REPLY TO ATTENTION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE JOINT TASK FORCE GUANTANAMO GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA APO AE 09360 l0 September2004 MEMORANDUM FOR Commander, United States Southem Command, 351I NW 9lst Avenue, Miami, FL33172. ISN: US9AF-0001 0l 3DP (S) 1. (FOUO) Personal Information: o JDIMSAtrDRC Reference Name: Ahmed,Esmatallatr Fedatt r Aliases and Current/True Name: Ahmed Feda o Place of Birth: Kandahar. Afshanistan (AF) o Date of Birth: 5 Februarv 1977 o Citizenship: Afehanistan 2. (FOUO) Health: He is in good health. 3. (S) Detainee Summary: a. (S) Background and Capture Data: Unless othenvise noted, the following background notes are based solely on the detainee's statements.. Recruitment and Travel: Beginning in 2001, detainee began making his way to the US from Pakistan (PK) via South America and Mexico (MX). Detainee attempted to enter the US, so he could get a job and send money home to his family. Detainee had ananged to pay $25,000 to the facilitator if he anived safely in the US. After many months of travel, he was arrested by Mexican police in March of 2003. (Analyst Note: Detainee has not given a name to his facilitator as of this memo.) r Capture Information: The detainee and Ahmad Jan were arrested by Mexican authorities while traveling without proper documentation. After being held for three mont}s, Mexican authorities deported him to Kabul, AF, where he was tumed over to the Afghan govemment. Detainee was in an Afghani prison for 10 months before being handed over to US authorities. CLASSIFIED BY: MultiPle Sources REASON: E.O. 12958 Section 1.5(C) DECLASSIFY ON: 20290910 SECRET I 120290910
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Retain under DoD Confrol (DoD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN: US9AF-0001 0l 3DP (S) b. (S) Transfer to JTF GTMO: Detainee was subsequently transported to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, on 9 May 2003. c. (S) Reasons for Transfer to JTF GTMO: To provide specific information on terrorist networks, financing, facilitators, recruiters, and travel in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Mexico. d. (S) Reasons for Continued Detention: o Detainee probably staged out of Ecuador to Guatemala, prior to arriving in Mexico (MX). His probable facilitator for that portion of the trip has been linked to Hizballah and Al- Gama'at Al-Islamiyya. o The US escort officer on the return trip to Afghanistan from Mexico was able to determine that the detainee and Ahmed Jan had staged out of Ecuador (EC) sometime in February 2002 andtraveled by vessel to the Chetumal port-of-enty area from Quayaquil, EC. Detainee also admitted to being on a boat for 8-9 hours. o The vessel that transported the detainee and Ahmed Jan into Mexico is believed to be one of the special interest vessels (vessels that carry any US-bound alien who is a citizen or national of, or originates travel from, a country that is of special interesto the national security of the US (lraq, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Indonesia, Yemen and Afghanistan). These citizens or nationals are the focus of a joint INS, USCG and Mexican Navy operation called Operation Southern Watch. o According to a member of the US Embassy, Mexico City, several vessels were apprehended by Operation Southern Watch during the time frame in which the detainee and Ahmed Jan were smuggled into Mexico. Five vessels made it to Mexico without being apprehended-trvo of which were the Nina Marie II and the Esperanza. o The smuggler responsible for providing the Middle Eastem immigrants on the vessels was a man named Maher Jarad, aka Maher al-palestinian. He has close ties with Fagr Almat, an individual known to help smuggling operations for members of Hizballah and Al- Gama'at Al-Islamiyya. Two of the vessels, the Nina Marie II and the Esperanzaare known to have departed Guayaquil, Ecuador between 22'23 FebruNy 2002. o Detainee's credibility is suspect. He has been consistently deceptive during interviews, and he has revised his story at least tluee times. His inability to provide accurate basic information about family, past employment, airlines, information on his false passport, etc., suggest he has had counter-intenogation training. o Detainee initially claimed that he was being pursued to join the Taliban in Kandahar, AF. He claimed to pay his uncle $25,000 to find someone who would smuggle him into the US. His uncle introduced him to Khalid who facilitated his travels to the US. The $25,000 came from his father, who is a car salesman in Kandahar, AF. o Subsequently, detainee stated that everything he has said during prior interrogations is a lie. 2 SEcRET 1120290910
ISN: US9AF-0001 013DP (S) o Detainee's next version of his cover story claimed that his family moved to Karachi, PK, where he and his family have been living for five to eight years. Detainee worked at Habiladar Factory, making coats, and at the Zikayr Carving Company for one and a half years. (Analyst note: Contradictions from first story: Detainee now lived in Pakistan versus Afghanistan. Aunt and Uncle live in Pakistanversus Afghanistan. Hisfather is a car salesman in Kandahar.) o When detainee arrived at JTF-GTMO, he provided a third version of his timeline. In the third version, the detainee had two sep.uat employen in Karachi, PK. One was a leather jacket company; the other was a machine shop. Detainee does not remember the name of either the leather company or the machine shop. (Analyst note: Contradictions - Detainee can no longer remember the names of the companies he workedfor. Detainee does not mention his aunt or uncle in this version at all. His family will pay Khaled the money only after the detainee reaches the US. Father no longer