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David Headley

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David Coleman Headley
Born
Daood Sayed Gilani
NationalityPakistani American
Parent(s)Sayed Salim Gilani (father);
Serrill Headley (mother)
Conviction(s)Pleaded guilty
(March 18, 2010)
Criminal charge1) plotting against employees of a newspaper in Copenhagen;
2) conspiring to bomb targets in Mumbai, India;
3) providing material support to Lashkar-i-Taiba, a militant Pakistani Islamist group; and
4) aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in the 2008 Mumbai attacks (October 27 & December 8, 2009)

David Coleman Headley, formerly known as Daood Sayed Gilani, (born June 30, 1960) is a Chicago-based American, who conspired with Lashkar-e-Taiba[1]

to launch the 2008 Mumbai attacks and other terrorist activity.[2][3] He changed his Muslim name to an Anglo name to hide his Muslim identity[4] to make travel to India easier.[5]

Since his arrest and guilty plea, Headley has been cooperating with the U.S. authorities and has yielded much information about the Mumbai attacks.[5] Additionally, investigators from India's NIA interrogated Headley in Chicago[6][7], and in July 2010 requested non-bailable warrants to arrest Headley and other Pakistani men.[8]

There is intense interest in India in Headley's story, as it is the latest discovery in the unfolding saga of the devastating Mumbai attacks of November 26, 2008, known in India as 26/11. As U.S. authorities took time to give Indian investigators direct access to Headley,[9] there was suspicion in India about the U.S. government's motives in keeping Headley under wrap. This suspicion continues even after the NIA was given direct access to Headley for a week in June 2010.[10]

Early life

Gilani was born in Washington, D.C., where his father, Sayed Salim Gilani, worked for the Voice of America, and his mother, Serrill Headley, was a secretary. Danyal Gilani, spokesman for the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gillani, is Headley's half brother.[11] When his parents broke up their marriage, Sayed Gilani went back to Pakistan, taking Daood and his sister with him. There Daood attended the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, a preparatory boys' high school for the military. In 1977 his mother traveled to Pakistan and brought him to live with her in the United States, where he grew up.[12] Serril Headley owned Khyber Pass, a pub in Philadelphia, and died in 2008.[13] In 1985 he married a Pennsylvania State University student, but they divorced in 1987 due to cultural conflicts.[14]

Drug conviction and DEA deal

Gilani ran a video store in Philadelphia. In 1997 he was one of two men arrested for smuggling heroin into the country from Pakistan.[15] In exchange for information about his Pakistani drug contacts, he received a considerably lighter sentence than his co-defendant: fifteen months in jail and five years of supervised release. In November 1998, Headley was delivered to the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix. However, his supervised release period was never completed. Instead, in November 2001, an assistant U.S. attorney applied to have Headley discharged.[16] Headley traveled to Pakistan multiple times to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.[12] In 2002 and three times in 2003, he attended Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps in Pakistan.[14]

In 2006, he changed his name to David Headley so as to make border crossings between the United States and other countries easier. He moved his family to Chicago, where he claimed to work for Tahawwur Hussain Rana's immigration agency. Rana had been in the Cadet College Hasan Abdal with him.[12]

Accusations by FBI, and guilty plea

The cartoons of Muhammad, as published in Jyllands-Posten in September 2005, which made it a target for Islamic terrorists.

David Coleman Headley, 48, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, were accused by U.S. federal authorities in Chicago, in complaints unsealed on October 27, 2009, of plotting against the employees of a newspaper in Copenhagen.[17] Headley is accused of traveling to Denmark to scout the building of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, and a nearby Synagogue, for an attack by terrorists.[18]

On December 8, 2009, the FBI additionally accused Headley of conspiring to bomb targets in Mumbai, India; providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Pakistani Islamist group; and aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[19]

Headley pleaded guilty to all charges on March 18, 2010.[1][20] He faces life in prison and a three million dollar fine when he is sentenced.[21]

Accusations by India's NIA

India's new National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Headley and Rana for allegedly plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India.[22][23] After having interrogated Headley in Chicago for a week, the NIA has requested a Delhi court to issue non-bailable warrants to arrest Headley and others.[8]

Headley's arrest and guilty plea got close media attention in India, with the Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram addressing it in frequent questions from reporters. Chidambaram said the United States authorities have shared "significant information" about the case. U.S. assistant secretary of state Robert Blake said India would have "full access" to question Headley in the United States, although the possibility of extraditing him to India appears to be precluded by Headley's plea agreement.[24][25] Chidambaram said they would continue to try to get the man extradited.[26]

