Bryant Neal Vinas Confession
In the fall of 2007, I left my home in Long Island to travel to Pakistan with the intention of meeting and joining a jihadist group to fight American soldiers in Afghanistan. When I arrived in Pakistan, I made contact with and was accepted into al-Qaeda, a jihadist group that I knew to be responsible for attacks against the United States, including suicide bombings targeting civilians.
As a member of al-Qaeda, I received training in courses in general combat and explosives. During my time in al-Qaeda, I took part, at the direction of al-Qaeda leaders, in two missions in September 2008 in which we agreed and planned to attack a United States military base near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first attack failed and we had to abort the mission before firing on the base, but a few days later, I took part in firing rockets at an American military base. Although we intended to hit the military base and kill American soldiers, I was informed that the rockets missed and the attack failed.
Finally, during my time with al-Qaeda, I consulted with a senior al-Qaeda leader and provided detailed information about the operation of the Long Island Rail Road system which I knew because I had ridden the railroad on many occasions. The purpose of providing this information was to help plan a bomb attack of the Long Island Rail Road system.
Full transcriptLabels: Afghanistan, American-Al-Qaeda, Bryant-Neal-Vinas, Homegrown-Terrorism, INTELFILES
Bryant Neal Vinas Indictment and Transcripts
From the
L.A. Times:
An American Muslim convert from Long Island, N.Y., who was captured while fighting for Al Qaeda in Pakistan is now cooperating with authorities, opening a rare window into the world of Western militants in the network's hide-outs, U.S. and European anti-terrorism officials said.
Bryant Neal Vinas, 26, is one of the few Americans known to have made the trek to Al Qaeda's secret Pakistani compounds, the officials said.
Vinas has admitted to meeting Al Qaeda chiefs and giving them information for a potential attack on New York commuter trains, conversations that resulted in a public alert in November, said the officials, who requested anonymity because the case was ongoing.
Here are the key court documents in the Vinas case:
All documentsNovember 14, 2008, First indictmentNovember 22, 2008, Court transcriptJanuary 28, 2009, Superseding indictmentJanuary 28, 2009, Court transcriptJuly 22, 2009, Order to unsealLabels: Afghanistan, American-Al-Qaeda, Bryant-Neal-Vinas, Homegrown-Terrorism, INTELFILES, Pakistan, Terrorist-Recruitment
June 2001: U.S. Warned Of Impending Terrorist Attack Coming From Afghanistan
New 9/11 documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal: Less than three months before September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the Taliban that American intelligence had "high confidence" that "Afghan-based and other operatives are now planning on carrying out attacks against Americans." Powell's warning was conveyed to the Taliban by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam, who specifically discussed Osama bin Laden with the Taliban's representative Abdul Salam Zaeef.
Full Story6/27/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden
6/29/2001: State Dept. cable, threats to U.S. by Bin Laden
7/5/2001: State Dept. cable, meeting with Saudi Prince Abdullah
Labels: 9-11, Afghanistan, INTELFILES, Osama-Bin-Laden, Taliban
American Civilians Killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, January 2001 to December 2007
INTELWIRE filed a FOIA request for any records concerning non-military American citizens killed in Iraq and Afghanistan from January 1, 2001 to December 2007. The State Department said it found nine documents, consisting of 17 pages, which are linked below. The State Department said it was not withholding any documents, although some of the released documents were redacted.
Despite the State Department's claim that these are the only documents it could locate, none of the documents refer to American citizen Nicholas Berg, the most famous American civilian casualty in Iraq, who was killed by Al Qaeda in Iraq head Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.
Due to this glaring inconsistency, INTELWIRE believes this request has not received an adequate search nor a satisfactory response. An appeal is in process. In the meantime, the released documents may be viewed below.
American civilians killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, 1/2001 to 12/2007One point of special interest in the released documents concerned Hector Patino, of San Antonio, Texas, who was killed in an apparent friendly fire incident in January 2007. Family members have
raised questions about the official account of Patino's killing.
Reports stated Patino was driving a truck when Australian coalition military guards ordered him to stop in the vicinity of a checkpoint. He did not stop, for reasons unknown, and the soldiers shot and killed him.
The document released to INTELWIRE has one key difference from the official report. According to a State Department cable dated Jan. 17, 2007, "
Australian and U.S. military guards ... shot and killed Patino."
As an early report, the cable may simply have erred in stating that U.S. soldiers were involved in the incident. INTELWIRE makes no special claims about the veracity of either account, but offers the document for those who may wish to investigate further.
1/17/2007: State Department cable, death of Hector PatinoLabels: Afghanistan, INTELFILES, Iraq
