Renditions Program Poster Boy El-Masri Assaults German Mayor
The report of the earlier episode is of particular interest, since the German news media has largely spun Masri’s violent behavior as somehow a consequence of alleged abuse at the hands of the CIA. This is in keeping with the defense strategy of Masri’s lawyer, Manfred Gnjidic, and indeed with the rulings of German judicial authorities. Thus, in December 2007, a German court in Memmingen declined to send Masri to jail, sentencing him merely to two years probation for both the arson attack and the assault on the instructor. Treating his alleged detention by the CIA as a mitigating factor, the court also required Masri to undergo therapy sessions, whereby he was supposed to “work through his experiences in the CIA-prison in Afghanistan.” (The quote comes from the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung citing Memmingen District Attorney Renate Thanner.)
Almost completely absent from the German reports, on the other hand, is the abundant evidence linking Masri to Islamic extremist circles that appeared in the German news media prior to 2007. This evidence includes the bombshell September 2006 revelation that Germany’s own Federal Office of Criminal Investigations (BKA) had Masri under surveillance long before his disappearance in January 2004 and had identified him as “an adherent of a fundamentalist line in Islam and a proponent of military jihad.” According to the leaked BKA memorandum that formed the basis of the reports, Masri had extensive contacts to “accused suspects in the domain of Islamic terrorism.” Among others, the BKA undoubtedly had Reda Seyam in mind. Both Masri and Seyam have acknowledged their “friendship.” Seyam is widely believed by intelligence agencies to have financed the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed over 200 people.
(Michael von Wedel, the BKA counter-terrorism agent who was assigned the German investigation of Seyam, has recently confirmed Seyam’s role in the Bali bombings in a memoir of his BKA career. See my review in Policy Review magazine here.)
In February 2007, as discussed in my contemporary report on World Politics Review, the Hamburg District Attorney’s Office confirmed that it had opened investigations against four German journalists involved in revealing the contents of Masri’s BKA dossier. The four were said to be suspected of “aiding and abetting in the betrayal of state secrets” — a charge that tacitly confirmed the accuracy of their reports. Since that time, the issue of Masri’s jihadist connections has virtually disappeared from German news coverage.
Little is yet known about the motives of Masri’s attack on Neu-Ulm mayor Gerold Noerenberg. Some days before the incident, Noerenberg received what has been described as a “confused” [wirren] letter from Masri. In the letter, Masri warned Noerenberg that he was “dead, but not yet buried” (source: Neu-Ulmer Zeitung). Bizarrely, Noerenberg has said that he did not consider the remark to be a “direct threat.” The rest of the contents of the letter have not been made public.
For extensive documentation of Khaled Al-Masri’s jihadist connections, see my October 2006 PJM article here and my November 2006 article on World Politics Review here.
(Note: According to the conventional narrative of the Masri rendition saga, Masri’s name is spelled “El-Masri,” with an “E,” and he is supposed to have been confused by American authorities for a Khaled “Al-Masri” whose name appears in the 9/11 Commission Report. In fact, however, “El-Masri” and “Al-Masri” are just alternate transliterations of the same Arabic name.)
The Germans are not about to neglect centuries of German psychological study into deviant personalities. They are indeed the foremost proponents of the psychological “cure”. To send someone to the slammer is to admit that their Jungian methods are a waste of time – even though some of us know that already. We’ll just have to be patient.
Is there some compelling reason to let this violent waste of skin continue using our collective oxygen supply?
Hmm? Anyone?
I thought not.
Correlations, corelations, correlations – why researchers avoid to connect the dots between criminality/ criminal predisposition (uniformly rating it as a result of some oppression) and “revolutionary” activities, always described in positive terms (see “change & hope”, “I want to change the world”, etc.).
Most of luminous leaders of revolutions and violent upheavals along history had/ have criminal background – the society as a whole would greatly benefit if a causal connection between criminal pre-dispositions and left-wing activism would be established, thus opening a way for finding a treatement for the “I want to change the world!” affliction.
I can’t think of a better place for El Masri to be than in Germany. I’m sure we’ll soon a Der Spiegel piece on how the poor boy was radicalized by that evil nazi, George Bush. You get what you deserve, krauts.
