Amer el-Maati
Encyclopedia
Born in Kuwait
, Amro Badr Abou el-Maati (عمرو بدر ابوالمعاطي) (or Amer el-Maati) is a Canadian citizen who the United States has alleged is a member of Al-Qaeda
who attended flight school and discussed hijacking a Canadian plane to fly into American buildings. He is the subject of a $5 million bounty on his head by American authorities, and has been referred to as "Canada's most wanted terrorist".
His brother was one of a number of Canadians illegally renditioned to Syria
to face torture in the years following the September 11 attacks, ostensibly because of interest in Amer, although officials would never give any reason for their sudden interest and accusations against el-Maati.
The case against Amer appears to consist of documents addressed to him being found in an office used by al-Qaeda, although the reporter who found them insisted it was possible they had been stolen by the militant group to commit identity theft
. Since then, his brother has questioned whether the false confessions he gave under torture played any role in Amer's continued branding as a "terrorist", despite the fact neither Canada nor the United States seem to have even issued an arrest warrant
for him.
His father has protested the vilification of both his sons, claiming they were being used by the Department of Homeland Security to keep fear and suspicion high in the United States, particularly against Canadian-Arabs. His opinions were echoed by Toronto cleric, Aly Hindy
, who has known the family for years and claimed that the FBI's announcement were "laughable".
, before returning to Montreal for University.
According to the interrogation of Abdullah Khadr
in Pakistan, el-Maati had worked as a carpet salesman after the Mujahideen
had denied him a pension
due to his 1992 brain injury following a car accident which prevented him from participating in long treks.
In 1996, Amer travelled to Surobi
, to find his younger brother who had spent four years fighting alongside Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
against the Taliban. The pair retreated north with Hekmatyar's forces, and then Ahmad went to Tehran
to visit their mother and sister, while Amer traveled to Peshawar
where he began working for the NGO Health and Education Projects International, created by Ahmed Khadr.
In 1998 he obtained a Canadian passport while living in Pakistan. Khadr's son Abdurahman
testified in Montreal in the summer of 2004 that el-Maati had given his Canadian passport to a man known as Idriss
.
His family claims to have last seen him in 1999, and to have received only a single e-Mail from him the following year, showing photographs of the school where he was working for the Canadian Relief Foundation.
.
On November 17, 2001, New York Times reporter David Rohde gleaned the location of an abandoned "al-Qaeda office" in Kabul from local Afghans - and reported finding documents belonging to el-Maati including his 1996 citizenship acceptance letter with his Toronto address and his Toronto General
hospital card. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
investigated the office, claiming it had been found by the Northern Alliance
, and reported they had found the office, which also contained business card
s reading 4-U Enterprises - Amr H. Hamed
with the address for a rented postal box in a B.C. convenience store
. Rohde reported that Amer's identity may have been stolen by al-Qaeda agents looking for an innocent Canadian to impersonate; but the RCMP decided to assume the worst and informed the Americans, who placed Amer on the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list
, "being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States."
That month, his younger brother Ahmed el-Maati was arrested while crossing into the United States. He would spend more than two years being abused in a Syrian prison, with the tacit approval of the Canadian government, before being found innocent of all allegations. Syrian interrogators claimed that Amer had been responsible for his brother's flight training, wanting to recruit him into al-Qaeda
, and when Ahmed protested that he had abandoned his air taxi
career aspirations after discovering he was afraid of flying, they stated that Amer had told him to prepare for a truck bombing
instead. Ahmed gave a false confession
under torture, stating that Amer had suggested he bomb the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa
but that he personally wanted to bomb Parliament Hill
. He refused to make any written statement, wishing to avoid bringing harm to his family, but was beaten and forced to put a thumbprint on a confession they drafted for him. He was then asked to work for his captors, and go find Amer in Afghanistan.
In December 2001, CSIS agents Adrian White and Rob Cassolato turned up at the el-Maati home in Toronto, asking Badr to come clean about his sons' locations.
In December 2002, the television program America's Most Wanted
featured Amer, stating that he was an airline pilot who may have "snuck back into the U.S" to work with al-Qaeda sleeper cells.
In October, FBI consultant Paul Williams wrote a book Dunces of Doomsday in which he claimed that Amer el-Maati, Jaber A. Elbaneh
and Anas al-Liby
had all been seen around Hamilton, Ontario
the previous year, and that Shukrijumah had been seen at McMaster University
where he "wasted no time in gaining access to the nuclear reactor
and stealing more than 180 pounds of nuclear material for the reation of radiological bombs". He was subsequently sued by the University for libel, as there had been no evidence to suggest any part of his story was true. The publisher later apologise for allowing Williams to print statements which "were without basis in fact".
