U.S. Armed, Promoted Accused September 11 Terrorist Mastermind New details are coming out about the origins of the alleged terrorist mastermind of 9-11. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone where that trail leads. By Mike Blair F urther details have emerged on the cozy relationship that existed between the U.S. government and Osama bin Laden, the shadowy leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network. In the Jan. 20 issue, American Free Press carried an exclusive report that federal officials were aware of the terrorist attacks six months in advance, facts unearthed by retired high-ranking FBI official Ted L. Gunderson. That story detailed the part played by bin Laden in America's support of Afghan freedom fighters, who in the 1980s were resisting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1986, U.S. officials claimed that aiding bin Laden's network would translate in a drop in terrorist activity. In an exclusive interview, Gunderson told how a high-level official in the administration of President Ronald Reagan approached him in 1986 to see if he could arrange, outside of government channels, a means to provide help to the Afghanis fighting the Soviet invaders. Details of the arrangements established by Gunderson were first reported in the Jan. 7 and Feb. 11, 2002 issues of American Free Press. Gunderson contacted scientist Michael Riconosciuto, who at the time kept close ties to key Middle East moneymen and Red Chinese and other weapons for the U.S. through his work with the CIA. Subsequently, Gunderson arranged a meeting in the spring of 1986 at the Hilton Hotel on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Calif., between himself, Riconosciuto, Ralph Olberg, who covertly represented the State Department at the meeting and served on its Middle East desk, and a man identified as “Tim Osman.” As Gunderson would discover only last year, “Osman” was bin Laden, dressed in ordinary casual Western attire and traveling on a Turkish passport. Gunderson has also since found that there is a real Osman, who is a Turkish official. Gunderson was asked to set up the meeting because of his knowledge of international terrorism, having retired from the FBI in the late 1970s. At the time he was senior special agent in charge, a post equivalent to assistant director, of the 700-plus-man Los Angeles bureau. He immediately approached Riconosciuto, with whom he had previously worked on several classified projects, including the development of a devastating new fuel-air ex plosive device. AIDING THE REBELLION Gunderson says the only part he played in the deal was to put the key players in touch with Sir Dennis Kendall, who lived in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kendall had been known by Gunderson for years and maintained the “right contacts” to help set up an operation to aid the rebels in Afghanistan. According to Gunderson, Kendall, a former member of the British parliament, was a double agent during World War II. He worked for both the Germans and the British. Among other things, Gunderson said, Kendall was able to garner top-secret German intelligence for British MI-6 intelligence agency through a relationship with a secretary of the German ambassador in Madrid, Spain. Kendall made arrangements to aid the Afghan rebels through a Saudi Arabian front organization known as Maktab-al-Khidmat, which provided the funding for aiding the rebels. After leaving Gunderson in California, Riconosciuto, bin Laden, Olberg and Kendall traveled to Boston, where they met with Abdulah Assam, a leader of the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood, and details of the aid plan were further formulated. Kendall had contacts with the international police organization, Interpol, which he had probably gained due to its close ties with German intelligence during World War II, Gunderson said. Interpol provided secure communications and kept the operation from being compromised or discovered, he said. Gunderson said he understands that the operation involved travel by Riconosciuto and others to England, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The operation was formalized in Boston with a number of unnamed congressmen. The project ultimately provided the Afghani resistance with 600 stinger surface-to-air, shoulder-fired missiles, which had been modified so they could not be used against American aircraft if captured. The project also provided thousands of Red Chinese 107-millimeter rockets with aerial proximity fuses. Gunderson said that these weapons turned the tide of battle in Afghanistan against the Soviets, whose aircraft, and particularly attack helicopters, fell victim to the missiles. The rebels were also supplied armor-piercing ammunition, demolition charges, remote detonators and intelligence information on the Soviets, which probably, Gunderson said, was funneled from the CIA, particularly through satellite imagery.