Michael Riconosciuto
reconfigure the program with a special "trap door," allowing U.S.
intelligence agencies to monitor and manipulate accounts of banks and
intelligence agencies who subsequently purchased the program. The
profits, of course, went to Brian and his cronies at the DoJ.[980]
When Inslaw attempted to sue the DoJ, their attorney was threatened
and dismissed from his firm.[981] In spite of the stonewalling and
harassment, Inslaw eventually won their case. Judge George Bason,
ruling in favor of the company, wrote:
After Judge Bason ordered the DoJ to pay Inslaw $6.8 million in
licensing fees and roughly another $1 million in legal fees, he suddenly
discovered that he was not being reappointed to the bench.[983]
Not surprisingly, one of Bua's chief investigators was none other than
Joseph Hartzler. In a letter Hartzler wrote to Assistant Associate
Attorney General John Dwire in October of 1994, the noble government
prosecutor states:
"I don't understand where they found him or why they chose him,"
says Michael Deutsch, who as an attorney in Chicago defended a
Puerto Rican terrorist in a 1985 bombing case prosecuted by Hartzler,
a successful prosecution that is often cited as one of the reasons
Hartzler got the Oklahoma City job.…[987]
348
Deutsch is referring to the prosecution of four Las Fuerzas Armadas
de Liberacion National Puertorriqueo (FALN) members, a Puerto Rican
nationalist group which the government claimed was responsible for
more than 100 bombings or attempted bombings since 1970. The
defense of the FALN paralleled that of the Oklahoma City bombing
defendants, with crucial evidence being withheld — evidence that
would have implicated the FBI and ATF in COINTELPRO-style illegal
activites directed against the Chicano and Puerto Rican Movements.
The judge in the FALN case, Federal District Judge George Leighton, has
reported connections to the CIA.[988]
"I don't think that Joe is in charge of the prosecution team," said
Stephen Jones. "The shots are called by [Deputy Attorney General]
Jamie Gorelick and [her top aide] Merrick Garland."
Interestingly, Hartzler was chief of both the civil and criminal division
of the Chicago U.S. Attorney's office during his 10-year term, a
jurisdiction not unknown for its share of corruption-ridden scandals.
To facilitate this "complete and fair due process," the DoJ transferred
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Richardson from his position as chief
bombing and arson prosecutor for the Western District of Oklahoma to
the bank robbery detail (where he had no experience). As previously
noted, Richardson was the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Sam Khalid
for insurance fraud. It was rumored that Richardson, who friends claim
had a "very strong sense of conscious," was looking into Khalid's
subsequent activities. On August 5, 1997, Richardson "committed
suicide."[993]
Even reporters weren't exempt from the DoJ hit-list. On August 10,
1991 reporter Danny Casolaro, who had been investigating the Inslaw
scandal and a related web of corruption he called "The Octopus," was
found dead in his Martinsburg, West Virginia hotel room. Casolaro was
there to meet with a witness who was supposed to provide the key link
between the DoJ and Inslaw.
The DoJ also prosecuted a key witness in the Inslaw case, Michael
Riconosciuto, who was set up on phony drug charges to prevent him
from testifying. The Congressional committee probing the matter
noted:
Yet DoJ wasn't finished with Aviv. They canceled their contract with
Interfor and began a systematic campaign to intimidate his clients.
Interfor was financially devastated. The U.S. government, through the
DoJ, believed that by intimidating people such as Juval Aviv, they could
351
prevent public knowledge of their complicity in the murder of 270
innocent people.
As in Oklahoma City, witnesses who knew too much about Pan Am 103,
or those who possessed politically inconvenient facts, were
intimidated. Five years on, volunteers and policemen who participated
in the search remained recalcitrant — most so those who had searched
the area where the heroin was found.
One day before the film was to air on Channel 4, both the Scottish
Crown Office and the U.S. Embassy sent every national and Scottish
newspaper a press pack smearing four of the film's interviewers.[996]
Within days of film being broadcast, Juval Aviv was indicted on fraud
charges. His attorney, Gerald Shargel, applied for a dismissal on the
grounds of selective prosecution. Even the judge was forced to
condemn the prosecution's arguments as "pathetic" and
"dishonest."[997]
For his role in revealing the truth, former DIA agent Lester Coleman
would be arrested on fabricated passport charges and forced to seek
asylum with his family in Sweden.
Seven years later, the DoJ and FBI would ask the victims in Oklahoma
City for this same blind trust — lying about their prior knowledge of the
attack. Lying about the number of bombs found. Lying about the APB
put out on the brown pick-up. Lying about the presence of other
suspects. Ignoring witnesses who saw those suspects and trying to get
them to change their stories. Tapping people's phones and exhorting
them into not talking to the press and defense investigators. And
intimidating several witnesses into silence.
The Connection
April 19, 1995 was, like November 22, 1963, a day that devastated
America. Stunned citizens everywhere watched anxiously as another
painful drama unfolded before them.
In a quite Maryland suburb, one former CIA official sat back and calmly
monitored the ensuing chaos. He picked up his pipe, casually adjusted
the volume on his television, and leaned back in his comfortable
leather chair.
Carone had been trying to reach Theodore Shackley for over two
weeks. As they talked, her attention was suddenly diverted by a
horrible scene. What appeared to be an office building lay smoldering
in ruins. People and sirens were screaming in the background as bodies
were carted away by ambulance.
"And Ted said, 'Now wouldn't you find it interesting if you found out it
was terrorists from here?'
"Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I got the distinct feeling that he
knew who it was, and that it actually had something to do with the
Agency."[999]
Lockerbie — A Parallel
"The covert operators that I ran with would blow up a 747 with 300
people to kill one person. They are total sociopaths with no conscience
whatsoever."
— Former Pentagon CID Investigator Gene Wheaton
Several minutes before flight 103 took off from London's Heathrow
airport, FBI Assistant Director Oliver "Buck" Revell rushed out to the
tarmac and pulled his son and daughter-in-law off the plane.[1001]
Widely known for his inestimable and illegal support of the Contras,
North (along with General Richard Secord and Iranian Albert Hakim)
was a business associate of Syrian arms and drug runner Monzer al-
Kassar. For his role in shipping Polish arms to North's mercenary army,
al-Kassar became the recipient of North's undying gratitude [and
laundered drug proceeds].[1003]
Al-Kassar was also closely aligned with Rifat Assad, brother of Syrian
dictator Hafez Assad. Assad's daughter Raja was Kassar's mistress, and
had once been married to Abu Abbas, a colleague of the notorious
terrorist Abu Nidal. Rifat himself was married to the sister of Ali Issa
Dubah, chief of Syrian intelligence, who, along with the Syrian army,
controlled most of the opium production in Lebanon's Bekka Valley. The
drug profits financed various terrorist groups, including the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), run
by former Syrian army officer Ahmed Jibril.[1004]
In return for this favor, al-Kassar's drug pipeline to the United States
would be protected by the CIA. This would not prove difficult, as the
DEA was already using Pan Am flights out of Frankfort, Germany for
"controlled delivery" shipments of heroin. Realizing they couldn't halt
the flow of drugs coming out of Lebanon, the DEA utilized the
controlled shipments, escorted through customs by DEA couriers, as
part of a sting operation, with the intention of catching the dealers in
the U.S.[1006]
While the people of Iran grieved, the officer responsible for the fatal
mistake was awarded a medal.[1007]†
Two months before the bombing, Jibril and al-Kassar were spotted by a
Mossad agent dining at a Lebanese restaurant in Paris. Jibril was
hoping to use al-Kassar's controlled drug shipments through Frankfort
to effect the delivery of a bomb. The problem: how to protect the drug
shipments while at the same time extract revenge on the Americans?
Al-Kassar preferred the former option, but, due to political pressure, he
grudgingly agreed to the latter.
They had communicated back to Langley the facts and names, and
reported their film of the hostage locations. CIA did nothing. No reply.
The team was outraged, believing that its rescue and their lives would
be endangered by the double dealing.
They never arrived. That night, Pan Am flight 103 was blown out of the
skies.
Was the death of McKee, Gannon, and five others on their team an
unfortunate coincidence, or did someone want to ensure that they
didn't reveal the carefully guarded secrets of the Octopus?[1013][1014]
The Lockerbie bombing was not the first time authorities were warned
in advance of a pending terrorist attack. The situation would repeat
itself five years later in New York City, and seven years later in
Oklahoma.
Fronting for the CIA, Vince Cannistraro chimed in: "I had personal
friends on that plane who died. And I assure you that I wanted to find
the perpetrators of that disaster as much as anyone wanted to."
Hiding behind the cover-up was the same cast of characters — Oliver
North, Duane "Dewy" Clarridge, and Vince Cannistraro — who was
North's deputy at the NSC during Iran-Contra, and would later appear
in Lockerbie. The same cast of characters that lurked behind the
scandals in Nicaragua and Iran, and would appear like ghostly
apparitions in the smoldering ruins of Oklahoma City.[1018]
It was also an act that the U.S. Shadow Government, responsible for
precipitating, was anxious to cover up. Had the true cause of the crash
— North's double-dealing with the Iranians — been revealed, the Iran-
Contra scandal would have surfaced two years before it did.
Three years later, in Lockerbie, the government was still claiming it's
hands were clean. Yet it vigorously protested Pan Am's attempts to
subpoena warning memos and other documents that would have
revealed the government's foreknowledge, just as it did in Oklahoma.
Simply stated, the attack on Pan Am 103 was in retaliation for the
downing of the Iranian airbus. The reason for targeting Pan Am was
simple: the airline was regularly used by al-Kassar's operatives to ferry
drugs. It would be a simple matter to switch a suitcase containing
drugs for one containing a bomb.
The BKA reported this to the CIA team in Wiesbaden, who, strangely,
did not reply. According to Aviv, "[The CIA unit] reported to its control.
CONTROL REPLIED: DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, DON'T STOP IT, LET IT
GO." *
Apparently, the CIA team "did not want to blow its surveillance
operation and undercover penetration or to risk the al-Kassar hostage
release operation," wrote Aviv. It seemed the CIA figured the BKA
would intercept the terrorists, keeping the CIA out of the picture,
thereby maintaining its cover.
Yet this explanation hardly seems credible. The BKA had informed the
CIA about the threat — a threat to one of its own planes. They also
knew the Americans were running a sensitive undercover operation,
and must have assumed the Americans would want to handle the
situation themselves.
Moreover, there is no indication that the CIA had instructed the BKA or
any other German authorities to stop the bombing. The question is:
why not? Certainly the CIA wouldn't blow its cover by asking the BKA to
intercede, as they were already aware of the CIA/DEA operation.
This raises even more disturbing questions. Had the CIA "control" in
Washington, monitoring the situation, purposely allowed the bombing
to occur? Was the McKee team, about to blow the whistle on the
Octopus, specifically targeted for elimination? Had Middle Eastern
terrorists knowingly or unknowingly conspired with the Octopus in
eliminating a group of pesky whistle blowers?[1022]†
Was this so-called FBI agent there to observe the Scottish police's
investigation, and report any conflicting findings back to her superiors?
361
Tom Dalyell, a member of British Parliament, remarked: "…
Absolutely swarms of Americans [were] fiddling with the bodies, and
shall we say tampering with those things the police were carefully
checking themselves. They weren't pretending, saying they were from
the FBI or CIA, they were just 'Americans' who seemed to arrive very
quickly on the scene."
The scenario was eerily similar to that in Oklahoma City, where rescue
workers and bomb squad technicians seemingly appeared out of thin
air.
Recall that Oklahoma City eyewitness Debra Burdick, who was near
ground zero when the bomb went off, said: "And right after that, here
comes the Bomb Squad, before the ambulances and the Fire
Department."
"They would have had to have had some kind of warning to respond
that quick, said Burdick's husband, "because they would have had to
get in their gear and everything."[1025]
As mentioned previously, Burdick wasn't the only one who saw federal
agents and rescue personnel arrive a bit too quickly. J.D. Reed, who
was in the County Office Building when the bomb went off, later wrote:
"The paramedics and firemen were already at work. How could they
move so quickly? They were there by the time we got down to the
street!"[1026]
Then there was Sergeant Yeakey's ominous letter to his friend Ramona
McDonald, which stated: "Everyone was behind you until you started
asking questions as I did, as to how so many federal agents arrived at
the scene at the same time.…"
Dr. David Fieldhouse, the local police surgeon, identified Major McKee
early on. "I knew that [the identification of] McKee was absolutely
correct because of the clothing which correlated closely with the other
reports and statements, and the computers that were linked up to
Washington."[1028]
This would subsume that Washington knew exactly what McKee — who
hadn't told Control he was coming — was wearing. In other words, it
means he was under surveillance by the Octopus.
362
Fieldhouse also tagged over 58 bodies. "I later learned that when
the bodies were taken to the mortuary, all the labels which had been
put on them had been removed with the exception of two," said
Fieldhouse, "but all the rest had been removed and discarded."[1029]
A similar incident would occur in Oklahoma City. After nurse Toni Garret
took a break from tagging dead bodies, she walked back to the
makeshift morgue that had been set up in a nearby church. "When we
came back in, there was a cold, callous atmosphere," said Garret. "I
found out later that the FBI had taken over.…"
Not only had the FBI taken over, but for some reason, they were
suppressing the body count, which they originally claimed as only 22
dead. This enraged Garret, who had personally tagged over 120
bodies. While giving a news interview, FBI agents rushed over and told
her to stop. Garret recalled the scene: "He said, 'Well, we're down here
now, and we're taking over the building. It would be advisable and
recommendable that you keep your mouth shut."[1030]
One Scottish police officer who did speak out said that his department
had been told to keep an eye out for the drugs early on. He also
overheard American personnel say that there was a drug courier on the
plane — Khalid Jaffar — one of the Lebanese informants used by the
DEA.[1031]
Had the heroin belonged to Jaffar? Since the drug suitcase had been
switched at Frankfort, it would seem unlikely. A more probable
explanation is that it belonged to Gannon or McKee — evidence of the
illegal operation being run by the Octopus.
"You'd think they would have let their evidence and files sit at least
until the last survivor was pulled out," one angry rescue worker told
the New York Daily News.[1032]
Then, approximately 10 days after the blast, two white trucks pulled up
to the postal annex across from the Murrah Building that was being
used to store emergency supplies. A dozen men in black unmarked
uniforms, wearing ski masks and carrying submachine guns, jumped
out and formed a protective corridor to the building. Others, wearing
blue nylon windbreakers and carrying hand-held radios, formed an
outer perimeter. As a witness watched, he observed "box after box of
what appeared to be files or documents in boxes [that] were loaded on
the unmarked trucks that looked like Ryder rental trucks, but were
white."[1033]
The witness, a Tulsa Fire Captain who was filming the site of the
explosion, was told by one of the agents to put down his camera. His
film was later confiscated.
What were in the boxes — boxes that were originally stored in the
Federal Building — that over a dozen mysteriously anonymous federal
agents armed with submachine guns were so anxious to secrete into
hiding? Were they files that were being taken away to be destroyed…
or to be protected? And by whom?
The public would never learn of this bizarre incident, just as they would
never learn of the Mid-Eastern connection, the numerous John Does,
the prior warnings of Cary Gagan and Carol Howe, and the elaborate
cover-up. The government had convicted their man — Timothy James
McVeigh — just as they had done with Lee Harvey Oswald 34 years
ago. The victims who subscribed to the government's version of the
case could now begin to experience a sense of "closure," whether they
had learned the truth or not.
Interestingly, Tom Thurman, the FBI lab technician who matched the
chip — a tiny charred fragment that had miraculously survived two
Scottish Winters — would later be accused of perjury in unrelated
cases.
Like the Ryder truck axle in Oklahoma City that was allegedly
discovered by several different people, so the microchip would have a
confusing and contradictory bevy of claimants. "Three of his people
(FBI agents) had sworn that they had found this piece in a piece of a
coat and had signed a paper to this effect," stated Bollier. "I later heard
that it was the Scottish police who had found the piece in a shirt that
came from Malta." Yet in spite of this, the Scotts would attempt to have
a townsperson sign a statement that he had found the chip.[1034]
Yet the townsperson whom the FBI claimed had discovered the chip
could not even recall finding it. The man, named "Bobby," said "I got a
call from a policeman asking if he could come down to my home, and
would I sign to say that I picked those [items] up. He brought with him
three small bags about the size of an eight-by-five piece of paper, one
of which contained an item of cloth, one of which contained a brown
piece which looked very much like a piece of plastic, the third piece I
couldn't tell what it was."
Had the chip been planted by the FBI? The Bureau admitted that it
already possessed two such timers, confiscated from two Libyans in
Dakar and Senegal in 1986. The incident was remarkably similar to the
Oklahoma City bombing witnesses who were coerced into signing
statements that differed from what they actually saw.
Yet British authorities would willingly cooperate with the U.S. as the
result of a phone call made by President Bush to Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher. According to Washington Post syndicated columnist
Jack Anderson, the two heads of state agreed that the investigation
should be "limited" in order to avoid compromising the two nations'
intelligence communities.[1035]
365
For his part, Cannistraro had developed, along with NSC staffers
Howard Teicher and Oliver North, the Reagan-inspired propaganda
policy of destroying the Libyan regime of Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi.
As Bob Woodward wrote in the Washington Post:
"I developed the policy toward Libya," said Cannistraro. "In fact, I even
wrote the draft paper that was later adopted by the President."[1036]
Like the specter of two lone amateurs with a fertilizer bomb, the
government actually expects the public to believe that a sensitive
altitude-triggered time-bomb managed to pass through three countries
unaccompanied, pass through security and customs checks, change
planes twice, then detonate at precisely the right moment over its
target destination!
Said Michael Jones, Pan Am's London Security Chief: "I've never seen
any documentation whatsoever, produced by Pan Am or anybody else,
showing there was any interlying baggage to Pan Am from the Air
Malta flight…"
Even the FBI's own telex, dated October 23, 1989, stated:
In fact, President Bush knew perfectly well who had bombed flight 103.
Six months after the bombing, Secretary of State James Baker visited
with Syrian Foreign Intelligence Minister Farouk al-Sharaa. Baker asked:
"Jibril," answered Baker. "We know they are responsible for Lockerbie.
What are you doing about them?"
367
"How do you know that?"
The DEA was also monitoring McKee, and separately informed the CIA
in Washington, British MI6, and the CIA team in Wiesbaden.[1045]
As one source familiar with the case said, "Every spook in Europe knew
that McKee and Gannon were flying home on flight 103."
Yet while the McKee team was obviously compromised, the question
begging to be answered is, who is Michael Franks? And why did Franks
inform the Iranian embassy, a bitter enemy of the U.S., of McKee's
travel plans?
The other question begging to be answered is: who at the CIA Control
in Washington (not their headquarters in Langley) told the CIA team in
Wiesbaden: "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, DON'T STOP IT, LET IT GO"?[1047]
It has been argued by apologists for the CIA that the Agency didn't
stop the bombing because it didn't want to compromise its hostage-
rescue mission — an operation being run by the Octopus in collusion
with Monzer al-Kassar. Essentially, we are asked to accept the idea that
the CIA was ready to sacrifice the lives of 270 people so as not to risk
the opportunity to free six people.
"TWA, Pan Am 103 — this is the perfect M.O. of this organization," adds
Levine. "Not that they (Ricord) did it, but when they did things, there
was no way it would ever go back to them, because they would do it
for someone else."[1050]
In the case of Pan Am 103, it appeared that the Octopus was more
interested in covering up its involvement with drug smugglers than in
securing the release of American hostages. And it was willing to
sacrifice 270 lives to do so.
The Sting
The logistical apparatus which allowed the PFLP-GC to bomb flight 103
was a controlled drug delivery at Frankfort airport — a sting operation
run with the full knowledge of American, German, and Israeli
intelligence. It was a sting operation that had been penetrated by
Middle Eastern terrorists intent on wrecking havoc.
As previously discussed, the FBI, ATF, and U.S. Marshals, all had ample
prior warning. Not only had the Marshals Service been warned of a
Fatwa against American installations as a result of the World Trade
Center convictions, but the FBI had received warnings from the Israelis,
the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, and their own informant, Cary Gagan,
concerning threats against federal buildings in Phoenix, Denver, and
Oklahoma City.
370
Additionally, ATF informant Carol Howe had specifically warned
authorities about a neo-Nazi plan to blow up a federal building in either
Tulsa or Oklahoma City as far back as November of '94.[1051]
As the fateful day drew closer, the warnings began pouring in. Judge
Wayne Alley, whose office sits across from the Murrah Building, was
warned several weeks prior to the blast by "security officials" to take
"extra precautions." The federal judge, who was not in his office at the
time, but whose clerks were injured in the blast, told the Portland
Oregonian, "Of all the days for this to happen, it's absolutely an
amazing coincidence." When asked to discuss the nature of the
warnings, Alley said, "Let me just say that within the past two or three
weeks, information has been disseminated… that indicated concerns
on the part of people who ought to be a little bit more careful."
This is not surprising. Gagan had warned the FBI as far back as
September that federal agents and judges were targeted for
assassination. As previously noted, Gagan had been deep inside the
Middle Eastern cell involved in the bombing. Gagan informed the feds
on September 21, 1994 that his Arab comrades had been cruising
Denver in a white Mercury photographing federal agents. Gagan told
the author that he was instructed to assassinate Judge Lewis
Babcock.[1052]
Had the feds warned Judge Alley? "My subjective impression," said
Alley, "was there was a reason for the dissemination of these concerns,
strongly suggesting an impending proximate event."[1053]
The Oklahoma City Fire Department, unlike Judge Alley, had the benefit
of more specific warnings. On Friday, April 14, the FBI placed a call to
Assistant Chief Charles Gaines to warn him of a potential terrorist
threat within the next few days.
Yet two reserve Sheriff's deputies on duty at the Murrah Building the
night of the bombing, Don Hammons and David Kachendofer, signed
sworn affidavits that Representative Ernest Istook (R-OK) told them of
371
the government's prior knowledge. Kachendofer was guarding the
northwest corner of the building when Istook approached and chated
with him. Kachendofer relates the conversation: "[Istook] made the
comment to me, he says, 'Yeah, we knew this was going to happen.'
"And he says, 'Yeah, we knew this was going to happen. We got word
through our sources that there is a radical fundamental Islamic group
in Oklahoma City and that they were going to bomb the Federal
Building.'"[1055]
The day after the bombing, Oklahoma City FBI SAC Bob Ricks (of Waco
infamy), managed to keep a straight face while announcing to
reporters: "The FBI and Oklahoma City has not received any threats
that indicated that a bombing was about to take place."
Like the fox assuring the farmer that he hadn't made off with any
chickens, the FBI's claims proved of little solace. Fortunately for the
FBI, the audio logs of the Fire Department's incoming calls were
mysteriously "erased."[1056]
Opal's… takes calls for the Secret Service. The call came four days
before the bombing. Then, on the morning of April 19, the Executive
Secretariat's Office of the Justice Department received a mysterious
call from someone claiming the Murrah Building had just been blown
up… 24 minutes before the blast! ABC 20/20 quoted the official
government document:
ABC anchor Tom Jarriel noted that "no action was apparently taken" by
the Justice Department in response to that strange emergency call
minutes before the blast.[1058]
Not long after Bob Rick's announcement, Carol Howe and Cary Gagan
would make their presence known — informing the public that the
government did indeed have prior knowledge of the attack. To cover
themselves, the government only admitted that they had vague,
unspecified warnings of the impending plot. As Stephen Jones wrote in
his brief of March 25, 1997:
372
Soon the government's position will revert to the ridiculous and it
will only deny any knowledge that the Murrah Building was specifically
targeted at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, to be destroyed by a bomb
delivered in a Ryder rental truck by Timothy McVeigh.… That is the
Federal Government playing word games in order to avoid what is
potentially the single most embarrassing and humiliating situation
since the public found out that the FBI had an informant inside the
terrorist group that bombed the World Trade Center in New York — an
informant that actually helped make the bomb — but they bungled the
entire situation and did not prevent that tragedy.
Norma Smith, who worked at the Federal Courthouse across from the
Murrah Building, saw, along with numerous others, the Bomb Squad
congregated in the parking lot. Smith recounted her story for her
hometown Texas newspaper, the Panola Watchman:
The day was fine, everything was normal when I arrived at 7:45 to
begin my day at 8 a.m., but as I walked through my building's parking
lot, I remember seeing a bomb squad. I really did not think about it —
especially when we did not hear more about it....
There was some talk about the bomb squad among employees in our
office. We did wonder what it was doing in our parking lot. Jokingly, I
said, "Well I guess we'll find out soon enough"....[1059]
Renee Cooper, whose infant son was killed in the day-care center, was
driving down Robinson Street when she saw several men in dark
jackets standing in front of the Federal Courthouse. The men's jackets
were inscribed with the words "Bomb Squad."
Reporter J.D. Cash spoke with a woman whose brother worked in the
Federal Building. "Frantic with worry, Jackie Stiles said she talked to an
FBI agent at the scene who told her there had been a bomb threat
made against the Murrah Building the previous week."
This fact was also confirmed by Michael Hinton, a former police officer
who was staying across the street at the YMCA. Hinton witnessed what
appeared to be a bomb threat evacuation of the Murrah Building two
weeks earlier.[1060]
373
Naturally, the Bomb Squad denied being there. In an interview with
Jayna Davis, Sheriff J.D. Sharp claimed that the Bomb Squad truck was
ten miles away at the time. "I can assure you from the testimony of
witnesses and the bomb commander that our bomb unit was not
anywhere near the Murrah Building the morning of the blast," said
Sharp.
The Sheriff's Department later told NBC Extra's Brad Goode that the
Bomb Squad was in fact deployed downtown for "training purposes,"
but claimed they were not in bomb attire. At the same time, the OCPD
told Extra the Bomb Squad was not there at all.[1061]
Yet Norma Smith saw the Bomb Squad truck downtown at 7:45 a.m.
Renee Cooper saw it five minutes after eight — hardly in keeping with
Grimsley's story.
J.D. Reed, who rushed out of the County Office Building when the bomb
went off, later wrote in a company newsletter: "The paramedics and
firemen were already at work. How could they move so quickly? They
were there by the time we got down to the street!"[1062]
The testimony of Burdick and Reed dovetails with that of Criss, who
arrived at his office at 8:58 a.m. "I heard a lot of sirens at that time,"
he said. "A lot of sirens, coming from the west, approaching downtown.
There was approximately seven trucks that were traveling at a high
rate of speed. When they reached the top of that hill right there, the
explosion went off."[1063]
As Sergeant Yeakey, one of the first rescue workers at the scene later
wrote to bombing survivor Ramona McDonald:
Everyone was behind you until you started asking questions as I did, as
to how so many federal agents arrived at the scene at the same
time.… For those who ran from the scene to change their attire to hide
the fact that they were there, should be judged as cowards.
Rodney Johnson, who almost hit McVeigh and John Doe 2 as they ran
from the scene minutes before the blast, didn't miss the presence of
law-enforcement officers who seemed to materialize out of thin air.
Where had they come from?
Associated Press photographer Pat Carter, who was at the scene within
one hour of the blast, said that ATF agents were wearing full combat
gear. Had they been preparing for a bust?[1065]
HUD worker V.Z. Lawton was on the eighth floor of the Murrah Building
when the bomb(s) went off. Lawton described four men who gave him
a ride home that afternoon. They told him they were General Services
Administration (GSA) employees out of Fort Worth, and were there
doing a "routine" security check on the Federal Building. The men told
Lawton this "security check" was conducted in the wee hours of the
morning.[1066]
Two of the men, Dude Goodun and Brent Mossbarger, later told the
Daily Oklahoman they did not take Lawton home that day.[1067]
Even more interestingly, it was alleged that no ATF agents (as opposed
to clerical workers) were in the Murrah Building at the time of the blast.
375
Word of this quickly spread when Bruce Shaw, whose wife worked in
the third-floor credit union, ran up to an ATF agent anxiously asking of
her whereabouts. Shaw told KFOR's Brad Edwards that the agent
"started getting a little bit nervous. He tried reaching someone on a
two-way radio. [But] couldn't get anybody. I told him I wanted an
answer right then. He said they were in debriefing, that none of the
agents had been in there. They'd been tipped by their pagers not to
come to work that day. Plain as day out of his mouth. Those were the
words he said."[1068]
The second witness, Shaw's boss Tony Brasier, was present when the
agent made those comments, and confirmed to KFOR the accuracy of
Shaw's testimony.[1069]
The third witness was Tiffany Bible, a paramedic. When she asked an
ATF agent on the scene (dressed in a black "Ninja" suit) if any of his
fellow agents were still in the building, she was told they "weren't
here" at the office that morning. When she asked, "who would want to
bomb a building in Oklahoma?" he replied that it was in retribution for
the massacre at Waco. How did he know?
"It's clear to me that the ATF knew in advance something was about to
happen," says a man whose wife was seriously injured that
morning.[1070]
ATF's Resident Agent in Charge Alex McCauley was with a DEA agent
(David Schickedanz) in the elevator when the bomb exploded. The
elevator dropped in a free fall from the eighth floor to the third. The
two men were trapped in the smoke-filled elevator. The emergency
buttons and the phone were inoperable. On their fourth attempt they
managed to break through the doors and escape from the elevator.[1071]
James claims the remaining elevator was sitting at the third or fourth
floor level and had no one in it. "Certainly it had not 'free fallen,' nor
had any of the others." James explained that modern elevators cannot
376
'free fall' due to counterbalancing weights on them which prevent
such occurrences. The elevators are also equipped with automatic
safety switches that cut speed and power if the elevator starts
accelerating too fast.[1072]
Oscar Johnson, James' boss, told the Daily Oklahoman that when the
elevator was found, a wall was pushed against the top of it "and there
is no way you could have gotten the doors open. Our guys were the
first ones there to open the top emergency access, and there was no
one in it."[1073]
Federal elevator inspector Dude Goodun told the Daily Oklahoman that
he agreed with Johnson.[1074]
So does former ATF agent Rick Sherrow. "This elevator business was
garbage — about Franey being trapped in the elevator — because it
didn't happen" said Sherrow. "Franey I pretty much believe was there,
[but] this free-fall business, it just didn't happen."[1075]
Naturally, Martz insisted five ATF employees were inside the Murrah
Building. Valerie Rowden, the office manager, was cut all over. Jim
Staggs was hospitalized with head wounds. Vernon Buster, they
claimed, had a nail driven through his arm, and his name showed up
on a list of the injured. But according to David Hall, owner and
manager of KPOC-TV in Ponca City, who checked with local hospitals,
both Buster and Martz are lying.[1076]
Another reporter from New York developed information that the Dallas
ATF office — Martz's office — was also suspiciously vacant that
morning. Was the ATF running a combined operation out of Dallas and
Oklahoma City? This would make sense, since Martz is the regional
director.[1078]
DEA Assistant Agent in Charge Don Webb called the allegations against
the ATF "bull-shit." Webb told the author that McCauley and
Schickedanz were indeed in the elevator when the bomb went off. He
also said that "Luke Franey was on the phone" at the time of the
bombing (although Webb admitted to me that he himself was at a golf
tournament that morning).[1079]
377
According to Sergeant Yeakey, Franey was not in the building:
Luke Franey was not in the building at the time of the blast, I know this
for a fact, I saw him! I also saw full riot gear worn with rifles in hand,
why?[1080]
Yeakey also wrote that Franey ran into the building. While news footage
showed Franey standing in a blown-out window on the 9th floor shortly
after the blast, he appeared surprisingly neat and clean. His
appearance contrasted sharply with other survivors who were covered
in dust and debris. In the photos, Franey is holding a box in one hand,
and a walkie-talkie in the other.
Whatever the true story, it is generally agreed that the Federal Building
was suspiciously empty that morning. Wendy Greer, the Sister-in-Law
of senior FBI Agent Jim Volz (retired), told me her brother said that the
FBI's offices at 50 Penn Place (several miles from the Murrah Building)
also appeared to be suspiciously vacant that morning.
If these agents weren't in their offices, just where were they? Some FBI
agents, it appeared, were at a Special Olympics golf tournament in
Shawnee (Webb told me he saw no ATF agents at the tournament). Yet
this still wouldn't account for the strange activities on April 19.[1082]
In the early morning of April 19, Bob Flanders and his wife were driving
east on I-44 at approximately 3:30 a.m., when they saw a strange
team of men near the State Fairgrounds. The men, dressed in
government black and driving black cars, were in the grass alongside
the road, operating "hoops" — circular-shaped, radio beacon directional
finders. Flanders recalled that the devices were about the size of a car
steering wheel, and the men held them over their heads, slowly
rotating them in a circular pattern.[1083]
At around 4:00 a.m., a man who was driving home after work saw
another team operating these unusual looking devices, this time by the
Alfred P. Murrah Building. As he approached 5th Street, he was directed
to one lane. The person directing traffic was not a police officer, and
was standing next to a white vehicle with a yellow stripe. As the man
drove by, he saw several men on the sidewalk holding these hoop-like
devices above their heads, slowly turning them in different directions.
As the man passed through, a roadblock was set up behind him, and all
traffic was diverted from the area.
378
The equipment these witnesses are describing matches that of RDF
direction finding antennas that are used to home in on electronic
transmitters. Was there a concealed radio transmitter on the one of the
Ryder trucks, sending out a signal to these teams? It is likely, given the
requirements of a successful sting operation, that they were
electronically tracking the Ryder truck. The location of the team at the
fairgrounds, high on a hill overlooking the city, is a clue to its intended
mission.
Yet why were they tracking the truck? Had their quarry eluded them? Is
it possible that one of the bombers, perhaps one of their own trusted
undercover agents, turned off the transmitter, resulting in the loss of
the signal? If so, it seems that the agents would have had what's
known in law-enforcement parlance as a "loose tail," and, it appeared,
they were frantically trying to find the truck.
According to KPOC's David Hall, the plan was to arrest the bombers at
3:30 in the morning. Given the ATF's past publicity stunts, it is likely
that they were hoping to arrest the suspects at or near the Murrah
Building to ensure a highly publicized bust. As Strassmeir told Evans-
Pritchard:
"It's obvious that it was a government 'op' that went wrong, isn't it?
The ATF had something going with McVeigh. They were watching him
— of course they were," he asserted, without qualification. "What they
should have done is make an arrest while the bomb was still being
made instead of waiting till the last moment for a publicity stunt. They
had everything they needed to make the bust, and they screwed it
up."[1084][1085]
Strassmeir added that the ATF thought that the bomb was set to go off
at 2 or 3 a.m., but somehow the plan was changed. "McVeigh made
some changes in the plan," said Strassmeir. "He is a very undisciplined
soldier, you know... In retrospect, the ATF should have made the bust
when the bomb was being built in Junction City."[1086]
The bombers, according to the former Elohim City security chief, were
to be captured "during the night, when no one was there — that's why
the ATF had the building staked out from midnight until 6:00 a.m.
