Hezbollah Read online

  24. People of the Philippines v. Pandu Yudhawinata, Motion from the Public Prosecutor to the Court, “Urgent Motion to Offer Arraignment,” Criminal Case No. 99-2013, Regional Trial Court, National Capital Judicial Region, Pasay City.

  25. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 1, 3, 6–11.

  26. Philippine intelligence memorandum, “Development Report re Arrest of Suspected Foreign Terrorist.”

  27. As cited in Shmuel Bar, “Iranian Terrorist Policy and ‘Export of Revolution,’” (working paper presented at Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel, February 2009).

  28. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 3.

  29. Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  30. Ibid.; Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 4, 8–9.

  31. Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  32. Shmuel Bar, “Iranian Terrorist Policy and ‘Export of Revolution.’”

  33. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 4.

  34. Ibid.

  35. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  36. Philippine intelligence memorandum, “Development Report re Arrest of Suspected Foreign Terrorist.”

  37. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 4–6.

  38. Philippine intelligence appears to confuse the various names and lists Hisham separately from “Osama—he is probably the activist known as Abu Ful (also identified as Jafer by Yudha [Pandu]).” See Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 5. According to Israeli intelligence, Hisham is in fact Abu al-Ful, and Osama is another senior Lebanon-based Hezbollah operative who “accompanies Abu al-Ful in his visits to Indonesia and Malaysia for meetings with local recruits” in the 1990s and engaged in surveillance in Singapore in 1998. See Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  39. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  40. Philippine intelligence memorandum, “Development Report re Arrest of Suspected Foreign Terrorist”; Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 8–10.

  41. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9.

  42. Ibid.

  43. Author interview with senior Singaporean official, April 2004; see also Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans,” June 9, 2002; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism”; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah’s International Terrorism and the Penetration of Hizballah Activists into Israel,” undated, received by the author August 5, 2003.

  44. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9.

  45. Robin Wright, “Iranian Leader Plans to Address the U.S. on TV,” Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1997.

  46. Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  47. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  48. Author interview with senior Singaporean official, April 2004.

  49. Ibid.

  50. Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  51. Author interview with senior Singaporean official, April 2004; see also Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  52. Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  53. William Safire, “The Spook Awards,” New York Times, July 11, 2002.

  54. Author interview with senior Singaporean official, April 2004; see also Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  55. Dr. Soekmono, Chandi Borobudur: A Monument to Mankind (Paris: UNESCO Press, 1976); “Borobudur Temple Compounds,” UNESCO World Heritage Center; “Major Temple Damaged by Bombs in Indonesia,” New York Times, January 22, 1985.

  56. “Major Temple Damaged by Bombs in Indonesia.”

  57. “1,100-Year-Old Buddhist Temple Wrecked by Bombs in Indonesia,” Miami Herald, January 22, 1985.

  58. Edwin Soluhuddin, “Borobudur Temple Bombed,” Vivanews.com, January 21, 2009.

  59. United Press International, “Borobudur Bomber Life Term,” February 1, 1991; Soluhuddin, “Borobudur Temple Bombed.”

  60. “Bom Borobudur, 16 Tahun Kemudian,” Majalah Tempo (Indonesia), May 17, 1999; Muhammad Saifullah, “Cerita Terorisme di Indonesia: Candi Borobudur Korban Aksi Teror Kedua,” News.Okezone.com, October 15, 2009. For Tanjung Priok see: Ulma Haryanto, “Death Toll from 1984 Massacre at Tanjung Priok Still Uncertain,” Jakarta Globe, April 15, 2010.

  61. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, speech, Dialogue Session with Union Leader and Members and Employers, Nanyang Polytechnic, October 14, 2001.

  62. Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  63. Author interview with senior Singaporean official, April 2004; see also Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  64. Philippine intelligence report, “Pandu Yudhawinata, as of 05 January 2000.”

  65. Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  66. Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  67. Burgos and Nisman, 13, 93–94.

  68. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 4.

  69. Ibid., 4–9; undated Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  70. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 5.

  71. Ibid.

  72. Ibid.

  73. “Grace Hotel Travel Reviews,” Trip Advisor website.

  74. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism”; Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 6.

  75. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 6–7.

  76. Ibid., 5–6.

  77. Ibid., 5.

  78. Ibid., 5–6; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  79. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 6.

  80. Ibid.

  81. Ibid., 6–8.

  82. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 7.

  83. Ibid., 6–7.

  84. Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  85. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 3, 8.

  86. Ibid., 8.

  87. Ibid., 7.

  88. Ibid.

  89. Philippine intelligence report, “Pandu Yudhawinata, as of 05 January 2000”; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah’s International Terrorism and the Penetration of Hizballah Activists.”

  90. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9.

  91. Ibid., 7.

  92. Ibid., 4, 9–10; Responses to Questions for the Record dated July 26, 2002, Hearing on “Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States,” before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 6, 2002.

  93. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 3; Philippine intelligence memorandum, “Development Report re Arrest of Suspected Foreign Terrorist”; Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  94. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 4.