Headley's admissions, e.g., that he made video recordings of terrorism targets for the LeT, have corroborated other evidence in the ongoing trial of Ajmal Amir Kasab in Mumbai.[27]

Associations with Pakistani ex-military officers

Both Headley and Rana are accused in the FBI complaints of reporting to Ilyas Kashmiri, an Islamist militant commander associated with both Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba.[17] Kashmiri is reported by many sources to be a former Pakistani military commando,[17][28][29] although he denied this in an interview in October 2009.[30] Headley made contact with al-Qaeda member when he made two trips to North Waziristan, in FATA (a tribal area under limited central government authority).[31]

Another former military officer is suspected as a co-conspirator and identified only by a pseudonym (Individual A) in the first FBI complaint against Headley. He is said to have recently left the Pakistani Army as a Colonel or Brigadier.[17] This second officer, suspected in the complaint as affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, was arrested in 2009 in Pakistan on unspecified charges and later released.[17] He was identified by the FBI in December 2009 as Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed.[19] Abdur Rehman, also known as "Pasha", is also wanted by the FBI.[32]

An Associated Press story on November 24, 2009 said that five Pakistan army officers, including a retired brigadier and two active lieutenant colonels, had been detained for questioning in Pakistan.[33] They had all been in telephone contact with Headley. But the next day, Pakistan military spokesman Athar Abbas said that "security agencies" had only detained a single former army major in connection with the FBI case.[34][35][36]

Association with Lashkar-e-Taiba

Another individual named in the complaint as "LeT member A", a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, gave instructions to Headley on which locations to scout for future attacks, including both the Danish newspaper and locations in India,[3] such as the National Defense College in New Delhi. Indian intelligence officials believe that LeT member A is Sajid Mir,[37] Lashkar's head of international operations.[38] Sajid Mir was a ranking member of the Pakistani army until several years ago,[38] and attended the same military high school, with Headley and Rana.[38]

Court documents allege that Headley corresponded with the Lashkar-e-Taiba associates in coded messages about the “Mickey Mouse Project,” code for the plot against the Danish newspaper. After his visit to Denmark in 2009, Headley allegedly traveled to Pakistan to meet with the LeT associate. After his arrest in October 2009, Headley told federal agents that he received training from LeT.[39]

Participation in 2008 Mumbai attacks

Scouting target locations

Headley traveled five times to India to scout locations for terrorist attacks on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba. During his visits to Mumbai, he gathered video footage and GPS coordinates. After each visit, Headley returned to Pakistan and provided Lashkar operatives with videotapes of the potential targets and seaborne landing locations nearby. This information was used to execute the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[37][40]

Visits to India

Front view of Nariman House,
a week after the attacks

Headley's visits to India on a business visa were ostensibly to set up an office for First World Services, an immigration agency belonging to Rana. Headley posed as a Jew to scout the Jewish center at Nariman House for attack.[41] Headley made multiple visits to India before and after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, while Rana visited it only once.[42]

A Moroccan woman, Faiza Outalha, believed to be Headley's wife, visited India twice: in 2007 she flew to Mumbai from Karachi and stayed with Headley in the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Oberoi Trident, both of which were targets in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. In 2008 she crossed from Pakistan via the road at Wagah and spent time in Manali.[39][43] They later divorced.

Planning for additional attacks in India

In March 2009, Headley made another trip to India to conduct surveillance of the National Defence College in Delhi, and of Chabad Houses in various cities in India.[24]

Ease of entry with U.S. passport

Indian investigators were surprised at how easily Headley had obtained a visa to enter India, a process that is extremely difficult for Pakistani nationals. Headley's U.S. passport, his new Christian sounding name, and the fact that the passport and his visa application made no mention of his prior name or nationality, made it easy for him to obtain an Indian visa from the Indian consulate in Chicago. He also falsely stated on his visa application that his father's name was William Headley and that his own name at birth was "Headley", a claim that was difficult to refute since the U.S. passport, unlike the Indian one, does not provide the father's name, and does not require endorsements on name changes by the passport holder.[44]

On his visits to India, Headley befriended several people, including Rahul Bhatt, the son of a famous movie producer Mahesh Bhatt,[45] who said he never suspected Headley of any wrongdoing.[45]