Around this time, the FBI had received a tip that a couple resembling el-Maati and Aafia Siddiqui
had been seen filming tourist sites around Niagara Falls
.
In January 2004, State Security officials in Giza, Egypt again interrogated his brother Ahmad, demanding to know where Amer was hiding. On January 12, 2004, State Security offered to release Ahmad to his family if they would give up the location of Amer. Their mother protested that she didn't know where Amer was, and Ahmad was released the following day.
On May 26, 2004, United States Attorney General
John Ashcroft
and FBI Director Robert Mueller
announced that reports indicated that el-Maati was one of seven al-Qaeda members who were planning a terrorist action for the summer or fall of 2004. Others listed on that date were Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani
, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
, Aafia Siddiqui
, Adam Yahiye Gadahn
, Abderraouf Jdey
, and Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah
. The announcement prompted Canadian Prime Minister
Paul Martin
to announce that neither el-Maati nor Abderraouf Jdey
had been in the country in "a while". American Democrat
s labeled the warning "suspicious" and said it was held solely to divert attention from President Bush's plummeting poll numbers and to push the failings of the Invasion of Iraq off the front page. CSIS director Reid Morden
voiced similar concerns, saying it seemed more like "election year" politics, than an actual threat – and the New York Times pointed out that one day before the announcement, they had been told by the Department of Homeland Security that there were no current risks.
On August 21, 2004, both the Nantucket Inquirer and Nantucket Mirror newspapers reported a "possible sighting" of Amer at the Nantucket Memorial Airport
, and his photo was distributed to local security and transit workers.
That year, his family reported hearing rumors that Amer had been killed in the opening months of the invasion three years earlier.
In May 2005, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
again visited the el-Maati family, demanding to know where Amer was hiding and suggesting that his family should persuade him to turn himself into Canadian authorities rather than risk worse treatment at the hands of Afghan, Pakistani or American captors, to which they protested that they had not heard from him in five years.
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Amro Badr Abou el-Maati (عمرو بدر ابوالمعاطي) (or Amer el-Maati) is a Canadian citizen who the United States has alleged is a member of Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
who attended flight school and discussed hijacking a Canadian plane to fly into American buildings. He is the subject of a $5 million bounty on his head by American authorities, and has been referred to as "Canada's most wanted terrorist".
His brother was one of a number of Canadians illegally renditioned to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to face torture in the years following the September 11 attacks, ostensibly because of interest in Amer, although officials would never give any reason for their sudden interest and accusations against el-Maati.
The case against Amer appears to consist of documents addressed to him being found in an office used by al-Qaeda, although the reporter who found them insisted it was possible they had been stolen by the militant group to commit identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
. Since then, his brother has questioned whether the false confessions he gave under torture played any role in Amer's continued branding as a "terrorist", despite the fact neither Canada nor the United States seem to have even issued an arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
for him.
His father has protested the vilification of both his sons, claiming they were being used by the Department of Homeland Security to keep fear and suspicion high in the United States, particularly against Canadian-Arabs. His opinions were echoed by Toronto cleric, Aly Hindy
Aly Hindy
Aly Hindy is the current Imam of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Scarborough, Canada, notable for his alleged connections to militant and fundamentalist elements, as well as his defence of Canadians accused of terrorism....
, who has known the family for years and claimed that the FBI's announcement were "laughable".
Early life
The family moved to Beirut, and both Amer and his brother were enrolled in a Catholic school. Amer immigrated to Montreal in 1981 with his father and brother, until his mother and sister arrived and the family moved to Toronto where he attended high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, before returning to Montreal for University.
According to the interrogation of Abdullah Khadr
Abdullah Khadr
Abdullah Ahmed Khadr is the oldest son of Ahmed Khadr and brother of Omar Khadr who has been charged with war crimes before the Guantanamo military commission....
in Pakistan, el-Maati had worked as a carpet salesman after the Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
had denied him a pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
due to his 1992 brain injury following a car accident which prevented him from participating in long treks.
In 1996, Amer travelled to Surobi
Surobi
Not to be confused with nearby Sorubi or the Sarobi District of Paktika.The town of Sorūbī is the center of Surobi District, between Kabul and Jalalabad, in Kabul Province, Afghanistan. It is located on at 998 m altitude in the valley of the Kabul River East from Kabul on the road to Jalalabad...