  95. Ibid., 7, 10; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  96. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 4.

  97. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  98. Philippine intelligence report, “Pandu Yudhawinata, as of 05 January 2000.”

  99. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah’s International Terrorism and the Penetration of Hizballah Activists.”

  100. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 6.

  101. Philip was also known as Mujid or Majid. See Philippine intelligence repor
t, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9.

  102. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9, 10.

  103. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  104. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,”10; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah’s International Terrorism and the Penetration of Hizballah.”

  105. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 10.

  106. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  107. Ibid.

  108. Ibid.

  109. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 7.

  110. Ibid., 10.

  111. Ibid., 11.

  112. Ibid., 5.

  113. Ibid., 4, 9–10.

  114. Ibid., 9.

  115. Author interview with senior Singaporean official, April 2004.

  116. Ibid.

  117. Sunday Straits Times, “Hizbollah Recruited Singaporeans.”

  118. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism”; Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9.

  119. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  120. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9.

  121. Dow Jones Newswires, “Defense Chiefs Meet in Singapore; Focus on Terror at Sea,” September 10, 2004.

  122. Philippine intelligence memorandum, “Development Report re: Apprehension of a Suspected Foreign Terrorist.”

  123. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9

  124. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  125. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 9

  126. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah’s International Terrorism and the Penetration of Hizballah Activists.”

  127. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata,” 8; Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah’s International Terrorism and the Penetration of Hizballah Activists.”

  128. Philippine intelligence report, “TIR on Pandu Yudhawinata.” 11.

  129. Ibid., 9.

  130. Ibid., 10–11.

  131. Ibid., 10.

  132. Philippine intelligence memorandum, “Development Report re: Apprehension of a Suspected Foreign Terrorist.”

  133. Tenet, At the Center of the Storm, 124.

  134. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  135. Philippine intelligence report, “Subject: Pandu Yudhawinata.”

  136. Barak Ravid, “Thailand Hunting Hezbollah Operatives Planning Terror Attacks against Jews, Israelis,” Haaretz (Tel Aviv), January 15, 2012.

  137. Ben West, “A Hezbollah Threat in Thailand,” Stratfor Security Weekly, January 19, 2012; Mark McDonald, “Tracking the Hezbollah Connection in Thailand,” New York Times, January 19, 2012.

  138. Nicholas Kulish and Eric Schmitt, “Bulgaria Implicates Hezbollah in July Attack on Israelis,” New York Times, February 5, 2013.

  139. Ihsan A. Hijazi, “Pro-Iranian Groups Targeting Saudi Envoys,” New York Times, January 8, 1989.

  140. Ibid.

  141. “Saudi Killed in Ankara,” Washington Post, October 27, 1988; Adel Darwish, “Saudis Overhaul Secret Service after Terrorist Killings,” Independent (London), January 14, 1989; Federal Court of Canada, In the Matter of Hani Abd Rahim al-Sayegh, and In the Matter of a referral of the Immigration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-2, Court File: DES-1-97, Appendix B: “Terrorist Operations Attributed to Saudi Hizballah.”

  142. Hijazi, “Pro-Iranian Groups.”

  143. Ibid.; Veera Prateepchaikul, “Name Dropping in the Saudi Murder Case,” Bangkok Post, August 6, 2009.

  144. “Alleged Victims of Iranian Government ‘Hit Squads,’ 1979–1996,” A Special Report from the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, May 6, 1996; Darwish, “Saudis Overhaul Secret Service.”

  145. Darwish, “Saudis Overhaul Secret Service.”

  146. Christopher Shay, “Thailand’s Blue Diamond Heist: Still a Sore Point,” Time, March 7, 2010; Philip Shenon, “Saudi Envoy Helps Expose a Thai Crime Group: The Police,” New York Times, September 19, 1994.

  147. Terry McCarthy, “Saudi Gems Theft Leaves Deadly Trail in Thailand,” Independent (London), September 25, 1994; Shay, “Thailand’s Blue Diamond Heist.”

  148. McCarthy, “Saudi Gems Theft”; Shenon, “Saudi Envoy Helps Expose a Thai Crime Group.”

  149. McCarthy, “Saudi Gems Theft.”

  150. Reuters, “Thai Cop Convicted of Saudi Gem Theft,” June 29, 2006; Shay, “Thailand’s Blue Diamond Heist”; Shenon, “Saudi Envoy Helps Expose a Thai Crime Group.”

  151. “Arab Man Wanted for 1990 Murder of Saudi,” Bangkok Post, August 6, 2009.

  152. Shay, “Thailand’s Blue Diamond Heist.”

  153. “The Big Issue: The Blue Diamond Affair,” Bangkok Post, January 17, 2010.

  154. Shenon, “Saudi Envoy Helps Expose a Thai Crime Group.”

  155. Shay, “Thailand’s Blue Diamond Heist.”

  156. McCarthy, “Saudi Gems Theft.”

  157. “A Law unto Themselves: Reforming a Corrupt and Politicised Police Force Will Be Tough,” Economist, April 17, 2008.

