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| Bin Laden Aide Began Qaeda Propaganda Day After 9/11, U.S. Says | Bin Laden Aide Began Qaeda Propaganda Day After 9/11, U.S. Says |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| It was just hours after the Sept. 11 attacks when Osama bin Laden turned to an associate for help in rallying his troops and recruiting new suicide bombers and other fighters, a federal prosecutor told a jury on Wednesday. | It was just hours after the Sept. 11 attacks when Osama bin Laden turned to an associate for help in rallying his troops and recruiting new suicide bombers and other fighters, a federal prosecutor told a jury on Wednesday. |
| The associate, the prosecutor said, was Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, whose trial began this week in Federal District Court in Manhattan. | The associate, the prosecutor said, was Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, whose trial began this week in Federal District Court in Manhattan. |
| Mr. Abu Ghaith had earlier helped Al Qaeda recruit and incite fighters inside training camps and safe houses, the prosecutor, Nicholas J. Lewin, said in his opening statement. But on Sept. 11, he said, Bin Laden told Mr. Abu Ghaith that Al Qaeda had been responsible for the attacks and that he wanted him “to deliver Al Qaeda’s murderous decree to the entire world.” | Mr. Abu Ghaith had earlier helped Al Qaeda recruit and incite fighters inside training camps and safe houses, the prosecutor, Nicholas J. Lewin, said in his opening statement. But on Sept. 11, he said, Bin Laden told Mr. Abu Ghaith that Al Qaeda had been responsible for the attacks and that he wanted him “to deliver Al Qaeda’s murderous decree to the entire world.” |
| Mr. Abu Ghaith agreed to help, Mr. Lewin said; on Sept. 12, he appeared seated cross-legged, with an AK-47 assault rifle by his side, by Bin Laden and two other lieutenants, and recorded a video proclamation on behalf of Al Qaeda. The jury was shown a large photograph of the scene, taken from the video. | Mr. Abu Ghaith agreed to help, Mr. Lewin said; on Sept. 12, he appeared seated cross-legged, with an AK-47 assault rifle by his side, by Bin Laden and two other lieutenants, and recorded a video proclamation on behalf of Al Qaeda. The jury was shown a large photograph of the scene, taken from the video. |
| “He celebrated the prior day’s attacks,” Mr. Lewin said. “He threatened further attacks against America. And he urged Muslims across the world to pick up arms and fight with Al Qaeda.” | “He celebrated the prior day’s attacks,” Mr. Lewin said. “He threatened further attacks against America. And he urged Muslims across the world to pick up arms and fight with Al Qaeda.” |
| “It was the most important moment in Al Qaeda’s savage history,” the prosecutor said. | “It was the most important moment in Al Qaeda’s savage history,” the prosecutor said. |
| It was the first of many videotaped messages by Mr. Abu Ghaith, who has been portrayed by the authorities as a Qaeda propagandist and a kind of consigliere. In one message, Mr. Abu Ghaith said “the storm of airplanes” would not abate, a clear reference to continued Sept. 11-like attacks, Mr. Lewin said. | It was the first of many videotaped messages by Mr. Abu Ghaith, who has been portrayed by the authorities as a Qaeda propagandist and a kind of consigliere. In one message, Mr. Abu Ghaith said “the storm of airplanes” would not abate, a clear reference to continued Sept. 11-like attacks, Mr. Lewin said. |
| By the government’s account, Mr. Abu Ghaith, a 48-year-old Kuwaiti-born cleric, is the most senior adviser to Bin Laden to be tried in a civilian court in the United States since Sept. 11. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include participating in a conspiracy to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists in 2001 and 2002. Mr. Abu Ghaith is also married to Bin Laden’s daughter Fatima, a fact the jury has not been told. | |
| Mr. Abu Ghaith’s lawyer, Stanley L. Cohen, in his opening statement, did not deny that his client, whom he described as a Muslim ideologue, had been with Bin Laden, appeared in videos and made offensive comments. | Mr. Abu Ghaith’s lawyer, Stanley L. Cohen, in his opening statement, did not deny that his client, whom he described as a Muslim ideologue, had been with Bin Laden, appeared in videos and made offensive comments. |
