PARIS, March 31, 2008
French Muslims Recruited For Jihad In Iraq
Prosecutors Say Muslims Learned Arabic, Killed Americans In Iraq, Came Home To Recruit
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Photo
An unidentified defendant is led by a police officer to a Paris courtroom Friday, March 28, 2008 as seven men go on trial for their suspected roles in an al Qaeda-linked recruiting network for the Iraqi insurgency. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)
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His younger brother did, and died fighting U.S. forces.
After years of investigation by French authorities, el Hakim, 24, went on trial this month in a case exposing how the Iraq war has sucked radical youths from Europe to a battlefield where they have learned skills that officials fear may one day be used in domestic terror attacks.
Along with four other young Frenchmen, a Moroccan and an Algerian, el Hakim is accused of funneling French Muslim fighters to Iraq. All the Frenchmen except suspected ringleader Farid Benyettou, 26, have acknowledged going to Iraq or planning to go. All deny inciting others to go.
All seven men are accused of criminal association with a terrorist enterprise, a vague charge that carries a maximum 10-year sentence, though the prosecutor only asked for between three and eight years.
The case is a delicate one in France, which strongly opposed the U.S.-led campaign in Iraq but has long struggled against homegrown terrorism. It also highlights a dilemma in many European nations with growing Muslim populations: Cracking down hard risks alienating or radicalizing moderate Muslims and betraying western ideals of tolerance.
The suspected nucleus of the network, janitor-turned-street preacher Benyettou, told the court the case against him was "fantasy" and an affront to his freedom of speech. He told the judge he had served only as a friendly ear to young people in his neighborhood, answering questions about Islam that went ignored by France's secular schools and institutions.
In one interrogation session with anti-terrorist agents, however, Benyettou said: "I taught that suicide attacks are legitimate under Islam."
"Jihad is justified," he said in another session in the days following his January 2005 arrest, according to the depositions viewed by The Associated Press.
El Hakim described placing and detonating roadside bombs with equipment that resembled a cordless phone, the transcript of one deposition says. He claimed 10 American troops were killed in the last three operations he took part in, it says.
In a French radio interview broadcast from Baghdad in 2003, he urged Parisian friends to join him on the battlefields. "I'm ready to set off dynamite and boom! Boom! We kill all the Americans!" he said on RTL radio.
In court, while he didn't deny his radio appeal, el Hakim said some of his statements to police were made under duress and that his role in Iraq was primarily "humanitarian."
Investigators say the alleged network funneled about a dozen French fighters to camps linked to al Qaeda in Iraq head Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and sought to send more before he was killed in a U.S. air strike in 2006. At least seven French insurgents have died, some in suicide bombings, police say.
The classified case file could fill a suitcase. It includes transcripts of taped phone conversations; suspects' family trees; extremist Islamic sermons; excerpts from a Web site explaining how to use Kalashnikov rifles; and grainy images of dozens of people questioned in the case.
Since the group was dismantled in 2005, young French Muslims wanting to fight abroad have largely steered clear of such organized cells, according to a senior French police official not authorized to be named publicly because of agency policy. Instead, youths are heading to war zones individually, to better avoid detection.
The key concern for French police is not where the fighters go but what they do when they come back to France, home to Europe's largest Muslim population, nearly 10 percent of its 62 million people.
There has been no mention in the Paris trial of any plan to attack French sites, but officials say they remain worried about the possibility - and that fear bolsters the prosecutor's case.
The so-called 19th arrondissement network is named for the Paris district where it was based, a multi-national neighborhood where families with roots in one-time French colonies in North Africa crowd into housing projects that rise above street markets offering Moroccan melons and pungent French cheese.
Fast Fact
Frustration among youth of immigrant backgrounds over discrimination and bleak job prospects helped fuel riots in suburban housing projects around France in 2005. That same frustration, defense lawyer Dominique Many said, pushes some toward Islamic extremism.Defendant Cherif Kouachi said he was motivated to fight in Iraq by his outrage at television images of torture of Iraqi inmates at the U.S. prison at Abu Ghraib.
Benyettou practiced a strict Salafist interpretation of Islam, and enjoyed credibility among radicals because his brother-in-law was a convicted member of an Algerian insurgency movement.
Benyettou exhibited little charisma during the trial, his gaunt frame hunched on the bench, occasionally brushing back his chest-length hair or nudging up his oversized glasses.
But back in the 19th arrondissement, he persuaded - by his own admission to investigators - about 10 young people to leave France for Iraq. In court, he acknowledged he had had "a role" in helping fighters who wanted to go to Iraq, but said there was no organized network.
"I really believed in the idea," said one of his students, defendant Cherif Kouachi, 25. He said he was motivated by his outrage at television images of torture of Iraqi inmates at the U.S. prison at Abu Ghraib.
Another alleged member of the group, Peter Cherif, was arrested by U.S. authorities and his mother says he was held in Abu Ghraib. He faces a separate trial in France.