Later, the informant believed that the bombing was off for the day and
reported that... the ATF lost control of the situation, and McVeigh and
the others were able to bomb the building."[1087]
379
While Strassmeir heaps most of the blame on the ATF, he does task
the FBI for its failure:
"They probably were going to entrap whoever was coming in," said
Sherrow. "They had enough intelligence that they were going to set up
an operation to pop this guy, whether it was McVeigh or whoever else,
and something fell through the cracks.…
"Talking from the perspective of a former ATF man, say they're going to
buy explosives, or let somebody plant a bomb… they will let the deal
go until the last second, before making the arrest."
"Can you imagine if we had known that… and let that happen?" said
ATF agent Harry Eberhardt. "I had a lot of friends in that building — a
lot of friends.… We never would have let that happen."[1089]
Dewy Webb, the current ATF RAC, concurred. "They had so many
friends they lost in the bombing — they had to pick which funeral they
could go to."[1090]
Said Sherrow, "I've got agents in their court testimony saying that they
don't care about the public's safety. They don't consider it. They
arranged to meet with a guy here in Phoenix who allegedly had
hundreds of pounds of explosives, and they chose a crowded shopping
center parking lot, running around with MP-5 [sub-machineguns] and
handguns and everything else.
380
"This happened before Oklahoma, and it continues to happen. We
had a case in Pennsylvania where a guy wanted to sell a small amount
of explosives. He wanted to meet [the agents] way out in the country.
Instead they decided to meet him on an Interstate rest stop that was
jammed with people, and brought the media. They endanger the public
right and left and they don't care about it."[1092]
David Hall attended the closed-door meeting with Martz. "I don't
believe that the ATF wired the building and blew it up. I do believe that
they knew that there was going to be a possible bomb threat to the
building, because they had set it up themselves, with their informants
and different people they were working with. And somebody really
slipped it to 'em."[1096]
Hall had also been long-time friends with Harry Eberhardt, and was one
of the first to develop inside information regarding the ATF's activities
that morning. While Martz held fast to his claim that three ATF agents
were in the Murrah Building at the time of the blast, Hall insists, "that's
an outright lie."[1097]
381
The seasoned investigative journalist contends that at least eight of
the ATF's regular compliment of 13 agents were on assignment away
from the Federal Building that morning. "Three agents (Don Gillispie,
Delbert Canopp and Tim Kelly) were in federal court in Newkirk, on an
arson case that occurred in Ponca City…. Two agents (Karen Simpson
and Harry Eberhardt) were in federal court in Oklahoma City. Three
more were in Garfield County at a hearing. The other five were out on
surveillance."[1098]
Hall concurs. "We developed from our sources inside the ATF that five
agents were up on surveillance all night long. We have to assume at
that point, basically probably surveilling either McVeigh — and let me
say this about McVeigh — there's a good chance that McVeigh could be
the informant in this operation."
Yet it appears there is more to the story. Hall claims that on the night
before the bombing, several witnesses saw McVeigh meet with ATF
agent Alex McCauley and two other individuals of Middle Eastern
descent in an Oklahoma City McDonalds at approximately 9:30 p.m.
"He was a known ATF agent," said Hall. "[And] money changed hands."
Could this money have been the $2,000 that was discovered on
McVeigh at the time of his arrest?
Terry Nichols was interviewed by Hall early on, and was told that
McVeigh had met with "men" who had provided him with a $2,000 pay-
off. Nichols left the restaurant at approximately 9:45 p.m. and drove
back to his home in Herrington, Kansas. Hall interviewed Nichols'
neighbors who claimed he arrived early that morning.[1099]
While Representative Key never did get the videotape, another source
close to the investigation told him that McVeigh was indeed an
informant.
What he didn't explain was the reason for the presence of the DEA.
But do you really need two tons of explosive in order to set up a sting?
Yes, according to Hall. Ammonium-nitrate isn't illegal in Oklahoma, and
a few hundred pounds won't convince prosecutors there was a serious
bomb threat in the works. "I think the intent there was to show that it
was going to do some damage, rather than, you know, a pipe bomb. It
wouldn't bring the intention here in Oklahoma."[1102]
While Martz would not confirm who the actual target of the sting was,
one person who did confirm it was a man who spoke with bombing
survivor and activist Ramona McDonald. McDonald had formed a group
called Heroes of the Heart. Through her numerous meetings with
paramedics and police, firefighters and even some federal agents,
McDonald began learning the sickening truth about what really
happened that day.
383
As the meetings wore on, a consensus was reached that the truth
needed to be told. The question was how. As McVeigh's trial
approached, McDonald and her group were gearing up for a trial of
their own. McDonald had contacted former Pentagon counter-terrorism
analyst Jesse Clear, and Clear had contacted a young fire-brand
attorney named Joseph Camerata. Camerata's intent was to gather
together survivors and family members, and bring a negligence suit
against the Federal Government.
Caller: "I don't think they expected the truck to blow up. I believe, and
I've believed this for a long time… I believe that number two — John
Doe #2 — was a federal agent working undercover. And I believe that
he helped McVeigh steal the goods and helped buy the equipment, and
I believe that he helped McVeigh make the bomb, and I believe that his
whole task in this whole thing… his only real task was to render the
device safe so that the federal agents could pretend to remove it and
move in. They did not want to move in until he was cleared of the
scene so that they wouldn't tip their hands. See what I'm saying? And
the odds are pretty good that whole reason behind this is because they
were after someone bigger than McVeigh, which means they probably
think he was linked to somebody in the Militia movement or something
like that.
"So I think what you're saying… you know I understand what you're
saying… but I don't think you see the big picture. I don't think that ,
you know, I'd only divulge a look at the big picture if that's the actual
scenario. If that's the actual scenario, which I believe it to be, I think
there really is no claim that the agent, that was John Doe #2, did not
render the bomb safe. Which he very well may have rendered the
bomb safe, and then McVeigh may have put in a second fail-safe which
he didn't know about. Which is probably what's happened.…
384
"I would bet money on that's, in fact, the way this whole thing came
down. Yes, they stood out in front of the building. Yes, they followed
him directly to the building. Yes, they watched him get out of the
building… get out of the truck. Yes, they watched him drive off. That's
not … that was their plan. I don't believe they ever planned to
apprehend him anywhere near the building. I believe that John Doe #2
was a federal witness. His job was to render the device safe. Therefore,
the only thing sitting out in front of that building was a bomb… a truck
loaded with a bomb that would not go off. And I think that's the
situation. In fact I know it is."
McDonald: "Okay… so… so why didn't they just come out and explain
that to everybody?"
Caller: "The public doesn't have to know that. When it comes to the
national security and things like this, the public does not have to
know… the public is not required to know. First of all, by doing that,
they would've, uh, put their witness, which is the federal agent John
Doe #2, they would have blown his cover, first of all. Which possibly
he's involved in something right now that you have no idea about. You
know, there very well may have been numerous plots involving
numerous buildings. See what I'm saying? You don't have the whole
picture… without full knowledge… what you may do may cost them
their lives. You should be very aware of that."
McDonald: "Okay. Well, that's what I've been trying to be very careful
of. I don't want to see anyone else get hurt. At the same time…"
Caller: "…Well, if that guy's cover's been blown, he'd dead already."
Caller: "Sure… I'm sure. Once you have gone up to this point, it has
gotten out, which I'm sure it has, because there are moles
everywhere… the chances are good that he's been terminated already
and this whole thing has blown up in their face. I don't believe that, out
of an act of negligence, these highly trained professionals would have
allowed that man to leave that truck out in front of that building with
its live bomb in it."
McDonald: No, no, no. It stood out there for the whole time, from the
time it pulled up until it went off."
Caller: "That's what I'm saying. They would not have allowed it. The
only reason they allowed the truck to sit there so long, is because in
my opinion they were under the impression that that bomb was
rendered safe. And I'd say that there was no rush… there was no
reason… to evacuate the building. There was no rush to make an
arrest. The truck was just going to sit out there until they went and
towed it off. So I don't think they thought it was an emergency and I
385
think either that John Doe #2 made a mistake in rendering the
bomb safe, or McVeigh was smart enough to plant a second fail-safe.
Which most bomb makers do."
McDonald: "Do you think that's why they didn't tell anybody?"
McDonald: "Okay. Well, that explains why there was so many of them
(federal agents) there so fast."
Caller: "Exactly. They followed him to the building, their agent was in
the truck with him when they followed him to the building, everything
was under control, as far as they thought, all they had was the man
who built the bomb that was not going to go off, because their agent
had rendered it safe. And their whole thing was not a problem. Let him
drive his truck right in front of his target, then they allowed him to
drive off.
"Once he drives off, he renders the truck safe, and then we can have
the trooper arrest him on the interstate for bogus charges. Which they
did, and this was all planned out 100 percent. I… I… I don't believe
they allowed that truck…"
McDonald: "You don't think they intentionally let the bomb go off?"
McDonald: "Well, I mean, that's the only thing about this that I found
so hard to believe."
Caller: "They… they thought the bomb was safe. They thought that
their agent, who was in the truck and who helped prepare the bomb,
would set it so it would not go off. Now, whether McVeigh went back to
the truck… where the agent did not know… and put a second fail-
safe… or the agent made a mistake and did not actually render the
bomb safe like he was supposed to… that's what's going on here."
Caller: "I'm not gong to tell you that. Let me tell you something. I'm
sure they had… everything was under surveillance there. So I'm sure
they do have pictures of the building blowing up, and I'm sure they do
have pictures of federal agents, and I'm sure they do have audio tapes
of them saying: Let 'em go, let 'em go… Wait, wait, wait…" there was
no rush in their mind. In their mind, there was no rush to get that truck
away from that building… that bomb… was not supposed to go off.
386
"Therefore, everything they did, fits, if you think about it. they
followed it, they allowed it to drive up there knowing that there was a
bomb in the truck. Their idea was to let John Doe #2 — their federal
agent — they would be able to use him in further investigations of
these bombings of these groups that are in militia groups. And this was
a perfect entry in, because he could have went through there.
"After McVeigh was arrested, John Doe #2 would have become a hero
to the cause of the militias. And the militias would have taken him in
and hid him, which would have made him part of the infrastructure of
the militias. Which is what their goal was for this whole thing… was to
bust the militias. If you take the big picture, and look at the big picture,
there were very few mistakes made on this sting operation. (except
blowing up a building and killing 169 people - ed.) With the exception
that John Doe #2, the federal agent, did not render the bomb safe. Just
think of it this way, Ramona."
McDonald: "I've always been a big fan of the United States and that,
but then… I've always been… this was the one thing that bothered
me."
Caller: "They didn't let the building fall intentionally. Their opinion was
that this bomb was rendered safe and this bomb would not go off. And
their whole thing on this thing… if you think about it… it makes sense
from a tactical standpoint. You would follow the truck to the building.
You allow your lead suspect to get away from the building because it
didn't blow up, because it's not supposed to. You take John Doe #2…
he gets away, which is your federal agent. John Doe #1 — McVeigh —
is arrested on a bogus charge and then later proven that he's the one
who planted the bomb that did not go off."
McDonald: "But you honestly don't think that they really intended…"
Caller: "Not at all. Not at all. They would not have to. No.… Basically,
what happened is, this was a mistake. Someone screwed up and the
only one that screwed up… The agents on the scene? They didn't
screw up. They did exactly what their orders were: Wait… allow the
suspect to leave the scene. Once the suspect had left the scene, then
render the truck safe, which is already safe. All they have to do is get
in, give it a hot-wire, and drive it off to a safe location and then open
up the back and disarm the bomb. Which was supposedly rendered
safe to begin with. Okay?
"And then, from there… they charge in… See, the plan… this plan was
put in motion before the bomb ever went off. Their intent was to allow
McVeigh to be arrested later on… John Doe#2 to get away… and then,
John Doe #2, the Federal Government would have released a sketch or
picture. And then, that man would have had to go underground and
hide. Where would he hide? He would have hid with the militias. The
militias would take him in as a hero. The militias would give him hero
387
status in the Militia movement, which would allow him to be privy to
information that the government could use later on…
"…they did not want that building to blow up. I guarantee you this…
their whole intent was that that bomb was rendered safe before it was
ever parked in front of that building… otherwise, they would have
quietly…"
Caller: "Got everybody out of the building, before the bomb ever even
pulled up in front of the building. There was no reason for them to do
that, because according to their plan, the bomb was safe now. There
was no reason to evacuate the building and the panic… because there
was a truck loaded with a bomb that was not going to blow up.…"
McDonald: "Okay."
Caller: "See what I'm saying? And John Doe#2.… By going this far with
it… Let me explain something to you. Your actions have consequences.
There are a lot of witnesses. There are a lot of agents right now in the
hills that are infiltrating these militia groups, and… all these people will
get killed. Their blood will be on your hands. I understand that you
want… If I really thought that the government allowed the building to
blow up, I would be with you 100 percent. But I know… and I believe…
they were horrified when the bomb went off… really horrified."
McDonald: "What?"
Caller: "They stole his license plate off that car. You know why? So
they'd have probable cause to stop him on the interstate.… They stole
his plate. Why do you think the plate was never found? His plate was
stolen from the vehicle and the Federal Government stole the plate
from the vehicle, so that he would be arrested… John Doe #2 would go
free, they would put a sketch out that would make him 'America's Most
Wanted.' The only place that a man that would be wanted by the
government can hide would be to be hid by the militia groups inside
their infrastructure.
What the caller does is attempt to instill guilt in McDonald over her
efforts to reveal the truth. Yet McDonald did not allow 169 innocent
people to be killed through her negligence and stupidity. The
government did.
In a similar vein, the Feds would cover up the truth of the Oklahoma
City bombing so as not to compromise their undercover agent — John
Doe 2 — and ultimately, reveal their own negligence.
What nitwit is supposed to buy the story that "highly trained, dedicated
professionals" would drive a truck laden with explosives around a busy
city — a bomb that could explode at any minute? More likely, the caller
is using the "federal agent in danger" line with McDonald as a ruse to
cover up the fact that these "highly trained, dedicated professionals"
are nothing more than a bunch of highly dangerous, out-of-control, self-
serving lunatics.
389
"The government must, and I say must, take responsibility for their
sting operation going sour," said HUD worker Jane Graham.… "We are
not expendable for their cause.…"[1105]
Istook also voted for the 1995 Crime and Anti-Terrorism bills, and is
reportedly very friendly with Senator Orin Hatch, one of the original
drafters of the latter. Istook is also on close terms with the FBI, which
would go a long way towards explaining his apologetic tone. He lives in
the same Congressional district and neighborhood (Warr Acres) as
McDonald.[1106]
I took an oath to uphold the Law and to enforce the Law to the best of
my ability. This is something I cannot honestly do and hold my head up
proud any longer if I keep my silence as I am ordered to do.
My guess is the more time an officer has to think about the screw up
the more he is going to question what happened… Can you imagine
what would be coming down now if that had been our officers' who had
let this happen? Because it was the feds that did this and not the
locals, is the reason it's okay.
The sad truth of the matter is that they have so many police officers
convinced that by covering up the truth about the operation gone
wrong, that they are actually doing our citizens a favor. What I want to
know is how many other operations have they had that blew up in their
faces? Makes you stop and take another look at Waco.
Finally, while those who said the bombing was an excuse to destroy the
Militia movement were dismissed as self-deluded paranoiacs,
McDonald's caller admits the entire operation was to ensnare the
Militia movement! Of course, McDonald's caller makes no distinction
between militias and neo-Nazi groups. militia groups angrily
denounced the bombing, as any self-respecting citizen would, and
certainly no militia member would consider a person who killed 169
innocent people a hero.
In that case, the FBI's original plan to entrap the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiya
group was to have their undercover operative, Emad Eli Salem,
substitute a harmless powder for the real explosive, which he would
help them build. Instead, due to a "disagreement," the FBI pulled
Salem off the case.
391
Like Cary Gagan, who tried to warn the FBI of the Oklahoma City
bombing, and Samra Mahayoun, who tried to warn officials of the Pan
Am 103 attack, Salem, they insisted, was just not credible. Several
weeks later, a truck-bomb detonated under the World Trade Center,
killing six people and injuring 1,000 more.
"We'll be going building the bomb with a phony powder, and grabbing
the people who was involved in it. But since you, we didn't do that."
"Since the bomb went off, I feel terrible. I feel bad. I feel here is people
who don't listen."
"I said, 'Guys, now you saw this bomb went off, and you both know that
we could avoid that.'"
"Do you deny that your supervisor is the main reason of bombing the
World Trade Center?"
What is also interesting to note is that not only did the FBI "foul up" the
operation, but they had Salem act as a provocateur, recommending
392
potential targets, teaching the terrorists how to build the bomb,
then teaching them how to drive the truck used in the bombing!
Mr. Salem helped organize the "battle plan" that the government
alleged included plots to bomb the United Nations and FBI buildings in
New York, and the Holland and Lincoln tunnels beneath the Hudson
River. Working with a charismatic Sudanese man named Siddig Ali, a
follower of Sheik Omar, Mr. Salem recruited seven local Muslims to
scout targets, plan tactics and obtain chemicals and electrical parts for
bombs, the government alleged. The FBI supplied a safehouse in
Queens.[1111]
As William Norman Grigg writes in the February 19, 1997 issue of the
New American:
Shortly after Yousef's arrival, the FBI subpoenaed two dozen of Sheik
Omar's followers and questioned them about the sheik, Nosair, and
Abouhalima. However, no arrests were made, no grand jury
investigation was launched, and the FBI chose to downgrade its
scrutiny of Omar's network — just as plans were being finalized for the
Trade Center bombing. This curious decision is even more peculiar in
light of the fact that the FBI had obtained intelligence on the network's
capabilities and intentions from Emad A. Salem, a former Egyptian
Army officer and FBI informant who served as Omar's security guard.
The FBI claimed the exact same thing about one of their informants in
the Oklahoma City bombing case — Cary Gagan. Although the Justice
Department granted Gagan a Letter of Immunity, they and the "highly-
trained, dedicated professionals" of the FBI failed to follow up on the
informant's apparently credible information. Gagan hadn't just
contacted the FBI and the Marshals Service once or twice regarding the
plot, but had informed them on numerous occasions of the terrorists'
plans. To the Gagan's knowledge, none of this information was followed
up.
After the bombing, the Justice Department tried to maintain that Gagan
wasn't credible. The U.S. Attorney's Office revoked his Letter of
Immunity, ignored his information, and apparently tried to assassinate
him. In order to prove their bogus allegations, they removed reports
from his informant file that showed Gagan had assisted the DEA in
recovering critical information.
Still, the government would try to cover its tracks by claiming that
Howe's information was unspecific, and that she was emotionally
unstable. Yet two days after the bombing, the ATF renewed its contract
with her, and sent her back to Elohim City to collect additional
information. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing, the
FBI renewed its association with Emad Salem, paying him a reported
$1 million to infiltrate Sheik Omar's group once again.
Given the Tulsa ATF's interest in Strassmeir and Elohim City, it is highly
likely that they were the initial target of the sting. ATF agent Angela
Finley -Graham conferred with her superiors about raiding the
compound in February of '95 and arresting Strassmeir, but FBI and DoJ
officials advised against it.[1113]
The ATF's actions at Elohim City were a curious parallel to those of the
FBI's in New York. As the London Sunday Telegraph's Ambrose Evans-
Pritchard stated, "It appears that the local BATF had stumbled on a
bigger operation being run by the grown-ups at the Justice
Department."[1114]
394
If the Arabs had plotted with neo-Nazis to blow up the Federal
Building. It is a foregone conclusion that they were under surveillance
by the ATF and FBI.
Recall that Timothy McVeigh and Sam Khalid were both investigated by
the FBI. McVeigh in 1993, and Khalid in 1990. Since Mike Khalid was
investigated for espionage by Army CID, it is reasonable to assume
that attention was focused on his brother as well.
Said David Hall, "I felt like… that probably the agencies involved in
this, their intent was to tie together some Patriot groups and to tie in
some other terrorist groups. I think the intent here was to say — go to
Congress and say — that we have domestic and foreign terrorist
groups, Mideast or foreign, working together and trying to blow up
buildings here in the United States."
It is likely that the FBI became aware of collusion between the two
groups — neo-Nazis and Arabs — as early as 1994, when Cary Gagan
reported that Terry Nichols had met with "Iranians" in Henderson,
Nevada. With the involvement of the Arabs, and the white
supremacists at Elohim City, the sting became a joint ATF/FBI
operation.
Interestingly, Hall learned that the FBI and the ATF got into a shouting
match while debriefing Janet Reno. According to Hall, when Reno left
the room, the FBI and ATF began yelling at each other, angrily accusing
each other for the tragedy.
Somewhere along the line in Oklahoma City, the FBI and ATF lost
control of the situation, and the bombers were able to make their
move. As in the World Trade Center case, someone who had infiltrated
the operation in Oklahoma had substituted a real bomb for a phony
one, or had placed a redundant timer on the bomb, or had simply
provided false information to the agents in charge, preventing them
from stopping the attack.
Were the FBI and ATF double-crossed by one of their own informants?
Or, as in the Pan Am case, did someone in a position of authority look
at the situation and say, "Don't stop it, let it go"?
If the FBI and ATF were double-crossed, it may have been by one of
their own agents. Recall that Michael Franks, a rogue American agent
with connections to the Octopus, had provided the key information that
allowed Ahmed Jibril to target Pan Am 103.
Former FBI SAC Ted Gundersen (head of the Los Angeles field office)
described to me what he called a "unilateral transfer" of CIA agents
into various federal law-enforcement agencies in the early 1980s. The
purpose of this Reagan/Bush covert policy was to permit the CIA to
head off any inconvenient investigations that such agencies might be
395
undertaking. If so, it would go a long way towards explaining the
FBI's curiously timed fit of incompetence.
The CCS's spying activities came to a head in 1973 with the publication
of Tackwood's The Glass House Tapes, and the unit was summarily
disbanded. In its place evolved the Organized Crime Intelligence
Division (OCID), which, interestingly enough, maintains no files on
organized crime, but plenty on local citizens and politicians.
The OCID also still maintains its ties with the federal intelligence
apparatus. According to Pasadena City Council member Michael Zinzin,
who won a $3.8 million dollar lawsuit against the LAPD's Anti-Terrorist
Division, that apparatus is the same secret cabal involved in the Iran-
Contra imbroglio.
Like Michael Franks, they could have easily informed those who had an
interest in changing that plot — those who had an interest in seeing
that the building, and possibly some of those inside it — was
destroyed.
10
396
[E: This chapter was omitted from the printed edition.]
The Octopus
All three bombings were sting operations that utilized, and were
utilized by, terrorists bent on causing destruction.
But the question still remained: who was controlling the terrorists? To
understand that, one must peer through the doorway of time
stretching from WWII to the present.
To prepare for the invasion of Sicily during WWII, the OSS (which later
became the CIA) collaborated with the Corsican Mafia. The
arrangement permitted the Mafia use the port of Marseilles for heroin
smuggling in exchange for its assistance in defeating the Nazis.[1117]
After WWII, the heroin operation moved to Vietnam and Laos, then to
Afghanistan and Pakistan, as the CIA embroiled itself in a covert war
against the Soviets. Assistant Secretary of Defense for National
Security Affairs Richard Armitage sat on the "208 Committee," which
oversaw military aid to the Mujahadeen. Fazoe Haq, the governor of
the Northwest Frontier Province (the largest heroin growing province in
Afghanistan), who was originally worth $100,000, was suddenly was
worth $200 million after the war. Armitage was his main contact.[1118]
Vince Cannistraro (Mr. "Libya done it") also sat on the 208 Committee,
representing National Security Advisor Robert "Bud" McFarlane, Oliver
North's supervisor.[1119]
Shortly after the start of the Afghani operation, the CIA began arming
the Contras in Nicaragua. Cannistraro himself [along with Duane
"Dewy" Clarridge, then Chief of the CIA's Latin American Division]
headed Casey's original operation to arm the Contras, based on
Reagan's March, 1981 decision. As former Green Beret Andrew Eiva
said, "Cannistraro was up to his ears by 1985." This is significant,
397
considering the Boland Amendment, prohibiting aid to the Contras,
was passed in 1984.[1120]
Some of these are the same players who moved into other Central
American countries, setting up security services (death squads) for
U.S.-backed dictators, and profiting handsomely from the cocaine
trade.
"By the end of 1988," added Castillo, "I realized how hopelessly
tangled the DEA, the CIA, and every other U.S. entity in Central
America had become with the criminals. The connections boggled my
mind."[1128]
"The CIA — they're making deals with the Devil," adds Mike Levine.
"Unfortunately, the Devil is smarter than they are."[1129]
While the operation was shut down in 1965, due mainly to revelations
of organized crime connections and drug smuggling, many of the
participants remained in Miami, continuing their illegal activities.
Investigations following Mr. Nugan's death and the failure of the bank
revealed widespread dealings by Nugan-Hand with international heroin
syndicates, and evidence of massive fraud against U.S. and foreign
citizens. Many retired high-ranking Pentagon and CIA officials were
executives of or consultants to Nugan-Hand.[1133][1134]*
After a brief stint as Director of the Far East Division, Shackley directed
CIA agent Edwin Wilson in training the Shah of Iran's notorious secret
police, the Savak, who routinely tortured and murdered the Shah's
opponents. Later Shackley would assist more directly in these
efforts.[1138]
Looking at the list of disasters Shackley has presided over during his
career, one might even conclude that on the day the CIA hired
Shackley it might have done better hiring a KGB agent; a Soviet mole
probably could not have done as much damage to the national security
of the United States with all his wile as Shackley did with the most
patriotic of intentions.
The old hands of the Agency, who formerly had at their disposal almost
unlimited "Black Budget" funds for covert operations, were suddenly
forced into retirement, or forced into lockstep with Turner's new
guidelines.
Although CIA Director William Casey hired 2,000 new covert operators
in 1980, many CIA critics felt Turner's actions had already caused the
401
secret cells of the good-old-boy networks to bury themselves — and
their illegal activities — even deeper.
By no means the lone man behind the curtain, Ted Shackley represents
one of the more visible of this lexicon of covert operators upon whom
the powers that be depend on for their endless supply of "black ops"
and dirty tricks. Perhaps this is how Shackley knows, or seems to know,
the complex truth behind Oklahoma City. It is a truth that remains
hidden behind a sophisticated labyrinth of covert operatives, all of
whom converge at similar times and places. They are, as David Corn
writes, "the little faceless gray men we never see and seldom hear
about." Those we call the "Shadow Government," the "Parallel
Government," the "Enterprise," the "Octopus," or a half-a-dozen other
names, are carefully hidden behind an endless roster of official titles
and duties, and a plethora of familiar-sounding organizations and
institutions.
These same faceless little gray men would pop up in the Oklahoma
City bombing conspiracy like interminable weeds between the cracks
of the pavement. From the Bay of Pigs to Iran-Contra to Oklahoma City,
the names, faces, and players would coalesce for a brief moment in
time into an indistinguishable menagerie of politicos and spooks,
402
terrorists and assassins — to commit their terrible deed, then fade
into the seamless world were little distinction is made between assets
and criminals.[1144]
Ted Shackley was officially forced to resign from the CIA due to his
dealings with friend and renegade agent Edwin Wilson. Wilson and
former CIA employee Frank Terpil had smuggled two tons of C-4 to
Libya, and at the behest of Shackley, had set up terrorist training
camps there utilizing Green Berets led to believe they were working for
the Agency. The ostensible purpose of this maneuver was to permit the
CIA to gather information on Soviet and Libyan weapons and defense
capabilities, and to learn the identities of foreign nationals being
trained for guerrilla warfare. Upon obtaining their passports and travel
plans, Shackley would alert their home country's secret police, who
would then assassinate them upon their return.[1145]
While Wilson was sentenced to a long prison term, Terpil fled to Cuba,
and has since been involved in numerous dealings with the PLO and
other terrorists, supplying them with sophisticated assassination
weapons, detonators, and communication systems.[1146]
Terpil also supplied torture devices to Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin, who
used a bomb supplied by Terpil to assassinate Kenyan cabinet member
Bruce McKenzie.[1147]*
Readers will recall this is the same Frank Terpil that was seen by Cary
Gagan in Mexico City with Omar (Sam Khalid?), six months before the
Oklahoma City bombing. "I saw him down in Mexico," recalled Gagan,
"in November of '94, in Mexico City… with Omar."
Gagan said he and Omar met Terpil at the Hotel Maria Isabelle in the
Zona Rosa district. Gagan didn't know who Terpil was at the time, but
described him as a fat, balding, 60ish fellow, who was "terribly
dressed." In other words — Frank Terpil.
"I heard the name because I knew Wilson's name from the Florence
Federal Penitentiary in Colorado." Gagan said that one of his
intelligence contacts, a man named Daniel, told him about Terpil. "The
conversation came up in reference to the Gander, Newfoundland
crash," said Gagan.
Some U.S. Army men were literally lured away from the doorway of
Fort Bragg, their North Carolina training post. The GIs were given every
reason to believe that the operation summoning them was being
carried out with the full backing of the CIA.…[1149]
Readers will also recall that while Timothy McVeigh was still in the
Army, he wrote his sister a letter telling her that he had been picked
for a Special Forces (Green Beret) Covert Tactical Unit (CTU) that was
involved in illegal activities. These illegal activities included "protecting
drug shipments, eliminating the [Octopus's drug] competition, and
population control."
If McVeigh had actually been recruited for such a group, the question
arises of what cover-story he was given. As discussed, it is highly likely
he was told that he was on an important mission — to infiltrate a
terrorist organization and prevent a bombing. Considering McVeigh's
background and character, it is unlikely he is a terrorist who set out to
murder 169 innocent people.
Also recall that McVeigh was seen with Hussain al-Hussaini. The Iraqis
would provide a convincing and plausible excuse if McVeigh was led to
believe he was part of a sting operation: "Son, you were a hero in the
Gulf War. Your country needs you now in the fight against terrorism." It
is a story a young, impressionable man like McVeigh would fall for.
This goes a long way towards explaining why an armed McVeigh didn't
shoot and kill Officer Charles Hanger when he was stopped on the
Interstate after the bombing. Why would a man who had just killed 169
men, women, and children balk at killing a cop (a member of the
system that McVeigh allegedly hated) on a lonely stretch of highway?
The only possible answer is that McVeigh believed he was part of a
sting operation — a government asset — and would be protected.
One source I spoke to said Moore had direct contact with Oliver North.
"I don't know who his [Moore's] contact was on Iran-Contra beyond Don
Aranow. I know he had access and would talk directly to Oliver North.
He knew Felix Rodriquez pretty well, he knew Nester Sanchez, Manny
Diaz, all those guys around Jeb [Bush] pretty well."
This source also claimed that Moore was a "paymaster" for Tom Posey's
Civilian Military Assistance (CMA) — the covert paramilitary operation
that served as the primary nexus for arming the Contras.
Other sources say Moore was an informant for the FBI. He allegedly
tried to sell heavy weapons to the Militia of Montana (MOM) as part of
an FBI sting operation. A call to MOM indicated that Moore had indeed
stopped by for a friendly chat. He told Randy Trochmann, one of MOM's
leaders, that he was traveling the country meeting with militia groups
in an attempt to verify black helicopter sightings and rumors of UN
405
troop movements. This seems a peculiar pastime for a man who
worked for a network of spooks devoted to bypassing and subverting
the Constitution.[1152]*
Robert "Bud" McFarlane went on to form his own consulting firm, and
joined the board of American Equity Investors (AEI), founded by
Prescott Bush. AEI's board of directors reads like a Who's Who of the
spook world, including former CIA officials George Clairmont and
Howard Hebert, and CIA lawyer Mitch Rogovin, who was George Bush's
legal counsel when he was Director of the Agency.[1154]
AEI invested in a Tulsa, Oklahoma company: Hawkins Oil and Gas, from
1988 to 1991. McFarlane was a "consultant" for Hawkins and several
other companies on the Ech power project in Pakistan, which required
frequent trips to that country.[1155] This was during the tail end of the
largest covert operation the U.S. ever conducted — the arming of the
Mujahadeen, who trained in Pakistan. McFarlane sat on the "208
Committee," who's job it was to procure weapons for the Mujahadeen,
and arms contracts for the Pakistani government.
Recall that Richard Armitage, who was the contact for Fazoe Haq,
governor of the Northwest Frontier Province, also sat on the "208
Committee." As Alfred A. McCoy writes in The Politics of Heroin in
Southeast Asia:
It's known that the CIA paid the Afghan guerrillas, who were based in
Pakistan, through BCCI.… That the Pakistan military were in fact
banking their drug profits, moving their drug profits from the
consuming country back to Pakistan though BCCI. In fact the boom in
the Pakistan drug trade was financed by BCCI.…
Just who were these "Pakistani mercenaries," and were they really
working for Iraq?
11
The use of former enemy soldiers, criminals, and terrorists for their
dirty work is also a time-honored tradition among intelligence
agencies, who stand to gain the "plausible deniability" so coveted in
the world of covert operations.[1159]
The CIA's support of the Afghani Mujahadeen between 1979 and 1989
resulted in a huge wave of well-armed and trained Muslim extremists
bent on venting their political and ideological rage against the U.S. At
the same time, the overflow from the Afghani operation resulted in one
of the largest pools of potential recruits for covert operations.
One of the main operatives the CIA had utilized in its war against the
Soviets was Sheik Abdel Omar Rahman. The CIA utilized Rahman
because of his influence over the Mujahadeen, then brought him into
the U.S. on a CIA-sponsored visa. While the Sheik was eventually
convicted for conspiracy to bomb targets in the U.S., prosecutors
encountered resistance in pursuing him and other World Trade Center
bombing suspects because of their ties to the Mujahadeen, and their
ties to U.S. intelligence.
As Mary Ann Weaver writes in the May, 1996 issue of The Atlantic
Monthly: "…the CIA helped to train and fund what eventually became
an international network of highly disciplined and effective Islamic
militants — and a new breed of terrorist as well."
To the CIA, which pumped more than $2 billion into the fourteen-year
Afghani resistance effort, Sheik Omar was what intelligence officials
call "a valuable asset."[1166][1167]
"Why aren't we going after the Sheik [Adbel Rahman]?" demanded the
undercover man.
"It was no accident that the Sheik got a visa and that he's still in the
country," replied the agent, visibly upset. "He's here under the banner
of national security, the State Department, the NSA, and the CIA."