, to find his younger brother who had spent four years fighting alongside Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
against the Taliban. The pair retreated north with Hekmatyar's forces, and then Ahmad went to Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
to visit their mother and sister, while Amer traveled to Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
where he began working for the NGO Health and Education Projects International, created by Ahmed Khadr.
In 1998 he obtained a Canadian passport while living in Pakistan. Khadr's son Abdurahman
Abdurahman Khadr
Abdurahman Khadr is the third child of the Egyptian Canadian Khadr family, and was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, after being detained in Afghanistan under suspicion of connections to Al-Qaeda...
testified in Montreal in the summer of 2004 that el-Maati had given his Canadian passport to a man known as Idriss
Idriss (Canadian)
Factoring frequently into the testimony of former CIA spy Abdurahman Khadr, is the unknown Canadian figure identified only as Idriss.When asked to name Canadians who had attended Khalden training camp with him, Khadr listed off a series of known names, as well as Idriss...
.
His family claims to have last seen him in 1999, and to have received only a single e-Mail from him the following year, showing photographs of the school where he was working for the Canadian Relief Foundation.
After 9/11
Listed among 345 people wanted "for questioning" following 9/11, el-Maati was allegedly seen leaving Toronto on November 9, 2001, although his family maintains they never saw him at that time. He is alleged to have traveled to Afghanistan to help to repel the US-led invasionWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
.
On November 17, 2001, New York Times reporter David Rohde gleaned the location of an abandoned "al-Qaeda office" in Kabul from local Afghans - and reported finding documents belonging to el-Maati including his 1996 citizenship acceptance letter with his Toronto address and his Toronto General
Toronto General Hospital
The Toronto General Hospital , is a part of the University Health Network, and a major teaching hospital in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is located in the Discovery District, directly north of the Hospital for Sick Children, across Gerrard Street West, and east of Princess Margaret Hospital and...
hospital card. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
investigated the office, claiming it had been found by the Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...
, and reported they had found the office, which also contained business card
Business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone...
s reading 4-U Enterprises - Amr H. Hamed
Amr Hamed
Amr Mohamed Hamed was a Canadian who died in the American bombing of an Afghan training camp on August 20, 1998, as retaliation for the African embassy bombings.-Life in Egypt:...
with the address for a rented postal box in a B.C. convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
. Rohde reported that Amer's identity may have been stolen by al-Qaeda agents looking for an innocent Canadian to impersonate; but the RCMP decided to assume the worst and informed the Americans, who placed Amer on the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list
FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list
The FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list is the third major "wanted" list to have been created by the United States Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation to be used as a primary tool for publicly identifying and tracking down suspected terrorists operating against...
, "being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States."
That month, his younger brother Ahmed el-Maati was arrested while crossing into the United States. He would spend more than two years being abused in a Syrian prison, with the tacit approval of the Canadian government, before being found innocent of all allegations. Syrian interrogators claimed that Amer had been responsible for his brother's flight training, wanting to recruit him into al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, and when Ahmed protested that he had abandoned his air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
career aspirations after discovering he was afraid of flying, they stated that Amer had told him to prepare for a truck bombing
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
instead. Ahmed gave a false confession
False confession
A false confession is an admission of guilt in a crime in which the confessor is not responsible for the crime. False confessions can be induced through coercion or by the mental disorder or incompetency of the accused...
under torture, stating that Amer had suggested he bomb the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa
Embassy of the United States in Ottawa
The United States Embassy in Ottawa is a building located in Ottawa which opened in 1999.-Original mission:Before this date the mission occupied a 1930s era building directly across from Parliament Hill at 100 Wellington Street...
but that he personally wanted to bomb Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
. He refused to make any written statement, wishing to avoid bringing harm to his family, but was beaten and forced to put a thumbprint on a confession they drafted for him. He was then asked to work for his captors, and go find Amer in Afghanistan.
In December 2001, CSIS agents Adrian White and Rob Cassolato turned up at the el-Maati home in Toronto, asking Badr to come clean about his sons' locations.
In December 2002, the television program America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
featured Amer, stating that he was an airline pilot who may have "snuck back into the U.S" to work with al-Qaeda sleeper cells.