Another, 25-year-old Mohammed El Ayouni, who lost an arm and an eye in 2004 in a U.S. tank shelling near Fallujah, described administering IVs and shots to injured fighters and keeping watch for American troops. He said Iraqi families welcomed the French fighters, preparing their meals and laundering their clothes.
The fighters said they traveled through Syria first, taking Arabic lessons and getting basic weapons training.
When Boubakeur's brother Redouane el Hakim was killed in July 2004 - found in an insurgent hideout in Fallujah bombarded by U.S. forces - his mother organized a memorial celebration of her son's martyrdom, according to court documents and two defense lawyers on the case.
It was American authorities who first confirmed the presence of French citizens among Iraqi insurgents, judicial documents show.
Other European countries have also fed fighters to Iraq.
Two men considered linked to Europe's deadliest Islamic terror attack, the 2004 bombings in Madrid, are believed to have later killed themselves in suicide attacks in Iraq. Spanish authorities have arrested dozens of people suspected of recruiting Islamic fighters for the Iraq insurgency.
Italian courts have convicted several North Africans of recruiting militants for Iraq in Italy in recent years.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 72 CommentsFirst off, if this guy was assisting actual Iraqi resistance groups, then he really can''t be accused of aiding any terrorist group, since the Iraqi resistance fighters cannot be considered to be terrorists, but are rather freedom fighters.
Secondly, since it is pretty obvious that "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" is primarily an imaginary, Made-in-USA band of boogie-men, then if that is who this man was assisting, he is either a government stooge, or a dupe.
Next-
Re: "The fighters said they traveled through Syria first, taking Arabic lessons and getting basic weapons training."
Right. Like some French boob is going to be able to, waltz into Iraq with a couple weeks of Arabic and weapons training, kill Americans, and stroll on back to France to brag about it.
Like he wouldn''t stand out like a sore thumb in the middle of an Iraq war zone.
Finally-
Re: "Two men considered linked to Europe''s deadliest Islamic terror attack, the 2004 bombings in Madrid, are believed to have later killed themselves in suicide attacks in Iraq."
This is only "believed" by fools.
Re: "Another, 25-year-old Mohammed El Ayouni, who lost an arm and an eye in 2004 in a U.S. tank shelling near Fallujah, described administering IVs and shots to injured fighters and keeping watch for American troops."
Sounds pretty clear that this person was helping legitimate Iraqi resistance fighters, since there were no "terrorists" in Fallujah in 2004.
This story is ridiculous. Sounds like some cooked-up nonsense from Bush''s little fascist friend Sarkozy.
Re: "The suspected nucleus of the network, janitor-turned-street preacher Benyettou, told the court the case against him was "fantasy" and an affront to his freedom of speech."
Sounds about right.
Check out the guy in the photo- greying, and about 100 lbs overweight.
Real nimble fighter, this one.
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Posted by starsnbars12 at 07:16 AM : Mar 31, 2008
+ report abuse
Insanity like this isn''t going to solve this problem. It''s going to take someone with the ability to reach out to ALL nations and ALL people of peace to form an alliance against radicals of all stripes. To sit back and blame other nations for allowing Radicals to operate in their governments when we ourselves saw our OWN congress called back into special session by an Extremist Religious Leader wishing to impose HIS will on the family of a Brain Dead Woman. We have seen our Nation Isolated by our enemy''s to the point where it is truly US against the world. That isn''t good for anyone and will do NOTHING to stop this kind of hatred. People do not hate without reason and those who USE hate do so for power. That is true in Iran and is true in AMERICA as well.
Posted by Skyk
Wake up guy. And get real while you''re at it jackazz! I''m on my 3rd tour in Iraq now. If your ignorant-simple mind took the time to read and educate yourself on the islamic faith, you would quickly realize that the koran teached to make "slaves and 2nd class citizens of all those that reject muhammed as their prophet and ''Allah'' as their one and only God."...Don''t be a fool my man. ALL MUSLIMS WANT YOU AND YOUR KIND DEAD OR THEIR SLAVES.
Posted by Skyk
And as for this statment of idiocy....I''m not even gonna waste my time or energy responding to this stupidity.
These muslim terrorist thugs have the only reason they need to hate...the fact that you are not muslim is all they need.
Posted by tankersmash at 08:05 AM : Mar 31, 2008
Is that what they teach in boot camp now ?
If what you say is true then why is Bush even trying for "Democracy" ???
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Posted by underdogus
Thank YOU....for your care and support.
Posted by underdogus at 08:09 AM : Mar 31, 2008
Get a room!!!
Posted by tankersmash at 08:05 AM : Mar 31, 2008
Funny - last time he posted here, several months ago, he said he had just completed his fourth tour, and was volunteering to go back for a fourth.
Hmmm.... A soldier that doesn''t know what tour he is on?
Hmmm.... A soldier that doesn''''t know what tour he is on?
Posted by hungry1968 at 09:19 AM : Mar 31, 2008
Correction -- said that he just completed his THIRD tour, and was going back for a fourth.
Posted by notblue at 09:45 AM : Mar 31, 2008
Truth is noble too.