The agent pointed out that the Sheik had been granted a tourist visa,
and later a green card, despite the fact that he was on a State
Department terrorist watch-list that should have barred him from the
country. He's an untouchable, concluded the agent.…"[1168][1169]
It was also revealed during the Sheik's conspiracy trial that in 1989 the
U.S. Army had sent Special Forces Sergeant Ali A. Mohammed to Jersey
409
City to provide training for Mujahadeen recruits, including Nosair
and Mahmud Abouhalima, a convicted World Trade Center bomber.
Interestingly, this was at the same time the pair were under
surveillance by the FBI as suspected terrorists.[1170][1171]*
Rowe also participated in the 1965 murder of civil rights marcher Viola
Liuzzo. As the National Review reported, "The 1978 investigation
implicated [Rowe] as an agent provocateur.… Three other Klansmen
testified that it was Rowe who had actually shot Viola." While Rowe was
indicted on first degree murder, a federal judge blocked Rowe's
extradition, claiming that a federal agent has rights that protect him
when "placed in a compromising position because of his undercover
work." A Federal Appeals Court upheld the ruling.
The FBI informant was also accused of helping plant the bomb that
killed four black girls in a Birmingham church. Although Rowe failed lie-
detector tests regarding his complicity in that and the Viola murder, he
was never prosecuted, and instead was given a $20,000 "reward" by
the FBI.
Like the FBI's KKK mules, or the ATF's pet Nazis at Elohim City, the
Pakistani/Afghani Mujahadeen and Iraqi veterans resettled into the U.S.
represent the next wave of "covert cowboys" — ready and willing to do
the CIA/FBI's dirty work.
Ali Hassan Salameh, the leader of the PLO splinter group Black
September, which carried out the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre,
was put on the CIA's payroll. That is, until the Mossad caught up with
him in 1979. Even so, the Israelis checked with the CIA before killing
him.
Another "valuable asset," Mir Aimal Kansi, had been recruited by the
CIA to assist in the smuggling of weapons to the Mujahadeen. Kansi,
who had a "financial misunderstanding" with the Agency, resolved the
issue by opening fire with an AK-47 outside of CIA headquarters in
January of 1993, killing two Agency employees. Like World Trade
Center bomber Ramzi Yousef, he fled to Pakistan.[1179][1180]
Could this be why FBI Agent Jeffrey Jenkins "cringed" when he saw
KFOR's televised report on Hussaini?[1182]*
Did Hussaini and Khalid, like Timothy McVeigh casually pulling over for
Patrolman Hanger, believe they were protected?
411
The FBI's refusal to look at Khalid strongly points to such a
possibility. Khalid's ability to monitor the activities of a group of Middle
Eastern immigrants (through giving them jobs and renting them
homes), and his status as a former felon, make him a likely candidate
as an operative or informant.
And why had McVeigh met with Hussaini in the first place? Like Carol
Howe and Andreas Strassmeir, were they both acting as undercover
operatives, without each other's knowledge?[1183]*
Recall that five days before the bombing, HUD worker Jane Graham
saw three men in the garage who she thought were telephone
repairmen. They had plans of the building, and were holding what
appeared to be C-4 plastic explosive. "It was a putty color," said
Graham, "a solid piece of block.… they had that and they had this
wiring.
"The man in the brown shirt obviously knew what he was doing and
was in charge…" said Graham. "He reminded me of a surveyor or
construction foreman except that I doubt that they would have been in
that good of shape. These men were definitely physically well
trained."[1184]
The men looked "uncomfortable" when they saw Graham, and quickly
put the items into a paper bag and hid it in their car — which was
clearly not a utility company vehicle.[1185][1186]
Another witness saw several men working on the pillars in the garage,
in the dark, without lights. When they were questioned by this visitor,
they said, "We're just putting things right again."
This bizarre activity was seen by at least two other witnesses — IRS
worker Kathy Wilburn, and a HUD worker named Joan. None of the
412
"repairmen" matched the description of Timothy McVeigh, Terry
Nichols, or Hussain al-Hussaini.[1187]*
Then, on the day of the bombing, twenty minutes before the blast,
Michael Linehan saw McVeigh's yellow Mercury run a red light and slip
quickly into the building's garage. Why did "McVeigh" need to enter the
building moments before the blast? To place secondary charges or
activate remote detonators, perhaps?[1188]†
Several minutes later, a woman riding the elevator saw a young Arab
man with a backpack frantically pushing the lobby button, as though
trying to exit the building.
After the blast, Kay H. was almost run over by a brown pick-up driven
by Hussain al-Hussaini. There were three suspects in the truck. At least
two of them were Arabs.
Seconds later, Gary Lewis ran outside to see a Middle Eastern man
grinning from ear to ear.
And those federal agents who had been surveilling the building all
night long… why did they appear so shocked when the bomb(s) went
off? Because they didn't expect them to go off. As Representative
Istook said, John Doe 2, [one of] the government's undercover agents,
did not know how to disarm the truck-bomb, which contained a
redundant timing device. They didn't know about the charges inside
the building.
And the Army leg who helped place the shaped C-4 charges on the
building's columns was not advised that he had a zero-time-delay
detonator and was going to be vaporized. The leg was on the wrong
side of the column when the detonator was activated.[1192]*
413
Fortunately for the conspirators, the crime scene was leveled to
preclude any independent forensic analysis. Federal agents and local
officials quickly scrambled to initiate their damage-control
operation.[1193]
Those who threatened to reveal the "sting gone bad" were told to keep
quiet for "the good of the country." Yes, it was a terrible tragedy. But
brave undercover agents like John Doe 2 were safely on the job, just
waiting to prevent more "militiamen" like Timothy James McVeigh from
blowing up more babies.
12
The Motive
In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War was officially over.
The intelligence community was in danger of losing its appropriations;
it needed a new mission.[1194][1195]
Although featured on the front page of the New York Times and
subsequently translated into 15 different languages, many
establishment icons and media pundits would only acknowledge the
work as a "clever satire."
414
The Times, which received a "no comment" response from the LBJ
White House while attempting to verify its authenticity, wrote that the
possible hoax was a possibly suppressed report.[1196]
As late as 1995, The Nation was still denigrating the report as a "hoax,"
while the Wall Street Journal was seriously debating its merits. As
Robert Tomsho wrote in the May 9, 1995 edition of the Journal:
Given the tumultuous times when the document surfaced and the air
of respectability surrounding those involved with it, few readers were
willing to dismiss the mysterious headline-grabbing book as a hoax.[1197]
Whether or not Report from Iron Mountain was in fact a hoax, the
report's conclusions, even its detractors will admit, lend a somewhat
prescient and frightening measure of truth to contemporary 20th
century reality.[1198]*
… justify the need for taking and paying a "blood price" in wide areas
of human concern.… The fictive models would have to carry the weight
of extraordinary conviction, underscored with a not inconsiderable
actual sacrifice of life.[1201]
We are not going to achieve a new world order without paying for it in
blood as well as in words and money.[1202]
Some are relinquishing their Social Security cards. Others refuse to pay
income taxes, which they insist are in direct contravention of the
Constitution, and an illegal outgrowth of the privately-owned Federal
Reserve. Many are buying gold and silver. Some are even issuing their
own currencies.
They point out the importance our founding fathers attributed to the
Second Amendment — the right to bear arms — as the first and final
bastion against a tyrannical government. Ultimately, they are willing to
defend themselves against a increasingly oppressive federal system.
Over the last ten years, every year or two, some major monster is
constructed that we have to defend ourselves against. There used to
be one that was always available: the Russians. But they're losing their
attractiveness as an enemy, and it's getting harder and harder to use
that one, so some new ones have to be conjured up… They've got to
keep coming up, one after another. You frighten the population,
terrorize them, intimidate them.… That's one of the ways in which you
can keep the bewildered herd from paying attention to what's really
going on around them, keep them diverted and controlled....[1206]
But were there a rumor of civil war, all foreign investors might decide
to withdraw their investments. The resulting collapse would make the
crash of 1929 look like a summer picnic.
A dramatic event like Oklahoma City, used to crush the political life out
of the militias, would go a long way towards calming the ruling elite
and their foreign investors. Reassured that the Federal Government is
still in control of the population, these investors would hopefully leave
their investment capital in place.
"It is not because these people are armed, that America need be
concerned," Bill explained to my surprise. "It is not that these people
419
stockpile weapons and have para-military training sessions, that
they are dangerous" Colby continued.…
Further evidence of the concern that the ruling elite have for this
popular and growing phenomenon lie in the slanderous comments of
President Clinton, the huge wave of media propaganda, and the
increase in undercover sting operations aimed at destroying this
largely popular movement.
At the same time, all legitimate expressions and concerns are ignored.
Militia members are portrayed as mostly gun-crazed racists with overly
conspiratorial views. As Relevance magazine notes:
Now the average citizen watches the FBI march into Waco with tanks
and burn women and children, while President Clinton and the mass-
media dismiss them as "just a bunch of whackos." At the same time he
turns around and watches his neighbor's door kicked in by goon squads
to seize piddling amounts of contraband, while his home and assets
are seized without ever being charged with a crime, then given to law-
enforcement agencies who divide up the bounty amongst themselves.
He learns how the CIA has illegally intervened and destroyed the
sovereignty of dozens of nations around the world, and assisted in the
murder of countless millions.
He watches with alarm as new laws are being added every day to
restrict his Constitutional rights.
While it cannot be said for certain that the Alfred P. Murrah Building
was destroyed as part of a preconceived plan to create the illusion of a
domestic terrorist threat within America — as a foundation for
destroying political dissent — it is clear that the investigation was
politically crafted for just that purpose.
Yet the tension surrounding the Militia Movement wasn't the only
pressure beginning to boil the political pot. Even more interesting
events were to occur just prior to the bombing.
That same evening, April 17, a military C-21 Lear Jet carrying several
high-ranking military officials, including a supervisor to the NSA,
crashed near Alexander City, Alabama. The disaster, which occured on
a clear day, appeared to be more than a simple accident. The highly
experienced crew reported "fuel management" problems, a classic
sabatogue technique. Witnesses Miranda Wyckoff and Jimmy Keel
claim they heard multiple explosions while the plane was airborne.[1219]
The plane crashed not far from a secret Delta Force base in Alabama. It
has been rumored that elements of the 20th Special Operations Group
(SOG) guarded Mena airport during the Iran-Contra drug-running. A
Special Federal Grand Jury in Alabama was blocked from investigating
the crash.[1220]*
Yet on April 19, two days after the crash, the Oklahoma City Federal
Building was bombed. The bombing conveniently shifted the attention
from Clinton's activities at Whitewater, the ATF and FBI's murderous
actions at Waco, and the Octopus' drug-running at Mena… onto
Oklahoma City, and "the new enemy in our midst."
What were in the files that a over dozen heavily-armed agents were so
anxious to hide? Given the timing of the aforementioned events, it is
likely the files were either records incriminating the Octopus for its
drug-running at Mena, or records incriminating the ATF for their actions
at Waco.
It may be more than a coincidence that the ATF agents who raided
Waco… wore black uniforms with no identifying badges.[1221]
Interestingly, on the May 14, 1995 edition of "Face the Nation," White
House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta denounced those chairing the Waco
hearings, claiming that they "wanted to take attention away from the
tragedy of Oklahoma City."
It has also been suggested that the files removed were records
implicating George Bush and company for their role in selling Iraq
biological weapons that have infected large numbers of American
troops and their families. Peter Kawaja, who served as Louis
Champon's chief of security at his Product Ingredient Technologies in
Boca Raton, FL — which was secretly being used by his business
partner Ishan Barbouti, an Iraqi arms dealer, to produce Cyanide
shipped to Iraq — claims that documents implicating Bush, Secretary
of State James Baker, and others involved in the "Iraqgate" scandal
were moved to the Alfred P. Murrah Building.[1224]
Whatever the case, someone was obviously very uptight about some
files in the Federal Building — uptight enough to send a team of
hooded, heavily-armed agents to wisk them away.
Several days after the bombing, President Clinton sent his much fabled
Anti-Terrorism Bill to Congress. The legislation, originally introduced
after the World Trade Center bombing, had been languishing on the
Congressional shelf. On June 7, the Senate passed the sweeping
measure by a vote of 91 to 8.[1225]†
13
[Yet the FBI wasn't [and isn't] the only agency practicing counter-
insurgency techniques to discredit and eliminate its political
opponents.] Ten years after Report from Iron Mountain was published,
Theodore Shackley published The Third Option: An Expert's
Provocative Report on an American View of Counterinsurgency
Operations.
As Wheaton writes:
425
The Third Option is not to have peace in the world, and not to have
a full-scale world war. Instead, they wanted to cause worldwide
instability, chaos and civil unrest in order to manipulate and control
people and governments, including the United States; thus the creation
of the domestic terrorist threat.[1228]
Notice that Wheaton calls this the creation of the domestic terrorist
threat. Wheaton states what has been known for centuries by the so-
called "enlightened ones" — the Illuminati, the Masons, the Rhodes
Round Table, and their successors: the CFR, the Bilderbergers, and the
Trilateral Commission — that out of chaos will come order (Ordo Ab
Chao. )[1229]
By definition, a terrorist must take credit for his violence, or else there
is no compelling reason to commit a crime. The specific purpose of
terrorism is gaining leverage on a specific political objective through
the ability of threatening future terrorist acts. No one has claimed
credit for the Oklahoma City bombing. Militia groups produced
particularly vehement public statements condemning the crime.
"If the bombing was not terrorism," asks Portland Free Press editor Ace
Hayes, "then what was it? It was pseudo-terrorism, perpetrated by
compartmentalized covert operators for the purposes of state police
power."[1230]
426
The Portland Free Press editor has studied the secret state for
decades and can say that the OKC crime has all the characteristics of
state-planned and-executed propaganda. It is not different from the
bogus Viet Cong units that were sent out to rape and murder
Vietnamese to discredit the National Liberation Front. It is not different
from the bogus "finds" of Commie weapons in El Salvador. It is not
different from the bogus Symbionese Liberation Army created by the
CIA/FBI to discredit the real revolutionaries.
Probably the most well-known case was the Reichstag fire, which led to
the rise of Nazi Germany through the implementation of sweeping
legislative powers. On February 27, 1933, a fire tore through the
German parliament building, the Reichstag. The Nazis immediately
accused a Dutch Communist named Marinus van der Lubbe of the
crime, and subsequently executed him.
The parallels between the Reichstag fire and the Oklahoma City
bombing are eerily similar, both in the likeness of the crime, and in
their political ramifications. As author William Shirer writes in his epic,
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich:
The idea for the fire almost certainly originated with Goebbels and
Göering. Hans Gisevius, an official in the Prussian Ministry of the
Interior at the time, testified at Nuremberg that "it was Goebbels who
first thought of setting the Reichstag on fire," and Rudolf Diels, the
Gestapo chief, added in an affidavit that "Göering knew exactly how
the fire was to be started" and had ordered him "to prepare, prior to
the fire, a list of people who were to be arrested immediately after it."
General Franz Haider, Chief of the German General Staff during the
early part of World War II, recalled at Nuremberg how on one occasion
Göering had boasted of his deed:
[Marinus] Van der Lubbe, it seems clear, was a dupe of the Nazis. He
was encouraged to try to set the Reichstag on fire. But the main job
was to be done — without his knowledge, of course — by the storm
troopers. Indeed, it was established at the subsequent trial at Leipzig
that the Dutch half-wit did not possess the means to set so vast a
building on fire so quickly. Two and a half minutes after he entered, the
great central hall was fiercely burning. He had only his shirt for tinder.
The main fires, according to the testimony of experts at the trial, had
been set with considerable quantities of chemicals and gasoline. It was
obvious that one man could not have carried them into the building,
427
nor would it have been possible for him to start so many fires in so
many scattered places in so short a time. Van der Lubbe was arrested
on the spot and Göering, as he afterward told the court, wanted to
hang him at once.[1231]
Shirer may just as well have been describing the bombing in Oklahoma
City. Timothy McVeigh appears as a modern-day Van der Lubbe — a
dupe who could have not possibly destroyed the Murrah Building with
his crude homemade fertilizer bomb. Yet he was set up in exactly the
same manner as the Dutch Communist, arrested instantly, and
proclaimed the ultimate societal enemy — representing a group that
threatened the continuity of the state — just as Clinton did with the
militias in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing.
Although Göering didn't admit at Nuremberg that his agents set the
fire, the Nazis seized on the event, claiming Lubbe's act was the
precursor of a Communist invasion. Chancellor Hitler persuaded
President Hindenburg to sign an emergency decree — Article 48 of the
Weimar Constitution, "for the Protection of the People and the State" —
which immediately abrogated most of the German peoples'
constitutional protections.
All of the key strategic moves were made by Göering in setting the
stage for a take-over. Why? Because in order to take over a
government, you have to eliminate your political enemies before they
strike, not after. This means that you have to transform the police from
a crime-detecting and punishing apparatus to a crime preventing
428
apparatus. You have to expand the definition of key crimes so that
you can identify and incarcerate your enemies before they strike. You
have to transform the attitudes of the police so that they view the
public as the enemy and not as citizens with rights. You have to have
tactical police units in place that will execute your orders rapidly
without question.[1232]
Soon Nazi storm troopers were roaring through the streets at all hours,
rounding up suspected dissidents, including politicians, who were then
hauled off to makeshift concentration camps and tortured or killed. As
William Shirer writes:
Hitler's promises that "the government will make use of these powers
only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary
measures" were belied by the ruthless tally of history.[1234]
Like the CIA's announcement to investigate itself for it's own drug-
running, the wolf now seeks to reassure the public that it has no
intention of invading the hen house.
One year to the day after the Oklahoma City bombing, President
[K]linton signed the Anti-Terrorism Bill, "for the protection of the people
and the state." Clinton railroaded Congress into passing the draconian
legislation in the same manner that Hitler stampeded the German
people into passing the Enabling Act.
"…a lot of people say there's too much personal freedom," Clinton
stated on MTV in March of 1994. "When personal freedom's being
abused, you have to move to limit it."[1237]
Now the FBI has now unveiled its "Critical Incident Response Group."
Divided into five units, the "Undercover Safeguard Unit" selects recruits
for [even more] undercover agents to be sent amongst the American
people; the "Aviation and Special Operations Unit" which creates an FBI
Air Force for both logistics and spying; the "Investigative Support Unit,"
which permits the FBI's flawless crime lab to become available for
every law-enforcement agency in the country; and the "Crisis
Management Unit" which helps the Bureau cover up such incidents as
Ruby Ridge and Waco while lying to the press.
Then there is the "SWAT Training Unit," and the "Tactical Support"
Division, which includes the infamous "Hostage Rescue Team," which
"rescued" a nursing mother by shooting her in the face, and "rescued"
86 men, women, and children by gassing, shooting, and burning them
alive.
Finally, there is the "Abducted Children and Serial Killers Unit," which
should provide a measure of relief to those concerned about out-of-
control criminals who gas and incinerate children while committing
mass-murder.[1239]
This was the same Attorney General who, along with Deputy Attorney
General Webster Hubbell and President Bill Clinton, gave the "final
solution" order at Waco. The FBI was the agency that carried it out,
gassing and incinerating 86 men, women and children.
Now, under H.R. 97 (the "Rapid Deployment Strike Force Act"), Clinton,
Reno and Freeh are calling for a 2,500-man "Rapid-Deployment" force
composed of FBI and other federal agents, all under the supervision of
the Attorney General.[1240] The bill states:
Unfortunately, at the present time, an agent of the FBI could walk into
my office and commandeer this police department. If you don't believe
that, read the Crime Bill that Clinton signed into law in 1995. There is
talk of the feds taking over the Washington, D.C. Police Department. To
me this sets a dangerous precedent.[1241][1242]
Said Joseph McNamara, former police chief in San Jose and Kansas City,
now at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University: "Despite the
conventional wisdom that community policing is sweeping the nation,
the exact opposite is happening,"[1243]
"In SWAT units formed since 1980, their use has increased by 538
percent," said police researcher Peter Kraska. Originally designed to
control armed, barricaded suspects, SWAT teams are now being
routinely used in the so-called "War on Drugs," and in places like
Fresno, are being deployed full-time as roaming patrols.
"The drug war created the atmosphere for this kind of pro-active
policing," Kraska said. "We have never seen this kind of policing, where
SWAT teams routinely break through a door, subdue all the occupants
and search the premises for drugs, cash and weapons."
While the average citizen has to pay a several hundred dollar fine or
serve jail time for possessing a small amount of marijuana, the biggest
drug dealers in the country — the CIA — have been pumping tons of
heroin and cocaine into this country for decades. Now the "War on
Drugs," which even many in the law-enforcement community admit is
a sham, is being used to wage war on the American people.
"It's a very dangerous thing, when you're telling cops they're soldiers
and there's an enemy out there," adds McNamara. "I don't like it
all."[1245]
Yet maybe the cops won't have to worry about looking like soldiers. On
October 5th, 1994, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and
431
Criminal Justice held hearings on the Justice Department's proposed
"Use of the National Guard in Domestic Law Enforcement."[1246]
During January of 1994, troops from the U.S. Army Special Operations
Command, which includes the Green Berets, Rangers, and
psychological warfare specialists, were seen rappelling off the empty
11-story St Moritz Hotel in Miami, firing paint pellets in mock assault
exercises.[1247] In Fort Lauderdale during November of 1996, troops from
the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment from Fort Campbell,
Kentucky, along with Special Forces, Rangers, Navy SEALSs, and
psychological warfare specialists, practiced "night urban navigation
training."
Resident Bridget Tuohey wasn't reassured. "I have two little kids here
who are semi-hysterical," Tuohey told the Detroit News. When Van
Buren resident Mark Spencer went to investigate, he saw men in Ninja-
style black uniforms with no markings practicing mock assaults on
abandoned houses.
Although the live ordnance found at the scene had already been
photographed by local Detroit television crews, Wayne County Police
spokesman claimed that it did not exist.[1249]
432
As Spencer recalls, "Never in 25 years of living in this area have I
ever heard automatic weapons fire. Never have I heard explosives
training being done here. Never have I seen men dressed in black
battle dress roaming the wooded areas of my home."[1250]
What are these troops training for? According to a report in the March,
1995 issue of Soldier of Fortune, about 40 Army and Air Force legal and
other personnel attended a secret "research symposium" at XVIII
Airborne Corps between December 6th and 8th, 1994, to strategize
and study for the deployment of U.S. personnel and resources to aid
civilian authorities in "the suppression of domestic civil unrest." Army
lawyers repeatedly brushed aside Airborne officers concerns that such
deployment would violate the Posse Comitatus Act. One lawyer,
responding somewhat cryptically said, "Not anymore, it doesn't."[1251]
While the DoD claims these exercises are training for "overseas"
commitments, Major General Max Baratz dropped the ball when he
wrote in the Summer, 1994 issue of Army Reserve Magazine:
As William Jasper reported in the October 31, 1994 issue of The New
American, soldiers are currently undergoing training in disarming
civilian militias at the $12 million Military Operations on Urban Terrain
(MOUT) complex at Ft. Polk, Georgia.[1255]
Interestingly, Oliver North and "Buck" Revell helped develop the policy
of militarizing our law-enforcement. One example is the FBI — now
being given sniper training by the military. That training helped the
Bureau massacre 86 men, women, and children at Waco. It was the
first time in recent history that the government violated the Posse
Comitatus Act by using federal troops on American citizens.[1256]
"Don't you realize that there are factions in your government that want
this to happen — an emergency situation too hot for a constitutional
government to handle."
While Levine supposedly had this conversation with the Argentine CIA
Station Chief in 1991, he told me the actual discussion took place with
a drunk CIA agent in Buenos Aries twelve years earlier. As Levine
recalls: "He told me America should be more like Argentina. That
Americans have more rights than they should have.… He said, 'Give
Americans a car, a TV set, a home, and they're happy.' He told me all
you had to do was create a situation of fear and anarchy so that
Americans will give up their rights.… I believe this is part of what's
happening now."[1262]
A prime example was the 1992 L.A. riots. While the beating of black
motorist Rodney King was not part of a preconceived plan, many insist
that the riots were allowed to rage out of control to test the
government's plans for martial law, and provide an excuse for further
erosion of our civil rights. It was widely reported that Police Chief Daryl
Gates deliberately held back his officers, some of whom literally cried
as they watched the ensuing chaos.[1263]
Even that bastion of the establishment, the New York Times, reported:
Emerging evidence from the first crucial hours… provides the strong
indication that top police officials did little to plan for the possibility of
violence and did not follow standard procedures to contain the rioting
once it began.…
The Kent State riots of 1970 are another interesting example. As one
student recalled on a KPFK radio interview: "The ROTC building is about
200 feet from the police station, right across the courtyard. All these
self-styled revolutionaries who were burning down the ROTC building
took 45 minutes to get it started. All the time, the police never
attempted to stop them. In fact, it was almost as if they wanted them
to burn down the ROTC building.
From this point on, they used this as an excuse to stop the movement
that students were involved in — the massive opposition to the war in
Vietnam."[1270]
The Watts uprising also saw a sharp increase in domestic police and
military intelligence gathering, and gave rise to modern law-
enforcement tactics such as the SWAT team. Ever since the riots,
writes former UCLA professor Donald Freed, "domestic counter-
insurgency has become a 'growth industry.' Forty thousand fast-
growing police agencies, containing more than 400,000 men and
women, are becoming chief customers for many defense industry
contractors."[1271]
Should a situation such as Levine refers to actually take place, the first
to be "detained" would be those who oppose the current system —
dissidents, radicals, and primarily, those in the Patriot/Militia
movement. The movement represents a threat to the existing power
structure in the same way that the Anti-War movement represented a
threat to the military-industrial establishment, or the Sandinistas and
the FMLN represented a threat to their U.S.-backed fascist dictators.
The Imperial State is planning for war with the American people. It is
planning to win that war. There is no other possible explanation for the
frenzied framing of a fascist police state.[1273]
As nationalism becomes less and less the defining factor, the ethical
and moral equation shifts with it. It is a short leap from rationalizing
the killing of hundreds of thousands or even millions of foreigners to
killing a few hundred or a few thousand Americans, if the policy
objectives deems it necessary. These deaths are simply viewed as
"collateral damage" by the ruling elite.
While this may sound like a drastic concept, the basic idea underlying
it is the same. Governments need to control their people. In Latin
America, Red China, Turkey, and Indonesia, they do it through
repressive laws, incarceration, torture, and death squads. In "civilized"
countries such as the United States, the techniques are the same, they
only differ in the degree that they are used.
What the Plutocracy revealed in that case is that the American people
could be persuaded — through government disinformation and a
subservient media (and their own stupidity) — that the massacre was
"justifiable." How many Americans can be heard parroting the official
government line when asked about Waco? The Branch Davidians were
"religious nuts," or "whackos," we are told, and hence deserved their
fate — to be tortured, gassed, shot, and burned to death — women,
children, pets and all.[1275]
In short, it guts the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments
to the Constitution, lays the framework for an entrenched police state,
and gives the Federal Government full power to target anybody who is
deemed a threat to its authority.
With the bombing accompanied by 100 times more footage about dead
children than the media mustered for Waco, it wasn't hard to convince
a gullible public about the "threats" posed by militias. While the final
version rammed through Congress was watered down somewhat, it
was just the beginning of a wave of "anti-militia" legislation introduced
in the wake of the bombing.
440
No doubt, future engineered "acts of terrorism" will serve to
reinstate the deleted provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Bill.
H.R. 2580 followed on the heels of its sister bill, H.R. 1544, the
"Domestic Insurgency Act," introduced by Representative Nadler. The
Domestic Insurgency Act purports to prevent two or more individuals
from engaging in any paramilitary group who possess "any weapons
capable of causing death or injury with the intention to unlawfully
oppose the authority of the United States." Such a paramilitary group
could conceivably include a pair of senior citizens with Swiss Army
knives at a church picnic discussing their unhappiness with the Social
Security Administration.
In this sense, the Omnibus Anti-Terrorism Bill can be seen as little more
than an "Enabling Law," similar to Hitler's repressive legislation that
allowed the German government to override their own constitutional
protections.
Since Shackley was the first to come up with the concept of an Anti-
Terrorism Bill, and since he was also one of the first to run a major CIA-
sanctioned drug-running operation, one could effectively argue that
the controls offered by the Anti-Terrorism Bill will go a long way towards
assisting these bands of covert operators and international criminals in
their illegal enterprises.
Not that the government needed a new law to conduct its criminal
activities — it simply codified what had already been established. By
privatizing covert operations, the government gets to maintain
"plausible deniability."
The goals of these "Secret Teams" naturally overlap with the agendas
of the corporate-financial elite. "[Roy] Godson estimates that
international crime groups outperform most Fortune 500 companies.
They deliver drugs, illegal aliens, and laundered money, and provide
services like violence and extortion — all with organizations that
resemble General Motors more than they resemble the traditional
Sicilian Mafia." Godson should know. As a member of the National
Strategy Information Center, founded by former CIA Director William
Casey, Godson helped Oliver North raise funds for the drug-running
Contras.[1286]
The company hired both retired and active duty military personnel on
leave to act as "guns" — guys who had no qualms about blowing
people away. Their assassination targets include planning to kill drug
smugglers in Peru, Honduras, Belize, and Caribbean nations; armed
and train Contras, and arm and train official military commando units
in El Salvador, Honduras and Peru.[1288]
Could Hussain al-Hussaini and his associates have been some of the
foreign nationals trained by ANV?
Wheaton claims the facility "is central control for Ted Shackley's 'Third
Option' and the project to create domestic unrest, chaos, and the
illusion of a domestic terrorist threat within America."[1291]
444
While operations from super-secret high-tech bases may sound like
the stuff of Ian Flemming novels, Shackley allegedly directed the
overthrow of Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam — the first
Labor Prime Minister in over two decades — from the super-secret Pine
Gap facility run by the CIA. As the Sheehan Affidavit states:
The corollary between the situation in the U.S. and that in Australia
may be significant, since that country is now undergoing wholesale gun
confiscation of its citizenry under "Operation Cabin Thrust" — the first
step to total control of its population.
The reader has already been given a glimpse of this "elite" and their
so-called "values." Dominating society will be a Plutocracy controlling
everything from politics and media, education, commerce and industry,
even private property. Such plans calls for more governmental
programs, more governmental controls, and more and more
government-imposed order.
14
A Strategy of Tension
Like the Reischtag fire, the Oklahoma City bombing served as the
catalyst to impose a new wave of draconian legislation on the
American people.
The bombing also dovetailed perfectly with the policy of blaming pre-
arranged groups, developed in early 1980s by the CIA's Vince
Cannistraro working in tandem with Oliver North to develop the policy
that was used to divert attention onto Libya in the Lockerbie bombing.
The CIA had established a precedent for such policies more than forty
years ago in Italy and Greece, when the OSS intervened in those
countries' elections by supporting fascist collaborators who would
attack the population and disrupt political proceedings. Through
Operation SHEEPSKIN, the CIA worked with former Nazi collaborators in
Greece to institute a campaign of black propaganda, terrorist bombings
and other provocations to be blamed on the Left, resulting in a fascist
coup and the murder and repression of thousands.
This network was conceived by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and
organized by the NSC, which set up the Office of Policy Co-ordination to
run it, staffed and funded by the CIA. Like Operation SHEEPSKIN, most
of the so-called "freedom fighters" it recruited were little more than
fascist collaborators from WWII. And like the Nazi organization ODESSA
with which it often collaborated, its tentacles extended throughout
Europe and Latin America, and even the United States.[1296]
While the main focus of Gladio was to resist a potential Soviet invasion,
its fascist roots and violent history indicate it has served mainly as a
policy instrument to resist internal subversion — through terrorist
means. This goal was revealed in a briefing minute of June 1, 1959,
which stated Gladio's concern with "internal subversion" and it's
determination to play a role in the "politics of emergency." This
emergency would come about during the 1960s and 1970s with the
emergence of the anti-Capitalist movement, and the shift from the
Center to the Left by the ruling Christian Democratic Party.[1297]
The Supermarket massacres occurred during the period when the U.S.
was pushing a plan to base the Euro-Missiles (nuclear-tipped Cruise
missiles) in different European countries. The plan led to huge
demonstrations in Europe, with certain countries threatening to break
ranks with NATO. Belgium was one of those countries. The Belgian
449
Parliament, which investigated the incidents, felt that they were
another attempt to sow confusion and fear among the populace,
thereby generating public outcries for a law-and-order government
which would be amenable to the Euro-Missles.[1306]
On April 6, 1979, the same Mossad terror unit now suspected of the
Copernicus carnage blew up the heavily guarded plant of CNIM
industries at La Seyne-sur-Mer, near Toulon, in southeast France, where
a consortium of French firms was building a nuclear reactor for Iraq.…
450
The Mossad salted the site of the CNIM bomb blast with 'clues'
followed up with anonymous phone calls to police — suggesting that
the sabotage was the work of a conservative environmentalist group….
Two years later, six people were killed and 22 injured when terrorists
attacked Goldenberger's Deli in Paris. Again, "Right-wing extremists"
were blamed. Implicated in the attack was one Jean-Marc Rouillan,
leader of a mysterious Left-wing group called Direct Action. While the
real facts were being covered up by the government, angry French
intelligence officers — some who had quit in disgust — decided to leak
the story to the Algerian National News Service. Rouillan, it turns out,
had been operating in the Mediterranean under the cover name of
"Sebas" and had been linked to the Mossad.[1310]
Nidal began his long and bloody career in the PLO, only to become a
bitter rival of Yasser Arafat. It was a situation that the Israeli Mossad, in
a manner similar to their CIA cousins, would seek to exploit. As Middle
East expert Patrick Seale writes:
Whatever jobs [Abu Nidal] might have done for Arab sponsors, and
they had been numerous and nasty, he had done many other jobs from
which Israel alone appeared to benefit."[1312]
Nidal's organization has been responsible for some of the most brutal
acts of terrorism in the world. According to the State Department, Abu
Nidal has carried out more than 100 acts or terrorism that have
resulted in the deaths of over 280 people. Some of these attacks
include the 1986 grenade and machine-gun assaults on El Al counters
at the Rome and Vienna airports, attacks on synagogues, and
assassinations of Palestinian moderates.
