01/23/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09661

CHILLING VIDEOS

"The best friend of freedom is information because information allows freedom-loving people to become the best line of self-defense." Those words were spoken by U-S Attorney General John Ashcroft as he released selections culled from five separate and undated videotapes.

The chilling tapes depict five young men delivering what Mr. Ashcroft said "appear to be martyrdom messages from suicide terrorists." An analysis of the audio portion suggests that the men may be trained and prepared to commit suicide terrorist acts.

The tapes were recovered in the rubble of the Afghanistan home of Mohammed Atef, believed to have been al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s military chief. Atef was killed by an American-led air strike in November.

Four of the five individuals are tentatively identified. They are Ramzi Binalshibh (Ramsey Ben-al-sheep), Abd Al-Rahim (Ab-dul Ra-hem), Muhammad Sa’id Ali Hasan (Muhammad Sa-ed Alee Ha-san), and Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani (Ha-lid e-bin Muhammad Al-Jo-han-ee). Mr. Ashcroft said that Ramsi Binalshibh, from Yemen, is well known to law enforcement officials both in the United States and in Germany. He was an associate of Mohamed Atta, one of the September 11^th suicide hijackers and a member of an al-Qaida terrorist cell based in Hamburg.

The U-S Attorney General said that he released the tapes because these individuals represent a significant threat and "this is another opportunity for the public around the world to join the campaign against terrorism."

Law enforcement officials cannot yet determine whether terrorist attacks are imminent. But the right time to release these tapes is now so that people are aware that these terrorists are at large.

The pictures of these five individuals are being distributed to law enforcement officials worldwide. Attorney General Ashcroft asked for international help to "identify, locate, and incapacitate terrorists who are suspected of planning additional attacks against innocent civilians."

Remember these names: Ramzi Binalshibh, Abd Al-Rahim, Muhammad Sa’id Ali Hasan, and Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani. They will be found and they will be brought to justice.