i always wondered why the ranch wasn't targeted, so this news doesn't surprise me.
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - Counterterror officials suspect that an Arab student linked to one of the Sept. 11 hijackers may have cased the presidential ranch in Crawford, Tex. - six months before the 9/11 attacks.
Muhammad Al-Gurashi and three other Arab men suspected of close ties to hijacker Hani Hanjour rented a car in Phoenix and drove to Freeport, Tex., in March 2001, intelligence and law enforcement sources say.
They are believed to have stopped near President Bush's ranch to assess security for a possible terrorist attack, the sources told the Daily News.
Al-Gurashi, a 28-year-old Saudi who attended Arizona State University, was arrested May 9 in Phoenix and charged with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm.
The sources said the federal charges helped give them a reason to lock up a suspected Al Qaeda operative.
The FBI used credit card records to track the winding route of the 2001 Texas road trip.
Among the travelers was Faisal Al-Salmi, 34, who was convicted last year of lying to FBI agents about knowing Hanjour at an Arizona flight school.
Because the men traveled between two nondescript Texas cities, Buffalo and Eastland, March 12 and 13, the FBI believes the group spent time casing the Crawford ranch.
Last month, intelligence officials told The News that a group of Iraqis tried to sneak into the U.S. from Mexico, also possibly heading for Crawford.
Al-Gurashi's lawyer did not return a call for comment.
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - Counterterror officials suspect that an Arab student linked to one of the Sept. 11 hijackers may have cased the presidential ranch in Crawford, Tex. - six months before the 9/11 attacks.
Muhammad Al-Gurashi and three other Arab men suspected of close ties to hijacker Hani Hanjour rented a car in Phoenix and drove to Freeport, Tex., in March 2001, intelligence and law enforcement sources say.
They are believed to have stopped near President Bush's ranch to assess security for a possible terrorist attack, the sources told the Daily News.
Al-Gurashi, a 28-year-old Saudi who attended Arizona State University, was arrested May 9 in Phoenix and charged with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm.
The sources said the federal charges helped give them a reason to lock up a suspected Al Qaeda operative.
The FBI used credit card records to track the winding route of the 2001 Texas road trip.
Among the travelers was Faisal Al-Salmi, 34, who was convicted last year of lying to FBI agents about knowing Hanjour at an Arizona flight school.
Because the men traveled between two nondescript Texas cities, Buffalo and Eastland, March 12 and 13, the FBI believes the group spent time casing the Crawford ranch.
Last month, intelligence officials told The News that a group of Iraqis tried to sneak into the U.S. from Mexico, also possibly heading for Crawford.
Al-Gurashi's lawyer did not return a call for comment.