Abu Nidal's most well-known attack was on a Greek cruise ship in 1988
that left nine people dead and 80 wounded. As Seale points out
regarding the attack on the vessel City of Poros, "no conceivable
Palestinian or Arab interest was served by such random savagery." In
fact, Greece was the European country most sympathetic to the
Palestinian cause, its prime minister, Andreas Papandreou, often
defending Arabs against Israel's charges of terrorism. After the attack,
Greece was furious with the Palestinians, who had damaged the Greek
tourist trade and hastened the fall of the Papandreou regime. The
motive, as in the Achille Lauro attack, was apparently to cast the
Palestinians as heartless murderers. Several sources that Seale
consulted were convinced the attack was a typical Mossad
operation.[1314]
Abu Nidal is a professional killer who has sold his deadly services
certainly to the Arabs and perhaps to the Israelis as well. His genius
has been to understand that states will commit any crime in the name
of national interest. A criminal like Abu Nidal can flourish doing their
dirty work.[1315]
Yet, like the disastrous sting attempt in Oklahoma City, this covert
operation went horribly wrong. When Amir realized that his mentor,
Raviv, was a Shin Bet operative, he cleverly fed him false information.
Certain that the boastful and talkative Amir would inform his trusted
mentor of the moment of his attack (as the FBI assumed with Emad
Salem in the World Trade Center bombing), the Shin Bet dropped their
guard, and Rabin paid the price for his mendacity.
At least that is what is obvious. What is not obvious is why the Shin
Bet, who not only controlled Raviv but had ample notice of the threat
on the Prime Minister's life, failed to prevent the assassination. As
authors Uri Dan and Dennis Eisenberg note: "No human shield was
formed around Rabin, surveillance of the crowd was lax, Rabin wasn't
wearing a bullet-proof vest, and an [apparently] unknown 25-year-old
was able to gain unobstructed access to Rabin."[1318] The parallels to
the Oklahoma City bombing are all too familiar.
The terrorists left behind a cryptic note, calling themselves the "Sons
of the Gestapo." The mainstream press quickly jumped on this latest
"terrorist" attack, coming as it did only six months after the Oklahoma
City bombing. While no one, including law-enforcement officials, had
ever heard of the "Sons of the Gestapo," the purveyors of deception
immediately played it up as the obvious work of a "Right-wing" militia
group.
FBI officials were more cautious however, speculating that the attack
may have been the result of a "disgruntled employee." Exhaustive
searches through numerous data-bases revealed no group called "Sons
of the Gestapo," and only someone with the technical knowledge
necessary to disable a warning system on a railroad track would be
capable of executing such a stunt.
What they found was that other than rescue vehicles, there were no
vehicle tracks entering or exiting the crash site. Moreover, the site
itself was extremely remote, being near the summit of the rugged Gila
Bend Mountains, which surrounded the site to the east, north, and
west. It was there, along a sharp S-curve, that the perpetrators had
pulled 29 spikes from the tracks, causing the fatal crash.
What Roberts and his sheriff partner also discovered was that 90
minutes away by air, in Pinal County, was a mysterious air-base known
as Marana. The locked-down facility was owned by Evergreen, Inc., a
government contractor reportedly involved in drug smuggling during
the Iran-Contra period. The base, located off of Highway 10 between
Phoenix and Tucson, was the site of strange night-time training
maneuvers involving black and unmarked military-type helicopters.
Passersby had also witnessed black-clad troops dropping into the
desert en mass, using steerable black "Paracommander" parachutes.
Since the winds that night were at 8 knots out of the south, a drop one
mile from the target site would compensate for wind drift. Moreover,
such a flight is not required to file a flight plan listing its passengers,
and an aircraft flying out of Albuquerque, squawking on transponder
1200 wouldn't look particularly suspicious.
When they checked with the refueler at Montgomery Field, the records
indicated that the "N" number checked to a Beachcraft, registered to
Raytheon. Raytheon owns E-systems. Like Evergreen, E-Systems,
based in Greenville, Texas, is a covert government contractor,
reportedly involved in drug-running. The NSA contractor allegedly
developed sophisticated systems to create electronic "holes" which
would allow planes to cross the border without tripping the NORAD
Early Warning Systems. E-Systems, which is reputed to have "wet-
teams" (assassination teams), was directed by former NSA Director
and CIA Deputy Director Bobby Ray Inman.
"Maintenance."
"All I can tell you is that they were ordered down for maintenance. It
came from above my pay grade."
One has to wonder what "above my pay grade" means. Why would all
the balloons be ordered down for maintenance? Obviously, a cover-up
was in progress.
Apparently, the "Sons of the Gestapo" note left behind was a "false
flag," a distraction designed to serve a political purpose. In this case,
that purpose — like the Oklahoma bombing which preceded it — was to
connect the Amtrak attack with the Patriot/Militia movement.
Considering the reaction of the mainstream press, it appears they have
largely succeeded.
"I don't think it is the ABB nor a bank robbery group as what the police
investigators said. Only the military has the capability of using grenade
launchers," Arroyo commented.[1326]
Lybia was quickly blamed by the U.S. for the attack. Propagandized by
the American press as the preeminent sponsor of terrorism, Lybia had
early on incurred the wrath of the U.S. by attempting to throw off the
yoke of British and U.S. imperialism. Libyan President Muammar al-
Qaddafi, who came to power in 1969, nationalized oil production and
shut down U.S. military bases. Qaddafi began using the wealth
formerly exported to multinational corporations to improve the living
standards of his own people. Huge strides were made in education,
housing, medicine and agriculture in a county in which the literacy rate
had increased tenfold since 1969. While actually having the gall to
defer to his own people instead of the multinationals, Qaddafi made
the mistake of supporting national liberation and social justice
movements — assisting such groups as the Sandinistas, the Basques,
459
the Kurds, and the Palestinians. This, unfortunately, also
[1327]
Angry over the recent terrorist bombings, frustrated by the CIA's failure
to eliminate Qaddafi, and still smarting from Israeli rumors of a Libyan
hit-squad sent to assassinate him, the President opted for a military-
style assault. All the White House needed was an excuse, and this
came in the form of an attack on the La Belle Discotheque. Nine days
later, Reagan ordered U.S. planes to attack the Libyan cities of Tripoli
and Benghazi, which resulted in over 37 dead, including Qaddafi's
infant daughter. Unfortunately for Reagan, Qaddafi survived the
attack.[1329]
But had Lybia actually bombed the disco? The White House was
adamant. The National Security Agency (NSA) had intercepted coded
exchanges between Tripoli and the East Berlin Libyan Peoples Bureau
that purportedly said, "We have something that will make you happy."
A second cable, hours after the bombing read, "An event occurred. You
will be pleased with the result."[1330] What is interesting is that under
orders from the NSC, the raw coded intercepts were sent straight to
the White House, bypassing normal NSA analysis channels, drawing
criticism from at least one NSA officer. A West German intelligence
official who later saw the cables, said they were "very critical and
skeptical" of U.S. intelligence blaming the Libyans.[1331]
Weigand also cited a PLO Security Report indicating that the U.S. knew
in advance of the late March bombing of the German-Arab Society. The
implications of this, like those of the Oklahoma City attack, were that
authorities knew about the bombing beforehand, and failed to stop it.
While Nuri may have ultimately been responsible for the bombing, the
question of who he was working for hung over the case like a dark
cloud. As Weigand said. "I never could get [the CIA thesis] off the table,
and you know, the one theory does not exclude the other."
According to CMA mercenary Jack Terrell, the plan was to place C-4 in a
light-box outside the embassy and detonate it. When Tambs ran
outside, he would be shot. A Nicaraguan would then be killed and fake
documents placed on his person to incriminate the Sandinistas.[1336]
Considering the players involved, it appeared that the CIA knew fully
well of the plot, as it drew members from Brigade 2506, Ted Shackley's
old JM/WAVE anti-Castro Cuban mercenary group.[1337]
A second plot designed to draw the U.S. into the war involved the
bombing of Los Chiles, a small town along the border of Costa Rica.
The plan was to use a plane painted to look like a Sandinista craft to
drop bombs on the unarmed townspeople. Terrell described it as a
"continuous undercurrent of… really terrorist activity to try to draw the
United States Government into direct conflict with the Nicaraguans
because they were to be made to look like they were committing overt
acts against a neutral and unarmed country, Costa Rica."[1338]
Garcia later learned that another hit was planned, this time on the
Cuban and Soviet embassies in Nicaragua. The plan was proposed to
Garcia by Major Alan Saum, a confederate of Posey's and General
Vernon Walters, U.S. ambassador to the UN and former Deputy Director
of the CIA. As Garcia later testified in court, "Saum had come from the
White House." Saum told Garcia the plan was "Vice-President Bush's
baby."
462
While neither plot was carried out, the Octopus did manage to
successfully murder eight people, mostly reporters, at La Penca, Costa
Rica on May 30, 1984. The target was Eden Pastora, a Contra leader
who wasn't going along with the plan, and was about to announce his
misgivings at a press conference. CIA Deputy Director Dewy Clarridge
had recently relayed a message to Pastora through Alfonso Robelo
(who had previously met with Bud McFarlane at the White House) that
his story would be "stopped" if he did not acquiesce.[1339]
Naturally, the Washington Post and New York Times blamed the
bombing on the Sandinistas.[1341][1342]
Yet Garcia knew better. "There are people here who are above the
Constitution," recalled Garcia. "I didn't know the federal system was
like this. I never dreamed."[1343]
"I toiled wholeheartedly in the vineyards because it was fun, fun, fun.
Where else could a red-blooded American boy lie, kill, cheat, rape and
pillage with the blessings of all the highest?"[1347]
Whicher formerly served on the White House detail, and was reportedly
involved in a little-known incident involving electronic bugging of the
White House by the Japanese. Whicher was subsequently transferred to
the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.[1348]
It was also rumored that the Secret Service agent had talked to his wife
just minutes before the blast, telling her that he had to get off the
464
phone because he was told to wait for an important call.
Apparently… that call never came.
Yet perhaps most interestingly, it was rumored that one of the charges
that destroyed the Murrah Building was beneath the Secret Service
office. This possibility became all the more apparent when The Daily
Oklahoman recently reported that a warning call was placed to an
answering service several days before the bombing, claiming that an
explosive charge was placed inside the Secret Service office:
The deaths of Whicher and Maroney also meant two less witnesses to
testify about the Octopus' drug-running and related skull-duggery.
15
["All men will see what you seem to be; only a few will
know what you are, and those few will not dare to oppose
the many who have the majesty of the state on their side
to defend them."
— Niccolo Machiavelli, 1532 A.D.]
Finally, just one month before the start of McVeigh's trial, the Dallas
Morning News "leaked" alleged documentation that McVeigh had
"admitted" to a defense team member Richard Reyna that he alone
drove the Ryder truck to the Alfred P. Murrah Building (hardly a credible
assertation at this point). Like the startling revelations of McVeigh's
racing fuel purchases a year and-a-half after the fact, this well-timed
ruse was engineered to resuscitate the government's rapidly
deteriorating case.
"That should put this controversy to rest for all time," said former
president and Warren Commission member Gerald Ford.
Lee Harvey Oswald didn't live to tell the truth. Timothy McVeigh chose
not to speak it. Yet, as Stephen Jones noted, if McVeigh dies, the truth
may die with him.
The trial was also one of the most secretive ever held. According to the
Associated Press, a "review of 1,000 documents filed between Feb. 20
467
and Sept. 5 found 75 percent of the records have been at least
partially sealed."[1355]
While Jones and the government both decided that McVeigh couldn't
receive a fair trial in Oklahoma, critics argued that the case was moved
to Denver to put it under the careful control of federal lap-dog Richard
Matsch. In one of the most controversial environmental cases ever,
Matsch used a one-sided hearing to brush aside charges that
radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant
near Denver was adversely undermining the health of area residents.
McVeigh's defense lasted little more than a week. In that regard the
trial was little different than the trial of the surviving Branch Davidians,
who were not allowed to introduce evidence that they had acted in
self-defense. The superficial two day defense, presented after weeks of
bogus evidence presented by the government, resulted from Judge
Smith who said he would not allow the defense to "put the government
on trial." Yet in fact several jurors expressed their opinions that the
government should have been on trial — not the surviving Branch
Davidians.
Jones introduced expert testimony that such a leg could be left intact
from a blast that disintegrated the remaining body. It was this leg,
which wasn't matched to any other victim, Jones suggested, that
belonged to the real bomber.
Yet Judge Matsch wasn't about to allow Jones reveal his knowledge of a
wider plot, as was portrayed in his Writ of Mandamus:
The theory of the prosecution in this case, not the Grand Jury's theory,
is that the two named Defendants constructed a simple device capable
of toppling a nine-story building at a public fishing lake and that one of
468
them transported this device over two hundred miles without
blowing himself up. That is the heart of the prosecution's case. Any
evidence concerning the participation of others, the complexity of the
device, or foreign involvement takes away the heart of the
government's case and there is therefore an institutional interest on
the part of the government in keeping such evidence shielded from the
defense and the public.
Some critics argued that Jones' decision to wait until one week before
the start of his client's trial to file the important and revealing
document ensured that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals would reject
the motion.[1357]
An attorney on Jones' legal team rated his defense as "no better than a
C-minus," although he added, "I think he had some high-points."[1358]
The American public never learned what Stephen Jones knows. Yet on
the day of his sentencing, Timothy McVeigh finally spoke out: "Our
government is the potent and omnipresent teacher for good or for ill,"
McVeigh boldly if somewhat enigmatically announced to the court. "It
teaches the whole people by its example. That's all I have to say."[1359]
Naturally, the government and many of the bombing victims took this
as a sign of McVeigh's confession. The rest of the quote may shed
some light on the meaning:
McVeigh also accused Jones of lying and screwing up. "The truth is this
guy only succeeded in getting [me] the death sentence," said McVeigh,
"and now he doesn't want to let go."
469
Asked what lies Jones told him, McVeigh was not specific: "It's for
Congress, the bar, and the judiciary to investigate and discover. You
would not believe some of the things that have occurred in this case.
The man has repeatedly lied to me in the past."[1360]
The public still hasn't learned what that terrible secret is.
"He is the most dishonest person I've ever met, including all the
criminals I've defended," says his onetime law partner Alec
McNaughton, who nevertheless describes Jones as "brilliant."[1361]
A man on intimate terms with the CIA, Williams was offered the post of
CIA director by two presidents, a job which he declined, probably
because he was already a de facto CIA official.[1362]
"I can't imagine the man selling out, and nobody's going to tell him
how to run his defense," said Bellingham.[1364]
Only hours before I was to file the legal papers for a civil action to keep
the building standing, I was contacted by Timothy McVeigh's attorneys,
who presented me with two major requests.
First, they asked that I allow them to file the motions to keep the
building standing so that the investigation could be conducted. They
had cogent legal arguments for this request: because McVeigh was/is
under federal criminal charges, he had the definite legal right to keep
the building standing under the federal rules of evidence which grant
criminal defendants the right to preserve evidence that would
significantly impact their defense. It was clear that if McVeigh's
attorneys believed, or even suspected government cover-up, they
would definitely want the building examined.
Their second request was that I release from retainer the bomb
investigation team I had assembled — John A. Kennedy and Associates
— which, they claimed, they wanted to hire.
A few hours later, I watched in horror as CNN and all the national news
channels reported that McVeigh's attorneys had no intent to file any
motions to keep the Federal Building standing. They had "just reached
agreement with the government," the reporters explained, to permit
the building to be destroyed almost immediately.
Angry beyond belief, I called McVeigh's attorney and asked what they
were doing. Since this all occurred on a weekend, I could take no legal
action to stop the building's destruction. McVeigh's attorney told me,
"Oh yes, we are going to allow the building to be destroyed." "Why?" I
demanded. "Because we could not afford to pay the retainer fee that
the Kennedy and Associates firm wanted," he answered.
"For God's sake!" I screamed at him. "I will raise the money! I will pay
the fee! There's too much at stake for America. "How," I demanded,
"can McVeigh go along with wanting that building destroyed, when that
building is the one thing that can tell America the story of what really
happened? I will get you the money, somehow, but don't refuse to
keep the building up for that reason!"
…if anyone took the trouble to check the public filings in the case of
United States v. McVeigh they will find that one of the very first Motions
that I filed was to stop the implosion of the Murrah Building until the
Defense could go in and take films and moving video pictures. The
Court sustained my Motion and we were able, together with an
architect and an explosives expert, to tour the building. Any claim that
we made a "deal" with the Federal authorities to permit the demolition
of the Murrah Building before the Defense could inspect if is absurd
and contradicted by the public record.[1366]
A source within the defense team told me that Jones' team actually did
go into the building to conduct forensic analysis. The group consisted
of a videographer, a still photographer, and one bomb expert, who
were accompanied by several FBI and ATF agents. The source said that
the bomb expert walked around with only a jeweler's loupe, no forensic
kit, and did not take any samples for analysis. The agents restricted
their passage through the building, and by the time they arrived, the
crater had been filled.
Jones also made no mention of the amazing letter McVeigh sent to his
sister, describing his recruitment into a secret government team
involved in illegal activities, which she had read before the Federal
Grand Jury.
What he did do was show a film about Waco, further reinforcing the
allegations of his client's guilt, including the absurd notion that
McVeigh murdered 25 innocent children in Oklahoma to avenge the
murder of 25 innocent children at Waco.[1367]
Did Jones have a quid pro quo with the government not to reveal any
evidence that his client was a government agent? Did he purposely
throw the case? His highly incriminating Writ of Mandamus and
impressive opening statement tend to belie that theory. As Jones said
in his opening statement:
472
"I know who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building. It was NOT Tim
McVeigh.
"Even more important, the government knows who bombed the Alfred
P. Murrah building. The government knows it was NOT Tim McVeigh.
"The government also knows that its case against Tim McVeigh is
corrupt. At its core, it's rotten. I will show you in what way, and why.
"I will."
Jones never got the chance. The exclusion of ATF informant Carol Howe
sounded the death knell for other defense witnesses such as bomb
expert General Benton Partin, seismologist Dr. Ray Brown, and the
many witnesses who saw additional suspects. While the prosecution
called 27 phone company employees to testify that McVeigh and
Nichols used a pre-paid calling card to make chemical purchase
inquiries, they didn't call even one of the many witnesses who would
have placed McVeigh downtown on the morning of the blast!
"The judge would not permit… in his ruling he would not permit
anything except one man, one bomb," said Partin. "…they structured
the whole case — the whole prosecution — completely eliminating the
building and anything to do with it.… because they couldn't afford to
get into that."
In response, Jones said, "I did not put Partin on the stand because my
experts do not credit his theory.…"[1369]
Yet the question still remains: why didn't Jones take the issue of Judge
Matsch's illegal decisions before the Appellate or Supreme Courts?
Jones replied by stating that the appellate court "refused to accept
jurisdiction of the case and said [it] would review the issues on appeal,
if there was a conviction."[1370]
Some have speculated that the millions Jones stands to make in legal
fees from the government played a part in his apparently poor
defense.
473
Those who expected a similarly poor defense from Michael Tigar
were shocked to find him introducing evidence of other suspects, and
putting ATF informant Carol Howe on the witness stand.[1371]
"I do not believe that the government gave us the whole case," said
Linda Morgan, one of the jurors who decided Nichols only had a minor
role in the bomb plot. McVeigh, she said, "was seen with too many
other people. Who were these other people?"
"I think that the government perhaps really dropped the ball," said jury
forewoman Niki Deutchman, who criticized the FBI for halting its
investigation after arresting Nichols and McVeigh.[1372]
"I think there are other people out there," she said, recalling defense
witnesses who saw others with McVeigh before the bombing. "I think
this was a horrible thing to have done… and I doubt two people were
able to bring it off."[1373]
Deutchman also criticized the FBI for sloppy crime lab procedures, and
claimed agents were "arrogant" for failing to tape-record Nichols' initial
9-hour interrogation. "It seems arrogant to me on the part of the FBI to
say, you know, 'We have good recall and you can take what we have
said.'"[1374]
Juror Holly Hanlin, too, felt the government failed to fully prove its
case. "We couldn't find enough evidence to convince at least all of us
that he intended, that he was involved from the very beginning, that
he built the bomb. We felt that evidence was shaky at best…."[1375]
Others, like juror Keith Brookshier, said"[I] know that Terry Nichols was
into it up to his eyeballs and that's the only thing I had to decide.…
We're not trying John Doe 2, or 3 or 4 or whatever." U.S. Attorney Beth
Wilkinson naturally added her voice to the ensemble, stating that
"sightings of John Doe 2 were about as common and about as credible
as sightings of Elvis."[1376]
As the trial of Terry Nichols winds down, the public's attention will
resolve itself to the latest scandal, reported in the same exposé-tabloid
474
fashion that riveted its attention on the O.J. Simpson trial. As in both
cases, the relevant facts will remain obscured behind the colored
smoke and lights of what will certainly be more circus trials. Attorney
Larry Becraft told Media Bypass, "They got Oswald, they got James Earl
Ray, they got McVeigh and once they're finished with Nichols, they've
offered the public a couple of sacrificial lambs, and they hope it will all
go away."
By the time this book is published, a few select facts may be brought
to light. They will first be revealed by a few victims' families, angrily
demanding justice; by the few public officials courageous enough to
risk their careers. And finally, they will be echoed in the courts by the
inevitable specter of civil litigation.
As Fletcher Prouty states: "The whole story of the power of the cover-
up comes down to a few points. There has never been a grand jury and
trial in Texas (referring to Lee Harvey Oswald). Without a trial there can
be nothing. Without a trial it does no good for researchers to dig up
data. It has no place to go and what the researchers reveal just helps
make the cover-up tighter, or they eliminate that evidence and the
researcher."[1377]
Will these jurors will more objective and effective than the highly
manipulated Federal Grand Jury? One juror, Ben Baker, was quoted in
The Daily Oklahoman as saying: "Everyone I've talked to believes this
is a waste of time and taxpayers' money. I believe the same thing."
Charming.
Representative Key had little choice but to work with Macy's people,
the alternative being a special prosecutor being appointed by political
hacks Attorney General Drew Edmondson or Governor Frank Keating.
Although Key could have objected to both Edmondson and Keating
based on their obvious prejudice, he felt the Supreme Court would
have sat on the issue, perhaps not appointing a special prosecutor for
over a year. After waiting two years, he was anxious to get the process
started. The choice was "deciding between bad, worse, and worse,"
said Key, who now believes that Macy is "on our side."[1378][1379]
Sinnett could not identify the person. However, he said in the signed
affidavit, the man who called him said "he did not know why he was
having to do this, that Charles Key was pushing this and that nothing
would come of it and that is was a waste of time."
Perhaps the Supreme Court should order Judge Burkette, presiding over
the County Grand Jury, to do his job. Burkett attempted to disallow
hearsay evidence to be presented to the grand jury — a clear violation
of Oklahoma grand jury procedures.[1382]
"Do not accept hearsay," Burkett said in his opening instructions to the
grand jurors. "Hear only those witnesses who would present facts,
which if true, would substantiate an indictable offense and not
needlessly delay the courts in their other functions by listening to
radical persons or facts about which you could do nothing if it were
true."[1383]
KFOR's Jayna Davis, who testified before the Grand Jury, didn't miss
this subtle signal. She told The Daily Oklahoman she expects
prosecutors "to express a legitimate interest" in pursuing indictments
against the suspects her witnesses identified.[1384]
Even if Macy and Burkette are eventually forced to do their jobs, the
FBI can undoubtedly be counted on to intimidate key witnesses, as
they did in the federal trial. Kay H., who saw Hussain al-Hussaini speed
away in the brown pick-up, reportedly is afraid to testify before the
Grand Jury, after publicly stating — twice — that Hussaini was the man
she saw. Gary Lewis, the Journal Record pressman who was almost run
over by McVeigh and John Doe 2, has now recanted his story. After his
testimony before the County Grand Jury, Professor Ray Brown of the
University of Oklahoma had a change of heart: "There's no evidence in
the [seismographic] bomb signals for any additional charges," Brown
told reporters.[1385]
Said Stephen Jones, "…a living nightmare for the Department of Justice
is an Oklahoma state criminal trial, not only a nightmare for them, but
a nightmare for the intelligence community, for the ATF. There isn't
going to be any Oklahoma trial.…"
"If I thought the State of Oklahoma was really interested in the truth as
opposed to just some political side show," added Jones, "I would insist
that Mr. McVeigh have a state trial and demand that he be released to
the state authorities. But this is all politics."[1386]
However, "very few will cover up the violent deaths of their sons and
daughters, or the children of a close family friend, no matter what the
price," argued a poster to an Internet newsgroup called OKBOMB.[1387]
Simply stated, they are in denial. Such denial absolves one of the
responsibility of having to do something about the problem — to take a
stand — and, on an even deeper level, to challenge their comfortably
held belief systems. While the public servants who know the truth and
choose to remain silent are guilty accomplices after-the-fact, to deny
that such a truth exists to begin with is intellectual cowardice. Faced
with such a choice between examining their falsely cherished values
and, consequently, themselves, most people opt for the safer
approach.
The author has no respect or sympathy for such individuals, or for that
matter, the majority of Americans who mindlessly subscribe to the
baleful fantasies perpetrated by government liars and mainstream
media whores. They can twist in the wind.
Two hundred years ago, Samuel Adams said: "If ye love wealth better
than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating
contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your
counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.…"
Fortunately, there are enough people who want to know the truth.
These are the people worth fighting for. Approximately 500 bombing
victims and their relatives are beginning to seek answers. They have
brought two civil suits against the Federal Government. The suits seek
to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the government had
advance knowledge of the plot but failed to stop it, in what amounted,
at least on one level, to a sting operation gone wrong.[1389]
15
["All men will see what you seem to be; only a few will
know what you are, and those few will not dare to oppose
the many who have the majesty of the state on their side
to defend them."
— Niccolo Machiavelli, 1532 A.D.]
Finally, just one month before the start of McVeigh's trial, the Dallas
Morning News "leaked" alleged documentation that McVeigh had
"admitted" to a defense team member Richard Reyna that he alone
drove the Ryder truck to the Alfred P. Murrah Building (hardly a credible
assertation at this point). Like the startling revelations of McVeigh's
racing fuel purchases a year and-a-half after the fact, this well-timed
ruse was engineered to resuscitate the government's rapidly
deteriorating case.
"That should put this controversy to rest for all time," said former
president and Warren Commission member Gerald Ford.
Lee Harvey Oswald didn't live to tell the truth. Timothy McVeigh chose
not to speak it. Yet, as Stephen Jones noted, if McVeigh dies, the truth
may die with him.
480
While Judge Richard Matsch bared much of the relevant evidence
pertaining to the case, he permitted numerous victims' completely
irrelevant testimony about their personal trauma, obviously designed
to sway the emotions of an ignorant and confused jury.
The trial was also one of the most secretive ever held. According to the
Associated Press, a "review of 1,000 documents filed between Feb. 20
and Sept. 5 found 75 percent of the records have been at least
partially sealed."[1355]
While Jones and the government both decided that McVeigh couldn't
receive a fair trial in Oklahoma, critics argued that the case was moved
to Denver to put it under the careful control of federal lap-dog Richard
Matsch. In one of the most controversial environmental cases ever,
Matsch used a one-sided hearing to brush aside charges that
radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant
near Denver was adversely undermining the health of area residents.
McVeigh's defense lasted little more than a week. In that regard the
trial was little different than the trial of the surviving Branch Davidians,
who were not allowed to introduce evidence that they had acted in
self-defense. The superficial two day defense, presented after weeks of
bogus evidence presented by the government, resulted from Judge
Smith who said he would not allow the defense to "put the government
on trial." Yet in fact several jurors expressed their opinions that the
government should have been on trial — not the surviving Branch
Davidians.
Yet Judge Matsch wasn't about to allow Jones reveal his knowledge of a
wider plot, as was portrayed in his Writ of Mandamus:
The theory of the prosecution in this case, not the Grand Jury's theory,
is that the two named Defendants constructed a simple device capable
of toppling a nine-story building at a public fishing lake and that one of
them transported this device over two hundred miles without blowing
himself up. That is the heart of the prosecution's case. Any evidence
concerning the participation of others, the complexity of the device, or
foreign involvement takes away the heart of the government's case
and there is therefore an institutional interest on the part of the
government in keeping such evidence shielded from the defense and
the public.
Some critics argued that Jones' decision to wait until one week before
the start of his client's trial to file the important and revealing
document ensured that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals would reject
the motion.[1357]
An attorney on Jones' legal team rated his defense as "no better than a
C-minus," although he added, "I think he had some high-points."[1358]
The American public never learned what Stephen Jones knows. Yet on
the day of his sentencing, Timothy McVeigh finally spoke out: "Our
government is the potent and omnipresent teacher for good or for ill,"
McVeigh boldly if somewhat enigmatically announced to the court. "It
teaches the whole people by its example. That's all I have to say."[1359]
Naturally, the government and many of the bombing victims took this
as a sign of McVeigh's confession. The rest of the quote may shed
some light on the meaning:
482
"Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it
breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law
unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of
the criminal law the end justifies the means — to declare that the
government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a
private criminal — would bring terrible retribution."
McVeigh also accused Jones of lying and screwing up. "The truth is this
guy only succeeded in getting [me] the death sentence," said McVeigh,
"and now he doesn't want to let go."
Asked what lies Jones told him, McVeigh was not specific: "It's for
Congress, the bar, and the judiciary to investigate and discover. You
would not believe some of the things that have occurred in this case.
The man has repeatedly lied to me in the past."[1360]
The public still hasn't learned what that terrible secret is.
"He is the most dishonest person I've ever met, including all the
criminals I've defended," says his onetime law partner Alec
McNaughton, who nevertheless describes Jones as "brilliant."[1361]
A man on intimate terms with the CIA, Williams was offered the post of
CIA director by two presidents, a job which he declined, probably
because he was already a de facto CIA official.[1362]
"I can't imagine the man selling out, and nobody's going to tell him
how to run his defense," said Bellingham.[1364]
Only hours before I was to file the legal papers for a civil action to keep
the building standing, I was contacted by Timothy McVeigh's attorneys,
who presented me with two major requests.
First, they asked that I allow them to file the motions to keep the
building standing so that the investigation could be conducted. They
had cogent legal arguments for this request: because McVeigh was/is
under federal criminal charges, he had the definite legal right to keep
the building standing under the federal rules of evidence which grant
criminal defendants the right to preserve evidence that would
significantly impact their defense. It was clear that if McVeigh's
attorneys believed, or even suspected government cover-up, they
would definitely want the building examined.
Their second request was that I release from retainer the bomb
investigation team I had assembled — John A. Kennedy and Associates
— which, they claimed, they wanted to hire.
A few hours later, I watched in horror as CNN and all the national news
channels reported that McVeigh's attorneys had no intent to file any
motions to keep the Federal Building standing. They had "just reached
agreement with the government," the reporters explained, to permit
the building to be destroyed almost immediately.
484
Angry beyond belief, I called McVeigh's attorney and asked what
they were doing. Since this all occurred on a weekend, I could take no
legal action to stop the building's destruction. McVeigh's attorney told
me, "Oh yes, we are going to allow the building to be destroyed."
"Why?" I demanded. "Because we could not afford to pay the retainer
fee that the Kennedy and Associates firm wanted," he answered.
"For God's sake!" I screamed at him. "I will raise the money! I will pay
the fee! There's too much at stake for America. "How," I demanded,
"can McVeigh go along with wanting that building destroyed, when that
building is the one thing that can tell America the story of what really
happened? I will get you the money, somehow, but don't refuse to
keep the building up for that reason!"
…if anyone took the trouble to check the public filings in the case of
United States v. McVeigh they will find that one of the very first Motions
that I filed was to stop the implosion of the Murrah Building until the
Defense could go in and take films and moving video pictures. The
Court sustained my Motion and we were able, together with an
architect and an explosives expert, to tour the building. Any claim that
we made a "deal" with the Federal authorities to permit the demolition
of the Murrah Building before the Defense could inspect if is absurd
and contradicted by the public record.[1366]
A source within the defense team told me that Jones' team actually did
go into the building to conduct forensic analysis. The group consisted
of a videographer, a still photographer, and one bomb expert, who
were accompanied by several FBI and ATF agents. The source said that
the bomb expert walked around with only a jeweler's loupe, no forensic
kit, and did not take any samples for analysis. The agents restricted
their passage through the building, and by the time they arrived, the
crater had been filled.
Jones also made no mention of the amazing letter McVeigh sent to his
sister, describing his recruitment into a secret government team
involved in illegal activities, which she had read before the Federal
Grand Jury.
485
What he did do was show a film about Waco, further reinforcing the
allegations of his client's guilt, including the absurd notion that
McVeigh murdered 25 innocent children in Oklahoma to avenge the
murder of 25 innocent children at Waco.[1367]
Did Jones have a quid pro quo with the government not to reveal any
evidence that his client was a government agent? Did he purposely
throw the case? His highly incriminating Writ of Mandamus and
impressive opening statement tend to belie that theory. As Jones said
in his opening statement:
"I know who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building. It was NOT Tim
McVeigh.
"Even more important, the government knows who bombed the Alfred
P. Murrah building. The government knows it was NOT Tim McVeigh.
"The government also knows that its case against Tim McVeigh is
corrupt. At its core, it's rotten. I will show you in what way, and why.
"I will."
Jones never got the chance. The exclusion of ATF informant Carol Howe
sounded the death knell for other defense witnesses such as bomb
expert General Benton Partin, seismologist Dr. Ray Brown, and the
many witnesses who saw additional suspects. While the prosecution
called 27 phone company employees to testify that McVeigh and
Nichols used a pre-paid calling card to make chemical purchase
inquiries, they didn't call even one of the many witnesses who would
have placed McVeigh downtown on the morning of the blast!
"The judge would not permit… in his ruling he would not permit
anything except one man, one bomb," said Partin. "…they structured
the whole case — the whole prosecution — completely eliminating the
building and anything to do with it.… because they couldn't afford to
get into that."
Yet the question still remains: why didn't Jones take the issue of Judge
Matsch's illegal decisions before the Appellate or Supreme Courts?
Jones replied by stating that the appellate court "refused to accept
jurisdiction of the case and said [it] would review the issues on appeal,
if there was a conviction."[1370]
Some have speculated that the millions Jones stands to make in legal
fees from the government played a part in his apparently poor
defense.
Those who expected a similarly poor defense from Michael Tigar were
shocked to find him introducing evidence of other suspects, and
putting ATF informant Carol Howe on the witness stand.[1371]
"I do not believe that the government gave us the whole case," said
Linda Morgan, one of the jurors who decided Nichols only had a minor
role in the bomb plot. McVeigh, she said, "was seen with too many
other people. Who were these other people?"
