The Spy Is An Eye: My Washington Times Piece On Suspected Terrorist Spy Who Scouted New York City Targets

The Washington Times published my piece on a suspected terrorist spy who was scouting targets in New York City.

The Department of Justice announced on Sept. 19 that Alexei Saab, 42, of Morristown, New Jersey, aka Ali Hassan Saab, Alex Saab and Rachid, was charged in a nine-count indictment for offenses related to his surveillance of possible targets for Hezbollah. 

“According to the allegations, while living in the United States, Saab served as an operative of Hezballah and conducted surveillance of possible target locations in order to help the foreign terrorist organization prepare for potential future attacks against the United States,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said in a statement. “Such covert activities conducted on U.S. soil are a clear threat to our national security and I applaud the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this investigation and prosecution.”

This indictment is the latest case of a terrorist spy performing reconnaissance of American bridges, power plants, shopping malls, military bases and other potential future targets.

An old al Qaeda manual discovered by the Manchester Police in the United Kingdom back in 2000 revealed the terrorist groups’ guidance to terrorists, as well as to terrorist spies. The 180-page training manual’s 11th and 12th chapters dealt with espionage.

“The spy is called an eye because his work is through his eyes or because of his excessive preoccupation with observation, as if all his being is an eye,” the manual noted.

As a terrorist “Eye,” Saab surveilled dozens of locations in New York City, including the United Nations headquarters, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square and the Empire State Building. According to the indictment, he provided detailed information and photographs on these locations to the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), a component of Hezbollah responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities on behalf of Hezbollah outside of Lebanon. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/23/suspected-terrorist-spy-is-arrested-for-surveillin/