Is being in Iraq making the United States safer - Petraeus says "I don''t know"
Posted by runningralph at 09:41 AM : Mar 31, 2008
And you have proof of this.
If these individuals are that motivated and Iraq was not available they probably would have traveled to Afghanistan, just like the pre-911 malcontents.
Posted by jamesm12341 at 10:26 AM : Mar 31, 2008
I don''t have hatred for Bush and didn''t even mention Bush. The "original" Iraq mission was protecting the US from WMDs, then al-Quaeda and then democracy (I may have missed one and they may not be in order). It was Sen. Warner asking Petraeus the question.
Posted by jamesm12341 at 10:29 AM : Mar 31, 2008
And why did the US go into Afghanistan ?
And where was al-Quaeda training ?
These jihadists don''t discriminate. Their main mission is to get the entire globe to submit to ISLAM.
WAKE UP USA
Posted by WakeupUSA08 at 12:30 PM : Mar 31, 2008
And you main mission is to make everyone a nazi.
Posted by notblue at 12:04 PM : Mar 31, 2008
Which is nill....lol. Enjoy 2009, I''ll watch the fire works from a far. When I see the big glow on the horizon we''ll have a few moments of silence.
Prosecutors Say Muslims Learned Arabic, Killed Americans In Iraq, Came Home To Recruit
-This was expected, I guess, since many foreigners (including us, the USA), are fighting on the land of Iraqis. The fact that we officially send troops to occupy Iraq, lying atthe US people, to the fact that Al-Qaeda was present while, not true, does not prevent the Jihadists who consider that Iraq land is part of their land, and needed to protect it, from going there. Don''t you see that many Jews leave the USA, France or UK to enlist in the IDF? Shall we prohibit the Jews from recruiting other Jews for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)?
Posted by trishab4
How is it that so many Democrats talk exactly like the terrorists on Al Jazeera Television. The statement above is an exact match for a Jihadi Manifesto. And we are supposed to vote for Democrats and their Anti-American Agenda of Hate?
Posted by trishab4
How is it that so many Democrats talk exactly like the terrorists on Al Jazeera Television. The statement above is an exact match for a Jihadi Manifesto. And we are supposed to vote for Democrats and their Anti-American Agenda of Hate?
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Posted by demslie at 01:19 PM : Mar 31, 2008
- GOPslie, where is the hatred here? 935 documented lies, done by a proud representative of the GOPs and counting...
Posted by notblue at 11:25 AM : Mar 31, 2008
Then where is the "War on Terror" ??
Bush and Co. are "cherry-picking" if there are that many with training camps. In fact they picked a country that wasn''t training al-Quaeda, Iraq...
.. If you are trying to beat Bush & McCain as America''s biggest liers your going to have to come up with something better than that one.
Posted by trishab4
-You liberals are not only very dumb but you are also very desperate. Do you not have the capability of discerning the fact that if there were actually 935 lies told that Congress (mostly liberal) wouldn''t continue to fund this war and the President wouldn''t still be sitting in office.
Bill Clinton was impeached over one lie about not having a sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky and you liberals are desperately seeking anything you can possibly fetch up to try to vindicate your bitterness and constant hatred of President Bush.
Are you all really this incredibly stupid?
No offense but.......
Seriously!
You people are desperate!
Duuuuuuh, you had better start paying attention to what GOP Failures in this War on Terror have resulted in
How can you liberals be so stupid to believe there were 935 lies told by Pres. Bush when nothing is done about these supposed "lies" yet when Clinton was in office he was impeached for only 1 lie?
Congress and the Senate is now controlled by you liberals, who keep funding the war effort.
As I said, you''re both dumb and desperate.
-And you had better start paying attention to more books on the mission of these maniac Muslims. You could start by reading their Quran/Hadith.
We can be fairly certain that these French accused are:
1. Government sponsored operatives
2. Government set-up dupes
or
3. Some french guys, innocent of anything at all, but got up in this silly witch-hunt, similar to those who have been "accidentally" tortured by various U.S. agents, by "mistake".
We also know that waging a war on "terror" is a fools-errand, suitable for morons, as "terror" is an emotion, with about as much chance of being "defeated" as "sadness".
"Terrorism", on the other hand, is a tactic, and also can not ever be "defeated". It can be countered, but never, ever "defeated".
Leave it to the war-profiteers and other fascists to pick a fight that they have ZERO chance of ever winning. This guarantees profits, you see, similar to the moronic and counterproductive "War on Drugs".
Turkmen just announced a new jihadi group calling itself %u201Cthe Martyr Saighan Battalion%u201D - Turkmen themselves estimate their numbers at between 2.5 to 3 million people. The Turkmen reside mainly in the oil-rich Kirkuk region, with smaller communities in Baghdad and the provinces of Mosul, Arbil, Diyala and Salah al-Din.
Sufi Insurgent Groups in Iraq, formally pro-Saddmists are also have begun to take up arms against Coalition forces. Their numbers are around 3 million
They don''t want to recognize black and white evil(jihad) when they see it.
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