"I think that the government perhaps really dropped the ball," said jury
forewoman Niki Deutchman, who criticized the FBI for halting its
investigation after arresting Nichols and McVeigh.[1372]
"I think there are other people out there," she said, recalling defense
witnesses who saw others with McVeigh before the bombing. "I think
this was a horrible thing to have done… and I doubt two people were
able to bring it off."[1373]
Deutchman also criticized the FBI for sloppy crime lab procedures, and
claimed agents were "arrogant" for failing to tape-record Nichols' initial
9-hour interrogation. "It seems arrogant to me on the part of the FBI to
say, you know, 'We have good recall and you can take what we have
said.'"[1374]
Others, like juror Keith Brookshier, said"[I] know that Terry Nichols was
into it up to his eyeballs and that's the only thing I had to decide.…
We're not trying John Doe 2, or 3 or 4 or whatever." U.S. Attorney Beth
Wilkinson naturally added her voice to the ensemble, stating that
"sightings of John Doe 2 were about as common and about as credible
as sightings of Elvis."[1376]
As the trial of Terry Nichols winds down, the public's attention will
resolve itself to the latest scandal, reported in the same exposé-tabloid
fashion that riveted its attention on the O.J. Simpson trial. As in both
cases, the relevant facts will remain obscured behind the colored
smoke and lights of what will certainly be more circus trials. Attorney
Larry Becraft told Media Bypass, "They got Oswald, they got James Earl
Ray, they got McVeigh and once they're finished with Nichols, they've
offered the public a couple of sacrificial lambs, and they hope it will all
go away."
By the time this book is published, a few select facts may be brought
to light. They will first be revealed by a few victims' families, angrily
demanding justice; by the few public officials courageous enough to
risk their careers. And finally, they will be echoed in the courts by the
inevitable specter of civil litigation.
As Fletcher Prouty states: "The whole story of the power of the cover-
up comes down to a few points. There has never been a grand jury and
trial in Texas (referring to Lee Harvey Oswald). Without a trial there can
be nothing. Without a trial it does no good for researchers to dig up
data. It has no place to go and what the researchers reveal just helps
make the cover-up tighter, or they eliminate that evidence and the
researcher."[1377]
Will these jurors will more objective and effective than the highly
manipulated Federal Grand Jury? One juror, Ben Baker, was quoted in
The Daily Oklahoman as saying: "Everyone I've talked to believes this
is a waste of time and taxpayers' money. I believe the same thing."
Fortunately, Bob Macy's Chief Assistant DA, Pat Morgan and Assistant
DA Suzanne Lister-Gump are on hand to "advise" the jurors and "pre-
screen" the evidence.
Charming.
Representative Key had little choice but to work with Macy's people,
the alternative being a special prosecutor being appointed by political
hacks Attorney General Drew Edmondson or Governor Frank Keating.
Although Key could have objected to both Edmondson and Keating
based on their obvious prejudice, he felt the Supreme Court would
have sat on the issue, perhaps not appointing a special prosecutor for
over a year. After waiting two years, he was anxious to get the process
started. The choice was "deciding between bad, worse, and worse,"
said Key, who now believes that Macy is "on our side."[1378][1379]
Sinnett could not identify the person. However, he said in the signed
affidavit, the man who called him said "he did not know why he was
having to do this, that Charles Key was pushing this and that nothing
would come of it and that is was a waste of time."
Perhaps the Supreme Court should order Judge Burkette, presiding over
the County Grand Jury, to do his job. Burkett attempted to disallow
hearsay evidence to be presented to the grand jury — a clear violation
of Oklahoma grand jury procedures.[1382]
"Do not accept hearsay," Burkett said in his opening instructions to the
grand jurors. "Hear only those witnesses who would present facts,
which if true, would substantiate an indictable offense and not
needlessly delay the courts in their other functions by listening to
radical persons or facts about which you could do nothing if it were
true."[1383]
KFOR's Jayna Davis, who testified before the Grand Jury, didn't miss
this subtle signal. She told The Daily Oklahoman she expects
prosecutors "to express a legitimate interest" in pursuing indictments
against the suspects her witnesses identified.[1384]
490
Even if Macy and Burkette are eventually forced to do their jobs, the
FBI can undoubtedly be counted on to intimidate key witnesses, as
they did in the federal trial. Kay H., who saw Hussain al-Hussaini speed
away in the brown pick-up, reportedly is afraid to testify before the
Grand Jury, after publicly stating — twice — that Hussaini was the man
she saw. Gary Lewis, the Journal Record pressman who was almost run
over by McVeigh and John Doe 2, has now recanted his story. After his
testimony before the County Grand Jury, Professor Ray Brown of the
University of Oklahoma had a change of heart: "There's no evidence in
the [seismographic] bomb signals for any additional charges," Brown
told reporters.[1385]
Said Stephen Jones, "…a living nightmare for the Department of Justice
is an Oklahoma state criminal trial, not only a nightmare for them, but
a nightmare for the intelligence community, for the ATF. There isn't
going to be any Oklahoma trial.…"
"If I thought the State of Oklahoma was really interested in the truth as
opposed to just some political side show," added Jones, "I would insist
that Mr. McVeigh have a state trial and demand that he be released to
the state authorities. But this is all politics."[1386]
However, "very few will cover up the violent deaths of their sons and
daughters, or the children of a close family friend, no matter what the
price," argued a poster to an Internet newsgroup called OKBOMB.[1387]
The author has no respect or sympathy for such individuals, or for that
matter, the majority of Americans who mindlessly subscribe to the
baleful fantasies perpetrated by government liars and mainstream
media whores. They can twist in the wind.
Two hundred years ago, Samuel Adams said: "If ye love wealth better
than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating
contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your
counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.…"
Fortunately, there are enough people who want to know the truth.
These are the people worth fighting for. Approximately 500 bombing
victims and their relatives are beginning to seek answers. They have
brought two civil suits against the Federal Government. The suits seek
to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the government had
advance knowledge of the plot but failed to stop it, in what amounted,
at least on one level, to a sting operation gone wrong.[1389]
15
["All men will see what you seem to be; only a few will
know what you are, and those few will not dare to oppose
the many who have the majesty of the state on their side
to defend them."
— Niccolo Machiavelli, 1532 A.D.]
Finally, just one month before the start of McVeigh's trial, the Dallas
Morning News "leaked" alleged documentation that McVeigh had
"admitted" to a defense team member Richard Reyna that he alone
drove the Ryder truck to the Alfred P. Murrah Building (hardly a credible
assertation at this point). Like the startling revelations of McVeigh's
racing fuel purchases a year and-a-half after the fact, this well-timed
ruse was engineered to resuscitate the government's rapidly
deteriorating case.
"That should put this controversy to rest for all time," said former
president and Warren Commission member Gerald Ford.
Lee Harvey Oswald didn't live to tell the truth. Timothy McVeigh chose
not to speak it. Yet, as Stephen Jones noted, if McVeigh dies, the truth
may die with him.
The trial was also one of the most secretive ever held. According to the
Associated Press, a "review of 1,000 documents filed between Feb. 20
and Sept. 5 found 75 percent of the records have been at least
partially sealed."[1355]
While Jones and the government both decided that McVeigh couldn't
receive a fair trial in Oklahoma, critics argued that the case was moved
to Denver to put it under the careful control of federal lap-dog Richard
Matsch. In one of the most controversial environmental cases ever,
Matsch used a one-sided hearing to brush aside charges that
radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant
near Denver was adversely undermining the health of area residents.
Jones introduced expert testimony that such a leg could be left intact
from a blast that disintegrated the remaining body. It was this leg,
which wasn't matched to any other victim, Jones suggested, that
belonged to the real bomber.
Yet Judge Matsch wasn't about to allow Jones reveal his knowledge of a
wider plot, as was portrayed in his Writ of Mandamus:
The theory of the prosecution in this case, not the Grand Jury's theory,
is that the two named Defendants constructed a simple device capable
of toppling a nine-story building at a public fishing lake and that one of
them transported this device over two hundred miles without blowing
himself up. That is the heart of the prosecution's case. Any evidence
concerning the participation of others, the complexity of the device, or
foreign involvement takes away the heart of the government's case
and there is therefore an institutional interest on the part of the
government in keeping such evidence shielded from the defense and
the public.
Some critics argued that Jones' decision to wait until one week before
the start of his client's trial to file the important and revealing
document ensured that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals would reject
the motion.[1357]
An attorney on Jones' legal team rated his defense as "no better than a
C-minus," although he added, "I think he had some high-points."[1358]
495
As Jones solemnly stated in November of 1995, "Some day, when
you know what I know and what I have learned, and that day will come,
you will never again think of the United States of America in the same
way."
The American public never learned what Stephen Jones knows. Yet on
the day of his sentencing, Timothy McVeigh finally spoke out: "Our
government is the potent and omnipresent teacher for good or for ill,"
McVeigh boldly if somewhat enigmatically announced to the court. "It
teaches the whole people by its example. That's all I have to say."[1359]
Naturally, the government and many of the bombing victims took this
as a sign of McVeigh's confession. The rest of the quote may shed
some light on the meaning:
McVeigh also accused Jones of lying and screwing up. "The truth is this
guy only succeeded in getting [me] the death sentence," said McVeigh,
"and now he doesn't want to let go."
Asked what lies Jones told him, McVeigh was not specific: "It's for
Congress, the bar, and the judiciary to investigate and discover. You
would not believe some of the things that have occurred in this case.
The man has repeatedly lied to me in the past."[1360]
The public still hasn't learned what that terrible secret is.
"He is the most dishonest person I've ever met, including all the
criminals I've defended," says his onetime law partner Alec
McNaughton, who nevertheless describes Jones as "brilliant."[1361]
A man on intimate terms with the CIA, Williams was offered the post of
CIA director by two presidents, a job which he declined, probably
because he was already a de facto CIA official.[1362]
"I can't imagine the man selling out, and nobody's going to tell him
how to run his defense," said Bellingham.[1364]
Only hours before I was to file the legal papers for a civil action to keep
the building standing, I was contacted by Timothy McVeigh's attorneys,
who presented me with two major requests.
First, they asked that I allow them to file the motions to keep the
building standing so that the investigation could be conducted. They
had cogent legal arguments for this request: because McVeigh was/is
under federal criminal charges, he had the definite legal right to keep
the building standing under the federal rules of evidence which grant
criminal defendants the right to preserve evidence that would
497
significantly impact their defense. It was clear that if McVeigh's
attorneys believed, or even suspected government cover-up, they
would definitely want the building examined.
Their second request was that I release from retainer the bomb
investigation team I had assembled — John A. Kennedy and Associates
— which, they claimed, they wanted to hire.
A few hours later, I watched in horror as CNN and all the national news
channels reported that McVeigh's attorneys had no intent to file any
motions to keep the Federal Building standing. They had "just reached
agreement with the government," the reporters explained, to permit
the building to be destroyed almost immediately.
Angry beyond belief, I called McVeigh's attorney and asked what they
were doing. Since this all occurred on a weekend, I could take no legal
action to stop the building's destruction. McVeigh's attorney told me,
"Oh yes, we are going to allow the building to be destroyed." "Why?" I
demanded. "Because we could not afford to pay the retainer fee that
the Kennedy and Associates firm wanted," he answered.
"For God's sake!" I screamed at him. "I will raise the money! I will pay
the fee! There's too much at stake for America. "How," I demanded,
"can McVeigh go along with wanting that building destroyed, when that
building is the one thing that can tell America the story of what really
happened? I will get you the money, somehow, but don't refuse to
keep the building up for that reason!"
…if anyone took the trouble to check the public filings in the case of
United States v. McVeigh they will find that one of the very first Motions
that I filed was to stop the implosion of the Murrah Building until the
Defense could go in and take films and moving video pictures. The
Court sustained my Motion and we were able, together with an
architect and an explosives expert, to tour the building. Any claim that
we made a "deal" with the Federal authorities to permit the demolition
of the Murrah Building before the Defense could inspect if is absurd
and contradicted by the public record.[1366]
498
A source within the defense team told me that Jones' team actually
did go into the building to conduct forensic analysis. The group
consisted of a videographer, a still photographer, and one bomb
expert, who were accompanied by several FBI and ATF agents. The
source said that the bomb expert walked around with only a jeweler's
loupe, no forensic kit, and did not take any samples for analysis. The
agents restricted their passage through the building, and by the time
they arrived, the crater had been filled.
Jones also made no mention of the amazing letter McVeigh sent to his
sister, describing his recruitment into a secret government team
involved in illegal activities, which she had read before the Federal
Grand Jury.
What he did do was show a film about Waco, further reinforcing the
allegations of his client's guilt, including the absurd notion that
McVeigh murdered 25 innocent children in Oklahoma to avenge the
murder of 25 innocent children at Waco.[1367]
Did Jones have a quid pro quo with the government not to reveal any
evidence that his client was a government agent? Did he purposely
throw the case? His highly incriminating Writ of Mandamus and
impressive opening statement tend to belie that theory. As Jones said
in his opening statement:
"I know who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building. It was NOT Tim
McVeigh.
"Even more important, the government knows who bombed the Alfred
P. Murrah building. The government knows it was NOT Tim McVeigh.
"The government also knows that its case against Tim McVeigh is
corrupt. At its core, it's rotten. I will show you in what way, and why.
"I will."
Jones never got the chance. The exclusion of ATF informant Carol Howe
sounded the death knell for other defense witnesses such as bomb
expert General Benton Partin, seismologist Dr. Ray Brown, and the
many witnesses who saw additional suspects. While the prosecution
called 27 phone company employees to testify that McVeigh and
Nichols used a pre-paid calling card to make chemical purchase
inquiries, they didn't call even one of the many witnesses who would
have placed McVeigh downtown on the morning of the blast!
"The judge would not permit… in his ruling he would not permit
anything except one man, one bomb," said Partin. "…they structured
the whole case — the whole prosecution — completely eliminating the
building and anything to do with it.… because they couldn't afford to
get into that."
In response, Jones said, "I did not put Partin on the stand because my
experts do not credit his theory.…"[1369]
Yet the question still remains: why didn't Jones take the issue of Judge
Matsch's illegal decisions before the Appellate or Supreme Courts?
Jones replied by stating that the appellate court "refused to accept
jurisdiction of the case and said [it] would review the issues on appeal,
if there was a conviction."[1370]
Some have speculated that the millions Jones stands to make in legal
fees from the government played a part in his apparently poor
defense.
Those who expected a similarly poor defense from Michael Tigar were
shocked to find him introducing evidence of other suspects, and
putting ATF informant Carol Howe on the witness stand.[1371]
"I do not believe that the government gave us the whole case," said
Linda Morgan, one of the jurors who decided Nichols only had a minor
role in the bomb plot. McVeigh, she said, "was seen with too many
other people. Who were these other people?"
"I think that the government perhaps really dropped the ball," said jury
forewoman Niki Deutchman, who criticized the FBI for halting its
investigation after arresting Nichols and McVeigh.[1372]
"I think there are other people out there," she said, recalling defense
witnesses who saw others with McVeigh before the bombing. "I think
this was a horrible thing to have done… and I doubt two people were
able to bring it off."[1373]
Deutchman also criticized the FBI for sloppy crime lab procedures, and
claimed agents were "arrogant" for failing to tape-record Nichols' initial
500
9-hour interrogation. "It seems arrogant to me on the part of the FBI
to say, you know, 'We have good recall and you can take what we have
said.'"[1374]
Juror Holly Hanlin, too, felt the government failed to fully prove its
case. "We couldn't find enough evidence to convince at least all of us
that he intended, that he was involved from the very beginning, that
he built the bomb. We felt that evidence was shaky at best…."[1375]
Others, like juror Keith Brookshier, said"[I] know that Terry Nichols was
into it up to his eyeballs and that's the only thing I had to decide.…
We're not trying John Doe 2, or 3 or 4 or whatever." U.S. Attorney Beth
Wilkinson naturally added her voice to the ensemble, stating that
"sightings of John Doe 2 were about as common and about as credible
as sightings of Elvis."[1376]
As the trial of Terry Nichols winds down, the public's attention will
resolve itself to the latest scandal, reported in the same exposé-tabloid
fashion that riveted its attention on the O.J. Simpson trial. As in both
cases, the relevant facts will remain obscured behind the colored
smoke and lights of what will certainly be more circus trials. Attorney
Larry Becraft told Media Bypass, "They got Oswald, they got James Earl
Ray, they got McVeigh and once they're finished with Nichols, they've
offered the public a couple of sacrificial lambs, and they hope it will all
go away."
By the time this book is published, a few select facts may be brought
to light. They will first be revealed by a few victims' families, angrily
demanding justice; by the few public officials courageous enough to
risk their careers. And finally, they will be echoed in the courts by the
inevitable specter of civil litigation.
Will these jurors will more objective and effective than the highly
manipulated Federal Grand Jury? One juror, Ben Baker, was quoted in
The Daily Oklahoman as saying: "Everyone I've talked to believes this
is a waste of time and taxpayers' money. I believe the same thing."
Fortunately, Bob Macy's Chief Assistant DA, Pat Morgan and Assistant
DA Suzanne Lister-Gump are on hand to "advise" the jurors and "pre-
screen" the evidence.
Charming.
Representative Key had little choice but to work with Macy's people,
the alternative being a special prosecutor being appointed by political
hacks Attorney General Drew Edmondson or Governor Frank Keating.
Although Key could have objected to both Edmondson and Keating
based on their obvious prejudice, he felt the Supreme Court would
have sat on the issue, perhaps not appointing a special prosecutor for
over a year. After waiting two years, he was anxious to get the process
started. The choice was "deciding between bad, worse, and worse,"
said Key, who now believes that Macy is "on our side."[1378][1379]
Sinnett could not identify the person. However, he said in the signed
affidavit, the man who called him said "he did not know why he was
having to do this, that Charles Key was pushing this and that nothing
would come of it and that is was a waste of time."
Perhaps the Supreme Court should order Judge Burkette, presiding over
the County Grand Jury, to do his job. Burkett attempted to disallow
hearsay evidence to be presented to the grand jury — a clear violation
of Oklahoma grand jury procedures.[1382]
"Do not accept hearsay," Burkett said in his opening instructions to the
grand jurors. "Hear only those witnesses who would present facts,
which if true, would substantiate an indictable offense and not
needlessly delay the courts in their other functions by listening to
radical persons or facts about which you could do nothing if it were
true."[1383]
503
"…radical persons or facts about which you could do nothing if it
were true"??? Judge Burkett's subtle signal is suspiciously reminiscent
of the 1976 House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation of
the Kennedy assassination, which admitted that the evidence led to a
probable conspiracy. No indicments were ever handed down.
KFOR's Jayna Davis, who testified before the Grand Jury, didn't miss
this subtle signal. She told The Daily Oklahoman she expects
prosecutors "to express a legitimate interest" in pursuing indictments
against the suspects her witnesses identified.[1384]
Even if Macy and Burkette are eventually forced to do their jobs, the
FBI can undoubtedly be counted on to intimidate key witnesses, as
they did in the federal trial. Kay H., who saw Hussain al-Hussaini speed
away in the brown pick-up, reportedly is afraid to testify before the
Grand Jury, after publicly stating — twice — that Hussaini was the man
she saw. Gary Lewis, the Journal Record pressman who was almost run
over by McVeigh and John Doe 2, has now recanted his story. After his
testimony before the County Grand Jury, Professor Ray Brown of the
University of Oklahoma had a change of heart: "There's no evidence in
the [seismographic] bomb signals for any additional charges," Brown
told reporters.[1385]
Said Stephen Jones, "…a living nightmare for the Department of Justice
is an Oklahoma state criminal trial, not only a nightmare for them, but
a nightmare for the intelligence community, for the ATF. There isn't
going to be any Oklahoma trial.…"
"If I thought the State of Oklahoma was really interested in the truth as
opposed to just some political side show," added Jones, "I would insist
that Mr. McVeigh have a state trial and demand that he be released to
the state authorities. But this is all politics."[1386]
Simply stated, they are in denial. Such denial absolves one of the
responsibility of having to do something about the problem — to take a
stand — and, on an even deeper level, to challenge their comfortably
held belief systems. While the public servants who know the truth and
choose to remain silent are guilty accomplices after-the-fact, to deny
that such a truth exists to begin with is intellectual cowardice. Faced
with such a choice between examining their falsely cherished values
and, consequently, themselves, most people opt for the safer
approach.
The author has no respect or sympathy for such individuals, or for that
matter, the majority of Americans who mindlessly subscribe to the
baleful fantasies perpetrated by government liars and mainstream
media whores. They can twist in the wind.
Two hundred years ago, Samuel Adams said: "If ye love wealth better
than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating
contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your
counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.…"
Fortunately, there are enough people who want to know the truth.
These are the people worth fighting for. Approximately 500 bombing
victims and their relatives are beginning to seek answers. They have
brought two civil suits against the Federal Government. The suits seek
to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the government had
advance knowledge of the plot but failed to stop it, in what amounted,
at least on one level, to a sting operation gone wrong.[1389]
Endnotes
505
[E: In the original printed edition, there were both unnumbered
footnotes and numbered endnotes. In this digital edition, all notes have
been converted to endnotes and re-numbered. The numbers of the
printed edition endnotes are shown in parentheses. Footnotes of the
printed edition are also shown in parentheses, but with the format
(<chapter number>:<page number>:<footnote symbol>). Thus, the
footnote ** from Chapter 6, page 268, would be shown as (6:268:**).
Some endnotes have been added or modified by the author or the
digital editor, and these are surrounded in double square brackets [[]],
with those of the editor prefixed with "E:".]
3. (3) Ibid..
8. (7) Ibid.
10. (8) Christine Gorman, "Bomb Lurking in the Garden Shed", Time
magazine, 5/1/95.
14. (12) Brian Ford, "McVeigh Placed at Kansas Store," Tulsa World,
9/12/97.
15. (1:5:*) They claimed they didn't know where it was built.
17. (14) Michele Marie Moore, Oklahoma City: Day One (Eagar, AZ:
Harvest Trust, 1996), p. 122.
22. (19) "Outside Experts to Review FBI Crime Lab,"Wall Street Journal,
9/19/95; OIG report, copy in author's possession.
23. (1:7:*) "Williams' report also states that the initiator for the
Primadet or the detonating cord was a non-electric detonator; non-
electric, burning type fuse of either hobby fuse or a commercial safety
fuse was used as a safe separation and time delay system; and the
time delay for the burning fuse was approximately 2 minutes and 15
seconds.… No evidence of a non-electric detonator or the named fuses,
however, were found at the crime scene.… Williams also stated in his
report that [a] fertilizer base explosive, such as ANFO… among other
commercial and improvised explosives, has an approximate VOD of
13,000 fps. The statement of the VOD of ANFO, however, is incomplete
because ANFO has a broad VOD range. For example, the Dupont
Blasters' Handbook (Dupont) shows commercial ANFO products with
VODs in the 7,000-15,600 feet-per-second range. When Williams wrote
his Oklahoma City report, he was aware of this range.…"
24. (20) The Gundersen Report on the Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Building, Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995, 11/1/96, copy in author's
possession.
27. (1:8:*) Partin pointed out that while the truck bomb that damaged
the World Trade Center was in an enclosed space, thereby creating a
much higher destructive force than a bomb out in the open, it did not
destroy the support column next to it.
32. (1:10:*) The Israelis' host in the U.S. was Oklahoma City business
leader Moshe Tal, an Israeli. According to William Northrop, another
Israeli and Oklahoma City resident, Tal initially circulated the report,
which was three pages and mentioned the Middle-Eastern bomb
signature. After Tal was summoned to Israel, he returned denying those
aspects of the report. It was suddenly, in keeping with the U.S.
Government's position, no longer a Middle-Eastern bomb, and the
report itself incredibly shrank from three pages to only one.
33. (26) Lou Kilzer and Kevin Flynn, "Were Feds Warned Before OKC
Bomb Built?" Rocky Mountain News, 2/6/97. The fuel dealer reported
the purchasing attempt to the ATF, but the agency did not follow up.
38. (31) The Gundersen Report on the Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Building, Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995, 11/1/96, copy in author's
possession.
42. (35) "The Worst Terrorist Attack on U.S. Soil: April 19, 1995," CNN,
12/20/95.
43. (1:13:*) Other people who were working in office buildings at the
time reported that sparks flew out from their computers just before the
blast. The manager of the Journal Record parking garage, two blocks
from the Murrah Building, reported that the electronic computers in at
least half a dozen cars had malfunctioned as a result of the blast.
45. (37) Gene Wheaton, "The Covert Culture," Portland Free Press,
May/June 1996.
47. (39) Adel Darwick and Gregory Alexander, Unholy Babylon, (New
York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1991), p. 104.
51. (1:15:*) Within the last few years, articles have appeared in the
U.S., European, and even Russian media dealing with an exotic new
material known as 'Red Mercury' which had been developed by the
Russians and allegedly held properties capable of producing far more
efficient nuclear fission warheads than the conventional explosives
developed thus far."
57. (45) Sam Cohen, Journal of Civil Defense, Fall, 1995, quoted by F.R.
Suplantier in Behind the Headlines.
61. (47) William Jasper, "Multiple Blasts: More Evidence," The New
American, date unknown.
65. (1:18:*) David Hall, manager of KPOC-TV in Ponca City, who has
done considerable investigation into the bombing, told me that two
Southwestern Bell employees called him and claimed they had a
surveillance tape that showed the Murrah Building shaking before the
truck bomb detonated.
67. (52) Jeff Bruccelari, Oklahoma Radio Network, interview with Dr.
Ray Brown, 2/18/97.
511
68. (53) Jerry Longspaugh, Cover-Up in Oklahoma City video, 1996.
71. Although the tape was confiscated by the FBI it was later returned,
likely altered, just as the FBI likely altered the famous Zapruder film of
the JFK assassination by reversing the frames that showed the
president's head being blown back.
76. (59) William Jasper, "Were There Two Explosions?", The New
American, 6/12/95.
80. (63) "William Jasper," OKC Investigator Under Attack," The New
American, 6/23/97; video deposition of Jane C. Graham, 7/20/97, copy
in author's possession.
84. (1:23:*) Unfortunately, Partin shot himself in the foot in his first
letter to Congress by insinuating that the bombing was the work of a
Communist conspiracy (The Third Socialist International), thereby
possibly portraying himself in the eyes of some as a Right-Wing "kook."
512
But in spite of his politics, his technical credentials are beyond
reproach.
92. (71) Graham, Op Cit. One of the men was tall, late '30s, nice-
looking, very dark hair, mustache, black cowboy hat, jeans. The others
were slightly older; wearing khakis, short sleeves, all Caucasians. The
FBI agent who interviewed Graham was Joe Schwecke .
95. (74) J.D. Cash & Jeff Holladay, "Secondary Explosion Revealed in
Murrah Blast," McCurtain Daily Gazette, 5/4/95.
100. (78) Craig Roberts, "The Bombing of the Murrah Federal Building:
An Investigative Report," (prepared for the Tulsa Office of the FBI),
6/4/95, copy in author's possession.
102. (1:27:†) The Army had a recruiting office in the building, which
would have made the presence of military personnel inconspicuous.
The Department of Agriculture also had an office in the building. The
Department of Agriculture has been used as a front for IRS intelligence,
and also the 113th M.I.G. (Military Intelligence Group) in Chicago in
1970. Given the easy access to military personnel in the building, it
would have been easy for military personnel to go through the building
unnoticed.
107. (81) Jim Keith, OKBOMB — Conspiracy and Cover-Up (Lilburn, GA:
Illuminit Press, 1996).
109. It was rumored that one of the devices was taken to Kirkland Air
Force Base in Albuquerque, NM. Fred Shannon of the Ellis County Press
in Albuquerque claimed his source is too frightened to come forward. If
this account is true, it is curious to say the least, why a bomb would be
taken to a remote military base, when Tinker Air Force base is less than
10 miles away. Interestingly, a branch of Sandia Labs is located at
Kirkland Air Force Base. The Sandia Corporation, headquartered in
Albuquerque, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, located
in Alameda County, CA, have cooperated on the development of highly
sophisticated explosives, including nuclear weapons. Sandia often
conducts it's tests at the White Sands Missile Test Range, just west of
514
Alamagordo. White Sands was the home to the ATF's "Dipole Might"
experiments (see below). Was the government taking one of its bombs
back home to Momma?
111. (84) Moore, Op Cit., p. 221. Ricks made this statement the day of
the bombing.
114. (1:30:*) The TOW missile, inspected by the 61st EOD team out of
Ft. Sill was inert, as reported on the Oklahoma County Sheriff's
Evidence/Ordinance Acceptance Form, dated 4/19/95, copy in author's
possession.
115. (87) BATF RAC Dewy Webb, interview with author; OCPD Officer
Don Browning, interview with author.
116. This author requested the Sheriff's video under the Oklahoma
Open Records Act. I subsequently received the original version from a
friend. It seems the Sheriff sent me an edited version, with the
ordinance being removed edited out.
117. (88) J.D. Cash & Jeff Holladay, "Worker Helped Remove Munitions,
Missile from Murrah Building," McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/7/95.
127. This was reported briefly in the New York Times and the Wall
Street Journal. The two articles were then quickly buried in scrap-heap
of history.
129. (97) "Who Are They? The Oklahoma Blast Reveals The Paranoid
Life and Times of Accused Bomber Timothy McVeigh and His Right-
Wing Associates." Time, 5/1/95.
130. (98) Dale Russakock & Serge Kovaleski, "An Ordinary Boy's
Extraordinary Rage; After a Long Search For Order, Timothy McVeigh
Finally Found a World He Could Fit Into,"Washington Post, 7/2/95.
134. (2:36:*) Lori Fortier originally told the press, "It truly sickens me
when I see my friend's face, yes my friend's face, portrayed on the
cover of Time magazine as the face of evil."
136. (2:36:**) Noble County Assistant Attorney Mark Gibson, who has
prosecuted many killers, said "You could just feel the evil in them." Yet
he said of McVeigh, "I looked at him and realized I felt no repulsion or
fear."
141. (2:40:*) Real estate agent Anne Marie Fitzpatrick said McVeigh
was "very dynamic" and had "a twinkle in his eye and a smile."
(Washington Post 7/2/95. )
149. (114) Lana Padilla and Ron Delpit, By Blood Betrayed, (New York,
NY: Harper Collins, 1995), p. 63.
150. (2:43:*) Padilla told me later that the information about McVeigh's
so-called demolitions expertise was provided by co-writer Ron Delpit.
151. (115) David Hackworth & Peter Annin, "The Suspect Speaks Out,"
Newsweek, 7/3/95.
153. (117) John Kifner, "The Gun Network: McVeigh's World — A Special
Report; Bomb Suspect Felt at Home Riding the Gun-Show Circuit." New
York Times, 7/5/95.
154. (118) FBI 302 Statement of Carl. E. Lebron, Jr., 4/22/95, copy in
author's possession.
162. While other soldiers and airmen were quoted during the war
making statements like "shooting fish in a barrel" … "We hit the
jackpot" … "a turkey shoot," only McVeigh "killed Iraqis." For a detailed
account of atrocities committed by U.S. forces, see: Ramsey Clark, The
Fire This Time: U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf , (New York, NY: Thunder's
Mouth Press, 1992).
167. (130) "McVeigh's Army Pals Join Bid to Save His Life," CNN, 6/9/97.
168. (131) Kenneth Stern, A Force Upon the Plain: The American Militia
Movement and the Politics of Hate, (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster,
1996), p. 190; New York Times, 5/4/95.
171. (132) "Inside the Mind of McVeigh." Media Bypass, April, 1996.
172. (133) "Biography: McVeigh, Part II," Media Bypass, May, 1996.
190. (149) Glenn Krawczk, "Mind Control and the New World Order,"
Nexus magazine, Feb-March, 1993, quoted in Keith.
519
191. (150) Ibid., p. 196.
192. (2:53:*) The firm does classified research for both NASA and the
Air Force, and is a ranking subcontractor for Sentar, Inc., an advanced
science and engineering firm capable, according to company literature,
of creating artificial intelligence systems. Sentar's customers include
the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, the Advanced
Research Projects Agency (see discussion of ARPA later in this chapter),
Rockwell International, Teledyne, Nichols Research Corp. and TRW.
Their sales literature boasts a large energy shock tunnel, radar
facilities "a radio-frequency (RF) simulator facility for evaluating
electronic warfare techniques." (Constantine)
196. (2:55:*) After his arrest, Bryant said that he had been "gotten to,"
and "had been programmed." "Sleepers" such as Bryant were most
likely programmed to kill their victims in order to precipitate law and
order crack-downs, such as occurred in the aftermath of the Australian
melee, where the government recently outlawed almost all types of
guns.
197. "A Caution From Down Under," Portland Free Press, July/October,
1997.
198. (154) "A By the Book Officer, 'Suspicious By Nature,' Spots Trouble
and acts fast," New York Times, 4/23/95.
199. (155) Dick Russell, The Man Who Knew Too Much, (New York, NY:
Carroll & Graf), 1992, p. 679.
520
200. (156) Project MKULTRA, The CIA's Program of Research in
Behavioral Modification, Joint Hearing Before the Senate Committee on
Intelligence, 8/3/77. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977.
203. Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain, Acid Dreams: The CIA, LSD, and
the Sixties Rebellion (New York, NY: Grove Press, 1985), pp. 22, 189-90;
Gordon Thomas, Journey Into Madness, Bantam Books, 1989.
204. The 1957 American Psychiatric Association roster notes that 1,253
of its 7,104 members came from Germany and the Eastern European
countries.
217. (164) Art Ford & Lincoln Lawrence, Were We Controlled, (New
York, NY: University Books), 1967, quoted in Russell.
218. (165) Robert O. Becker, M.D. and Gary Selden, The Body Electric:
Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life, (New York, NY: William
Morrow & Co.), p. 1085, quoted in "Bioeffects of Microwave Radiation,"
Unclassfied, Vol. IV, No. 3, June/July, 1992, National Association of
Security Alumni.
219. (166) Turner and Christian, Op. Cit., Anthony Sampson, The Arms
Basaar: From Lebanon to Lockheed (New York, NY: Viking Press, 1977),
p. 276, quoted in Constantine, p. 12.
220. (2:60:*) Apparently, McVeigh was not there the entire time. Phone
records indicate he made steady calls until the 7th of April, when he
was seen at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The phone calls resume on April
11.
