The case against the six Buffalo suspects recently charged with providing material support to terrorists is a strange one.

Michael Niman, a professor of American studies at Medaille College in Buffalo and Alternet contributor, asks Is the Buffalo, NY Terrorist Cell For Real?.

Niman charges that "the FBI has not yet presented any evidence, argument or charges that would indicate the Lackawanna men comprised an "al-Qaeda terrorist cell," as alleged by the Justice Department and countless newspaper headlines. "

According to Niman, at the press conference held after their arrest, the FBI special agent in charge reported that no weapons had been seized and "there was no evidence that the suspects were supporting or planning any specific terrorist actions. " (Since then, the agent in charge has corrected the statement to say two guns and a stun gun were seized.)

"The entire case against the five Americans consists of the fact that they allegedly, while on a pilgrimage to study Islam in Pakistan, took a side trip into Taliban Afghanistan and visited what later became known in the American media as the "al-Farooq terrorist training camp."

Ramzi bin al-Shibh, aka Binalshibh, captured in Pakistan Wednesday, is on his way to an undisclosed location in the custody of the United States.

First, a name issue. In the Moussaoui Indictment, he is named Ramzi bin al-Shibh. The Washington Post is referring to him as Binalshibh. But we're talking about the same guy.

We are very interested in Mr. bin al-Shibh because of his alleged relationship to Zacarias Moussaoui, now awaiting trial in Virginia.

The government's theory has been that Mr. bin al-Shibh (former roomate of hijacker Mohammed Attah) was supposed to be the 20th hijacker on September 11. When he couldn't get a visa to enter the U.S., Moussaoui was picked to be the 20th hijacker in his stead. Bin al-Shibh sent some money to Moussaoui. The week before the 9/11 attacks, bin al-Shibh allegedly went to Spain and hadn't been seen by law enforcement since, until his arrest Wednesday.

We don't think Moussoui was going to replace bin Al-Shibh, or be the 20th hijacker. We think the French are more on target with their theory that Moussaoui was training for a different, later mission --in part based on the fact that Moussoui was trying to learn to fly a 747 and none of the 9/11 hijacked planes were 747's. Another popular theory is that Moussaoui was going to be used for a later mission involving crop-dusting planes.

In motions unsealed today, accused "shoe bomber" Richard Reid told authorities during his interrogations that he was acting alone. In the Indictment against him filed last December, prosecutors alleged Reid had been trained at an Al Qaeda camp in Afganistan (Count II).

Reid maintains he was angry at Jews and wanted to take it out on the U.S. because of its support for Israel.

More on the possible Saddam/OKC/WTC terrorism conspiracy theory that Instapundit came across today and about which he says, "I'd call this case not proven, but worthy of further investigation."

Well, there does seem to be a rather striking resemblence between sketches of John Doe II and Padilla as we've pointed out before, and we will continue to report on any further developments. We doubt we'll take sides on this one though, at least not here, for reasons we hope are fairly obvious.

John Walker Lindh is now cooperating and seeking forgiveness according to his lawyers.

"Lindh never contemplated that he would be fighting in a war that Americans would enter, the lawyers said. He now believes he made a terrible mistake by enlisting with Afghanistan's former harsh Islamic rulers and wants Americans to forgive him..."

"Lindh understands Americans' extremely negative feelings toward him, West said. He wants his countrymen to know that he was not a terrorist and never joined Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, even though he met bin Laden in a military training camp in Afghanistan."

"He understands Sept. 11 changed the way people view Islam and that he came into national consciousness at a time there was a great deal of justified national pain and anger," West said."

"He made a mistake. He admits he made a terrible mistake. No one wants to be judged by the worst mistake they made when they were 20 years old."

Lindh is awaiting sentencing. His plea agreement calls for a 20 year sentence but others have opined he could get as little as 13 if the terrorism adjustment does not apply.

The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that before indicting James Ujaama this week for conspiracy to provide assistance to Al Qaeda by scouting training camp sites and designing a website, the Feds considered offering him immunity.

According to Ujaama's Denver lawyer, Dan Sears, one of the leading and most respected defense lawyers in the state,

"There have been discussions concerning an application for 'use immunity' by the prosecutors' office back in Virginia" where Ujaama is held, Sears said. "I understand that representations were made that application (for immunity toward Ujaama) was going to be made by the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's office back east. But whether that application was ever made or not, I don't know."

"Sears also said that discussions with the U.S. Attorney's office in Seattle included Ujaama making a "proffer" - in which a witness provides testimony that lets prosecutors decide whether an immunity offer is appropriate."

"Although immunity never was offered formally to Ujaama, Sears said the fact that prosecutors even discussed it indicates that federal authorities are looking at bigger targets, beyond him."

"If you're going to indict and convict someone, you don't even talk about the prospects of offering use immunity," said Sears, a former federal prosecutor. "

Sears is right about how it usually works. An offer of immunity is made to people who can help the Government fry bigger fish (or at least more of them.) With exceptions, (Sammy Gravano in the John Gotti case immediately comes to mind) a defendant who did something really bad is usually allowed to plead to a lesser crime, not given immunity from prosecution--which is a walk.