Suspicions in India about U.S. government relationship with Headley

While government officials in India cite full cooperation by U.S. authorities, the opposition parties and others in India have demanded explanations of why Headley was allowed to travel freely for years between India, Pakistan, and the U.S., and why he was working undercover for the DEA. Some Indian analysts have speculated that David Headley was a CIA Double agent within LeT,[46] an accusation denied by the CIA.[47] As soon as Headley was arrested in Chicago, the Indian media had a barrage of questions for the government about him, whose answers were slow in coming. Among other questions, Indian investigators wanted the FBI to share its tapes of Headley's communications with his Pakistani handlers to match with the voices taped on cell phones during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[48]

Following intense coverage and speculation in the Indian press, U.S. ambassador Timothy J. Roemer told reporters in New Delhi that the United States is working at the "highest level" to provide India access to Headley, even as it is passing along answers to questions in "real time".[49]

Domestic criticism of Indian government

Since Headley's guilty plea, Home Minister P. Chidambaram was repeatedly asked why the U.S. cannot extradite Headley to India. Analysts in some media outlets have speculated that the United States conspired to have Headley work undercover despite knowledge that he was involved in terrorism.[50][51]


Interrogation of Headley by NIA in the US

In June 2010, US National Security Adviser James Jones announced that India's National Investigation Agency(NIA) has been given access to Headley.[52]

The investigation has confirmed that Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists carried out the Mumbai attack under the "guidance" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI). He stated that the ISI was engaged with the Lashkar commanders responsible for the Mumbai carnage at each and every stage of the plot.

Further, Headley mentioned that Major Sameer Ali, Major Iqbal and Major Haroon, who are serving officers of Pakistan army, collaborated with the LeT.

Headley has also spoken of how post-26/11, ISI wanted LeT to disown the Mumbai attack in order to prevent global attention to the terror group, which Pakistan considers to be an important strategic asset to be used against India. With Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist captured, ISI wanted to blame the terrorist act on al-Qaida. It even prepared a list of 4-5 al-Qaida figures who were to be projected as the conspirators. The plan, however, did not work due to resitance from Lashkar leaders, particularly Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi.

Headley also admitted that while he had started off as a Lashkar recruit, he started drifting towards Al Qaida under the influence of Major Abdul Rahman Saeed, who retired in 2002. Headley went high in the retired major's list because of precise inputs Headley provided for the 26/11 attack.

Saeed, with the help of Ilyas Kashmiri, drafted him for the plan to attack Danish newspaper Jylland Posten which published controversial cartoons of Prophet Mohammad. This, when Headley's original handler Sajid Mir wanted him to focus on Lashkar's anti-India mission. [53]