222. Ibid.
225. Ibid.
226. Ibid.
Probably the best known case is Jonestown, a cult of over 900 followers
in Guyana who committed "mass suicide" in 1978. led by the Reverend
Jim Jones. Jonestown was a veritable prison where all the classic mind
control techniques were utilized. While little more than a swamp, it
nevertheless contained a modern hospital, from which massive
quantities of behavioral modification drugs were recovered. One of
Jones' top aides, George Philip Blakely, who recruited mercenaries for
the CIA in Angola, was the son-in-law of Dr. Lawrence Layton, a former
Army biochemical warfare specialist. Researchers have speculated that
Jonestown was part of the CIA's MKULTRA experiments. (Joe Holsinger,
"Statement to the Forum Entitled 'Psycho-Social Implications of the
Jonestown Phenomenon,'" 23 May 1980, Miyako Hotel, San Francisco,
quoted in Brandt, Name Base Newsline, No. 5, April-June 1994: "Cults,
Anti-Cultists, and the Cult of Intelligence.") "Guyanese troops
discovered a large cache of drugs, enough to control the entire
population of Georgetown, Guyana (pop. 200,000), for over a year. One
footlocker contained 11,000 doses of Thorazine, a dangerous
tranquilizer, and others such as sodium pentothal (truth serum), chloral
hydrate (a hypnotic), demerol, Thallium (confuses thinking),
haliopareael and Largatil (powerful tranquilizers) and many others. It
was very evident that Jonestown was a tightly-run concentration camp,
complete with medical and psychiatric experimentation." Bo Gritz,
Called to Serve. The members of Jonestown were reported to have died
from cyanide-laced punch, but many were found shot-to-death by the
compound's guards. The military purposefully took over a week to
remove the bodies, ensuring, as in the Waco case, that no autopsies
could be performed. National Security Advisor Brzezinski's office
ordered that "all politically sensitive papers and forms of identification"
be removed from the bodies, and Jonestown's mysterious financial
resources were found scattered in banks and investments, estimated
to be from $26 million to $ 2 billion. (Kenneth Wooden, The Children of
523
Jonestown (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1981), p. 196, quoted in
Brandt.)
230. For an excellent account of the potential of hynosis and its use in
military applications, see Science Digest, April 1971, "Hypnosis Comes
of Age," by G.H. Estabrooks.
235. Pitzer was later found "suicided" like Admiral Boorda, shot in the
chest with a .45. The left-handed Pitzer was found holding the gun in
his right hand. As Craig Roberts writes in JFK: The Dead Witnesses,
524
"Pitzer, a consummate note taker and maker, left no suicide note,
and no autopsy report was ever released to either the public or the
family.… all references to Pitzer being present at the autopsy of John F.
Kennedy have been removed from government records." Neither does
Pitzer's family believe he committed suicide.
236. (174) Jay Wrolstad, "Smoking Gun: Does Dan Marvin Have
Evidence of a Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy?" The Ithaca Times,
8/22/96; Franklin Crawford, "Local Man Tells JFK Story," The Ithaca
Journal, 11/16/95; Daniel Marvin, "Bits & Pieces: A Green Beret on the
Periphery of the JFK Assassination," The Fourth Decade, May, 1995;
Colonel Daniel Marvin, interview on Tex Marrs' World of Prophecy,
WWCR shortwave, 4/20/96. Marvin's authenticity and credibility have
been established by respected Kennedy researchers, as well as
Professor L. Pearce Williams of Cornell University, and Jacqueline
Powers, former managing editor of the Ithaca Journal, who said "[Col.
Marvin] had evidence to back up what he was claiming. I believe him.
Everything he has said to me has been true; he's willing to tell what he
knows, which can't be easy for him."
237. Captain David V. Vanek, who took the assassination course with
Marvin, was allegedly asked by the CIA to assassinate Pitzer after
Marvin refused. Vanek denied the allegations in an affivavit.
238. (175) Jonathan Kwitny, The Crimes of Patriots (New York, NY:
Simon & Schuster, 1987), p. 103; Affidavit of Colonel Edward P. Cutolo,
commander of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special
Forces, 3/11/80, copy in author's possession.
248. (198) Marylin Hart, Interview with author, 1/15/96 & 4/1/96.
250. (200) John Kifner, "Arizona Trailer Park Owner Remembered the
Wrong Man," New York Times, 4/25/95.
253. (203) Steve Wilmsen and Mark Eddy, "Who bombed the Murrah
Building?" Denver Post, date unknown.
255. (205) Patrick E. Cole, "I'm Just Like Anyone Else," Time, 4/15/96.
258. (208) Mark Schaffer, "Gun Class Sheds New Light On McVeigh,"
The Arizona Republic, 5/28/95, quoted in Keith.
260. (210) Kevin Flynn and Lou Kilzer, "John Doe 2 Remains a Mystery:
OKC Bombing Case's Unknown Suspect Could be More Than One Man,
Investigators Believe," Rocky Mountain News, 3/3/97.
262. (*) The child protective services went to the compound, knocked
on the door, walked in, and interviewed the children. They found no
evidence of abuse and left.
270. (218) Howard Pankartz and George Lane, "Sister Testifies Against
Brother," Denver Post, 5/6/97.
274. (222) "Oklahoma Bombing Plotted for Months, Officials Say, but
Suspect Is Not Talking," New York Times, 4/25/95, quoted in Keith, p.
28.
275. (*) Nichols' discharge in the spring of 1989 for "hardship" reasons
is also interesting. Another parallel is that of Thomas Martinez, the FBI
infiltrator within the radical right Silent Brotherhood, who was given an
honorable discharge during basic training. The Army choose not to
explained why. (Keith, Op Cit.)
280. (*) The letter to the girlfriend apparently was indicative of plans to
bomb other locations. Interesting that the suspect would leave such an
curiously incriminating trail of evidence.
287. (*) Catina told London Sunday Telegraph reporter Ambrose Evans-
Pritchard that the man was "always" there. "He seemes out of place,
but he was always around."
288. (233) Jim Garrison, On the Trail of the Assassins, (New York, NY:
Warner Books, 1988), p. 157.
291. (235) Beth Hawkins, "The Michigan Militia Greet the Media Circus,"
Detroit Metro Times, 3/26/95.
296. (238) Ken Armstrong, No Amateur Did This (Aptos, CA: Blackeye
Press, 1996), p. 17.
307. (246) Jane Graham, interview with author. Graham is a friend and
co-worker of Joan's.
310. (*) She saw the truck at 6:00 a.m. at the diner, then it left before
7:00 a.m. She then saw it at Geary Lake in the afternoon on her way to
Junction City, then saw it there on return trip around 3:00-4:00 p.m.
The mainstream-press originally said Whittenberg saw the truck on
Tuesday, parroting the FBI's line that McVeigh had rented the truck on
the 17th.
312. (250) Linda Kuhlman and Phyliss Kingsley, interviews with author.
313. (251) Mark Eddy, "Witnesses tell a different story," Denver Post,
6/16/96.
314. (*) What is interesting is that McVeigh's friend James Nichols said
that McVeigh never wore a baseball cap, much less backwards. He said
McVeigh only wore an Army-issue cap.
318. (*) It is interesting that McVeigh would choose to hang around the
scene of the crime, along with his easily identifiable yellow Mercury
Marquis, minutes after it occurred. Johnston described the John Doe 2
as shorter and darker than McVeigh.
319. (255) "Feds Charge Terry Nichols in Bombing," Los Angeles Times,
5/10/95, quoted in Keith, p. 185.
320. (256) FBI FD-383 (FBI Facial Identification Fact Sheet) of Tom
Kessinger, dated 4/20/95, copy in author's possession.
326. (262) Julie DelCour, "Informant Says Tulsan Talked About Local, OC
Bombings," Tulsa World, 2/9/97.
327. (263) "TNT, $5 a stick. Need more. Call after 1 May, see if I can
get some more."
328. (264) William Pepper, Orders to Kill: The Truth Behind the Murder
of Dr. Martin Luther King, (New York, NY: Carol & Graf), 1995, p.156.
330. (266) Kevin Johnson, "McVeigh Lawyer Says FBI Agents Using
Trickery," USA Today, 8/14/95, quoted in Keith, Op Cit, p. 57.
334. (270) Lana Padilla, interview with author, Diane Sawyer, ABC
News Prime Time Live, 5/10/95.
337. (273) Steve Wilmsen and Mark Eddy, "Who bombed the Murrah
Building?" Denver Post, date unknown.
350. (285) Elizabeth Gleick, "Who Are They? The Oklahoma blast
reveals the paranoid life and times of accused bomber Timothy
McVeigh and his right-wing associates." Time, 5/1/95.
361. (294) KFOR interview with Lana Padilla. Interview with author.
366. (299) Lou Kilzer and Kevin Floyd, "McVeigh Team Tries Again for
Delay," Rocky Mountain News, 3/26/97; Timothy McVeigh's Petition for
Writ of Mandamus, 3/25/97.
368. (*) Earlier, McVeigh had told Padilla, "I'll write to him (Nichols), but
I guess I'd better do it in code, because there are a lot of nosy people."
371. (*) Nichols' attorney Michael Tigar claimed his client's use of
aliases while renting the storage lockers was to prevent the credit card
companies from coming after him.
376. (306) Nolan Clay, Robby Trammell, Diana Baldwin and Randy Ellis,
"Nichols, Bomb Materials Linked," Daily Oklahoman, date unknown.
379. (*) Butler and Snell also reportedly had connections to Jack
Oliphant of Kingman, Arizona.
381. (310) Edward Zehr, "Oklahoma City Cover-up Exposed: But the
Mainstream Media are Still in Denial," Washington Weekly, 2/17/97.
385. (314) Judy Thomas, "We Are Not Dangerous, Leader of Separatists
Says" Kansas City Star, 3/17/96.
386. (315) Mark Fazlollah, Michael Matza, Maureen Graham and Larry
King, "FBI: Heist Trail Led to White Supremacists," Philadelphia Inquirer,
6/30/96.
391. (319) J.D. Cash with Jeff Holladay, "Rebels With a Cause, Part Four:
An Ex-Wife's Suspicions In The OKBOMB Case," McCurtain Daily
Gazette, 12/31/96.
394. (322) Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The
Unreported Stories (Washington, DC: Regnery), p. 80.
396. (323) Pritchard, Op Cit.; William Jasper, "More Pieces to the OKC
Puzzle," The New American, 6/24/96.
397. (324) February, 1996 press release from the Cause Foundation,
quoted in The New American.
398. (*) Around the same time, the caller telephoned the National
Alliance office in Arizona. The National Alliance is the organization
formed by William Pierce, who wrote The Turner Diaries.
399. (325) Laura Frank, "Oklahoma City Probe May Touch Tennessee,"
The Tennessean, 6/30/96.
400. (326) J.D. Cash, "Is a Videotape From a Tulsa Topless Bar the
'Smoking Gun' in Oklahoma City Bombing?" McCurtain Daily Gazette,
9/25/96.
406. (*) Although Jones only refers to "Suspect I," it is well-known that
he is referring to Nichols, because he says he was "A subject of the FBI
and Grand Jury investigation.…" There were only two people
investigated by the Federal Grand Jury: Timothy McVeigh and Terry
Nichols.
410. (334) "Black History and the Class Struggle," The Separatist
League, No. 11, August, 1994. In a letter to his followers concerning his
strange alliance with the NOI, Rockwell wrote: "I was amazed to learn
how much they and I agree on things: they think that blacks should get
out of this country and go back to Africa or to some other place and so
do we. They want to get black men to leave white women alone, and
white men to leave black women alone, and so do we. The Honorable
Elijah Muhammad and I have worked out an agreement of mutual
535
assistance in which they will help us on some things and we will
help them on others.("
413. (*) British officials no doubt took the implications seriously. Jones
had spent considerable time consulting with British explosives experts
who planned to testify on behalf of the defense, as well as officials
from MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence service and even an unnamed
IRA member.( (Associate Press, 3/30/97.)
414. (337) Tom Conlon and Helen Curtin, Dublin Sunday Times,
7/13/97, quoted in McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/15/97.
417. (339) "Strassmeir, OKC, And The CIA," The New American,
7/22/96.
419. (*) Curiously, when the FBI queried various federal law-
enforcement and intelligence agencies to determine if Strassmeir was
a cooperating witness or a confidential informant, only the CIA
reported that it held any records on him. These records were turned
over to prosecutors, but not made available to McVeigh's defense
team, despite a court order compelling their disclosure.
420. (341) J.D. Cash, with Jeff Holladay "Weeks Before OKC Bombing,
ATF Had 'Wanted' Posters On Strassmeir," McCurtain County Gazette,
7/28/96.
421. (342) J.D. Cash, "Agents Probe OKC Bombing Links To Bank
Robberies," McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/16/96.
536
422. (*) Interestingly, cases involving violence or planned violence
by militias from around the U.S. show a recurring theme of government
penetration and infiltration of militia groups. For example, testimony in
the Muskogee bombing case showed that the FBI was literally paying
the operating expenses, including the phone bills for the Tri-State
Militia.
423. (*) OHP pilot Ken Stafford, ATF technician Pat McKinley, and acting
ATF SAC Tommy Wittman flew over Elohim City on February 7, 1995,
and reported to Finley-Graham.
424. (*) BATF regional director Lester Martz denies that the BOLO was
put out by the ATF.
426. (344) An INS memo of January 10 stated: "Per your note, I talked
to Angela Finely, ATF. It may be awhile before the subject is contacted
or arrested, but we will probably be called to assist."
427. (*) It seems the ATF and FBI were also concerned about the
possiblity of an "intramural fire fight" between their respective
agencies at Elohim City.
431. (347) Ibid.; The OHP officer who made the arrest was Vernon
Phillips.
432. (348) J.D. Cash, McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/14/96. Dennis Mahon
also admitted that Strassmeir worked for the GSG-9.
433. (*) The FBI didn't go to any great lengths to question Strassmeir,
nor his roommate Michael Brescia. Months after the bombing, the FBI
places a leisurely call to Strassmeir's home in Berlin. They made no
attempt to question or arrest Brescia.
434. (**) When Middle Eastern suspect Hussain al-Hussaini came under
scrutiny by KFOR and other investigators for his role in the bombing,
the FBI "debunked" the "rumors" about him, too. Was he also an
agent? (See Chapter 6)
537
435. (349) J.D. Cash and Jeff Holliday, "Weeks Before Bombing, ATF
Had Out "Wanted" Posters, McCurtain Gazette, 7/29/96, quoted in
American Freedom, September, 1996.
436. (*) The ostensible purpose of the raid was to recover bomb-
making materials — materials which had been obtained by Howe at the
request of her ATF handler — Finley-Graham!
437. (350) J.D. Cash, "Controversy Over Howe's True Loyalties Become
Focus of Her Trial," McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/30/97.
438. (351) J.D. Cash, McCurtain Gazette, 7/14/96. The source claimed
that classified computer records of the ATF contained evidence that
Strassmeir was indeed a key component in the agency's espionage
operation at Elohim City, and numerous neo-Nazi groups throughout
the country.
440. (353) "Hate and the Law: Kirk Lyons, Esq." Anti-Defamation
League, Special Edition, June, 1991.
441. (354) Lyons had this to say about Mahon in an interview with
Volkstreue, a German Neo-Nazi magazine: "I have great respect for the
Klan historically but sadly, the Klan today is ineffective and sometimes
even destructive. There are many spies in it and most of its best
leaders have left the Klan to do more effective work within the
movement. It would be good if the Klan followed the advice of former
Klansman Robert Miles: 'Become invisible. Hang the robes and hoods in
the cupboard and become an underground organization.' This would
make the Klan stronger than ever before."
449. (361) William Jasper, "Elohim, Terror, and Truth," New American,
3/31/97.
450. (362) Charles, Op Cit. In her report of September 26, 1994, Finley-
Graham indicates that Mahon "gave 183 approximately 2 feet of green
safety fuse, a can of gun powder and a plastic funnel," and said he
would "instruct 183 how to assemble hand grenades."
458. (369) ATF ROI, 9/26/94. "Andy also told 183 that there exists a
black market dealer who can get grenades, C-4 and a range of
explosives."
459. (*) Dawson was also a paid informant for the Greensboro Police
Department.
460. (**) With a map of the parade route supplied by Greensboro Police
Department Detective Jerry Cooper, Dawson, Butkovich, and their KKK
and neo-Nazi comrades were able to select the most advantageous
site for their ambush. Although Cooper and other officers surveilled the
house where the killers had assembled and took down license
numbers, they inexplicably decided to take a lunch break less then 45
minutes before the march. By the time the shooting started, the
tactical squad assigned to monitor the demonstration was still out to
lunch. Even more inexplicably, two officers responding to a domestic
call at the Morningside projects, the site of the CWP march, noted the
539
suspicious absence of patrol cars usually assigned to the area. One
of the cops, Officer Wise, later reported receiving a bizarre call from
police dispatch, advising him to "clear the area as soon as possible."
The incident resulted in an ATF/FBI-led cover-up similar in most
respects to the Oklahoma City whitewash, with most of the suspects
being acquitted of first degree murder charges. Echoing the factitious
rants of federal officials in Oklahoma, FBI Director William Webster
called the charges of federal complicity "utterly absurd." Although the
killers had been recruited, organized and led on their murderous
rampage by ATF and FBI operatives, none ever served a day of jail-
time. ((*) Frank Donner, Protectors of Privilege: Red Squads and Police
Repression in America, (Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA, University of
California Press: 1990), p. 360; Michael Novick, "Blue by Day, White by
Night: Organized White Supremacist Groups in Law Enforcement
Agencies," People Against Racist Terror, 2/3/93, p. 3.)
461. (370) Ivo Dawnay, "Informant Accuses FBI Over Oklahoma Bomb,"
Electronic Telegraph, 7/20/97.
462. (*) Just as federal informant Cary Gagan provided the FBI and U.S.
Marshals with warnings.
463. (371) Kay Clarke, interview with author. Snider's half-sister, Kay
Clarke, testified that she drew the composite sketch of the man Snider
saw.
468. (*) When McVeigh's defense team asked federal prosecutors for
Howe's reports in pre-trial discovery, they were informed the records
didn't exist. When it was shown that the records did indeed exist, an
angry Judge Matsch ordered the records delivered to the defense and
threatened the prosecutors with removal from the case if they lied one
more time.
471. (*) Her live-in neo-Nazi boyfriend, James Viefhaus Jr., had been
arrested earlier for allegedly promoting a call-in message advocating
the bombing of federal buildings in 15 different cities. The message,
reportedly connected to the National Socialist Alliance of Oklahoma,
also endorsed the April 19th bombing. The FBI claimed to have
discovered bomb-making materials in Viefhaus' home.
476. (381)Ibid.
480. (*) Chevie and Cheyne Kehoe, two brothers who opened fire on
police in Ohio in February of 1997 during a routine traffic stop, also
lived at Elohim City. Were they some of the people trained in weaponry
by Strassmeir?
485. (*) Lipkin also told Roberts that Stinger missiles have been
smuggled into the country. A Stinger is thought to have been
responsible for the attack on TWA flight 800.
486. (389) Arnold Hamiltion, "Oklahoma City Car bomb Kills at Least
31; Scores Missing in Rubble of Office Building," Dallas Morning News,
4/20/95.
487. (390) Hugh Davies, "Rental Car is Key Clue on Trail of Terrorists,"
London Sunday Telegraph, 4/21/95. Abdul Yasin, another Iraqi, was
released and returned to Iraq. Abdul Basit is Yousef's real name.
491. (393) Ibid., Center for National Security Policy, No. 95-D23 11 April
1995 Decision Brief.
492. (394) William Carley, "A Trail of Terror," Wall Street Journal,
6/16/93, p. A1, quoted in James Phillips, "The Changing Face Of Middle
Eastern Terrorism," Heritage Foundation Report, 10/6/94.
493. (395) Jack Anderson, Dale Van Atta, "Iraq Reported to Send
Terrorists to U.S.," Washington Post, 1/28/91.
498. (399) Phillips, Op Cit. "Between 1980 and 1989 over 400 terrorist
actions spilled over from the Middle East to other regions, with 87
percent of these actions occurring in Western Europe." Paul Wilkinson,
"Terrorism, Iran and the Gulf Region," Jane's Intelligence Review, May
1992, p. 222.
501. (401) Yehizkel Zadok, "The FBI is Conducting a Search for 'Three
Middle Easterners,'" Yediot Arhonot, 4/20/95.
504. (*) Jones said that Lipkin met with his U.S. "counterpart," Phil
Wilcox, the U.S. State Department's coordinator for terrorism, after the
bombing to "compare notes." The reader will also recall that two Israeli
bomb experts traveled to Oklahoma City after the bombing to analyze
the bomb signature.
543
505. (*) Jones originally said that the meeting took place in
Kingman, AZ. According to Gagan, that was incorrect, and was to
protect Gagan's information.
506. (*) Gagan had intermittent contact with the Soviets throughout
the mid-'80s. In 1982, Gagan met a Soviet spy named Edward
Bodenzayer while in Puerto Vallerta. Bodenzayer had been exporting
classified technology to Russia through his import/export business. He
was eventually arrested as a result of a joint FBI/Customs
counterintelligence sting operation known as Operation Aspen Leaf.
509. (*) Gagan later seemed to waver on this point: "I don't care what
they say — where he was supposedly — he was there." He later said:
"I'm not sure, but it sure looked like him. He just didn't fit."
510. (**) Gagan recalls that Omar threw something in the trash. Gagan
later fished it out. They were technical diagrams in Spanish that
appeared to be bomb plans.
511. (*) According to Gagan, his Arab friends were interested in buying
the Postal Center, and asked Gagan to propose a cash deal to
Colombo. They were apparently interested in its mail and truck rental
facility.
516. (408) Gagan contacted Dave Floyd at the U.S. Marshals Office. He
said 'We've got to get moving on this right away.' I said, 'Well, I've got
to have immunity.'"
517. (*) Gagan was referring to a Middle Eastern man who flew in from
Oklahoma City. Gagan had never seen him before.
544
518. (*) Gagan gave accurate and specific descriptions of street
addresses he had been in Kingman, and provided receipts for his
travels to the Arizona town. He also provided receipts for hotel rooms
in which he claims bomb planning meetings were held. He said the
original plot involved blowing up a Jewish convention center in Denver
where President Clinton was speaking.
521. (*) Jayna Davis, KFOR-TV broadcast, June, 1995. U.S. Marshals Service head Tina Rowe said, regarding Cary
Gagan's hand-delivered letter: "I work in a federal building and all my friends work in federal buildings, and it's not
something that anyone working in that environment would ever overlook." KFOR then uncovered a copy of Gagan's
envelope, on which the matching signature of a Marshals Service employee was found. The Marshals Service claimed it
was suspicious, because it's office policy to sign both the first and last name, and to stamp all incoming mail.
522. (**) The Judge who sent Gagan to the mental hospital, John P.
Gately, was later termed incompetent and disbarred due to brain
cancer.
523. (411) Kevin Flynn, "Romer, Norton get Bomb Threats: CBI
Informant's Reliability in Question; He Also Warned of Federal Building
Blast," Rocky Mountain News, 8/12/95. Gagan was worried about what
had happened in Mexico with the Soviets, and didn't want to accept a
plea bargain.
525. (*) A voice stress analysis the author ran on Gagan's interview
tapes showed he was telling the truth.
526. (**) Reports indicating that Gagan had been of assistance to the
DEA were illegally removed from his informant file in an attempt to
discredit him.
527. (413) Letter of Immunity from U.S. Justice Dept. signed by Henry
Solano, to Gary James Gagan, copy in author's possession.
532. (*) Gagan says the Letter of Immunity was not filed with the court,
in violation of standard procedure. He also asserts that Allison's
signature was signed by his secretary, and is no good.
534. (*) Gagan claims that on January 15, 1997, as he was waiting for a
bus at 1st and Lincoln in downtown Denver, a dark four-door Buick
came careening around the corner, firing at him with a silenced
automatic weapon. A check with Doug Packston at the Colorado Transit
Authority revealed a bullet hole in the bus shelter and glass that had
been replaced.
535. (*) It is unlikely that Gagan could have known about King's story,
which was not widely reported.
536. (**) The Florida police detective I spoke with told me that the FBI
and state authorities "didn't want to investigate this," referring to the
connections he uncovered between Arab-Americans, the PLO, and the
Cali Cartel, in the mid-80s. He believes the FBI's head of
Counterintelligence came to Florida disguised as an agent, found out
what they were working on, and took off. As he said, "Things weren't
right.… It was as if someone were looking at this and saying 'stay away
from it.'" His experience ties into that of an Army C.I.D. officer who
investigated the brother of one of the Middle-Easterners allegedly
involved in the bombing, who was involved in military espionage in
Huntsville, Alabama in the mid-80s. He said the FBI "stonewalled" the
case. (More on this later)
538. (420) David Harper, "Just who is Carol Howe? Jurors Will Have To
Decide Who the Real Woman Is," Tulsa World, 7/28/97. "Howe said she
heard a 'powerful murmur' in the fall of 1995 that Tulsa could be the
target of a major bombing in the spring of 1996. Howe said Thursday
she left messages in 1995 but that her calls weren't returned."
539. (*) A specific warning regarding flight 103 was also passed on
from a Mossad Agent working at the Frankfurt airport.
546. (425) Steven Emerson and Brian Duffy, The Fall of Pan Am 103,
(New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's), 1990, p. 176; also see "The Maltese
Double Cross," a British TV documentary on Pan Am 103.
548. (**) Haider Al Saiidi, one of Khalid's workers, had a wife who
miscarriaged after the bombing due to harassment. When Haider made
that public, Khalid fired him. If Clear's theory is true, it is curious why
Khalid fired him.
*
( What must be pointed out again is that the
FBI is claiming McVeigh rented the Ryder truck
the following Monday, April 17, which he did.
This account indicates that two Ryder trucks
were involved in the operation, not one, as the
FBI claims.
547
550. (*
551. (*
552. (427) Craig Freeman and Dennis Jackson, interviews with author.
554. (429) Ruby Foos, interview with author; Davies, Op Cit., 4/21/95.
555. (430) Jim Polk, CNN, 4/20/95; Sharon Cohen, Associated Press,
4/21/95.
556. (431) William Jasper, "The Trial of John Doe No. 2," The New
American, 5/13/96.
557. (432) J.D. Cash, "Lose Your Illusion," Media Bypass, February,
1996.
558. (433) Margaret Hohmann and Ann Domin, interviews with author.
560. (435) Jayna Davis, KFOR, shadow interview with Kay H., 6/17/95.
564. (*) A source in the Sheriff's Office interviewed by Jayna Davis said
the FBI refused to explain why it had cancelled the APB. David Hall said
the APB was canceled by an FBI agent named Webster. Yet according to
OCPD officer Don Browning, the FBI later "admitted" to "fabricating"
the APB.
565. (**) Both Ernie Cranfield and neighbors saw the brown pick-up at
Sahara Properties.
568. (*) Numerous FBI and law enforcement sources Davis contacted
agreed that Hussaini resembled the sketch of John Doe 2, and believed
there was a Middle Eastern connection to the bombing, possibly
connected to the World Trade Center bombing. (KFOR's Response to
Plaintiff's Interrogatories, Hussaini vs. KFOR).
572. (442) Dave Balut reporting, KWTV, 10:00 p.m. newscast, 6/16/95.
575. (*( Khalid, speaking on behalf of Hussaini, claimed his INS records
were "stolen."
576. (*) Yousef arrived in New York on September 1, 1992. Many New
York law enforcement officials reportedly believe that Iraq was involved
[in the Trade Center bombing], although they can not prove it. (Laurie
Mylroie, "World Trade Center Bombing — The Case of Secret Cyanide,"
The Wall Street Journal, July 26, 1994, p. A16.), quoted in James
Phillips, The Changing Face of Middle Eastern Terrorism," The Heritage
Foundation, Backgrounder, #1005, 10/6/94.
577. (444) Mylroie, Op Cit. Yousef, who grew up in Kuwait, was also
identified by Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheik Ali al Sabah al Salim as an
Iraqi collaborator during Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. (Charles
Wallace, "Weaving a Wide Web of Terror," Los Angeles Times, 5/28/95.)
578. (*) Hussain al-Hussaini moved to Houston after going public and
suing KFOR.
580. (*) Louis Champon said he saw Barbouti meet with Secord at the
Fountain Blue Hotel in Miami in 1988.
581. (446) Mike Johnston, interview with author. John Conally, "Inside
the Shadow CIA," Spy magazine, September, 1992; Said Louis
Champon, "They are so well-protected by an entity in our own
government, that they have put up a wall.…"
584. (*) While Ishan Barbouti allegedly "died" of heart failure in London
in July of 1990, he was reportedly seen afterwards alive and well flying
between Aman, Jordan and Tripoli, Libya. Other accounts indicate that
he is living safe and well in Florida.
586. (449) Ibid., pp. 70-72, Quoted in William Blum, Killing Hope: U.S.
Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II (Common Courage
Press, 1996), p. 335; "The Gulf War and its Aftermath," The 1992
Information Please Almanac (Boston, 1992), p. 974, Quoted in Blum, p.
335.
587. (450) Laurie Garrett (medical writer for Newsday), "The Dead,"
Columbia Journalism Review, May/June, 1991, p. 32, quoted in Blum, p.
335.
588. (451) Needless Deaths Op. Cit., p. 135, quoted in Blum, p.335.
589. (452) Ibid., pp. 201-24; Clark, pp. 72-4; Los Angeles Times,
1/31/91; 2/3/91, quoted in Blum, p. 336.
590. (453) Bill Moyers, PBS Special Report: After the War, Spring, 1991,
quoted in Clark, p. 53.
591. (454) "Biography: McVeigh, Part Two, Media Bypass, March, 1995.
550
592. (*) World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima told
Egyptian intelligence that the World Trade Center bombing had been
approved by Iranian intelligence.
593. (455) Yossef Bodansky, Terror: The Inside Story of the Terrorist
Conspiracy in America (New York, NY: SPI Books, 1994), quoted in
Keith, Op Cit., p. 154.
598. (460) Ronald W. Lewis, "Uncivil Air War" (The Shootdown of TWA
Flight 800)," Air Forces Monthly, No. 104, November 1996, posted by
S.A.F.A.N. Internet Newsletter, No. 213, December 21, 1996.
599. (461) Dr. Laurie Mylroie, Ph.D., "Terrorism in Our Face," American
Spectator, April, 1997.
601. (462) Phillips, Op Cit. It is reported that hundreds of them are also
being trained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Sudanese training
camps.
602. (463) See Edward Gargan, "Where Arab Militants Train and Wait,"
New York Times, 8/ 11/93; Tim Weiner, "Blowback From the Afghan
Battlefield," New York Times Magazine, 3/13/94; Daniel Klaidman and
Gregory L. Vistica, "In Search of a Killer," Newsweek, 8/11/97.
603. (464) "The New Era of Global Terrorism," MSA News, date
unknown, posted on Internet. The leaders of Abu Sayyaf are: Abdurajak
Abubakr Janjalani, Amilhussin Jumaani, Edwin Angeles, Asmad Abdul.
604. (465) "U.S. Forces in Gulf on High Security Alert," Reuter, 4/7/97.
606. (*) Abdul Rahman Yassin, an Iraqi indicted for his part in the World
Trade Center bombing fled to Baghdad. His brother, Musab Yasin,
provided a safehouse for the later plots. While the New York office of
the FBI wanted to arrest him, curiously, the Washington office objected.
Another Iraqi with a Ph.D. in microbiology, currently living in New
Jersey, is Walied Samarrai.
608. (*) The nine suspects are: Yousef's brother, Adel Anonn (alias Adel
Bani); Abdul Kareem Jassim Bidawi; Haleem Jassim Bidawi; Jamaal
Jaloud; Ibrahim Abid; and Najim Nasser (Iraqis); Emad Almubarak
(Sudanese); Saleh Al Quuwaye, and Zaid Al Amer (Saudis).
609. (**) Angeles told Jones that there are links to Philippine mail-
order-bride businesses and criminal/terrorist activity. It was not clear
from Jones' brief exactly what this entailed.
612. (**) Referring to the place in Davao, Angeles said, "It was also the
place where Muslims were taught in bomb making."
613. (470) Lou Kilzer and Kevin Floyd, "McVeigh Team Tries Again for
Delay," Rocky Mountain News, 3/26/97; Timothy McVeigh's Petition for
Writ of Mandamus, 3/25/97.
616. (*) A source close to Jones said that attorney Jim Hankins actually
prepared the Writ.
617. (*) Northrop claims that when he tried to run the information
down in Kingman he came up empty. His source in the U.S. Marshals
Service, who was looking into the matter, received a call from the
Justice Department, and was promptly stonewalled, he said.
618. (*) Casinos have been used to launder money. A drug dealer or
other criminal enters the casino with dirty money, buys large quantities
552
of chips, gambles a bit, then cashes in the chips for clean money.
Russbacher told Stich that the process also works in reverse. He
explained in one case how the CIA, through Shamrock Overseas
Disbursement Corporation, gave money to the casino, who in turn
would give gambling chips to the recipients when they arrived, then
the chips were cashed in. Russbacher named three Las Vegas casinos
allegedly involved in the operation, including the Frontier, Stardust,
and Binyon's Horseshoe.
621. (474) "Omar Khalif was one of the aliases listed on Khalid's 1990
federal indictment.
622. (475) Melissa Klinzing, former KFOR news director, interview with
author.
623. (**) After Davis questioned several employees at the MGM, two
were fired.
626. (*) Gagan recognized Abraham Ahmed being with Khalid. Gagan
said he saw Ahmed (by another name) in Las Vegas with Omar-Khalid
in the Summer or Fall of 1994. He said he also saw Hussain al-Hussaini
in Oklahoma City when he was here in April.
627. (**) Al Saiidi, incidentally, was the man who's wife who had a
miscarriage after stones were thrown through his window. When Al
Saiidi went before news cameras to complain about the incident, Khalid
fired him.
629. (*) The State Tax Commission also wanted Cranfield to testify
against Khalid. Instead, Khalid paid a fine. "That covered up for his ex-
wife getting killed," said Cranfield.
553
630. († At the same time, interestingly, two Middle Eastern residents
of the Woodscape apartments skipped out without paying their rent. It
should also be noted that two heavy-set Arabs work for Sam Khalid.
632. (480) Joe Royer, interview with author. The FBI agent who
interviewed the couple told them that one VIN number was left intact,
and fingerprints were found.
634. (*) Was the brown pick-up painted at Route 66, or elsewhere?
According to information obtained by Will Northrop, Haider al-Saiidi
was hired by Ali Khoddami at International Auto works, a body shop
located at 16th and Blackwielder, after he was fired by Khalid. An
Iranian, Khoddami is reportedly a friend of Khalid's. Sharbat Khan, a
Pakistani and Rizwan A. Shaikh were reportedly going to buy
International Auto Works from Khoddami.
