Opinion ID: 181375
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Abu-Jihaad's Transmittal of the Battlegroup Document

Text: To prove Abu-Jihaad's transmittal of the Battlegroup Document (or the information contained therein) to persons at Azzam, the government relied on evidence showing: (1) defendant's access to the information; (2) his communications with Azzam expressing support for jihad; and (3) his implicit admission in a 2006 recorded statement to having disclosed confidential national security information while in the Navy.
The 2001 deployment of the Constellation battlegroup from San Diego to the Middle East was executed pursuant to a Navy transit plan that went through many drafts beginning on September 29, 2000, and continuing through finalization on February 24, 2001. Each of these iterations highlighted the date April 29, 2001, when, just before midnight, the battlegroup would cross the change of operation control (CHOP) point, i.e., enter into the geographic region controlled by the United States Fifth Fleet. Only the final transit plan referenced a stop in Hawaii by a single vessel, the U.S.S. Benfold, to load ammunition. No version of the transit plan specified the date on which the battlegroup would pass through the Strait of Hormuz. [9] Each iteration of the transit plan was classified confidential, which denotes information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe. Exec. Order No. 12,958, § 1.3(3), 60 Fed.Reg. 19,825 (Apr. 17, 1995); see also United States v. Abu-Jihaad, 600 F.Supp.2d at 377 (noting Navy's operational instructions stating that precise current or future operational deployment, locations of surface combatant ships, and planned foreign port calls should be classified as `confidential' until after deployment or the visit has been approved by the host government (some internal quotation marks omitted)). Retired Rear Admiral David C. Hart, Jr., who commanded the Constellation battlegroup during the time here at issue, explained that the Navy does not disclose anticipated ports of call because ships are particularly vulnerable in such locations. A similar concern counseled against disclosure of plans for ships to travel through areas where their maneuverability was limited, such as the Strait of Hormuz. [10] Because of these concerns, even among persons assigned to ships in a battlegroup, only those with a secret clearance would be given access to a transit plan. Of 300 sailors on board the U.S.S. Benfold, Abu-Jihaad was one of 40 afforded such access by virtue of his status as a signalman who worked alongside quartermasters in the preparation of the ship's navigational charts. He did not, however, have access to the Navy's secure intranet for classified information (SIPRnet), which contained information even more sensitive to the national defense than that contained in the transit plan. Significantly, the Battlegroup Document revealed no information for which SIPRnet clearance would have been required, thus limiting the likely source of the information it contained to persons with access only to the transit plan.
Even before United States officials received a copy of the seized Battlegroup Document from their British counterparts, federal agents, acting pursuant to court order, had searched various Azzam-affiliated electronic accounts and discovered therein eleven email exchanges in the time frame of August 21, 2000, to September 3, 2001, between Azzam and a United States sailor serving on the U.S.S. Benfold: the defendant Hassan Abu-Jihaad. [11] Abu-Jihaad used both his personal and military email addresses in these communications. In its review of 23,000 Azzam emails, the government discovered only two correspondents with military email addresses: (1) a Navy Commander who commented angrily on Azzam's support for jihad and (2) Abu-Jihaad. Moreover, Abu-Jihaad's military email address was one of the few addresses saved in an Azzam email account address book. In his early emails with Azzam, Abu-Jihaad discussed purchases of various materials, including the videos Martyrs of Bosnia, Russian Hell 2000, Part I, and Chechnya from the Ashes (which included the feature Russian Hell 2000, Part II ). [12] In later emails, Abu-Jihaad revealed his identity and status as an active duty member of the Navy and his personal support for jihad, even when directed against the United States. In a July 2001 email sent from Abu-Jihaad's personal email account to qoqaz@ assam.comthe email address to which Azzam's websites directed readers to send their messages of supportdefendant praised the martyrdom operation against the uss cole and the debilitating effect of that action on the United States ( Cole email). Trial Tr. at 333-34; Gov't Ex. 19. The text of the Cole email, which was retrieved only because it was embedded in Azzam's reply, states as follows: i am a muslim station onboard a u.s. warship currently operating depolyed to the arabian gulf. it shall be noted before usama's latest video was viewed by massive people all over the world. that psychological anxiety had already set in on america's forces everywhere. all this is due to the martyrdom operation against the uss cole. since then every warship station either on the western or eastern shores of america who come to operate in the 5th fleet op area has to be given a force protect brief. well during the brief, i attended there was one thing that stuck out like thorns on a rose bush. i do not know who was the originator of this either top brass or an american poitician. well here is his/her statement: america has Never faced an enemy with no borders, no government, no diplomats, nor a standing army that pledges allegiance to no state. Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! [13] i give takbirs [praise to Allah] because i know deep down in my heart that the american enemies that this person has discribe is the Mujahideen Feesabilillah [holy warriors fighting in the cause of Allah]. these brave men are the true champions and soldiers of Allah in this dunya [world]. i understand fully that they are the men who have brong honor to this weak ummah [Islamic community] in the lands of jihad afghanistan, bosnia, chechnya, etc. Alhamdulillah! [Praise to Allah!] With their only mission in life to make Allah's name and laws supreme all over this world. i want to let it be known that i have been in the middle east for almost a total of 3 months. for these 3 months you can truly see the effects of this psychological warfare taking a toll on junior and high ranking officers. but after the latest video supporting palestine. the top brass and american officials were running around like headless chickens very afraid, wondering if there is a possible threat. but this time the american population got wind of this and they came to know just how afraid the u.s. government is. thomas l. friedman wrote an article in the new york times called: what it takes to make the americans to turn tail, run. this article was distributed on my ship and most of the sailors said it was so true about the american government, and they feel like they are working for a bunch of scary pussies.... a Brother serving a Kuffar [infidel] nation. Astaghfir' Allah [Forgiveness from Allah].... Hassan United States v. Abu-Jihaad, 600 F.Supp.2d at 372-73 (emphasis and bracketed material added by district court). Abu-Jihaad's Azzam correspondent replied in relevant part: You said it all, and all I can add is that the Kufar know that they cannot defeat the Mujahideen (the warriors of Allah). I trust that you are doing your best to make sure that the other brothers & sisters in uniform are reminded that their sole purpose of existence in this duniya [world] is purely to worship our Lord and Master, Allah (SWT) [praise being given to Allah]. May Allah be with you & your brothers and sisters and keep you from all harm. Keep up with the Dawah [preaching Islam] and the psychlogical warefare. Id. at 373 (bracketed material added by district court). In the last of the eleven emails recovered by the government, Abu-Jihaad praised Azzam's coverage of the Taliban in Afghanistan, but opined that the Taliban were too lenient in failing to execute foreign aid workers who converted Muslims to other faiths. None of Abu-Jihaad's recovered emails referenced the Battlegroup Document or the information contained therein.