Claims relating to 2010 Pune German Bakery blast

In relation to the 2010 Pune blast at the German bakery that killed 15[54] people out of which 4 were foreigners and injured at least 53 people, Indian Home Secretary, G. K. Pillai[55] and the Hindustan Times[56] referred to Headley. The Hindustan Times stated that Headley had visited Pune in July 2008 and March 2009 and referred to him as a Lashkar-e-Taiba member.[56] The Hindustan Times also reported that the CCTV footage which as been accessed by the Investigating agency, can, as per The Hindustan Times, help solve the mystery. The Times of India has also reported similar reports, along with The Telegraph, The Hindu, The Pioneer and also Indian Express.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Terror suspect likely to change plea". New York Times. March 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "Headley travelled to India nine times on business visa". Indian Express. November 9, 2009.
  3. ^ a b PRNewswire-USNewswire (Oct 27, 2009). "Two Chicago Men Charged in Connection With Alleged Roles in Foreign Terror Plot". Reuters.
  4. ^ "Headley twisted facts while applying India visa: Report". Rediff.com. December 8, 2009.
  5. ^ a b "US citizen David Headley admits role in Mumbai attacks". BBC. March 18, 2010.
  6. ^ A team of investigators led by Loknath Behera and special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan talked to Headley at the MCC in Chicago. Chuck Goudie (June 04, 2010). ""India's top crime-fighter in Chicago for terror case",". ABC News 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ The NIA team was given seven days' access to him between June 3 and 10, 2010. Narayan Lakshman (June 12, 2010). "NIA's seven-day access to Headley "useful"". The Hindu.
  8. ^ a b David Headley, Tahawwur Hussain Rana and Pakistan-based Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Hafiz Saeed are named; two senior officers of Pakistani army are among those against whom the non-bailable warrant has been sought by the NIA. PTI news wire (2010-07-09). "NIA seeks non-bailable warrant against Headley, Rana, Saeed". The Hindu.
  9. ^ Patrick Fitzgerald ... (said) that even if something minor goes wrong in the arrangements for India’s access to Headley under US law, the entire case against the accused could be thrown out as mistrial. K.P. Nayar (April 11, 2010). "Cautious Steps on Headley". The Telegraph.
  10. ^ B Raman told TOI that the entire exercise was a mere eyewash as Headley would give only “proforma replies” to Indian questions and these replies would have been rehearsed with his lawyer in advance. Vishwa Mohan (June 7, 2010). "Headley won't be able to hide behind US law". Times of India.
  11. ^ Parashar, Sachin (November 29, 2009). "Pak PM's PRO admits he is Headley's half-brother". The Times of India. Retrieved January 7, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b c Ginger Thompson (November 21, 2009). "An Accused Plotter With Feet in East and West". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Wood, Sam (November 19, 2009). "From Pakistan to Phila.: A terror suspect's journey | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/19/2009". Philly.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  14. ^ a b Headley's ex-wife told reporters, "when he would go to Pakistan he would get all riled up again" and use words like "infidels" and "when he would see an Indian person in the street, he used to spit, spit in the street".Joseph Tanfani, John Shiffman, and Kathleen Brady Shea (December 14, 2009). "Who was David Headley? Was he involved in the Mumbai shootings?". McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved December 15, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Thompson, Ginger (November 21, 2009). A Terror Suspect With Feet in East and West. New York Times
  16. ^ In July 1999, a letter endorsed by Headley’s New York-based attorney, Howard Leader, requested permission for Headley to travel to Pakistan from August 10, 1999, through September 15. Judge Carol Amon granted the unusual request for the Pakistani travel. Then, on November 16, 2001, Leader and assistant U.S. attorney Loan Hong made a joint application to Judge Amon to terminate Headley’s supervised release three years early. The Judge again agreed and discharged Headley from any further probation. Gerald Posner (December 8, 2009). "The Making of a Terrorist". The Daily Beast.
  17. ^ a b c d e DAVID JOHNSTON and ERIC SCHMITT (November 18, 2009). "Ex-Military Officer in Pakistan Is Linked to 2 Chicago Terrorism Suspects". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Sebastian Rotella (October 31, 2009). "In alleged terror plot, a troubling twist". Chicago Tribune.
  19. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference washpost20091208 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Headley pleaded guilty in a federal court in Chicago to a dozen federal terrorism charges. "Mumbai terror suspect pleads guilty". CNN. March 18, 2010.
  21. ^ Mike Robinson, Associated Press (March 18, 2010). "Terror suspect admits scouting for Mumbai massacre". Washington Post.
  22. ^ Vinay Kumar (November 13, 2009). "NIA registers case against Headley, Rana". The Hindu.
  23. ^ "India Plans to Try Chicago Man For Mumbai Attacks". Reuters. December 8, 2009.
  24. ^ a b The entire plea agreement between U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and David Headley and his lawyers, is available online in the Indian newspaper The Hindu. International News section (March 19, 2010). "David Headley's Plea Agreement (PDF – 61.27 KB)". The Hindu.
  25. ^ Steve Herman (March 20, 2010). "US Promises India 'Full Access' to Mumbai Attack Planner". Voice of America. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dateline= ignored (help)
  26. ^ India wants to interrogate Headley or be able to ask him questions in a court testimony, Chidambaram said. Nigam Prusty (March 19, 2010). "India wants to question U.S. man on Mumbai attack". Reuters.