638. (**) Don Browning, interview with author. Kamal had been working
with the FBI to track Khalid and others who were involved in insurance
fraud scams. Although he definitely knew Khalid, he disputed that he
said "This is the Mossad" to Browning. Browning swears he did. Yet
Jayna Davis said Browning told her that Kamal said that Khalid was a
member of "Hamas," a far cry from the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence
agency. Another possible explanation is that there were Mossad agents
posing as members of Hamas, but it seems unlikely that Kamal would
know that.
641. (*) When Jerlow asked an FBI source if KFOR was on the right
track, he was told "Keep doing what you're doing." Curiously, an OCPD
contact of Davis' was told by his FBI source, "stay away."
642. (*) Macy and State Attorney General Drew Edmondson had also
pushed certain aspects of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, using the bombing as
a platform.
554
643. (**) This is doubly interesting, since Richardson was the U.S.
Attorney who prosecuted Khalid for insurance fraud in 1990.
Richardson "committed suicide" in July of 1997 over "work-related"
matters.
644. (*) While Khalid's attorney claimed that only $15,000 dollars or so
was involved in the scams, the U.S. Attorney's report is more
incriminating. Khalid was also accused during his arson case of
employing false Social Security numbers. One of them is registered to
a woman in Oklahoma City; the other to a woman in Miami.
645. (**) One of the agents, James Strickland, would later be assigned
to the Twilley assault case.
647. (487) U.S. vs. Sam Khalid, Response to Presentence Report; Sam
Khalid, interview with author.
652. (*) "Before the bombing, we couldn't get the U.S. Attorney's office
interested," said private investigator Ben Jacobson. "After the bombing,
they just wanted us to keep our mouths shut."
654. (491) In federal court filings, WISE was described as "a front used
to bring international terrorists to the United States."
655. (*) It seems the reference to "Iranians" as used by this CID officer
is a generic term meant to refer to Middle-Easterners in general,
although some Iranians were definitely involved.
555
656. (**) According to Mike Johnston, the head of security for 777
Post Oak Corporation (a high-rise office complex in Houston affiliated
with IBI, Ishan Barbouti's company) had a son in the U.S. military
intelligence. The father, who was later wanted for impersonating a CIA
agent, would call his son at the Major Command Assignments Center at
Bolling Air Force in Washington, D.C. around August 1990, just prior to
the Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Some of the calls apparently involved the
use of a modem to tap into the command center's computers.
657. (492) Retired U.S. Army CID investigator, Interview with author.
659. (*) Tom Weisman was the FBI SAC of the Huntsville office.
660. (**) This detective also said that the chief of the FBI's
counterintelligence division masqueraded as a police officer and
traveled to Florida to collect data on the their investigation.
662. (*) Had it actually come from Mexican drug king-pin Juan Garcia
Abrego, who is linked to the Cali Cartel, and had reportedly sent two
bag-men up to Oklahoma City to finance the bombing?
663. (**) Kingman has also been called the "Golden Triangle" of Speed
(Methamphetamine), and McVeigh had known Clark Volmer, a
paraplegic drug dealer and loan shark in town. On October 19, six
months to the day of the bombing, Gagan was directed by a man he
describes as "Hizbollah" to take a bus from Las Vegas to Kingman, to
deliver a large bag of money — estimated to be between $200,000 and
$300,000 to an individual who was "militia looking in appearance."
665. (494) "FBI Finds Possible Evidence in OKC Bombing, CNN, 7/20/95.
669. (*) Skorzeny was at the nexus of the surviving elements of the
Nazi movement, and helped organize its tentacles after WWII.
670. (498) Johnston, Op. Cit.; Vankin, Op Cit., p. 226; Martin A. Lee and
Kevin Coogan, "Killers on the Right: Inside Europe's Fascist
Underground," Mother Jones, May, 1987.
671. (499) Der Speigel writer Martin Killian, interview with author. Libya
also reportedly funded the Irish Republican Army.
678. (*) The Bureau of Prisons had "no record" of Edward Flinton,
eventhough he served time in federal prison. Usually this means the
individual is under the "witness protection program."
679. (506) Kevin Flynn, "Romer, Norton Get Bomb Threats: CBI
Informant's Reliability in Question; He Also Warned of Federal Building
Blast," Rocky Mountain News, 08/12/95. Gagan said he met with Al
Fuqra members on different occasions between October, 1995 and
February 1996.
680. (507) Judge Lewis Babcock and John Strader, interview with
author. Gagan said he met with U.S. Marshal Jake Warner at Brooklyns
restaurant on October 27, 1995. "In all the years that I've known
[Gagan], he's never met with a pair of people in suits," said the
manager in an interview with the author.
681. (*) Gagan said he saw Daniel with Omar and Ahmed in Mexico. On
November 27, Gagan says he was instructed by his "Hizbollah" contact
557
to rent a room at the La Vista Motel in Denver in preparation for
another meeting. Gagan said his attempts to have the FBI stake out
the room were ignored. The informant claims he learned of plans to
bomb simultaneous targets in Phoenix and Denver on or about
February 8, 1996 — the specific targets being the ATF office in the Mile
High Center at 1700 Broadway in Denver, and the DEA/Customs office
at 115 Inverness Drive in Englewood, Colorado.
682. (508) Hampton's alias was Abd al-Rashid Abdallah, and Gant's
was Abd Rashid.
683. (*) A voice stress analysis run on the caller indicated he was
telling the truth.
684. (*) This claim was allegedly based on DNA tests and footprint
matches.
686. (510) William Jasper, interview with author. Mahon stated this to
Jasper on October 1, 1996,
691. (515) She said that her father had also met Yasser Afafat, and had
his photograph on his wall.
692. (*) Michele also said she overheard her father talk about
approaching neo-Nazis through the National Socialist Party. Did Hirram
Torres try to contact National Socialist leader Gary Lauck? Apparently,
Strassmeir was on to Lauck, as he was arrested on his way to
Denmark. Strassmeir had learned about Lauck's travel plans from WAR
leader Dennis Mahon, a friend of Brescia and Strassmeir, who, as
mentioned previously, was being paid by the Iraqis.
697. (*) The Federal Government allocated $6,000 per refugee for
resettlement purposes, at the same time that veterans who suffered
from Gulf War illness were being ignored by the Veterans
Administration.
700. (*) Like Andreas Strassmeir, Hussaini was unable to come up with
his INS records. Khalid claimed they were stolen by KFOR, a claim that
Jayna Davis just laughed at.
701. (*) The government's refusal to admit the terrorist missile shoot-
down of TWA flight 800 may very well have as its basis the need to
maintain the ability of the crucial airline industry to continue
functioning.
705. (*) McVeigh was taken over to Hanger's patrol car, where he heard
radio broadcasts about the bombing, and casually chit-chated with
Officer Hanger. ( When he arrived at the jailhouse, he simply asked,
"when's chow"?
706. (522 Col. David Hackworth and Peter Anninn, j"And We're Going to
Go to Trial," Newsweek, 7/3/95.
711. (*) For that matter, why would he rent an easily traceable truck,
apply for jobs at the Federal Building using his real name, allow himself
to be filmed by numerous security cameras, stop to ask directions
minutes before the bombing, hang around two blocks from the crime
scene minutes after the blast, speed away without a license plate, and
fail to shoot the cop who stopped him?
713. (*) The author saw a close-up videotape of the axle taken by
Deputy Sheriff Melvin Sumter, which clearly shows the serial number
on the differential housing, which is part of the rear axle assembly. It
was not, as some amateur researchers claimed, on the axle itself.
714. (528) FBI FD-383 (FBI Facial Identification Fact Sheet) of Tom
Kessinger, dated 4/20/95, copy in author's possession. Tim Kelsey, "The
Oklahoma Suspect Awaits Day of Reckoning," London Sunday Times,
4/21/96.
717. (*) Elliott stated in his FBI 302 that a second man accompanied
"Kling" on April 17, and thought he saw "fair size" light blue sedan.
560
718. (*) In fact, Elliott testified that he met with the prosecution for
two hours, several days prior to the his appearance at trial.
724. (535) Kevin Flynn, "Computer Records Show Calls Made But Aren't
Clear Who Made Them," Rocky Mountain News, date unknown.
"Prosecutors have pressured OPUS representatives not to discuss this
issue with the News, even asking them not to verify how their
computer systems work, the employees said."
725. (536) Steve Wilmsen, "Records Point to John Doe 2," Denver Post,
date unknown; Steven K. Paulson, Associated Press, 2/15/97. In a later
ruling, Judge Matsch stated that Manning denied prosecutors did
anything wrong to elicit his testimony.
726. (537) J.D. Cash, interview with James Sargeant, Media Bypass,
July, 1996.
728. (*) Interestingly, McGown did not state on his FBI 302 who was
driving the truck on April 16, when his mother had asked him to
request that the driver move it.
734. (544) Steve Wilmsen and Mark Eddy, "Who bombed the Murrah
Building?" Denver Post, date unknown.
735. (545) Jack Douglas Jr. "Bomb link to lake reportedly scrapped, Fort
Worth Star-Telegram, 3/25/97.
737. (547) U.S. v. James Douglas Nichols and Terry Nichols, Criminal
Complaint, statements of FBI Special Agent Patrick Wease.
740. (550) "FBI Investigates Possible McVeigh Link to Fuel Buy," Rocky
Mountain News, 4/11/97.
741. (*) However, the indictment named Libyan Abdel Basset Ali al-
Megrahi as the customer. Authorities' second witness, Abdu Maged
Jiacha, a Libyan intelligence officer who defected to the U.S., was put
into the Federal Witness Protection Program and given a $4 million
dollar reward for his testimony against Megrahi.
743. (552) Frank Shiller and Max Courtney, interviews with author.
744. (553) Lou Kilzer and Kevin Flynn, "Were Feds Warned Before OKC
Bomb Built?" Rocky Mountain News, 2/6/97.
746. (555) Padilla and Delpit, Op Cit., p. 209; David Johnson, "Agents in
Kansas Hunt for Bomb Factory as Sense of Frustration Begins to Build,"
New York Times, 4/30/95, quoted in Keith, p. 37.
751. (559) Whitehurst contended the problems in the FBI's lab had
been occurring since at least 1989.
752. (560) David Johnston and Andrew C. Revkin, "Report Finds FBI Lab
Slipping From Pinnacle of Crime Fighting," New York Times, 1/29/97.
755. (**) Whitehurst testified that he was told not to provide any
information or evidence, such as alternate theories to the urea-nitrate
theory, that could be used by the defense to challenge the prosecutors'
hypothesis of guilt in the World Trade Center case. (Ryan Ross,
"Blasting the FBI," Digital City Denver, 1997)
761. (566) Ryan Ross, "Blasting the FBI," Digital City Denver, 1997.
762. (567) Nolan Clay, "McVeigh Items Seized From Home, Brief Says,"
Daily Oklahoman, 6/11/96; U.S. v. McVeigh, testimony of Special Agent
Steven Burmeister.
563
763. (568) Karen Abbott, "Defense Says FBI Tainted Residue:
Evidence Questioned; British Expert Testifies; The Tables Turn Today,
Rocky Mountain News, 5/21/97. Burmeister said he photographed the
crystals before they disappeared.
765. (570) Ryan Ross, Digital City Denver, 1997. Reno would later
comment, "It is unfair, it is unreasonable, it is a lie to spread the poison
that the government was responsible at Waco for the murder of
innocents. That kind of language is unacceptable in a society that
values truth."
767. (*) McVeigh selected Oklahoma City for the fact that the agents
and the orders that came out of that building were responsible for the
tragedy at Waco, Fortier alleged at trial.
768. (572) The gun — a Ruger Mini-30 rifle, Serial No. 18957425 — was
actually purchased by Terry Nichols on November 10, 1993, from
Randy's Hunting and Sport in Bad Axe, Michigan.
775. (*) Hartzler's letter, Jones said in his brief, "indicates that the
Justice Department is still searching for John Doe No. 2 and may be
releasing disinformation to lessen public pressure to find [him]."
776. (579) Nolan Clay and John Parker, "John Doe 2 Still Sought, Letter:
Says Prosecutors Doubt Witnesses Mistaken," The Daily Oklahoman,
date unknown.
778. (581) Nolan Clay and Penny Owen, "'Wacky Theories' Unfair,
McVeigh Attorney Says," Daily Oklahoman,10/29/96. "We have an
obligation to investigate everything," Hartzler told a group of bombing
564
victims. "And if we find some rumor or whatever it is, it makes it
into an FBI report."
779. (582) John Gibson, interview with Charles Key and V.Z. Lawton,
MSNBC, 4/25/97; V.Z. Lawton, interviews with author.
781. (*) The federal prosecutors' lame excuse for confining the
evidence to McVeigh and Nichols was to maintain a "deadline" set by
federal guidelines on providing speedy trials.
783. (585) Jon Rappaport is the author of The Oklahoma Bombing: The
Suppressed Truth (Santa Monica: Blue Press, 1995).
785. (587) J.D. Cash, "New Investigation Into Oklahoma City Bombing
Demanded," Jubilee, Nov/Dec, 1995. In the Whitewater affair, a special
federal judge panel, by statute, appointed an Independent Counsel,
Kenneth Starr, supposed to be separate and apart from the Justice
Department. Under the law, this was supposed to assure the public
that there would be an "independent" investigation of possible high-
level criminality, not a white-wash. Miguel Rodriguez was reportedly
blocked by Starr and others from probing and calling independent
witnesses, not necessarily FBI nor forensic experts beholden to a
political agenda. All this, in respect to suspicions that White House
deputy counsel Vincent Foster, jr. was not really a suicide but
murdered. "Whitewater And The 'Runaway' Federal Grand Jury",
Sherman H. Skolnick. Conspiracy Nation, Vol. 5, No. 30.
786. (*) It seemed that the John Doe 2 lead was officially dropped in
early May. An FBI memo regarding a John Doe 2 lead instructs all FBI
offices: "In view of the fact that the Oklahoma Command Post has
directed all offices to hold unsub #2 leads in abeyance, San Francisco
will conduct no further investigation regarding this lead." (174A-OC-
56120 TPR:tpr, investigation was conducted by Special Agent (SA)
Thomas P. Ravenelle regarding Richard Dehart, DOB 6/21/65, as a
Phoenix resident and a possible look- alike for unsub #2, dated 5/3/95.)
793. (593) Linda Kuhlman and Phyliss Kingsley, interviews with author.
794. (594) Connie Hood, interview by Glenn Wilburn and J.D. Cash;
Keith, Op Cit., p. 147.
798. (598) Kevin Flynn, "Guard saw 2nd truck at building: Story Mirrors
Bombing Trial Witness' Account of Blast Day," Rocky Mountain News,
5/24/97.
800. (600) Brian Ford, "McVeigh Placed at Kansas Store," Tulsa World,
9/12/97.
802. (*) This is the same thing that Brian Marshall, the Johnny's Tire
Store employee, said.
804. (602) Mark Eddy, "Witnesses Tell a Different Story," Denver Post,
6/16/96.
809. (607) "FBI Searching for Third Man in Oklahoma City Bombing,"
CNN, 3/10/97.
812. (*) As the Legal Times noted: "Within hours of landing, [Deputy A.
G. Merrick] Garland was hit by a barrage of legal concerns.… In
subsequent days, Garland met with Oklahoma County District Attorney
Robert Macy, gently notifying him of the Justice Department's desire
not to have a local investigation going on simultaneously."
814. (*) The Brady Rule and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure
16(a)(1)(C) provides: "Upon request of the defendant the government
shall permit the defendant to inspect and copy and photograph, books,
papers, documents, photographs… which are within the possession,
custody or control of the government, and which are material to the
preparation of the defendant's defense.…"
817. (612) J.D. Cash and Jeff Holladay, "Day of Blast 'an Amazing
Coincidence,'" McCurtain Gazette, 12/1/95.
819. (*) Judge Matsch was not impressed with this evidence. He
commented during trial that there must be half a million blue GMC
pick-ups with camper tops.
822. (616) Ken Armstrong, No Amatuer Did This (Aptos, CA: Blackeye
Press, 1997).
823. (*) The assertion was that McVeigh was demonstrating how to
make a "shaped charge," which would have been impossible to make
using 55-gallon barrels of ANFO.
825. (*) In fact, Fortier was very intent during testimony on impressing
upon the jury that the guns from the Moore "robbery" were stolen,
saying in response to Jones' cross-examination: "No, no! I'm convinced
those guns were stolen!" As J.D. Cash observed, Fortier's successful
plea-bargain was partly dependent on carrying that fact forward.
827. (*) Even Judge Matsch was forced to tell the jury: "You should bear
in mind that a witness who has entered into such an agreement has an
interest in this case different from any ordinary witness. A witness who
realizes that he may be able to obtain his own freedom or receive a
lighter sentence by giving testimony favorable to the prosecution has a
motive to testify falsely. Therefore, you must examine his testimony
with caution and weigh it with great care."
828. (619) The Fifth Estate, Fall, 1996, Vol. 31, #2.
831. (622) "Nichols' Wife Says She Didn't Understand FBI Consent
Form," CNN, 6/28/96
834. (*) Most noticeably the Tulsa World, which earned the knick-name,
The Tulsa Pravda." The Daily Oklahoman has been called the "Daily
Joke-la-homan" by locals.
836. († Keating told Gary Harper during one of his weekly citizen chat
sessions that Key was sleeping with a judge's wife. Keating also
unsuccessfully tried to find a political candidate to run against the
popular 5-term Representative. As Portland Free Press publisher Ace
Hayes writes, "[Keating] is a pure devotee of Imperial State power and
his approach is, 'to hell with free speech, free thought or free
association.' He will protect the rich by attacking people no matter
what fine words he swears an oath to.…"
837. (625) Robby Trammel and Randy Ellis, "Call For Bomb
Investigation Debated," Daily Oklahoman, 6/29/95.
838. (626) As we argued when Key first set out on this course, the
Legislature and its staff had no business investigating the bombing. It
was, and is, poorly equipped to do so. The same can be said of a panel
of local citizens who would be asked to investigate one of the most
complicated cases ever to come before the courts. Yet as The New
American pointed out, state legislatures are regularly tasked on
important and sensitive investigations. And the County Grand jury? Is
that not "a panel of local citizens," the same as the Federal Grand jury
that originally "investigated" the bombing?
840. (627) Nolan Clay and Penny Owen, "'Wacky Theories' Unfair,
McVeigh Attorney Says," Daily Oklahoman,10/29/96.
569
841. (*) Shortly after Key and Wilburn drew up their petition to
impanel the grand jury, a bill was introduced in the State Legislature to
change the grand jury petitioning process.
843. (629) Even Palmer admitted that the statutes were limited as to
what Judge Owens could do or how he could interpret the law.
844. (*) The County didn't possess the resources and funds, Palmer
replied, to pursue such a big case. Besides, she pleaded, the
"investigation" was already "complete," being a "thorough
investigation" from "several different federal agencies."( Palmer
claimed a County Grand Jury would "jeopardize the Federal case." The
federal gag order prevents interviewing prospective witnesses, she
claimed. Sanford countered that there would be no interference with
the federal case as long as they were interviewing witnesses and
suspects that federal prosecutors ignored, which seem to be in
abundance.
848. (633) Diana Baldwin and Judy Kuhlman, "Court Filings Stop
Bombing Testimony of Postal Worker," Daily Oklahoman, 9/9/97.
850. (635) Interview with Jayna Davis. Macy's Assistant DAs who
handled that case were John Farely and Jane Brown.
852. (**) "They're coming up with a substitute for proof," said Denver
defense attorney Larry Pozner. "They're softening the jury up with
emotional testimony about the bombing and McVeigh's politics. They're
saying, 'We'll give you every reason in the world to hate Tim McVeigh.'"
(Kevin Flynn, "Softening the Jury," Rocky Mountain News, 5/8/97.)
853. (637) "The CIA & The Media," Rolling Stone, 10/20/77, cited in
Mark Zepezauer, The CIA's Greatest Hits, 1994.
854. (638) Mark Sanford, interview with author; William Jasper, "OKC
Investigator Under Attack, " New American, 6/23/97.
570
855. (639) Brian Ford, "Fund-Rasing Probed: Jury Looks into Efforts
of Rep. Charles Key," Tulsa World, 5/6/97.
862. (*) The building was demolished because officials claimed it was
an eyesore, an errie reminder of that tragic day. Yet authorities made
no effort to remove the charred, twisted, gutted remains of the
Athenian Restaurant directly across the street, which to this day still
stands as a shocking monument to the brutality of the bombing.
864. (*) Smith complained that when she appears on local radio shows,
it seems to her that "more people around here now hate me than like
me... People that don't want to think that the government would do
such a thing."
866. (644) Kathy Wilburn and Edye Smith, interview with author.
867. (645) "Tested by Fire," People magazine, date unknown, quoted in,
Gene Wheaton, "Another Bush Boy," Portland Free Press, July 1995.
Keating stated, "The leftists I dealt with would never consider
571
themselves patriots, and they had contempt for the government.
The right-wing crowd has contempt for the government, and yet see
themselves as patriots. It's a curious anomaly, but both of them are
very similar."
869. (*) Keating also presided over the federal prison system. His wife,
Cathy, is a consultant to U.S. News & World Report, a magazine that
often serves as an organ of black propaganda.
870. (646) Gene Wheaton, "Another Bush Boy," Portland Free Press,
July 1995.
874. (**) In fact, Wheaton suggested that Keating is being groomed for
the 2000 presidential [or vice-presidential] candidacy.
875. († The same reason for demolishing the Federal Building was
given for demolishing the buildings at Waco: "Safety concerns." Yet the
Waco buildings were miles from anywhere. Furthermore, an architect
who inspected the Federal Building soon after the bombing said there
was no immediate danger. But, according to David Hall, owner of KPOC-
TV in Ponca City, Oklahoma, this architect was later "persuaded" to
change his opinion.
882. (*) In fact, many times that I have spoken to Heidelberg, I could
hear the distinctive clicks of a tapped phone.
883. (**) "They sent another team out on October 20," added
Heidelberg. "Agents Marry Judd and Dave Swanson. "They said 'do you
know how much trouble you're in?', and I said 'well, apparently not,'
and I just laughed at them like I'm laughing now (bursts out laughing).
And they don't know what the hell to do with that. What do you do with
a guy that just laughs at you?"
886. (*) Jim Garrison, On the Trail of the Assassins (Warner Books,
1988), p.252. In 1993, shortly before Vince Foster's body was found at
Fort Marcy Park, Patrick Knowlton saw a car with a suspicious looking
character. He informed the FBI, but later complained that the their
rendering of his testimony was inaccurate. After he was subpoenaed by
Kenneth Starr's Whitewater committee, he was stalked and intimidated
by cars with license plates registered to the U.S. government.
890. (660) Sharon Cohen, Associated Press, 4/26/95; Brian Duffy, "The
Manhunt: Twisting Trail," U.S. News & World Report, 5/8/95.
897. (665) Ryan Ross, "Final Witness Before Explosion — Two Men in
Truck, Neither was McVeigh?" Digital City Denver News, 5/23/97; Adrian
Croft, "Oklahoma City Bombing Trial Takes Dramatic Twist," Reuter,
5/23/97.
900. (*) Heath called the agent's supervisor and complained, then,
when he asked how he could fill out a Freedom of Information Act
request to see what the FBI had said about him, was told they didn't
know where he could get one. When he went to the FBI office, he was
rebuffed once again. After he finally got the FOIA filled out, he received
word 60 days later that his request was denied.
902. (669) David Keen and Connie Hood, interview by J.D. Cash, tape
transcribed by author.
903. (*) This was originally reported on the major networks, then
retracted as a "radar anomaly."
910. (676) "Report: Pilot Saw Projectile Near Jet," Associated Press,
7/29/97.
915. (*) Lt. Comdr. Rob Newell, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon,
said the Navy's only aircraft in the area was a P-3 Orion anti-submarine
plane, which does not carry missiles.
916. (681) Letter to David Hendrix, Riverside, CA, Press Enterprise from
CINCLANTFLT (Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet), Public Affairs office,
8/30/96, quoted in Roberts, Op Cit., p. 324-25.
917. (682) Pat Milton, "Salinger Sticks By Missile Theory While Feds
Shoot It Down," Associated Press, 11/9/96.
919. (684) Bo Gritz, Center For Action Monthly Newsletter ,Vol. 6 No 11,
June, 1997.
921. (686) Ronald W. Lewis, "Uncivil Air War" (The Shootdown of TWA
Flight 800)," Air Forces Monthly, No. 104, November 1996, quoted in
S.A.F.A.N. Internet Newsletter, No. 213, 12/21/96.
922. (*) Another story that circulated among the press for a time
reported that the DEA, along with Customs, the National Guard, and
the Coast Guard, were practicing how to shoot down drug-smuggling
planes with SAMs (surface-to-air missiles). The P-3's job was to drop
575
white phosphorous flares, called Willie Peters, to use as targets.
According to some reports, the C-130 was seen dropping white
phosphorous parachute flares before TWA 800 went down. If this is
true, were the flares being dropped as part of a target exercise for
heat-seeking missiles? Or had C-130 been alerted to a possible missile
threat and dropped flares to divert missiles from targeting it and other
aircraft in the area?
927. (691) Michael D. Towle, "Missile Unlikely, but not Ruled Out in
Crash," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/20/96.
928. (692) "U.S. Worries Over Missiles it Gave Afghan Rebels: U.S.
Concerned that Stinger Anti-aircraft Missiles Could Get into the Wrong
Hands," New York Times, 4/27/92; "As Afghan War Funding Dries Up,
Weapons Flood Pakistani Market," Christian Science Monitor, 1/8/92;
"Afghan Rebel Bars Return of U.S. Stingers" (Islamic Party of Yunis
Khalis), New York Times, 3/14/89; numerous other articles reported
this.
930. (694) In the late 1970s, two Rhodesian airliners were reportedly
shot down by Russian SA-7s. In 1986, a Sudan Airways jet was shot
down by a SAM. And in September of 1993, Abkhazian separatists of
the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia shot down three Tu-134 and Tu-154
airliners using shoulder-fired SAMs from boats out on the Black Sea.
The FBI was advised that small missiles such as the Russian SA-14
Gremlin, SA-16 Gimlet and SA-18 Grouse, are equipped with
"proportional convergence logic" systems sensitive enough to home in
on airframe radiation once it nears its target.
576
931. (695) Towle, Op Cit.
940. (*) According to Rivera, the recalcitrant police officer was forced
into making a public service announcement with Governor Keating. "He
was told he'd make that or he was fired," said Rivera. The officer they
sent to Washington to accept an award on behalf of the OCPD, he told
Rivera, wasn't even at the site!
941. (*) Yeakey was also angry because he couldn't get access to his
own report about the bombing (which numbered between 9-10 pages).
"He was in a full-fledged rampage over the report," said Rivera, whom
he wouldn't even show it to.
948. (707) The harassment and surveillance on Rivera and the rest of
the family was confirmed by Vicki Jones, and her husband, Reverend
Glenn Jones. Reverend Jones told me that Rivera had come to them
several times "frantic" that she was being tailed and harassed. Vicki
saw evidence of the break-ins at Rivera's apartment.
949. (708) Taylor recalled the incident for this author. "There's only a
few times in my life that I remember that somebody had done
something weird like that, and that's why I wrote it down."
950. (709) Tonia-Rivera Yeakey, interview with author. They had at one
time been friends, she explained, but had a falling-out in 1992, and
had remained apart ever since. Rivera attempted to hire an attorney to
bring a Slander suit against Jim Ramsey, based on the false allegations
of his death. No local attorney would accept it.
955. (*) This funeral home, curiously enough, has been mixed up in
some rather strange incidents.
957. (715) The author knows the name of this individual, but cannot
release it at this time.
963. (721) John De Camp, The Franklin Cover-Up; FAA report, copy in
author's possession.
964. (722) Medical Examiner's report, 8/5/97, by Dr. Fred Jordan, copy
in author's possession.
969. (725) Al Martin on the Tom Valentine show, date unknown. The
author has interviewed Martin extensively.
970. (726) Craig Roberts and John Armstrong, JFK: The Dead Witnesses
(Tulsa, Oklahoma: Consolidated Press Int'l, 1995), pp. iii-vii, 173-76.
972. (*) The only mainstream media who have made some effort to
report the truth have been CNN, the Dallas Morning News, the Denver
Post, FOX News, and ABC 20/20. Unfortunately, the information 20/20
presented only covered limited aspects of prior knowledge by the
government. KFOR, the only station that has covered the Middle
Eastern connection, ceased their reporting when they were bought out
by the New York Times Broadcasting Company.
973. (*) Potts was later taken off the case due to the heat from the
Ruby Ridge incident.
974. (*) As a sideline, the FBI and DOJ occasionally arrest and
prosecute real criminals.
579
975. (728) Rael Jean Isaac, "Abusive Justice: Janet Reno's Dirty
Secret," National Review, 6/30/97.
976. (*) In 1984, Reno prosecuted Grant Snowden, Miami's 1983 Police
Officer of the Year, whose wife ran a day-care center. Snowden had
threatened to report a father whose son showed up with bruises. The
man retaliated by accusing Snowden of the abuse. The case was finally
dropped when the psychiatrist examining the boy revealed that the
father had coerced the child into perjury. Reno pervservered, however,
bringing in two self-styled child-abuse experts — Joseph and Laurie
Braga — to elicit the required testimony from the latest victim that
Reno's office had turned up. Snowden was acquitted. Making good on
her promise to try Snowden one child at a time until there was a
conviction, Reno pushed ahead. While the latest child was not even
able to identify Snowden in court, the judge allowed the testimony
from the previous two children (eventhough Snowden was found to be
innocent), excluded testimony of Snowden's flawless record, and
sentenced him to secure five consecutive life sentences.( These cases,
although highly manipulated by government prosecutors, should not
be taken as an inference that child-abuse, including ritual child abuse,
does not occur, as some media pundits have tried to suggest.
977. (**) Reno had previously displayed her concern for children when
several days earlier, two men who had driven all day and all night from
Indiana to bring baby food to the children at Waco were arrested.
980. (*) As the Congressional committee probing the Inslaw affair later
wrote: "The enhanced PROMIS software was stolen by high level Justice
officials and distributed internationally in order to provide financial gain
to Dr. Brian and to further intelligence and foreign policy objectives of
the United States."
981. (730) Ratiner was then paid $120,000 over the next five years on
the condition that he not practice law during that time. Former Mossad
agent Ari Ben-Menashe claimed he personally saw a cable from Israel's
Joint Committee to the U.S., requesting that $600,000 be transferred
from the CIA-Israeli slush fund to Hadron to pay Rariner. Former
National Security Advisor Robert "Bud" McFarlane had sold PROMIS to
the Israelis.
580
982. (731) Rodney Stich, Defrauding America (Alamo, CA: Diablo
Western Press, 1994), pp. 371-97.
983. (732) Barron's, 3/21/88. As Judge Bason wrote, "I have come to
believe that my non-reappointement as bankruptcy judge was the
result of improper influence from within the Justice Department which
the current appointment process failed to prevent."
985. (*) Ibid., pp. 394-95. Sherman Skolnick and Mark Sato of Chicago's
Citizens Committee to Clean Up the Courts filed a lawsuit against Bua
and Knight, charging them with obstruction of Justice. They informed
Bua that they were going to circumvent the special prosecutor and
present evidence to the grand jury themselves. Bua replied that he
would hold them in contempt. "I do not intend to prosecute anyone,"
he told them.
986. (*) Those within the DOJ who had an interest in covering up
Casolaro's death were quick to point out that the investigative reporter
suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, and was therefore despondent.
Interestingly, Hartzler also suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. In his letter
to Dwire, he adds: "The more the implicit connection between Mr.
Casolaro's Multiple Sclerosis and his suicide may create too dire a
picture of Multiple Sclerosis. That linkage invites readers to cluck with
pity and nod knowingly about the presumably devastating effect of
Multiple Sclerosis.… I trust that if Ms. Reno, Ms. Gorlick and Mr. Smith
are not already familiar with MS, you will offer them this note of
balance and assure them that Multiple Sclerosis flourishes even in the
Justice Department and expects no pity."
987. (734) Robert Schmidt, "Low Key, High Pressure," Legal Times,
9/2/96.
988. (*) Leighton was the secret attorney for Lee Harvey Oswald.
993. (*) It has also been speculated that Richardson was the Assistant
U.S. Attorney who was providing information to Tonia Rivera-Yeakey
about the murder of her ex-husband, through an intermediary.
According to Richardson's brother Dan, Ted had a stable, loving
relationship with his wife, Julie, and adored his children. Dan told me
581
his brother had no reason to commit suicide. He was allegedly
suffering from "work pressure."
999. (*) "My thought was that it was our government," said Carone. "I
honestly believe that." According to one account of the conversation,
Shackley was elated.
1004. (746) Administration officials who discussed these deals said Al-
Kassar had clear business links with Abu Nidal's organization, Los
Angeles Times, 7/17/87.
1005. (**) These were the same hostages that sparked the Iran-Contra
arms-for-drugs scandal.
1011. (*) This also raises the issue of whether Abraham Ahmed, who
was released from custody after his mysteriously-timed departure from
the U.S. after the Oklahoma City bombing, was an operative of the U.S.
Government.
1015. (**) Aviv believes the original target of the attack was American
Airlines. When a Mossad agent tipped off the airline, the target was
switched to Pan Am.
1016. (*) Also aboard flight 103 was Bernt Carlsson, the Swedish UN
diplomat who had just completed negotiating the Namibian
independence agreement with South Africa. He was due in New York
the next day to sign the agreement.
1019. (*) This assertion was backed up by NBC News when it reported,
on October 30, l990, that the DEA was investigating a Middle East
based heroin operation to determine whether it was used by the
terrorists to place a bomb on the flight 103. Naturally, the DEA denied
any connection to the sting operation (Barron's, 12/17/90). Original
quote, Francovich, Op Cit.
1022. († The fact that the team was onboard made it, in the words of
PBS Frontline, "a strong secondary target." The fact that the team was
onboard made it, in the words of PBS Frontline, "a strong secondary
target."
1026. (755) J.D. Reed, "Wednesday, April 19, 1995: A Black Day for All
of Us," Workin' Interest, Vol. 96, Issue No. 3.
1031. (760) The Jaffar clan had been at the center of the opium
production in the Bekka Valley for years.
1032. (761) "Files Before Victims," New York Daily News, 5/1/95.
1034. (*) While Sheriff Deputy Melvin Sumtner told me he had found
the axle, an Oklahoma City Policeman, Mike McPherson, claimed that
he had in fact discovered it, as did an FBI agent. These three accounts
were contradicted by Governor Frank Keating, who claimed that he had
actually found the axle.