In 2006, by which time Abu-Jihaad had been out of the Navy for four years and was living in Phoenix, Arizona, Abu-Jihaad's telephone conversations with his friend Derrick Shareef and a confidential informant were intercepted by a court-authorized wiretap. In excerpts of four calls from late 2006 that were played for the jury, Abu-Jihaad revealed his familiarity with Azzam's websites, see Gov't Ex. 141c, and his high degree of concern with tapped telephones, Gov't Ex. 141e. Abu-Jihaad stated an intent to secur[e] myself to avoid hand[ing] myself to a Kafir [infidel]. Gov't Ex. 141f. He cautioned those with whom he spoke not to refer to associates by their real names, see Gov't Ex. 141g, and he frequently employed code, referring to jihad as J or 7, [14] e.g., Gov't Ex. 141c, logistics as L, e.g., Gov't Ex. 141g, martyrdom operations as M.O., e.g., Gov't Ex. 141f, and military intelligence as meals, e.g., Gov't Ex. 141k. [15] Thus, Abu-Jihaad's references to a cold meal meant outdated intelligence, whereas a fresh meal or hot meal referred to current intelligence. Trial Tr. at 975-76. In a November 11, 2006 conversation, Abu-Jihaad stated that he no longer had current logistics information: Now `L' for me is like a cold meal. `Cuz it ain't fresh.... If it ain't fresh, it's un-fresh and it, it's un-beneficial to youjust put it that way. Gov't Ex. 141g. He repeated this point in a subsequent conversation with Shareef and the confidential informant the same day: ABU-JIHAAD: And I said, and I'll say it again, with whatever I can give you, that's beneficial, I'll give it to you. But whatever's cold turkey, if it's cold turkey, I can't give it to you. CW [16] : Ak ... ABU-JIHAAD: `Cuz that means that, if it's cold turkeyI'm talking about L you figure it out`cuz then that means that, that's just saying that, I haven't been on that job, so I don't you know what I'm saying, I haven't been there ... to see ... what the fresh meal is. SHAREEF: Okay. ABU-JIHAAD: You understand that? SHAREEF: Yeah. CW: Tell him, man I already got brothers... ABU-JIHAAD: If I can't, if I can't give you the fresh mealI ain't been there in X amount of years. SHAREEF: Yeah, II understand what you're saying. ABU-JIHAAD: See what I'm saying? Now if ... the Hispanic, if the Mexican, he just, was there a minute ago he can give you a fresh meal. SHAREEF: Okay. ABU-JIHAAD: So you put that together. . . . . . ABU-JIHAAD: If it'sif it's ... in those terms, he can give you a fresh meal `cuz, you know what I'm saying, he just finished his job, there, less than a month ago, or ... SHAREEF: Okay. ABU-JIHAAD: ... two. (LAUGHS). But I, I meanin those terms and L's,I would be giving you a cold meal. CW: I understand. SHAREEF: All righty. ABU-JIHAAD: You got me? SHAREEF: Yeah, I got you. ABU-JIHAAD: Because, umand then I can elaborate on that more if you want me to ... CW: No, no ... ABU-JIHAAD: ... to your facenot on the phone. I'm just saying ... if we ... you got me? SHAREEF: Yeah, man ... we good, we good. ABU-JIHAAD: A fresh meal and a cold meal. Gov't Ex. 141h at 1-2. The informant testified that when Abu-Jihaad said he had not been on that job, the informant understood Abu-Jihaad to mean he was no longer in the Navy. By contrast, the informant understood the Mexican to be a reference to Miguel Colon, a man who had left the Marine Corps only recently in September 2006. Still later on November 11, 2006, Abu-Jihaad spoke with Colon about Shareef's wish to procure military intelligence: ABU-JIHAAD: [H]e wants a hot meal. You know what I'm saying? COLON: Yeah. ABU-JIHAAD: I don't know how to get him no hot meal. I told him I, I ain't been working uh, in, in, in the field of making meals and or, you know ... COLON: Yeah. ABU-JIHAAD: ... in a, in a long time. I've been out of that for, uh, over uh, quatro years you know. Gov't Ex. 141k at 7. At trial, the government argued that, by explaining his present inability to provide military intelligence by reference to the fact that he had not been working ... in the field of making meals for four years, Abu-Jihaad was effectively admitting that he had leaked military intelligence while in the Navy.