  27. ^ Ajmal Amir Kasab said that the 26/11 attackers were shown a video of targets in Mumbai at a training camp in Pakistan by LeT leaders. Headley has confessed to making those videos and explaining them to his LeT co-conspirators. PTI (March 19, 2010). "Headley's confession has strenghtened 26/11 case: Nikam". The Hindu.
  28. ^ In congressional testimony, a Heritage Foundation analyst said that Ilyas Kashmiri was a former Pakistani SSG commando and is now the leader of the Harakat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI). Lisa Curtis (March 11, 2010). "Bad company: Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the growing ambition of Islamist militancy in Pakistan" (PDF). The Heritage Foundation.
  29. ^ Roggio writes that Kashmiri is a longtime asset of Pakistan's military and intelligence services and was a commando in the SSG. In the early 1990s, Kashmiri was ordered by the military to join the Harkat-ul Jihad-i-Islami, and later the Jaish-e-Mohammed. When he refused, he dropped out of favor with the military. Bill Roggio (October 13, 2009). "Ilyas Kashmiri survived last month's airstrike in Pakistan". The Long War Journal.
  30. ^ Ilyas Kashmiri claimed he was never a part of Pakistan's special forces, nor even of the army. Nearly 30 years ago when he joined the Afghan jihad against the Soviets from the platform of the HUJI, he developed expertise in guerrilla warfare and explosives. Syed Saleem Shahzad (October 19, 2009). "Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy". Asia Times.
  31. ^ Waraich, Omar. "Faisal Shahzad Bomb Inquiry Looks at Pakistan Training". TIME. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  32. ^ US Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois (December 7, 2009). "Chicagoan Charged with Conspiracy in 2008 Mumbai Attacks in Addition to Foreign Terror Plot in Denmark". Department of Justice.
  33. ^ Ashraf Khan (November 24, 2009). "Pakistani officials: 5 army officers detained". Associated Press.[dead link‍]
  34. ^ Zeeshan Haider, Reuters (November 25, 2009). "Pakistan court charges Mumbai attack suspects". Washington Post. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  35. ^ Shah, Saeed (November 24, 2009). "Pakistani army officer arrested for alleged link to U.S. terror plot". McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  36. ^ Khan, Zarar (December 2, 2009). "Pakistan holding retired officer in US terror case". Associated Press. Retrieved December 2, 2009.[dead link‍]
  37. ^ a b Swami, Praveen (December 8, 2009). "American jihadist helped plan 26/11 carnage". The Hindu.
  38. ^ a b c Jeff Coen and Josh Meyer (December 15, 2009). "Second Chicago terrorism suspect linked to Mumbai attack". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  39. ^ a b "Chicago Men Charged with Plotting Terrorist Attack in Denmark," October 28, 2009
  40. ^ Carrie Johnson (March 19, 2010). "U.S. citizen David Coleman Headley admits role in Mumbai attacks". Washington Post.
  41. ^ "Pakistani American posed as Jew to case Mumbai Chabad". JTA. November 15, 2009.
  42. ^ Vinay Kumar (November 18, 2009). "Headley-Rana hand seen in 26/11 conspiracy". The Hindu Online.
  43. ^ PTI New Delhi (Jan 3, 2010). "Headley's estranged Moroccan wife gives more Mumbai links". The Hindu. Retrieved Jan 8, 2010.
  44. ^ IANS (December 26, 2009). "Headley hid Pakistani origin from Indian consulate in Chicago". The Hindu. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  45. ^ a b Jonathan Miller (21-Jan-2010). "Exclusive: I had a hunch he was an agent". Channel 4. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "channel4hunch" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  46. ^ "Headley may have tipped off US about 26/11- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. December 16, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  47. ^ ; "Any suggestion that Headley was working for the CIA is complete and utter nonsense. It’s flat-out false," Paul Gimigliano, from the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs, said. Blakely, Rhys (December 17, 2009). "Mumbai terror suspect David Headley was 'rogue US secret agent'". Times of London.
  48. ^ India is interested in finding out the identity of member A that figured in Headley's jihadi mails. The member A is believed to be none other than retired Pakistan army major Sajid Mir, one of the men who allegedly directed the 26/11 terrorists in Mumbai. Sangwan, Soni (December 20, 2009). "India seeks Headley probe tape from FBI". India Today.
  49. ^ Citing the U.S. legal system, ambassador Timothy Roemer said it was extraordinary to provide direct access to Headley. Special Correspondent (April 19, 2010). "Access to Headley being worked out at the highest level: Roemer". The Hindu. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  50. ^ A series of provocative questions about the relationship between the U.S. government and Headley. Anonymous (March 17, 2010). "David Headley: Truth & lies". NDTV.
  51. ^ A summary of attitudes in the Indian press toward the U.S. government's relationship with Headley, possible motives, and the players, as of March 2010. Jeremy Kahn (March 22, 2010). "Headley Pleads Guilty Fueling Double Agent Speculation". The Faster Times.
  52. ^ India granted access to Headley
  53. ^ ISI guided LeT at every step for 26/11
  54. ^ ["http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/pune_blast_death_toll_rises_to_12.php" ""Abhishek, 24, victim 10 of Pune blasts""]. Retrieved February 20, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  55. ^ "Eight die in India's first big attack since Mumbai". Thomson Reuters. February 13, 2010. pp. Bhowmik. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  56. ^ a b "Eight killed, 33 injured in Pune terror attack". Retrieved February 13, 2010.
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