| “Those words are terrible; they’re dumb. The associations are horrible,” Mr. Cohen said. “They’re going to make you flinch. They’re going to make you lose sleep.” | “Those words are terrible; they’re dumb. The associations are horrible,” Mr. Cohen said. “They’re going to make you flinch. They’re going to make you lose sleep.” |
| But Mr. Cohen minimized the strength of the government’s case, suggesting that after years of investigation, the evidence amounted to videos, a couple of statements and testimony from two cooperating witnesses who themselves were former terrorists, one of whom has said he did not know Mr. Abu Ghaith, Mr. Cohen added. | But Mr. Cohen minimized the strength of the government’s case, suggesting that after years of investigation, the evidence amounted to videos, a couple of statements and testimony from two cooperating witnesses who themselves were former terrorists, one of whom has said he did not know Mr. Abu Ghaith, Mr. Cohen added. |
| “What you’re going to hear at the end of this is after 13 years, it comes down to words and association, and words and association,” Mr. Cohen said. | “What you’re going to hear at the end of this is after 13 years, it comes down to words and association, and words and association,” Mr. Cohen said. |
| Mr. Lewin made it clear that prosecutors were not accusing Mr. Abu Ghaith of helping to plan or carry out the Sept. 11 attacks, a point that was repeated by the first trial witness, James Fitzgerald, a supervisory special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who also said Mr. Abu Ghaith had played no role in other Qaeda attacks. | Mr. Lewin made it clear that prosecutors were not accusing Mr. Abu Ghaith of helping to plan or carry out the Sept. 11 attacks, a point that was repeated by the first trial witness, James Fitzgerald, a supervisory special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who also said Mr. Abu Ghaith had played no role in other Qaeda attacks. |
| But, Mr. Lewin said, Mr. Abu Ghaith “knew what was coming next from Al Qaeda” — the plot in which Richard C. Reid tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic airplane with explosives in his shoes. | But, Mr. Lewin said, Mr. Abu Ghaith “knew what was coming next from Al Qaeda” — the plot in which Richard C. Reid tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic airplane with explosives in his shoes. |
| “That he knew is not surprising for a man who sat at the right hand of Osama bin Laden,” Mr. Lewin said. “You don’t sit outside a cave on Sept. 12, 2001, with the most wanted man on earth unless you are on the inside of Al Qaeda at the very, very top.” | “That he knew is not surprising for a man who sat at the right hand of Osama bin Laden,” Mr. Lewin said. “You don’t sit outside a cave on Sept. 12, 2001, with the most wanted man on earth unless you are on the inside of Al Qaeda at the very, very top.” |
| Prosecutors have said that in 2002, Mr. Abu Ghaith arranged to be smuggled into Iran. Mr. Abu Ghaith has said that he was detained there until January 2013, when he was released and went to Turkey, was held there and then flown to Jordan and handed over to the United States. | Prosecutors have said that in 2002, Mr. Abu Ghaith arranged to be smuggled into Iran. Mr. Abu Ghaith has said that he was detained there until January 2013, when he was released and went to Turkey, was held there and then flown to Jordan and handed over to the United States. |
| Mr. Lewin said that Mr. Abu Ghaith confessed to the F.B.I. after he was taken into custody. | |
| The defendant admitted, Mr. Lewin said, that the purpose of his speeches to Qaeda recruits before Sept. 11 had been “to motivate Qaeda trainees, to help them understand the importance of their terrorist training,” and that after meeting with Bin Laden, “he agreed to keep supporting Al Qaeda, but now in a much more public way.” | The defendant admitted, Mr. Lewin said, that the purpose of his speeches to Qaeda recruits before Sept. 11 had been “to motivate Qaeda trainees, to help them understand the importance of their terrorist training,” and that after meeting with Bin Laden, “he agreed to keep supporting Al Qaeda, but now in a much more public way.” |