sells cars, but he now is at an oil distribution company. Money will come fromfather selling car and borrowing money fromfriends at the oil company.) o Detainee provided erroneous information about the educational institutions he attended. o Ahmed Jan, the other Afghani whb was captured in Mexico with the detainee, also claimed he was looking for an "uncle" in the US, for whom he had no address. (Analyst note; This would suggesthat both Afghani's were given the same cover story to tell if they were captured) r Detainee claims that due to his inability to read and write, he did not know where he was at any time during his travel to the US. His facilitator, "Khaled," held his passport and tickets until detainee had to pass through checkpoints. o Detainee admits to being able to read and write in at least Pashtu. o Detainee claims he never knew what airline he flew on en route to the US. (Analyst note: Airline pilots normally announce departure and aruival locations just prior to take-of and departure. Destination locations are clearly displayed in airports and announcements for Jlights are always made. Detainee would have, at minimum, been aware of where the initiat flight was destined, since it was departingfrom his home area and language(s) being used would not be foreign to the detainee-) o Detention personnel noted, "on22 July 2003 at0522 after the detainee was taken to reservation. A cell search was done and an extra toothbrush and toothpaste was found and also on the ceiling was written "Pakistan" in black. (Analyst note: Indicates he can write) o Detention personnel commented that the detainee preaches religion to ISN US9AF-000964DP from Quoran" (Analyst note: Indicates he can read.) o Detainee also stated that he heard of Usama Bin Laden (UBL) through newspapers and television in Pakistan. (Analyst note: Indicates he can read.) o While staying at one safehouse for two months during the trip to the US, detainee was ordered to remain in the house at all times, sleeping during the day and watching television at night. Analyst note: AII information above dispels detainee's claim of inability to read and write in at least English and Pashtu. Detainee would be able to see departure and arrival information on the ticket and in the airport and information held within the passport. There are
ISN: US9AF-000101 3DP (S) also constant reminders on television of station and location, and to get news from a newspaper you have to be able to read. That being the case, it would be reasonable to believe that the detainee would have the capability to understand what country he was in, what airline he was boarding, and what his destination was. o Detainee was administered two polygraph tests and one Computer Voice Stress Analysis (CVSA) test since his incarceration at Bagram. o The first polygraph was given at Bagram prior to 4 May 2003. Detainee refused to cooperate and did not answer questions. o The second polygraph was conducted at JTF-GTMO on 3l October 2003. The test resulted in a No Opinion. o A CVSA was conducted at JTF-GTMO on 6 Jan 04. The purpose of the examination was to determine the veracity of his denial that he ever received combat training (Al-Qaida operatives have received this training) and his claim that he was not trying to enter the US to commit tenorist-related activities. It was determined that the detainee did not respond truthfully to the following questions.. l Have you received combat training? Detainee answered no. Deception Indicated (DI). 2. Were you trying to sneak into America, to hurt Americans? Detainee answered no. (DI) e. (S) Intelligence Focus: JTF GTMO has determined that this detainee is of high intelligence value due to his knowledge of:. Illegal alien smuggling routes from the Middle East to the Americas o Safehouses used by smugglers between the Middle East and the Americas o Organization and personnel used in smuggling operations o Counter-interrogationtechniques 4. (S) Detainee's Conduct: Detainee's overall behavior has been generally compliant and nonaggressive. He also has a few refusals and failure to follow the guards' instructions in his record. 5. (S) EC Status: Detainee's enemy combatant status was reassessed on24 February 2004, and he remains an enemy combatant. 6. (S) JTF GTMO Assessment: a. (S) Summary: Detainee is a suspected Al-Qaida terrorist captured in Mexico attempting to reach the US border. Detainee has not explained how his family, who are Afghan refugees in Pakistan, could afford to pay the smuggler's fee of $25,000 to get the detainee to the US. It is proven that the detainee has consistently provided false information during interrogations. The detainee's continued efforts to provide false information to authorities throughout his detention is 4
JTF GTMO.CG ISN: USSAF-000101 3DP (S) not indicative of someone simply trying to enter the US. The detainee, who knows four lunguage., one of which is English,-is of higher intelligence. To determine the motivation and extlnt of tn" detainee's deception is key to determining whether or not the detainee is a highly trained terrorist operative. Itias been determined that the detainee poses a medium risk, as he may possibly to pose a threat to the us, its interests and allies. b. (S) Recommendation: JTF GTMO recommends this detainee be retained under DoD control. 7. (S) Coordination: JTF GTMO notified the Criminal Investigative Task Forc.e (CITF) of this recommendation on 10 September 2004. CITF assessed this detainee on 23 April 2004 as a low risk. In the interest of national security and pursuanto an agreement between the CITF and JTF GTMO Commande$, cltf will defer to JTF GTMO's insessment that the detainee poses a medium risk. CF: CITF-GTMO 716'JL / Jnv w. HooD \-zbrigadier General, US ArmY Commanding 5 SEcRET 1120290910