Ashcroft reveals new tape information


Al Rauf Bin Al Habib Bin Yousef al-Jiddi

SUMMARY:

U.S. authorities have identified the fifth, previously unknown suspected "suicide terrorist" showcased on a videotape released by the Justice Department last week. In a news conference Friday afternoon, Attorney General John Ashcroft identified the fifth man as 36-year-old Al Rauf Bin Al Habib Bin Yousef al-Jiddi, but said the suspect goes by several aliases. Other law enforcement sources identified him as Abderraouf Jdey. (Full story)

UPDATE:

Taliban American fighter John Walker Lindh made his first court appearance Thursday, where he told a judge he understood the charges that he conspired to kill his fellow Americans in Afghanistan.

Slightly gaunt and wearing a jail-issue jumpsuit, Walker Lindh entered a packed courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, escorted by security guards and U.S. marshals.

When asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Curtis Sewell whether he understood the charges, Walker Lindh responded, "Yes, I do." When asked if he understood that if convicted he could be sentenced to life in prison, he said, "Yes, I understand."

Walker Lindh is being held at Alexandria Detention Center in a walled cell about 7.5 feet square until a preliminary hearing set for February 6. During that period, prosecutors may seek a grand jury indictment. (Full story)



		• Summary • Update • Key questions • Who's who



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EXTRA INFORMATION

	Timeline: Who Knew What and When?

	Interactive: Terror Investigation

	Terror Warnings System

	Most wanted terrorists

	What looks suspicious?

	In-Depth: America Remembers

	In-Depth: Terror on Tape

	In-Depth: How prepared is your city?


RESOURCES

	On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands?

	On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

KEY QUESTIONS:

What did Walker say during an interview after the uprising? (Click here for information)

Why is Walker's father seeking mercy for his son? (Click here for information)

Read the charges against Walker (Click here for information)

Do the remaining Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan still pose a threat?

How long will the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan last?

What is the goal of the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan? What is the key to the mission's success?

WHO'S WHO:

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Hamid Karzai: A Pashtun tribal leader and the chairman of Afghanistan's interim government.

Osama bin Laden: A wealthy Saudi expatriate living in Afghanistan who U.S. authorities cite as one of the primary suspects in masterminding the attacks.

Condoleezza Rice: U.S. national security adviser.

Colin Powell: U.S. secretary of state. A former Army general, Powell also served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Gen. Richard B. Myers: Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Gen. Tommy Franks: Head of U.S. Central Command.

Donald Rumsfeld: U.S. secretary of defense.

The Taliban: A group of Islamic fundamentalists, mainly from Afghanistan's Pashtun ethnic group, which is the country's largest ethnic group. The Taliban that gained control of most of the country by 1997 and instituted an extreme form of Islamic law.

Northern Alliance: A group of former mujahedeen fighters, mainly from minority ethnic groups that oppose the Taliban.

George Robertson: NATO secretary-general and former British defense minister.

George Tenet: CIA director

IMPACT:

The United States will try John Walker in a federal court on charges that could put him behind bars for life if he is convicted.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration is pondering whether the 158 Afghan war detainees being held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will face civilian court or military tribunals, or be held indefinitely.