In October, FBI consultant Paul Williams wrote a book Dunces of Doomsday in which he claimed that Amer el-Maati, Jaber A. Elbaneh
Jaber A. Elbaneh
Jaber A. Elbaneh is a Yemeni-American who was labeled a suspected terrorist by the United States after it emerged that he had attended al-Farooq alongside the Lackawanna Six, and remained on at the camp after they returned home...
and Anas al-Liby
Anas al-Liby
Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'i alias Anas al-Liby , a Libyan, is under indictment in the United States for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. He worked as a computer specialist for al-Qaeda.His aliases in the indictment are Nazih al Raghie and Anas al Sebai...
had all been seen around Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
the previous year, and that Shukrijumah had been seen at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
where he "wasted no time in gaining access to the nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
and stealing more than 180 pounds of nuclear material for the reation of radiological bombs". He was subsequently sued by the University for libel, as there had been no evidence to suggest any part of his story was true. The publisher later apologise for allowing Williams to print statements which "were without basis in fact".
Around this time, the FBI had received a tip that a couple resembling el-Maati and Aafia Siddiqui
Aafia Siddiqui
Aafia Siddiqui is an American-educated Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist who was convicted of assault with intent to murder her U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan. The charges carried a maximum sentence of life in prison; in September 2010, she was sentenced by a United States district court to 86...
had been seen filming tourist sites around Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
.
In January 2004, State Security officials in Giza, Egypt again interrogated his brother Ahmad, demanding to know where Amer was hiding. On January 12, 2004, State Security offered to release Ahmad to his family if they would give up the location of Amer. Their mother protested that she didn't know where Amer was, and Ahmad was released the following day.
On May 26, 2004, United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
and FBI Director Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III is the 6th and current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life:...
announced that reports indicated that el-Maati was one of seven al-Qaeda members who were planning a terrorist action for the summer or fall of 2004. Others listed on that date were Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is a conspirator of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization convicted for his role in the bombing of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was indicted in the United States as a participant in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. He was on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list from its...
, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was a member of al-Qaeda, and the leader of its presence in East Africa as of November 2009. Mohammed was born in Moroni, Comoros Islands and had Kenyan as well as Comorian citizenship...
, Aafia Siddiqui
Aafia Siddiqui
Aafia Siddiqui is an American-educated Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist who was convicted of assault with intent to murder her U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan. The charges carried a maximum sentence of life in prison; in September 2010, she was sentenced by a United States district court to 86...
, Adam Yahiye Gadahn
Adam Yahiye Gadahn
Adam Yahiye Gadahn is an American who is a senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Sunni islamist group Al-Qaeda. Since 2004, he appeared in a number of videos produced by Al-Qaeda as "Azzam the American"...
, Abderraouf Jdey
Abderraouf Jdey
A Canadian citizen, Abderraouf bin Habib bin Yousef Jdey was found swearing to die as a shaheed on a series of videotapes found in the rubble of Mohammed Atef's house in Afghanistan...
, and Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah
Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah
Born in Saudi Arabia, Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah is a member of al-Qaeda, who grew up in the United States and worked as a school teacher....
. The announcement prompted Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
to announce that neither el-Maati nor Abderraouf Jdey
Abderraouf Jdey
A Canadian citizen, Abderraouf bin Habib bin Yousef Jdey was found swearing to die as a shaheed on a series of videotapes found in the rubble of Mohammed Atef's house in Afghanistan...
had been in the country in "a while". American Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
s labeled the warning "suspicious" and said it was held solely to divert attention from President Bush's plummeting poll numbers and to push the failings of the Invasion of Iraq off the front page. CSIS director Reid Morden
Reid Morden
Reid Morden was the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 1988-1992.A graduate of Dalhousie University from which he received a law degree and later an Honorary Doctorate of Law, Morden started his career with the Canadian Department of External Affairs. His first posting was...
voiced similar concerns, saying it seemed more like "election year" politics, than an actual threat – and the New York Times pointed out that one day before the announcement, they had been told by the Department of Homeland Security that there were no current risks.
On August 21, 2004, both the Nantucket Inquirer and Nantucket Mirror newspapers reported a "possible sighting" of Amer at the Nantucket Memorial Airport
Nantucket Memorial Airport
Nantucket Memorial Airport is a public airport on the south side of the island of Nantucket in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The airport is owned by the Town of Nantucket and is located three miles southeast of the town...
, and his photo was distributed to local security and transit workers.
That year, his family reported hearing rumors that Amer had been killed in the opening months of the invasion three years earlier.
In May 2005, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
again visited the el-Maati family, demanding to know where Amer was hiding and suggesting that his family should persuade him to turn himself into Canadian authorities rather than risk worse treatment at the hands of Afghan, Pakistani or American captors, to which they protested that they had not heard from him in five years.