Terror Informant for FBI Allegedly Targeted Agents

Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, second from right, is sentenced to life in prison for plotting to bomb two U.S. embassies in Southeast Asia. (By Andrea Shepard -- Associated Press)

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University, said he believes Jabarah's alleged plot against U.S. officials demonstrates less a failure on the FBI's part than the success of al-Qaeda indoctrination. Hoffman said that because Jabarah was raised as a Westerner, it made sense for the FBI to try to win him back.

"He was giving them gold in terms of information, so it certainly made sense," Hoffman said. "These are the kinds of chances we have to take to get this kind of information. This one paid off until a traumatic event wrenched his mind back to a jihadi orientation."

Jabarah became an al-Qaeda operative after training in Afghanistan and vowing allegiance personally to bin Laden in May 2001. He admitted working with Mohammed and Hambali on separate missions, traveling to Singapore and the Philippines to engage in financing attacks on U.S. interests and planning potential bombings. After the plots fell through, Jabarah fled to Oman, where Mohammed ordered him to set up an al-Qaeda safe house. Jabarah was arrested by local authorities in February 2002 and was deported to Canada, where he cooperated with Canadian intelligence officials. That May he agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities and was turned over to them.

U.S. officials began to grow suspicious of Jabarah in the weeks after Kandari's death. While he was out for a walk on Nov. 8, 2002, agents searched his room and found a knife and rope hidden in a suitcase, and discovered his writings. Four days later, while in a federal jail cell, Jabarah wrote to the FBI apologizing for lying to agents about the knives, and saying that it was all a "misunderstanding" and that he would like to sit down and talk about his writings "like gentlemen."

"If you or any of your bosses thought that I was trying to hurt somebody that is totally crazy!" Jabarah wrote in English on Nov. 12, 2002, explaining that he believed he had a strong relationship with his captors. "I still consider you guys friends."

In U.S. District Court in Manhattan yesterday, Jabarah made a 20-minute plea for leniency, arguing that he had been brainwashed by top al-Qaeda leaders. "I am not a ruthless, infamous and notorious terrorist," he said. "I do not believe in terrorism, violence and killing."

U.S. officials yesterday hailed Jabarah's life sentence.

"Jabarah was a deadly serious terrorist," said Mark Mershon, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York office. "He swore allegiance to bin Laden and lived with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, took orders from Hambali and planned to kill Americans in Manila and Singapore. Fortunately, he did not succeed in his plans, the consequences of which would have been devastating."

Richburg reported from New York. Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.