Ujaama has proclaimed his innocence.. It may be he didn't want talk to the feds or he doesn't have the information they think he has, and that's why the offer wasn't made. And the opportunity for Ujaama to resolve his own case by cooperating may come up again in the future.

Of course we are just speculating here, trying to read between the lines of what his attorney is saying.

The Justice Department is staying mum.

The AP reports that:

"Zacarias Moussaoui, who has derided his court-appointed lawyers as "bloodsuckers," is working through an intermediary to get legal help from the attorneys he despises as he prepares for his Jan. 6 trial as an accused Sept. 11 conspirator."

Recent pleadings filed by Moussaoui as well as those filed by his legal team indicate Moussaoui and his lawyers are communicating through Muslim professor, Sadiq Reza of New York Law School in Manhattan.

"It appears that Mr. Moussaoui, without changing his view that we are adverse to him, will be seeking assistance from Professor Reza, who has indicated he will need assistance from us precisely in the areas related to our discovery (evidence) review," the court-appointed team said in an Aug. 16 motion."

In another defense team motion, the lawyers said Moussaoui is communicating with them but still will not allow them to initiate motions on his behalf.

A review of the filings show that the lawyers have submitted legal authority in support of several of Moussoui's own motions--and some have been granted.

Is Moussaoui grateful or becoming more subdued about his dislike for his lawyers? Hardly.

"As a protection against any pig disease there will be no more unsanitize [sic]contact with the affected horde of standby lawyers," he wrote in an Aug. 8 motion. He still calls the team "bloodsuckers" in his motions."

Moussaoui can hate his lawyers all he wants. We still want him to receive a fair trial. It is the only way any future verdict of guilty or sentence to death can have any integrity.

As we've said before, Moussaoui has defenses both to the substantive charges and to the death penalty. He has the right to raise them and it is our duty to see that he is given the opportunity.

The Moussaoui trial has been moved to January at the request of his standby lawyers. Moussaoui is still planning on representing himself, but the Judge has told the lawyers to get ready.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff (Southern District of NY) believes the Government misled him in the case of Abdallah Higazy, the Egyptian who was detained for 30 days after the FBI arrested him alleging that an aviation radio was found in his hotel room overlooking the World Trade Center. Turns out, a pilot later acknowledged the radio belonged to him and a security guard, who had claimed to have found the radio in Higazy's room safe, recanted his story.

Today Judge Rakoff ordered the release of more than 100 pages of court documents in the case.

At a hearing on March 18, Judge Rakoff expressed concern over misleading statements by a prosecutor about a supposed confession by Higazy, made during a polygraph test. The confession was false. Hizazy says the FBI extracted the confession by making" veiled threats" against his family in Egypt.

Charges against Hizazy were ultimately dismissed.

Thanks to How Appealing for pointing out Dahlia Lithwick's op-ed on the apparent failure of the Government's case against Moussoui:

What Was Moussaoui's Crime?

"...our legal system must reflect the principles by which we live: no one should be found guilty of a crime he did not commit. Unless we intend to try every Qaeda member we can find with capital conspiracy for Sept. 11, we must try Mr. Moussaoui for whatever crimes he committed, and not for the crimes we wish we could avenge."

Michael Isakoff in the August 5 issue of Newsweek, The Case Against Moussaoui: Internal Doubts, says "Moussaoui’s legal incompetence—rather than the evidence—may be the government’s strongest card."

We're still waiting to hear of any specific evidence or witness testimony that directly ties Moussaoui to the Sept. 11 attacks.

The French are doubtful of the U.S. claim that Moussaoui was supposed to be the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11. They think he was going to be used for a different and later mission.

Like the French, we have also noted the significance of the information that Moussaoui was learning to fly a 747 which is used far more in flying international than domestic flights, and was not one of the planes flown on September 11. And of the information that while the other hijackers all knew each other, Moussaoui did not seem to know the other hijackers or hang out with them. The other hijackers spent the latter half of August in the U.S., associating with each other and prepping for the Sept 11 attacks, during which time Moussaoui was in jail.

Re-read the allegations in the Third Superseding Indictment , or any of the previous Indictments and we think you'll agree with us.

Without proof that Moussaoui committed an act in furtherance of the September 11 conspiracy, we have our doubts the death penalty would be applicable for him. He may have joined the conspiracy but his arrest may have precluded him from committing any act in furtherance of it. His lawyers argue that if this is the case, the death penalty does not apply to him.

This is not like the Terry Nichols case where the government presented evidence (contested by the defense, but still evidence) that Nichols helped build the bomb that blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma--and many other things to further the common objective. Even though Nichols was not in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, because of these alleged acts by him, the jury was allowed to consider the death penalty for Nichols. Ultimately, the jury rejected the death penalty for him.

Moussaoui's defense lawyers argued in their Response Brief opposing in the Death Penalty, that the Govenrment has no evidence that Moussaoui participated in any way in the Sept. 11 attacks.

In the meantime, the spectacle continues. We say the Government should offer Moussaoui a life sentence in exhchange for guilty pleas to the counts he believes he can admit to, or ask France if they will try him if we send him back there. France doesn't have a death penalty and has objected to our using it against him. Maybe France would also provide Moussaoui with a lawyer he trusts.