  158. “The Big Issue.”

  159. “Interpol Can’t Help in Hunt for Abu Ali,” Bangkok Post, February 2, 2010.

  160. “Arab Man Wanted.”

  161. “Alleged Victims of Iranian Government ‘Hit Squads,’ 1979–1996.”

  162. “The Big Issue.”

  163. Israeli intelligence report, “Hizballah World Terrorism.”

  164. US CIA, “Iranian Support for Terrorism: Rafsanjani’s Report Card.” The text immediately preceding this quote in the CIA report is redacted, but the context makes it clear the report is referring to the murders in Thailand, not to the activities of Saudi Hezbollah in Saudi Arabia which are discussed before the redaction.

  6

  Beirut to the Blue Ridge

  Hezbollah Comes to North America

  ONE OF HEZBOLLAH’S first American recruits was a Vietnam veteran and convert to Islam who first fought for Amal and then, as Amal lost political ground and members to Hezbollah, trained Hezbollah operatives. He reportedly served as a bodyguard for Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (a trusted position once occupied by Imad Mughniyeh) and by 1996 would be described by then–defense secretary William Perry as “a known American terrorist.”1

  The casualty of a broken home who fell in with street gangs in Southeast Washington, D.C., Clevin Holt dropped out of school at age fourteen and used forged papers to enlist in the US Army at age fifteen. Holt spent three months in Vietnam but never saw combat. Most of his tour as an Army Ranger was spent in South Korea, where he became a black nationalist and was involved in a race riot that left one US soldier dead. When the army discovered he had enlisted as a minor, he was given an honorable discharge and flown home. There, angry at the treatment of returning Vietnam veterans and the racism still pervading American society, Holt planned to find a good vantage point in Silver Spring, Maryland, and “start shooting white people.” Unable to enact his plan, he was about to commit suicide when, as he retells it, an angel told him he would go to hell if he killed himself. Three days later, he met Musa Abdul Raheem, an African American convert to Islam, and he soon converted to Sunni Islam and took on the name Isa Abdullah Ali.2

  Within a couple of years, however, Abdullah Ali would leave the Sunni tradition and embrace Shi’ism. Inspired by the Iranian revolution, he and his fellow convert and friend Dawud Salahuddin (David Belfield) took jobs at the Washington, D.C., embassy of the new Islamic Republic of Iran. Salahuddin would soon be recruited by the Islamic Republic to assassinate Ali Akbar Tabatabai, a former Iranian embassy press attaché who had become a vocal critic of Khomeini. Disguised as a postal carrier, Salahuddin shot Tabatabai three times with a handgun at Tabatabai’s Bethesda, Maryland, home.3

 
; Abdullah Ali would first come to the attention of US law enforcement following “the assassination of this criminal Tabatabai,” as Abdullah Ali later described it, as a result of to his friendship with Belfield.4 FBI officials later questioned Abdullah Ali, reporting that the “subject provided minimal information concerning the areas of FBI interests.”5 They ruled him out as a suspect, likely because by the time of the murder Abdullah Ali had already left the United States to fight in Afghanistan.

  Abdullah Ali was forced by illness to leave Afghanistan after just a month, returning to the United States in August 1980, a month after the Tabatabai murder. But four months later, he left for another foreign jihad, this time to fight in Lebanon with the Amal militia. He stayed in Lebanon from December 1980 to October 1981, at which point he went to Iran for eight months. He returned just days before the Israeli invasion of Lebanon on June 6, 1982. Speaking to an American reporter in 1982, Abdullah Ali declined, “for political reasons,” to specify what he did in Lebanon and Iran before the 1982 Lebanon war. Generally, he stated, “when advice is needed I give it. When it’s not, I’m a sniper.” By that time, he claimed to have killed at least nine Israelis.6 Years later, he claimed he stopped counting the number of people he had killed when the number reached 173.7

  Over time, Abdullah Ali appears to have moved along the spectrum of Shi’a militancy in Lebanon from Amal to Hezbollah. According to former State Department intelligence officer Louis Mizell, Abdullah Ali appears to have trained Amal and Hezbollah operatives while in Lebanon, including female recruits.8 By the time he left Lebanon, he had also served as bodyguard for Fadlallah.9 Perhaps most interesting, however, is his role in the October 1994 kidnapping of Tod Robberson, an American journalist in Beirut.

  Working for the Beirut Daily Star, Robberson took particular interest in the February 11, 1984, kidnappings of American professor Frank Regier and Frenchman Christian Joubert, one of whom was Robberson’s neighbor. Hezbollah kidnapped the two Westerners during the trial of the Kuwait 17 operatives charged with carrying out acts of terrorism in Kuwait. While most of the defendants were Iraqis, also on trial were Imad Mughniyeh’s brother-in-law Mustapha Badreddine and the cousin of Hussein al-Musawi.10