“Most of luminous leaders of revolutions and violent upheavals along history had/ have criminal background”
hmmm, not the theoricians ! even Ben Laden appears as a “civilised” person !
We must have this man.
Our Secretary of State must immediately bring this bundle of radical pathology to our shores.
5. misanthropicus:
“Most of luminous leaders of revolutions and violent upheavals along history had/ have criminal background”
interesting theory, but citation needed.
“causal connection between criminal pre-dispositions and left-wing activism”
like bombing abortion clinics? or like bombing federal buildings?
oh you forgot that there are bad guys on both sides. never mind.
“Masri’s outbursts of violence appear, moreover, to have preceded his alleged “rendering” by the CIA.”
No! That can’t be! It HAS to be George Bush’s fault! I mean, isn’t everything?
RE #9/indy: [...] “causal connection between criminal pre-dispositions and left-wing activism” — like bombing abortion clinics? or like bombing federal buildings? oh you forgot that there are bad guys on both sides. never mind. [...]”
Yes, there are bad guys on ANY side, including buddhists – however, the overwhelming abundance of criminality amongst the left-wing revolutionaries/ violent upheaval leaders in the past century in the world makes rogue buddhists or guys like Tim McVeight marginal figures.
As far as bombing abortion clinics – what about destroying radio stations relays or bombing biology research labs?
11. misanthropicus
do you mean they watered the tree of liberty with blood?
That’s incredibly ironic don’t you think?
Progressives by definition want change. You can’t help that. Conservatives by definition want things to stay the same.
Neither one are right or wrong. “it takes all kinds to make the world go round”
RE #12/indy: RE 11. misanthropicus: “[...] do you mean they watered the tree of liberty with blood? [...] Progressives by definition want change. [...] Conservatives by definition want things to stay the same. [...]”
1) as the “tree of liberty” goes, the positive factors that allowed it grow generally were of liberal essence (liberal not in the curent acception of the notion);
2) as gaining & maintaining political power, the left has a grandiose record of murder -
3) as “progressives by definition want change”, it would be a good idea for you to come with some qualifiers for change. Change, per se, is not positive as the last century’s lefty propaganda has well innoculated in so many people’s minds.
Now, after clarifying a bit this “change invariably equals good” liberal postulate/superstition which is used to arouse the perennial useful idiots, we don’t make a mistake when assign the revolutionary bloodshed & misery to the large amount of criminals always present in the left-wings ranks and to their murderous activities.
Leftiness is a pathological state, not a state acquired through meditation, study, observation, and concern for society’s betterment -
#13 misanthropicus
(i realize we’re way off topic here, but i don’t mind)
1)”as the “tree of liberty” goes, the positive factors that allowed it grow generally were of liberal essence”
examples make points better. I would point to the civil war and say you’re wrong.
2) “as gaining & maintaining political power, the left has a grandiose record of murder -”
wow, are we talking over the course of history? you think one side is more murderous than the other? I bet a guy could spend a lifetime researching that one, and when he’s done he will have wasted a lifetime.
3)”it would be a good idea for you to come with some qualifiers for change”
qualifiers for change: basic human rights? interracial marriage. child labor laws. right for women to vote…etc etc etc etc etc
4) this part confused me, probably just a couple missing words, not sure exactly what you’re trying got say. although i caught the “left wing’s murderous activities”
what do you mean? who are you talking about? are you saying ‘liberals’ are violent? because I have always felt that it was the other way around, (example, KKK) but I’m all ears if you care to explain.
“Leftiness is a pathological state, not a state acquired through meditation, study, observation, and concern for society’s betterment”
where do you get this? I’m not sure what you’re pointing at again. you must be picturing something in your head when you write that and i’m curious as to what half retarded left leaning wind bag you are picturing.
Stumbled across this bit of enlightened journalism with thoughtful comments while reading the diplomatic cables furnished by Wikileaks and the NYT regarding the State Dept’s warnings that the German’s should not apply for international arrest warrants for the CIA operatives who took Mr. Masri away. Apparently, Khaled Al-Masri is not an uncommon Lebanese name. Our CIA men or their hirelings got the name right but the man wrong, after all. Could Mr. Rosenthal elaborate after all this time to assure us that, better than the CIA, his villain is the right man.