1036. (*) Interestingly, some of these same players worked with CIA
Director Bill Casey and Vice President George Bush to build Iraq (whose
president, Saddam Hussein, Bush called "worse than Hitler") into a
major military power. This policy perfectly illustrated the Reagan/Bush
administration's propensity to cuddle up to whatever dictator or
terrorist was in favor at the time.
1037. (*) Yet they were still left with the problem of proving how the
microchip had been traced to Al-Megrahi and Fhima. The FBI claimed it
had traced the chip to Mebo, a Swiss manufacturing firm in Zurich run
586
by Edwin Bollier. Agents showed Bollier a photograph of the chip,
and asked if it was from their MST-13 O-series. "I immediately
recognized from the photo that the fragment found in Lockerbie was
without a doubt from a timer that we ourselves had made," stated
Bollier.Yet they still hadn't proven is how the timer had come to be in
the possession of Fhima and al-Megrahi. Stasi (East German secret
police) files showed that Bollier had not only sold timers to the Libyans,
but to the Palestinians, the Red Army Faction, and Arabs in both
Germanies. The Stasi concluded that Bollier was a triple agent,
probably working for the CIA as well, since he seemed to easily be able
to get very special American equipment for them.Yet when Bollier
asked the FBI to see the actual fragment, they said they didn't have it;
the Scottish police had it. When Bollier approached the Scottish police,
they refused to show it to him. Nor was he was given a satisfactory
explanation of how either the FBI or the Scotts managed to trace it to
the Libyans.
1038. (*) Ollie North served on the planning committee that selected
the targets for the Libyan raid.
1039. (*) When the new allegations were first made public, Libya
formally offered to submit the matter to the International Court of
Justice, or to an international arbitration tribunal. Their plea falling on
deaf ears, Libya finally invoked Article 14 of the Montreal Sabotage
Convention, which states that in the event of a dispute over the
interpretation or application of the convention that cannot be resolved
by means of negotiation, any party has the right to submit the matter
to an international arbitration tribunal. All of the offers were just
rejected unilaterally and summarily by the U.S. and the U.K., which
subsequently rammed a UN Security Council resolution through that
was highly critical of Libya.
1040. (*) U.S. officials also tried to blame the murder of three IBEX
executives in August of 1976 on "Libyan-trained Islamic Marxist
guerrillas."
1041. (763) Jeffrey Steinberg, "CIA Man: Iran, Syria Bombed Pan Am
103," The New Federalist, 7/2/93.
1042. (*) U.S. Attorney General Robert Mueller told the public, "We
have no evidence to implicate another country (other than Libya) in
this disaster." Gene Wheaton described it as "OPSEC" (operation
security), providing layers of deniability and disinformation, false leads
and stories.
1043. (764) In August l991, Larry Cohler, a writer for the Washington
Jewish Week, reported on a set of secret negotiations which took place
between Syria and the U.S. over the release of the hostages and which
led to a number of covert trips by Bush to Damascus; Regarding the
587
announcement of the Libyan theory, see: New York Times, 11/15/91;
Time, 4/27/92.
1045. (766) This wasn't difficult, as the McKee team (via Gannon) had
made its travel arrangements through the DEA's travel agent in
Nicosia.
1047. (*) One person familiar with the case believes it was Shackley
himself.
1053. (770) Dave Hogan, "If He'd Been at Work… Former Portlander
Says," Portland Oregonian, 4/20/95.
1061. (778) KFOR, Jayna Davis reporting, 11/21/96; WNBC Extra, Brad
Goode reporting, 3/19/97.
1062. (779) J.D. Reed, "Wednesday, April 19, 1995: A Black Day for All
of Us," Workin' Interest, Vol. 96, Issue No. 3.
1065. (782) "Indictment: Inside the Oklahoma City Grand Jury, The
Hoppy Heidelberg Story," Equilibrium Entertainment, 1996.
1067. (783) V.Z. Lawton, interview with author; "Diana Baldwin and
Judy Kuhlman, "Elevator Accounts Questioned — Inspector Talks of
Bomb's Effect," Daily Oklaho;man, 7/16/97.
1069. (785) "Since his story was made public, Shaw said he and his
wife have taken a lot of flak over it, and it has created a hardship for
them. 'There's us that knows the truth and those who hate us. The
ones that hate us are the ones trying to cover it up,' Shaw said."
("Some Witnesses Leery Of Bombing Grand Jury," Daily Oklahoman,
8/10/97.)
1072. (*) The author confirmed the story with Oscar Johnson, owner of
the elevator company. According to Johnson, the freight elevator's
doors were blown outward. If the sole blast had come from outside the
building, how could this be?
1077. (792) Gordon would not return the author's calls. The interview
conducted by the other reporter was early on, before the cover-up got
into high gear.
1079. (794) Rick Sherrow, interview with author; Don Webb, interview
with author.
1083. (*) In kind of a bizarre twist to the story, they said that at one
point one of the men rolled a hoop across the road to the team on the
other side. A witness who saw the black-garbed team operating hoops
by the Murrah building called the FBI's special 800 number to report
what he saw. Afterwards he began noticing that his phone clicked
constantly, and a mysterious black car began appearing outside his
house. By the time State Representative Key and I drove to Dallas to
interview him, he was too afraid to talk, and we had to get the
information through a friend.
1087. (800) J.D. Cash, "Agents Probe OKC Bombing Links To Bank
Robberies," McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/16/96.
1094. (806) David Hall, interview with author; Rick Sherrow, interview
with author.
1095. (*) Luke Franey claimed at McVeigh's trial that the only sting
they were working on involved a narcotics case with the Norman Police
Department. Yet Norman Police Chief Phil Cotten could give me no
details of that operation, nor could anyone there remember any
specifics as to which ATF agents were working on that case. Cotten
said most of the officers had retired.
1097. (*) Franey claims that agent Darrell Edwards was at home,
talking on the phone to Franey. Bruce Anderson was on his way to a
compliance inspection, and agent Mark Michalic, who had worked late
with Franey the night before, was on his way to the office.
1104. (*) Notice how the caller depicts McVeigh as the sole target of
the sting, and attempts to distance himself from the operation by
talking of it in the third tense.
1106. (*) Recall that Sheriff's Deputies Don Hammons and David
Kachendofer signed sworn affidavits that Rep. Istook told them of the
government's prior knowledge of the attack. Istook told bombing
investigator Pat Briley that he was very close to the FBI's investigation
of the bombing, and made it his business to know the details. "There is
nothing you can tell me and the FBI about the bombing that we don't
already know," Istook said.
1107. (815) Bill Jasper, The New American; The author also heard one
of the Cancemi tapes, but with a slightly different account.
1112. (819) Jim Dwyer, David Kocieniewshi, Deidre Murphy, and Peg
Tyre, Two Seconds Under the World, 1994, quoted in William Jasper,
"Evidence of Prior Knowledge," New American, 5/13/96.
592
1113. (820) J.D. Cash, "The Rev. Robert Millar Identified As FBI
Informant," McCurtain Daily Gazette, 7/1/97.
1114. (*) Craig Roberts, a 20-year Tulsa police officer, concurrs: "[The
Tulsa ATF office] did surveillance, took photos, used informants (Howe)
and yet no matter what they did, they couldn't get any cooperation out
of D.C. They knew something was wrong, but couldn't get a handle on
it. I think it's because Strassmeir was working as an infiltrator at the
D.C. level, and they were protecting him without tipping off the local
office — which they obviously didn't trust to keep a secret from the
local police. This in not unusual. In fact, the field agents with the ATF
and FBI often do not get along well with the D.C. officials — and
vice/versa."
1117. (823) In fact, the Pepsi bottling plant in Marseilles was used as a
cover for heroin production.
1118. (*) General John Singlaub, a former OSS agent, has the
distinction of being the first U.S. officer to pay his indigenous personnel
at Kinming, China with five pound bags of opium. Ray Cline (Iran-
Contra) was a member of Singlaub's team at the time. (Wall Street
Journal, 4/18/80)
1119. (*) After the Contra torture manual scandal, McFarlane was fired,
then kicked upstairs to the NSC to become Armitage's Deputy. Among
those who participated in the original to plan "privatize" the Contra
operation were: Gen. John Singlaub (Ret.), Andrew Messing, then of the
Conservative Caucus, Ted Shackley, Harry (Heinie) Aderholt, Edward
Luttwak, Gen. Edward Lansdale (Ret.), Seal Doss, and Col. John
Waghelstein, former head of the U.S. military groups in El Salvador.
1120. (824) Andrew Eiva, former Green Beret, part of lobby effort for
Mujahadeen, interview with author; Christic, Op Cit. Reagan's March,
1981 decision was formalized in November as National Security
Decision Directive 17, and hidden from Congress.
1126. (829) Jack Colhoun, "The Family That Preys Together," Covert
Action Quarterly, date unknown. President Bush later appointed former
Florida Governor Bob Martinez as head of the U.S. Office of National
Drug Control Policy. Martinez had accepted campaign donations from
drug trafficker Leonel Martinez (no relation). Bush's son Jeb also had
links with the Contra drug supply line through Leonel Martinez; In
November 1984, two years after Reagan announced his "bold,
confident plan" promising to "be on the tail" of drug traffickers, cocaine
imports had jumped 50 percent and heroin was more plentiful than at
any other time since the late 1970s. An estimated 63 tons of cocaine
glutted the U.S. market in 1984. (James Mills, The Underground Empire,
p.1125.)
1127. (830) Dennis Bernstein and Robert Knight, "DEA Agent's Decade
Long Battle To Expose CIA-Contra-Crack Story," Pacific News Service,
10/96; "Will Whitewash Of CIA-Cocaine Connection Continue?
Revelations Of CIA's Connection To Crack Shouldn't Come As A
Surprise," The Birmingham News, 9/29/96. "Richard Gregorie, one of
the country's top narcotics prosecutors in Miami… had aggressively
pursued big-time cocaine bosses and drug-corrupted officials in and
out of the United States. But as he began going up the drug-business
chain of command, he targeted foreign officials friendly with the U.S.
government, and the State Department started interfering with his
investigations, telling him to stay away from certain sensitive areas.
Gregorie's operations were subsequently stopped at the request of the
State Department and he quit in protest." -Project Censored, 1989. NSC
memos discovered during the Iran-Contra investigation revealed that
Bush's NSC advisor Donald Gregg was aware early on of Contra
involvement in the drug trade. Could ex-CIA chief George Bush, at that
point Vice President and Drug Czar, be unaware of such goings-on
when his reporting subordinate was quite aware of Contra involvement
in the drug trade?
1134. (**) In fact, Nugan Hand rented adjoining offices with the DEA in
its Chiang Mai, Thailand branch, even sharing the same secretary! The
overall operation resulted in the huge heroin epidemic that swept the
country in the late 1960s and '70s, not to mention the U.S. troops in
Vietnam who became addicts.
1146. (839) Maas, p. 286. The C-4 came from J.S. Brower & Associates.
1151. (*) Dewy Clarridge and Oliver North were in charge of the harbor
mining operation. Moore's friend Don Aranow, owner of Magnum
Marina, which had the original contract to build the boats, gave the
contract to Moore. Aranow was killed one day before he was to testify
at the Iran-Contra hearings.
1152. (**) My source told me that Moore's FBI contact was Tom Ross
out of Hot Springs, Arkansas, one of Ollie North's "damage control"
men. "
1163. (*) This is not surprising, as it has been alleged by former CIA
agents that Bush allowed the Agency to use his off-shore oil drilling
company, Zapata Oil, as a front for numerous CIA operations, including
the Bay of Pigs invasion.
1166. (851) Mary Ann Weaver, "Blowback," The Atlantic Monthly, May,
1996.
1167. (*) Recall that another one of the CIA's "valuable assets," Mir
Aimal Kansi, opened fire with an AK-47 outside of CIA headquarters in
January, 1993, killing two Agency employees. Like World Trade Center
bomber Ramzi Yousef, he fled to Pakistan.
1170. (853) Peter Waldman and Frances A. McMorris, "The Other Trial:
As Sheik Omar Case Nears End, Neither Side Looks Like a Winner," Wall
Street Journal, 9/22/95.
1173. (*) Not only was Rowe never prosecuted, the FBI paid his medical
bills and gave him a $125 bonus for "services rendered."
1178. (*) Using such individuals would also prove far easier than
attempting to recruit American operatives, even hardened killers. The
potential recruits willing to kill American men, women and children
would be far more numerous among foreigners with a vendetta against
the U.S.
1180. (*) Kansi's original target was believed to have been CIA Director
Robert Gates.
1187. (**) Also recall that on the same day or the following Monday, VA
employees Dennis Jackson and Craig Freeman saw a suspicious group
of Arabs inside the building after hours. One of them closely matched
the description of the suspect seen with "McVeigh" by Phyliss Kingsley
at the Hi-Way Grill that Sunday. They exited, said Freeman, towards the
underground parking garage.
1190. (*) How interesting that McVeigh and his co-conspirator would be
loitering around the scene of such a heinous crime, right next to his
readily identifiable yellow Mercury.
1192. (**) When Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane was discovered
and shot down over Soviet air space, he failed to pull the destruct ring.
Powers suspected that the CIA had it hooked to a zero-delay fuse — so
he bailed out without activating the self-destruct. Unfortunately, he
had a fatal helicopter crash the week before he was supposed to testify
before the House Select Assassination Committee.
1193. (*) It has been well-documented that the FBI and ATF illegaly
leveled the crime scene at Waco, which was supposed to be under the
jurisdiction of Texas Rangers; destroying evidence that ATF helicopters
had indiscriminately fired into the roofs of the building at the beginning
of the raid killing several people; had fired at the front door well before
600
any shots had been fired in return, and had set explosive charges on
top of a concrete vault in which women and children were hiding to
escape the fire set. The front door (a metal door) which would have
proved the second allegation was later found to be mysteriously
"missing."
1194. (865) Tim Weiner, "Aging Shop of Horrors: The C.I.A. Limps to
50," New York Times, 7/20/97. As Milt Bearden, the Agency's last chief
of Soviet operations, said, "The collapse of our enemy ensured our own
demise." "We're a confused group, dying for stability," the Agency's
Inspector General, Fred Hitz, said in a May speech.
1198. (**) In much the same way as George Orwell's 1984 seems to be
coming to pass today.
1205. (*) As Report from Iron Mountain states: "War supplies the basis
for the general acceptance of political authority" which "has enabled
societies to maintain necessary class distinctions," and "ensured the
subordination of the citizen to the state…."
1207. (872) David P. Hamilton and Bill Spindle, "Tokyo's Threat Was Just
in Jest, But Some Call It a U.S. Backlash," The Wall Street Journal,
6/25/97. As the Journal noted: "offering to sell even a portion of that
amount would likely send the Treasury market into a free fall.…"
1208. (873) The majority of militia members are nonviolent and some
have assisted the bureau in its investigations, he said.
1213. (876) "The Truth Steps Out: End of Blind Trust in the Media,"
Relevance, April, 1997.
1215. (*) A recent Scripps Howard News Service and Scripps School of
Journalism poll of "conspiracy fears" revealed that 40% of Americans
think it is very likely or somewhat likely that the FBI deliberately set
the fires at Waco; 51% believe federal officials were responsible for the
Kennedy assassination; 52% believe that it is very or somewhat likely
that the CIA pushes drugs in the inner-cities; 39% believe it is very
likely the U.S. Navy accidentally or purposefully shot down TWA Flight
800. 80% believe that the military is withholding evidence of Iraqi use
of nerve gas or germ warfare during the Gulf War. Yet in the wake of
the Oklahoma City bombing, 58 percent of Americans surveyed by the
Los Angeles Times indicated they would trade some civil liberties if it
would help thwart terrorism. Another poll, taken after the bombing by
the Associated Press, revealed that 54 percent of Americans were
willing to trade off some of their rights to prevent more Oklahoma City-
style attacks. A poll taken during the Bush administration revealed that
60 percent of the population said that they would give up their rights
to win the drug war
1220. (**) The downing was suspiciously similar to the U.S. Air Force
plane carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown that crashed in Bosnia
on April 3, 1996, killing all 35 people. While the major news media
attributed the crash to foul weather, the Air Force investigation report
concluded that "the weather was not a substantially contributing factor
to this mishap." The pilot had nearly 3,000 flight hours, and the co-pilot
had even more. Five other planes had landed at the airport without
difficulty in the minutes before the crash, and none experienced
problems with the navigation beacons. The Air Force also skipped the
first step of its investigative process, known as a safety board, in which
all crashes are treated as suspicious, and went imediately to the
second phase, an accident investigation. Two military pathologists at
the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) — Air Force Lt. Col.
Steve Cogswell and Army Lt. Col. David Hause — were quoted in the
[Pittsburg] Tribune-Review as saying Brown suffered a head wound that
could have been caused by a gunshot. "Essentially… Brown had a .45-
inch inwardly beveling circular hole in the top of his head, which is
essentially the description of a .45-caliber gunshot wound," said
Cogswell. Cogswell said that the original X-ray of Brown's head showed
metal fragments in Brown's brain consistent with a disintegrating
bullet. Forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht concluded there was "more
than enough" evidence that Brown was assassinated. No autopsy was
conducted, and all of the original head X-rays of Brown are now
"missing" from Brown's case file. The sole survivor, stewardess Shelly
Kelly, who had only minor cuts and bruises, mysteriously bled to death
from a neat 3" incision above her femoral artery upon arrival at the
hospital (the official story was that she died of a broken neck). Brown's
law partner at Patton, Boggs and Blow died in a mysterious car wreck
within one hour of the crash. Three days later, Niko Jerkuic, the
maintenance chief at the Tulsa airport, who had guided the plane to its
fatal rendezvous, "committed suicide." Brown, who was under
investigation for bribery at the time [linked to the DNC and the Lippo
Group, in turn linked to President Clinton], reportedly possessed
sensitive information that could have implicated Clinton in a long list of
criminal acts, and had threatened to blow the whistle. Congresswoman
Maxine Waters and Kweisi Mfume, head of the NAACP, have called for
an investigation into the matter. (Christopher Ruddy and Hugh Sprunt,
"Questions linger about Ron Brown plane crash," 11/24/97; Christopher
604
Ruddy, "Experts differ on Ron Brown's head wound," Tribune-
Review, 12/3/97; "Ron Brown conspiracy protest today," UPI, 12/24/97.)
1221. (*) A conversation with former IRS investigator Bill Duncan (who,
along with Arkansas Highway Patrol investigator Russell Welch, first
uncovered the activities at Mena) shed little light on the matter.
Duncan said he was unaware of any files removed from Arkansas to
Oklahoma, although Duncan and Welch were under intense scrutiny for
their courageous efforts. (An attempt on Russell's life was later made
by poisoning him.) Curiously, long-time Washington correspondent
Sara McClendon reported that the CIA was also seen removing large
quanties of files from their offices on April 19.
1223. (**) Although FBI supervisor Larry Potts claimed there was one.
1228. (884) Gene Wheaton, "CIA: The Companies They Keep," Portland
Free Press, July-October, 1996.
1231. (886) William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,
1238. (893) The Bill appropriates $114 million dollars for the FBI for
fiscal year 1997 and $166 million for 1998. The White House, Press
Briefing By Under Secretary of the Treasury For Enforcement Ron
Noble, Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, and Deputy Assistant
to the President for Domestic Policy Bruce Reed, 4/26/95.
1239. (894) Ace R. Hayes, "G-Men Cop Plea on Ruby Ridge," Portland
Free Press, September/October, 1995. "The third sub-unit of this
division is the "Special Detail Unit" which is designated to keep Gen.
Reno from harm."
1246. (900) To obtain a copy of these hearings call (202) 224-3121 and
ask for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal
Justice, or call your Congressman.
1251. (*) It seems that President Clinton suspended the law restricting
the use of military force within U.S. borders in a little-known codicil of
PDD-25, a Presidential Decision Directive that is an "open secret" in the
military and Congress, but is largely unknown to the American citizens.
1252. (905) "The Pentagon Brings its Wars Home," Sources Ejournal,
Volume 2, Issue 1, January, 1997. Army Lt. Gen. J.H. Binford Peay points
out in an Army publication titled, Tomorrow's Missions, that "military
forces [today] are required to provide domestic national assistance,
such as internal peace-keeping and anti-drug operations and support of
civil authorities to maintain stability in a rapidly changing America."
1253. (906) Jonathan Volzke, "Urban Combat Training: Marines Hit the
Rooftops," Orange County Register, 3/19/93, quoted in Terry Cook, The
Mark of the New World Order (Springdale, PA, Whitacker House, 1996),
p. 81.
1254. (907) Major General Max Baratz, "New shape of Army Reserve
Supports New Missions," Army Reserve, Summer, 1994.
1255. (908) William F. Jasper, "Fact and Fiction: Sifting Reality from
Alarmist Rumors," New American, 10/31/94.
1256. (*) Now, with the Crime Bill, the FBI can be "deputized" in local
areas to enforce local laws upon demand by the FBI. In other words, if
the FBI wants to work locally and use state and local laws, they can
demand the local sheriff deputize them — then they are not
constrained by federal limitations.
1260. (*) Former Attorney William French Smith blocked the expansion
of FEMA's jurisdiction in 1984, but after Smith left office, North and his
FEMA cronies came up with the Defense Resource Act, designed to
suspended the First Amendment by imposing censorship and banning
strikes.
1263. (*) The Los Angeles riots resulted in 11,113 fires, 2,383 injuries,
and 54 deaths. There were 13,212 arrests. The damage was estimated
at $717 million.
1264. (913) "Police May Have Ignored Basic Riot Plan," New York Times,
5/7/92, quoted in Ibid.
1265. (914) "Riot Found Police in Disarray — Officers Kept from Flash
Point Despite Pleas," Los Angeles Times, 5/6/92, quoted in Constantine,
p. 33.
1268. (915) Parker and Bradley Clash at Riot Inquiry, Los Angeles
Times, 9/15/65, quoted in Ibid., pp. 65-66; Ibid., p. 53.
608
1269. (916) Ibid., p. 69. McCone testified before the Warren
Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald's connections to the Agency were
"minor."
1270. (917) "The Kent State Shootings," KPFK-FM, Los Angeles, 5/3/89,
quoted in Constantine, p. 25.
1273. (920) Ace R. Hayes, "G-Men Cop Plea on Ruby Ridge," Portland
Free Press, September/October, 1995.
1274. (921) Mark Riebling, Wedge: The Secret War Between the FBI
and CIA, p.429.
1275. (*) During the 1994 elections, House Judiciary Committee chair
Jack Brooks was overheard joking about the massacre: "Horrible
people. Despicable people. Burning to death was too good for them.
They'd like a slower method."
1276. (*) PBS Frontline did a piece in 1995 showing victims of torture
which occurred in one Chicago police district. It was claimed that
torture was often used on suspects in that district so as to obtain
confessions.
1278. (**) U.S. Army psychological warfare expert Lt. Col. Michael
Acquino, who wrote a manual on mind control for mass populations,
was fascinated by the Nazis and their relationship to the occult.
Acquino traveled to Weiselsburg Castle in Germany where Hitler and
Himmler performed their occult rituals in order to control their SS
puppets to slay the population.
1279. (*) Acquino is the leader of the Temple of Set. He was accused by
a Presidio Army Chaplain of molesting the Chaplain's 3-year-old
daughter, and was investigated by San Francisco police. The Army
buried the case, and my Freedom of Information Act requests went
unheeded. Acquino, his satanic powers apparently on the wan,
threatened to sue the author.
1281. (924) The New American, 3/18/96, Vol. 12, No. 6. Apparently,
Schumer felt that Militia hearings were more important than an
609
investigation of the murder of 82 innocent people by the Federal
Government at Waco. Fortunately, most of his fellow Congressmen did
not agree.
1284. (926) Frank Donner, The Age of Surveillance: The Aims and
Methods of America's Political Intelligence System, (New York, NY:
Vintage Books, 1981), quoted in Connolly, Op Cit.
1285. (*) Nichols had arranged a joint venture between Wackenhut and
the Cabazon reservation in Indio, California to manufacture
machineguns, night-vision goggles, fuel-air explosives, poison gas, and
biological weapons, some of which were illegally shipped to the
Contras. Wackenhut used the tribe's status as a sovereign nation to
evade the Boland Amendment prohibiting aid to Somoza's so-called
"freedom fighters.” Jimmy Hughes, Nichols' former Wackenhut
bodyguard, claims to be in possession of documentation linking
Cabazon operatives to a hit list of political targets, including Swedish
Prime Minister Olof Palme, murdered in 1986, reportedly for interfering
in a similar covert arms operation in his country, involving Israeli
intelligence agent Amiram Nir, and Cyrus Hashemi, both high-level
operatives in the Reagan/Bush arms-for-hostages-for-drugs network.(
(Thomas and Keith, Op Cit., pp. 28-34.)
1286. (927) Daniel Brandt, "Organized Crime Threatens the New World
Order," NameBase NewsLine, No. 8, January-March 1995.
1288. (928) Frank Greve, Matthew Purdy, and Mark Fazlollah, "Firm
Says U.S. Urged Covert Plots," Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/26/87, quoted in
Christic, Op Cit., and Rodney Stich, Defrauding America (Alamo, CA:
Diablo Western Press, 1994), p. 604. "Richard Meadows served for a
time as Peregrine's president. Charles Odorizzo and William Patton,
worked for the group. Peregrine's key contacts were retired Army Lt.
Gen. Samuel Wilson (former Director of the DIA) and Lt. Col. Wayne E.
Long, who as of April 1987 worked as a senior officer in the Foreign
Operations Group, which is a part of the Army's intelligence support
activity office."
1289. (929) Stich, Op Cit., p. 604; ANV had a contract with U.S. Military
Central Command, the influential connection coming through USMC
610
Major General Wesley Rice of the Pentagon Joint Special Operations
Agency. Rice was a close friend of Bush, Helms, and Shackley,
Wheaton, Op Cit.; Deposition of Sam Hall, 9/9/87, quoted in Christic,
Op Cit.
1291. (930) Gene Wheaton, "Secret Island Spy Base," Portland Free
Press, July-October, 1996. Wheaton and Hunt both claims that an ABC
news helicopter was shot down over the island in 1985, killing a female
reporter. The incident was covered up for reasons of "national security."
1294. (932) Luigi DiFonzo, St. Peter's Banker, (New York, NY: Franklin
Watts, 1983); NameBase NewsLine, No. 5, April-June 1994. According
to Conspiracy Nation publisher Brian Redman, Gelli attended Ronald
Reagan's inauguration and the accompanying ball in 1981; Mark
Aarons and John Loftons, Ratlines (London, Heinemann, 1991), p. 89,
quoted in Nexus, February/March, 1996.
1296. (934) "Staying Behind: NATO's Terror Network," Arm The Spirit,
October, 1995, (Source: Fighting Talk - Issue 11 - May 1995; Thomas &
Keith, Op Cit., p.77. According to Jonathan Vankin, Italian Journalist
Mino Percorelli claimed the CIA pulled P2's strings. He was killed after
publishing the article.
1297. (*) One early result of this fear on the Right was a failed coup
attempt in 1970 by Navy Commander Prince Valerio Borghese, a
supporter of the main Italian Fascist party MSI.
1303. (*) This is similar to the release of Cuban terrorist Orlando Bosch
by George Bush.
1304. (940) David Yallop, In God's Name (London: Corgi Books, 1985),
p. 172; "Il Gladio," BBC exposé, June, 1995, quoted in Ibid.
1305. (941) Steve Mizrach, "Murder in the Vatican? The attempt on the
life of John Paul II," posted on Internet.
1307. (943) Edward S. Herman, The Terrorism Industry (New York, NY:
Pantheon, 1989), p. 226.
1308. (*) It was also discovered by the Belgian press that Wackenhut
guards had been luring immigrant children into basements and beating
them.
1311. (946) Ari Ben-Menashe, Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-
Israeli Arms Network, (New York: Sheridan Square Press, 1992), p. 122.
Eitan was responsible for collecting scientific and intelligence
information from other countries through espionage. (Art Kunkin: "The
Octopus Conspiracy").
1312. (947) Patrick Seale, Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire, (New York, NY:
Random House, 1992), p. 158.
1315. (*) Abu Nidal did business at the Bank of Credit and Commerce
International (BCCI), a CIA proprietary which laundered drug proceeds
for the North/Secord "Enterprise," the Mujahadeen, and catered to the
likes of Manuel Noriega, Saddam Hussein, and Ferdinand Marcos.
1317. (951) William Jasper, "The Price of Peace," The New American,
2/5/96.
1318. (952) Uri Dan and Dennis Eisenberg, A State Crime: The
Assassination of Rabin, (Paris: Belfond, 1996), quoted in Conspiracy
Nation, Vol. 8 Num. 02.
612
1319. (953) New American, 12/25/95.
1325. (*) Chief Superintendent Job Mayo, head of the National Capital
Region Command of the police claimed a group called the Paracale
Gang apparently did the bombings after failing to rob the Citibank on
Paseo de Roxas in Salcedo Village, Makati.
1329. (961) John Goetz, "Ten Years Later: La Belle Disco Bombing,"
Covert Action Quarterly, Spring, 1996. (author's note: The Los Angeles
Times reported that "Israeli intelligence, not the Reagan
administration, was a major source of some of the most dramatic
published reports about a Libyan assassination team allegedly sent to
kill President Reagan and other top U.S. officials... Israel, which
informed sources said has wanted an excuse to go in and bash Libya
for a long time,' may be trying to build American public support for a
strike against Qaddafi.")
1332. (964) Goetz, Op Cit. Faysal testified, saying: "I am not of the
opinion that the attack against La Belle was done by those Libyans
613
whom I know [the Nuri group], but rather by a different group Many
of the Libyans behaved suspiciously. That was to hide the group that in
reality did the attack."
1334. (966) Goetz, Op Cit. "A week after the bombing, Manfred
Ganschow, chief of the anti terrorist police in Berlin, "rejected the
assumption that suspicion is concentrated on Libyan culprits."
1335. (*) Posey denied the allegations in an interview with the author.
In an interview with the author, Federal Public Defender John Mattes
felt the plot wasn't being seriously considered.
1336. (967) Christic, Op Cit.; Jack Terrell, interview with author. (Also:
See the Village Voice, 9/29/87, and 13/30/86.)
1338. (968) Jack Terrell, NBC transcript, quoted in Christic, Op Cit. The
Octopus would attempt to silence Terrell by informing the FBI that he
had threatened the life of the President.
1342. (*) On June 22, 1984, Pastora met with Dewy Clarridge and Vince
Cannistraro, who offered to help Pastora find the killers. (Sure.)
Harper's explosives training was allegedly courtesy of John Singlaub
and Robert K. Brown (publisher of Soldier of Fortune ).
1344. (*) GArcia and his family were later threatened with a live
105mm mortar round placed on their front lawn.
1347. (974) As Col. Dan Marvin notes, that statement, written by White
in a letter to a friend, was broadcast on ABC TV in 1979 in a
documentary produced by John Marks.
1348. (975) Sara McClendon, interview with author; Debra Von Trapp,
interview with author.
1350. (*) Maroney's wife also told me Mickey was seconded to the DEA
and FBI in Cyprus, who were investigating a counterfeiting ring
(probably Iranian). As discussed previously, Cyprus is where DIA agent
Lester Coleman worked with the DEA, and where he learned about
Khalid Jaffer, the courier who allegedly carried the bomb onboard Pan
Am flight 103. Maroney worked in Cyprus in 1993.
1354. (*) "The prosecutors must pare down their case so that it does
not bore the jury," legal analyst Kenneth Stern recommended in the
American Jewish Committee's recent white paper on the trial. "In cases
such as these, prosecutors too often present a 'Cadillac' when a
'Chevrolet' would do much better." (Associated Press, 04/18/97)
1356. (*) Also recall that former CIA operative Gunther Russbacher
claimed that several Las Vegas casinos, including Binyon's Horseshoe,
are slush-fund pay-off points through Shamrock Development Corp.
The recipients collect their money in the form of gambling chips, which
they then cash in. It is worth noting that the CEO of Shamrock, Donald
Lutz, was on the management staff of Silverado Savings & Loan. "E.
Trine Starnes, Jr., the third largest Silverado borrower, was a major
donor to the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty
(NEPL), directed by Carl "Spitz" Channell, which was a part of Oliver
North's Contra funding and arms support network. Wayne Reeder,
another Beebe associate, a big borrower from Silverado, defaulted on a
$14 million loan. Reeder was involved in an unsuccessful arms deal
with the Contras. (Jack Colhoun, "The Family That Preys Together,"
Covert Action Quarterly, date unknown.)
615
1357. (*) As Jones explained in the Writ: "This issue arrives before
the Court at this late date simply because the defense has repeatedly
gone to the government with information and requests, had to then
seek intervention from the district court, and the last district court
order has been issued within the last two weeks…."
1360. (982) Associated Press & The Hays Daily News, 8/14/97.
1361. (983) Bill Hewitt and Nickie Bane, "Humble? Forget It," People,
3/31/97.
1363. (984) Janet Elliott, Mark Ballard, Robert Elder Jr., Gordon Hunter,
"Nichols' Lawyers: The Odd Couple," Texas Lawyer, 3/22/96; Robert
Schmidt, "Representing the Accused Bomber," Legal Times, 5/22/95;
Constantine, "The Good Soldier," Op Cit.
1365. (986) John DeCamp, The Franklin Cover-Up (Lincoln, NE: AWT,
Inc., 1996), pp. 345-46.
1371. (*) "[Howe] said she saw McVeigh walking with Elohim City
security chief Andreas Strassmeir, who had advocated violence against
the government. One juror didn't at first even recall Howe's testimony.
Another, [juror Chris] Seib, said, "I don't know. We felt there was
something there. You know, we kind of skimmed through that pretty
quick."
1377. (*) The first man LBJ met with on Nov 29th, after he had cleared
the foreign dignitaries out of Washington was Waggoner Carr, Texas
Attorney General, to tell him. "No trial in Texas... ever." (Prouty)
1378. (996) John Greiner, "Court Asked to Ensure Macy Explores All
Bombing Angles," Daily Oklahoman, 6/28/97.
1379. (*) Key's attorney Mark Sanford said the Supreme Court was
willing to back Key up, by forcing Macy to do his job properly.
1389. (1004) Edye Ann Smith, Individually and on Behalf of Her Minor
Children, Chase Smith, Deceased, and Colton Smith, Deceased,
Plaintiffs, vs. Timothy James McVeigh, Michael Brescia, Michael Fortier
and Andreas Carl Strassmeir and Other Unknown Individuals,
Defendants, Case No. CJ-96-18.