Saturday, September 30, 2006

Report details US 'intelligence failures'


By Rob Broomby BBC correspondent in Berlin
The American intelligence agency, the CIA, could have prevented the 11 September attacks if it were not for systematic failures, according to the German newspaper Die Zeit.
Just a month before the deadly attacks, the paper said, Mossad handed over to the Americans a detailed report naming several suspects they believe were preparing an attack on the United States The paper has uncovered details of a major Israeli spy ring involving some a 120 agents for the intelligence service Mossad operating across America and some masquerading as arts students.
The ring was reportedly hard on the heels of at least four members of the hijack gang, including its leader Mohammed Atta.
But the Israeli agents were detected by their American counterparts and thrown out of the country, it says.
The US authorities said then that they were students whose visas had expired.
Report dismissed
Just a month before the deadly attacks, the paper said, Mossad handed over to the Americans a detailed report naming several suspects they believe were preparing an attack on the United States.
But it contained no specific indications as to the objective and it was not treated seriously.
The paper also claims that the CIA failed to inform the German authorities that Ramzi Binalshibh, a key logistics man for the attacks, had attended a high level meeting of al-Qaeda activists in Malaysia over 18 months before 11 September.
Without that information the Germans could not prevent him re-entering the country and contacting the Hamburg cell that was planning the hijackings.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud


48 , self made
Source: investmentsNet Worth: $23.7 bil
Country of citizenship: Saudi Arabia
Residence: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Industry: Investments
Marital Status: married , 2 children Menlo College, Bachelor of Arts / ScienceSyracuse University, Master of Science

This savvy global investor and nephew of the Saudi king continues to thrive on deal-making—in addition to a dash of pro-American political crusading. His fortune, anchored by a $10 billion stake in Citigroup, was lifted in part by a 116% rise in the Saudi stock market in 2004. Last year he unloaded his half of New York's Plaza Hotel and plowed the profits into buying stakes in London's Savoy Hotel and Monaco's Monte Carlo Grand. In January he helped bail out an ailing Disneyland-Paris with a $30 million cash injection. A vocal supporter of women's rights, he hired the first female airplane pilot in Saudi Arabia, a country where women still can't legally drive. Clearly pleased with his stock picking prowess, he took out ads on CNN touting his holdings. "We're telling the market all these companies are number one in their field," crows Alwaleed.

Posted By http://www.forbes.com/