Thursday, September 21, 2006

Strange death of a 911 witness

A friend to this blog directed my attention to an obscure news story (from a local television outlet) that deserves wider exposure.
Local Terrorist Whistle-Blower Dead After Poisoning

He claimed he met three of the Sept. 11 hijackers in Shreveport a year before the attacks. Now, that man, Shreveport dentist Dr. David Graham, is dead.

His family says he was poisoned more than two years ago. At the time, Graham was trying to publish a manuscript about meeting three middle easterners in Shreveport, men he feared were plotting to bomb Barksdale Air Force Base. Graham wrote that he warned the FBI. Then after Sept. 11, he saw their pictures among the hijackers.

Before Graham was poisoned, he was supposed to testify at a deportation hearing against a Pakistani man, Jamal Khan, who hosted the men Graham believed to be the hijackers. Graham's brother, Edwin Jones, told us Wednesday night the family believes someone slipped poison into his drink, plunging him into a deadly illness.
Well. If the game ain't afoot now, I don't know feet.

I've searched the web for more information about this Dr. Graham. So far, I've found that he was acquainted with a Shreveport mayoral prospect named Vernon Adams. The only blog to pay attention to his tale is The Buck Stops Here, which gives us some more facts, especially in the reader commentary.

The Pakistani connection leapt out at me. (If you cannot guess why, see 911: Press For Truth.) Here is some more information on Jamal Khan -- unfortunately, the original cite has slipped loose the surly bonds of the web:
When Mohammad Jamal Khan pleaded guilty to trying to evade the requirement that large cash transactions be reported to banks and the government, federal prosecutors added an unusual caveat to his plea agreement: There would be no immunity from possible prosecution in the future for crimes relating to Sept. 11.
(Emphasis added.) The agreement adds: "The U.S. Attorney is simply not aware of the involvement by the defendant in these crimes at this time."

Is that sort of condicil often seen in plea agreements about a financial crime? The statement seems like something out of a Monty Python sketch: "And there is NO cannibalism in the modern British Navy." You can't issue a denial of that sort without causing people to wonder why you went out of your way to say it.

7 comments:

DrewL said...

Very odd story. The first thing tht caught my attention was Barksdale AFB, as that was Air Force One's first stop after leaving Florida on 9/11/01, if memory serves me correctly. AFO then went on to a base in Nebraska, I seem to recall. Probably just a coincidence, but then again...

Please keep us posted on this story, Joseph.

Anonymous said...

Any word on what made Graham think these guys were plotting to bomb the Air Force base? What did Graham have to say about these guys other than that he thought they were suspicious?

Anonymous said...

Other murder case.
Slightly off-topic ? un-obscuring :
Adamo Bove murder case italy news evulution ->
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/0,1518,druck-438447,00.html

Anonymous said...

I think Barksdale AFB is unique in that it is on private land. Who owns it?(Carlysle?)

Anonymous said...

Barksdale AFB's Land is on a 99 year lease to the U.S. air force from the City of Shreveport,Caddo Parish, La. The land was bought by Shreveport in the 1920,s in hopes of luring a major military base. The water for the Base is provided by the city of Shreveport. Barksdale is located on 22,000 acres across the Red River from Shreveport in Bossier City La, Bossier Parish. If Barksdale were to ever close ownership would revert to the city of Shreveport,La.

Anonymous said...

11.Sep.2001 10-32 AM Cheney called Bush to tell Bush of a threat to Air Force One. 1

11.Sep.2001 11-45 AM Air Force One landed at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, Louisiana.

11.Sep.2001 12:00 noon Bush arrived at Barksdale Air Force Base headquarters in a Humvee escorted by armed outriders.

11.Sep.2001 12:00-11.Sep.2001 -------- While at Barksdale, Bush made a speech, saying "Make no mistake, the USA will hunt down + punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

11.Sep.2001 01-44 PM Air Force One left Barksdale Air Force Base for Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base.
--
->Big Eyeballing Barksdale Air Force Base Nuclear Weapons Storage Area -A previous eyeball of Barksdale nuclear weapons storage area: ... Big Eyeballing Barksdale Air Force Base Nuclear Weapons Storage Area.
www.eyeball-series.org/barkbig-eyeball.htm

Anonymous said...

Being a journalist living in Louisiana at the time, I vaguely remember this story and may have commented on it at the time on my blog. I hope you, Buck and others will dig deeper into this story. It's very unsettling.